Making this to stop all the other threads as we start gearing up towards a release of TOR. I'll compile all known information, and ensure I keep it as up to date as possible.
What we know so far, is there are 8 classes, each with their distinct abilities and uses. There are 2 allegiances, Sith or Jedi. There has been 17 planets announced so far, and by the looks of things, this could be the driving force behind expansions, with new planets to explore, and obviously new dungeons/quests on these planets. There is space wars, so expect huge amounts of galatic space fighting. You do get your own ship, not to sure on how much customisation though.
Mounts are confirmed, they are some form of hover bike system. They range from what seems to be 60% to 100%. There is travel between outposts, using a hover bike connection, ala flight paths. Everything is apparently fully voiced, and there are your class quests, and then normal quests. There is the usual quest hubs for each zone, there are unique areas that when you enter, is basically a instance for yourself. I do recall seeing either this E3 or last E3 explanations on raids, and PVP, so there is most likely something of that nature. Pod racers haven't been confirmed sadly :(
Everything else is pretty much up in the air, we aren't sure on technical specifications, but doesn't look like you'll need to beefy of a system to play it. There is apparently a subscription model, but no real confirmation that I could find.
There is heaps of information on the wiki, on the official site and all over youtube. Only the most essential is here, but don't hesitate to discuss anything that isn't mentioned!
Pre-orders are open now! However Australians and New Zealanders can't actually pre-order from the site or Origin just yet, due to Bioware wanting to stagger their releases. Currently what we do know is that you can buy it from Amazon and other US sites, and you will not be blocked IP wise if you do decide to go that way. It actually turns out to be around $7 cheaper then EB games as well.
Here is a recent gameplay video from E3, exploring the planet Aldaraan.
This is a video of gameplay compilation, and what to expect from SW:TOR.
Oh and, here is a Sith Warrior progression sneak peak, 'cause we all know everyone is going Sith.
Comic con 2011 video with all the classes.
Anything I've missed or you feel needs to be included, just let me know.
-Updated with new videos of classes from comic con. Also added pre-order link and the what do about pre-orders.
Okay, I'm bumping this as we are very close to Early Access and the release of the game itself. If anyone has any news on unofficial Australian server, or wants to share where they will be going, drop a comment. Any good links etc, please do share as well! See you on the battlefield soon!
Mmm, it does look a bit stiff on the animations. I'm just wondering how they will incorporate blocking laser bolts into the game with lightsabers. Cause pretty much all Jedi's just block block block, so it'd be very dull combat to have your character never really getting hurt...
BioWare aren't exactly known for fantastic animation. I have no doubt that the facial animation is going to be generally poor throughout the entire game, coupled with characters standing stiffly in front of one another while they converse, occasionally walking or running to another location.
I ain't even gonna go that far. That is like 9 pages of stuff. And most of it is all the planets individual pages and class pages etc. I'll provide links and just keep this as the general thread for SW:TOR, to stop other threads being made, like the Minecraft one.
Sweet, I had just requested that we have a TOR thread to chronicle my flip flops.
My current flip flop status is: Mildly keen due to Penny Arcade review. Somewhat unkeen due to boring/awkward looking WoW-in-Star-Wars gameplay vids. Expecting decent enough story, Expecting non-blizzard like game performance, official videos show extreme video lag in combat.
Haha, one of the reasons why I created this. I'm currently on the fence. I've enjoyed my time with WoW, and am now playing other genres and titles, and even dabbling in MMO's every now and then, especially with Forsaken Worlds. But Star Wars has always been a fun and enjoyable setting, and if they do things right, with it being interesting, fun and overall have a feeling that I can enjoy the game without it making me feel like ripping my eyes out, then kudos to them!
But Star Wars has always been a fun and enjoyable setting
I think that the franchise may have finally passed my non-inventiveness saturation point. I love the clone wars show (on and off, some of it's good at least) but am not all that keen on seeing the exact same thing four thousand years earlier.
That being said, I remember thinking the same before Dragon Age came out, with the elves/dwarves/orcs and whatnot, but Bioware did good.
Yeah I agree, when are MMO devs going to get with the minimal UI idea.
Hopefully they allow modding, WoW's shitty interface hasn't bothered me for at least 2 years now.
