Friday, December 26, 2008

The Old Republic A New Hope?

According to an article on Massively, The Old Republic could be the best chance for EA (the owners of Bioware) to increase profitability - apparently, they've made a mess of their chances in other areas, specifically console games.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

PvP Focus for SW:TOR?

I've just noticed a snippet of information from an interview on Allakhazam with Star Wars: The Old Republic's community manager, Sean Dahlberg. That line is:
With that said, TOR will offer fun and rewarding gameplay no matter what your play style is. If you're not a PvPer at heart, there are definitely other things within the game to do.

...which rather implies a PvP focus in the game. I'm a fan of PvP, so this is all good from my point of view. I wonder if this decision was made before Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning came out, or if it's in reaction to that game's major PvP focus. In any case, it looks like the Old Republic kicking Sith butt is going to be a major part of the game.

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Friday, December 19, 2008

HeroEngine

In our first glimpse of the technology involved, Ten Ton Hammer says that Bioware have announced they'll be using the Simutronics HeroEngine. I don't know much about it, but I reckon it's a head start on getting the game going.

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Penny Arcade Are Not Impressed

Penny Arcade's Tycho does not seem to be impressed by the footage released by Bioware. He has a point, but it's very early in the process to start criticism; I'm amazed they have video at all at this stage.

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Crafting, Guilds and Economy in SW:TOR

There's an interesting quote on Gamespy's latest Star Wars: The Old Republic article, attributed to one of the Bioware founders (not clear whether it's Zeschuk or Muzyka, or a combined statement):
You also have players who like to build guilds and enjoy the social aspects of the game, and other players who get really into crafting and the game economy. The Old Republic will have opportunities for all these types of players to play the game exactly the way they enjoy playing it. We're taking a really balanced and comprehensive approach in this respect.

... which kind of goes against something that was stated before by Muzyka, "It's about being a hero", which seemed to imply that the other aspects of the game would be played down. But personally, I'm much happier to see a spread of activities - it means there'll be plenty to do on an ongoing basis in the game.

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IGN's SW:TOR Preview

IGN were one of the first sites in with a preview of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here are some key quotes and notes:
"It's not a day-in-the-life of Star Wars," Ray [Muyzka, one of Bioware's founders] emphasizes; "It's about being a hero."

Part of what he's saying there is that this game, unlike the previously released Star Wars: Galaxies won't emphasise crafting or other sandbox-style elements; it'll go after the heroic, story-oriented material instead.
There's a whole galaxy to tell stories in, and unlike Star Wars Galaxies or The Lord of the Rings Online, The Old Republic isn't tied down to an intricate series of events and settings.

In other words, they can make things up without upsetting the lore nerds. This is definitely an advantage, as one of the areas in which LOTRO failed to grab me was the way in which the outcome was pre-determined and known. Sure, we know in this that Coruscant is not going to be blown up, but pretty much everything else is up for grabs.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic

So, what we know so far about SW:TOR? 

We know that:
  • It's being developed by Bioware
  • It's set 300 years after Knights of the Old Republic
  • It features a conflict between the Sith Empire and the Old Republic
  • It will emphasise story heavily
  • It will feature NPC companions
  • It will have classes
  • It's Bioware's first MMORPG

We also know that there are rumours of it being microtransaction based, rather than subscription based, but that these rumours have absolutely not been confirmed by Bioware.

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Welcome!

Welcome to Tython Council, a blog dedicated to news and rumours about the forthcoming Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic, from Bioware. We'll be keeping track of all the news as it emerges, and discussing it right here.

To begin with, you might want to look at the official site: Star Wars: The Old Republic, or maybe the Wikipedia entry. Add us to your feed-reader, or just visit regularly!