Star Wars: The Old Republic

[keg in kc]

Don't believe there's a dedicated thread, and since they're starting to release information now, I figure it's time for one.

[keg in kc]

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

So the NDA has lifted and I can talk about Galactic Starfighter, the 12x12 pvp space environment being introduced to subs in 3 weeks, preferred in mid-january and f2p in February. I was in the closed beta for the last 5 weekends and it's going to be open for public testing starting this weekend.

It's pretty awesome.

That is all.

Are the maps sand boxy, without rails, real dog fighting?

Why aren't the normal ships being used instead of which ever ones that they give you.

Can you upgrade those ships so that they are better in combat?

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Are the maps sand boxy, without rails, real dog fighting?

Yep. Although it's still instanced (like warzones, which is what it is, a new type of pvp...) so it's not like planet-to-planet free spaceflight where you can go wander around aimlessly for hours like SWG. But they're huge maps and completely off rails. I've played matches on two of the three, Kuat Mesa which is an atmospheric map and really cool, and the Kuat Shipyards, which is in outerspace, and, well, also really cool. All screenshots I took are all still under the NDA, so I can't attach anything, but take my word for it: they look freaking awesome. There's all kinds of environmental hazards you can fly through (and into). On the shipyards you can even fly into the shells of Harrower cruisers that are under construction.

Why aren't the normal ships being used instead of which ever ones that they give you.

Can you upgrade those ships so that they are better in combat?

These questions are connected so I'll answer them together.

There's an extremely deep system involved, which is not like or in any way connected with anything else in the game. When it launches for subs in 3 weeks, there will be 3 different types of ships available: Scouts, Strike-Fighters and Gunships, each of which eventually come in 3 different variants (both appearance and equipment loadout). There is also a Bomber class, which was in beta but won't be appearing until February for balance reasons (a good move IMO), as well as an Infiltrator class (cloacked ships), which I have not seen and know no timeline for. The word is that eventually there will be 15-20 different ship types (meaning 30-40 different models, since there's different appearances depending on whether you're pub or imp).

I have personally flown 7 different ship variants in Beta: 2 scouts, 2 strike fighters, 1 gunship and 2 bombers (and each has a different appearance based on faction). The ships all come with different loadouts, and an enormous amount of upgrade ability. Without going into too much detail, both types of strike-fighters, just as an example, had 9 different upgradable components, ranging from weapons to engines to shields to sensors to evasive maneuvers. Each of these 9 components also had 3-4 different components that you could swap out. In a more general sense, though, one strike-fighter was a blaster-centric glass cannon dogfighter, the other was a slightly more hardened ship that carried a variety of missiles that the first did not. Similarly the two available scout ships were different: one was oriented for speed, the other for combat.

In beta we started with two ships, one scout and one strike fighter, and then as you fight you gain what's called Requisition, which came in two varieties. The first was Ship Requisition, which is what you use to purchase upgrades to your components, or to change components. The second, which came at a slower rate of gain, was Fleet Requisition, which you use to purchase new ship models, to unlock cosmetic changes to your ships (paint, blaster color, engine exhaust color, etc) or to make companions from elsewhere in your legacy available (i.e. if you're on a jedi knight, you can unlock trooper companions if you so desire).

Companions actually do provide some value. They provide passive bonuses to your ship, and whichever one you select as a co-pilot gives you an activateable skill that varies from companion to companion.

I could go on-and-on, it was much more in-depth than I expected, and it's not really even close to anything that's in the game right now. It's essentially completely separate from the ground game, although it does also provide credit and experience rewards, so it can be used as an alternate way to level.

As far as the pre-existing ship models, they said today that all models will eventually be available, but that some will be skins available through the cartel market. I have no idea how that will work, as it wasn't in the beta.

In any case, I must've spent 30 hours or so in combat during the beta, and I loved it, despite the fact that at that point (and likely at launch) we only had 2 maps and one gameplay mode (Domination). There's supposed to be a 3rd map (Makeb I think, at least that's what it looked like in the video) as well as two more game modes.

I can probably answer most questions anybody might have, but if you want more in-depth info, Dulfy has it up on her site: http://dulfy.net/2013/11/14/swtor-ga...nsion-preview/

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Spoiler!

Yep. Although it's still instanced (like warzones, which is what it is, a new type of pvp...) so it's not like planet-to-planet free spaceflight where you can go wander around aimlessly for hours like SWG. But they're huge maps and completely off rails. I've played matches on two of the three, Kuat Mesa which is an atmospheric map and really cool, and the Kuat Shipyards, which is in outerspace, and, well, also really cool. All screenshots I took are all still under the NDA, so I can't attach anything, but take my word for it: they look freaking awesome. There's all kinds of environmental hazards you can fly through (and into). On the shipyards you can even fly into the shells of Harrower cruisers that are under construction.These questions are connected so I'll answer them together.

