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Hyperspace Beacon: Maybe SWTOR's treadmill ain't so bad
Sometimes we need to see certain things from different perspectives in order to understand the whole truth. If detectives listened to only one eyewitness, then the totality of the crime would be missing. They could head in the wrong direction, thereby letting a criminal go free and possibly detaining an innocent person. Although game design isn't exactly like busting a criminal, it is a lot like other parts of detective work. Designers attempt to determine why certain aspects of a game work or don't work. They gather data and design a balanced system, but the totality of success isn't seen until they gather eyewitness accounts from a number of different perspectives. This is why today I want to look at the positive side of the gear treadmill. Star Wars: The Old Republic launches a new game update today -- Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate. Along with new warzone and space combat areas, this update adds a new set of top-level PvP gear, gets rid of a PvP gear set, and makes the PvE gear progression shorter by giving level 50s a set of Tionese gear. This update pretty much defines power creep, and normally, I would say that this kind of thing should absolutely be avoided in MMOs. However, this week, I'd like to take the opposite approach and examine why this is a good thing.
SWTOR Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate goes live December 11th
Ready your PvP gear and strap on your lightsaber because Star Wars: The Old Republic pushes its sixth update to live servers on Tuesday, December 11th. Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate focuses on the PvP warzone of the same name but also offers a few other changes to PvP. The latest warzone is advertised as an answer to the fans looking for death-match PvP. Combatants will score points by defeating members of the opposing team and causing a slowly creeping explosion to draw all players to the center of the map. Players can also look forward to earning new Elite War Hero PvP gear to show that they are still the best at PvP. And as our latest Hyperspace Beacon argues, this gear is a step toward slowing down the infamous power creep. The servers go offline at 1:00 a.m. EST and will return six hours later at 7:00 a.m. EST. Let us know what you think when the update goes live!
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Update 1.6 PvP progression
Lead Designer Damion Schubert made an interesting statement during the last Star Wars: The Old Republic livestream. He proclaimed that although the designers don't want to completely eliminate vertical progression, the stats between the upper tiers of PvP armor will begin to flatten out. As many of you are aware, I am not a fan of vertical progression in MMOs overall, especially in PvP. I have issued many gripes and even stood on a soapbox proclaiming how it's bad. It's not that I don't want players to have a sense of gain as they play the game, but a purely vertical progression system (in which stats only ever get bigger) invites the dreaded power creep. And as I said on my soapbox, power creep is not good for players or designers. So when Schubert talked about flattening out stats, I was excited. Finally, SWTOR is stepping away from a vertical progression system! Update 1.6 brings multiple changes to PvP specifically. The new warzone, Ancient Hypergates, is probably the biggest. But for today, the most important change is the elimination of the Battlemaster tier of PvP gear and the introduction of Elite War Hero gear. What does this do to the overall feel of PvP, and are these changes enough to soften the heart of the MMO gamer?
SWTOR begins testing Update 1.6
Hot on the heels of last week's Update 1.5 release, Star Wars: The Old Republic has begun testing its next content patch. Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is currently on the test servers and allows players to experience a new warzone and tougher space combat. The Ancient Hypergate PvP warzone has been in the works for months now. In it, players will compete to control two energy pylons. While the pylons can open portals to let in reinforcements, they might also do some damage to the controlling team. Also available for testing are a dozen new heroic mode space missions, six per faction. These are designed for the most skilled (and geared out) pilots in the endgame. While the missions may be tough, the bounty of Black Hole Commendations and elite gear should be incentive enough to give them a go.
Hyperspace Beacon: Six reasons to return for SWTOR update 1.4
I've been playing MMOs for many years, and in that time, I've realized that the big thing they all have in common is that they get better with age. Unlike most single-player games, MMOs are in a constant state of flux. Besides the social interaction, the fact that I can leave a game for a couple of months then come back to find things have changed makes this gaming genre more interesting to me than your average RPG or FPS. Oftentimes, it's fun to come back to a game that I liked but maybe wasn't sticky enough to play all the time just to see what has changed, and maybe I'd like it more the next time around. That's kind of what happened to me with Star Wars Galaxies. When the game launched, I thought it was great to explore the Star Wars universe I'd grown up with as a kid, but I couldn't latch on to the game because of the bugs and other minor issues. It wasn't until about six months after launch that I was actually able to grasp the game and play it long enough to find out why people were so smitten. Perhaps Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the same kind of game. When it launched nine months ago, there were bugs, though not as big as SWG's bugs, mind you. The content needed a little tweaking. And certain systems like the Galactic Trade Network did not function well. But now with update 1.4 coming tomorrow and free-to-play on the horizon, it might be a good time to invite your friends to come back or even come back yourself. Let's examine some of the reasons to do so.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's Gabe Amatangelo on 1.4 and free-to-play
It's not usual for the Hyperspace Beacon to feature two interviews in a row, but Star Wars: The Old Republic has some major changes coming. Update 1.4 promises to give us new and exciting content like a new operation and a new warzone, and after the EA earnings call, we learned that SWTOR will tackle the free-to-play market. Readers and fans voiced both concerns and excitement over this move. I couldn't just let that stand; I had to pose some questions to the BioWare developers. SWTOR's Principal Lead PvP Designer Gabe Amatangelo picked up the call. Our conversation focused on these two major changes to the game and the concerns fans have for the game's immediate future. Read on!
SWTOR demoing Ancient Hypergates warzone at Gamescom
If you happen to be heading to Cologne for Gamescom this month and are a fan of Star Wars PvP, you might want to swing by ol' booth B-082 to get your mitts on the Ancient Hypergates warzone. BioWare stated that this upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic warzone will be playable at the convention. The studio said that attendees will be able to experience the warzone with either their actual character or a new one rolled on the spot. There's even the possibility that a developer might step in to duke it out alongside players as well. EA BioWare will be announcing additional details about SWTOR's future at the convention and has announced both prizes and a meet-and-greet for its fans. Gamescom takes place from August 16th through 19th.
