SWTOR information gathered thus far from various sources

[Akio]

As for TIE fighters they didn't have shields so they could "go faster". They also didn't have hyper drives. In the star wars universe fighter craft have limited power supply and the "faster" fighters usually had lower powered shields or other things. Its why the A-Wing was a "glass cannon" its defense was its speed. The same was true for the basic tie fighter. Its twin solar panels and lack of other systems made it a speed demon.

An over sight in the long run for sure which is why more advanced versions of TIE craft had them and other systems. But they certainly weren't any less deadly.

This whole post reminded me of...



Easily the best Star Wars game outside of the KOTORs IMO.

[RockyMountainJedi]

As for TIE fighters they didn't have shields so they could "go faster". They also didn't have hyper drives. In the star wars universe fighter craft have limited power supply and the "faster" fighters usually had lower powered shields or other things. Its why the A-Wing was a "glass cannon" its defense was its speed. The same was true for the basic tie fighter. Its twin solar panels and lack of other systems made it a speed demon.

An over sight in the long run for sure which is why more advanced versions of TIE craft had them and other systems. But they certainly weren't any less deadly.

[Smitzelplix]

You're completely right, Rift is the second biggest MMO when it comes to the western market, not worldwide.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3...rions_Reid.php

I wonder where Rift devs are coming up with their numbers. Back in June they were reporting that they were reaching their first million sell through, http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3...ellthrough.php. Selling copies does not equal subscriber retention and I'm pretty sure that when Trion announced they were approaching their 1mil copies sold that they didn't have 1mil active players. The reason I question their numbers is the fact they have turned many of their servers/shards into trial shards due to low activity on some of them. Also the article you linked doesn't call their customers subscribers, a customer can be someone who has simply bought the game.

North American Rift Trial Shards: Aedraxis, Akylios, Arcanis, Dimroot, Endless, Hammerlord, Kelpmere, Perspice, Plutonus, Rocklift, Ashstone, Carrion, Emberlord, Epoch, Kaleida, Lotham, Neddra, Nyx, Rasmolov, Reclaimer, Regulos, Spitescar, Stonecrest, Tearfall, Todrin

What I did to find out this information is I looked at the Rift shard status page found here http://www.riftgame.com/en/status/index.php, then I went to the forums that are dedicated to the North American shards, if the shard is listed in the forums but not on the shard status page I did some more research which included going to the individual shard forums listed above, there I found posts talking about that shard becoming a trial shard.

[Capt Froggy]

I'd say it's more space fantasy really. There is nothing science about it. Star Trek is your sci-fi, Firefly is your sci-fi western, Star Wars = space fantasy. In my opinion of course.

If you look at Star Was A New Hope, it is considered to be a Sci-Fi western by many critics.

[bloodwulf]

So i ran my first flashpoint. Black Talon....

Here is my conclusion:
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!

Getting a group took like 5mins in general chat. We had a Bounty Hunter (me level 9), SI (level 10), SW (level 10), IA (level 9). None of us had our advanced classes yet.

I wont spoil story elements for those who care. Needless to say its a genuinely dark Imperial quest line.

First several groups were dispatched with zero organization...we all just blew shit up. That is until we hit the first boss...until now we hadn't needed heals, and thats a good thing....neither our IA or SI would heal (they both claimed they had zero heals, although i have been told SI get one well before 10, not confirmed by me one way or another). We ended up having to be very creative....namely me getting agro and than playing the LOS kite game. And don't let that make it sound bad, i loved every bit of it....was just awesome using creative solutions to solve problems (although in the future i will make sure to have a healer). Plowing through there were some neat boss mechanics but nothing that require huge amount of complicated tactics (which is good because this is the equivalent of Deadmines or Wailing Caverns). The ambient effects of the flash point were just awesome, this taking place on two ships in space, ship blaster fire was everywhere, explosions going off everywhere, it was just epic, and the story points where often hilarious (we were pretty much all focusing on dark side points).

TL : DR

Epic environments, epic story points all with great boss fights...if this is a prelude of what is to come I can't wait to experience further instances. I would run this place again just for fun.

[Capt Froggy]

I believe the Defender is considered EU.

