Hier de 11 AM PAX developer Q & A tekst, hier de link
PAX Prime: Day 2 Developer Presentation Live Blogs - 11a Day 2:
11:00a PT - Alyson Bridge and David Bass giving out stuff. Gabe Amatangelo says he'll talk about PvP.
11:05 - Open world PvP is a topic for Sunday's panel.
11:08 - GA: We have fully featured endgame, including planets that solo players will enjoy. Perpetual high end solo content.
11:10 - GA: Flashpoints are dynamic, story driven 4 player content. Crew skills unlock new options in Flashpoints. Operations are multigroup combat.
11:11 - Q: So to start off with, The Old Republic fans have really been asking a lot about balance with the classes, as far as different classes in the game, how do you guys keep them balanced and, I don't know, like the Sith Warrior Juggernaut is that an overpowered class?
11:11 - GA: Well the way we look at it is if you have a lightsaber, you win. No, I'm just kidding. Everyone has a role, everyone has a distinct role, and everyone has that unique Star Wars theme that places in a role. And of course, you've got Vanguard Trooper that's very defensive to ensure he defends other people. How we approach balance is we want everyone to feel important in what they're doing as well as in end-game and PvP. And again, if you go check it out, you can see where it's at. The players are level 14 because we don't want to throw too much at you because you only have like 20 minutes in a session, but they can try it out over there.
11:12 - Q: Release date?
11:12 - GA: We're targeting release later this year, holiday, that's our target. And of course you can pre-order now. We have testing on-going, you can sign up for testing on the website, and we're continuing to expand and open it up to more testers.
11:13 - Q: We've been playing WoW for five or six years, and it's a pretty robust world we've been a part of. We're getting kind of bored with the game cause we have Star Wars. What is guild functionality like, is there going to be some kind of guild dynamics?
11:14 - GA: We have the basic guild functionality in there now and we're continuing to expand upon it. We'll see how much we get by launch and we'll continue to grown it because obviously guilds are very important to the MMO community, we're fully aware of that and we're continuing to expand on the functionality of guilds.
11:14 - DE: One of the things for anybody that doesn't know obviously is that the guild registrations and all that stuff is actually up already online, so you can go now, you can build your TOR guild, you can get your friends, you can get everyone together, the goal is to try to bring you guys in, in mass, all together when we get on so we can organize servers and do all that stuff.
11:15 - Q: So I was wondering what you're doing to ensure the RPG elements in this game that will differentiate from other MMOs in Flashpoints and everyone, cause that one last video has me a little worried that you're not doing about.
11:15 - GA: So Flashpoints, there's several different kind of choice moments that you and the group have. Do you flush everyone out of the airlock for the greater good of everyone? Or do you try to find different means to spare them? Light side, dark side points affect your progression and also affects how the action unfolds. And we hearken back the old-school BioWare stuff like, you find hidden chest here, hidden puzzles, hidden levels, depending on your crew skills like Archeology like I was saying earlier, or if you're bio-analysis, there might be a poison hallway, and bio-analysis to figure out how to get across it. Not necessary, but optional type stuff, old-school RPG where objectives must be on the other side of the wall.
11:15 - DE: If he's answering RPG questions, I'm taking that PvP one.
11:15 - Q: Knowing the size of the game is going to be huge at launch, what kind of plans do you have after launch for expansions?
11:15 - DE: DE: All I can say here is that I still have a job, which is good, and we are actually going to be addressing a little bit about that stuff on our panel on Sunday.
11:16 - Q: Just wondering, several of my friends are either playing Jedi or Sith classes, what are you doing to balance the non-Jedi against the actual Jedi classes and Sith classes so they don't go in there and just get worked every time they get on there.
11:15 - DE: Well this is a little bit like Gabe was talking about, making all classes functional, all I can say if you got to see any of the Huttball footage from Germany, what you can see is one kick in the nuts can change every fight.
11:16 - GA: Well stated Daniel. Everything is balanced to have a role, we're not favoring one class over all the others, but we are focusing on all of them having a Star Wars thematic in all the various interactions. Again, check it out over there, play for yourself, see what we're talking about.
11:17 - Q: Can I go over to my Sith Juggernaut buddy's ship and hang out, talk with his companions and what-not, have dance parties?
11:17 - DE: Yeah, absolutely, you can travel on each other's ship, the nice thing is, so we assume that your crew flies your ship so you don't get stranded, but yeah you can go see his ship, see what he's done, see what companion characters he's got, invite everybody over and have a party.
