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SWTOR: Mark’s take

November 19, 2011 by

Now that the embargo on talking about the SWTOR beta has lifted, we’ll start giving you some impressions of the game. Starting out is our own Mark Duncan, Flash Point co-host and arguably the TOROZ staffer with the longest time in-game.

Having taken part in two betas now, I wanted to give you all my opinion of the game and perhaps give you a little insight in what to expect. The short answer is: it’s all good!

In my opinion MMOs have become stagnant over the last few years. Since World of Warcraft, I have tried many MMOs from Star Trek, Rift and Aion to DC Universe and quite a few others. They all lacked something that WoW has, and the only way I can describe that something is one word: polish.

Star Wars: The Old Republic now enters the fray and trust me, if your looking for polish, this most definitely has it.

Every thing about the game speaks quality: a whole galaxy of work has gone into making sure we have an amazing experience while playing our characters and progressing through content.

Probably the most compelling aspect in my opinion is the story. I have tried most of the classes in the game to at least Level 10 and am simply blown away by the story of each class as it unfolds. It’s like a good book that you cannot put down, I just want to keep playing to find out what my toon has in store next. It is clearly evident that the writers and the developers who implemented all this work are very passionate about the game.

Right and Wrong – those are decisions that will be a major factor for you when you play the game as both light and dark side. Decisions are common and can make a large change in how your story plays out. I won’t include any spoilers here, however having played solely as a dark side player, some of the decisions I made were downright nasty – evil just flows out of my toon and I love it!

Every class has a role and in beta I am glad to say that I have seen all classes represented well and I cannot say I have seen any particularly weak class.

As a disclaimer, please understand that all of my opinions are based on the build I have been playing which is an older build and should not be compared with the finished game that we will all play in December. If this beta is anything to go by I know what I will be doing this Christmas, and it won’t be eating Turkey!

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Oceanic Guild Spotlight: The Harlequin

November 18, 2011 by

If you’d like your guild spotlighted, just use our contact form to let us know.

The only requirement is that you’re an active oceanic guild. Please be patient if you don’t hear back from us immediately – we will only be spotlighting a guild every week or so.

Name of guild

The Harlequin

Guild website

http://www.theharlequin.com.au

History of your guild’s name?

A clan of mischievous masked-faced combatants fighting to protect their own and wreak havoc and revenge upon the evil wrong-doers of the world by any means necessary.

 

 

What sort of guild so you intend on being?

Hardcore 16 man raids with casual and hardcore 8 man raids (depending on numbers). Organised PvP

Why did you choose to be a Republic guild?

With 25+ highly experience MMO members playing, in our experience most people go with “The Good Guys” but have a lesser talent pool….we decided to take this path so our years of knowledge can be bestowed upon them (plus trooper gets a REALLY big gun!)

You have one minute to convince someone they should be in your guild – what would you say to them?

With so many players from top oceanic (and world) guilds in games like WoW, Aion, Darkfall and Mortal Online…the potential recruit has a minute to convince us!

What are your predictions for the first 6 months of the guild’s existence post-launch?

 We will be known as a well organised, friendly and helpful group of players that people would want to be a part of. We aim for recruits that want more then just high end raiding…..we want team mates.

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Next beta weekend announced: November 25-28

November 17, 2011 by

Bioware have just shot out a heads-up on Facebook that the large testing weekend that everyone will be able to access, will occur weekend after next on the 25th to 28th November US time.

If you registered for game testing before the 11th November, you’ll be getting an email invite – and yes that includes oceanic players. Otherwise, try for a free code from one of these third-party sites.

It’s fair to say it’ll be one interesting weekend given the expected volume of players – expect queues but some fun as well.

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How SWTOR Ate My Summer Holiday

November 16, 2011 by

It’s with a great deal of pleasure we welcome the latest member of the TOROZ team. Simon Potter is Victoria-based and you can find out more about him here.

Simon will be writing regularly on what takes his fancy really – so make him welcome!

 

 

One penultimate test weekend is all that stands between humanity and the release of a game that may melt the InterWebs. It’s going to be so big, you can see it from space.

The good news for everyone in RedZoneLand, (ie. everyone who isn’t into Gridiron* or Lederhosen), is that we  get to play along with anyone else whose already signed up for testing on swtor.com (so long as you checked the box before November 11). Not only that but Bioware has dropped more beta keys on US and European websites than Tony Abbott has smuggled budgies.  I’ll let that image sink in… all done? Good.

