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Forums | Star Wars: The Old Republic
the big beta weekend
Nov 17 2011 09:00am

Laziana
 - Jedi Instructor
Laziana
cheers, just want to make a thread to keep track on that nifty stuff bioware threw out.

last friday I got a mail that I was selected for "a" beta weekend. additionally it said that they are partnering with external gaming sites for additional beta keys and that I shall not redeem a key from those sites - obviously those keys are for people not signed up in the testing program?

Anyways, accourding to bioware this invite should have gone out to everyone who is registered for game testing, or will go out.

I have gotten no further info on WHEN this big beta weekend will be, nor did I get any beta key so far.

What do you guys know about the "big beta weekend" as I would like to call it?

- Laz
_______________
Proud owner of Buster Senatu's 200th & 300th, Muro's 370th, Maher's 2100th, Henkes' 1639th, Johauna's 400th, 666th and 900th, Sho Koon's 2000th and Kain Sol's 600th comment Download Laziana's lightsaber here! Glory to Arstozka!

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Comments
Dec 03 2011 12:37am

R2D2
 - Staff
 R2D2

heh, I was a little late starting a new thread looks like! I have some additional info concerning the beta weekend in the thread.
_______________
"Do or do not, there is no try"
Jedi Master Yoda
Dual Saberist


Dec 03 2011 12:32am

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

So it's the second go around of the big beta weekend and as it turns out it'll be the last weekend of testing for TOR! That's for everyone, full testers included. Sadface.

It seemed earlier like everyone and their pet goldfish have got into the beta this weekend so there must be a bunch of us in? If there is enough of us we should have a meet up or something!
_______________
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

Nov 30 2011 10:28am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

Lies.
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Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 30 2011 08:54am

Rinzler
 - Student
 Rinzler

Germasta: for someone with no apparent interest in SWTOR, you talk about it more than anyone else.
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I fite for teh usars!1

This comment was edited by Rinzler on Nov 30 2011 08:57am.

Nov 30 2011 08:41am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

I took Jaina's word for granted. I've also heard similar things from other sources.
_______________
Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 30 2011 12:14am

R2D2
 - Staff
 R2D2

Quote:
Quote:
I found the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. My first impressions were not good. The game opening seemed cheap, and I was not impressed at all with the character creation screen. To me the graphics looked stupid and not star warsy at all.

However the more I played the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the voice acting and story of the missions, and even the combat seemed to improve the more abilities I acquired. I'm really looking forward to launch now :)
Yes, you get used to craptor after a while as you do to bad smell.

But, you never played SWTOR Masta! How do you know? :P
_______________
"Do or do not, there is no try"
Jedi Master Yoda
Dual Saberist


Nov 29 2011 03:30pm

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

Quote:
It would be nice if they reassured us about the endgame and re-playability though


I get the point about the endgame, although I have heard good things from the beta (not made it that far myself), but the re-playability is fairly obvious. Each class has a fleshed out story with full VA and all the usual trappings expected of a BioWare game and there are even variations to how you can run the flashpoints. Add smaller details like the Legacy system, light/dark choices and companions and you've got some varied playthroughs right there. I play an alt in most MMOs but this one takes the cake for replayability if you ask me.

Quote:
And I hope the game has the same kind of immersive atmosphere SWG did. It really felt like you were on those planets when you were out in the wild


Whilst I love what I've seen of TOR's world I think it'll struggle to replicate that sadly. SWG's sandbox style may have had it's cons but one of the massive pros was the immersion it granted. You really felt like you were living in that Star Wars Galaxy. I don't think I've seen anything else like it since to be honest.

TOR seems more comparable to KotOR (understandably) so if those games made you feel immersed in Star Wars then TOR should do the same. The way BioWare designs it's worlds doesn't appeal to everyone though.
_______________
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

Nov 29 2011 03:21pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

I agree to that but I lower myself for the idiots around us :P
_______________
If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Nov 29 2011 02:18pm

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

Quote:
Quote:
They are as subjective as books and movies, which is to say that some people can like bad books/movies and think good books/movies to be bad.


