The Imperial Shipyards
Imperial Entertainment TV and Movies => Gaming Corner => Topic started by: Phatty on November 09, 2011, 12:47:29 PM
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Anyone out there get an invite to test the game this weekend? I did, and am downloading the game client now to get ready for it. It begins on Friday, 11/11/11 at 5PM PST and ends on Sunday, 11/13/11 at 8PM PST. I'm hoping it's as cool as we're all hoping, and I'll let you know as I go along through the test how it fares.
By the way, does anyone play games like these on your computers and use a controller? I think I'd want a controller of some kind, as I hate to "type" my commands on a keyboard; I feel they're so much slower.
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Are they going to charge a monthly fee to play this one, Pat?
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I imagine so, though I haven't seen anything that says how much. I may not be looking in the right places or something, but I found surprisingly little information about things like that.
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Just played the first hour or so of the game, and was pretty enjoyable thus far. The graphics are pretty slick and smooth, no lag that I've noticed so far. Game play is typical of any MMORPG you've played, so nothing new there. Since I'm relatively new to the MMO world, I don't have a lot to compare to. My big points were graphics, lag, audio, and easibility. I really want a controller of some kind, as I hate to play off of my keyboard, but it's not too difficult thus far. I'm pretty happy with things, and think next time I log in, I'm going to try a different class, as I started with Jedi Consular. Next I may try Sith or Bounty Hunter and see what's up.
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Glad to hear that its pretty good.
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I started a Female Bounty Hunter class, choosing Chiss as the species. I played for a little more than an hour and was not at all happy with it. It could be because I'm not used to this style, or using my keyboard, but my own personal mental lag in choosing commands really puts her at a disadvantage when there are more than 2 adversaries. I died a lot. It just seemed that I was outmatched at every turn, and became frustrated rather often because of it. I found the quests more difficult to ascertain, and I really don't like the map function of the game overall. Therefore, I abandoned her to her own devices and went back to my Jedi class.
That said, I'm going to be sad when this comes to an end tonight and have to wait until December 20th to get back at it. I've found the story arcs and gameplay so much nicer in this class. I should start a Sith class to see which side has the better quests, though I suspect that won't matter all that much. I've always favored Force users, and it shows in my experience with this game quite a bit.
So far, the only issues I've run into with the game come from the occasional seams found in the graphics. While typically sharp overall, occasionally certain elements fail to be in focus. This is most evident when it comes to interpersonal conversations. Sometimes a face will be very smooth and plain, then suddenly snap back into focus and show blemishes and scars. Where you encounter a Transdoshan friend of your Master, at one point the camo on his armor is excellent, and the next time it's a blurry canvas of smeared color. Nothing huge, it doesn't take away from the game at all, but just felt odd to me.
The more I play, the more I don't want to stop. I'm looking most forward to this game because it'll give me something to do at work during my downtime. It's something I can do while the wife is home and wants to watch TV. It's highly emursive, and after several hours with it, there's definitely no end in sight. Nor should there be, but it's nice to feel that while you're constantly on the go, you're not in danger of suddenly completing the game.
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Well that doesn't make me happy at all because I was going to have a bounty hunter character when I got the game. Maybe it'll be easier for me because I have reflexes that are pretty good. As you could guess I'm going to be a human male, eventually wearing mandalorian armor. ;D
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Mrs Balls has been beta testing this last week - she is both a very experienced MMORPG player and a total Star Wars buff
She reports that on her quad core 3.6GHz PC with 2GB RAM and a 2GB graphics card she was able to run it at good speeds with what looked like pretty good (not top end) graphics...
Her first impressions? Its the first MMO to really challenge WOW, easily walks over LOTRO and all the other online RPGs she has played over the years. Also it's FREAKIN' STAR WARS guys!! She says the voice actin is great, the story arcs for the characters seem interesting and that the FMVs are nothing short of amazing...
Gameplay wise, she says if you've played LOTRO or WOW you will know what to expect. In her words (Having maxxed out several WOW characters over the years) "it's as if they have taken the best mechanics from the leading MMOs and wrapped it up with a KOTOR bow." During the beta she tried a smuggler, Imperial Agent and Jedi.
Overall she was very impressed with the game and can't wait to get her hands on the game on the 20th.
