Head over to sites like Darth Hater and you'll be able to see ~25 minutes' worth of playthrough. From watching such videos and reading this write-up, I can definitely say that... I'm not interested just watching. From the sidelines, it looks entertaining, but not ultra super fun. I've felt this way about every MMO I've played for more than 6 months, because once I get in the game and start playing, it becomes fun.

Maybe it's just me.

About the combat itself, the animations are still a bit clunky (they're probably not using any fillers yet), but much improved from a couple of months ago. Spell/blaster effects are fine, running animations are fine, and I like the physics of the cloth; no more carpet... err, I mean, cape... strapped to my back. I didn't really see intelligent (Imperial) mobs using cover, though I'll need to watch the videos again with a more critical eye. Overall, it was much improved. The basic groundwork is definitely there. Now just needs a slathering of polish.

I can't wait for this to be out already, the more I read about it, the more I want to try it. Thank you for the interesting read. I found it enjoyable :D Here's hoping that there isn't to much more waiting till it is released.

Smuggler = healing? Really?

That alone makes me want to cry.

no video review?

Originally posted by Ozzallos

Smuggler = healing? Really?

That alone makes me want to cry.

 

Smuggler also has a non-healing advanced class. Gunslingers are ranged DPS.

Originally posted by battleaxe

Tank, healer, dps setup?  In Star Wars?  Really?  No thanks.  I have yet to see anyone in the Star Wars movies or cartoons take multiple blaster or light saber hits and survive.  Why should that happen in the game?  Can't anyone figure out a combat engine that doesn't involve someone being a damage sponge that someone else needs to waste time filling up their health bar?  Do away with the health bar - one hit, one kill.

 

Oh yes! And let's make it so that when you die you need to buy another copy of the game to play it again because who the hell resurrects after death anyway? Everytime you die you need to buy a new copy of the game to play again. Or better yet, since a char that dies in a movie cant come back by buying a new copy, let's just ban everyone who dies because come on, they are dead. Dead.

Or wake up and face the facts that this is a game? Even the movies aint anywhere near realistic, the stormtroopers cant hit even the door of a barn from 5 feet away, it's not exactly based on realism. If they would hit realistically, then the main chars wouldnt die from 1 shot because that would make one damn short movie. Think, ty.

Is this what happens when WoW and Star Wars have a baby?

Very wierd. Talk about changing up that mid-evil fantasy model we have seen. I want to see if they can pull it off without people raging expecting something completely different.

Hopefully Bioware pulls it off, I would hate to be disappointed..

Originally posted by barezz

I'm interested about the "no comment" remark about if there would be a reverse instance for the Sith side of the story.  To make sure I understand, was this a question about would there potentially be Sith faction players in the Flashpoint instance competing against Republic players?  In otehr words is there the potential for these Flashpoints to have a PvP element to them?

Or was this a question as to if there would be a specific Sith instance for their side of the story.  Somehow I assume that the question was menat more towrads the PvP side of things.

If that is the case and PvE flashpoints (which I assume are part of the PvE Questing process in the game and not something seperate, please correct me if I am wrong) have a non consensual PvP element to them, that may kill the game for a lot of people that I know.

Yea i was confused about that too because if you go to the Flaspoint page at the main site you can see the sith side of the flashpoint is called Boarding Party.  With Taral V you are working torawrds freeing a prisoner and in Boarding party you are basically trying to recapture him/her.

Originally posted by newbinator

Originally posted by Ozzallos

Smuggler = healing? Really?

That alone makes me want to cry.

 

 

Smuggler also has a non-healing advanced class. Gunslingers are ranged DPS.

actually you can do scroundel ac and not be a healer since thats only one of the 2 trees in scoundrel.  the other tree is more stealth rogue type

from the main site:

Example: The Smuggler

Han Solo, Lando, Talon Karrde… There are plenty of different Smuggler personalities to be found in the Star Wars universe to choose from and this is reflected in the versatility of their available Advanced Classes:

The Scoundrel

The Scoundrel is not afraid of getting his hands dirty, as the ‘Scrapper’ skill-set has an off-hand Scatter Gun, a number of powerful (but not necessarily fair) melee moves and access to a Stealth Field Generator with various possible upgrades for a dramatic entrance … or exit.

