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Star Wars: The Old Republic Previews: GDC 2010: Hands On With The Trooper
MMORPG.com's Garrett Fuller recently had the opportunity to test drive the Trooper class in Bioware's upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO.
By Garrett Fuller on March 15, 2010
During this year's GDC I got a chance to head out to the super secret LucasArts headquarters for a sit down and demo of their much-anticipated upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. We have interviews and further coverage coming later, but for now, we wanted to give you a look into the game from the player's point of view. Being that the demo time was short and only the Trooper class was available for play at the moment, I'll do my best to give you a feel of the game and talk about some of the abilities the Trooper showed off while blasting away at thugs in Ord Mantell.
The characters we were given for the demo were already specced out and equipped with some pretty good gear. We were not max level by any means, and started by running around on the planet of Ord Mantell. The customization options must be widely varied, because my Trooper looked like he ate one too many burgers while sitting in some intergalatic diner.
Still, the armor set looked great and definitely had that Star Wars feel to it, something the team at Bioware and LucasArts are working very hard to capture in the game. I was equipped with a pretty heavy blaster rifle which has a rocket launcher on it and some grenades that stuck to the targets when I threw them. These features were all specific to the Trooper class making him a great ranged and AoE fighter. If enemies got too close, I was able to knock them down with the butt of my blaster and continue shooting as they tried to pick themselves up. Also on the Trooper class, several different styles of shots were available to choose from. The Hammer Shot, from what I remember, was a great burst of lasers which pummeled my foes.
Equipped and ready we went to get our first quest in the game by chatting with an NPC outside a faction base which was separated from the Republic. The dialogue was very typical of Bioware games. You had your list of options to choose from, but the fully loaded voice interaction made things actually move faster. This was a concern of mine going into the demo. As much as I love Dragon Age, after a while the voice options got to be a little too much. Getting the quest and getting into the action worked much faster than I thought.
Turns out, we had to make contact with a few characters inside a base to shut down a force field. There was more to it, but between talking to the LucasArts guys while playing the game, I missed a little. The point is though that the voice over stuff moved faster than I thought and the choices were quick and easy to select.
So, here I am ready to go and blast my way into the base to shut down this force field. I came up on the first group of NPCs. Several of them were standing around a speeder craft of some kind. I targeted one of them and BAM! Let the lasers fly! Oh wait, what? All four of them started attacking me. Two with blasters and two with vibro-blades came charging in after me. So I chose the close combat ones first. I launched a rocket into one of the sword wielding attackers and blew him clean up. Next, I landed my grenade onto the other melee fighter which beeped louder and louder until it exploded, knocking him dead. Now it was time for the other two attackers. I jumped behind the speeder and kept blasting away with my Hammer shots into the shooters. One went down fairly quickly and my rocket launcher cool down ended so I was able to take the other one out with a quick blast.
So my first combat in The Old Republic was in the books. It was fast paced and fun. It held to the standard MMO gameplay we know and love and worked very well. One thing about the Trooper I found out was that while they are not a "cover class" like, say, the Smuggler. While players can use some pieces of cover no matter what class they play, some are better at it than others. In another fight, I was able to run behind a pillar and hide from laser fire. This was great as in many MMOs the blasts would just shoot me straight through the cover anyway. That was not the case here. The combat definitely had a Star Wars feel with the sounds of blaster fire all around. I was impressed with how quickly the combat moved. I had feared that I'd be standing still and firing away, but I was constantly on the move.
I made my way through the base and near where the force field was set up. The map system they had set up for the demo was a good one. The interface looked like something from Star Wars and had clear directions on where to go. It was a blue digital looking map with yellow markers for some of the quest objectives. On my way into the base I passed a very cool looking walker vehicle which was surrounded by battle droids. So I took a shot at one. While a little tougher than the NPCs I had been blasting, the battle droid went down quickly when I hit him with my grenade. It is very cool to see the pulsing beeps of the grenade as it sticks to your target. Beep, Beep, BEEP, BOOM! The droids looked cool and again with the background of the base, walkers, and attack droids, the Star Wars feel was all around.