My views - I'm pretty new to MMOs, however I did spend a little bit of time on the dying Star Wars Galaxies, which was a bitter sweet experience as I drove through virtual ghost towns in my landspeeder and got constantly harassed by kids to join their guilds!
Now going on Mrs B's appraisal I've just ordered my copy and a new PC just for playing this on. (we have a 360/PS3/Wii/C64/Amiga/SNES/Saturn/Dreamcast for all other gaming needs lol!)
As the game doesnt require a total powerhouse (and we have 40Mb DL fibre optic broadband) I've gone for a fairly modest rig of
PCS MAELSTROM T900 Case
Intel® Core™i3-2120 Dual Core (3.30GHz, 3MB Cache)
Motherboard ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s
RAM 4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk 250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk 250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
Power Supply 450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling COOLIT ECO II A.L.C (ADVANCED LIQUID COOLER)
Sound Card Sound Blaster® Audigy™ SE
Now I'm planning on playing this casually, I'm not interested in the PVP server or even the strict RP one. Also I enjoy the freedom of this style of game, I want to savour it and not grind continuously to max my character as quickly as possible. I want to have an organic experience, and feel my little avatar grow as I play alongside my wife and best friend...just a simple man trying to make my way in the galaxy....
and finally...
"NO, I DO NOT WANT TO JOIN YOUR 1337 GUILD OF KIDS!!"
:p
WB out!
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I tested it again last weekend as well, and only had one hitch that continued all weekend, where any time I was indoors, the whole game would lag fiercely. I've enjoyed it, I just don't enjoy using my keyboard to play it. What does your wife use to play? I bought a Logitech controller that was difficult to set up specifically to the game, but I may try again. I'm looking forward to it, and don't know what class I'll kick it off with. I've played Bounty Hunter, Jedi Consular, and Sith Inquisitor. I did not like the bounty hunter role at all, but enjoyed both of the Force user classes immensely.
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Phatty, Vic is an old school PC mouse and keyboard player from the old days of her Quake/wolfie clans - it took her ages to get used to playing FPS games on a console pad!
I'm still new myself to playing with a mouse and keys, and those 'gaming' key/mouse sets look like they've been pulled out of a stealth fighter!!
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Very true. The controller I bought is set up like a PS3 controller, so it would be simple to use if I could figure out how to map the movement controls properly. The rest of the commands are easy to map, it's the movement that get's me. Perhaps when the official game debuts, I can get the controller to work better. I am looking forward to it, that's for sure. I wish I had preordered the digital copy now instead of the physical one, because if you preordered the digital version, you can get access to play 5 days early.
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Ditto re the digital copy! Vic has been following the dev online and can't wait to get her hands on the full game...gotta say I'm excited too!
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Wow WB, sounds like you have a nice set up. Alas, lack of high speed internet will keep me from this game for now. You guys are making me green though.
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Hey Tamer
I decided to buy a rig just for TOR, however I didn't push the boat out too far in the specs department (and I'm not really that techie.) My wife however is a full on tech geek and professional fibre optic technician!
I just wanted to have a set up that could handle the game at a decent enough level but not break the bank!
Hopefully the PC will arrive before the game!!
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I'm stuck in a crappy hotel abroad due to work but I've just had a couple of emails that made me smile!
My new PC, peripherals and copy of TOR have all shipped, wooooooohoooo!
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Well TOR-Day is almost upon us, my new PC and all the gibbons are ready to go, the game client is installed, my subscription in place and I'm ready to hit it!
I'm on a late shift today so I should (all going well) get home for 0100 - the servers come online at 0500, not much sleep for me LOL!
I'm thinking of starting off with a Jedi tank character. I'll be back with my newbie views in a few days...
WB out!!
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SWTOR has not been a smooth ride for me - firstly I was one of a huge number of folk who suffered from the Security Question bug (basically where our accounts kept getting locked out due to the database mixing up our questions and related answers!) 3.5 hours of telephone 'hold' music and eventually a customer service rep sorted that out though!
And next?Even though I was up for the 0500 launch I didn't get off to a flying start!
Firstly I was one of a large number of players whose account was delayed 'going live' by about an hour, then I had another well known problem, the "infamous black screen" which after an hour and a half of cursing was sorted out with a two min registry change...