There's an extremely deep system involved, which is not like or in any way connected with anything else in the game. When it launches for subs in 3 weeks, there will be 3 different types of ships available: Scouts, Strike-Fighters and Gunships, each of which eventually come in 3 different variants (both appearance and equipment loadout). There is also a Bomber class, which was in beta but won't be appearing until February for balance reasons (a good move IMO), as well as an Infiltrator class (cloacked ships), which I have not seen and know no timeline for. The word is that eventually there will be 15-20 different ship types (meaning 30-40 different models, since there's different appearances depending on whether you're pub or imp).

I have personally flown 7 different ship variants in Beta: 2 scouts, 2 strike fighters, 1 gunship and 2 bombers (and each has a different appearance based on faction). The ships all come with different loadouts, and an enormous amount of upgrade ability. Without going into too much detail, both types of strike-fighters, just as an example, had 9 different upgradable components, ranging from weapons to engines to shields to sensors to evasive maneuvers. Each of these 9 components also had 3-4 different components that you could swap out. In a more general sense, though, one strike-fighter was a blaster-centric glass cannon dogfighter, the other was a slightly more hardened ship that carried a variety of missiles that the first did not. Similarly the two available scout ships were different: one was oriented for speed, the other for combat.

In beta we started with two ships, one scout and one strike fighter, and then as you fight you gain what's called Requisition, which came in two varieties. The first was Ship Requisition, which is what you use to purchase upgrades to your components, or to change components. The second, which came at a slower rate of gain, was Fleet Requisition, which you use to purchase new ship models, to unlock cosmetic changes to your ships (paint, blaster color, engine exhaust color, etc) or to make companions from elsewhere in your legacy available (i.e. if you're on a jedi knight, you can unlock trooper companions if you so desire).

Companions actually do provide some value. They provide passive bonuses to your ship, and whichever one you select as a co-pilot gives you an activateable skill that varies from companion to companion.

I could go on-and-on, it was much more in-depth than I expected, and it's not really even close to anything that's in the game right now. It's essentially completely separate from the ground game, although it does also provide credit and experience rewards, so it can be used as an alternate way to level.

As far as the pre-existing ship models, they said today that all models will eventually be available, but that some will be skins available through the cartel market. I have no idea how that will work, as it wasn't in the beta.

In any case, I must've spent 30 hours or so in combat during the beta, and I loved it, despite the fact that at that point (and likely at launch) we only had 2 maps and one gameplay mode (Domination). There's supposed to be a 3rd map (Makeb I think, at least that's what it looked like in the video) as well as two more game modes.

I can probably answer most questions anybody might have, but if you want more in-depth info, Dulfy has it up on her site: http://dulfy.net/2013/11/14/swtor-ga...nsion-preview/

Thanks for the info Keg. Just one more question, can you sue a controller of some sort for this or are you bound to a mouse and keyboard?

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Thanks for the info Keg. Just one more question, can you sue a controller of some sort for this or are you bound to a mouse and keyboard?

You can sue anyone.

I think it is easier to fly with mouse and keyboard though.

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by Valiant

You can sue anyone.

I think it is easier to fly with mouse and keyboard though.

Hah, good catch. Obviously I meant use, but oh well. I think it would be easier to use an xbox controller or actual flight stick controller, but to each their own.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Thanks for the info Keg. Just one more question, can you sue a controller of some sort for this or are you bound to a mouse and keyboard?

Just mouse and keyboard right now. Might expand that eventually but hero engine has issues with mapping stuff to other controllers.

I found the controls to be very intuitive and easy to grasp. A few other people didn't.

[wazu]

Anybody here been playing star fighter?

[keg in kc]

Yeah, I've played about 150 matches since it went live last week.

[Setsuna]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Yeah, I've played about 150 matches since it went live last week.

So you're 0-150 then. Gotcha.

[AndChiefs]

Originally Posted by wazu

Anybody here been playing star fighter?

I've played a few but I've been out of town since mid last week and haven't been able to play.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Setsuna

So you're 0-150 then. Gotcha.

I think I had about 90 wins as of last night. Since I always go solo, that's a pretty lucky win percentage. I expected a lot more losses.

[wazu]

I've been enjoying GSF. Trying to build up a gunship, and also a preferable way to level as it provides pretty good exp.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Yeah, I've played about 150 matches since it went live last week.

Are you cleared to share what you know about bombers and cloaking ships yet?

[keg in kc]

I don't know anything about cloaking ships - I've never seen them (I don't think anyone but internal testers have, assuming they have). As far as bombers go, my information would probably be outdated. I've been on the PTS since they put 2.6 on there, but haven't been able to get any matches to pop. Although what I hear is that they still have the same sort of problems they had in closed beta, namely that they're overpowered and overshielded. Basically the way it was when I played them (months ago...) was that you had unlimited drone ammo, and you would rack up ridiculous kill and damage numbers because all you had to do was launch your drone, hide somewhere, and let it do all the work for you. Of course what we didn't have back then was people in mastered ships, so we'll see how that all balances out. I just hope bombers don't break the game.

Heard on reddit yesterday that they're back in the studio for voicework, so something new must be on the way.