the-old-republic
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SWTOR Classes part 2
Daniel Erickson, Lead Writer BioWare Austin: You will never in the game go into a cantina and poke a random person to see if you can solve their problems and they'll give you money. You will never have some stranger on the street ask you to save their cat. You do large, heroic things. I always tell people that we have to keep pushing forward. The level of writing and quest building that was acceptable in KOTOR would absolutely not be acceptable now. Mass Effect came out and absolutely set a new bar for this. We're coming out and saying we can push that even further. I always tell my writers to imagine if the very first response you could ever choose to any quest you might pitch is, "Excuse me, I'm saving the world. Is this important?" The next one you think is, "Is it valid?" Because it might be, again, the Jedi guy who says, "Uh, I don't want to do this," but maybe we can convince him to go find your cat. But Vader? Really? That's actually why when I said that there's absolutely no faction cross-over ... I could never find a single example of a story Ben Kenobi would do that Vader would also be down with.
The Old Republic Unveiled: Classes, Jedi, and Crafting
Gripping story, compelling visuals, and innovative game mechanics may be enough for a single-player gamer to make a purchasing decision. But MMO gamers have one other thing they need to understand before they can make that choice: who am I going to be? Star Wars: The Old Republic is no different. What race, what class, what role are we going to play in this brave new world? While obviously we're no where near knowing what SWTOR's classes will be, we do have a few thoughts from the BioWare Austin heads about class-related issues. Join us as we find out some information on Jedis vs. non-Jedis, the fun of being a rogue, and the all important issue of crafting in the game. %Gallery-35036%
The Old Republic Unveiled: Companion Characters
Even in a massively multiplayer space, it can be lonely. Playing by yourself in an MMO can be a strange, isolating experience. Solo play is fun every once in a while, but the point of these games is to play with other people. Or at least other entities. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare is approaching solo play and storytelling in a unique way ... that should be wholly unsurprising for anyone that's played one of their titles before. They're leveraging their experiences with games like Mass Effect and Baldur's Gate to creat the most compelling NPC allies yet seen in the MMO space. Join us as we explore characters you'll learn to like, hate, and maybe even love.%Gallery-35034%
The Old Republic Unveiled: Combat, PvP, and Heroics
The name of the franchise is Star Wars. Not Star Knitting or Star Dancing, Star Wars. As a result, there's a lot of conflict, a lot of action, and a lot of combat. Star Wars: The Old Republic will be no different, and in fact the designers and developers look to be shaking things up from the MMO combat norm. As MMO players we've heard that before, havent we? 'Not just another EverQuest clone', real-time combat, even FPS combat ... somehow it all ends up a wash. BioWare might have what it takes, though, and we have the details about what they're hoping to do. Join us as we learn about the meaning of heroic, why being outnumbered is actually a good thing, and watch as we get told we can't know anything about PvP yet.%Gallery-35033%
The Old Republic Unveiled: Setting, Sith, and Empire
One of the most evocative elements of the KOTOR games was the story. The timeframe outlined by the original Star Wars movies is intriguing, but there's something ... magical about the Old Republic. A time of high ideals and blackest villains, of wars with real meaning and dreadful consequences. It's a fantastic place to set a story, and as part of our ongoing coverage of Star Wars: The Old Republic's unveiling we turn now to setting and lore. Join us as we get some info straight from the lead writer and studio heads about what we can expect in that Galaxy Far, Far Away ...%Gallery-35034%
SWTOR: Setting part 2
Daniel: One of the things we had to do – we had to humanize the Sith Empire. We had to make sure that people understood that every evil regime that's ever existed in history had good people in it. That the majority of people were good people trying to do their thing. We always laugh at some of the really old Star Wars products where you got to play the dark side and you'd come in and the guy goes, "Dark greetings! It's a good day for evil!" It was really important that you couldn't play a game and have a community and have friends if that's how you saw yourself. You didn't want to be a cartoon. So now you're 60 hours in, you're playing light side, you come up to this huge choice – because we still have all of the very big choices we've always had in BioWare games that are going to change your story – so you're a big BioWare fan, and you're playing this, and you get to that choice and you know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button ... and you realize there is no save button.
