Recently, Massivelyop.com sat down with BioWare at E3 to talk about the new Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion. They were also lucky enough to see some of it in action. So, what is Fallen Empire you might ask? It’s much more than just an expansion, it’s a return to BioWare’s amazing storytelling adventure in the Star Wars galaxy. The best part of all is that Knights of the Fallen Empire is only the very beginning. The new expansion is called a season because there are more seasons on the way. In Knights of the Fallen Empire, you will see that every choice and decision you make, matters. There have been many choices in SWTOR but they didn’t really have much of an effect. When your character makes a choice in Knights of the Fallen Empire, it has immediate consequences and long-term ones as well. One choice that they…
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If EA Created a New Star Wars Game
We love Star Wars games around here and most of you will know that there has been no shortage of ideas for them but very few that make it to completion and then stick around for any period of time for people to actually enjoy them. This can be very frustrating for the Star Wars gamer fan. How many games in the past couple of years have we seen scrapped? (Stop it already developers!) So here is a question to ponder: If EA was to create a new Star Wars game that isn’t part of an existing series (like Battlefront, Rogue Squadron, etc.) what would you want it to be about? If you could write the plot and script for a new Star Wars game, what would your game be about? Would you be looking for something with more of a Star Wars Galaxies feel to it or would you…
SWTOR as eSport – Can It Happen?
So this is not the first time this question has been proposed but we want to open it up for a bit of discussion here. Could SWTOR make it as an eSport? With the growing popularity and demand on esports, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think about other games getting into the scene. But is SWTOR a good choice? What aspects of SWTOR could be made into an eSport? We’d clearly be looking at PvP options, right? There is a sect of players who love SWTOR solely for the PvP side, despite this not being what the game is specifically made for and branded to. There will always be players who love PvP and want to get specifically into that style of play. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at what might work for SWTOR in an eSports environment. SWTOR PvP tournaments played out on Twitch? This…
My Thoughts On 12x Experience In SWTOR!
Is the bonus for Shadows of Revan a good idea? Is BioWare making the right move by offering this 12x experience bonus to those who subscribe and preorder? Here we have an interesting video from Zach Sharpes that presents this question and then looks to answer it by trying it out. Not everyone likes the 12x experience, actually. Here is one post as an example that brings up a very good point. What if it were on a toggle? Not everyone wants to take advantage of the 12x experience. You shouldn’t be forced to it if you really didn’t want it. So a toggle option would be a good way to give the best of both worlds. Here’s a quote from that post in the forums linked above: Customer Support Team: If you could pass on the impressions of a big fan who really wishes she had never pushed that…
SWTOR Players- What Keeps You Coming Back?
SWTOR has been out for awhile now and like many games today, it has had its changes since the early days. Not only has the payment model changed from subs to free-to-play, there have been many content updates and expansions and even graphical changes to keep the game fresh and new. But, as with any game that has been out awhile, some people get tired of it. It is not usual at all to find fans who quit for periods of time (months, even) and then return. So this brings up the question: what keeps you coming back? As most of us who have been gaming for a long time know, even an excellent game can get tiring or boring. Even if we love it and we play it every day, we are not immune to burn out. Some players realize that it helps to plan ahead for game fatigue…
Should SWTOR be transitioned to Consoles?
A little more than a week ago, the company behind Star Wars: the Old Republic, BioWare, got around to making what seemed like a major announcement at the EA Gamescom Press Conference. Indeed, those who attended the conference could rightfully hope for something huge to be announced, like the porting of SWTOR to consoles…a console version of the 2-year of MMO…Alas, those who had their hopes up would be inevitably disappointed, as the announcement so carefully hyped and set up turned out to be nothing more than one concerning Galactic Strongholds, and it ended up delivering no relevant new information at all. Still, the idea of SWTOR making the jump to consoles is a pretty good one, especially from the point of view of fans of the 2012 MMO. Other Star Wars gamers may just shrug and say they’d be better off with KOTOR 3, but for those who actually…
Can SWTOR Help You Land a Job?
Here’s an interesting topic to ponder. It’s one that I was discussing with some fellow gamer friends just a week or so ago. We were talking about how we are leadership members within our gaming community and how this experience translates to the “real world” and also how our real life experience helps us be better leaders in the games we play. It’s so common in gamers today but it’s not always a topic we hear people talk about. So leads us to another question: Can SWTOR help you land a job? We’ve heard of people putting World of Warcraft on their resumes. We’re not certain how that worked out for them but with how mainstream WoW has become, it’s not a surprise if it helped a bit if they were able to put the game-work connection in it. So why can’t SWTOR experience be the same? We believe it…
Old School Jedi Tanking- Does It Still Exist?
It isn’t very often that a moment in a video game catches us off guard again, makes us appreciate the true value of our game experiences and makes us want to tell others about the experience. But when they do happen, they usually remain in our memories for awhile. Such is the case with Massively writer Jef Reahard when he played with a “real Jedi” named Nayelii
Should SWTOR Be More Like WoW?
Should SWTOR be more like WoW? If you ask the wrong person this question, you’re likely to get your head taken off. Seriously, some SWTOR fans are very anti-WoW. That being said, World of Warcraft has made it as long as it has in the industry because it is, in fact, doing something right. So maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to bash on the game. Are there things about World of Warcraft that SWTOR could use to improve? Possibly. While there are already similarities between SWTOR and WoW, it’s also very important to remember that SWTOR is SWTOR and WoW is WoW. If you want more WoW gameplay in SWTOR, then maybe you just need to go play WoW. That being said, there are some good points to be made about the success of WoW and how it could help Star Wars: The old Republic. Here are some things…
What Ideas Can Other MMOs take from SWTOR?