So lets do a little math. How many invites are we talking about? Massively has 75k, Curse 12.5k, MMORPG.com had at least 14k and while the other sites haven’t disclosed how many keys they have, we can estimate at least 12k each. Add those numbers together and we’re heading towards 150k. Factor in all those preorder codes punched in to swtor.com and you’re looking at a stress test even a Jedi is going to feel.

So what should you bear in mind before that email arrives and you become Charlie Bucket for a moment?

1. Remember, this is a stress test. There will be delays. There will be queues. There will be some technical issues. Relax. For every frustration you encounter in the test, that’s one more frustration that Bioware have a chance to fix for the final release. Remember /bug is your friend.

2. Watch the SWTOR forums. All information will be posted as stickies. I’d also suggest that you only post if you really need to. There will be a lot of people in there once the beta is announced and the last weekend test brought the forums down for a couple of hours due to excess traffic.

3. Download as early as possible. Speeds will be slow, so set and forget. Don’t sit there watching the progress bar. I’ve tried it and it isn’t fun, even with beer and corn chips.

4. It’s a beta. Remember that what you see will be close to the final release, but not the final version. 

5. Your character will be deleted. “No duh, Sherlock” you may be saying. But there are people out there who have mistaken ‘Beta’ for ‘Early Access’. I’d hate for you to be one of them.

6. Read up on your advanced classes. If you play one character over the whole weekend, you’ll probably level up enough to make that choice. While the client is downloading, do some research, that way you can make an informed decision and have unimpeded fun.

7. Go nuts. Try a class you wouldn’t normally go for. Make choices you wouldn’t normally make. Nothing you do will exist after the test, so use this opportunity to experiment. Save your favourite class for the real deal.

* I should note that Canadian Football is different and far superior.

UPDATE: As I’ve certainly missed a few gems of wisdom, any additional suggestions or tips regarding the upcoming beta are most welcome, however please make sure that, if you have played or are playing the beta, any advise doesn’t violate the NDA.

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Upcoming SWTOR stress test: Oceanic invites?

November 14, 2011 by

It’s been an interesting few days since the announcement that there’ll be a large weekend game access to stress test the servers. Since that time we’ve had dozens of enquiries as to whether any oceanic players had received invites.

The short answer is that we’re not aware of anyone who has. BUT – Bioware’s own Stephen Reid has again said today, in response to a New Zealand player’s query on Oceanic invites, that if you signed up for game testing you will get an invite:

So if you haven’t received an invite, don’t be panicking quite yet. And be sure we’ll be reporting once the invites start flowing in.

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With:

Oceanic Guild Spotlight: Ex Votos

November 14, 2011 by

If you’d like your guild spotlighted, just use our contact form to let us know.

The only requirement is that you’re an active oceanic guild. Please be patient if you don’t hear back from us immediately – we will only be spotlighting a guild every week or so.

 

 

 

Name of guild

Ex Votos

Guild website

http://www.exvotos.com

History of your guild’s name?

ex-vo·to/eks ˈvōtō/

Noun:
A religious offering given in order to fulfill a vow. ie, I Swear to go

What sort of guild so you intend on being?

Hardcore PvE Raiding – Organised PvP – And above all a theorycrafting website for the Oceanic community

Why did you choose to be a Republic guild?

We intend on playing both, as we feel we will cruise through Tier. We will have both Sith and Republic classes.

You have one minute to convince someone they should be in your guild – what would you say to them?

If they are interested in playing with international pro-gamers who are fond of min-maxing and are serious but above all are very friendly, laid back and simple people aged 20+

What are your predictions for the first 6 months of the guild’s existence post-launch?

Have 2 Main Teams Red and Gold for both AEST and AWST and possibley a USA Timezone Team. Cleared all HM and leveling alts for our 6th Team of alts. (Generally 3 teams, and if each member has a alt, that’s another 3 teams).

Please also note, we are also a theorycrafting community looking for theory crafters, who do not have to join the guild. Thankyou

Filed Under: Guilds, News Tagged With: ,

Sith Inquisitor vs Republic Trooper video

November 12, 2011 by

The juicy SWTOR tidbits keep on flowing – the Friday update sees yet another new video. This time it’s one of the ‘Choose Your Side’ episodes, this time featuring the Sith Inquisitor and the Republic Trooper. Like most of these videos they provide further nuance to each class and hopefully make your choice of class a little easier.

Have a look for yourself:

[Read more…]

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Beta Testing: for everyone!