The Old Republic Unveiled: Overview, space combat, and Star Wars Galaxies
Massively and the Joystiq network had a man on the ground at Tuesday's unveiling of Star Wars: The Old Republic. We sorted the chaff from the wheat, and now we are prepared to offer up to you a series of post outlining everything there is to know about BioWare's newest game. To start with, we have a high level overview to kick us off. Join us below the cut to get some insider information on why BioWare is making the game, the four pillars of BioWare storytelling, what little they can tell us about space combat and vehicles, and .. perhaps most interesting ... an affirmation of LucasArts' commitment to Star Wars Galaxies.%Gallery-35033%
SWTOR Overview part 2
What kind of space-based aspect will there be in the game? Rich Vogel, Co-GM BioWare Austin: We can say that we'll have many different worlds for you to explore, and that you'll have a method you can use to travel from world to world. Again, we can't go into details on other space elements. That isn't something we can talk about at this point. We also can't talk about ground vehicles. But, obviously, Star Wars has a lot of vehicles. So ... it's definitely something that is on our plate.
How will factions and PvP work in Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Since BioWare and LucasArts' Star Wars: The Old Republic was announced, we've learned that there will be two factions in the game -- the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. We've also learned that players will be able to embrace either the Dark or Light Side of the Force. But there's something surprising in all this: there's no direct correlation between the two distinctions. You could, for example, play as a Jedi working within the Empire -- "a good guy in a bad place," as BioWare put it.We're big fans of the idea -- more moral complexity is welcome (especially in the Star Wars setting, which tends to quite literally be black and white), but it raises some interesting gameplay questions, particularly with regards to PvP -- questions we're eager to raise!%Gallery-35033%
Views from Star Wars: The Old Republic
The flood gates have opened to the Old Republic, and Massively has you covered both in written and visual content. BioWare has unleashed a wave of screenshots and artwork for their latest announced game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and we don't want you to run around the internet to find all of the content. So, we've collected all the wallpapers, screenshots, and concept art from the Old Republic and dropped all of it into three holocrons... er... galleries just for you! SWTOR screens >> %Gallery-35034% %Gallery-35033% %Gallery-35036%
SWTOR has dialogue trees, irreversible choices, love interests
In the midst of all the frenzy over the announcement of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we learned that players will have NPC companions like they do in single-player BioWare games. But there's more: BioWare has said that players will be able to engage in dialogue trees with their companions, and the decisions made in those trees will have irreversible implications.Anger your companion, and he or she might leave your party forever, or become your enemy. BioWare also hinted that romances with NPCs will be possible -- again, as in the single-player games. This all fits nicely into SWTOR's commitment to storytelling as an addition to traditional MMO gameplay. Things just gets better and better, don't they?Some questions are raised by this: how will players socialize with one anotherwhen they're constantly tied up in dialogue trees? Will it use the old BioWare dialogue method found in the KotOR games, or will it use the new, cropped Mass Effect one? Stay tuned, ya'll!%Gallery-35034% Bioware has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details -- from liveblogging the announcement to screenshot galleries and more. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Introducing The Old Republic community team!
With the opening of the Star Wars: The Old Republic website comes an introduction to three members of the community team that will be handling the communication between BioWare and the rabid SWTOR fans: Robert "Jedi Rob" Chestney, a former member of the design team and a senior writer, Amy Crider, a new addition to BioWare but experienced in the game industry, and Sean Dahlberg, a veteran of the community management scene and a former U.S. Marine.Where there are questions, there will be answers coming from these three folks at BioWare. They will be reading and watching the forums, answering questions and also interacting with the community on behalf of BioWare. While it's early in the design process and questions may not be answered at a lightning fast pace, these three team members will be the ones spearheading all accurate information that BioWare will be releasing in the future through both the forums and the community blog. Bioware has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details -- from liveblogging the announcement to screenshot galleries and more. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Star Wars MMO announced as The Old Republic
We've waited for it for a long time, we knew it was coming: BioWare has announced the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic-inspired MMO at last: the title is Star Wars: The Old Republic! Commence rejoicing with Ewoks and Gungans in the streets!A huge amount of information is SWTOR is already hitting the internet like a tsunami -- there's a preview at IGN, a video interview with Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk at GameSpot, screenshots at Eurogamer -- this is just the beginning, folks! We're in for a fine, fine day for Sci-Fi nerds! Check out the GameSpot vid behind the jump!%Gallery-35034%%Gallery-35033%%Gallery-35036% Bioware has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details -- from liveblogging the announcement to screenshot galleries and more. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO unveiled
Looks like someone snuck in ahead of everyone else! Don't even pretend you're surprised. Before today's LucasArts and BioWare press conference, IGN and Gamespot let slip Star Wars: The Old Republic -- you know, the MMO based on BioWare's massively successful Knights of the Old Republic series whose name was trademarked back in July. What we know so far: The project originated just after KOTOR II launched in 2005. SW:TOR is reportedly the reason Electronic Arts paid $860 million to purchase BioWare and Pandemic. The MMO takes place 300 years after the first KOTOR II, which puts it about 3,500 years before the film. You can choose between two factions, the Galactic Republic or the re-energized Sith Empire. You can also align yourself as a Dark or Light Side character in either situation. Two classes have been revealed: Jedi and Sith, both of which can use lightsabers and the Force early on. No release date, and no word on console releases.We also happened to see the name printed on t-shirts worn by BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. Meanwhile, the official press conference is about to begin. Here's hoping the game has better luck than Star Wars Galaxies! Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Massively and Joystiq liveblog the Star Wars / BioWare announcement!