)
Inside the base, I followed the map to my main point where I spoke to the NPC involved. After arguing with him a bit (again the choices are all there for your responses when you talk), he gave away three of his comrades who were the ones controlling the force field. I did not choose to blast him outright, but the option was there. I laughed at how my Sith Warrior will eventually answer those scenarios....primarily with his light saber. Anyway, I went after the three separatists and found them huddled together by a control panel. This battle worked out to be a mini boss fight. I took on three characters and was able to walk away with only a few blasts to my armor. They did get me down to half health though. You can also choose to sit and recharge as a Trooper, a skill that helped me after the bosses were down and the room respawned with NPC attackers. After shutting down the force field I was able to make it outside with some serious blasting power and a few rockets from my launcher.
My overall impressions of the hands on demo were good. I was not jumping up and down, but I was also not playing my chosen class. The game definitely impressed with its feel of Star Wars as well as its fast paced game play. I did not have to wait to shoot as my timers cooled down. I also had a lot of skills to choose from if things got rough. The melee knock down and grenades were great in fighting multiple attackers. Though the demo was short, it delivered. We look forward to much more from Star Wars: The Old Republic in the coming months.
Check back at MMORPG.com this week to read our interview with Jake Neri and also our interview with Bioware leaders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.
awesome!!
Interesting stuff to read, even tho' I practically did read the same stuff from other sites.
However, give information about playable races. NOW!
One question for Mr. Garret:
How dialogue-heavy is the game? Is it as intrusive as in DragonAge?
I would bet that the game dialogue is very much like DragonAge, Mass effect or KOTOR you should be able to bypass it in some way I would bet if you were not interested in the dialogue. The downside is if you don't pay attention to the dialogue you might make a poor chose that you will have to live with.
Nice. Can't wait for this title.
We did see it on the vids already, and I am very glad about the fast paced combat. Sounds all very cool to me. I still would like to know, if you walk with a group and have dialogue options: how do you decide what to answer? Do all group members have a say and can people potentially ruin your story by picking "bad" answers? Thats what I worry the most atm.
Also looking at the trooper screenshots I felt like ALL male chars have the exact same face texture just differently shaped. :/
I am still hoping that there where some open zones to be tested and played... sounds like an instance again, while i know there must be more open zones too..
The game sounds like fun, but it also sounds a little on the easy mode side. You were probably better equipped than most might be at the time of this mission, or at least hope that is the case, since you were inexperienced. I would have liked to have heard that maybe you failed the first time through because the boss was tough and you hadn't developed a good enough strategy to take him down, then again it's not like Garrett is a noob or anything. But to come through the whole thing with half health, and not having to stop to heal, seems a little weak.
How many of you were there and did any of them have support powers at all? Did anyone seem to have more trouble than you/Garrett?
In the recent interviews that have cropped up, the designers have said only 10% of the world is instance, and that's the planets are huge and seamless with loads of room to explore.
In the recent interviews that have cropped up, the designers have said only 10% of the world is instance, and that's the planets are huge and seamless with loads of room to explore.
Nvm, I found it.
Star wars for clone wars fans...guess us original star wars fans are confined to watching Luke on old VHS casettes
for that true SW feel...boohoo.
Star Wars Galaxies is around that era, why not play that?
In the recent interviews that have cropped up, the designers have said only 10% of the world is instance, and that's the planets are huge and seamless with loads of room to explore.
From reviews of the event on other sites like darth hater i found out that the zone they played in on this hands on was actually an open zone.....
Sadly our reviewer did not tell that, so i was taking wrong conclusions.
Dis class r be my main when I play. Goooo Troopa!
From what I can tell, group dialoge works by letting each person chime in for a second. If you are with someone that wants to do something contrary to what you want to do, you have a little argument, a dice roll is made and one choice gets made, but you recieve alignment bonus based on what you wanted to do regardless. They have said their system is designed so that no one can ruin your game.
Technically, Troopers are supposed to be clones anyway. So there shouldnt be much difference, if any at all. But then again, I am only familiar with the area around the movies, so perhaps at other times of its history maybe they were not.
Technically, Troopers are supposed to be clones anyway. So there shouldnt be much difference, if any at all. But then again, I am only familiar with the area around the movies, so perhaps at other times of its history maybe they were not.
Nope, the Clone Wars were the only time where clones were known to exist as an army. Hence the name, "Clone Wars". :) Apparently you can make fat troopers though, so at least they got that goin' for 'em.
I enjoyed this little section though one thing bothered me.