The ‘Sawbones’ skill-set on the other hand offers ways to dramatically improve the Smuggler’s healing and support-related abilities, including access to the powerful Emergency Medpack.

And, if all else fails, the Scoundrel seems to have the uncanny ability to Shoot First, a very useful skill to have for sure.

The Gunslinger

Gunslingers are trained in a broad array of blaster-oriented abilities against both single and multiple targets and excel at dealing large amounts of damage from a safe distance. Their access to Illegal Weapon Mods may well give them the edge over an opponent insisting on a fair fight.

Their ‘Sharpshooter’ skill-set includes many abilities geared at improving their personal damage, improving the performance of their groups, and gaining additional benefits from cover.

Whether lobbing Shrapnel Bombs on nearby enemies or dealing increased damage for enemies Shot In The Back, the ‘Dirty Fighting’ skill-set is all about getting an edge over people who prefer a straight fight and helps to ensure that the Gunslinger delivers sustained damage to more than just one opponent.

The Shared Skill Set

Shared by both Advanced Classes, the ‘Luck’ skill-set focuses on improving many of the Smuggler’s base class abilities such as increasing energy regeneration in Cover or delivering some Very Critical Hits when using Dirty Kick.

As you can see from the small set of skills mentioned above, players will be able to customize their personal Smuggler experience dramatically by distributing skill points across the three available skill-sets, defining their character’s role as Smuggler as they see fit: Within the Scoundrel Advanced Class, a player preferring the traditional MMO healer role may spend the majority of their skill points training in the Sawbones skill-set with additional improvements to their core abilities from the Luck skill tree, or they could decide that a ‘Stealth Healer’ role with points distributed between the Scrapper and Sawbones trees might be the role they want to play in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Originally posted by gaou

Originally posted by barezz

I'm interested about the "no comment" remark about if there would be a reverse instance for the Sith side of the story.  To make sure I understand, was this a question about would there potentially be Sith faction players in the Flashpoint instance competing against Republic players?  In otehr words is there the potential for these Flashpoints to have a PvP element to them?

Or was this a question as to if there would be a specific Sith instance for their side of the story.  Somehow I assume that the question was menat more towrads the PvP side of things.

If that is the case and PvE flashpoints (which I assume are part of the PvE Questing process in the game and not something seperate, please correct me if I am wrong) have a non consensual PvP element to them, that may kill the game for a lot of people that I know.

Yea i was confused about that too because if you go to the Flaspoint page at the main site you can see the sith side of the flashpoint is called Boarding Party.  With Taral V you are working torawrds freeing a prisoner and in Boarding party you are basically trying to recapture him/her.

0_0

That means that instances and maybe endgame raiding itself on both sides could be pretty different ...

This means a bigger work load for the balancing crew but it also means people have another interesting incentive to at least reroll once and there's really much more to factions than just flavor like in pretty much all other games. (Ofcourse WOW did it too but only with the small nooby instances in Stormwind and Ogrimmar). Cool!

I'm starting to be a little leery of this game , the more I'm seeing the less it's looking like and MMO and more like random player insert here or group activity KoTOR. Instancing and 4 player groups. I hope they have more to this game then that. Where's the large game world ? I like KoTOR and # 2, I just don't want to pay a monthly sub for a basically single player game.

Originally posted by AG-Vuk

I'm starting to be a little leery of this game , the more I'm seeing the less it's looking like and MMO and more like random player insert here or group activity KoTOR. Instancing and 4 player groups. I hope they have more to this game then that. Where's the large game world ? I like KoTOR and # 2, I just don't want to pay a monthly sub for a basically single player game.

You can check out a ton of the videos here: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/309897/PAX-East-information-thread.html

You'll see a lot of the origin world videos there where you'll see other people playing alongside players in the open world.  The open worlds are absolutely huge, and on top of that you'll find information there on other group oriented missions in the open world, heroics,  etc.   The information is out there friend,  just take a little time looking over it all.

I just hope it's "star warsy" enough.

Originally posted by Arquiteto

Originally posted by sibs4455

I still think Guildwars2 is going to be a massive thorn in swtor side. One is b2p and the other is buy then p2p, from the info and videos i have seen gw2 wins hands down.