Yeah, the blue UI is a bit garish. Hopefully theres tonnes of UI options though that let me scale everything and move stuff around and put it wherever I want.
I'm waiting till Guild Wars 2 comes out before passing judgement on it, cos the developers seem to be making a lot of big promises, and they haven't earned the benefit of the doubt from me. Guild Wars 1 was one of the loneliest, most boring "massively multiplayer" rpgs I've played. I'm also pretty sick of fantasy settings for RPGs too though, so even if it does turn out to be great, I'm not sure I'll be in there having a go. I'd rather be sci-fi'ing it up I think
I'm waiting till Guild Wars 2 comes out before passing judgement on it, cos the developers seem to be making a lot of big promises, and they haven't earned the benefit of the doubt from me. Guild Wars 1 was one of the loneliest, most boring "massively multiplayer" rpgs I've played. I'm also pretty sick of fantasy settings for RPGs too though, so even if it does turn out to be great, I'm not sure I'll be in there having a go. I'd rather be sci-fi'ing it up I think
Yeah, I'm waiting to see more of GW2 as well. I think it should be pretty different to the first one though, since the world mostly instanced. GW2 is supposed to be a proper MMO, from what I've read. The combat actually looks like there's some skill involved too, not just mashing skills waiting for your cooldown, relying on dice-rolls for everything.
I agree though, I'd prefer a sci-fi setting, but a sci-fi setting that just plays like WoW isn't as appealing as a fantasy setting that plays really well. I'm a bit over Fantasy, but I absolutely loved The Witcher 2, because it made it fun.
I am going to probably play both GW2 and SW:TOR. Star Wars while I wait for GW2 cause hell, we don't know when that is coming out.
Also, I know some people don't just want a WoW clone that plays and feels like WoW, but if they do it right, and make it not to like WoW, but so that you feel comfortable and enjoy it straight off the bat, they will rake in shitloads. Everyone has been wanting another SW MMO since SWG, and all the old school MMO'ers keep saying how awesome SWG was, all the newer people want this one to be like the old one, so they can have that enjoyment.
Well, the thing is (for me), it a) doesn't look nearly as smooth as WoW, and b) doesn't look like the medieval fantasy "tank/dps/healer" in-your-face-combat thing can work in a sci fi setting like star wars. Buuuut who knows, I liked KotOR and that had close combat. Then again you were always a Jedi...
The combat at the end of the first vid looked unbearable... jedi was wailing on a guy just standing there for dozens of cuts with a lightsaber, and nothing happened...
That's the thing though, how could they make the awesome over the top combat in Star Wars, work in an MMO where it's based on dice rolling in the background and mathematical equations on who hits and for how much.
Lets all re-install Jedi Knight 2 and bash out a lan/net party ... fuk that game was good!
I'll def be getting SWTOR and hope its a success. Like others, whether i play past the first month is up to the devs.
BTW
we all need to go blackrock on this game. wow vets will understand but ill brief the newbs.
When wow was released there was no Oceanic server assigned. the only servers were EU and USA. as a result the Aus/NZ gaming community got together on various forums and decided that we would all play on the 'Blackrock' server.
Day 1 of launch there were lag issues and they never got fixed.
by Day 7 of lauch the server was constantly full and wait times exceeded 5 hours. Day 50ish and i and to resort to queing from say 8pm tonight if i wished to play some time tomorrow.
eventually Blizzard caved and made several 'Oceanic' servers based in the USA West Coast with aussie timezone clock. it helped mitigate a small amount of the lag/traffic issues but it was too little too late.
The question i have for you is 'what server we going to pick?'
once the server list is released closer to launch we should all aim for a common server.
The combat could use more mobs which go down faster, or less drawn out combat in general, or dodges that drain a luck/energy system before a killing blow is landed. Blizzard's servers can handle tons of critters and whatnot nowadays, so I'd hope that TOR could too.
edit: The strange thing is their much older engine in KotOR 1 had a much better system with the npcs dodging swords, and just taking glancing hits which reduce their health. eh.
I would have much preferred to see some more tactical combat encounters, making use of guns and cover and whatnot.
I bloody loved the Jedi Knight games (1, 2, and Academy). Used to open em up from time to time and spawn epic fights with console commands, but the install seems to have somehow broken recently.
That would be a bad idea. Age of Conan did that, and look at how it turned out with the great 1-20 area, then shit everything else cause no one was able to test anything.
