SW: The Old Republic Part 5

[marelooke]

Seems the expansion is live, how is it? More of the same or is there some actual improvement?

[NOK222]

The imperial story line for Makeb is pretty cool.

[Hassat Hunter]

So... who else is on Red Eclipse? I was the last time I looked.

I am.

And generally every other non-French/German European, being the only European english PvE server. Not that good really when you think it's the one going down most, has the most issues and is generally unstable a lot of times from not being able to handle it's traffic.

[Gorth]

My smuggler arrived on Taris. Got killed twice because I was too busy admiring the ruins and once because some Locust mercenaries were quite a handful. Damn, some nice looking ruins

[alanschu]

Most of the Art Layouts in the game are pretty damn nice looking in my opinion.

 

I remember in an earlier beta build when speeders weren't working and we had to run everywhere, but despite the long runs it let us see some parts of some levels (thinking Alderaan) that were just so clearly lovingly crafted.  It my less than expert opinion anyways (I won't pretend to be an artist).

[Azure79]

I agree. I loved the atmosphere on Alderaan. The music was really nice too, a nice mix of soft yet powerful. 

 

I liked it so much that I wanted to explore the whole place, promptly ran into an Imperial encampment and was quickly killed. Fun though. 

[Gorth]

Not for much longer though.

 

 

 

“We will then offer Free Character Transfers to anyone currently playing on an APAC server to a North American server of the same gameplay type, specifically: Mastar Dar’Nala (PvP) will transfer to The Bastion (PvP). Gav Daragon (RP-PvE) will transfer to Begeren Colony (RP-PvE). Dalborra (PvE) will transfer to The Harbinger (PvE).”

 

http://games.on.net/2013/03/bioware-to-shut-down-apac-servers-for-swtor-merge-into-na-servers/

 

 

Yeah, translation from PR Speak to plain English: Improved Customer Experience = Cost Saving Measures.

 

If they go through with it and latency becomes notable as a result, I'll become an ex-player really fast. Good thing I got a 2 month non-recurring subscription. I never was one for long term commitments

[Nepenthe]

 

So... who else is on Red Eclipse? I was the last time I looked.

I am.

And generally every other non-French/German European, being the only European english PvE server. Not that good really when you think it's the one going down most, has the most issues and is generally unstable a lot of times from not being able to handle it's traffic.

Oh, right. There were a lot more the last time I looked, but I've been on the 'clipse for a while, now.

[Hassat Hunter]

Yeah, there are some nice sceneries, and animations on random NPC's. But despite that most planets just feel *too big*, too empty. Especially Taris. Most people hate Republic Taris, and rightfully so.

 

Not quite sure if that's the artists problem, that they just made them too big for the content developed, or the developers issue, that the designers just made what they wanted, and they couldn't do enough with what they got.

[Gorth]

Well, different priorities I suppose. I like just exploring. Sometimes bigger is better. That is, if there is something worth exploring. I might feel differently of course, if I get there on my 7th playthrough and the vastness starts grating a bit

 

Had a run of bad crashes yesterday, not sure what happened. Game would just freeze and destabilize Windows (to the point of being unable to shut down without a hard reset). Happened every 20 minutes or so.

 

Tried the check and repair function and left my PC for a while to do some work. Not sure if it did anything, but I managed more than an hour afterwards without any issues. Currently playing 3 characters, switching a bit between them, a Sniper/Agent, Smuggler/Gunslinger and Bounter Hunter/Powertech. Deleted my Sith guy and started over. Too many bad choices (wasted dark side opportunities). The non-jedi stuff just seems more fun.

[alanschu]

 

Well, different priorities I suppose. I like just exploring. Sometimes bigger is better. That is, if there is something worth exploring. I might feel differently of course, if I get there on my 7th playthrough and the vastness starts grating a bit

 

I think on some level the content was created (especially in some later levels where speeders are more likely to be had) where the vastness was created simply to create a sense of vastness.

 

You can argue if it's appropriate for game design or not, but a place like Hoth or Tatooine could be argued that it should be rather vast with some emptiness, given the nature of those types of planets.

[Gorth]

 

 

Well, different priorities I suppose. I like just exploring. Sometimes bigger is better. That is, if there is something worth exploring. I might feel differently of course, if I get there on my 7th playthrough and the vastness starts grating a bit

 

I think on some level the content was created (especially in some later levels where speeders are more likely to be had) where the vastness was created simply to create a sense of vastness.

 

You can argue if it's appropriate for game design or not, but a place like Hoth or Tatooine could be argued that it should be rather vast with some emptiness, given the nature of those types of planets.

