2012 release seems to be the case now.
I wanna be a Sith. I mean all the girls are yandere or yangire. How is that NOT awesome? :twisted:
Early game access preorder just posted 3 hours ago:
Put in mine. Said I’m confirmed. 
Join me, and together the twincest in all the galaxy will be ours!
Just ignore my red lightsaber and the fact I’m always walking behind you. No. No. I’m not gonna do anything evil. Trust me. :twisted:
Oh hell yeah, if I had access to the force I’d fall to the darkside so fast … “You twins will follow me to my starship now …”
I got my preorder in at 2am, just happened to check my mail and saw the announcement … figured, “hell, why not?”
I still need to see what the fee is going to be along with the system requirements so I’ll know what I need to upgrade my computer to first .
Monthly subscription costs aren’t up yet, but the minimum system specs are as follows:
Well, I was planning on getting a new computer by the end of the year anyway, so what the hell, I’ll jump on the Sith bandwagon. Why the Sith? Because the Republic characters’ supporting cast looks to be a sausage factory.
/sigh
I guess I should pre order, My system can handle it pretty easily.
But it’s EA, I hate EA, and they’re calling their digital distribution service Origin.
It just reminds of another company, like Bioware Who Created Worlds.
Actual gameplay footage with developer comments. Last investor announcement reported a Holiday 2011 release, so we’re 3 to 4 months away from release.
And remember: Dark Side. All other substitutions are weak willed Bantha Poodoo deserving of complete and painful annhilation.
And there’s a rap. Fuck yea. :twisted:
This little piece of hot alien nookie is Nadia Grell, a romance potential companion for the Jedi Consular class.
As stated by a lead designer on the project:
Sex makes you evil? More reason to embrace the Dark Side and have an apprentice with benefits. :twisted:
In case you’ve been in the dark (pun!) about npc companions: They’re your computer controlled team mates, since the MMO plays a lot like a KotOR 3 that’s online with other people. Party members basically. Each character class has access to at least 5 - the final number available to them will not exceed 10 (at least on launch date). Some will have more than others. Each character class has at least one romance potential npc. Each force sensitive class (Jedi/Sith) also has at least one apprentice potential npc.
EDIT
Ah yes… by the way… the list for NPC companions has been leaked on the Internets, thanks to a group of beta players calling themselves Kake Bakerz. There was a lot of talk their list was faked, but the recent revelation of Nadia Grell has seriously given them a lot of credit (as they mentioned her before it was official). The list is provided for your pleasure. SPOILERS of a massive kind of course.
[spoiler]Trooper:
(1) Aric Jorgan -Ord Mantell
-Ranged, Sniper Rifle
-Heavy Armor
-DPS Companion
-Starting Kit: Concussion Round
Crew Skills: +10 Armstech Efficiency, +2 Diplomacy Critical
-Gifts: Ammunition Belt, Survival Gear, Padded Weapon Case
(2) Elara Dorne -Taris
-Ranged, Blaster Pistol
-Heavy Armor
-Healing Companion
-Starting Kit: Medpack
Crew Skills: +10 Biochem Efficiency, +10 Bioanalysis Efficiency
-Gifts: Republic & Imperial History Holo, Hutt Data Library, Republic & Imperial Banners
(3) M1-4X -Nar Shaddaa
-Ranged, Blaster Rifle
-Heavy Armor/Droid Parts
-Tank Companion
-Starting Kit: Flamethrower
-Gifts: ??
