Star Wars: The Old Republic Thread

[Archendrus]

This game is gonna rock face =D  Now the only problem I have to worry about is getting all my friends to play on the same server lol

[Raze]

The crew system gives me more star trek vibes than star wars, but nonetheless sounds like a really cool gimmick. Gameplay wise not much of a difference making your own blaster or ordering your star wars Geordi equivalent to do it for you, but it sounds like a great mood setter putting you in the Captain's chair.

[Parn]

Not sure I'd agree that there's not much of a difference gameplay wise.  This system puts you in more of a management position while traditional crafting systems are more hands-on, as far as a videogame goes that is.  If I were to make an analogy, it'd be like having the ability to tell Prishe to make you 12 stacks of fish mithkabobs and then running off to go beat the hell out of Promathia with some friends, versus taking all the steps to make 12 stacks of mithkabobs yourself.  That's a profound difference.

[Sagacious-T]

The SW:TOR crew skills turns crafting into a turned based crafting system with more than just collect and process type gameplay. It's always constant too, remember, so you can continue earning things while not playing the game. It's kind of like the EVE Online leveling/skill system meets crafting.

Also there's stuff beyond crafting like missions. It might turn into a really fun, slow paced micromanagement game. Get a random item every day by sending your guy out on Treasure Hunts, or have them do Diplomacy to raise your reputation!

It just seems so cool and customizable to me compared to other crafting systems. This is the kind of shit I love in games.

[Fei]

Not sure I'd agree that there's not much of a difference gameplay wise.  This system puts you in more of a management position while traditional crafting systems are more hands-on, as far as a videogame goes that is.  If I were to make an analogy, it'd be like having the ability to tell Prishe to make you 12 stacks of fish mithkabobs and then running off to go beat the hell out of Promathia with some friends, versus taking all the steps to make 12 stacks of mithkabobs yourself.  That's a profound difference.

You're still farming... they've just integrated wikipedia's recipes into the NPC's :P

[Uru]

Nice, anything to make the monotony...less monotonous.

[Sagacious-T]

First instance preview
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarstheoldrepublic/news.html?sid=6287811&mode=previews

[Fei]

Seems awfully G-rated, doesn't it?

I liked how KOTOR took Star Wars and make it darker and more mature.  I suppose now that Mass Effect is the dark mature franchise, it falls to Star Wars to be the family friendly one.  Can't argue from a business standpoint I guess.

I find myself pondering Bioware's actual gameplay skill now, because gameplay was always such a non-issue with KOTOR, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age due to the dialogue trees and interesting plots.

As an MMO it's already going to be gameplay-centric, but they were solving that with what they now call flashpoints... but if they are going to be on par plotwise with an episode of Cartoon Network's "The Clone Wars", I'm let down.

I like Star Wars, but this just looks like Star Wars to me.

I complain, but I'll still be playing this.  Maybe it will be more mature than this video suggests, who knows.  This is all that came to my mind though.

[Sagacious-T]

How Bioware builds Flashpoints (instances)
http://swtor.com/news/blog/20110204

[Fei]

I read about half of that... I absolutely love narrative driven instance quests, but it was not invented with the "Flashpoint."

Dungeons and Dragons Online was the first MMORPG to incorporate this, and is the main reason I've spoken out in its favor.  WoW may have invented the instance, but DDO made it an integral part of gameplay.

DC Universe does it too.

All in all, good... not groundbreaking, but definitely not a tired mechanic.  All good.

[Parn]

WoW may have invented the instance

lol

[Sagacious-T]

WoW may have invented the instance

lol

lmao

[Fei]

Is this because PSO is technically all instances and came before WoW? 

[Kiem]

http://www.swtor.com/guilds?sourceid=eag2930

[D-Rider]

Man, that whole "pre-form a guild" thing sounds like a great idea, but the pessimist in me leads me to think it'll be a launch day nightmare. :P