All types of media is subjective there is no good and bad only personal preference :P
Even though I don't accept that kind of relativism, you surely allow for the existence of 'educated' or 'refined' taste, which means that the 'preference' of some people has more weight than that of others. If you do, then there is no practical difference between my views and yours.
_______________
Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 29 2011 01:13pm

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

Quote:
They are as subjective as books and movies, which is to say that some people can like bad books/movies and think good books/movies to be bad.


All types of media is subjective there is no good and bad only personal preference :P

And mike we are having a calm discussion about subjective media :P
_______________
If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Nov 29 2011 12:47pm

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

Quote:
You guys give me ulcers and headaches. If you don't like SWTOR, don't play it. If you do, great, have fun! Either way, stop getting all Evangelical Christian on each other. :P


I fear it only gets worse from here. :P
_______________
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

Nov 29 2011 11:56am

planK
 - Jedi Council
 planK

You guys give me ulcers and headaches. If you don't like SWTOR, don't play it. If you do, great, have fun! Either way, stop getting all Evangelical Christian on each other. :P

Nov 29 2011 10:48am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

They are as subjective as books and movies, which is to say that some people can like bad books/movies and think good books/movies to be bad.
_______________
Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 29 2011 10:39am

Monteeeeeee
 - Nugget
 Monteeeeeee

Quote:
Quote:
I found the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. My first impressions were not good. The game opening seemed cheap, and I was not impressed at all with the character creation screen. To me the graphics looked stupid and not star warsy at all.

However the more I played the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the voice acting and story of the missions, and even the combat seemed to improve the more abilities I acquired. I'm really looking forward to launch now :)
Yes, you get used to craptor after a while as you do to bad smell.


Stop being so cynical :P games are subjective douche! :D
_______________
If you add me to MSN, tell me who you are :P

Best Movie Character EVER!!


Nov 29 2011 08:57am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

Quote:
I found the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. My first impressions were not good. The game opening seemed cheap, and I was not impressed at all with the character creation screen. To me the graphics looked stupid and not star warsy at all.

However the more I played the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the voice acting and story of the missions, and even the combat seemed to improve the more abilities I acquired. I'm really looking forward to launch now :)
Yes, you get used to craptor after a while as you do to bad smell.
_______________
Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 29 2011 07:57am

Laziana
 - Jedi Instructor
 Laziana

Quote:
The game opening seemed cheap...


I agree. Slow-mo pwnz0r coybow and single + staff saber wielding are both a big NO-NO.

But them kids will surely love it and and scream "epic epic epic" all around the interwebs :)
_______________
Proud owner of Buster Senatu's 200th & 300th, Muro's 370th, Maher's 2100th, Henkes' 1639th, Johauna's 400th, 666th and 900th, Sho Koon's 2000th and Kain Sol's 600th comment Download Laziana's lightsaber here! Glory to Arstozka!

Nov 29 2011 03:49am

Eica
 - Student
 Eica

Even reading Masztoor's comment and everything else in here I'm not too worried from what I've heard, I'm sceptical about the novelty of the voice acting and story driven missions wearing thin after a while but I'm sure one of the biggest game projects of all time (and designed by some of the most reputable developers) will have some kind of longevity plan in mind. It would be nice if they reassured us about the endgame and re-playability though

And I hope the game has the same kind of immersive atmosphere SWG did. It really felt like you were on those planets when you were out in the wild
_______________
Former padawan of RoseRed

This comment was edited by Eica on Nov 29 2011 03:53am.

Nov 28 2011 10:46pm

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

Quote:
I found the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. My first impressions were not good. The game opening seemed cheap, and I was not impressed at all with the character creation screen. To me the graphics looked stupid and not star warsy at all.

However the more I played the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the voice acting and story of the missions, and even the combat seemed to improve the more abilities I acquired. I'm really looking forward to launch now :)


Really can't agree with the graphics thing, but each to their own; Star Wars is just be one of those things people have a very clear picture of in their head regarding how it should look! For me it looks no more different to Star Wars than SWG did back in the day, and it's very KotOR-y.

Glad to hear you grew to enjoy it though Jaina, and that you will be joining us. :)

My one gripe with the VA is that they haven't brought out a video introducing us to the different voice actors properly! In some ways choosing the right VA is the most important part of character creation now, it's such an important part of the game. As it is only certain VAs are confirmed and if you haven't gotten into the beta your even more in the dark.
_______________
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

Nov 28 2011 09:39pm

Jaina D'Kana
 - Jedi Instructor
 Jaina D'Kana

I found the more I played, the more I enjoyed it. My first impressions were not good. The game opening seemed cheap, and I was not impressed at all with the character creation screen. To me the graphics looked stupid and not star warsy at all.