I can't see not having an open beta having any real impact on the quality of the game, the meaningful testing will be done internally, or in closed beta, open beta is really just a stress test / demo. So as long as their QA department isn't shit, and they adequately stress test it, it wont matter.
I mean, it still sucks cos it'd be nice to try the game before it came out, but I can't see it compromising the quality
You'd be surprised, a lot of bugs do get caught in open betas. Sure a lot of people use it as a free experience check to see if they like it or not, but there is a lot of bug testing done too.
That would be a bad idea. Age of Conan did that, and look at how it turned out with the great 1-20 area, then shit everything else cause no one was able to test anything.
Having an open beta wouldn't have stopped that. Although, it would have stopped people from buying it.
You'd be surprised, a lot of bugs do get caught in open betas.
Nobody is doubting that a shit tonne of testers find a lot of bugs. But you don't need an /open/ beta to get a shit tonne of testers. I mean, Bioware has what, 1.5 million people signed up to be beta testers? Open Beta could easily make 2 million beta testers. Not only is that going to cost millions of dollars a month, but it's going to generate so much noise that much of the useful feedback is lost in the clutter of bullshit. They could easily get tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of /closed/ beta testers.
Also, if you've seen their forums recently, you'd know is a den of stupidity. Imagine what it would be like if they were in beta? The bitching about pointless shit would be amazing. I mean, fuck, there has been hundreds of pages of people complaining that people can see your gear/stats/talents. This doesn't even go into the spastics that complain about pointless shit (literally, someone wants a toilet on their space ship)
You'd be surprised, a lot of bugs do get caught in open betas. Sure a lot of people use it as a free experience check to see if they like it or not, but there is a lot of bug testing done too.
Yeah, I guess my point is more that that shouldn't be the way it works in the first place. If a game is getting into open beta and its still full of bugs, then someone hasn't done their job very well. So I guess I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the guys in QA at Bioware/EA are doing their jobs well.
Uuugghh... That Bounty Hunter video was a bit shit. It looks so incredibly lame to have 4 Bounty hunters just running up to each other and shooting their guns point-blank. It looks so WoW-ish, uninteresting and un-fun. At least with Jedis they actually have to be up close.
Uuugghh... That Bounty Hunter video was a bit shit. It looks so incredibly lame to have 4 Bounty hunters just running up to each other and shooting their guns point-blank. It looks so WoW-ish, uninteresting and un-fun. At least with Jedis they actually have to be up close.
Yeah, this is why I don't think the WoW gameplay can work for a sci fi setting. Any WoW weapons were close range by nature, this should be some kind of tactics squad game imo. edit: Or should play like DOTA/LOL/HON, with a jillion sub-abilities available and people just select a few and do their shit for shits and giggles.
Yet somehow it's "okay" to have to hit someone a hundred times with a sword before they die.
This is why I think they need more dodging and glancing hits, to not make us cringe every time the visuals are on screen.
This is why I think they need more dodging and glancing hits, to not make us cringe every time the visuals are on screen.
Yeah, I've always thought that melee combat should have been parries, glances and dodges, but within context of the game (as it's being played) the fact that your character is just standing there taking blows is ignored. I suspect the same will happen in games like TOR (or any other game with projectiles)
What year are we in? Graphics still look $hit
That's right, because what we want in a MMO is something that has zones with very field of views, come to a grinding halt every time a couple of dozen or so people appear on screen, and requires current or next generation technology to render.
The last part is a big enough reason for most companies to focus on cartoon based graphics rather than to focus on graphics. When you're aiming for subscription or pervasive players, the game requires bums on seats.
Man, I just realised that that argument is much less strong than I previously thought, after having finished Assassin's Creed II. Their engine is fairly old now, and has an initial ~8 second load time on the biggest maps I've ever seen (in which you can still play in mind you) and then never needs to load again. With huge numbers of characters on screen at once.
Fuck that game had some amazing tech, for all its lack of challenging-fun faults.
Yeah, this is why I don't think the WoW gameplay can work for a sci fi setting. Any WoW weapons were close range by nature, this should be some kind of tactics squad game imo. edit: Or should play like DOTA/LOL/HON, with a jillion sub-abilities available and people just select a few and do their shit for shits and giggles.
