NDA - Don't Do IT

In an effort to avoid being negative and argumentative on the subject of the NDA.  We wanted to provide people a list of reasons why its a bad idea to break the NDA....

First though - we're sorry for the break and lack of news.  Our last news post was just so amazing we wanted to wait.  And well... we have been busy :)

So the NDA...

There has been this constant outcry from the community for BioWare to lift the NDA.  Reasons being...

• We feel we're entitled to know whats going on.
• We want to see gameplay and game movies to make an informed decision about buying SWTOR.
• We want to learn more about the game.
• We want to see game mechanics and story mechanics played out.
• We want to understand the flashpoint system so we can prepare our guild.
• We want to learn more about the user interface...

The list goes on and on and on.  Well people we're hear to give you some perspective on why its a bad idea to drop the NDA.  And to give those that are currently breaking the NDA some reasons to stop.

BUGS!  BioWare have admitted many times over there are still bugs in their product.  Daniel Erickson on a live webcam from E3 even showed a few examples.  If game footage is released with these bugs it could deter those from buying the product.  It also sends the wrong message about the quality of the game.  

FINISHED?   BioWare are still tweaking the way combat works, the way story elements work, the way parts of the game we don't even know about work....  BioWare are still probably making major decisions about how companions work in the game.  Examples - Companions going from not being able to customize to having a slew of customization options.  Then the addition of new forms of companion orders.  

STORY.  There are people out there that don't want to know.  The plot, story elements, characters, companions.  Imagine if someone had ruined the 'WTH' moment in KOTOR before you made it there.  Or someone ruined the popular HK-47 character for you.  

BIOWARE.  It's BioWare!  They know what their doing.  They have made many different games before that all have varying levels of interest.  From Neverwinter Nights to one of my all time favorites - Jade Empire.  We have to trust them and more importantly we have to respect them.  

Please don't break the NDA its there for a reason. 

So It Begins...

BioWare has done it.  Their most recent build out, Beta Weekends starting backup soon, and the knowledge that Blizzard is going after Q1 2012 with Diablo 3.  Star Wars The Old Republic has a release date....

London, England – September 24, 2011 – Today during their keynote address at the Eurogamer Expo, Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of BioWare™, a label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will launch in North America on December 20, 2011 and in Europe on December 22, 2011. Set thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader, Star Wars: The Old Republic is a massively multiplayer online game challenging players with epic quests, featuring dynamic combat across iconic worlds in the Star Wars™ galaxy such as Tatooine, Alderaan, Hoth and more. Each of the game’s eight primary classes will enjoy their own unique trilogy of storylines, all of which are fully voiced with a sweeping musical score. Anticipation for the award-winning MMO is at an all-time high as Star Wars: The Old Republic has broken EA pre-order records and won over 95 industry awards and accolades from game critics worldwide.

And here at Tales From TOR we're overjoyed!!! We had expected a November release date but with so many games coming out in November it seems like December is a logic release month.  In addition it gives BioWare just a few more weeks to test and prepare the game.

You can read all about this incredible news at SWTORs main site.  In addition we also have the not so surprising price model.  They're not going after World of Warcraft so they can't out price their main rival. 

BioWare and LucasArts are pleased to announce that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will launch on December 20, 2011 in North America and on December 22, 2011 in the European Launch Territories! The announcement was first made by BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk during their keynote address at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo in London, England. Speaking to a packed room of press and fans alike, Dr. Muzyka acknowledged the weight of the moment and the patience of the fans.

“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”
Each copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic will come with 30 days of subscription time, after which you have the option to continue playing with one of the following monthly subscription fees:

• 1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
• 3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
• 6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)

Those who have pre-ordered the game and entered their pre-order code onStarWarsTheOldRepublic.com are eligible for Early Game Access. If you haven’t yet reserved your copy of the game, be sure to visit our Pre-Order page and secure your place in the Old Republic now!

We want to thank you for your continued passion, dedication and support. Though one part of this incredible journey is coming to an end, we are confident that you all share our excitement for this new beginning. Be sure to check back to StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com as well as ourTwitter and Facebook pages for all the latest news and updates on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

This is a great day for TOR fans a great day for Star Wars fans and a great day for MMO fans in general!  We can't wait!!!

Companion Luvin

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Developer Dispatch - YouTube:

This was too amazing to pass up and post tomorrow. This in our opinion is by far the most interesting of the developer series movies from BioWare. And it covers one of the biggest reasons we really want to play this game. Woven into the story of SWTOR our the companions for each major class. And they help drive the story and the game play experience.

The Republic: EP 56

We have not been linking to their show lately.  Mostly due to time and well I don't think they need the help from such a small site like this one.  However their last episode might just be one of the best shows I have seen on their network so far.

BIOWARE says same sex relationships are in, The PvP Q&A, your questions, and more!