Then I was in...holy poop this is fun. I've lost lots of hours on Skyrim recently but this is truly awesome. Not the prettiest of games but it runs nicely on my new PC. I haven't had a touch of lag and I'm playing on a full server...
I've spent a solid 10 hours today building up a Jedi 'tank' and I still haven't left the nursery areas! I'm a mere level 8.5!
As Phatty said, getting used to mouse and keys is taking some time after years of joypads, but other than the less than stellar start, the game has come on in leaps and bounds IMO.
So far I'd say Customer Service 5/10 vs The Game 8.5/10. It's early days yet though...
Hope to see someone you on there...
WB out!!
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I'll be picking mine up later today, and hope they have SOME of these bugs out of the system already, though I highly doubt it. I'm still unsure if I'm going to go Jedi or Sith yet, as I tested both classes and liked them. Looking forward to playing soon!
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Since the above bugs were fixed it has been plain sailing for me!
I played for a total of 13 hours on day 1 (!!!) and managed to put in another two yesterday. My Jedi guardian is now level 12 and I've escaped the nursery area and am questing on Coruscant.
This game is fantastic - but comes into its own when you are part of a group. Last night Vic and I were playing side by side and fighting our way through hordes of lightsaber fodder!
As I'm new to MMOs it is taking me a while to get to grips with the mechanics, but the whole experience is polished and fun.
Can't wait to see where my character's story takes me. A couple more sessions of grafting and I should have my own ship and when I get to level 25 I can use my STAP!
My rig is running the game extremely well, max graphics and no lag at all...
More soon
WB out!!
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Man, I am green with envy. Glad it is so good. When I get high speed internet at my home, this is gonna be my first online gaming experience.
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I had no issues getting everything loaded up and ready to play. I put in a couple of hours yesterday before I had things to do, and got my Jedi Knight to level 5. I still have quite a bit to do in the nursery area yet, but that's ok as well. Some of the glitches I reported during the testing phases have been corrected, and things have been running very smoothly so far. The combat is much more balanced, so I'm not needing to use medpacks every other round like I did during testing. I find that using the keyboard for movement and a mouse for the rest helps. My controller still does not work without mapping it out on my own, and movement is still crappy on it. I'm going to give it a couple of months to decide if it's worth the $15/month to play. Honestly, for having to pay to play the game, I find the $60 to buy the discs an insult, since you get nothing out of it at that point. Here's hoping to put more time into it today while at work!
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Hmmm....I don't like the sound of that price originally if they make you pay that much for it per month online. I guess as it gets older the price will go down.
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I still have not gotten on this game. It takes about ten hours to load and shuts down all the time! I have yet to see the welcome video. :(
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That's very odd. How old is the computer you're trying to use? Are you trying to download from discs or online? It took me about 15 minutes total to download from disc, and probably an hour when I downloaded the game client online to test it last month.
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Man I've had to go back on duty for a couple o shifts and I'm clucking for
more TOR...
Here's a couple of screen shots, the first is on a familiar desert planet (!) the second is a shot of my Jedi ship...Enjoy!
(http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z279/red5_album/52cc7126.jpg)
(http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z279/red5_album/d0fcc0b0.jpg)
Still I have another three days off over New Year, time to get to level 25 and free my STAP!
Hope you (and your families) all had a Merry Christmas!
WB out!!
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Well, I was plugging along nicely, at level 15 on Coruscant when suddenly last night in the middle of a fight, my computer fried out. Yup, 5 months old, heard an electronic beep and that was all she wrote. Luckily it's under warranty, but I have to wait for them to ship me a box, send it in, 7-10 business days turn around time, then shipping it back to me. So, I won't be able to play this game again for about 3 weeks.
WB, do you play in groups, or do everything solo? To be honest, I REALLY don't want to play with others online, but some of the missions highly suggest that you do. Just curious. By the way, what level do you get your Jedi ship, and do you buy it, is it a reward at attaining a certain level?
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Hey Phatty
Man, I'm sorry to hear about your computer woes...hope it gets fixed soon!
As for your questions - I was given my ship after completing the core story quests on Coruscant, I believe that the other story arcs work in a similar vein.
As for groups? I've found on the first three planets that the core quests can be done on your own, however a couple of times I've needed my wife to give me a hand with her character, no issues if you are different classes, however if you are both the same then certain story elements need to be repeated for each player.