(4) Tanno Vic -Balmora
-Melee Tank
-Heavy Armor,
-Rifle, Suppression, Grenade
(5) Bug Dude -Hoth
-Melee Dps
-Medium Armor
Smuggler:
(1) Corso Riggs -Ord Mantell
-Ranged Tank
-Heavy Armor
-Uses Blaster Pistols and Blaster Rifles
-has a Taunt ability
Crew Skills: +5 Underworld Trading Efficiency, +5 Armstech Critical
(2) Bowdaar -Nar Shaddaa (Wookie)
-Melee Tank
-Heavy Armor,
-vibroswords/blades/
Crew Skills: +10 Cybertech Efficiency, +10 Scavenging Efficiency
(3) Risha -Alderaan
- Ranged Dps
- Medium Armor
- Uses Rifle, Sniper Rifle
- Barrage mode (aoe mode)
- Grenade Kit
(4)Akavi Spaar -Balmorra
-Ranged DPS
-Heavy Armor
-Flamethrower move
(5) Guss Tuno -Hoth (Mon Calamari)
-Healer
-Medium Armor,
-Blasters
Jedi Consular:
(1) Qyzen-Fess -Typhon (male Trandoshan)
-Melee Tank
-Heavy Armor
-Electrostaff or Vibrosword
-Toggleable taunt-mode “lightning whip”,
+5 BioChem, +15 Archaeology
(2) Theran Cedrex -Nar Shaddaa (male Human)
-Ranged Healer
-Medium Armor
-Pistol
-toggleable healing mode
+10 Cybertech, +10 Slicing
(3) Zenith -Balmorra (male Twilek)
-Ranged DPS
-Medium armor
-Sniper Rifle
-AOE Damage Kit.
(4) Lt Iresso -Hoth (male Human )
-Ranged Tank
-Blaster rifle
-Taunt ranged skill.
(5) Nadia Grell
-Meele DPS
-Doublebladed Lightsaber
-Special: AOE Melee Attack
Jedi Knight:
(1) T7-01 -Typhon (Astromech Droid)
-Ranged Tank
-Heavy Armor
-Blaster Rifle
-Grenade (AOE damage)
(2) Kira -Courscant
-Melee DPS
-Light Armor,
-Doublebladed or single lightsaber
-AOE sweep ability
Kira: +5 Synthweaving Critical, +1 Rescarch Critical
(3) Doc -Balmora
-Ranged Healer
-Pistol
-Special skill is healing
Crew Skills: +5 Underworld Tradeing Efficiency, +5 Biochem Critical
(4) Sargent Rusk -Hoth
-Ranged dps
-Heavy armor
-Sniper rifle
-Special is aoe barrage
Crew Skills: +10 Armstech Efficiency, +10 Scavenging Efficiency
(5) Lord Scourge -Empires Palace (Sith Pureblood)
-Melee dps (tank)
-Heavy armor
-Shield generator
-Speciality tank
Crew Skills: +10 Artifice Efficiency, +10 Archaeology Efficiency
Bounty Hunter:
(1) Mako -Hutta
-Ranged Healer
-Medium Armor
-Blasters
Crew Skills: +5 Cybertech Efficiency, +15 Slicing Efficiency
(2) Gault -Tattooine
-Ranged DPS,
-Medium Armor
-Riffle
Crew Skills: +10 Underworld Trading Efficiency, +2 Biochem Critical
(3) Torian Cadera -Taris (Mandalorian)
-Melee DPS
-Heavy Armor,
-Ground Slam Kit Default
-AOE flame swipe taunt special.