SO much so we need to call it out.  It was pretty much pure comedy from beginning to end.  And Gary as always does a good job of keeping the jokes flowing.  If you have not checked this one out .... do so!

Get To Know a Dev: Georg Zoeller

Mr. Z! The Man!

Get To Know a Dev: Georg Zoeller

Everyone's favorite BioWare game developer has done a short piece with Force Junkies. It's a good short read that covers a lot of interesting facts about Mr. Z.

Can you explain what you do for BioWare and what a typical day might be like?

My business Card says Principal Lead Combat Designer, which means I act as the ‘Product Owner’ for everything related to Combat and makes me responsible for requesting and organizing the assembly of all the individual components of the game (systems, art, animation, etc) that make the final combat experience based on the Game Director’s vision. 

I also manage the Combat Design team which handles design and implementation of classes, combat balance for PvP and PvE, companions and all those hostiles you encounter in your travels through Star Wars: The Old Republic. A part of this job also involves collaboration with our Live team which handles game testing and analysis of tester feedback and metrics.

Huge thanks to Force Junkies for the great read.  Rocket launcher armed Jawas....?  Really!?  NICE!

Guild HQ - Round 2

BioWare has started its second stage of 'Guild Alignment'.

Back in March we initiated our Pre-Launch Guild Program, where members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community could search for already established guilds or register one of their very own through the Guild Headquarters page. We are thrilled to announce that we have begun the second phase of our Pre-Launch Guild Program!

With Phase 2: Alignment, we are introducing new features which allow guilds to set their allegiance with other guilds in The Old Republic. Now a guild leader, along with members who have the proper permissions, can select up to three guilds as either Allies or Adversaries, depending on their faction affiliation. Qualifying guilds that are marked as Allies and Adversaries of other guilds will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server.

Another feature being implemented with Phase 2 is the ability for guild leaders and members with the proper permissions to invite friends to join their guild via email. You can start recruiting new members today!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

So what does this mean for you and me?  Well not much unless you're in a guild.  And if you want to make sure you land on the same server with a guild you have strong ties too.  So overall an interesting move by BioWare. Not something we can remember any other game doing in the past.

Some things to remember though - You must have at least 4 accounts in a guild with a pre-registration code.  It's one simple rule that will allow your guild to be pre-created on a server at launch.

So You Want To Be A Beta Tester...

And just like that it's back on... POW BAM KABOOM!

Mr Yellow Text!  Mr. RockJaw!  Mr. Stephen Reid! goes BETA crazy with a major update and what appears to be a quick fire round of questions and answers.  The man was on a mission tonight.  And from our point of view he completed it with a force choke.  (yes we know - that sounded cheesy).

Today we re-invited all testers who were invited to our Beta Testing Weekend #1 back to a future Beta Testing Weekend (which will happen on as yet unspecified date). I wanted to give you a little insight into why, and clear up confusion.

These testers were not re-invited to a Beta Testing Weekend for this weekend. We're still internally testing the next major build of the game. As we've said before, when we're ready to give everyone a date for the next Beta Testing Weekend, we'll announce it.

Why are they being re-invited? Because we feel for a significant proportion of those invited to test during Beta Testing Weekend #1, they did not have an optimal testing experience. As I mentioned before, we had some issues, including some people not receiving an invite, and others being unable to get the client in time because of issues with their acceptance of their invite. With those factors in mind, we felt that because many people did not experience the game, it was worthwhile to re-invite everyone.

Where does that leave everyone who hasn't been invited to test yet?

First, I realize that we previously stated if people were invited to test, they would not be invited again. Although that policy may change in future, we're not changing it right now. However we feel that this situation is unique enough that we're re-inviting this weekend's testers. We expect this to be a one-off situation. I hope anyone who's waiting to get into testing realizes that if they had similar issues, we would 'do the right thing' by you too.

Second, it's important to realize as we've said before that future Game Testing Weekends are planned to be much, muchlarger than the first. This weekend's entire testing population is actually just a small fraction of the total number we're planning to invite to the next weekend, and our number of invites will go up after that. (Indeed, we'll probably just increase our numbers overall and add the re-invited testers onto that total number.)

In summary, we had some issues and we wanted to ensure those invited to test, got to test. This is, we feel, a unique and one-off situation, but it's also the right thing to do.

The rest can be found here.  WOWZERS!!!  

As for the Q&A.... well it can be found in the following links:

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3,4,5,6

Question 7, 8

Question 9, and Math Example  

In summary the beta weekend program is back on.  With those returning from the first week for a better chance to play.  In addition they will add-on to those each weekend and slowly grow the program.  The hope is to give a large number of people interested in playing the chance to play.  KUDOS to BioWare and to the fan-base for getting a shot.  This is great news for everyone.