Grumpy Old Nerds

"Holy Shit!" Those were my first words when I read the e-mail saying that I was chosen to test out Star Wars The Old Republic last weekend. I felt like I won the lottery until I was told that everyone was testing it out this weekend. Still even though I was one of the mere common folk I still had my time to test it, and by the maker I used Friday night, weekend, and Monday night to play the game to the fullest. There is so much to cover where do I even begin?



Well I will start off about with how I progressed. I didn't do what Mimic and Numbspoon did and took something to 20. I didn't want to progress that far knowing I would just have to do it over again, but thinking about it now, I would have no problem with doing exactly that. Instead though, I had the Consular at level 13, Inquisitor at 12, and Smuggler at 12 and tested the rest of the classes to about 4 or 5.

Let me just say this about the game, this isn't one of those "my basic computer should be able to handle the specifications" games. I have a fairly old pc that ran World of Warcraft fine with no lag. This game I had moments of severe lags and crashes, which while yes the game was still in beta, I was having more problems than my buds were, so I know the problem was coming from my system. I recommend getting one of those video cards in the hundred dollar range and above for maximum enjoyment. Regardless of the few crashes I had and some of the graphics being not so great on my screen, the game is amazing,

Don't get me wrong though, it's not true perfection. Here are some down sides that I discovered. Customization is really lacking, basically it's the same customization that you have seen in other Bioware games; limiting, and being Pre-Mass Effect 3, lacking long hair options for the female characters. That's not to say that this game in the future isn't going to have more customization options or an expansion down the road with a galactic barber shop, just stating what was there at the start. The choices in customization so far were limited also, like the Miraluka as you can alter what mask they wore and give them scars, but no tatoos or facial hair, while another race you can have scars and facial hair but no tatoos or masks. Also there is only four body types: scrawny, average, tall and muscular, and husky, you can't adjust the height or weight to your liking. Oh and being able to customize your companions? I was under the impression that once we earned them we could customize them just like we did for our character. Instead of that we earn certain packs and items to help change the characters looks just like upgrading your own equipment, so unfortunately everyone runs around with the exact same companion from the start (level 9) because you can't customize them right away. Overall, customization is disappointing, but it's an obstacle that for me, is easy to get over.

Another down side I can point out is a bit of a double edged sword for me. The voice acting is definitely a blessing and a fresh concept for the MMO's and well done through the majority of the quests. However, as I went through, I noticed that the downside can be with your companions spamming their chatter. Even if it's not your companion you could walk by someone else's companion and hear them speak. There was even a bug to where you would randomly hear Mako (Bounty Hunter companion) in the starting levels even when no one brought their companion to the level 1-8 areas. Most of the time though I was too focused on what I wanted to accomplish to notice these things, but this was brought up in our discussion through ventrilo.

Other than that there were a lot of bugs, but most of them could be summed up as minor, However, let's not forget people, every game even at launch time suffers from bugs, that's why there are things called patches and maintenance days. Hell, even to this day, WoW still used patches to fix bugs, and it's been the number one MMO for how long now?

During my gameplay, I realized something that set SWTOR apart from the usual MMO. From the start the character you create is a bad-ass, which is much different than my last entry stating that your character is usually always worthless in an MMO. Right from the start you are already in the thick of things: whether it's a slave training to become a Sith Apprentice, a Smuggler who landed at the right place at the wrong time, or a Consular Apprentice about to train with his master when the shit hits the fan. Action is intense from the get go, usually involving you killing 3 enemies at a time. Not to worry though, at the start you shouldn't have any problem dispatching them as your skills are more then enough to handle the starting crowd. Another great addition to the gameplay is having a rest button that restores your health and force powers to full in about 15 seconds (and that ability has 0 cooldown so you can constantly fight and rest up). The rest ability is unique to all characters, imperial agents have a droid that brings up a holo screen and he swipes through the profiles of his targets like Tom Cruise did in the Minority Report, Bounty Hunters test their equipment, Smugglers practice shooting a coin out of the air, Sith Inquisitors pace back and forth like Darth Maul waiting to battle Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace, just to give a few examples.

Back to the voice acting, for the most part it is okay, but I feel like, even though it would have cost a lot more money out of Bioware's pocket, they should have had multiple voice actors for each class. I feel like the male voice actor for the soldier really didn't fit how a soldier should sound. Plus the male voice for the consular really didn't match the husky build I created. Some are really good though, I enjoyed the voice acting of the male smuggler and the female inquisitor.

One thing to mention is that two classes share the exact same starting area but they both start off at slightly different points. Each class has their own individual story but other than that you share the exact same side quests. Also, traveling about, there are some zones that only your specific class can access unless you partied with a member of the other class, then they can help you out, but they don't interfere in your story options. Entering those class specific zones are like entering your own instance where you don't see other players taking your kill, making you wait for respawns, and other bits of frustration so you can enjoy your storyline progress in peace.

