Hermandad Star Wars The Old Republic

4PM Q&A with Daniel Erickson and James Ohlen

Will a Day/Night cycle be in the game?
DE: No. It was a technical decision. Scenes look better if lighting is consistent.
JO: multiple worlds present in game with different # of suns/moons, so it became too difficult to make it work.

What was your favorite class to design?
JO: Sith Warrior because Darth Vader is fun.
DE: Jedi Consular because I like being the thinking man.

Do implant slots change appearance?
JO: No, but you can customize your appearance.
DE: Lots of invisible slots

How is terrain interactive and protective?
JO:The Cover mechanic is crucial. You can destroy objects like barrels in the Taral V flashpoint. Worlds feel alive - shuttles flying by, etc.
DE: Objects block blaster shots and break line of sight.

To what extent is it balanced for PvP?
JO: PVP has been discussed since 2006. We have been very careful with it. Different approach to the classes. Star Wars approach, then group role, then, pvp.

Is planetary travel like rail shooters?
DE: Use of Galaxy Map to engage in space combat is to enter specific space missions, otherwise you just jump to lightspeed to travel

Ground transports?
DE: There are taxis on origin worlds and large spaces which it would be convenient to not have to walk through.

Is there a way to repair your ship while in-combat?
JO: No, you can upgrade the ship.
DE: It is really hard to repair a starship while its flying.

How will you feel heroic in a large guild of heroes?
DE: You've got big stuff to tackle. When you go to destroy the Death Star you take Biggs and the other guys. Its STAR WARS.

How will you combat tank shortage?
JO: You can specialize AC's so you it'll be easier to form parties.
DE: As trooper, its fun to ranged tank. Explosives make folks fly through the air!

Interactive dialogue - How much is there of it in the game?
DE: All of the features are in. It's present in game. If you lose roll, you still get your points for your intentions.

Equipment repair gold sink?
JO: Repairs and mounts are gold sinks.

Are there rewards for going one way or another alignment-wise?
DE: Yes, I was really evil as a Sith Inquisitor but then there was a pair of gloves that was light-only that I wanted. Kim Vaal was NOT happy with me.
JO: Faction-switching was talked about but it was passed on for story reasons. Three factions were also considered but it would have been too expensive.

Non-combat aesthetics like pets?
JO: Not talking about it but will have something. The Return of the Jedi Slave Leia Outfit is in the game in some form.
DE: It's important for social aspects.

Does player manufacturing have a place in the game economy?
DE: Crafting is a passion of mine. We're not EVE. We're loot based, but we're past WoW, more complex and a lot of social of interaction. To get gear, you'll either be pounding end game or gathering a network of crafters.
James Ohlen mentioned that he thinks MMORPGs will be more RPG than MMO in the next decade.

How much is instanced?
JO: The game is not linear single-player. Alderaan is 7-8 World of Warcraft Zones in size. Phasing is used, but it is not everywhere.
DE: Phasing is used to ensure pivotal plot points are immersive. No lines to fight bosses. Everything to Cloud City an example - Luke goes off to fight Vader alone. (cloud city not mentioned as in game, only as example)
Developer made comment about $15 per month fee to compete with a game like World of Warcraft.
James Ohlen mentioned that player retention in SWTOR is based on elder game content and re-rolling


5PM Q&A with Jessica Sliwinski, Hall Hood, and Daniel Erickson

If you go dark side, can you avoid facial disfiguration?
DE: Why did you go darkside? Customization is optional.

How did you balance the Trooper so it doesn't get owned by the Sith (force users)?
HH: The smuggler is so well written that he projects aura that pushes sith away (joke).
DE: You are playing as the best of the best. Jango fett and Obi Wan can go toe to toe. At one point all the Jedi were wiped out by troopers. Testing key in balance process.

Are dialogue options always the same for flashpoints?
DE: Dialogue not randomized, but it does branch so there are multiple ways to play the conversation. Group content tends to be more wild because of that.
HH: Every conversation has 3 choices, so branching will take multiple playthroughs to discover.
JS: Gender/race effects dialogue options and results.

What single player writing challenges carry over into SWTOR?
DE: Everything is about making things smaller and more heroic. Trooper is winning the war, smuggler is out for himself. There's a secret threat that only the consular knows about.

Similar to Mass Effect, how do cinematics play out based on different gender/species combos?
JS: Cinematics will change based on your character choices.
DE: Cinematics can be rare. There is a great cinematic for trooper who saves people and then shakes them down for money. When you go to Hoth as a Chiss, your experience is very different.