Crew Skills: +10 Research Efficiency, +2 Bioanalysis Critical
(4) Blizz -Hoth
-Ranged Tank
-Heavy Armor,
-Suppressive Fire Special (Taunt)
Crew Skill: +15 Armormech Efficiency, +1 Armstech Critical
(5) Skadge - Belsavis
-Melee Tank
-Vibrosword
-Heavy armor
-Flamethrower kit
Crew Skills: +10 Scavenging Efficiency, +2 Treasure Hunting Critical
Imperial Agent:
(1) Kaliyo D’jannis -Hutta
-Ranged DPS
-Medium Armor,
-Dual Wield Pistols
-Grenade Kit Default
Crew Skills: +10 Armstech Efficiency, +2 Underworld Trading Critical
(2) Vector Hyllis -Alderaan
-Melee DPS
-Medium Armor,
-Vibrostaff
-AOE Swipe Mode special
-Gound Slam Kit Default
Crew Skills: +5 Bioanalysis Efficiency, +5 Diplomacy Critical
(3) Doctor Lokin
-MeleeTank
-Light Armor
-Vibrosword and Shield Generator
-Tank Transformation Mode
-Ground Slam Kit Default
Crew Skills: +15 Biochem Efficiency, +10 Research Efficiency
(4) Ensign Temple -Quesh
-Ranged Healer
-Medium Armor,
-Pistol and Shield Generator
-Med Pack Kit
Crew Skills: +10 Scavenging Efficiency, +2 Armormech Critical
(5) Scorpio - Belsavis
-Ranged Tank(her ability to hold aggro atm is somewhat lacking)
-Heavy armor(droid)
-Blaster Pistol + Shield Generator
-Shield Kit
Sith Inquisitor:
(1) Khem Val - Korriban
-Melee, Vibroblade + Generator
-Heavy Armor
-Tank Companion
-Starting Kit: Shockwave
-+15 Artifice Efficiency, +5 Research Efficiency
(2) Andronikos Revel - Tatooine
-Ranged, Dual Blasters
-Medium Armor
-DPS Companion
-Starting Kit: Concussion Round
-+2 Slicing Critical, +2 Underworld Trading Critical
(3) Ashara Zavros - Taris
-Melee, Dual Lightsabers
-Medium Armor
-DPS Companion
-Starting Kit: Energy Shield
-+10 Synthweaving Efficiency, +10 Diplomacy Efficiency
(4) Talos Drellik - Hoth
-Ranged, Blaster + Generator
-Medium Armor
-Heal Companion
-Starting Kit: Medkit
-+5 Treasure Hunting Efficiency, +5 Archaeology Critical
(5) Xalek - After Voss
-Caster, Lightsaber + Generator
-Light Armor
-Ranged Tank Companion
-Starting Kit: Shockwave
-+10 Bioanalysis Efficiency, +2 Scavenging Critical
Sith Warrior:
(1) Vette -Korriban (female Twilek)
-Ranged DPS
-Medium Armor
-Dual Pistols or Blaster Rifel
-Default-Kit: Concussion Round
Crew Skills: +5 Underwould Trading Efficiency, +5 Treasure Hunting Critical
(2) Malavi Quinn -Balmora
-Ranged Healer
-Mediuma Armor
-Blaster Pistol and Shield Generator
-Default-Kit: Medikit
Crew Skills: +10 Armstech Efficiency, +10 Diplomacy Efficiency
(3) Jaesa Willsaam -Hutta
-Mele DPS
-Light Armor
-One-Handed or Doublebladed Lightsaber
-Default-Kit: Shockwave
Crew Skills: +5 Archaeology Efficiency, +5 Synthweaving Critical
(4) Lieutenant Pierce -Taris
-Ranged Tank
-Heavy armor
-Blasterpistol/Rifel and Shield Generator
-Default Kit: Grenade
Crew Skills: +10 Cybertech Efficiency, +2 Research Critical
(5) Broonmark -Hoth
-Melee Tank
-Heavy Armor
-Vibroswoard Shield Generator
-Default Kit: Energy Shield
Crew Skills: +10 Scavenging Efficiency, +2 Bioanalysis Critical[/spoiler]
On a final note, something worth pointing out about one of the Inquisitor NPC companions (once again, MAJOR spoiler):
Ashara Zavros is supposed to be a dual lightsaber using Jedi Knight. Not only that, but she’s VERY puritan in her beliefs. Think hardcore Christian Bible thumper in a Jed version. She’s a romance option. Rumor has it, you break her spirit and faith during your… heh… relationship. Nice to know Stockholm Syndrome is still in fashion. :twisted:
This is before Darth Bane, right? Which means no Rule of Two yet, meaning I can have more than one of these apprentices with benefits :twisted:
Long before Bane, though I saddly doubt they’ll allow three+somes or harem endings in the MMO. (don’t know what they’re missing out on!)
Hell, I know if I had it my way I’d be using the hell out of those mind tricks between adventures … maybe skip the adventure entirely and become a dark side pimp with my own harem and a rotating stock.
