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BioWare talks environmental polish in The Old Republic, answers class-related questions
Ever wondered what "polish" entails when it comes to an MMORPG? The word is tossed about on forums often enough, and just as often, newly released titles are lambasted by gamers who feel that polish is severely lacking in some form or fashion. Today's Star Wars: The Old Republic update goes behind the scenes at the Jedi dream factory to give readers an inside scoop on how the developers at BioWare define polish and how the team is implementing it into TOR. Senior environment artist Robby Lamb is our guide, and he walks us through the various stages of the art asset creation process, noting the various opportunities to polish and perfect along the way. Also new this week is a TOR Community Q&A with senior designer William Wallace (no, not that one) in which a smattering of class-related questions are summoned from the depths of TOR's pre-release fan community and subsequently answered at length. Check out all the details on the official TOR website.
The Daily Grind: Do cinematics make you want to play?
The Massively chat room, as well as the rest of the nerdosphere, was all abuzz this past Monday morning as some kind soul leaked the new Star Wars: The Old Republic cinematic that BioWare had been saving for this week's E3 reveal. Despite a quick retraction of the offending YouTube link, the clip remained viewable for some time prior to its official release, and frankly we all watched it. Leaving aside the ethical question of leaks (and wink/nudge "leaks"), the thought occurred to me that while the video is a marvel of CGI artistry and admittedly feeds the inner fanboi fire, it also bears absolutely no resemblance to what the actual game it is advertising will look or play like. So I ask you, Massively readers, do cinematics like this inspire you to play the game, or do you simply acknowledge them for the technical tour-de-force that they are and seek out definitive gameplay details before making a purchase decision?
