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Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR Terror From Beyond experience
Last week, BioWare launched its fourth major update for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Terror From Beyond. This new game content also happens to be the fourth operation (or raid) for the game. Eight to 16 players battle their way across the planet Asation, hoping to close or destroy a rift in hyperspace that has opened on this ancient Gree world. Along the way, many strange creatures and beings from other worlds attempt to stop the strike force from reaching its goal. Just like the other operations (Karagga's Palace and Explosive Conflict), Terror From Beyond continues the story of the Dread Masters. With each new addition to the story, the goal of these six Sith lords becomes more and more clear. Mechanically, this operation consists of five boss fights and a fairly linear path to the ultimate goal, a swirling vortex about a kilometer away from the starting point. Thankfully, none of the boss mechanics is a simple tank-and-spank ordeal, and the trash mobs along the way might cause a bump or two as well. This weekend, my guild ran this brand-new endgame addition to SWTOR in story-mode to get a taste of what it has to offer. I'd like to break down the experience into three major categories: aesthetics, boss mechanics, and overall impressions.
SWTOR's 1.4 patch is live
It's patch day in a galaxy far, far away. BioWare has officially unleashed Star Wars: The Old Republic's 1.4 update to the masses, and there's a summary of all the changes up on the game's official website. There's a new operation (Terror from Beyond) on the remote world of Asation. There are new weapons and armor courtesy of Dread Guard gear. Finally, the group finder has been tweaked, as have moods, emotes, and companion color choices. Check out more details on 1.4 in our weekly SWTOR column.
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's 1.4 patch live on public test server today
Last week BioWare gave us a sneak preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic's 1.4 update via a lengthy dev blog. This week we get to try out the patch proper on the game's public test server. The 1.4 update features the new Terror from Beyond operation as well as new weapons and armor, group finder tweaks, and facial emotes and associated slash commands. You'll need a pre-existing PTS character, and you can leave your testing feedback on the official forums. Head past the break for the latest developer dispatch video that looks at the new operation.
Star Wars: The Old Republic previews Terror From Beyond
If you can't wait for the next tier of Operations in Star Wars: The Old Republic, you'll be happy to know that the newest tier is being added in update 1.4. You may be slightly less happy to know that the new operation, Terror From Beyond, is not meant to be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination. A new developer diary explains the lore behind the operation and some of the threats that players will be facing on the swamp planet of Asation. Colonized and largely abandoned by the Gree, Asation is a swamp planet that houses a massive hyperspace gate. The Dread Masters, a group of Sith not known for sunny dispositions, have opened the gate and started filling the planet with all manner of horrible creatures. The operation promises to offer new encounters and mechanics beyond what's been seen in previous raids, something for dedicated endgame players to look forward to in the next major content update.
Star Wars: The Old Republic previews new planet, new challenge, and new species
Star Wars: The Old Republic has irons in the fire. Not just the business model switch taking place in November, either; there are a lot of other pieces of content being developed, some of which the development team is previewing at Gamescom 2012. The newest trailer for the game is focused on other previews, however, covering on the upcoming new Operation, a new planet, and a new species for players to run around as. The addition of Cathar to the list of playable species has been known for some time, but this video shows a Cathar Smuggler in action. It also shows a small taste of what players can expect from the upcoming addition of the planet Makeb and the Operation Terror from Beyond. It's a brief trailer, to be sure, but it shows off plenty to look forward to, whether you're a long-time fan or you're just waiting for the business model switch in the fall.
