Star Wars: The Old Republic

[Cracka_J]

Edit: New Updates/Necrobump
www.swtor.com

New Planets announced, new classes announced. Game has been coming quite a ways since I made this original post. There is a pretty nice community message board there now as well, and by signing up for the newsletter, you will be hearing news and be able to sign up for the beta-test early before they go public with it.

Just wanting to make this mention, because there's been a few threads created about this game, and it looks to be shaping up now with a likely beta test in the next few months. If you're wanting to play this, go over there and register to get on that newsletter asap.

[SPOILER-BOX] Now I'm sure many of you know that several years ago, a company named Bioware developed a little game called "Knights of the Old Republic", which originally launched on xbox and later made way to PC. The game received critical acclaim, it was indeed ahead of it's time in terms of story, choices, and actual gameplay. Many original ideas the game introduced (customizing a character based on in-game choices/decisions) are still widely used gimmicks today.

The game spawned a somewhat lackluster sequel that was not developed by the original Bioware team, but instead by another developer. It seemed more like a carbon copy of the first, rather then a completely new game brought to the table.

Now, just last Tuesday, Bioware announced they are back on track to do the next installment of the series; Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.

I've never been a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise in general, but Bioware can make one helluva game. I'm unaware if they have previous MMO experience, but this announcement, combined with their previous track record (Kotor1, Jade Empire, Mass Effect), makes me think this is going to be something very special. Considering PSO/U is really the only competitor in terms of futuristic, real-time action RPG's, I figured this may turn some heads here on PSOW, and a few may be interested.

There only a few announcement videos up atm, and a few pics, since this was only made know to the public as of last Tuesday (the 21st). The link below is for the gamespot link, several posters there expect the game to likely be a 2010-2011 release. A bit far off, but something to really look forward to.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarstheoldrepublic/index.html?tag=result;title;0[/SPOILER-BOX]

[CelestialBlade]

Being such a longtime Star Wars fan, I *really* want to see this become successful, and I'll jump aboard in a heartbeat if it ends up being as awesome as Mass Effect or the original KOTOR. Just hoping it doesn't go the way of Galaxies....eugh. But good to see Bioware behind the wheel of this.

[Ceresa]

I look forward to it being released unfinished and pushed out the door by the EA overlords right around the time WoW Expansion #3 is released!

As long as there's some faction Jedi vs Sith pvp it'll be worth a few months anyways, assuming bioware can make a decent combat system (KotORs combat is boring as fuck, Mass Effect's is great but not really suitable for mmorpg combat...)

How do you leave out Baldur's Gate when praising Bioware btw?

Also,

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=20778

from this interview:


This will effectively create the equivalent of a full BioWare single-player MMO for each of The Old Republic's character classes, integrated into the persistent world of an MMO.

emphasis mine, are they sure they know what they're doing?

[Solstis]

I'm a bit more excited for Star Trek Online. Expected to come out shortly after Duke Nukem: Forever, I believe.

[Rubius-sama]

I'll be playing this when it comes out. I'm a pretty big Star Wars nerd and can't let it pass :)... plus I have faith in Bioware so I'm sure it'll be a good game.


I'm a bit more excited for Star Trek Online. Expected to come out shortly after Duke Nukem: Forever, I believe.

I see what you did thar.

[Omega_Weltall]

OOOH AWESOMEZ! Ya i played Galaxies for 3 years stopped then picked it back up after the NGE then dropped it 4 days later after i realized the NGE blew donkey balls.( friggen EARNED my Bounty Hunter Title). wonder how they gonna do Jedi's since that's the ONLY class anyone wants to play in a Star Wars game. I'll probably pick another Bounty Hunter.

[Cracka_J]

I look forward to it being released unfinished and pushed out the door by the EA overlords right around the time WoW Expansion #3 is released!

I realize you're just joking, but I think there's a 0.00% chance of this title releasing in 2008. Maybe late 2009, but that's probably even pushing it.

This will very well be a flagship title for EA, I think they'll give Bioware a bit of time to develop it.

Considering EA Mythic just got done with WAR, which was in development for around 4 years, I think you can probably use that to judge how long they'll give this project. And again, this was just announced. So who actually knows how long they've been working on it...

They did say however, the game was playable and being tested by Bioware atm in their Edmonton and Austin offices.

[CelestialBlade]

wonder how they gonna do Jedi's since that's the ONLY class anyone wants to play in a Star Wars game. I'll probably pick another Bounty Hunter.
You're probably right, but I'd personally like to experience both Jedi and Sith. Or maybe even a good influence within the Empire.

[Omega_Weltall]

Knights of the Old Republic was some 10,000 years(i think) before Episodes 1-6 so there's no Empire yet.