Initial copies will be limited. It’s not a sales pitch or bluff: [b]EA confirms it[/b]
I actually have four orders of this game… A digital copy from Origins (so I can play on launch day), a preorder of the limited edition from GameStop’s online store (so I can get all goodies), and two regular edition copies preordered from BestBuy and a local mall GameStop (involves beer and the stupidy of peers).
E-Bay… here I come! :twisted:
I’ve been debating getting the limited edition. However, at around $150, it is rather a lot for me to try and fit in my budget.
Behold fellow Sith Lords. If you play the Inquisitor class, this is the romance npc for male characters: Ashara Zavros. What we have here is a teenaged Jedi saint who’s never done anything wrong before. Seriously. She’s as close to a nun as you’re gonna get in KotOR. 
Spoiler about her: Ashara is so pure it gives ya cavities. She honestly thinks she can redeem you: one of the darkest, most vile Sith to tread the galaxy. She spends all her time and energy, to make you into a Jedi. Tisk-Tisk. That’s right my fellow Dark Siders: break her virgin heart. Show her the depths of your hatred and destruction… then make her grovel at your feet like she’s never done for any Master. I’ve heard some people call her Ahsoka Tano with tits in a barely legal stage. Ain’t too far from the truth.
[attachment=1]Ashara_Zavros_002.jpg[/attachment] [attachment=2]Ashara_Zavros_001.jpg[/attachment]
You get Ashara around your third planet. Level 30-ish.
If you happen to be playing a male Sith Warrior, and don’t wanna date the blue alien girl, there’s another option: Jaesa Wilsaam
Spoiler: She’s very strong willed, and constantly plots against you. She’s basically what Vader was to Palpatine. You repeatedly have to “prove” your the Alpha male and she’s your bitch from time to time. It’s a kiss-fight-kiss relationship.
[attachment=0]jaesa_willsaam_001.jpg[/attachment]
Keep in mind that you get the Twi’lek as your first companion if you play a Sith Warrior (not sure if romancing her first will stop your chance). Once you get your starship, you can go find her immediately (unlike the Sith Inquisitor and Ashara). She’ll be on the Hutt planet.
I’m playing on Mask of Nihilus – a West Coast server. 8)
Oh yea… people already posting Youtube vids of the romances. Here’s one of Ashara lovin the Dark Side. Spoiler… naturally.
Break that jailbait. :lol:
I’ve moved to Drooga’s Pleasure Barge, thanks to the massive server population consolodation. The game never came close to being another WoW, but it managed to maintain a steady subscriber base over one million. Unfortunately they’re all scattered about… hence the dev organized moves.
If anyone wants to hang out with a tentacled level 50 Dark Side DPS Sith Sorcerer with his Stockholm Syndrome DPS slave girl Jedi, just give Nocturnus a call. :twisted:
Of if you’ve already got a damager, my level 50 Dark Side Tank Sith Juggernaut with his Yandere DPS ex-Jedi wife, goes by the name of Sanguinis. 8)
The game was too linear and too gated. I’ll probably give it a look again come next January, perhaps they’ll have improved it enough after a year of updates and tweaks. These days I’m beta testing Guild Wars 2 when the weekend events are open and enjoying that more than I did TOR.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the linear part is going to go away. The game is very console story-centric, so it’s sorta nature of the beast.
In fact, at the moment, BioWare has sorta driven themselves into a wall. The recent updates have been adding more PvP and epic gear orientated stuff (to please those sorts), but there’s a growing voice of complaints from the people who played it for the casual plot. Basically they want to see more story, more companions, and what happens to their character after reaching the top of their respecive power bases.
So BioWare is gonna have to choose between more plot or more PvP, because it’s time consuming for either, and people are gonna notice half-ass work if they try short cuts. They aren’t gonna succeed in pleasing both – I don’t think they have enough manpower – so it might have to come down to one or the other.