 

 Star wars has a massive following that will not even consider trading in a good sci-fi setting for a fantasy one. Also GW2 is highly instanced and is unlike a traditional MMO. I will buy it for sure, but it will not be my go to game. I am not knocking it at all. I actually think it looks amazing. Plus Bioware is making SWTOR so it will propably be well worth the $15 a month.

 

Good to hear that the demo was in such good shape. Hopefully we get a release date soon. I can't wait.

To the first person: 

SWTOR draws on the Star Wars following, the Sci-fi lovers, as well as the general MMO community.  GW2 draws on its GW1 following, LOTR style fantasy setting lovers, as well as the general MMO community.  While there is definitely some overlap in potential player-base, they also draw on various other specific communities that aren't necessarily opposed.

Personally, I'm interested in SWTOR as a general MMO fan, despite not being particularly fond of Star Wars or the Sci-fi setting, although I will freely admit that Mass Effect 2 was phenominal.  I'm much much more excited for GW2 though, as almost every gameplay feature looks even more compelling to me, AND it caters to my fantasy tastes.  

To the second person:

GW1 was highly instanced, GW2 is not.  Aside from instanced story-mode dungeons (a la WoW and every other MMO), it is one open persistent world.  The nature of their "dynamic event" system couldn't be possible without a persistent world that everyone exists in simultaneously.  

It's so frustrating when people keep attributing GW1 qualities to the completely different game that is GW2!

Originally posted by Arquiteto

Originally posted by sibs4455

I still think Guildwars2 is going to be a massive thorn in swtor side. One is b2p and the other is buy then p2p, from the info and videos i have seen gw2 wins hands down.

 

 Star wars has a massive following that will not even consider trading in a good sci-fi setting for a fantasy one. Also GW2 is highly instanced and is unlike a traditional MMO. I will buy it for sure, but it will not be my go to game. I am not knocking it at all. I actually think it looks amazing. Plus Bioware is making SWTOR so it will propably be well worth the $15 a month.

 

Good to hear that the demo was in such good shape. Hopefully we get a release date soon. I can't wait.

When a BW game dev admits they are copying the mechanics and playstyle of WoW(the dev used relative terms, but didn't say WoW directly or they would of had copyright problems), because "it works" in their opinion, does not make it worth 15 USD/month imho.

In fact, it makes me even less interested in the game, and I am a long time SW fan. Having the name BW on the box does nothing for me either, especially after they botched the canon in Force Unleashed 1 & 2 just to make a buck. 

That was pretty vague bro. Should have just said it was improved and been done with it.

What skills you use in certain situations? Hell what were the situations? Anything with some real meat to it would have been nice.

I'm excitied about this game, can't wait! 

Originally posted by AG-Vuk

I'm starting to be a little leery of this game , the more I'm seeing the less it's looking like and MMO and more like random player insert here or group activity KoTOR. Instancing and 4 player groups. I hope they have more to this game then that. Where's the large game world ? I like KoTOR and # 2, I just don't want to pay a monthly sub for a basically single player game.

Taral V video showed us a 4 man party venturing into an instance or a dungeon if you prefer fantasy setting terminology, you do know what a dungeon is, yes?

Originally posted by Czanrei

Originally posted by Arquiteto

Originally posted by sibs4455

I still think Guildwars2 is going to be a massive thorn in swtor side. One is b2p and the other is buy then p2p, from the info and videos i have seen gw2 wins hands down.

 

 Star wars has a massive following that will not even consider trading in a good sci-fi setting for a fantasy one. Also GW2 is highly instanced and is unlike a traditional MMO. I will buy it for sure, but it will not be my go to game. I am not knocking it at all. I actually think it looks amazing. Plus Bioware is making SWTOR so it will propably be well worth the $15 a month.

 

Good to hear that the demo was in such good shape. Hopefully we get a release date soon. I can't wait.

When a BW game dev admits they are copying the mechanics and playstyle of WoW(the dev used relative terms, but didn't say WoW directly or they would of had copyright problems), because "it works" in their opinion, does not make it worth 15 USD/month imho.

In fact, it makes me even less interested in the game, and I am a long time SW fan. Having the name BW on the box does nothing for me either, especially after they botched the canon in Force Unleashed 1 & 2 just to make a buck. 

BW had nothing to do with the Force Unleashed series, a simple google type would have told you this. It was made by Krome studios (or something like that). Nicely concealed trolling attempt.