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/LucasArts_BioWare_press_conference_liveblog'; You've waited. We've waited. The wait is over. Join Joystiq.com and Massively.com for a liveblog of the LucasArts / BioWare announcement below the cut! In the meantime, check out our post on the announcement from earlier today for more context on this momentous occasion4:57PM ET – We're live from the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco! Event should get under way in just minutes.5:04PM ET – We're still in the holding pen outside the theater. There's a life-size Boba Fett staring at us! . Bioware has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details -- from liveblogging the announcement to screenshot galleries and more. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
Check out our BioWare/LucasArts announcement invite
If you're looking forward to October 21st as much as we are, you should know that you're specifically looking forward to 2pm Pacific time on that august date. What's happening then? Well, we're only going to find out (finally, for-reals) what BioWare and LucasArts have been working on all this time. At Massively, as you might imagine, we're feeling pretty confident that it's going to be an MMO set in the Knights of the Old Republic-timeframe of the Star Wars franchise. We're even willing to put money on the title being Star Wars: The Old Republic.We'd like to go on record right now stating we think the game's MMO acronym should be SWOR ... but will probably end up being TOR. What do you think?Joystiq's own Randy Nelson will be representing Massively, Joystiq, and the whole family of blogs at the event - ensuring that readers here and across the network are kept up to date. No pressure, Randy! Above is the frontside of our invitation to this event, and you can see what's on the back below the cut.
LucasArts and BioWare confirm impending announcement
LucasArts and BioWare have invited members of the press to attend an event later this month at which the two companies will finally officially announce the game they've been working on together. They did not say what the game is, of course -- then how could they officially announce it at the event? Obviously we're suspicious that it will be the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO (or just Star Wars: The Old Republic, as the rumored title goes).EA's John Riccitiello already confirmed the existence of that game under the table way back at E3, and other tidbits of news have only supported it since then. But hey, we suppose it could be something else. It was suggested in the Massively offices that maybe LucasArts bought the rights to He-Man, and it is in fact a He-Man MMO. Or maybe GI Joe. Yeah, we're a-stretchin'. More likely: a Willow game.According to Worlds in Motion, the invitation says it's "the game that's been rumored about for years." Uh-huh. The announcement will come October 21st, so hold your horses. Or your speeders. Whatever.
The Daily Grind: What do you want in the KotOR MMO?
LucasArts' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has sold like, a bajazillion copies since it launched a couple weeks ago. The Star Wars franchise definitely sells video games, even when they get lukewarm reviews. But we're not going to talk about sales today. We're going to talk about quality.Since this site is about MMOs, and since we're going on about Star Wars, you've probably guessed that today's Daily Grind is about the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO in development at BioWare's Austin studio. We want to know: what do you think the KotOR MMO needs in order to achieve greatness? It can't just be World of Warcraft with lightsabers and sociopathic droids. It needs to be radical.So what's it gonna take? What are you expecting -- nay, demanding -- from BioWare in perhaps the most hotly anticipated MMO since WoW or possibly of all time?
New Lucasfilm trademarks sound suspiciously KotOR MMO-like
Lucasfilm has registered a number of new trademarks, including Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Old Republic, Star Wars Legends, and Star Wars Sagas. This news is interesting as is, but it gets really juicy when you read the type of patent and its description: "Entertainment services provided on-line by means of global and local area networks, namely, providing interactive computer game software, interactive video game software and interactive computer games and interactive video games, all on-line by means of global and local area networks ... "That sounds awfully MMO-like, doesn't it? It's not even remotely conclusive though. It could be another kind of multiplayer, or it could even be some kind of web-based community service connected to a single-player game; the patent description suggests that it's also for news and "fan club services."That said, it could be the fabled, BioWare Austin-developed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMO. We suppose it all depends on just how badly you want to believe![Via Kotaku]