November 12, 2011 by

Yes, Christmas has come early for any SWTOR players that want a taste of the game before its launch on the 20th December. Bioware have announced that:

Well, for starters we are happy to announce that anyone who has signed up for our Game Testing Program prior to today, November 11th, will get invited! Invites will be sent in the coming weeks.

I’m pretty safe in saying close to 100% of you that are reading this have signed up for game testing so you will all have the opportunity to take part. If you haven’t signed up, you also can try for some beta access codes from a bunch of gaming websites.

No date is confirmed as yet except that it’ll be before the end of the month: so clear that pre-Christmas social calendar!

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Flash Point 19: The Cursed Edition

November 11, 2011 by

After overcoming some big technical hurdles we finally got this episode recorded – like the postal service we make sure we deliver rain, hail or orbital bombardment, so enjoy.

Points of discussion:
– Imperial Agent progression
– Early Access
– Pre-order sales
– Fansite Summit #2 (Sunny’s Diner link mentioned: here)
– Revan Novel
– Guild spotlights
– Riding koalas
– Shout outs for our forums, Facebook page, Oceanic Guild listing, and Twitter account.

Listen via iTunes or right here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:03 — 35.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Filed Under: News, Podcast Tagged With:

Oceanic Guild Spotlight: KOALA

November 10, 2011 by

If you’d like your guild spotlighted, just use our contact form to let us know.

The only requirement is that you’re an active oceanic guild. Please be patient if you don’t hear back from us immediately – we will only be spotlighting a guild every week or so.

Name of guild

KOALA

Guild website

http://forums.koala-guild.com/

History of your guild’s name?

Back when KOALA was first formed in SWG (a brief yet guild-shattering bout of lunacy erupted in MPGM’s leadership, leading to 99% of the guild being /kicked for reasons unknown, and thus inheriting most of the remnants of the original Aussie/NZ player base from ASIO and AuS) the name stood for “Coalition of Aussie Players”. Given the name, it was evident to everyone around that we were an Aussie (and NZer) guild filled with awesome people, though in other games we’ve sometimes gone by other names, such as “Drop Bears of Bria” and “KSF” (KOALA Special Forces).However, we have always come back to this name due to what it signifies in our history.

What sort of guild so you intend on being?

Casual, a mix of everything but we’ll be on a PvP server.

Why did you choose to be a Republic guild?

The main reason is because most of the classes that the guild members wanted to play fell on the Republic side of things. Most of us will be trying a lot of the classes from both sides and welcome anyone that is keen to do the same on the Sith side to say hi. We’ll be more than happy to help out…but no spying!

You have one minute to convince someone they should be in your guild – what would you say to them?

We are very welcoming and very relaxed guild, with no strict playing rules or structures, but sometimes you need to have a thick skin with us. Jokes are a-plenty and if you have no sense of humour or take things way too seriously, then this guild isn’t for you.

If you are a knob, this guild isn’t for you either. We welcome any type of gamer into this guild as long you don’t bring the group into disrepute. We have been known on servers as the guild that everyone likes to play with/against as we are always up for the fight and, at the same time, respectful and very helpful. We have built this reputation over many games and many servers and expect anyone that is a part of this group to continue to build this reputation. If you like what you hear and feel you would fit in with our group then the door is open, come and introduce yourself to us. And face it, why wouldn’t you want to be a feral drop bear?

What are your predictions for the first 6 months of the guild’s existence post-launch?

Depending on the success of the game, we are expecting huge things from the guild in SWTOR. We’re not the type of guild that makes a big point of who we are on a server but we are well respected within all communities that we are involved in. We expect this to continue and to hopefully get our ranks to a level where we will remain constantly active and have a visible presence within the community as much as possible….without ruining people’s real lives with stupid hardcore rules.

Filed Under: Guilds, News Tagged With:

SWTOR pre-orders break 800K in the Americas

November 9, 2011 by

VG Chartz have released their latest data on sales of game pre-orders for the Americas for the week ended 5th November.

It shows that Star Wars: The Old Republic has broken the 800 thousand mark for that region alone. Add in the European countries that are part of the initial launch and I’d say it’s a fairly safe assumption to say SWTOR will be going live on 20th December with a million-plus players on board.

Here’s the leaders on the chart currently:

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Beta Test Weekend #3 on its way

November 9, 2011 by

Over on the official SWTOR forums, Allison Berryman has confirmed the third beta-testing weekend is coming this weekend. The target group are North American players, with the US East Coast servers being the focus for this one.

One step closer to launch….

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