Space Combat May Be On Rails [Updated]
Update: There has been some clarification on the official forums, and the issue of PC Action has been released with translation.
There is an article about by the PC Action magazine that gives more details about Space Combat. There is a translation for this posted by a few users but I ask that everyone keep the discussion of the topic to this thread. Keeping the conversation within a (single) thread is easier for the team to look at consolidated constructive criticism and feedback instead of having to search all over and reading numerous short threads.
While discussing this, as always, be courteous to your fellow community members.
UPDATE [1]: To clarify, Space Combat is not a Turret Shooter (this is probably obvious after seeing the screenshot but some people were mentioning it in the other thread).
Here’s an overview of the article, paraphrased from SWTOR-Station.com:
- Space combat is reminiscent of Rebel Assault – a tunnel shooter
- Missions will be short
- Sample mission was to destroy 20 fighters and the enemy capital ship
- There is always something going on in the missions – no free flying around space
- There will be escort missions
- There will only be single player space combat at launch
- These are optional missions
- There are 6 ship types. The Jedi and Sith classes will share a ship, while the other classes get unique ship types.
Original post:
For those of you excited by the prospect of space combat in The Old Republic, don’t get your hopes up yet. It is being rumored that the combat will be on rails, which means players will not be able to directly control their ship and it will be more of a guided experience. Many were expecting space combat to be akin to what was featured in the Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed expansion, but that level of depth may not be present as this rumor makes it sound like a minigame. Keep in mind that this information is not yet verified though. It is according to German website Online Welten that claim to have an inside scoop on information to be published in an upcoming issue of PC Action magazine. Either way, we should find out the truth soon.
The Old Republic To Miss Spring 2011 Launch?
An EA executive has confirmed that Star Wars: The Old Republic will not launch before March 31, 2011.
Speaking during EA’s most recent earnings call, company CFO Eric Brown discussed the game’s future and noted that it would not ship during EA’s fiscal year 2011.
“We are not assuming that we bring a major new MMO to market in fiscal ‘11. We will continue to increase significant development cost as we prepare this title for launch,” he said.
This statement is coming only weeks after LucasArts and BioWare confirmed the game was aiming for a Spring 2011 launch window. If this schedule is followed, the game could see a release in April or May 2011.
However, EA CEO John Riccitiello was quick to point out that the costs to develop a well-done MMO are “significant”.
“MMOs can cost as much as two to six, seven times as much as a front-line title, if they’re done right,” said Riccitiello.
Brown concluded that they were not revealing a specific date for the game.
Star Wars: The Old Republic beyond March 2011, says EA [VG247]
Jedi Knight All But Confirmed
Members of the official forums have done some digging and found several assets that confirm that the Jedi Knight will be one of the upcoming class announcements. We have known a Jedi class would be in the game since day 1, but we have not heard any details previously, nor what the class would be officially called, similar to how the Sith Class became the Sith Warrior.
The first site assets found were the Holonet entry for the Jedi Knight bringing up an “unauthorized” message. When you type in other URLs under the holonet, you don’t receive a message. Two concept art pages have also been found, jedi-knight-1 and jedi-knight-2.
Next, a Jedi Knight image was found to go along with the other images on the official site’s classes page:
A class forum icon was also found for what looks like the Jedi Knight:
Lastly, the flash animation for the Jedi Knight class page has been uncovered.
You can view the full animation here.
Convinced? Look forward to a possible announcement this Friday.
Update: BioWare has since taken down the flash animation for the Jedi Knight holonet entry.
Update 2: Check out the animation uploaded to YouTube. Thanks to reader Pinio!
Threat of Peace Hints at Imperial Agent Class?
Responding to fan speculation from the newest episode of Threat of Peace, developer Rob Chestney has responded on the official forums with some interesting insight.
The weapon in question here is actually a supercharged Imperial vibroblade. It’s shorter than the traditional vibroblade–designed for one-shot stealth attacks. The blade’s powercell releases one massive jolt of energy when the weapon hits its target, rendering it largely useless afterward, but usually, of course, the target is in pretty much the same state.
Will you get to wield these weapons in the game? I can neither confirm nor deny that. Suffice to say, if you do, don’t bother trying it against Baras. Electricity is practically running through his veins in the first place. You don’t want to wind up like the would-be assassin the comic. Maybe if you try two? (Source)
SW:TOR blog DarthHater has gone in-depth with the latest ToP issue plus the above developer posting and put together pretty convincing evidence that an upcoming announcement could be the Imperial Agent class. Check out everything he has to say at the DarthHater blog.
Sony To Develop A Free-To-Play Clone Wars MMO?
The rumor? Sony Online Entertainment has once again partnered up with LucasArts to develop a browser-based Star Wars MMO set in the Clone Wars period. Sony would use the browser-based engine used to power free-to-play MMO Free Realms to develop the game and it would be aimed at a casual audience based on the Clone Wars CGI movie and television series. Read more»
Overheard at Gamescom….
Bioware hosted a demo video of TOR at the Gamescom in Germany this past week. The SWTOR-Station reporters attended the convention and posted some juicy tidbits of information for us at their site. Some of the things mentioned in the TOR demo included auction houses, crafting, PvP play, and housing. Yes, housing. There are no other details at this time, so we’ll have to wait for more news. All of those things sound great if they’re implemented appropriately.
By the way, if you get the German version of SWTOR-Station and need the English version, click on the US/UK flag on the upper right side of the page.
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The Old Republic Coming October 2010?
No, it’s not a confirmation, but a rumor is circulating that LucasArts is planning for an October 2010 release date for their highly anticipated MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.
According to French gaming site Starwars-Universe.com, they have a “very reliable source that the game is currently set for October 2010. But keep in mind that we’re talking about a videogame, and delays are more than usual especially with MMOs.”
Chalk it up in the rumor column until we hear more!
We have a release date for The Old Republic! [Starwars-Universe.com via TheForce.net]
New Info: 8 Classes in SWTOR
Edge Online recently posted a preview of The Old Republic, and overall it contained quotes we have already heard and info we already know all wrapped up into one preview. However there was one gem of new info to be uncovered from the article. While not a direct quote from LucasArts or BioWare, a direct quote follows which hints that they may have heard it from LA directly.
Each of the eight classes also has its own distinct narrative. “If you start our game as a Jedi knight, play from the start to the finish, then you play as a Sith from the start to the finish, you will not see one repeated bit of content. Not one quest, not one line, nothing,” says Erickson. Nothing at all? “OK, well, you might see different sides of the same conflict, but this is Star Wars – ‘Wars’, you know?”
Unfortunately it gets no more specific than that, so it is still unknown what classes will be in the game apart from Jedi and Sith. Stay tuned!
Source: Inside The Old Republic