Eventually at around level 9 you end up getting the ability to get your first companion. This varies from class to class, for example, the Smuggler's companion will join right away starting with the level 9 quest of your story, and others like the Sith Inquisitor involve you going through an incredibly hard fight to defeat your companion to earn having him by your side. Once you earn your companion, they are a significant help to fighting enemies, any of the quests in the starting area that are deemed as heroic are now easy to complete and sometimes they will chime in on character conversations and there will be a special option in certain instances like these, for instance, I was able to use the Sith Inquisitor's companion as a threat to eat some enemy out for your head. Once you hit level 10 you can send them off to do crew skills, which is your crafting for the game. You can choose from 3 skills and those are abilities that your companion will be able to use. These skills so far from my progression can range anywhere from 3-6 minutes, that might increase depending on higher skill levels. I will tell you this right now: diplomacy is not the light side/dark side speed booster that you would think it would be. You only gain a +1 to either side depending on which to pick (which are easily labeled as light side or dark side options so you can remain on the path you wish to rise in), though in return you gain medical items (which are good for some of the bio-chem creations) and companion gifts, which just like in other Bioware games help gain approval ratings....very handy if your Sith Inquisitor has a heart...which your starting companion will hate the options you pick with a fiery passion.

There are some down sides to the crafting, however. Companions can come back from certain tasks that you send them on as complete failures, which I wouldn't mind if it didn't actually cost credits each time you sent them out on a task (if they are actually crafting an item for you it's free). Sometimes the item you get back is completely random then what you need. Archeology was the only one I seen that was constantly giving me the materials I needed for synthweaving (didn't get to try salvaging, scavenging, and the tech crafts though). Bio-analysis I would seem to have a 50/50 chance of getting what I needed, the other item might have been for later crafts, I have no idea at that point. Another downside is if you just have the one companion and you get out of the starting area, some conversation spots actually require having your companion around, so if you sent them off on a six minute task and find the conversation spot just a few seconds later you have a long wait on your hands. These were just minor problems and the credit issue I didn't really have a problem with at the start, and that's just selling any items and junk to a vendor, I didn't even bother trying to market the items.

At level 10 you get to pick out how you are going to specialize your character. You find a quest giver on a ship to talk to a person (normally the person you need to go see is right beside your class trainer) and that person will explain your two specs. You also get to preview each spec before you hit confirm (decide carefully as there is no specialization switching...you only get to re-do the talent trees for that particular specialization). Usually you get a gift that will be in a big in your inventory once you specialize, like the Consular, if he went the sage path, you'll get a off-hand item that will boost your force abilities, Smugglers that spec into gunslinger will get there second pistol, Inquisitors that spec for assassin will get there double-bladed saber, and so on.

Speaking of class skills, there were a few minor issues that I believe will be fixed up. My Consular was a healer and sometimes the ability didn't register properly; sometimes my 1.5 cooldown bar went past it's mark, sometimes it would reset itself halfway through a heal if I was spamming the heal button, and other times it took a few clicks to register the ability. Some of those problems could have been with my computer though. Another problem I had was the cover system of the Smuggler and Imperial Agents. While it's absolutely fun, sometimes I just wanted my character to crouch where they were to face an enemy and instead they would roll over to the green image of them that only popped up after you hit the cover button (usually if the green image appears when you hit cover you automatically take the space of that green spot...otherwise you crouch down) which ended up making you face away from your target. Once your facing away from the target, if you use the mouse in the slightest, like holding right click down to bring the enemy into the center view, you would break cover. A minor problem, sure but if you're doing a flashpoint, that could be a waste of DPS, which could cause some unnecessary extra damage that the party will be taking.

One last thing I can discuss is flashpoints, which most might know as dungeons or instances. You come across your first one at level 10 once you board the ship that leaves the starting area. The republic side was definitely more entertaining than the Sith side, but that's not to say that the Sith side was bad, and maybe the fun factor evens out with the Sith have a few that are more fun than the republics and vice versa. The Esseles, which was the republic's flashpoint, was action packed from start to end and each side had several conversation sections through each flashpoint. While your entire party gathers and picks their options and you see who wins the rolls you get sucked into the story but each character having their own say-so throughout the entire flashpoint. There are certain scenarios during the flashpoints to that effect the outcome, but does not affect the points you earn. For example there's a section where you either got to spend time helping engineers out, fighting more enemies, or you choose to sacrifice them and continue on. If the dark side person won the roll and they die, but you picked to spare them, you'll continue on from the dark side section of the story, but you still earn your light side points that you picked.
The action is intense in these flash points too, enemies are trying to take over your ship and the walls will explode and then enemies will pour out of that hole in the wall, you'll be rushing through the cargo bay and you'll witness a ship crash close to you, and all sorts of intense shit that simulates an downright space warzone.

I really have nothing else to say at this point. The few days I had to test the game proved to be an amazing experience, and while there were a few small bugs here and there I would say this game is ready to go. I know I'm anxious for the early access bonus in less than two weeks time. I can tell you I'm already hooked on this game by making game references in real life already. I came out of a convenience store and my receipt fell to the ground when it was suppose to go in the trash can. It was freezing rain at that moment and at first I shrugged and walked to my car, but then I had a change of heart, returned to the receipt and put it in the trash can. After I did that I immediately said "Light side points" and went in to my vehicle. So I've already shown that I'm addicted to this game and when it comes out, I will be more than happy to call this game my new MMO to get zombified into. It's kind of amusing that I managed to cleanse myself of World of Warcrack and now I'm getting into a new drug call Star Warscrack: The Old Republic.