I think its just cos you're sitting there watching it, you're focusing on these things too much. Like when I'm actually playing WoW, I'm not sitting there thinking "This is so unrealistic, this guy should be dead by now, I've hit him so many times", you've got plenty of other things to keep you busy. I mean, I can't say I've ever sat there while playing my DK in WoW and got frustrated because I have hit the boss so many times with my sword and he hasn't died, because its just not that sort of game.
It would be way, way more shit to have the person you're fighting constantly dodge all your attacks. That would be the most unsatisfying fight ever. You're sitting there using all your abilities and getting miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, miss, hit. Oh look I hit him once before he hit me once, so I win.
Theres nothing wrong with the combat, I think it looks pretty good for MMO combat, I'm sure when you're in pvp or doing a raid encounter you wont be sitting there lamenting the fact that your lightsaber isn't hitting the other person realistically, you'll be far too busy trying to survive, using the right abilities at the right time, countering the abilities of your opponent, exploiting vulnerabilities and weaknesses, etc, etc. Thats the guts of MMO combat, I mean, I have my camera zoomed so far out in WoW when I raid that I can't see whatever animations my character is doing anyway. When you're sitting here watching a close up video, its stuff like that that you will naturally focus on. When you're playing, its very much secondary.
I think people just need to come to grips with the type of game it is, and stop expecting it to be something it isn't, nor ever intended to be.
Well, I don't disagree with Khel, but that's level 1 in WoW, the first mob you'd fight, from half a decade ago, and still looks more fluid and fun. :P
yeah but from one fight on that quick demo, it shows the bounty hunter using at least 6 different moves ... more than what my balance druid would normally do. they're obviously not pushing any boundaries. just looks like they're releasing a solid star wars based mmo which is exactly what i want to be honest. if anything, the complaints should be forwarded more towards lucas arts to create a game ala jedi academy.
flamethrower, jetback, rockets and dual wielding pistols ... what else could you want haha.
I thought you were in the beta khel? or maybe that was someone else... Anywho, it isn't againts the NDA to say you are ;).
I was, but their beta is like a a more focused, split up kind of affair. I was in a beta test that was only testing a couple of classes, and a small slice of levels/environments, and it only ran for a few weeks then ended :(
I think theres like a friends and family beta running now, and people in that have access to the full thing, but I'm not in that one.
Indeed there is, except its going down today cos they're pushing through to the next stage of beta, will be back in a few weeks. The account I had that got into a previous stage of the beta, got reactivated for this stage of the beta a couple of weeks ago. So after downloading the huge client and then waiting for my internet to roll over cos I went over my quota and capped myself, I've been playing it for the past week or so.
NDA is super strict though, which is frustrating, cos I'd love to just write a page of shit about it, but suffice to say, I'm very eagerly awaiting the next stage of beta and the chance to spend some more time with it.
Can you just sum it up into good beta, or bad beta.
Just re-read the NDA and its crazy strict, not allowed to talk about ANY experiences or impressions of the game :( Only things you're even allowed to say is that there is a beta test, and you're in the beta test. So, I'll just reiterate, I'm very eagerly awaiting the next stage of beta and the chance to spend some more time with it.
no one seems to know if we are getting the game for it's launch.
Going via the countries they have as options for the pre order im guessing we are not getting it for pre order just yet maybe down the road yes. I pre ordered the CE as well, think it is cheaper atm to do that than wait for it to come here, once here will most likely be another $70 on top of the $174 i paid with priority shipping.
To all of our fans outside of North America and Europe:
Today we've announced the pre-order details for the initial launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and as you may now know, we’ve taken the difficult but necessary decision to limit our initial launch supply for the game. BioWare and LucasArts are completely focused on building an exceptional game and an exceptional game service to go with it. We decided to constrain our launch capacity to ensure we deliver a great experience to every player.
Part of the reason this decision was made was because of the overwhelming demand for The Old Republic, and we're humbled by that level of excitement and anticipation. We fully intend to deliver to you an amazing game when we expand our service post-launch, but right now we cannot commit to any timeframe for when that may happen. As soon as we have more information about additional launches in more territories, we’ll let you know.
We are committed to delivering Star Wars: The Old Republic to BioWare and Star Wars fans around the world, and to growing a truly global community.
tl;dr: We want to give a great experience to some users, by giving no experience to other users. Get fucked.