[Saner]

well this is Bioware's first mmorpg, so it's hard to tell how it will turn out. :p
Because they went from these short story-driven games that have a beginning and end,
to a persistent galactic enviornment.

And it will be really hard to determine how the gameplay will turn out, if it'll be a
nightmarish grind, or a heavily instanced routine cakewalk that progresses quickly,
but is another form of grinding. And also other things like party level/xp systems, economy,
and what rules they will apply for equipment, stats, combat and crafting, as well as the
general selection of things to do, housing, quests, loot, rewards, etc. etc.

ya it's a very vast genre with lots of potential to be a lot of fun, or feel like a full-time job.
it's really gonna be based on the decisions Bioware makes, and their idea of a "fun" and
everlasting mmorpg.

but at least this time, the credits won't be the last thing people see. :p

[Saner]

Knights of the Old Republic was some 10,000 years(i think) before Episodes 1-6 so there's no Empire yet.

but there is a Sith Empire or something like that.

[CelestialBlade]

Knights of the Old Republic was some 10,000 years(i think) before Episodes 1-6 so there's no Empire yet.
There's the Sith though, that's what I meant.

[Omega_Weltall]

OH ok nm

[Aisha379]

Loved KOTOR and KOTOR2.

Hope this turns out really well. And I agree with Typheros, I wanna be a Sith.

(And there actually is a Sith Empire at this point in the history)

[Omega_Weltall]

OOOH ya i forgot, i just reeeeely hope it dosent go the way of SWG. only reason to play that now is for Jump To Lightspeed

[Cracka_J]

lol, I guess good thing I never played galaxies?

the kotor franchise is really the only star wars games I've been into, so I am pretty happy overall about the announcement.

that, and like I mentioned earlier, there's really not a lot of choices when it comes to futuristic mmo's. I'm really not into all the orc, goblin, elf, dwarf stuff.

[Omega_Weltall]

ya you have Anarchy Online and.... um........:(..........Everq..no.. ya you just had Anarchy Online when it came to sci fi MMO's that are still up and running. I loved Earth and Beyond but that when under rather quickly. OH EVE ONLINE FOR GOT THAT ONE... though i dont like it, those who play it love it though.

[Kent]

Though the first KOTOR was pretty overrated (never really played the second one), I can't help but be intrigued by the idea of a company like BioWare doing an MMO.

I wonder if the main method of advancement won't be killing enemies or doing quests, but rather, listening to NPCs regurgitate their life stories every time the wind blows the wrong direction, just like in every other BioWare game.

[Solstis]

Though the first KOTOR was pretty overrated (never really played the second one), I can't help but be intrigued by the idea of a company like BioWare doing an MMO.

I wonder if the main method of advancement won't be killing enemies or doing quests, but rather, listening to NPCs regurgitate their life stories every time the wind blows the wrong direction, just like in every other BioWare game.

If it's one thing Bioware can do, it's great dialogue.

They can also. Y'know. They. Well.

I really like their dialogue and narratives.

[NPCMook]

I don't know how they will do the system, but if they follow the Table Top rules like they did with KotOR 1 and 2, then I hope they use the newer Saga Edition Rules.

5 Classes each with several Talent Trees;
Noble
Jedi
Scout
Scoundrel
Soldier

You just choose what skills you wanted to be trained in, Jedi getting 2+Int mod, while the other classes got more. You'd think this would even out since most people will just dump all their stat points into Intelligence. No, all you have is a very skill oriented Jedi now, since Jedi use Charisma for most of their powers thus your powers, let alone your combat is sub par compared to the other classes.

BioWare and Lucas Arts stated that this was supposed to be a Story-Driven MMO. Also they said you would encounter Companion NPC's who had their own little Story Arc you could venture on, hopefully this doesn't turn out to be like Guild Wars where you just get 2 Companion NPC's and hit the dungeons. They also did mention that you could go Dark Side, I personally hope that they start you off somewhere in the middle like the KotOR games did and then you go from there.

They mentioned that the game will take place 3,000 years before Vader.

[Uncle_bob]

This game looks promising if I can be a space Hobo

[Aisha379]

This game looks promising if I can be a space Hobo

http://www.zooweekly.com.au/adminUploads/1200974191.jpg

[Kent]

If it's one thing Bioware can do, it's great dialogue.

They can also. Y'know. They. Well.

I really like their dialogue and narratives.
I can't honestly say I agree with the "great dialogue" thing... Personally, I think their best feat to date is the adaptation of D&D rules into a computer game. The engines are great, despite that the campaigns made by third parties are by far and large, much better than the ones crafted by BioWare.

