Curse

sindex · Oct 21, 2008, 11:54 PM // 23:54

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Bioware, Lucasarts, and EA games big MMO project:

Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Kights.jpgAlpha-Screenshot

Rather then explaining it as a whole, I am going to exert the article from Shacknews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sacknews

Ending years of silence and rumors, BioWare and LucasArts today revealed that they have joined forces to produce a Star Wars massively multiplayer online game set in the Knights of the Old Republic Universe.

Dubbed Star Wars: The Old Republic, the title will allow players to choose between Jedi and Sith Empire factions, with each having unique races and classes. Only a PC version was confirmed in today's announcement.

No release date was given, with BioWare stressing that the game has no release window, though a past report suggested it would launch in 2009. The studio is "definitely planning" an open beta, BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk confirmed.

The story-based MMO will be set roughly 300 years after BioWare's 2004 single-player RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC, Xbox) and the Obsidian-developed sequel, or 3500 years before the beloved film series.

"We're making KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and beyond--this game is that big, it's got that much content in it," explained BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka. "It's very innovative--it's story based."

The game has seen a team of 12 full-time writers producing content for the past few years, according to IGN, with each class getting its own story arc as "not everybody's fantasy was to be Luke [Skywalker]."

"You get to choose many things in the game--your faction, your class, good and evil, how your story unfolds," explained lead designer James Ohlen.

"We thought of a Howard the Duck MMO, we thought it was a little too crazy," Muzyka joked. He also noted that the game will feature a "full economy."

"The game is playable," asserted BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk, though a playable version was not shown today.
The Old Republic will allow players to choose a companion, as with the previous KOTOR games, and will have full PVP, PVE and RVR (realm vs. realm) combat along with raids. No classes have been revealed as of yet.

"[Companion characters] are something that we're bringing to this game, and really the way we've described how companion characters work is the same in this, they're the lens with which you see the world," Zeschuk elaborated.

A pre-rendered trailer was shown, highlighting fights between Jedi and Sith. In one scene, a Jedi was assembling a lightsaber, with the trailer asking "Which side will you choose?"

"A new Sith Empire has emerged from deep space and has gone to war against the Republic," furthered lead designer Ohlen.

"If you remember in the movies you had Han, Luke, and Leia," he continued. "But they also had their own personal stories...that's the dynamic we want to create in this game.

For players to have their own personal stories, but to come together with other players and have their stories together."

"No one wants to be just a guy," added art director Jeff Dobson. "There's nothing special about that. So we spent a lot of time really thinking about how the characters are going to look."

When asked about subscriptions, BioWare claimed that it has no details at this time. When the topic of other consoles came up, the company stated that it is "only talking about PC today, that's all we have."

Though the company did not talk specific system requirements, lead designer Ohlen noted that "it's very reasonble. From the outset, and it was really a team-wide decision, from a design side we taked about framerate being a really important accessibility feature."

As for the effect this could have on Sony Entertainment's existing Star Wars MMO Galaxies, BioWare dodged the question, noting that "today we're just focusing on the Old Republic."

While the Star Wars setting was confirmed by BioWare owner EA in July, both the developer and license holder LucasArts have remained silent about the project until today. BioWare has been quietly tinkering away on its MMO since the 2006 formation of BioWare Austin, after which the studio licensed all sorts of middleware technology.

Here is the main website for the new MMO: http://www.swtor.com/ and here is the article from Sacknews above.

As for my thoughts on this project, I can tell you that I am not entirely thrilled that it’s going to be an MMO. However, they did state that they probably will separate the two games and continue to make the single player version of Knights, which is good. Time will tell if this will be worth the hype or not.

the savage nornbear · Oct 22, 2008, 03:37 AM // 03:37

there will be no middle ground on this one. its gonna either be a fail or greatness.

DarklingKiller · Oct 22, 2008, 04:33 AM // 04:33

Sounds like greatness

sindex · Oct 22, 2008, 06:21 AM // 06:21

Here is some more information from Shacknews on the Story and Companion system:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shacknews-Story

To that end, lead writer Daniel Erickson has headed a team of 12 full-time writers for several years in crafting storylines tailored to each class. Adding to the complexity, BioWare has brought its trademark moral quandaries into the equation, creating another dimension on which to write compelling storylines.

Shacknews talked to Erickson about the considerable writing effort in the long-awaited MMO and learned about a great deal, from moral decisions and Jedi to bunnies and Han Solo.