Heh, looks like Aussies might miss the initial happy/angry MMO phase where everything is new and shiny but there's lots of whinging about launch bugs, and skip straight to the bored phase where a bulk of players go "meh, screw this, I'm going back to WoW"
Is a bit of a dick move. Usually NA means Aus, unless they are making Oceanic servers?
In the age of intertubes, credit cards and express post? Oceanic release will just mean a cry on the forums until they give us server transfers re-roll.
Just don't understand why they are staggering release schedules. Unless they've spent billions of dollars or something on this game, why can't they just open it up to everyone? Sure are shooting themselves in the foot here.
I'm guessing that they don't want to spend money supporting people who are out of their major customer bases. Australia is a bit retarded to lump into this, because quite frankly we're a) English speakers and can understand their jibba jabba, and b) we're used to getting dicked in the global market.
And we have a better currency then Americans. Also, love this quote in the official thread "Well I'd just like to thank Bioware/EA for their fast tracking of their own version of NGE, it took Sony years to betray their player base."
The limited quantities was for the boxed version of the collectors edition that could be purchased in the US anyway via the Origin Store/download manager.
The Pre-order charge on the digital versions are from what I have read what your credit card will be charged for the pre-order. Then when the game is released you will be charged the remainder, that's how it is being explained on the official forums.
I ended up ordering it from Amazon, cos I want the collector's edition and all its associated swag. But I feel a bit dirty for doing so given the fucked way that EA is handling this :(
being truly optimistic, i'm hoping they're delaying the Australian release while they finish implementing Australian servers. the delay would just to make sure the community doesn't get divided between Australian servers and USA / Europe servers.
then again, that's just being stupidly optimistic and sincerely doubt that's the reasoning.
Apparently the latest is that they might be cancelling preorders made in the 'red zone' (outside US/EU). Alot comes from Stephen Reid or @rockjaw on his twitter.
Just read it on the SW:TOR forums so don't take my word for it, take theirs.
Read further into it, some IP addresses are being blocked from buying the game, but they won't cancel any orders already made. They (BioWare) are just concerned about the lag in game coming from the 'red zone' and suggest people use a proxy or tunnelling system (lowerping), if they will be playing from these areas.
Good to see a lot of Aussies getting on board and getting the game, despite all the difficulties with the region blocking and what-not.
Unsure if this is the place, but as I didn't want to go and create another thread, just thought I'd drop in and see what most people will be doing come release. Personally I'll be playing with a few friends (including some ex-guildies from previous games) and will be wanting to hit up PvE (raiding essentially).
Can't wait until there's some more information released about what this will entail, but hopefully there's some really challenging content at end-game to enjoy. We'll also be playing Republic side (I wanted Sith, but didn't really care enough to engage in debate :P) and will probably try to find a server we can dedicate to Aussies and other Oceanic players. Definitely need more than 1 however, don't need another Blackrock/aka-5day queue situation.
So yeah, anyone who considers themselves top-notch at PvE or even those who might be interested, we'll be looking at raiding ~4 times, at GMT+10/8pm-12 start, until midnight.
Anyone who's interested hit me up.
Other than that, good luck to everyone and hope to see you guys at launch :D
'Red Zone', wtf, makes it sound like we have some kind of infection. Stay out of the 'Red Zone' or you'll catch a uncureable case of lag.
Bioware needs to stop being concerned about my lag, I've played WoW for 7 years and I'm quite happy playing with a 300 - 400ms ping, its not ideal, sure, but its far better than not playing the game at all. They really need to stop worrying and let us make our own decisions about whether we want to put up with the lag or not, we're big boys and girls, we can make our own minds about whether its good or bad.
I use to play US servers on games with lowerping getting a ~178 ping, people in the US have to suffer with 200+ according to the forums. I see no issue here, just give 30days lowerping (or similar) with game time.
'Red Zone', wtf, makes it sound like we have some kind of infection. Stay out of the 'Red Zone' or you'll catch a uncureable case of lag.
Bioware needs to stop being concerned about my lag, I've played WoW for 7 years and I'm quite happy playing with a 300 - 400ms ping, its not ideal, sure, but its far better than not playing the game at all. They really need to stop worrying and let us make our own decisions about whether we want to put up with the lag or not, we're big boys and girls, we can make our own minds about whether its good or bad.
