swtor-galatic-starfighter
Latest
'Summer of SWTOR' plans updated
BioWare Senior Producer Bruce Maclean took to the forums today to give an updated plan for the "Summer of SWTOR" that's coming to an MMO near you and to a galaxy far, far away. The updated schedule for the next few months of the game are as follows: June 10th: Game Update 2.8 arrives with a playable Nar Shaddaa Casino, double PvP currency events, a double Starfighter currency event, an overhaul to groupfinder operations, a nightmare mode for Dread Palace, an update to the nightmare mode for Dread Fortress, two new starfighters, and various tweaks. June through August: BioWare will cycle through all of its major in-game events, one after another, between the launch of 2.8 and the arrival of 2.9. August 19th: Game Update 2.9, also known as the Galactic Strongholds expansion, will unlock for subscribers. This will include the Forged Alliances storyline. Maclean also teased that his team has "a lot of folks working on something very big for later this year that [he has] yet to give details on."
Star Wars: The Old Republic highlights the strengths of strike fighters
With all of the other ship classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic's latest addition, you can be forgiven for thinking that Galactic Starfighter kind of gives the eponymous fighters short shrift. After all, gunships can snipe with railguns, scouts are darting and disabling beasts, and bombers are tanks with wings. What can the strike fighter do that all of its contemporaries can't? Oh, right. It can eat other ships alive by blowing past shields and ripping enemy hulls apart. The new development blog highlighting the strike fighter discusses how strike fighters are generally the targets of all the other defensive mechanisms -- sure, a gunship can snipe things, but if it gets caught within weapons range of a strike fighter, it's in big trouble. The strike fighter might not have the speed of the scout or the armor of gunships and bombers, but it's maneuverable, nimble, and built for dogfighting. Check out the full development blog for more details on the lynchpin of the fighter squadrons.
Star Wars: The Old Republic takes you to the gun(ship) show
Space is not the final frontier in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Frankly, space is pretty mundane. There's plenty of it, and both the Republic and the Empire have spent a lot of time flying around in it with machines meant to blow the snot out of other machines. The Gunship is the target of the latest development blog, and it's not just designed to blow up other space machines (or "starfighters," if you will) -- it's designed to do so from long range and with extreme prejudice. Gunships all possess a Railgun of some kind, characterized as a long-range sniping weapon with an emphasis on charge time and careful aim. They also feature engines that allow pilots to close distance with a target quickly and others that allow gunships to dart away whilst crippling enemy thrusters. Take a look at the development blog for more details, and if you missed it yesterday, check out the the trailer for Galactic Starfighter just past the cut.
Hyperspace Beacon: The official launch of SWTOR's second expansion
Today, Galactic Starfighter officially launches in conjunction with Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 2.6. Free-to-play players as well as preferred and subscribed players can now jump into 12v12 freeform space battles. All players can choose to pilot one of four Starfighter archetypes: scout, strike fighter, gunship, or bomber. Two team deathmatch maps joined the pre-launch domination maps, giving pilots four possible arenas to dogfight. But if space isn't your thing, BioWare also introduced a new dynamic flashpoint called Kuat Drive Yards that changes every time you run it. It's not often that the Hyperspace Beacon coincides with the launch of a SWTOR update let alone the official launch of an expansion. This week, I intend to give you all the juicy details of the new type of starfighter, the new Starfighter PvP maps, and the brand-new flashpoint. I also had a moment to ask a few of questions of Producer Blaine Christine and GSF Lead Designer Michael Backus. But first, let me show you a few screenshots from the new content below and a launch trailer after the break.
Star Wars: The Old Republic highlights bomb(er) ships
Bombers are not the sort of ships that dart hither and yon in Star Wars: The Old Republic. They don't skitter about in elaborate dogfights. No, they are the ships that approach their targets, use heavy shields to weather some incoming fire, and then watch as a field of mines explodes around all those ships with the darting and the skittering. The latest development blog on the official site discusses more about how bombers play in Galactic Starfighter. Various mines are available to bombers, ranging from straightforward damage mines to shield-and-power draining Ion Mines to seek-and-destroy Seeker Mines. Bombers can also field stationary Drones for both offensive and defensive purposes, with Sentry Drones taking shots at enemy ships and Repair Drones fixing up the hull of allied craft. Take a look at the full entry for more details, especially if you think you're the sort of player who might want to drop a bomb on someone.