[Devirae]

I wonder where Rift devs are coming up with their numbers. Back in June they were reporting that they were reaching their first million sell through, http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3...ellthrough.php. Selling copies does not equal subscriber retention and I'm pretty sure that when Trion announced they were approaching their 1mil copies sold that they didn't have 1mil active players. The reason I question their numbers is the fact they have turned many of their servers/shards into trial shards due to low activity on some of them. Also the article you linked doesn't call their customers subscribers, a customer can be someone who has simply bought the game.

North American Rift Trial Shards: Aedraxis, Akylios, Arcanis, Dimroot, Endless, Hammerlord, Kelpmere, Perspice, Plutonus, Rocklift, Ashstone, Carrion, Emberlord, Epoch, Kaleida, Lotham, Neddra, Nyx, Rasmolov, Reclaimer, Regulos, Spitescar, Stonecrest, Tearfall, Todrin

What I did to find out this information is I looked at the Rift shard status page found here http://www.riftgame.com/en/status/index.php, then I went to the forums that are dedicated to the North American shards, if the shard is listed in the forums but not on the shard status page I did some more research which included going to the individual shard forums listed above, there I found posts talking about that shard becoming a trial shard.

If I had to guess I'd say it's based on public announcements made by other MMO developers and TRion's own data. I doubt the Trion guy can make such a claim without it being factually true and provable with public sources, although I have no knowledge about the legislation concerning this . Regarding those servers being transformed to trial servers, that shouldn't really come as a suprise. The initial surge of people wanting to try out the game was far larger than anticipated, and the average amount of time played daily per player is way longer shortly after launch than it is months later. From what I can gather Rift's population is pretty healthy, confirmed by a Trion employee stating net trending of subscribing player were upwards in July.

[Gallahadd]

So i ran my first flashpoint. Black Talon....

Here is my conclusion:
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!

Getting a group took like 5mins in general chat. We had a Bounty Hunter (me level 9), SI (level 10), SW (level 10), IA (level 9). None of us had our advanced classes yet.

I wont spoil story elements for those who care. Needless to say its a genuinely dark Imperial quest line.

First several groups were dispatched with zero organization...we all just blew shit up. That is until we hit the first boss...until now we hadn't needed heals, and thats a good thing....neither our IA or SI would heal (they both claimed they had zero heals, although i have been told SI get one well before 10, not confirmed by me one way or another). We ended up having to be very creative....namely me getting agro and than playing the LOS kite game. And don't let that make it sound bad, i loved every bit of it....was just awesome using creative solutions to solve problems (although in the future i will make sure to have a healer). Plowing through there were some neat boss mechanics but nothing that require huge amount of complicated tactics (which is good because this is the equivalent of Deadmines or Wailing Caverns). The ambient effects of the flash point were just awesome, this taking place on two ships in space, ship blaster fire was everywhere, explosions going off everywhere, it was just epic, and the story points where often hilarious (we were pretty much all focusing on dark side points).

TL : DR

Epic environments, epic story points all with great boss fights...if this is a prelude of what is to come I can't wait to experience further instances. I would run this place again just for fun.

this makes me a happy happy lil Tankasin lets hope that the further flashpoints are as fun as you found that one

p.s. make sure to keep us updated when you do more

p.p.s so jealous that you're in beta

[mystik]

So i ran my first flashpoint. Black Talon....

Here is my conclusion:
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!

Getting a group took like 5mins in general chat. We had a Bounty Hunter (me level 9), SI (level 10), SW (level 10), IA (level 9). None of us had our advanced classes yet.

I wont spoil story elements for those who care. Needless to say its a genuinely dark Imperial quest line.

First several groups were dispatched with zero organization...we all just blew shit up. That is until we hit the first boss...until now we hadn't needed heals, and thats a good thing....neither our IA or SI would heal (they both claimed they had zero heals, although i have been told SI get one well before 10, not confirmed by me one way or another). We ended up having to be very creative....namely me getting agro and than playing the LOS kite game. And don't let that make it sound bad, i loved every bit of it....was just awesome using creative solutions to solve problems (although in the future i will make sure to have a healer). Plowing through there were some neat boss mechanics but nothing that require huge amount of complicated tactics (which is good because this is the equivalent of Deadmines or Wailing Caverns). The ambient effects of the flash point were just awesome, this taking place on two ships in space, ship blaster fire was everywhere, explosions going off everywhere, it was just epic, and the story points where often hilarious (we were pretty much all focusing on dark side points).

