Fan Friday is Fan Game-Play Footage Friday

Really really interesting stuff today.  Not your usual marketing PR piece or a armor progression piece.  Or before someone complains again - the consular info everyone feels they deserve.  Today was a run through of a republic flashpoint.  We see republic troops trying to save their ship and a key diplomat (whom we assume has a deeper story) from that evil Empire.  

During the week of San Diego Comic-Con, a select number of people had the opportunity to play through ‘The Esseles,’ a Flashpoint that Republic heroes will be able to experience for themselves early in their hero’s journey. In the Flashpoint, players must group together to protect a high-ranking diplomat and fend off Imperial boarding parties.

Again we really enjoyed this one.  Getting to see actual game play footage is always a plus.  For the first time I did not think the characters looked stiff (from their PR pieces).  Game play looks fun and enjoyable.  I do have some concerns about characters getting a foot away from their target and just shooting.  Something I never enjoyed in other MMOs.

And in addition Greg Zoeller had even more information for inquiring minds on healing and Advanced Classes:

The Esseles is one of the two earliest Flashpoints in the game, players will be roughly between level 8 and 12 when playing it.
Healing abilities are introduced when you pick your Advanced Class, which in this video, the characters did not have. You can definitely get your Advanced Class before doing the Flashpoint (in fact, many players in testing make that choice), but it's not required.
That's the simple reason why there is no healing shown in the video. That doesn't mean we don't have content for those who want to heal; in fact when I overheard the team practicing for GamesCom/PAX demos I'm sure I heard the cry "MEDIC!" more than a few times.

So thats all for Fan Friday.  We're sorry we did not post something sooner.  It's been a long day for TalesFromTOR.

Thursday Image of the Week....

Woah ... wait!  Thursday!?  What happened to Wednesday.  Well given the schedule and demand on the marketing crew at BioWare you have to forgive them for sleeping through Wednesday after a crazy #SDCC. 



A group of Republic heroes consults with the commanding officer of the Esseles after their ship comes under attack from an Imperial aggressor.

Honestly though.... I don't see any crazy explosions.  Looks peaceful to us here at TalesFromTOR.  Thanks for the pic BioWare! 

Metal Gear Jedi

Solid Snake aka Jedi Knight, Old Republic.  That's right people! None other then David Hayter famed from his roles in the popular PlayStation series 'Metal Gear Solid' is the voice of the Jedi Knight in TOR. 

TOR Features over 900 different voice actors! Most of which can actually be found on their imbd site.

This tidbit of information was discovered from listening to DarthHater's latest podcast.  Huge thanks to the boys over at the Hater. 

Probing the Pods: The Republic - Episode 48

The Republic - One of our favorite shows covering the Old Republic released episode 48.  This weeks show was titled after the Fan Friday movie release - 'Join The Fight'.  The usual tag:

HUGE Comic Con update! Companion choices, Open World PvP, New Vehicles, and more!

This week they had the usual crew of Sado from DarthHater and everyone's favorite Star Wars SWG fan Larry Everett from Massively.  In addition Sleeper a member of the DarthHater crew who was on the ground at #SDCC was there to assist Sado and Larry.  And lets not forget the ever popular Gary Gannon who hosts the show.  


The cast dive deep into the events from San Diego.  They covered all of the major news items.  If you have yet to dive into any of the info from SDCC - watch this show!!!  


As always you can download the goods from the usual selection of itunes and those others sites.  Or watch from Justin.TV.  

More From SDCC and Other....

Basically we're trying to catch-up here at Tales.  We're very sorry for not being as active over the last few days.

Just in case you have missed out on all the major news from #SDCC (#HanDiego) here are some more tidbits to think about while you wait for that October - December release.

1. Companions can no longer die.  Or a better way to word it - you can no longer kill them.
2. Players will now be able (for a modest fee in credits) respec their Advanced-Class.
3. SWTOR is set to release in North America and some parts of Europe.  At this time the rest of the world will have to wait.  
4. SWTOR will have a new feature (unknown at this time) that will unlock other races/species.  Rodian anyone?

If you want to learn more you need to head over to Darth Hater and TORWars. We followed those two sites for the entire con and they provided a great deal of information.  Huge thanks!!!

Both news items go against the original stated design by BioWare.  Which is very interesting indeed.  Does BioWare listens to the fan base or at least the kids the whine the most :)

Not from #SDCC but still news worthy none the less.  200,000 pre-orders have been placed for SWTOR.  AMAZING!  Setting a record for EA in regards to pre-orders.

Party for 4. Please

What makes the right party size?  A question asked by those with keen minds or just the usual interest in comparing SWTOR to other games that go WoW in the night.  Well Greg Zoeller has the answer for you:

Because we are Star Wars: The Old Republic, and we are our own game 

• Our game is designed from the ground up around the group size of four.

• We have a higher level of hybridization in all classes.

• We have companions that are capable of substituting a missing role in a flashpoint group.

• Everyone can revive other players, not just healers.

• We have a higher percentage of tanks in the overall population.

• All our classes can fill at least two roles.

• Most of our advanced classes can fill two roles.

• We're very gradually introducing roles in the game.

• We always have 4 members in a group, even if there are only two players (although I doubt most players would be able to do a flashpoint that way).

• There are 4 classes (on each side), which makes for a perfect iconic party.

• AT-ATs have 4 legs!

So, while everyone knows [insert 50 facts about a very different game], we know that 4 was the perfect number for our game and we didn't think much about 5.

I actually think this is a great decision.  With a lot of the classes being able to play similar roles.  healing, tanking, and 'DPS', there coule be less of a need on that one tank class in the game or the one healing class in the game.  In addition players don't have to worry about being a healer and not being able to kill targets with a companion at their side that can help.

The smaller the group the faster it will be to get it going.  This could be a great move by BioWare.  We just have to wait and see later in the year.

HanDiego Update - What Have We Learned So Far? The Republic

Revan was not the only news at SDCC...

Apparently Revan was the not only big name at SDCC this year.  Drew's new book was going up against TOR itself....

And thankfully for those of that could not attend #SDCC one of the more popular pods has stepped in for us. The Republic on Gamebreak.tv did a special #SDCC show.   The show runs about 2 hours long and covers a ton of great information. 

Quick summary for those that don't have the time (just the big stuff):

September Beta.  It's coming!
This September they will allow select users to test the game on the weekends in the month of September.

Game Launch

• Sharding intro areas.  Beginning areas only to help control population in the beginning. Basically an attempt to instance off the beginning areas of the game to reduce lag. 
• Reduced number of pre-orders.  BioWare/EA trying to control or phase the game into production.  Trying to avoid slamming the servers on Day 1.  PRE-ORDERs - PLUG IN YOUR CODE ASAP.  Not based on just having a code but when did you enter your code.
• Target Release is Holiday 2011

Game Details

• 900+ Voice Actors used to make the game
• Companions - Skin color can be changed.  Weapons, Armor, outfits. 
• Companions - AI Management.  The ability to manage how your companions function very similar to DA2.  (apparently the only good thing to come out of DA2).
• Vehicles - Adding speeder bikes, land speeders, and other
• 19 confirmed worlds.  However only 17 can bee see on the holocron
• It will take 30 minutes to walk across Tatoonie.

Overall a ton of information from the guys at The Republic.