How is personal story balanced against multiplayer?
DE: Origin world starts your personal story. After that, world arc starts up with interruptions for personal story advances. 10-15% on class stuff in later game. You can bring other classes on class story stuff.
JS: NPC's will react to your exploits.

The more light/dark you are, how does that change player interactions?
DE: Players can't sense alignment. In kotor, you got Dark Side points for being snarky, which I didn't like. In tor, your actions are what count. Eventually, the jedi council will notice.
HH: Hey, you saved that planet but you killed a lot of people.
DE: There will be restrictions on your late game choices based on your early choices.
Daniel Erickson mentioned that flashpoints replayable, but everything else is play as it is.

Player bounties?
DE: No

Is there story involvement in space combat?
DE: We consider it alternative gameplay, you never HAVE to do it but you will learn more by doing it.

Is it a trap?
DE: Yes, it is always a trap.

Who shot first?
DE: Han! Han Han Han.

With guild pre-launch, can you change servers after launch?
David Bass: Check the guild FAQ. You'll have warning.
DE: No answer from David!

Can you declare war on other guilds?
JO: Maybe after release.

Missed question
JO: Accessibility important. Beginning tutorial in depth. Social games provide opportunity to collaborate.
DE: Story is universal, everyone can get that. TOR is easier to pick up than Dragon Age.

Player housing/guild halls?
JO: Guild capital ship highly requested. Maybe at release, if not soon after.
DE: Ships replace housing for us. No one hangs at Leia's house. Probably won't make it into release.

Character customization?
DE: I've never run into my twin in game. There are close-ups in conversations. NPC's have their own models so you won't twin an NPC.

Can healers be badass?
JO: Yes. Even Sith Warrior as tank has visceral action. When you are in group as healer you have blaster. Star wars tropes trump MMO's tropes.

Release date?
Bass: Game testing ongoing, release in 2011.
JO: 1k player cohorts have tested.

System specs?
JO: Can't talk about it yet. We need to appeal to lower end machines which is why it is stylized realism.

Will DX10 or Win7 be required?
DE: No! You don't need to go shopping.

Missed question
JO: Death penalty less harsh than other MMO's. Combat more challenging so you might die more than other games. Want to avoid rage quits.
DE: Don't want you to sleepwalk through the game. James didn't want people eating bread and sitting around while playing.

Reid: Why doesn't Oteg talk like Yoda?
DE: Because he isn't 900 years old. Lucas approves everything.

Reid: Explain day/night cycle more?
JO: Position of sun is fixed. We wanted a whole bunch of distinct looking worlds. Would require too many programmers.
DE: Having day/night would make things look significantly worse.

Reid: Will instances have day/night?
DE: Instances and phasing have variety, you'll go places that are at different times.

How large is each world?
JO: Alderaan is 7-8 wow zones. Origins smaller.
DE: As game goes on worlds get bigger. Alderaan has houses and castles that take up space.

Will you need to raid for badass gear?
DE: Top gear has 3 options - multiplayer end game, pvp, or crafting. But you're not in bantha hide early, you look badass throughout.
Reid: We're working on armor progression vids for other classes.

Balancing class combat?
JO: In other games, you have mostly swords or magic. In our game we needed an eye on making it look good when a melee class engages with blaster class. Jango goes toe to toe with jedi. Troopers in tor don't die to ewoks. Troopers can call air strikes, rocket launchers, grenades. SWTOR has unique classes.
DE: Kotor has vibroblades, not our game. Not badass enough. (Clarification: He was referring to players using them in SWTOR)

Are there features for competitive/hardcore players?
JO: Leveling content is valuable. We value the hardcore, but we also value our 1-X content.
DE: We don't let the super hardcore dictate content that they won't value.

Missed question
JO: We have a lot of different player types. We have activities for everyone. If you're not into raids, there's other stuff. There will be something endgame for people who love BioWare story.
DE: We will have amazing PVP stuff soon that could change the game world. World bosses are tough.

Is crafting like WoW where you need to collaborate with others for mats?
DE: The best stuff will require social collaboration for mats.

Closing comments -
JO: Spread the message that our game has all of the MMO systems, giant worlds. We're building a game that everyone will love that has BioWare story in it.
DE: If you liked/disliked the game, say so. For people who rant, ask "have you played it?" Post on the forums, give us feedback.