TL : DR

Epic environments, epic story points all with great boss fights...if this is a prelude of what is to come I can't wait to experience further instances. I would run this place again just for fun.

hearing so much hate lately I'm glad to hear there are people out there giving the game a shot and enjoying it. some people expect too much out of the first flashpoints but it's good some people realize it's pretty much the equivalent of deadmines/rfc and don't come in expecting a something uber challenging.

I so want to play already.

[Carmakazie]

I know you are talking about cosmetic things, but just so some people don't get confused. There will be customization of your ship but just in "performance" for Space combat. During the E3 space combat preview they talked about how one of the rewards you can gain is "parts" for your ship to improve various things. Lasers, missles, engines etc.

So you can in a way customize your ship and set it apart from someone who has never done space combat, but it will still look the same and the interior isn't really customizable. Though it would be nice if upgrades to engines/lasers/whatever has some visual effect.

"Mods as it stands right now are purely functional, such as weapons, shields, etc. Cosmetic modifications to the ship (such as hanging a painting up on your wall) are supported in the game tech, but are not currently available."http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/feature/5195/Space-Combat-Presentation.html

Oh man, i didn't know that. Thats pretty sweet how you can turn your ship into like some major badass death machine that rains down hell from above. I figured the Space Combat stuff was alot simpler.

I know my ship is gonna become a freakin train from hell that will beat the Sith fleet like a mixed race stepchild

[Smitzelplix]

If I had to guess I'd say it's based on public announcements made by other MMO developers and TRion's own data. I doubt the Trion guy can make such a claim without it being factually true and provable with public sources, although I have no knowledge about the legislation concerning this . Regarding those servers being transformed to trial servers, that shouldn't really come as a suprise. The initial surge of people wanting to try out the game was far larger than anticipated, and the average amount of time played daily per player is way longer shortly after launch than it is months later. From what I can gather Rift's population is pretty healthy, confirmed by a Trion employee stating net trending of subscribing player were upwards in July.

Well to my knowledge Trion is not obligated to give out such numbers like Blizzard is about their subscriber base. Blizzard is publicly traded or something like that so they have to report these numbers to shareholders and this info gets out to the public, Trion doesn't seem to be in a position like that. The thing that gets me about Trion is that when ever they talk about their sub base they never seem to actually use the term subscriber they have said things like Trion accounts or customers, both of those terms don't necessarily mean active subscribers. I don't doubt that Rift's playerbase is a healthy one and I don't doubt that Rift will be around for quite some time, but I do doubt just how healthy their trying to make their game seem, I think there is a bit of smearing of the facts on their end. Also the trial shard thing, it's not because people are playing the game less it is because there were many who stopped playing all together or made use of the free transfers, so Trion trimmed the really low pop servers off.

[krono957]

in case people missed it, during gabes interview he confirmed:

We said yesterday that you get more loot in the 16-man operations. To clarify, the better loot is reserved for the hard modes. Obviously with an increased challenge comes an increased reward.

[Devirae]

Well to my knowledge Trion is not obligated to give out such numbers like Blizzard is about their subscriber base. Blizzard is publicly traded or something like that so they have to report these numbers to shareholders and this info gets out to the public, Trion doesn't seem to be in a position like that. The thing that gets me about Trion is that when ever they talk about their sub base they never seem to actually use the term subscriber they have said things like Trion accounts or customers, both of those terms don't necessarily mean active subscribers. I don't doubt that Rift's playerbase is a healthy one and I don't doubt that Rift will be around for quite some time, but I do doubt just how healthy their trying to make their game seem, I think there is a bit of smearing of the facts on their end. Also the trial shard thing, it's not because people are playing the game less it is because there were many who stopped playing all together or made use of the free transfers, so Trion trimmed the really low pop servers off.

