Star Wars: The Old Republic

[Pete_Fett]

edit:  found an article regarding WoW on consoles:  http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/703047/blizzard-thinks-about-a-console-world-of-warcraft-all-the-time-prospects-dim.html

Reading the article you found it seems like there are three issues:

1) The ability to use a keyboard & mouse vs. gamepad type controller - as I stated in my post, it seems really foolish that a wireless keyboard and mouse aren't available for the XBox 360, someone looking to bring an MMO to the Xbox that's also on the PC should push MSFT to partner up with a peripheral vendor to make them a reality.

2) Hard disk space - really is that even an issue? I have an XBox 360 Elite and I have more than enough space for a 20GB game. Again, if the choice was buying a $100 keyboard/mouse package and upgrading your HD on your XBox for another $100 or so vs. buying a $2000 gaming computer, what makes more economical sense here?

3) Development cycles/patching - I get told I need to download updates all the time over XBox Live - why would getting updates to the MMO be any different? As far as development, I would think that since the XBox architecture is based on the MSFT ActiveX architecture, porting a PC game to an XBox 360 game would be pretty easy and if it's not, MSFT should make it more easy.


I guess I may sound like "sour grapes" but the "Old Republic" franchise was built by XBox players. The first Knights of the Old Republic game was on the XBox for a while before it even made it to the PC and the time it took to bring it to the PC was primarily to update the game to work with a keyboard interface. The reward for the patient PC gamers was a spacestation level. And what about the XBox fans who supported the game all along? Oh yeah, that's right, we could download that level and add it to my own KotOR experience. So to me the "downloads/updates" issue is b.s.

If they were finally giving us the third act of the Knights of the Old Republic story that was set up by the second game then I would be slightly less miffed by the move to an MMO, but knowing that the development of this game came out of the initial talks for KotOR III kinda stings a bit too much.

[Jesse James]

upgrading your HD on your XBox for another $100 or so vs. buying a $2000 gaming computer, what makes more economical sense here?

The good news is I'm 100% positive you can buy a computer that will run TOR for $600 or so, at best I'd guess.  Only because I'm looking at new PC's right now, and they're really cheap compared to the last time I bought a new PC...  Even the high-end stuff from a private seller I've looked at wouldn't cost me $2000 unless I was taking the tip-top technology on the market and maxing out RAM, HD, etc.

Computers are basically cheap, at least compared to the good old days when you DID need a super system to run games (oh the old X-Wing days, how I long for quality games like that!).

So having a PC to run it is pretty affordable to the vast majority anyway...  I think the mouse/keyboard thing seems pretty simple to fix though on an X-Box, so that's a lame excuse it seems.

Still, like I said, you can't take the XB with you really...  And those games really take a lot of time I guess.     Almost everyone I know who plays WoW does so on a laptop so they can take it to watch TV while they play, or even on vacation...  That's, to me anway, a huge factor.

The XB's Harddrive I can see being an issue too, if you store a lot on your XB's HD.  That's relative though...  I don't, but I know people with practically full HD's or have had to buy an extra.  That all depends on the gamer then I guess.

I don't know what kind of memory needs are there for saved characters too and things.  People can make a lot of characters on one account though I guess, or something like that.  So there's that to consider I guess.  *shrugs*

For me, if it played well on the XB360 I'd play there I'm sure, but as it stands I'm just factoring it in while I look at new PC's and decide what I'm going to do.  Even the base systems I looked at should run the game though, ironically.

[Pete_Fett]

I guess I just have too much "old school thinking" stuck in my head. The last time I bought I high-end computer with a high-end video card the damn thing cost me almost $2K and by today's standards it's a piece of junk.

Like you said, it really does depend on the type of gamer you are. I'm not a hard core gamer by any stretch of the imagination. I have the XBox and that's it. I mostly get Star Wars games, but because I love BioWare's stuff I also have the Mass Effect games (which are fantastic). Beyond that, the only other XBox 360 game I have is Red Alert 3 and the two Command & Conquer 3 games, and there again, I don't have a PC good enough to run the PC version, but I had a great time playing them on my console.

[Jesse James]

Yeah I was that way too till my PC started giving me some trouble this last year or so...  I've had mine since 1998, upgraded now and then but never replaced.  I was going into getting a new one thinking $1000 minimum for a decent one...  I'd say you could get a VERY high-end gaming machine for $1000, and they won't make TOR to the high-end because of needing to sell the game. 

I figure at best I may need the base system plus a slightly better graphics card, which is like $100 to $200 tops by what I've seen (of course the best is more).  So that's like $600 for a PC custom built according to what I've been looking at, and if you bought one at BB you'd probably get one right out of the gate that would play it.

I was amazed how almost disposable PC's have become.  It's like TV's are (or at least were anyway).  Even Laptops seem cheap.  I mean, last I even looked at one of those it was so far out of my price range that I didn't even consider it.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, if you feel like buying a new PC to game...  It's a LOT less than I had imagined it, that's for sure.    Made me feel very old, and made my computer look very lame as well, haha.

[Jesse James]

The Old Republic has become a weird saga...

Insiders with Lucasarts and things are saying the game's gone overbudget by staggering ammounts (like Waterworld type money here), and that it's basically being passed off to get completed.  I'm wondering if it's going to actually live up to the hype that's swirling about it.

I want it to succeed.  I have no real reason not to,a nd I'd kinda dig playing it if I didn't have so much going on already.