I really hope that the conversations are more indepth than most MMOs. I've come to expect that from Bioware. It's not just "Go kill Joe over there for me" like so many games are. Now, maybe they can give options for those people with shorter attention spans that could care less about the story but I hope they also make it so those of us that care more about the story than the kill numbers can enjoy it as well. As much as they talk about the story I probably don't have much to worry about.
I don't understand comparing this with Clone Wars. I watch Clone Wars, it's temporary amusement and fluff but enjoyable. This game though is set well before that time, before Vader, before clones, before Luke and for that, I'm happy. They will have more room to move without purist being able to point a finger at everything that's wrong in it.
I still remember when I first went to see Star Wars, at the theatre, when it released. It held a spark for me that exists to this day and I'm looking forward to Bioware's interpretation of the Old Republic once again. It's as easy as, if you think you'll like it, play it. If not, there are plenty other games out on the market. Spend the time trying to find one that suits you.
It's not Clone Wars era...its Old Republic era, so the Clone Wars fans have nothing on you. And by the way, who ones a vhs player these days let alone watches anything on it? I tried watching my old Star Wars VHS tapes about five years ago and the tapes had deteriorated to such a point that they were unwatchable. I have everything on DVD now -- both special edition and original cut.
Why can't I be a robo-slaverJawa, they are my all time favorite Star Wars race.
Jawa's are coolest!
Sounds good.
This is what we should of been hearing about StarTrek Online b4 STO ever went to beta. :(
Technically, Troopers are supposed to be clones anyway. So there shouldnt be much difference, if any at all. But then again, I am only familiar with the area around the movies, so perhaps at other times of its history maybe they were not.
The game takes place several thousand years before the prequel movies, so these troopers are not clones.
the planets! how big are the planets ?!
make sure you open your world map window next time and let us know all about it please.
did you find invisible barriers?
come on people surely you can do a bit more spying than just combat mechanics when you are playing it...
He or she probably mentioned VHS because its hard to get the original versions in DVD format without the goofy extras they put into the revamped ones. Original cut versions of the movies are better in my opinion.
The game is sounding cooler all the time. Can't wait to play it...
If you want to see more detailed articles on this game from GDC and other things, go to http://darthhater.com/
It's a really popular fansite for Star Wars The Old Republic and their report is way more detailed than these other ones like MMORPG that are floating around...
Good news, hadn't heard this before.
the darth hater review single handedly got me interested about this game again. :)
In the Darth Hater chat tonight, those who had a chance to play it reassured us about just about every worry one might have. They said the combat was fast and snappy. Many lighting and smoke effects looked impressive to them. The game world appeared to be very open, and they believed they could walk a very long ways without hitting any kind of barrier. Also, the world map showed multiple zones they could go into on the same planet, and this was supposed to be one of the smallest planets in the game, so they were literally shocked when they found that out, because they thought the tested zone was huge. The DarthHater girls and boys are big fans of Bioware, but I could tell by the sound of their voice they were absolutely thrilled with the game, and thought it was immeaditetly engaging and fun, and felt immersive.
Thank you for the article! It's nice to hear some hands on experience with the game.
I was particularly happy to hear that any class can use cover, but some (Smugglers/Spies one would presume) are better at using it.
any word on races
or crafting or if there is any type of housing ?
or if its open pvp , pvp optional , or no pvp ?
I love when people describe dialogue as 'intrusive.' It helps me through my day.
Yeah, you don’t want someone talking to you in a MMO do you? Who do these NPC’s think they are, bloody liberty. Next thing you know we will have other players talking to us and interrupting our MMO experience!
I love when people describe dialogue as 'intrusive.' It helps me through my day.
I've always wondered what goes through this type of person's mind when playing a Bioware game.
"Why does the game keep getting in the way of me killing things!"
This is a good point you raised and it got me thinking as well. I have a feeling that they will have everyone in the group pick one option and whichever choice gets the most "votes" will get picked for the group. What would be cool though is even if you choice didn't get picked if you character was able to voice his opinion and get credit for the choice you wanted to pick.
Well, well, well. The Darth Hater site is very good and their hands on with the Trooper story was light years from the one here (sorry mmorpg.com but they are simply so much more into the game and it shows). I also read the recent interview with Daniel Erickson and was extremely impressed with the thoughtfulness in the answers. There is some real artistry going on here with the story telling for each class and it is very hard not to get excited about SW:ToR.
I especially liked the comments about actual role playing, and the bits about the planets being open worlds didn't hurt either. :)
Dare I say that I actually, for once, feel excited for the MMO genre?