I agree it's a bit vague, and without Trion saying ''we have x amount of subs'' it remains speculation. Their latest statement does seem to imply they have sold over 1 million clients, although every one of those who purchased it aren't actively playing at the moment of course. And I have no doubt Trion's PR department is very creative at presenting their updates as beneficial for them as possible, but then again, which company doesn't. From personal experience I can say the game's population seems good, based on several shards .

On topic: I've got a feeling I'll be spending way more time on the spacemissions then I should, with the whole upgrade system and mission progression. Seems awesome fun. I personally hope high-scores will be tracked, so you have a fun way of competing with friends and guildies.

[Shardik]

On topic: I've got a feeling I'll be spending way more time on the spacemissions then I should, with the whole upgrade system and mission progression. Seems awesome fun. I personally hope high-scores will be tracked, so you have a fun way of competing with friends and guildies.

I couldn't agree more, it's like a seperate minigame I can play instead of running around the capital city on my mount for an hour and a half till a group gets together/ have nothing better to do.

[krono957]

pardon my french, but this is FUCKING amazing
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/...tar-wars-game/

[Ixator]

Nice interview on DH

This I like!

Is there a different difficulty mode for each of the operation group sizes? Is there a hard mode for the 8-man as well as for the 16-man?

Gabe Amatangelo: Yes, there is.


http://darthhater.com/2011/08/21/gam...terview/page/1

[Event Horizon]

So i ran my first flashpoint. Black Talon....

Here is my conclusion:
HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUN!!!!!!!!

Getting a group took like 5mins in general chat. We had a Bounty Hunter (me level 9), SI (level 10), SW (level 10), IA (level 9). None of us had our advanced classes yet.

I wont spoil story elements for those who care. Needless to say its a genuinely dark Imperial quest line.

First several groups were dispatched with zero organization...we all just blew shit up. That is until we hit the first boss...until now we hadn't needed heals, and thats a good thing....neither our IA or SI would heal (they both claimed they had zero heals, although i have been told SI get one well before 10, not confirmed by me one way or another). We ended up having to be very creative....namely me getting agro and than playing the LOS kite game. And don't let that make it sound bad, i loved every bit of it....was just awesome using creative solutions to solve problems (although in the future i will make sure to have a healer). Plowing through there were some neat boss mechanics but nothing that require huge amount of complicated tactics (which is good because this is the equivalent of Deadmines or Wailing Caverns). The ambient effects of the flash point were just awesome, this taking place on two ships in space, ship blaster fire was everywhere, explosions going off everywhere, it was just epic, and the story points where often hilarious (we were pretty much all focusing on dark side points).

TL : DR

Epic environments, epic story points all with great boss fights...if this is a prelude of what is to come I can't wait to experience further instances. I would run this place again just for fun.

This unfortunately makes me a little less interested in TOR. The whole trinity thing, even in the demo version there appears to be the old problems of being short on healers, this just makes me see future problems on release with the usual tank/healer shortage

[Ujio]

Bioware

Y u no give me beta key yet?!

Seriously though not long left till we get our hands on it! (aslong as it doesn't get pushed to next year - OMG i jinxed it!!!) Can't wait.

[PnBoots]

This unfortunately makes me a little less interested in TOR. The whole trinity thing, even in the demo version there appears to be the old problems of being short on healers, this just makes me see future problems on release with the usual tank/healer shortage

i did black talon around level 9 with no one having advanced classes. We also had to kite every boss. If i would have had my AC we would not have had to kite it.

[Smitzelplix]

On topic: I've got a feeling I'll be spending way more time on the spacemissions then I should, with the whole upgrade system and mission progression. Seems awesome fun. I personally hope high-scores will be tracked, so you have a fun way of competing with friends and guildies.

I like this idea. I think I'll be using this mini game a lot. I think a lot of companies are realizing that they need to add side things like this outside of things like pve/pvp/daily quest grinding. Blizzard even added in some side games like that Plants vs. Ghouls mini game, and now there is news that they will be trying to make that Darkmoon Fare thing much better by putting it on it's own island while also adding in new games. But a space mini game is just plain better in my opinion. I do hope that Bioware will make a more open space combat though kinda like how open space combat came into Star Wars Galaxies.