But part of me thinks it's maybe going to be not quite as successful as it was automatically assumed it would be.  Could we be facing Galaxies 2?  I don't know.

I like the concept, I hope it survives and thrives.  Some news coming out downplays the rumors, some of it supports them a little though as well.  I'm curious how this is going to all play out.

[shmashwitdaclub]

my thoughts plus some quotes from an article I found:

In January, EA CEO John Riccitiello said the company had a "major new MMO" planned for release in spring 2011, which was presumed to be The Old Republic and jibes with the figure released by Brown. Sadly, this means that the game won't be released in early 2011 as many fans had anticipated, but it makes perfect sense considering that BioWare only recently opened applications for further testing this week.

One of my buddies that I met through WoW (I used to play for a long time) just got invited to this testing - I will post info as I hear it if there is any to post.  I guess he got the invite just after he re-subscribed to WoW (we all burned out on the game about 2 years ago but he wanted to check out the new expansion).  He wishes he didn't subscribe back to WoW so soon...

Depending on the MMO, the start of closed, but public beta testing is an indication that a game is still a good 3-6 months or longer from the point where it'll be ready for release. For example, World of Warcraft's closed beta test ran for about 7 months.

This, to me, is par the course for a successful MMORPG.  The main reason WoW, imo, is as successful as it is, is because the developers do not put out anything until they feel it is polished.  Sure they have to patch things all the time to fix little quirks - but by all comparative means their product is polished compared to any other MMORPG coming to market.  Anyone ever play Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, or Warhammer?  When they came out they were turds and because of it they were left in the dust as turds.  

Bioware, based on all of their games I have played - especially recent ones, does not release unplayable turds.  Bioware releases a polished product.  If a polished product takes another 6-7 months to make it successful (WoW killer) then that is what it needs to be.

Star Wars: The Old Republic has been compared to World of Warcraft in scope, so it'll probably need just as much time. The game is EA's most expensive project ever and rumored to have cost over $300 million, so the publisher is likely not releasing this one until it's fully baked and ready to earn some of that money back.

basically stating the same as I wrote.

And on a final note - a push back, in this situation is good.  If this game were to come out to soon, even if polished as polished could be, it would be contending with a newly released, world changing,WoW expansion - that would probably be a fight no game in the same genre could win.

[Jeff]

This, to me, is par the course for a successful MMORPG.  The main reason WoW, imo, is as successful as it is, is because the developers do not put out anything until they feel it is polished.  Sure they have to patch things all the time to fix little quirks - but by all comparative means their product is polished compared to any other MMORPG coming to market.

Like say... the opposite of how they handled Star Wars Galaxies?  That game was launched buggy as hell in order to meet the LFL launch timeline.  By the time they finished "balancing" SWG, it was a completely different game from launch with completely different playable characters/professions (RIP Creature Handler ).  SWG still leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I haven't touched it in over 5 years.

If it takes them an extra 6-7 months, hell even an extra 12 months at this point to give me a fantastic, polished final product, I am willing to wait.

[shmashwitdaclub]

Like say... the opposite of how they handled Star Wars Galaxies?  That game was launched buggy as hell in order to meet the LFL launch timeline.

I never played that one, and I also never heard anything good about it.  That reasoning right there, the LFL timeline, could be part of the reason why now, from what I have read, EA now has full handling of this game as per a new contract - to me thats a good thing.

[Jesse James]

I tried Galaxies once on a trial basis...  Good god was it horrible.  Probably the worst SW game I ever attempted to play.

That says a lot because Lucasarts put out some real **** once they went downhill as a company.

[shmashwitdaclub]

a little bit of TOR news.  http://www.gamespy.com/articles/114/1147365p1.html

sounds like it isn't costing nearly as much as the rumors have indicated, but who knows.


more TOR stuff that I think is new:

Flashpoints
Flashpoints Video

[Jesse James]

Holy ****, another new cinematic trailer from The Old Republic.   


Clicky

Even if you DON'T care about the game, or the era, look at these trailers!  They're better than the prequals and they're only like 5 minutes long.  They're graphically insane, they're full of everything that makes Star Wars great, and crammed into that short period of time, and they're just flat out cool.

This game's hype had better not sink it.  It's being touted by some as the game to topple Warcraft, which isn't any small feat, but even I'm tempted to play this, at this point.  This era is maybe what Star Wars needs the most.

Hasbro has to make figures.  Oh please, oh please, oh please.  I'd buy Republic troopers in a heartbeat.  They're nothing but pure badass.

[Nicklab]

Haven't been able to check out the new cinematic trailer just yet.  But there's a new gameplay trailer from E3 that came out a few days ago, and it looks remarkably better than some of the early gameplay demos.

[Jimree]

I have a group of 3 other people who are going to play with me.

We are going to be in the Sith Empire, and probably join a bigger guild on a PVP server.

These cinematic trailers are amazing, and these characters are fantastic. alot of backstory already to alot of them.

Darth Malgeus, Satale Shan, Shae viszla, Ven Zallow

I have been following this game since it was a rumor in 2007, I am very excited that we are coming into the home stretch of this game

Once we get a release date, i will be happy

Jim

[darthschroeder]

LOVE the latest trailer! 

And Bender (John Di Maggio) voices the smuggler!   

I just love hearing Bender yelling at Satele...

[shmashwitdaclub]

pre-order is up:

http://www.swtor.com/preorder/?sourceid=eag3012

have they said what the payment plans are going to be yet for this game?  monthly subs or micro transactions?