On the way story will work in The Old Republic:
"We have classes in the game, and every class has a different story. Every class has a story that will take you from the first level of the game to the last level of the game, and none of those stories are the same.

In the same way, faction stuff is split out between the Empire and Republic. So the takeaway note from this is, if you roll a Jedi character and you play them from the first level to the last level, and then you roll a Sith and you play them from the first, you will not see one repeated quest, line of dialogue, or piece of content. It is a 100% different story experience.

That is not to say you won't see the opposite side of the conflict. It is about war. We don't play common people. We play huge heroes in the Star Wars universe, which means the war is important."

On the strength of class-based story:
"You are a Sith. You have a Darth Vader fantasy. You are now playing, for all intents and purposes, a Sith RPG."

On how confusing the story will be for newcomers:
"What happened to Bastilla? This isn't stuff that we would ever shove into someone's face. People will be playing that have never played a KOTOR game, or have even watched a Star Wars movie.

Just like we would for any fantasy game, [as a Jedi starting out] you go to Typhon, you train to be a Jedi, and you learn what it means to be a Jedi."

On the idea of choice-based story in an MMO:
"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

On how the story will change depending on your companions:
"The things you get to see are going to be dependent on who you're traveling with. If Han had never hooked up on Luke, he would have never had a perspective on the Force."

On the possibility of more abstract, Han Solo-type classes:
"There are a lot of fantasies in Star Wars, and they're not all Jedi and Sith."

On including quests that don't feel "epic":
"You will never have a stranger ask you to save her cat.

There are no bunnies. There are no rabbits. You are a Jedi. At no point will you be sitting down saying, okay, I have three buttons and a crystal. If I only had some thread, I could make some shoes."

On whether this means there won't be crafting:
"That is not correct. There will be crafting."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shacknews-Companions

Companion characters will function similar to the way the NPC allies did in the earlier Knights of the Old Republic games, acting as AI-controlled "companions." Players will only have one companion character out at a time, and they can be swapped in and out from the player's pool of allies.

While they may sound like traditional MMO "pets," the team is trying to make them feel more like compelling, dynamic allies.

"Companion characters--we want them to be more than pets," said creative designer James Ohlen. "We want them to be virtual friends. We want you to interact with them and become friends with them."

"You're gonna be able to customize your companion character in different ways," Ohlen continued. "Your companion characters are going to be leveling up and getting different equipment."

The designer also explained how players will actually shape the way their companion characters develop. "If you are a Sith, your companion character is going to develop a lot differently than if you leaned more toward the light side."

There will also be plenty of interaction between the player and the companions. "You'll be able to form friendships, romance companion characters, or even to trade them," added Ohlen.

The thing about Bioware is that they know how to accomplish great story telling with any of their games; that keeps their players interest until the very end. Look at most of their games from Neverwinter Nights to SW: Knight of the old Republic. They do one heck of a better job then most other RPG developers when it comes to the plot. As a matter a fact, it’s my Achilles’ heel when it comes to the actual story and gameplay (instead of just the graphics).

The only problem I for see is if the game mechanics will actually hold up for it’s general audience. If nothing else then I can literally see this kill Star Wars: Galaxies in one swift stroke (no pun intended).

Brianna · Oct 22, 2008, 07:03 AM // 07:03

Right when I saw that EA had anything to do with it I figured it'd fail.

sindex · Oct 22, 2008, 07:32 AM // 07:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna

Right when I saw that EA had anything to do with it I figured it'd fail.

I know I hate it too. I cringe at the fact that EA had somewhat of a merger with Bioware. However, the way things look it seems that EA is keeping their distance as they have done with Valve recently. As of now, EA is only the producer of the product and not the actual designer of it. They only intervene when they are not getting oodles of money. Technically, I think this MMO is the reason for the merger with EA in the first place, since they know a KotOR MMO would be a great seller. Kind of, like when EA was trying to make that hostile takeover move on 2K games just before GTA 4 was released.

ZenRgy · Oct 22, 2008, 07:37 AM // 07:37

Lightsabers are too chunky.

I hate it already. Stick to original trilogy era and thereon (New Republic).

sindex · Oct 22, 2008, 08:06 AM // 08:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenRgy

Lightsabers are too chunky.

I hate it already. Stick to original trilogy era and thereon (New Republic).