I think that many game servers are degraded by the person with the highest ping, though I don't imagine that that would be relevant in an mmo engine.
I think that many game servers are degraded by the person with the highest ping, though I don't imagine that that would be relevant in an mmo engine.
That wouldn't be the case at all, or would even be possible. I've been playing WoW for 5 years with 400ms ping, I think I'll do just fine. This smells like Bioware has spent a shit load of money on the game, and not enough on servers. Hopefully my pre-order from Amazon doesn't get affected.
It's bioware animation, I've learned to endure it.
I think that it's the standard moving around & general freedom (and associated animations) that they need to really get right. I think that's a huge part of why WoW is fun, and where their single player games are not.
Bizarre. Wasn't it just six months ago we were bagging out SW:TOR for shaping up to be a massive pile of poo?
EA must have taken it to heart and been so bummed about this release that they're amazed with pre-orders selling like no tomorrow even with no Aussies being able to get on board.
Haha Eorl, that whole scene still looks fucking shit. It's like they tried to fix it by making characters stand in different places, like that was the issue. I don't have much hope that the rest of the scenes will be better.
I guess I already have extremely low expectations for cutscenes in an MMO anyway, considering MMOs haven't really had cutscenes at all in the past, its still a step up (just not on par yet with what you'd get in something like Uncharted or Mass Effect).
But I think Nerf's right, what they have to nail is the gameplay related animations, the running around and the combat and such, cos thats what you're going to be watching 99% of the time. I'm not an animator so I can't dissect it in any sort of technical way, but to be WoW's animations just seem to flow really well, and things seem to have proper weight to them. If you're a Tauren running around you feel like a huge lumbering beast, if you're a gnome you feel quick and zippy. Huge big Ancients creak and groan and move in a heavy ponderous way that feels just like what a gigantic creature made out of trees would move like.
Bioware animations though often come off feeling stiff and a bit floaty for me. And a bit generic, like really different people/creatures just end up moving in the same way. Their animations don't have the character to them that WoW's does, and thats pretty apparent when watching the game. I mean, its not a killer for me, it certainly hasn't killed past Bioware games for me, but it does put them on the back foot a bit, and really, they need to come out and absolute smash the competition if they want to make an impression with this. If not raise the bar, they have to at least meet it where it currently is.
Yeah exactly ^_^, add in WoW's freedom of movement to just fuck around and jump where and on what you want, and just being in the game was fun by itself. Bioware games always stress me out because I have to uncover the whole map's fog with the on-rails walking while trying to avoid triggering a cutscene until necessary. >_<
I tried to load up WoW again but just couldn't play it.
Cant believe i paid $15, played around for a few minutes and deleted it again... hahah. I forgot how boring it is.
Still waiting for an MMORPG that tops Ultima online. Nothing holds a candle to that game even today.
I ended up deleting WoW off my computer yesterday. I might go back in the future if something awesome happens to the game but as it is now there's nothing to keep me interested. It was fun while it lasted though and I don't regret playing it.
Yeah, can't really stand WoW now. Still got it on my computer, but haven't played since January. Haven't even gotten up to level 85 haha.
Look, I've pre-ordered SWTOR, I will play it, and I will see if it's as fun as they promise. It looks interesting, and no doubt they are trying to polish it as much as possible. I missed out on the SWG franchise, so I'm hoping this turns into that.
Mmmm Interesting, just 2 days before my birthday and 3 days after the expected day of my first born. Should take myself some time off from work for that week of celebrations.
Mmmm Interesting, just 2 days before my birthday and 3 days after the expected day of my first born. Should take myself some time off from work for that week of celebrations.
Problem with all this story stuff, is that if your newborn baby is crying, you don't want to run away mid-conversation, because then you'll never be able to return to it again. :P
Seems there is a lot of doubt over the 25th of November being the release date being on a Friday and traditionally games are released on Tuesdays in the States.
The general consensus is it will be either the 1st, 8th or 15th of November.
The official Friday update is up and it is the Jedi Consular class video....check it out.
Okay Pax Prime 2011 has finished and we were treated with end game pvp on the planet Ilium and beta weekends will start this Friday September 2nd.