11:17 - GA: See which companion characters he made cry.
11:17 - Q: How customizable are the ships?
11:18 - DE: The ships are very customizable as far as abilities, so for the space game you can upgrade rockets, you can upgrade your lasers, your shields, you can all do that stuff, actual physical customization is moving to a post-launch feature.
11:18 - GA: Cosmetic stuff.
11:19 - Q: World of Warcraft, everybody is competing to get to the top. You have arenas, you also have high-end raiding, and everybody's focus against one spot. Are you guys going to be just story-driven completely or is it going to be a zenith or pinnacle where you can say, I'm the best guild in the world, or I'm the best 2v2 or 5v5, or anything like that?
11:19 - GA: As far as the competition goes, so combat in The Old Republic is very visual, that's a good building block for e-sports. So it's a big focus for us to foster that competition. At launch we're going to have battle rings and stuff like that that shows how much you're in to PvP, but we're expanding on that, we're exploring more stuff in the future for competition. Now obviously, you've got the PvE, you've got the PvP, we've set it up such that there's only 10% differential with the equipment, so we allow people to try out different things, not like go into PvP from PvE and get one-shot, so we're encouraging players to do a lot of that stuff. And, the story culminates in eventual conflicts and stuff like that and Daniel you can take it from there.
11:20 - DE: All of that comes back to basic, does this have the basic MMO elements to it, and it absolutely does. The MMO has always sort of been missing the RPG element right, and as a story guy, as an explorer, I wandered around for a bit, I saw it until I felt like everything was there, and then I left. We're bringing that to the MMO environment, we're not taking anything away from the MMO environment. You guys that are killers, if that's your type, you want to walk around the server and be like, look at me, I'm the baddest assed man in the galaxy and I will skunk you. We are very aware of that player type and he is a very large piece of our game design group in fact.
11:20 - GA: And you'll recognize, there will be specific looks for those people who accomplish those feats.
11:20 - DE: Yeah as the guy who's roleplaying right now when I'm playing and doing the story stuff, I usually see that guy and I'm like, what, how did you? The guy in the death mask is walking around he's like full PvP gear, and I'm like, you're level 15!
11:20 - Q: I wanted to ask a little bit about loot distribution or end-game or the high-end Operations, I know there's been a little bit of talk about the loot bags so that way everybody gets something, but what I'm more curious about is what type of game mechanics will be in-game to allow guilds to use their own DKP system, gDKP, different type of distribution systems, is there a way to integrate them?
11:21 - GA: GA: So the idea of the easiest mode in the Operation, is that it's for casual players who aren't that familiar with MMOs and that kind of stuff, and so the loot container serves well for that purpose. Now the harder modes is more, the hard-core players, probably most of you in the audience here and most of the people at PAX, now that we're testing and we're exploring different loot options for that. Loot containers are specifically easy-mode because it's not required for everyone to be on Vent and talking and stuff like that. It's about getting together with a few of your friends, making some more friends, and saying, hey, let's go on this epic Star Wars themed adventure together, let's enjoy it, but the better rewards are in the harder modes.
11:22 - Q: Alright so my question is, if I roll on one server, and if I roll a Jedi on the same server, can I send stuff between the two?
11:22 - GA: No.
11:23 - Q: How much effort is being put into ensuring the story in The Old Republic is faithful to Star Wars canon, including the Expanded Universe?
11:24 - DE: An incredible amount. We've got the Holocron, we've got the Star Wars bible, we got all that stuff. We also have pretty much every reference that's been out there anywhere, that doesn't mean we've been to everything. Everything goes through Lucas, they've got some core guys that say, this is ok, this is not. One of the things that's interesting, when this game comes out, we will become the single largest piece of Star Wars fiction in history. We are canon, which means if there is tiny things that were written in the 1970s comics that said on this one planet this very, very strange thing happened, and people used time-travel to power their ship, we might roll over that. But all the important stuff, all the stuff fans really care about, we care about too. What we want to do is we want to expand that we want to actually get to show you guys some of the stuff you've read about and seen, but not that at that moment. Everybody's got little things, some people have asked me, are there Kiliks in the game, yeah, and we do our research and we do our homework.
11:24 - Session ends.
