What is the HoloCam? (Pre-order perk)

[Marksman79]

UPDATE: http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20111021

• Flare Gun - The Flare Gun is a small cosmetic device that allows you to fire a particle flare high into the sky above your character’s head.
• Training Droid - A small but advanced piece of machinery, the Training Droid will hover by your side as you explore the galaxy. The Training Droid will also serve you in combat, marking your target with a particle effect that clearly identifies them as an enemy.
• HoloDancer - The HoloDancer allows you to take the party with you in your travels and can be deployed at almost any time by activating the HoloDancer and targeting the ground near your character.
• HoloCam - The HoloCam lets your character take high-resolution images of the countless wonders that they will discover on their journey across the galaxy.
• STAP - The STAP, or Single Trooper Aerial Platform, is a custom-skinned vehicle that you will be able to acquire at no cost to you. The vehicle itself will become available once your character gains the ability to pilot vehicles.
• Mouse Droid - This mouse droid, custom-skinned for Collector’s Edition owners, serves as a faithful pet that will follow you as you make your way across the galaxy.
• Collector’s Edition Store - At launch the Collector’s Edition Store will be available to those who have the Collector’s Edition of The Old Republic, and will feature items found nowhere else in the game! The Collector’s Edition will be stocked with exclusive social items for yourself, and unique appearances for your companion. The store will also have regular updates to give players incentive to keep coming back.

Items in red are Collectors Edition Only

____________________________________________________________________________________
(Outdated Post)

As you may or may not know, pre-ordering SWTOR comes with many perks beyond just early game access. In the context of this thread, I am specifically referring to digital items that come with the DD or CE pre-orders.

We can roughly deduce how many of these features will work:

The Flare Gun, like a few AC specific abilities, causes an AOE emote to surrounding players along with a flare animation.

The Training Droid is a bit ambiguous since it is said to "offer combat assistance" even though it is an unspoken rule to not offer combat improvements for money. I'm sure BioWare knows what they are doing with this one, but it is not the focus of this thread.

The HoloDancer creates a holographic animation of a female dancer at a location of your choosing.

The STAP is a exclusive mount design given to people who have pre-ordered the DD or CE.


So, what is the HoloCam?

The pre-order page describes the item's function to "keep visual records of your in-game adventures as you travel the Star Wars galaxy".

What does that mean? Is it:

-A server-side screenshot saver?

-A compilation of pre-taken pictures that you unlock as you quest/level?

-A video playback of important moments in your story?

-Something else entirely?

This list of possibilities is in no way all-inclusive, so I'd like to hear some of your speculative thoughts on this item. Please share your ideas in the comments below along with anything else that is relevant to the topic of virtual pre-order perks.

From my experience in the Beta weekend (11/25/11), the in-game system to give eligible players the perks they paid for is not in or working yet (most likely because we have not technically "bought" the game yet). If that is incorrect and we know more than just the vague descriptions provided on the pre-order page about the items listed above, please feel free to correct me.

[Puremallace]

If that is what I think it is it would be one of the best features they could have copied from Rift. It sounds like in game fraps. Press control +y and start recording in game. There is a separate window for it, so I am wondering how Bioware will do it.

[wombinator04]

Virtual pre-order perks are stupid. Especially when you have to actually pay more money just to get them. No body should get a Item that others can't receive.

I would say the HoloCam Is probably just a stupid little item your character holds up every time you take a screenshot.

[Gallahadd]

If that is what I think it is it would be one of the best features they could have copied from Rift. It sounds like in game fraps. Press control +y and start recording in game. There is a separate window for it, so I am wondering how Bioware will do it.

This was my first idea as well. some kind of VERY limited in game fraps system, not good enough to say record a whole FP/Op run, but able to record short vids, just for laughs.

[Kepi]

Virtual pre-order perks are stupid. Especially when you have to actually pay more money just to get them. No body should get a Item that others can't receive.

I would say the HoloCam Is probably just a stupid little item your character holds up every time you take a screenshot.

and your point is? everyone will like to have unique things if they pay more for it through a collectors and digital deluxe editions, get over it theres items in a game and you cant have everything thats available. its not like you had no option in getting it, you had since july to pre order either the collectors or digital deluxe to get these items .. just cause you probably cant afford it or rather not pay the extra doesnt mean that BioWare was in the wrong in offering items to people who would want to pay more.

If that is what I think it is it would be one of the best features they could have copied from Rift. It sounds like in game fraps. Press control +y and start recording in game. There is a separate window for it, so I am wondering how Bioware will do it.

its just a special screenshot feature, they havent gone full detail about it but they did say that it wasnt an in game fraps.

[Deleted]

and your point is? everyone will like to have unique things if they pay more for it through a collectors and digital deluxe editions, get over it theres items in a game and you cant have everything thats available. its not like you had no option in getting it, you had since july to pre order either the collectors or digital deluxe to get these items .. just cause you probably cant afford it or rather not pay the extra doesnt mean that BioWare was in the wrong in offering items to people who would want to pay more.

They actually cutoff the special editions from digital sales via EA's own store pretty quickly. Before the end of september you got the message stating that they were "out of stock" when trying to buy anything more than the standard edition preorder.

Basically it is one thing for the bonus items to not be obtainable once the game is launched(such as pets and mounts) it is something else entirely for items players have to pay extra for giving them an advantage throughout their game time. Fortunately it seems to only really be cosmetic changes as far as SWTOR special edition items go.