Hyperspace Beacon: The rest of SWTOR's year-end report
The end of the year is nigh, and as I promised, I will give you my final thoughts on Star Wars: The Old Republic and its achievements for 2013. I wanted my assessment to be based on something other than squishy feelings. Of course, opinions are extremely subjective, but that doesn't mean they cannot be based on something a bit more substantial. In July, I created a mid-term report card for SWTOR using Dr. Richard Battle's studies as the starting point. Bartle's study allowed me to step out of my normal playstyle and observe the game from the standpoint of different types of MMO players. Some players find discovery and exploration to be the most important part of an MMO. Others want to achieve the highest scores or defeat the biggest bosses. Some want to prove that they are better than other players in direct combat, and yet other players want to use the game as an interactive chatroom or work with a group to achieve a goal. Few people fall neatly into one category or other, but nearly everyone will have a dominant motivation. A couple of weeks ago, I graded the game based on the perspective of Bartle's Killer type, giving SWTOR a C- in the category. Because of Galactic Starfighter and 4v4 arenas, I raised the grade from the F I gave it during the mid-term report. I gave the game an A- for Achievers, B for Explorers, and C for the Socializer earlier this year. Has SWTOR been able to raise its grade in these other categories?
SWTOR on its second anniversary: Winning an uphill battle
At the beginning of the year, Star Wars: The Old Republic was struggling to find its place in the MMO world. As you are likely aware, 2012 was a rough year for SWTOR, but because of the free-to-play launch in November, the tide began to turn, at least financially. Players began flooding back to the game because BioWare tore down the paywall, but that was really the beginning of battle. If SWTOR really wanted to see success, it was going to have to keep those players around. Thus began the uphill battle of making the game successful in 2013. The game began the year with a few flops, and although not everyone was completely satisfied with all the decisions this year, SWTOR certainly upped its game. The game we saw at the end of 2012 morphed into something different and more satisfying by the end of this year. It started with the reopening of the western shelf on Ilum, continued to the launch of the game's first expansion, and ended with a second expansion.
Star Wars: The Old Republic launches Galactic Starfighter for subscribers
Subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic don't have to wait another day to start fighting across the stars. Galactic Starfighter early access is now live for subscribers, with Preferred players getting access on January 14th, 2014, and free players allowed in on February 4th, 2014. Yes, if you want to blow up other ships today, subscribing right now will still let you start blasting away, and you won't even have to hit a certain level to be eligible. The goal with Galactic Starfighter as explained in one of two new development blogs was to allow all players access to the content even if they're not as interested in the story. Progressing through the leveling game will unlock companions, though, and the other development blog details how your crew members can help your overall performance. There's also a new trailer just past the cut showing off how you can customize your ship, perfect if you're deciding whether you want to subscribe or if you prefer to wait to start playing.
Star Wars: The Old Republic explores the design of starfighting stages
It might seem as if designing a stage for Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming expansion is pretty easy. After all, Galactic Starfighter doesn't ask for much -- just throw some stuff in a field and let ships shoot at each other, right? According to a new development blog by designer Chris Schmidt, it's not nearly that easy, starting with the rather obvious assertion that just flying around in a blank arena would be boring. Stages need to replicate the feel of a pitched battle, and that means careful design. Schmidt explains that each level starts off with brainstorming about the environment, followed by a 2-D mockup to give a rough estimation of where various points of interest will be located on the final map. From there it's up to the art and modeling teams to fill in a rough layout with interesting visual elements and things to fly around for interesting gameplay. Take a look at the full blog for a deeper picture at what it takes to design these elaborate dogfighting arenas.
How to trick out your fleet of SWTOR starships
You aren't going to make it very far in SWTOR's Galactic Starfighter unless you've got the know-how to trick out your starship. Fortunately for you, the devs have put together a new post regarding the expansion's starship requisition and upgrade systems so that you won't be puttering around star systems. Each starship has five major component (read: gear) slots for active combat abilities and four minor component slots for passive stat boosts. Components can be upgraded, with the highest tier offering a choice between types of upgrades. By mix-and-matching components, players can create unique loadouts that will be customized to their playstyle. Component unlocks and upgrades are paid for with requisition, which is given for battle participation and victory. BioWare promises that teamwork will never penalize your acquisition of requisition, which is a fun thing to say a few times in a row. There are two forms of requisition: ship, which is specific to the starship you're flying, and fleet, which can be used for any of your starships.