Staan wel weer interessante dingen beschreven. Vooral e-sports spreekt mij wel aan en je spaceships stuk
Wat ook al eerder is verteld er komt een 'spectator' mode voor huttball.. ook geweldig of niet
En nu de 5 PM PAX developer Q & A, hier de link
PAX Prime: Day 2 Developer Presentation Live Blogs:
5:07p PT - Gabe Amatangelo takes the stage.
5:08 - GA: We have Warzones, 8v8, epic Star Wars conflicts.We also have an esport focus. Huttball is our new Warzone that we're letting people play at the convention.
5:09 - Huttball video.
5:11 - GA: Tomorrow we'llbe talking about open world pvp. Fully featured, and you can PvP from beginning to end.
5:12 - Q: Talk about PvP and how it is different?
5:13 - GA: It is very visual. You don't have to look at a combat log. You see it happening. Very Star Wars-y.
5:14 - Q: How does the loot system work (tokens)? Can you run 50 times and get nothing?
5:15 - GA: You get commendations which are good for the last tier of gear.
5:16 - Q: How do KOTOR 1 & 2 affect SWTOR?
5:16 - JO: It is the inspriation for us. You will learn what happened to Revan and The Exile. And meet companions from the games like HK-47.
5:17 - Q: Function of alignment gear?
5:18 - GA: Mostly cosmetic.
5:19 - JO: You also have artifacts in the world that require Light or Dark side.
5:19 - Q: Are you worried about faction imbalance?
5:20 - JO: It is always a concern, but so far we haven't had a problem. If that changes, then we'll look into it.
5:20 - Q: Will there be multiple Huttball maps?
5:21 - GA: Not currently announced.
5:21 - Q: Different styles of healing?
5:22 - GA: Sure. Operatives/Scoundrels specialize more in HoTs.
5:23 - Q: How does character customization compare to other games?
5:24 - Less than City of Heroes, more than the game we're not supposed to be compared to.
5:24 - Session ends.
Niet echt veel interessants bij deze Q & A.
En nu de
PAX Prime: Developer Meet & Greet Live Blog:
8:33p PT - Reid takes stage; Bass splits room into Republic and Empire sections.
8:33p - Joking about Huttball. Erickson says Republic very sad in PvP currently in game testing.
8:35p - Introductions: Rich Vogel, Gabe Amatangelo, Corey Butler, Daniel Erickson, Stephen Reid, and Blaine Christine.
8:35p - SR: First of all, let's just get this clear, Holiday 2011 is the target release date.
8:36p - Q: Force lightning for Dark side Republic players?
8:37p - DE: So, there is no chance you will have it based on morality choices.
8:37p - Q: Any aspects of game particularly challenging?
8:37p - A: It is hard building these things. Tons of content.
8:38p - Q: Why are lightsaber types (double bladed, dual wielded) restricted by class?
8:38p - GA: Class identity is very important.
8:39p - Q: Different color choices for lightsabers, like in KoTOR?
8:39p - DE: Yes. KoTOR influences on crafting system. A little more flexibility than before. Very exciting stuff to be announced later. It's going to make fans of that sort of system very happy. We're continually on the item system and lightsabers are a big part of it.
8:40p - Q: Do you plan to implement new mechanics over time based on popularity?
8:40p - BC: Gabe Amatangelo spins a wheel of chance *laughs*. As live producer, it is my job to separate the real issues raised by the community. There are limitations to what the engine can do, but if you're asking for X, Y, and Z, we'll try and get X, Y, and Z in. And then you'll eventually get X and Z. But they'll bitch about Y. (laughter) I'm looking forward to that 10,000 page thread about Y.
8:41p - Q: Weekend beta testing, is it random or based on preorder?
8:41p - A: Panel tomorrow. Can't talk about it.
8:42p - Q: Trophies... can they be collected? Are there guild halls/capital ships?
8:43p - A: After launch possibly. Wall of crazy.
8:44p - James Ohlen joins and is introduced.
8:44p - Q: Will we be able to upgrade, socket, or enchant items?
8:45p - DE: We've actually just finished doing a pretty big redo on the itemization system. Making modding something that is going to be very exciting for crafting. Very exciting for people who want to keep their particular core appearances. As a crafter, people are going to be coming knocking on your door. That is based upon major feedback we have been getting, so there you go. When people tell us we're stupid we listen.
8:46p - Q: Do we have an example of something to motivate people to reroll?
8:46p - DE: An entirely new story! (everyone laughs) There may be something to help you reroll... later.