Personally, I think the PvP’ers are more vocal, but not the majority… the steady 1 million pop, appears to be those who are still playing all the classes to level 50. Once they’ve gone through all 8 stories, and if more isn’t added on by then, I think there will be a massive exodus. I’ve gone through four of the eight so far, admitted I’m a bit more hardcore on leveling than your typical joe, but the casuals I know have gone through at least two already.
Meh. The biggest problem I had was playing one character on the Republic or Sith side was pretty much the same experience as playing another. Yes your personal story was different and interesting, but everything in between was exactly the same - all the same locations, all the same side missions, and in all the same order. There was no reason to go back to a planet you had left, so if you outleveled some of the side missions and thought you’d push on to the next planet, then come back later to catch the stuff you’d skipped, no go - you’d receive no xp and no encouragement to do so. Some of the side missions were interesting, but a good number of them were boring as hell, “kill X number of Y” missions given from static hubs with far too little effort to disguise them.
What they really need are more planets at every level, low-medium-high, and more areas on each planet to encourage people to go back to planets they’ve already visited. The story missions should travel with the players, no matter which planet they are on, through a floating instance - even if it pops up as an option when you leave your ship - rather than sticking them in the same spot on the same planets every time. Of course, all this was said on the beta forums before the game launched and what did the developers come back with? “We’re not listening to beta feedback on these forums, we’re simply gathering in game metrics from your play styles.”
Bioware is a great company for making solo player games, (the horrible ending of the ME franchise withstanding) but they did not know how to properly design an MMO.
Aye. I agree with you there. I have many of my own opinions of what they could do for making things less linear.
Now not saying having more choices and zones is a bad thing – especially for a new mmo – but slightly off topic: I’ve always defined this as “illusion of leveling choice”.
Reason being, there are many games out there with alternate means of leveling up. Different zones, another lineup of monsters, so forth and so on… but then players will eventually groove themselves into what’s most efficient to level and ignore choice. Take City of Heroes for example. Before it went free to play, you had four zones to level newbies with… Atlas Park, Galaxy City, Hollows, and Sewers. For a variety of reasons, mechanically and aesthetically, players just skipped them and went straight to Mission Architect. Okay… sure… you could level in one of those four zones… see the plots that involved them, experience the bosses… but it was easier to just run 5 minutes in Mission Architect than it was an hour in those four zones. And then once you were ready to go to the level 10+ zones (you had a choice of Skyway City, Steel Canyon, and Perez Park)… you just went through more Mission Architect. Now not all mmo’s were as bad as City of Heroes with this, but they usually mirror it to some degree. There are probably hundreds of ways I could level my character in WoW, but then there’s the efficient way to level my character in WoW… and most people do a pattern that’s the efficient way. I’ve gone through WoW and seen dozens of dead zones, because no one levels there: exactly because of the illusion of choice VS efficiency.
Again, counterproductive as it may seem, illusion of choice is a GOOD thing to have, for customer satisfaction. After all, the best dictatorship is the one when people think they’re free. But you make zones and leveling options too balanced, and people begin to whine you’ve just cloned zones in a new skin (real or imagined)… or if you’ve truly made each leveling area truly unique, then one or two will eventually become the “majority choice” out of something completely unrelated to the leveling experience… maybe it’s the zone most people just happen to pick, or a zone that has what people consider the prettiest tile set. People just naturally drift to conformity. It’s in our psychological nature.
It’s more than just leveling though… I could write a whole thesis on illusion of choice when it comes to character classes. You could break them down into three sets really… damage (broken into two subdivisions of melee and ranged), player manipulation, and enemy manipulation. But that’s a long story for another time…
I blame the entire gaming industry for bastardizing and watering down the term to incorrect definition, but what you played was NOT a beta: it was a Release Candidate. I so hate how companies toss the words “Closed Beta” or “Open Beta” all over the place… but that’s not what they are. The time BioWare could make those kinds of drastic additions, was back in 2007 or 2008. People who played in 2009 or later were NOT playing a beta anymore. It was just repeated versions of Release Candidates.