First of all it’s still in it’s alpha stage do remember Guild Wars in that stage? Here let me show you. Obviously, you have never played the KotOR series before since they were a hundred times better then the prequels. In addition, they are actually more faithful to the SW series and universe itself. As I said before it’s not just about the graphics but the story and the gamplay that keeps people entertained. Nevertheless, everyone has his or her own opinion.

On a side note, I hope they bring back HK-47 and the V/O artist as a choice for one of companions, since he was one of the best. A HK-47 moment.

Etta · Oct 22, 2008, 08:16 AM // 08:16

The Old Republic, eh? By the look of it I'll be as old when it comes out. I'll reserve my judgment for the open beta.

ZenRgy · Oct 22, 2008, 08:30 AM // 08:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by sindex

As I said before it’s not just about the graphics but the story and the gamplay that keeps people entertained.

Prequel trilogy was better.

TIE interceptor mounts please.

Abedeus · Oct 22, 2008, 09:50 AM // 09:50

If EA failed so many times, there would be no EA no more.

I think it will be great. I mean, what game has Bioware released that wasn't great or at least good?

fallot · Oct 22, 2008, 02:04 PM // 14:04

I didn't know Bioware had licensed pure ass to make this game.

ele pl · Oct 22, 2008, 03:07 PM // 15:07

At least we have some news about Kotor MMO, not like Gw2 for example. I hope it will be good, since after crap Kotor 2, they need to make something really good

Kotor MMO must be good enough to attract players from their games, specially mmos.

Snow Bunny · Oct 22, 2008, 06:18 PM // 18:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZenRgy

Prequel trilogy was better.

You mean episodes 1,2,3?

Are you retarded?

Diablo™ · Oct 22, 2008, 06:37 PM // 18:37

I have a bad feeling about this...

_Todeshand_ · Oct 22, 2008, 07:30 PM // 19:30

If the game won't fail, my real life certainly will

sindex · Oct 22, 2008, 08:06 PM // 20:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ele pl

At least we have some news about Kotor MMO, not like Gw2 for example. I hope it will be good, since after crap Kotor 2, they need to make something really good

Kotor MMO must be good enough to attract players from their games, specially mmos.

I would say KotOR 2 was not so bad especially after playing it more then once. However I will agree with you that the ending for it fell apart since it a was a bit rushed towards the end. You fight 3 Sith lords that were suppose to look ominous/evil but it takes you only a few minutes to kill them. Obsidian was the one who developed the game and not Bioware. Bioware for some apparent reason does not like making direct sequels to their games.

The one of the best things about KotOR 2 was the character development. Since the overall story arch was deeper then the previous chapter. Kreia was one of the best SW villains all around to me because of her manipulation of everyone who surrounded her. No matter how you played the situation she would always has the upper hand up until the conclusion (even better then Darth Malak). Spoiler Kreia moment.

It's good to see someone else who actually played the series though.

Sleeper Service · Oct 22, 2008, 09:36 PM // 21:36

Quote:

On the idea of choice-based story in an MMO:
"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

while kinda a good idea on the surface this has FAR too much potential for...well, "grind".

face it do you really want to HAVE to play through those stupid 60 hours (ie retarded Jedi "training", ok maybe not killing 100 rabbits but probably killing sand people or worms or them tentacled things in the garbage heaps...)
only to see what other possibilities you missed?

game needs a Tabula Rasa or developed EVE Jump Clone type system if they gonna do that.

Arkantos · Oct 22, 2008, 10:08 PM // 22:08

Sounds awesome. Lets hope EA doesn't screw it up.

sindex · Oct 22, 2008, 11:12 PM // 23:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleeper Service

while kinda a good idea on the surface this has FAR too much potential for...well, "grind".

face it do you really want to HAVE to play through those stupid 60 hours (ie retarded Jedi "training", ok maybe not killing 100 rabbits but probably killing sand people or worms or them tentacled things in the garbage heaps...)
only to see what other possibilities you missed?

game needs a Tabula Rasa or developed EVE Jump Clone type system if they gonna do that.

To me SW: Galaxies was kind of that way, just like many other MMO on the market. Have you ever played any of Bioware RPG’s? Their training stuff for all of their RPG’s go real fast and they are never dull and boring. Most of their design process is the idea of never having their players loose interest in one particular side quest. Unlike some of the knock-off quests, we see in most MMO’s that really affect your style of gameplay.