[Gothos]

8 hour patches? It usually downloads and applies updates within half an hour for me.

Also, my Assassin got stuck on Quesh with a game-crashing bug yesterday, still waiting for a reply from the protocol droids. Agent is very fun to play, even if it seems a lot easier at the start than Inquisitor did (SNIPE SNIPE SNIPE SNIPE)

[Kanubis]

Gothos, Apt's talking about the scheduled server downtime.

Apt, for what it's worth, the Tuesday downtime always seems to be a lot less than eight hours in the end.

[Garak]

Honestly the Tuesday downtime is the only one I've noticed.

[Aptorian]

Last week there was maintenance Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you're American you probably didn't notice because Bioware does the maintenance at the same time across the globe, during the night/early morning in the US and during the day in Europe, because fuck European players apparently.

[Garak]

Well I'm European but I'm at work during those downtimes. And during the weekend I don't play because I got 40k and D&D to keep me busy.

[Avatar]

I'm curious: (I haven't played TOR, never been a fan of MMORPG's. But I love most of Bioware's games.) How much of the game is actual MMO? I mean, except the PvP content, and optional quests which you can do together. Is it possible to play the main storyline, without cooperating with other players? And when you move across the world, do you meet other players all the time, or does that depend on the area (are there quests where you don't meer other players?) Thanks for helping me out.

This post has been edited by Avatar: 04 February 2012 - 04:59 PM

[Kanubis]

Avatar, on 04 February 2012 - 04:58 PM, said:

I'm curious: (I haven't played TOR, never been a fan of MMORPG's. But I love most of Bioware's games.) How much of the game is actual MMO? I mean, except the PvP content, and optional quests which you can do together. Is it possible to play the main storyline, without cooperating with other players? And when you move across the world, do you meet other players all the time, or does that depend on the area (are there quests where you don't meer other players?) Thanks for helping me out.

You can play a class storyline start to finish without ever grouping. Additionally, each planet tends to have a 'core' shared quest series that is designed to be soloable. Of the rest of the quests, only one per 'hub' is designed for a group.


You will see other people in the world, you can't avoid that. However many class missions and quite a few shared ones end in a phase where you'll be alone. This is mainly so they can make a storyline bit with a complexity that wouldn't work if there were other people running about.

But you can't quest in general without seeing other people. It wouldn't be an MMO if that were so, and having entire areas designated for single player would simply wouldn't be worth the development cost.

[Lucifer's Heaven]

The combat is very standard, traditional MMO fair though.
It is made a little more engaging, and certainly looks better (the characters look more like they're swinging at eachother, not just the air in front of them), but it is essentially just the same as most.

Like other Bioware games, you get companions (which is how they help mitigate the need for partying), with their own alignments and story.
Also, like most Bioware games these days, you have conversation options, and a direction you can steer things (to a certain degree). Be careful though, as always, some options are misleading, and if you accidently choose a dark side choice (that looked like a light side one) when you meant a light side choice (or vice versa), you can't load it and pick the other, and it tracks and shows all the light and dark side points, then tallies them to a total, so those accidental points will be there forever.

All conversations are fully voiced, which is awesome, and helps you actually give a shit about what is happening (unlike most MMOs).

[Obdigore]

No, Lucy, those dark/light points will not be there forever. Once you reach the max dark/light side points, it will start removing points from the opposite side if you continue taking those choices.

[Avatar]

Thanks for the answers! Sounds like an MMO that I could like. When I will find more time to play, I might step in.

[Lucifer's Heaven]

Obdigore, on 06 February 2012 - 04:10 AM, said:

No, Lucy, those dark/light points will not be there forever. Once you reach the max dark/light side points, it will start removing points from the opposite side if you continue taking those choices.

Well that's good at least (I didn't get that far, obviously)

Though I really do wish you didn't get nerfed for playing a grey character. I wonder if they have any plans to change that?

[Obdigore]

Lucifer, on 08 February 2012 - 01:32 AM, said:

Obdigore, on 06 February 2012 - 04:10 AM, said:

No, Lucy, those dark/light points will not be there forever. Once you reach the max dark/light side points, it will start removing points from the opposite side if you continue taking those choices.

Well that's good at least (I didn't get that far, obviously)

Though I really do wish you didn't get nerfed for playing a grey character. I wonder if they have any plans to change that?

Only thing is gear and they are adding neutral gear sets.

[Kanubis]

I've also found that if you take Biochem (and consequently the Diplomacy mission skill) you basically get complete control over your moral scale. Want to say an uncharacteristically dark side thing because in this context it feel right? Just send a couple of companions on Lightside diplomacy missions to negate the dark side points. No problem.

[Obdigore]

Kanubis, on 08 February 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

I've also found that if you take Biochem (and consequently the Diplomacy mission skill) you basically get complete control over your moral scale. Want to say an uncharacteristically dark side thing because in this context it feel right? Just send a couple of companions on Lightside diplomacy missions to negate the dark side points. No problem.

Yup, it is also currently the only 'raiding' skill because it gives you re-usable medpacks and stims and adrenals, so you don't have to spend 100k a night on that stuff.

[Gothos]

Obdigore, on 08 February 2012 - 09:51 AM, said:

Kanubis, on 08 February 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

I've also found that if you take Biochem (and consequently the Diplomacy mission skill) you basically get complete control over your moral scale. Want to say an uncharacteristically dark side thing because in this context it feel right? Just send a couple of companions on Lightside diplomacy missions to negate the dark side points. No problem.

Yup, it is also currently the only 'raiding' skill because it gives you re-usable medpacks and stims and adrenals, so you don't have to spend 100k a night on that stuff.

heheheh, that sounds like vanilla WoW consumables

[Tsundoku]

I finally have a level 14 Imperial Agent (on the Harbinger West Coast USA PvE) - Bluepearl. 'Cause he's a Chiss.

And Dresden, a level 9 Jedi Consular on ... whatever the Asia Pacific RP server is.

Hoping to transfer Bluepearl to Dalbora (Asia Pacific PvE) at the end of April when we're told we can do that.

[Dutch]

I've got two chars on the EU Flames of the Crucible server.

Lostara, a Jedi Shadow on the Republic side and Smiles, a Bounty Hunter on the Empire side.

But to be honest, it hasn't gripped me like Knights of the Old Republic did and I haven't played over a week already.

The mails that you get that you haven't played for a while does bug me.

[Dammon]

I started playing last week on the Australian Release.

I have a Chiss Imperial Agent (Sniper) called Zaaron and a Sith Inquisitor called Carbaul (still trying to decide between Assasin or Sorcerer) on Dalbora (Asia Pacific PvE).

Will probably roll a Repbulic toon or two either on the Asia Pacific RP server or wait for a new PvE server to come out and use that.

[Tsundoku]

Can someone please tell me the logic of updating the Australian (OK, "Asia Pacific" ) servers during our evenings - which is prime game time?

It makes sense for the Yank servers because that's when the Yanks are asleep, but I think we can live with ours waiting another 10-12 hours until we are asleep or at work in the mornings.

That's part of the bloody POINT of having local servers, isn't it?

"Oh no, we have to make all patches at the same time so noone is disadvantaged". In answer to this I point out that since there is no traffic between servers, how can anyone be disadvantaged? Surely it can wait until the wee hours of the morning?

This post has been edited by Sombra: 06 March 2012 - 09:39 AM

[Gothos]

Well, coming from WoW's perspective, perhaps they mean disadvantage of staggered patch days and World First kills of bosses. Or something.

Yanks can be very yank-centered - just look at steam, or game release dates!