Star Wars: The Old Republic

[keg in kc]

Don't believe there's a dedicated thread, and since they're starting to release information now, I figure it's time for one.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Pants

No, she's never played a game in her life that didn't run in a browser window. It's not her thing, but I was still trying to convince her to be my personal healer. I think I was maybe getting somewhere until she heard I would have to pay a monthly fee for her account...

As far as endgame goes, I don't think it'll be too much of an issue. As long as they have that first raid in there at launch and it's challenging, everyone will be fine with it. Shit, WoW didn't even have Molten Core at launch, did they? They only had that 10 man UBRS run, right?

Think that's correct. I remember it being months before there were any real raids.

There's a difference between launching now and launching 7 years ago though: there wasn't anything like WoW on the market then, and people expect a lot more right from the beginning. Games are inevitably going to be measured against what WoW has. Whether that's fair or not. Or even realistic or not.

(And I don't think you can even really compare TOR to other MMO launches the last few years, which means people will probably expect even more, but maybe that's just my skewed perspective...)

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Pants

No, she's never played a game in her life that didn't run in a browser window. It's not her thing, but I was still trying to convince her to be my personal healer. I think I was maybe getting somewhere until she heard I would have to pay a monthly fee for her account...

Well, even if she doesn't play you'll eventually have your own personal healer anyway, although I don't think Smuggler (that was what you were playing, right?) gets a healer until the 5th and final companion.

I'm a different style player. I'm the kind of guy that (on my bounty hunter) turns off Mako's healing and turns on her combat skills so stuff dies faster. Healing schmealing.

Spoiler!

That's a little-known fact - companions can serve in a couple of rolls, and have skills across the board, so, as I mentioned, Mako can heal for you, or she can help you DPS - well, she also shoots stuff while she heals in healing mode, too, but you can actually make her a fully-fledged fighting character instead of just a healer.

So I've read at least.

Cough.

(of course this is all probably subject to change, since they're in beta)

As far as the monthly fee goes, I think if there was any game that ever warranted a monthly fee it's this one. The estimated length of time it takes to play a single character zero to 50 almost three times as long as KotOR and KotOR 2 combined. If you look at that in 15 hour (max...) console game terms you're paying 60 dollars for at least 10 console games worth of content, and that's only playing one character.

It would be fun to duo stuff with her though. Just keep the pressure on.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Well, even if she doesn't play you'll eventually have your own personal healer anyway, although I don't think Smuggler (that was what you were playing, right?) gets a healer until the 5th and final companion.

I'm a different style player. I'm the kind of guy that (on my bounty hunter) turns off Mako's healing and turns on her combat skills so stuff dies faster. Healing schmealing.

Spoiler!

That's a little-known fact - companions can serve in a couple of rolls, and have skills across the board, so, as I mentioned, Mako can heal for you, or she can help you DPS - well, she also shoots stuff while she heals in healing mode, too, but you can actually make her a fully-fledged fighting character instead of just a healer.

So I've read at least.

Cough.

(of course this is all probably subject to change, since they're in beta)

As far as the monthly fee goes, I think if there was any game that ever warranted a monthly fee it's this one. The estimated length of time it takes to play a single character zero to 50 almost three times as long as KotOR and KotOR 2 combined. If you look at that in 15 hour (max...) console game terms you're paying 60 dollars for at least 10 console games worth of content, and that's only playing one character.

It would be fun to duo stuff with her though. Just keep the pressure on.

Man, you're preaching to the choir about the monthly fees. I'll put the full court press on her when I start playing and see if she can come around. As far as my class goes, I was actually thinking about doing the dual-wielding lightsaber DPS.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Pants

Man, you're preaching to the choir about the monthly fees. I'll put the full court press on her when I start playing and see if she can come around. As far as my class goes, I was actually thinking about doing the dual-wielding lightsaber DPS.

Oh, right, Sentinel. Sorry. I remember now. I think your healer comes a little earlier than Smuggler, maybe in your 30s. Although it's hard to tell, maybe one of the earlier characters has a secondary healing mode (it's amazing sometimes how some of the beta testers haven't figured things out that weekend testers did...)

Your second companion may or may not be a pretty hot Jedi Shadow chick that apparently every Knight in beta romances.

Maybe that's how you motivate the wife: jealousy!

Not that that's the Jedi way.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Oh, right, Sentinel. Sorry. I remember now. I think your healer comes a little earlier than Smuggler, maybe in your 30s. Although it's hard to tell, maybe one of the earlier characters has a secondary healing mode (it's amazing sometimes how some of the beta testers haven't figured things out that weekend testers did...)

Your second companion may or may not be a pretty hot Jedi Shadow chick that apparently every Knight in beta romances.

Maybe that's how you motivate the wife: jealousy!

Not that that's the Jedi way.

And not that it matters but she's not my wife yet. We're only engaged.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Pants

And not that it matters but she's not my wife yet. We're only engaged.

Oh that poor woman. She's about to lose you to a video game.

[Huffmeister]

Are you still in the beta, keg? Or was that one weekend only?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Huffmeister

Are you still in the beta, keg? Or was that one weekend only?

One weekend only.

And I'm apparently completely locked out of testing now. No more weekends, no regular external beta invite.

I literally could not play another game all of last week.

[Huffmeister]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

One weekend only.

And I'm apparently completely locked out of testing now. No more weekends, no regular external beta invite.

I literally could not play another game all of last week.

Damn, that's just cruel!

[Pants]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

And I'm apparently completely locked out of testing now. No more weekends, no regular external beta invite.

How come?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Pants

How come?

When the weekend began we were clearly told by one of the community managers that we were not going to be exempt from future testing, but then the next week the lead community manager says the following:

Q: I previously participated in Game Testing, but am no longer participating. Does that omit me from being re-selected, either for a Beta Testing Weekend, or Game Testing generally?

A: Currently, if you have previously been selected to test Star Wars: The Old Republic, you will normally not be re-selected for future testing. (This applies whether you were selected previously for an early Game Testing period that is now finished, a Beta Testing Weekend, or any other testing access, eg through a third-party research agency.) That may change closer to launch.

Needless to say the first weekend testers were not thrilled by that apparent change...

Hence I'm stuck waiting for release. Which is actually fine, because I spoiled more than I wanted to playing for 4 days. But I really, really wish I could log on at the same time....

[keg in kc]

oh em gee. I just got an email related to my post above that makes me very happy.

/happydance

[Barret]

That doesn't make sense to remove testers that have a knowledge of what problems were there before and not see how those problems were fixed.

I would also think they need to test the higher level content more so they should bring back the 1st weekend testers at their current levels and allow them to keep going. You can't start off brand new each time.

Just my 10 cents

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Barret

That doesn't make sense to remove testers that have a knowledge of what problems were there before and not see how those problems were fixed.

I would also think they need to test the higher level content more so they should bring back the 1st weekend testers at their current levels and allow them to keep going. You can't start off brand new each time.

Just my 10 cents

I don't disagree, but they've got fulltime beta testers for that. The weekend testers were basically there as a dry run for launching the game.

The servers are wiped, so either everybody is starting at the beginning or they're going to give each account access to premade high level characters (they've done that on the regular test server).

[Son of Logical]

I keep checking my email over and over just hoping to be selected, or just to see a release date. This wait is killing me.