However the more I played the more I liked it. I really enjoyed the voice acting and story of the missions, and even the combat seemed to improve the more abilities I acquired. I'm really looking forward to launch now :)
_______________
INTP

Nov 28 2011 01:04pm

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

Quote:
Quote:
SWTOR kinda means lucasarts will not be planning for anything big for quite awhile :/ just some random shitty sw games that theyve been doing past few years.
Yes, this has been my gripe with craptor ever since they announced it. Good bye KOTOR3 and all the other great things they could have done with their money and time. Way to jump on the WoW bandwagon with a product of mediocre quality. Whatever.


That is only one reading into the situation.

Considering everyone else seems to be concerned about the impact EA will have on post-release content it seems likely that LA will have minimal involvement. They -have- to be involved, because it's Star Wars, but did you see them stop making games after SWG came out? They are there in a supervisory role, and in TOR's case it's even smaller thanks to the EA BioWare set up.

Not to mention that everything we have heard about the beginning of TOR points towards BioWare not even wanting to do a KotOR 3 and jumping at the chance to make an MMO.

LA are capable of joint publishing this (or whatever their official role is) and still handling the development of other games. Whether it's publishing a title developed elsewhere like JK2/3 or making one in house like TFU.

Let KotOR 3 go, I have. I don't think BioWare wanted to handle another IP unless it gave them something, and TOR has given them access to the MMO market and the possibility of a fully VA MMO.

Not to mention that LucasMarketing doesn't work like some other franchises. Just because WoW has seemingly meant the death of a Warcraft game doesn't mean we won't see another single player RPG set back in the Old Republic era. It's unlikely whilst TOR is launching, but down the road who knows. Star Wars is a big place and they are working on expanding all the different eras right now.
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To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

This comment was edited by Alex Dkana on Nov 28 2011 01:05pm.

Nov 28 2011 10:36am

Wolfwood
 - Student
 Wolfwood

To each his or her own really. Some like MMO's some don't :).

It's a simple economy mechanism called supply and demand... There has been a large call/demand for a Star Wars MMO, so Lucasarts and Bioware jump on the bandwagon indeed. It's logical that they base their MMO on previous products of theirs that have been successful (KOTOR) and other MMO's that are successful (Warcraft). It's better to steal it correctly, then design it flawed. A potential new JK4 or what not would be a very big niche-game with a limited available audience. If I had to make the choice at Lucasarts, I would go for the MMO as well. Why invest into something that will yield a small return on investment, when you can invest in something big and really make a name for yourself?

However, what a lot of people keep shouting is that it's a WoW-clone. Whilst that might be true gameplay wise, as in that it's another MMO where you have a bar with abilities and talents and you have to press your abilities to kill stuff, it is important to note that pretty much all MMO's work with that principle. Not just Warcraft. Adding to that, Warcraft has been based on other MMO's as well. They took the best aspects of those MMO's and created Warcraft with it. For me, I don't find SWTOR a WoW clone at all. It is another MMO, with MMO-gameplay. That makes sense. The differences lie in how the game utilizes the gameplay and allows characters to progress to the max-level. That said, there is one major difference in TOR that makes it 100 times better than WoW or any other MMO that I have played so far: The storyline and the chat-options. There's a different story line that persists through your leveling experience in TOR per class. In Warcraft it's just random "kill this"/"do that" quests with some mediocore story in a questingzone that ends when you've completed said questingzone. In TOR you have something to cling to that evolves and provides you with epic feeling. Adding to that, the chat options and choices you make towards light or darkside affliction is just plain awesome.

My suggestion would be to look passed the fact that the gameplay is similar, since that is only logical since it's an MMO, and this type of MMO-gameplay is simply the success formula. Go install Star-Trek online, or City of Heroes, or Age of Conan, or whatever, and you'll encounter the same gameplay... When looking deeper into TOR, you really do see a major difference with Warcraft to be honest.