Of course still no word on whether anyone in the "red zones" will get an invite so time will tell on that one. It also seems if you do get an invite (you have to be signed up for beta at the official site) you only get to play for that weekend...not subsequent weekends.
The developers stated they want to get as many of the 1.5 million people who have signed up for beta a chance to experience the game before launch.
It will be a new server separate from the other beta testers currently in the game, they are still going to be inviting more people to that as well it was stated at Pax.
It is not clear but it may be 3 days access from Friday to Monday US time of course.
My old republic folder is 28gig, the problem isn't the size though, what will make it take a long time to get is that you download the whole client through the patcher, and it doesn't go very fast (or at least, it didn't for me, maxed out at about 200 - 300k/s). Maybe as they bring more people on board they'll have a mirror for the client and somewhere you can download it from faster, or maybe they'll let you download it a few days in advance so you can be ready for the weekend, otherwise you'd end up spending half your weekend just trying to get it downloaded and installed :(
The beta invites for this weekends testing went out this morning and as expected so far I have not found anyone from Australia has been invited.
Other than myself that is, though last week I changed my country to America just the country, but all my other details are correct. I then checked the beta test link on the official site just to see that it was happy, "congratulations you have signed up for beta".
I am downloading it now and it seems it is just for this weekend, (3 days it looks like) I believe each weekend will be a new group of people.
I have already told the missus she will be a game widow this weekend...lol
When are they gonna drop the NDA! Or at least relax it a bit. Game is only a couple of months away now, I thought they would have dropped the NDA by now so they hype machine could really start going into overdrive.
Changed my country to US hope it wasn't too late, I've had collectors pre ordered since it came available, and would love to play for the long weekend, but as some say 'the red zoners get screwed the most'.
It's Official the release date is the 20th of December 2011 for North America and the 22nd of December 2011 for Europe. Also the subscription prices have been released...
•1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
•3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
•6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)
Will be a pain getting this from America so close to Christmas even with express shipping...
Euro and the pound seem to have cheaper subs. I paid $34-36 for 3 months with Rift and they want $41.97. Not much of a bulk discount. If the aussie dollar continues to fall it will be even worse.I remember when it was arouns $20 AUD for a standard sub to Wow or whatever mmo.
It's Official the release date is the 20th of December 2011 for North America and the 22nd of December 2011 for Europe. Also the subscription prices have been released...
But it's not official when it's being released here or what markup we will have.
Fuck EA but only slightly more than the moronic fan boys that will support this product despite the disrespect they show our entire country.
you know this thread is heavily monitored by bioware employees right? :D
The inference being you have power ... in which case we can blame you ... Well done Paul for fucking over Australia.
Trust me (just finished a 5 day beta) its worth getting and I suggest buying from somewhere that ships here around same time as release if you're not wanting the ~30gb download
Haha yeah, that's seemed like such a stretch ever since they announced it. I really wish they hadn't gone with the trinity system for this, and just made it team based ffa DOTA/LoL/HoN style, but oh wells.
Trust me (just finished a 5 day beta) its worth getting
Damn you guys and your good feedback, I'm getting keen for this now. Was so sure that it'd be rubbish a few months ago too, can only presume that my criticism made them worried and they worked a few late nights to make up for it.
Think combat medic and you're pretty close. They can deploy little drone things that inject people and spray them with healing shit too (or at least, the imperial agents can, I assume the smugglers do something similar).
So a mate of mine thought he might make a bunch of accounts to try to get into beta and he might have a few extra invites for anyone interested for this weekend. And for those thinking by friend I mean myself, I actually mean friend and not myself, just to clear that up.
On behalf of the Oceanic Daisy Chain, I’d like to inform you all that the unofficial Oceanic PVP server for SWTOR has been chosen to be SWIFTSURE (US WEST).
As you may be aware, the Oceanic region has been excluded from the official launch of SWTOR. That has not stopped us from building a sizeable and well organised community. Purely from the guilds signed up for the Official Pre-Launch Guild Program, Oceanic numbers stand at:
Republic = 751
Empire = 1210
Total registered TOR GHQ Accounts = 1961
Obviously these numbers are only going to increase after launch. So consider this a call-to-arms to all Oceanic players/guilds. We ask that even if your guild has been allocated to another server for deployment, that you reconsider and join us on SWIFTSURE, what is likely to be one of the best communities in the game.
PM
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