From five new boss encounters to a new puzzle encounter, Bioware is bringing out the Star Wars equivalents of Ethereal Devourers with this newest Operation, Terror from Beyond. To this, BioWare has said they are bringing "a chaotic situation" to players, one that will require "leveraging their particular group composition."
What does this mean? We will find out soon, in the 1.4 patch for SWTOR!
Julian "Mirai" Williams
When I met Jeff Hickman at Gamescom earlier this month, I got the impression that the look of focused determination he wore would be more suited to a battle cruiser captain. But for BioWare’s Executive Producer for Live Services, and the man at the helm of Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR), such attention is warranted. In navigating his team through the rapidly shifting MMO landscape, Hickman hopes to attract newcomers to the game while offering subscribers a premium experience.
Besides a long look at payment models, Hickman and the team have also reassessed their approach to new content. While content updates will be slimmer than the large patches we’ve experienced previously, BioWare now hopes to deliver fresh gaming fun every six weeks. He also suggests that players should look closely at these updates if they want a hint of where the SWTOR story is heading.
I started off by asking about where the idea for SWTOR’s free-to-play option came from, and what influenced the team in deciding to offer it alongside the existing subscription. Hickman explained that, while they’ve been aware of what other MMOs were doing, it was player feedback that encouraged them to choose this route.
Longtime Star Wars: TOR fans will remember Juhani, a Cathar jedi you can completely miss your first time through - getting her to join your party involves visiting a sub-quest and saying exactly the right things. The Cathar had never been in the Star Wars films, just the novels. That's kind of why I thought it was weird that they weren't in SWTOR. Bioware is now fixing that problem - this new trailer teases the planet Makeb and the Cathar race as playable, as well as a few glimpses into future plans.
Julian "Mirai" Williams
In an EA press conference this morning - still on going at time of publishing - Matthew Bromberg, new head of BioWare Austin, confirmed a number of new changes for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
To begin with, Challenge of the Chevin, the new SWTOR live event, will be launched today.
It appears there's more skullduggery heading to SWTOR.
The next live event has been teased in a video - uploaded by Gamedibs - which indicates the Chevin will be taking a prominent role in intergalactic affairs.
Known for their penchant for trade via "alternative" means, there should be plenty of scope for upheaval - and profit - for SWTOR players.
Scott "Jarimor" Hawkes, Editor In Chief
A rumor that began at German website GamersGlobal, indicates that the co-founder of BioWare, Greg Zeschuk, has left the company.
No official confirmation has been gained as of publishing, with some citing Zeschuk's LinkedIn profile - which indicates that he stepped down as general manager of BioWare Austin in May - as evidence that the rumor holds water.
Raise your hand if you're going to Gamescom. Okay, you're in luck! The new Star Wars: The Old Republic warzone will be playable there. And better yet, if you're close enough to try it, you can even show up for the Meet and Greet of the SWTOR team. As always, ZAM will have more info from Gamescom when it takes off and we get interviews collected, so keep an eye out for more.
Raise your hand if you're going to Gamescom. Okay, you're in luck! The new Star Wars: The Old Republic warzone will be playable there. And better yet, if you're close enough to try it, you can even show up for the Meet and Greet of the SWTOR team. As always, ZAM will have more info from Gamescom when it takes off and we get interviews collected, so keep an eye out for more.
It looks like all of the predictions were right! Today BioWare has officially announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be going free-to-play this fall, with players having full access to all eight personal storylines up to level 50, although some content and advanced features will be gated via microtransaction purchases. Subscriptions will still be available to players by offering unlimited access to new features and higher-level content, but BioWare has noted that they want to offer "flexibility and choice" to their players.
Ultimately, according to the new SWTOR F2P FAQ, free players will be limited in terms of how many warzones, flashpoints, and space missions they will be able to accomplish per week. Additionally, F2P players will have "extremely" limited access to the Galactic Trade Network, as well as no access to any endgame operations. The expectation is that these features will be available to F2P players via microtransaction purchases (BioWare is calling their real-money currency "Cartel Coins"), but subscribers should be able to access all of this new content for the same monthly price.
BioWare also has plans to reward their current and returning players, with Cartel Coins rewarded to subscribers and purchasers of the Collector's Edition of SWTOR, as well as a unique "Fan's Choice in-game item" for anyone who subscribes before August 1st, 2012.
You can check out some of the new upcoming content coming for Star Wars: The Old Republic here.
More Star Wars Q+A! So, much like the typical MOBA or other PVP game, the question came up, why do cooldowns not refresh when you die? And, similar to them, they want to avoid the kamikaze approach, launching yourself at one target and blowing everything before you die. There's also talk of the lack of class rebalances lately, and how Bio has had other priorities but they will be returned to later. And, PVE relics are being outclassed by PVP ones, and the devs have said that will change but, right now, they can't talk about it yet. There's a few other things about Artificing crystals too, but that's the PVP content.