8:46p - Q: If Force Lightning doesn't depend on morality, what does it depend on?
8:46p - A: Something else.
8:47p - Q: Is there an armor/clothing colorization system in game?
8:47p - A: No, you can color match, and that is it. There is no way to choose the color of your armor beyond what it already is. We have the color matching system, the anti-clown button. But you can't change your black armor into blue armor. Not currently anyways.
8:48p - Q: What features are you implementing for guilds?
8:48p - A: We have ranks within the guild. Basic features at launch, and advanced features marked as some of the most important post-launch items to work on. Guilds are very important to the longevity of an MMO. So we've prioritized guild features at the very top. We want them to be strong, we want players to really like being in a guild. Guild bank, guild leveling, stuff like that.
8:49p - Q: Plan to keep gold selling under control?
8:50p - A: We have lots of things we're doing to catch gold farmers and deal with them. We don't want to hurt the crafting economy either. It's a balancing act. Because if you make things so hard then you're going to actually hurt the crafting economy, which is what we don't want to do. The ways we're going to combat gold sellers are not things we're going to ever necessarily talk about publicly because then they know what we're doing. But we take it very seriously.
8:52p - Q: How are we tracking things to balance crafting, raiding, different playstyles?
8:52p - A: We have a lot of analytics to track things like this. Lots of dashboards we look at. Lots of internal metrics. We don't want tons of nerfing going on. Though that does happen in MMOs because they are rebalancing as an MMO grows over time.
8:53p - JO: The best gear in the game is going to come from the PvE Operations. So if you want to have the best gear in the game, you have to do Operations. You can also get gear that is nearly as good, but more specialized, from the PvP game. Those are our two highest stat gear and they're also the gear that we've reserved some of the best appearances for.
8:54p - DE: The tier right under that, that you're going to need to go get into that Operation, you're going to come see me (the crafter).
8:54p - GA: There are several different slots, and there are some slots that remain specific for the crafters to help with the best PvE and PvP gear. The difference between the PvP and PvE gear is around 10%. And crafting can help support that in a couple of the slots. And we're trying around in testing just to figure out specifically what slots those are.
8:54p - JO: And one thing to mention is the moddable gear. The thing about moddable gear is you can mod it with mods that are at the highest level. So you can, for example, take 10th level Jedi Knight robes that look like what Obi Wan was wearing on Tatooine. Which doesn't look so hot. But once you put all the mods in it, it will actually be as strong as some gear that you've got from Operations. However, to get those mods, you have to do Operations. So it comes back to, if you want to have the best gear, you have to do the high level Operation content.
8:55p - Q: Can a good Sith or bad Jedi change sides? Faction changes?
8:55p - A: No. Interesting story... originally there was a third underworld faction (wall of crazy)! It becomes very expensive from a development point of view if we'd have to double the number of stories. However we are always looking for ways to figure that out in the future. You never know.
8:56p - Q: Will Sith Warriors get lightning? Since Malgus does?
8:56p - DE: Not from making morality decisions. (lots of laughter)
8:56p - SR: The characters you see in cinematics aren't necessarily what you see in the game. They're special.
8:57p - Q: As far as leveling goes, where will we spend most of our time?
8:58p - JO: We hate the word "grind." There will be no grinding in the game. (applause) Class quests, world quests. Heroic quests, which exist on every planet and are done with a group. But also have some very nice rewards. You have the space mini-game. Warzones and Flashpoints. Allows for a lot of variety in how you gain your XP. You can choose which activities you focus on on your way to end game.
8:58p - DE: Unless you love grinding, then go right ahead. That's also your choice.
8:59p - Q: How are you handling threat mechanics?
8:59p - GA: Pretty standard for MMOs. We don't have any threat mods or any UI elements at this point in time. We're working on those things as stuff we want to do.
9:01p - Q: Can Sith Inquisitors be more "intellectually" evil?