 

 

I haven't made it to any of those places yet. My highest level character (smuggler) is currently level 21 and on Taris and my Bounty Hunter level 18 and on Balmorsomething (just arrived). Still plenty of planets to discover and explore

 

I think I have made it my personal "achievement" goal to gain at least one of each of the 6 ship types

[alanschu]

Balmorra my friend.  Balmorra.  Be gentle... they've had a rough go at it for a while now!

[Humanoid]

The "too big" issue applies to more than just the planets overall, it's there on a much smaller scale, in most of the architecture. A lot of indoor places like the bars have large swathes of empty space dwarfing the fairly sparse furniture and decorations - it's like every bar is actually a dance hall.

[Gorth]

I tried having a look at some of the servers mentioned. Sadly, the name 'Gorth' seems taken everywhere else besides the local Aussie server I'm on

 

Otherwise, I'm having moderately fun playing the game(s). Adding a few more characters to my roster, checking out some of the other stories. Even accidentally ended up in a group (because I managed to hit accept on an invite while reading the codex). went and killed a bit of stuff. A bit awkward trying to talk while blasting away in combat at the same time. Even scored a few social points, something I would have sworn would never happen. Never mind that I had long forgotten the tutorial bit about how to quit a group again.

[Hurlshort]

The only time I really enjoyed the social aspect was playing with my wife, and rolling to see if I could get my guy to say the jerk line while she tried to be the nice one.

[Gorth]

I suppose an 'Obsidian' guild could be fun (at least for a while), but the difficulties with getting people on the same server, time zones etc. is probably prohibitive.

[Humanoid]

A GW2-type guild system would be perfect for a loose-knit type guild that an Obsidianite one would be. That is, the ability to be in multiple guilds simultaneously, on any server. Still, with only 8 US servers and 3 EU English-speaking ones, still a far less daunting task than if it were, say, WoW.

[Spider]

I think the main difficulty in getting any sort of Obsidian guild going is that there aren't many of us playing, and those that do are likely already in other guilds as myself.

[Raithe]

I have to say, the times I've gotten together with guildmates for group activities have generally been fun. Especially when we've had voice chat working so typing wasn't a hassle during it all.

If you've got the right chemistry and friendly attitudes between folks it can be quite amusing. The trouble tends to be in the random grouping up, when you have no idea on how the other people will react or play like. Trying to find out if they're just attempting to speed-run through it , or actually taking time to explore and enjoy, whether they're trying for the bonus parts or not.

 

Gorth, one thing, spreading out a whole bunch of characters can be fun, but you might want to focus on opening up your Legacy before really spreading yourself out on multiple toons. It might be a little cheesey, but it does open up some extra options and benefits.

[Humanoid]

Back in 2007, by alternately serendipitous or cruel circumstance depending on what day you ask me, ended up co-founding what turned into a WoW raiding guild. I was right on the verge of quitting back then, but as a result ended up playing for almost another half-decade.

 

A bit of an oddity is that due to the opinions of the few various founders, right to the end of the guild's heyday at the close of the second expansion, it was operated without voice chat. Some members used it casually between themselves, but all official communications were strictly text-only. I'll say those were easily my best four years playing MMOs, but I have no desire to ever come back.

 

The flipside, although not a personal disadvantage, is that it does tend to become a fairly insular environment - so after the event, it was pretty much guild activities or nothing.

[Gorth]

Gorth, one thing, spreading out a whole bunch of characters can be fun, but you might want to focus on opening up your Legacy before really spreading yourself out on multiple toons. It might be a little cheesey, but it does open up some extra options and benefits.

The tutorial was very helpful when I was approaching level 10nish with my first character. Created the 'Gortholemean' legacy already back then. Just to not burn out on a single character/location, I rotate them a bit (not that it's a real issue as I have only limited time at the moment, but I expect that to pick up at the end of next month). Got a level 25 and a level 23 character which gets my attention at the moment. Also discovered the convenience of emailing stuff between my characters. Makes up for the limited crew skills

[Raithe]

Yeah, I pretty much think the crew skills are designed for you to have multiple characters emailing finished gear and crafting materials back and forth.

[Hassat Hunter]

Guess they are designed to need players working together.

But using an alt yourself is muuuuuch more effective.

 

If you ever end up on the Red Eclipse could show how a good group is XD

[NOK222]

I finished the first Kelpless mission. The boss fight was fun, reminded me of the battle of Hoth

Edited April 27, 2013 by NKKKK