I love when people describe dialogue as 'intrusive.' It helps me through my day.
/sarcasm on
tell me about it :P
how dare those pesky NPC's convey story line, who do they think they are to get in the way of my blood bath.
especially in dragonage it would of bean so much better with none of that storyline or intrigue getting in the way of the combat and killing and looting :P
/sarcasm off :P
My favorite Bioware quote out of GDC came from a ZAM interview.
To paraphrase Daniel Erickson (Lead Writer), "MMOs have always been the aspects of an RPG, without the heart of an RPG."
I can't recall truer words regarding the genre.
From the beginning, MMORPGs been more about mechanics to create a 'functoning' virtual world simulator rather than making a good and fun RPG. Bioware's SWTOR could help the genre evolve in a direction that is long overdue.
tell me about it :P
how dare those pesky NPC's convey story line, who do they think they are to get in the way of my blood bath.
especially in dragonage it would of bean so much better with none of that storyline or intrigue getting in the way of the combat and killing and looting :P
Yea really that damn dialogue that Bioware comes up with totally ruins my immersion. I play the way it's meant to be played - by going around slaughtering everyone and everything -cuz I'm L33T.
Key words "the world APPEARED to be open, and they BELIEVED they could walk a long way without hitting barriers" so really it's just speculation,not fact.
AOC has open zones where i can walk around but it's still a loading instance game. As of now no one who has played the game can say if it's an open world,meaning no barriers and not forced loading to get to one region or another. As of now all we have had is one playable race which i think think it is only human with companions making up the other playable races,i guess Bioware think controlling a pet is playable.
So you see we have not seen anything new with this latest showing,just another class running around doing some quests.
Key words "the world APPEARED to be open, and they BELIEVED they could walk a long way without hitting barriers" so really it's just speculation,not fact.
AOC has open zones where i can walk around but it's still a loading instance game. As of now no one who has played the game can say if it's an open world,meaning no barriers and not forced loading to get to one region or another. As of now all we have had is one playable race which i think think it is only human with companions making up the other playable races,i guess Bioware think controlling a pet is playable.
So you see we have not seen anything new with this latest showing,just another class running around doing some quests.
So your speculation that the world is small and instanced is more valid than their speculations? I'm going to have to trust them over you. Mainly because, you know, they've actually played the game.
I wonder if the game was artificially made easier or the character made extra tough (other than the equipment) for the demo. It looks to me that the game is too easy. I mean, here we have someone who hasn't played the game at all and won all battles including a mini-boss fight with ease.
I left STO because of the same reason... no challenge. My deepest fear with ST:TOR is that it'll follow the trend of recent MMOs and make battles show a lot of lights and particles (i.e. pew pew) but almost no chance of failure.
Key words "the world APPEARED to be open, and they BELIEVED they could walk a long way without hitting barriers" so really it's just speculation,not fact.
AOC has open zones where i can walk around but it's still a loading instance game. As of now no one who has played the game can say if it's an open world,meaning no barriers and not forced loading to get to one region or another. As of now all we have had is one playable race which i think think it is only human with companions making up the other playable races,i guess Bioware think controlling a pet is playable.
So you see we have not seen anything new with this latest showing,just another class running around doing some quests.
Bioware has already said that only 10% of TOR will be instanced the other 90% will be all open world.
Anyone else a little underwhelmed by the graphics? Seems pretty average for today, certainly not the best... And since it won't release 'till at least Q2 next year (Q4 will be my bet after a push-back), shouldn't they be trying out cryengine2 or something?
I mean, I'm thrilled I'll be able to pass rec. sys req. specs with my present comp... but its just not what I expected from an 'innovative' mmo trying to push the limits >.> Why use an engine that will be 5(?) years old (GoW & R:6 had it in '06 I believe) when it comes out =/
i haven't seen the graphics yet and on that note ware did you ? i would like to see :D
any ways i can say this
well for many of us newer better graphics isn't everything and certainly not more important the game play , game features ,storyline , and innovation , variety
on an off topic i like your cat avatar but what movie is it from? never seen it before
So your speculation that the world is small and instanced is more valid than their speculations? I'm going to have to trust them over you. Mainly because, you know, they've actually played the game.
QFT
I like you today.
I know they're not near as detailed as you can find with some other MMOs, but personally I like them the way they have them.