[Outrider]

I can't honestly say I agree with the "great dialogue" thing... Personally, I think their best feat to date is the adaptation of D&D rules into a computer game. The engines are great, despite that the campaigns made by third parties are by far and large, much better than the ones crafted by BioWare.

Eh... I'm not sure I agree with that.

I do agree that the translation of table-top rules to computer game is probably the most impressive thing they do (Have you guys played Neverwinter Nights? It's quite satisfying for a D&D fan), but there's a lot of good in their writing.

Yes, they tend to repeat story ideas from game to game (As I pointed out in FKL, the first six hours of Mass Effect are basically just an HD remix of the first six hours of KOTOR), and they have a lot of "serious" moments that just seem like the designers trying to needle the player, but it's mostly good. In general, I think the actual characters and their storylines are better than the main over-arching plot, although that really only applies to the major characters in the plot and not so much to Farmer B and his sidequest. The plot for KOTOR was actually pretty great for Star Wars fans, even if the big reveal wasn't as exciting as they thought it was (but it was very Star Wars-y, so that's good.)

I DO like BioWare, but I know they have their problems. For instance, KOTOR 2 definitely did some things better than the first one by clearing out a lot of BioWare staples, but at the sacrifice of some things the first KOTOR did better.

Ah well. At least they're not Bethesda. Now that's a company who makes RPGs devoid of any story or character. (Haven't played Fallout 3 yet, but I don't have high hopes based off of their track record.)

[Zantra]

EDIT: my bad... Darth Bane is set 1,000 years before Episode one...

[Randomness]

My fingers are crossed many times over for this...

(Star Wars fanatic)

[Cracka_J]

Necrobumping this for many reasons, much has been done with the game since my original post, view the link in the OP for more info on the game and getting in on beta-testing.

[Niered]

I want this to be good, but KOTOR's battle system was not for me. Give it more action oriented stuff and I will be more interested.

But hey, it cant be as bad as galaxies right? RIGHT?

[Primus30]

I am COMPLETELY pumped for this game, and I have been since after KOTOR II. I only wish it could come out sooner.

Also, does anyone think that they'll have a version for Mac? They did for KOTOR I, so I pray they will for this.

[joefro]

This game is looking really nice. I think that I'll go Empire. I like being evil. :mad: I think the character development is going to put a lot of MMOers off though. I think that it will work well, but most people aren't used to it.

Hopefully BioWare will spill the beans at E3. (release dates, betas, etc.)


Also, does anyone think that they'll have a version for Mac? They did for KOTOR I, so I pray they will for this.
I think that there is a very good chance of a Mac version. EA is publishing this game and they seem to support Mac with their big name games. At the end of the day though, I'm getting this game. On Mac or not, I'll just run boot camp.

[CelestialBlade]

Jedi Guardian Chelsea WILL rise.

[Cracka_J]

If you read a bit into some of the notes on the site, there's some really interesting stuff. Even by choosing your faction (sith/republic) you STILL haven't determined whether your character will actually be good or evil. In true kotor fashion, your choices and decisions while playing through the game. So everything aside, you could be ending up with a sith character that is actually good. It's a very interesting twist and I hope it actually has some effect on stats/gameplay so it isn't just a wasted gimmick.

I'm really hoping a lot of PSU'ers decide to pick up and try out this game. If it sucks, whatever, it's bioware's first attempt at an mmo. If it's good though, I think a lot of us can expect this game to deliver on some of the undeveloped ideas in PSU. And there really isn't a lot of other sci/fi mmo's to play besides the two, lol.

Hope some of you peeps are able to get in on the beta test if they run it in the next few months (or this year haha). Be cool to chill with some of you xbox'ers I never got to run with.

[Zarode]

Looks fantastic, honestly. I hope this game is good when released, and isn't a huge resource hog so my crappy computer can play it. :wacko:

[Cracka_J]

They haven't released specs yet, so nobody is sure what the minimum resources will be to run this.

PC upgrading atm is very cheap though, and will just continue to drop. If you hold out a bit longer til the game launches or goes beta, you'll likely be able to upgrade yours to meet requirements for a very very minimal cost.

[Zarode]

They haven't released specs yet, so nobody is sure what the minimum resources will be to run this.

PC upgrading atm is very cheap though, and will just continue to drop. If you hold out a bit longer til the game launches or goes beta, you'll likely be able to upgrade yours to meet requirements for a very very minimal cost.

It's a DELL, I'm better off building my own computer. :disapprove:

[joefro]

The first screenshots don't look too demanding graphics wise. The art style seems to be really stylized; they probably want this game to reach out to many people.
My guess would be
128 MB GPU min 256 recommended
2.0 multicore processor
1-2ish ram