[Kepi]

They actually cutoff the special editions from digital sales via EA's own store pretty quickly. Before the end of september you got the message stating that they were "out of stock" when trying to buy anything more than the standard edition preorder.

Basically it is one thing for the bonus items to not be obtainable once the game is launched(such as pets and mounts) it is something else entirely for items players have to pay extra for giving them an advantage throughout their game time. Fortunately it seems to only really be cosmetic changes as far as SWTOR special edition items go.

my cousin was able to order a digital deluxe edition like 2 weeks ago .. the main copy that does get sold out is the physical Collectors Edition, even then theres still some stores with a little bit of stock.

[saelthos]

They actually cutoff the special editions from digital sales via EA's own store pretty quickly. Before the end of september you got the message stating that they were "out of stock" when trying to buy anything more than the standard edition preorder.

As of October 25th, which is when I ordered my DDE, they were still available. It's possible that Origin was having issues earlier.

OT, I don't think anyone knows for sure just yet. During the Thanksgiving weekend beta that I played the only preorder item that was available (so far as I'm aware, I could certainly be mistaken) was the weapon color crystal. It actually made me a bit sad because I wanted to play with my flare gun on my trooper :<

[Loaf Lord]

Stupid question, what is DD?

[Shamburger]

Stupid question, what is DD?

Digital Deluxe

[WoWGoneBad]

Virtual pre-order perks are stupid. Especially when you have to actually pay more money just to get them. No body should get a Item that others can't receive.

I would say the HoloCam Is probably just a stupid little item your character holds up every time you take a screenshot.

somebody sounds a bit QQish I assume he doesnt have a CE. I am sorry if you cant afford the CE but thats no reason to bash others for having the perks that go with it.

[vizzle]

and your point is? everyone will like to have unique things if they pay more for it through a collectors and digital deluxe editions, get over it theres items in a game and you cant have everything thats available. its not like you had no option in getting it, you had since july to pre order either the collectors or digital deluxe to get these items .. just cause you probably cant afford it or rather not pay the extra doesnt mean that BioWare was in the wrong in offering items to people who would want to pay more.

And this right here is where we start to allow cash shops. It's this mentality that gamers have developed that allows companies to charge us extra for things that should already be given out. Why? Because people are sheep and companies want to make more money. Not that that's a bad thing, of course a company wants to make money, but I just want to point out that it's the fault of gamers as to why we have to put up with DLC and cash shops these days, even when the game is already P2P. Because we allow it.

[Marksman79]

If that is what I think it is it would be one of the best features they could have copied from Rift. It sounds like in game fraps. Press control +y and start recording in game. There is a separate window for it, so I am wondering how Bioware will do it.

The only way it could be an in-game fraps would be if everything took place client side. It's simply not feasible any other way, and that hardly seems like much of a virtual item if you can just download a program that does the same thing.

[Dasani]

You should try searching the official forums, a dev answered that question and explained what the holocam did but for the life of me I cannot remember what he said O_o

[Marksman79]

You should try searching the official forums, a dev answered that question and explained what the holocam did but for the life of me I cannot remember what he said O_o

I decided to delve deeper into the knowledge base that is Google, and what surfaced was http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20111021

I will be updating the OP soon.

[krono957]

I decided to delve deeper into the knowledge base that is Google, and what surfaced was http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20111021

I will be updating the OP soon.

crap, i need a new avatar

[Dezerte]

Maybe it's something like the auto-screenshot function in Dragon Age, it automatically takes SS at important events.

[MagusGothica]

Virtual pre-order perks are stupid. Especially when you have to actually pay more money just to get them. No body should get a Item that others can't receive.

This perspective is stupid. Are you saying I shouldn't be able to get what I pay for? It's simple, really. If I want something, I'll pay the money for it. WoW has had stuff like this for AGES. Collector's edition expansion packs, TCG items, Pet Store, etc. I didn't personally buy any of this stuff, because I wasn't terribly interested in mounts or pets. Sure, I wanted the achievements for 100 mounts and 100 pets or whatever, but those achieves were very obtainable without spending the extra money, and just farming stuff in-game. But just because I chose not to buy a WoW collector's edition or something, doesn't mean that I felt the need to go out of my way to shit on people that did. You honestly don't have the RIGHT to make fun of how people choose to spend their money. The same principles behind collector's edition expansions, and microtransactions, has been around in real life for hundreds of years. You don't NEED a $3000 dollar pair of jeans, or a Prada bag, or a computer. You CHOOSE to buy them. There are people out there that think you're stupid because you have a computer. You don't NEED one. It's fancy, and frivolous.

An item that others can't receive? Bullshit. You CAN receive it. Go out, pre-order the Collector's Edition, and you'll get all the shinies too. It's pretty simple, really. If you want the stuff, then you have to shell out the money. If you don't want the stuff, then keep your wallet, and your mouth, closed. The option of buying the Collector's Edition is available to EVERYONE, and EVERYONE has to spend the SAME amount of money on it. It's equal.

[Dezerte]

You are both right.

You don't need the collectors edition, you want it. You don't need SWTOR, you want it.

But at the same time, the companies that are selling their products know that they can charge extra for this because most people like exclusive/extras for whatever reasons they may have. These things used to be free (think mods for PC games), but it was inevatble that someone was going wise up and realize they can make money out of this. Such is the world we live in.