9:01p - DE: Alignment is not good/evil. It's light side/dark side. And there are rules to these things. So one of the things that we were talking about when we were putting the plot together for instance: If there's a bunch of people who are going to die in an earthquake or some natural disaster and you go in with your lightsaber and you threaten to kill them all if they don't run their stupid asses out of the house and get to safety? Light side. (laughter) Because you saved their dumb asses. The Light side does not care, as we've seen (go Qui Gon), about cheating, lying. It is a very different alignment system. The Inquisitor is actually a really fun one to try and play light side with. Because they can be the diplomat. They can be the face that Palpatine was putting up there. The problem with the Inquisitor is you often get a dialogue option called "shock them." The temptation level on the Inquisitor is perhaps the strongest one. And dark side/light side options change a lot between classes. So when you start as a Jedi Knight, your first dark side choice is not "Hey, let's go slaughter a bunch of people." Right? How did you get into the academy in the first place? Your first things are temptations, things that go against the Jedi code. And yes, at the time period our game starts in, romance is a no no and if you are a Jedi, you have made an oath around that. So a really easy way to slide into dark slide land is starting to chase a love interest.
9:02p - Q: Changes in character appearance based on morality, like KoTOR?
9:02p - (lots of whispering between devs) A: That is a feature that we haven't developed yet, and we really wanted it for ship. We'll put it in later. It is very important. It is part of the legacy KoTOR. It is not in the game yet. It is a complex system, we have a lot more to worry about than KoTOR when it comes to character appearances, so it's more difficult than you could imagine.
9:04p - Q: Will you change design decisions based on community reaction?
9:04p - DE: Does anybody remember the Jedi Wizard? There are things that happen from testing, both from internal testing and external testing. And when the community stands up, especially when it's really close to being universal, and they as a whole go "No guys," then yeah, we pay attention.
9:07p - Q: How are you going to balance the fact that there are differences with companions with bonuses for crafting as one class versus another class? And are there neutral companions that anyone on the Republic or Empire can go get?
9:07p - DE: We realized that was a dumb feature and cut it. So crafting bonuses, I believe, are well on the way out. Everybody had the same response to that one, which was we really don't want to do anything that is going to stop you from using a companion. If I've got a companion with me who happens to be my favorite companion and happens to be the guy with the biggest bonus towards the mission skill that I use for crafting, so I don't use him. That is fail. That's the first part of the question, the second part (about neutral companions) is, kinda. And, plus, there are some secrets.
9:08p - Session ends.
Niet echt wat interessants gemeld weer, nou OK ze hebben het over geen grind fest dat is wel lekker.
En nog 1-tje
PAX Prime: Day 3 Developer Presentation Live Blogs gelukkig is deze kort:
11:07a PT - Gabe Amatangelo: Huttball is fully commentated. Panel at 2p will talk about open world PvP and endgame. Full demonstration of Eternity Vault too.
11:10a - Q: Will Force users overpower non-Force users? GA: Everyone has a role to play, and we balance those roles.
11:11a - Q: When are we going to see Assassin or Shadow videos? GA: You can play one at the booth!
11:12a - Q: What happens when you make a horrible or dark side choice as a Jedi? James Ohlen: Impact on your LS/DS. If you kill someone, then they won't be able to help you later.
11:13a - Q: What are the different difficultly modes of Operations? GA: Normal and hard modes now. We're working on others that we'll talk about later.
11:14a - Q: Can moddable armor compete with Operations gear? JO: Only if you get mods or materials from operations. Crafters can build Operation-level gear with operations mats. Can't avoid Operations if you want endgame gear.
11:15a - Q: Grouping with friends of a different level? GA: Warzones bolster you. JO: No mentor system at launch.
11:16a - Q: Appearance customization? JO: No appearance tab. GA: Chest piece matching and moddable gear instead.
11:17a - Q: Any bonus to being neutral? GA: Cosmetic options for all three alignments.
11:18a - Q: Do you always need healers/tanks in Flashpoints or Operations? GA: More forgiving on lower settings. Need to specialize for harder content.
11:19a - Q: Do your choices in Flashpoints affect your story if you lose your roll? A: Self contained. Won't impact your class story.
11:20a - Q: Will players look different at the endgame? GA: Identity is important. Moddable items exist, like Obiwan or Boba Fett armor.
11:22a - Q: Player driven or NPC based economy? JO: It is a mix. Player control part is crafting and Auction House. If you want to be a level 1 crafter, you can.
11:23a - Session ends. Next at 2p PT.
Niet veel nieuws in deze Q & A... er zijn nog twee Q&A's te gaan en dan is het eind van PAX.
Hier nog PAX PvP filmpjes:
Huttball PVP - Commando POV
Huttball PVP - Sith Sorcerer POV
Alderaan PVP - Sith Sorcerer POV
Zo lange post...
Er komt nog wel een volledige Eternity Vault show
en final big reveal... ooh wat zou dat toch zijn
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