Some quests (I believe that they are called flashpoints and operations) require forming groups but there seem to be plenty of players willing to do this for the mission then go their separate ways afterwards.
It is also worth switching between your companions if you find a quest on the difficult side - one of mine is far better at combat than the other.
A good mate of mine is about to buy the game, and I'll be going back to join him in his nursery area to help him level up quickly through at least 1 to 15...
Hope this answers your questions, and that you have a safe, happy New Year
WB out!!
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Got TOR last week but couldnt install because daily life.Currently Im downloading it.So long but i think it will be worth it
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Yeah, it takes awhile to download, but you're going to love it! I got my laptop back a few days ago and got to play it for a couple hours then, and hope to put more time in on it today and tomorrow.
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I can't believe how much fun this game is... I'm now level 34 and my characters skills are really coming into their own! I've also mastered the crafting side of things and am enjoying a steady flow of credits from other Jedi buying and installing my lightsaber custom parts!
Some beautiful planets as well - Taris was superb, I'm currently exploring the home of the Organa's!!
WB out!!
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I really need to get into that crafting and other specialties, but I just have no idea where to start. Any suggestions?
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Hey Phatty
What Character are you playing?
There are various crafting gathering skills that are recommended for each character. I ignored this at my peril and trained in random ones that I thought were cool - oops.
Luckily you can 'unlearn' skills and train in new ones. Then it's a matter of
** Sending your companions on crating material gathering missions.
** Gathering the same crafting materials in game as you explore the planets.
** Buying crafting materials on the Galactic Market
** Tasking your companions to build the items that you have blueprints for.
** You can buy blueprints form your crafting vendors or on the Galactic Market.
** To increase your core crafting skill build the more challenging items on your list (Check out their colour coded difficulty rating)
** To improve on the quality of the items that you have built, "use reverse engineering" by doing this you stand the chance of learning a blueprint for an improved version of the item that you created.
For a more indepth guide have a look here! (However the one small section on 'mods'may be outdated.)
http://www.starwarsmmolevelingguide.com/crafting-guide/
All the best,
Ray
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wow so dumb I would love to play the game but I need to buy time and I really dont want to use my omney for something already bought
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Did you guys hear that this is going to be free to play to level 50 this Fall from Bio-Ware?
Kinda wondered what you guys thought who have already paid full price for this? As I understand it the free version will have some limitations, but sure does seem like a slap in the face to those who paid for it.
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/726499/star-wars-the-old-republic-will-be-free-to-play-this-fall/
"BioWare has reported a steady decline of subscriptions for SWTOR since its release in late 2011."
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I really wan't to try it but i won't cause downloaded thing's mess up my computer. >:( >:( It's already slow enough! :'( :-X :-X
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I saw this yesterday too!
As a paid subscriber it doesn't bother me too much. Since it started in December it's been the only modern game I've been playing! I still love it, but haven't had the time to play much recently due to work.
I feel that I've got my money's worth out of it so far an I'll be continuing for the foreseeable. My toons are on the Red Eclipse European Server if anyone fancies joining up...
Hopefully FTP will reinvigorate the player base!
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I've discontinued my subscription to it because I wasn't playing it. I had gotten stuck in a glitch for more than a month with very little assistance, until someone finally understood what I was trying to tell them and fixed it, but by then, I had lost track of what I was doing in it and had to go back and redo so much after they fixed my character. I may play again when it goes free to play, but we'll see. I think it's great to get some of those people who are scared by a monthly fee.
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Well now that I have high speed I will have no excuse not to play.
Perhaps we can all join in the same group and build up our characters?
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I got kotor I & II xbox versions cheap off the bay..........what size hard drive will a 360 need to run these games?
Any ideas if 20gb will do the job???
I got a white 360 I've just got working again today (laser was out slightly) and a black 360 slim,which one should i slap the drive in to??
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I played this game religiously for like...6 years straight. Then 2 more off and on. I did hardcore raiding, competitive PvP and the like...
Then the dark times came. EA turned it into a casual at best game for weekend warriors. Gambling boxes took priority to actual content. Players became disenfranchised. Annoyed. Pissed. There was never any form of urgency to anything they did. They brought us back, finally, with story driven content which was fun for a month at a time, but eventually fizzled out. Haven't played since...
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Yeah, it was really great back in the day. So wish they would get something going like this again.