SOE Live 2012: An exclusive sneak peek at the future of Clone Wars Adventures

SOE Live (formerly Fan Faire) is traditionally a gathering for adult audiences, but over the past few years, the younger fanbase has been growing. This year marked the first time SOE included a "Kids Day" complete with a special gaming area, coloring pages, fun food, and a special preview of the newest episode of the Clone Wars Adventures cartoon on the big screen of the expo floor.

Meanwhile, the team had some exciting news about what's planned for the future of the Clone Wars Adventures MMO itself. While the recent focus has been on combat and there are plans to continue to add even more in the future, the devs also have some new additions for the trading card game, crafting, and even home decorating. Read on for the skinny!

Yoda's lightsaber and new Coruscant plot

First off, the game is going to launch a new lightsaber duel called the Ataru mastery pack. It'll feature two new opponents in unique environments with three stages each. When you pick up the backpack, you'll unlock a quest that tracks your progress, and when you finish it, you'll get Yoda's lightsaber and a pre-fab Coruscant housing plot with multi-level tiers, which the devs said is one of the most impressive housing plots they've designed yet.

Crafting

Those looking for some new non-combat oriented activities can look forward to a new crafting system. Players will create items in game from components acquired through combat or minigames. You'll then be able to build credit items and station cash items for a reduced cost, so it's a way to reward you for your time.

Along with that, players can expect to see new UI improvements, and many of them complement the new crafting system. First, the team is going to add descriptions to the UI buttons rather than the current icons, so it will be easier to figure out what the various buttons do. There's also a fully functional mailbox system and an auction house, which will launch after the crafting system. This way, players will be able to buy, sell, and exchange components and crafted items through the auction house and mailbox to help level up their crafting and make a nice profit along the way.

New TCG content and classes

Meanwhile, a new trading card game pack is coming; it features 102 new cards, new mechanics, and new items. There are also new card-playing classes on the way for both card commander and the TCG. The classes are similar to the battle classes that went live recently, and players will be able to level up within each of the two classes.

Combat abilities and new zones

As for combat, the team is adding several new abilities, such as the ability to throw a thermal grenade with a heavy weapon or use force lightning if you're a Sith. There are also new combat zones on the way, including Felucia and Kamino, and as always, the launch dates and content will tie in with the episodes of the show. Meanwhile, SOE is working on taking the existing older zones and adding in new goals and quests to spice up the options when you're out exploring.

Big news for house builders

Player Studio is coming to several SOE titles, but unfortunately, it's not something that will be coming to CWA. There are some hurdles, including the legal issues of being tied to LucasArts and the need to sync with the show, which prevent the feasibility of the inclusion. However, SOE does have plans to allow players to design a plot, save it, and then sell it to another player, who can then unpack it and receive it as decorated. This opens up a whole new market for those enterprising and creative builders and decorators.

New worlds, new content

Current combat zones are also seeing improvements in the future. Umbara and Ryloth will both get a fresher look as players can expect to see more content coming to both zones. The team actually wants to move away from the instanced combat locations, like the Ancient Sith Academy in Umbara, and more toward developing the overland combat areas. The experiences in those instances are fun, but they're not something that's fun to repeat over and over. The devs would rather take the overland areas and provide fun, open-world experiences that are also more social. As they add in new areas like Felucia, Kamino, and Mustafar, they'll emphasize content that provides lots of ways for players to team up and have fun battling together. There will be named mobs and lots of quests, so players can play through different storylines to get daily goals to kill certain mobs. One example they mentioned was adding a tank that you can jump into, drive around, and fire at enemies. As an aside, while they can't give out details about upcoming mounts, they did say they have plans to add some really fun ones that tie in with upcoming episodes.

PvP!

For those who have wanted to test out their battle class skills and challenge other players, there's good news: PvP dueling is coming soon. Players can challenge each other as their selected battle class and port to an instance where they can battle it out.

The team next spoke about the connection between the TV show team and the live game team. Clone Wars is unique in that the game updates need to be aligned with the new shows, and there's constant coordination between both teams to make sure that game updates contain items and content that matches up with what's unveiled during each new episode. SOE told us that it gets episodes three to four months ahead of time, which allows the game design team to match content and get it ready to launch in sync. Sometimes, things get changed around in the show, so the CWA team has to be flexible at times and adjust to make sure they're both in line.

There's a lot on the way for Clone Wars Adventures fans. Combat will continue to see new content and new abilities, but there's plenty on the way for those who prefer the quieter life. You can keep up to speed on what's in game at the official website.

What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, at least where SOE Live is concerned! Massively sent intrepid reporters MJ Guthrie and Karen Bryan to this year's SOE Live, from which they'll be transmitting all the best fan news on PlanetSide 2, EverQuest II, DC Universe Online, and the other MMOs on SOE's roster.