I loved the beta, and I loved the game. Really looking forward to December to be honest. The fact that the graphics are supposedly not of the highest-quality doesn't bother me at all. I found the game looking neat, and it felt like it was working nice. Besides, when making an MMO (or playing it) one should not expect superb graphics since that would put a limit on the available people to play your game. In an MMO you want as much people to be able to play your game so you have to compromise between making your game look good, and being able to reach as many people as possible. In my opinion, both Bioware and Lucasarts have done a superb job to create a SW-universe that really feels like Star Wars, while providing you with unique never-before-seen options in an MMO. Big thumbs up to them!
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~ Honor is a fool's prize. Glory is of no use to the dead ~


This comment was edited by Wolfwood on Nov 28 2011 11:18am.

Nov 28 2011 08:20am

Masta
 - Jedi Council
 Masta

Quote:
Quote:
I think the game will suit my needs for a new SW game nicely for quite a while until the - impossible - announcement of JK4


SWTOR kinda means lucasarts will not be planning for anything big for quite awhile :/ just some random shitty sw games that theyve been doing past few years.
Yes, this has been my gripe with craptor ever since they announced it. Good bye KOTOR3 and all the other great things they could have done with their money and time. Way to jump on the WoW bandwagon with a product of mediocre quality. Whatever.
_______________
Find out more about the Jedi Academy Aurochs here and more about Masta here!
Married to Kain.


Nov 28 2011 06:20am

planK
 - Jedi Council
 planK

I had a great time with the beta.

I'm currently sold on the fact that this game is going to be fun for a long time, and I'm looking forward to playing at launch.

The gameplay isn't exactly revolutionary, but is soundly executed and killing enemies is satisfying.

The graphics are great - I like the art style, but I can absolutely understand people's objections to it. It won't please everyone, but that's what makes it such a bold decision by Bioware. I'm absolutely fine with it. Fat twi'leks look weird though.

This game shines in it's storytelling. I had a great time on Teamspeak with Laziana as we went through group dialogue when we were picking up quests and basically being the most evil bounty hunters ever. The best part about this game, and the reason I enjoy it so much when I generally dislike WoW-like MMO's, is because it makes you give a damn about the quests you're on. That, for me, is just AWESOME.

So, all in all, I love this game and can't wait for December!

Nov 27 2011 09:44pm

Alex Dkana
 - Staff
 Alex Dkana

@Laz: Guh now I'm sad that I wasn't around to play this weekend. :( hehe.

I refuse to rule out a JK4. LA might seem dumb at times but they are always shuffling staff around and looking at their back catalogue for success. Jaden has recently had two books released with him as the main character for instance, and Kyle appears with increasing regularity. The Republic Commandos in The Clone Wars show is another example.

A lot of people are still calling for Rep Com 2, Battlefront 3 and JK4. Going by recent industry trends and the way LA have been very quiet lately I rather suspect at least one of those franchises is going to get another game fairly soon. In the long run they could all get brought back.

One point in favour of the JK series is that FPS/TPS hybrid's are reasonably popular right now. The JK series could easily branch out to being just a TPS as well. The double edged sword of this, is that it's a prime candidate for 'consolification' as some call it, not something I usually care about but obviously the JK series has a certain formulae we don't want to see changed too much. I wouldn't be surprised if it was suddenly Star Wars: Uncharted for example.

/tangentover.

@Saz: It depends just how involved LA are with the game. It's an EA BioWare title first and foremost, LA aren't developing it and thus are barely involved with the post release stuff I would have thought.
_______________
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | Rhaiko D'kana - SWTOR EU Guild Co-Founder | Is it what the teacher, teaches? Or what the student learns? A Dkana

This comment was edited by Alex Dkana on Nov 27 2011 09:45pm.

Nov 27 2011 09:40pm

SaZ
 - Student
 SaZ

Quote:
I think the game will suit my needs for a new SW game nicely for quite a while until the - impossible - announcement of JK4


SWTOR kinda means lucasarts will not be planning for anything big for quite awhile :/ just some random shitty sw games that theyve been doing past few years.
_______________
playing jk3 since 30th of january (2005), member since 1st of february. [Unofficial Master to Vision and Z�diac ] If you can make a fool of yourself infront of 300 people you can do anything - Jaiko D'kana

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