SWTOR is a game that has sprung some controversial ideas over the years. It is a game that many called a failure but that actually has succeeded in many ways. For many reasons, there are things that other MMOs can learn from SWTOR and the game history so far. Other MMOs can learn from both the successes and the failures of SWTOR. In some ways, this game has paved the path for those that will come after, just like games before opened doors for SWTOR to be what it is today. So let’s take a look at some of the ideas that other MMOs can take from SWTOR. One very big point is the voice acting. The type of voice acting SWTOR had was unique. Never before has it been done in this way in a video game. All the live voice acting adds a different element and level of…
Can the Dark Side of the Force be Used for the Greater Good?
Star Wars lore and The Force is something that has been written, discussed, debated and analyzed since the first film’s debut. One topic of the Star Wars story that has been questioned and debated over the years is that of the Force and Light and Dark side. In this video, we can explore the question “Can the Dark Side of the Force be used for the greater good?” Some will argue that the Dark Side itself is inherently evil and that simply by choosing to act on the Dark, you cannot do good, and that you will become evil. The same is said of the Light Side and good. But if we really break down the story, we see that even the Light Side sometimes questions their goodness or makes choices that could be considered “evil”. Maybe it is not really as black and white as we’d like to think….
Star Wars: Battlefront, DICE Increasingly Looking Like Match Made in Heaven
For a layman, the Star Wars: Battlefront trailer presented at the 2014 E3 may have been disappointing. After all, it contained precious little in-game footage and much more of the “people dramatically entering an office” sort of thing, as one reviewer so keenly pointed out. For a true fan however, the trailer told much more than a straight hour of in-game state-of-the-art graphics frenzy would have, and it really did say what every fan out there wanted to hear: that the folks at DICE were treating this project with utmost respect and that they were aiming to make a game that they, as Star Wars fans, always wanted to play. The trailer also showcased the lengths the team went to in order to create as authentic a Star Wars experience as possible, immersing themselves into the annals of the Star Wars universe in ways only true fans would ever be…
Are Double XP Weekends Helpful to SWTOR Community?
So we talk about SWTOR Double XP weekends a lot here, for obvious reasons. But let’s consider for a moment if they are not really as good for the community as they may seem. Just for the sake of discussion, let’s look at it from another perspective. What happens during a double XP weekend? Generally, more players flock back to the game who never got around to leveling up alts. Some might bring their friends as well. Or you might even get some brand new players to the game who just want to take advantage of the opportunity to level up fast. Double XP from the event combined with any other Cartel Market boosters or guild bonuses and you can get level 20 before leaving the planet you’re on. You could get to max level in one solid weekend of playing, even if you just created the character. So this…
SWTOR Housing Speculation- What Can We Expect?
Some of us have been looking forward to SWTOR player housing since we first heard about SWTOR. Now that we know it will be coming soon, there is a lot of speculation about what we can expect to see in the actual final version of player housing. We know it’s coming this summer with the release of Galactic Strongholds but we don’t know a lot more about what this will bring. And since it’s coming soon, players have been doing a lot of speculation. We have learned to be cautious when it comes to news from Bioware about future features of the game but with one as highly anticipated as this, it’s hard not to be optimistic. We don’t want to get our hopes up and then bet let down but we are feeling good about some of the things we might see. We were told we would get “prestigious apartments” that…
Why SWTOR Was a “Failure”
We keep hearing it everywhere- “SWTOR was a failure” and with many new MMORPGs coming out, we hear the claim that it might end up being a failure “Just like SWTOR”. Why all this hatred for the game? First, let’s clear the air and say that we don’t think SWTOR is a failure. And with the numbers they are bringing in financially, the stats don’t say it’s a flop either. But we hear this far too much to just write it off as a handful of trolls. So for this reason, we’re going to entertain this opinion for just a bit and see why some people think the game failed. When we talk about why SWTOR is seen as a failure to some, we have to look at player expectations vs. how SWTOR was hyped. As a standalone game today, most people will agree it’s a pretty decent game, even…
Does the Bolster System Need Fixing?
A lot of SWTOR players are saying the bolster system is broken. Is it really? Let’s take a look at the topic. First, bolster was believed to be a friend of the new PVPer but now that it’s out, many are questioning whether or not this feature is really a positive. While bolster was meant to bring a more even playing field to the PvP aspects of SWTOR, many players feel like it has succeeded only in bring more problems. Some players don’t believe it has leveled the playing field at all. So the idea behind Bolster is a good one- it’s intended introduce and level the playing field in PvP of SWTOR. It could also be a good way to introduce new players to this aspect of the game and its content. And some will say that level 10-54, Bolster is working as intended. But what happens at level…
Does What Your Toon Looks Like Matter in SWTOR?
MMORPGs… there is a culture in this type of gaming that you just don’t find anywhere else. There are things that we just know and associate with certain types of games. That being said, we see many cool new things happening in the MMORPG world. But one thing that has grown over the gaming years and with the industry is the cosmetic side of things. Graphics have come a long, long way since the early days of RPGs and now with nearly every new game that comes out, we have even better aesthetic features. SWTOR is joining the ranks of many other MMORPGs and focusing on things that the players want as much as what they need. Player housing is a great example other this. Another great example is new orange gear. Some people will sit back and say, “Oh that’s dumb” and “Why are you worried about how you…
Will the Competition Be Held off By SWTOR’s 2014 Roadmap?
The plan for the future of 2014 is out. So how will this affect the competition in the MMORPG market? If you ask around the SWTOR community, you will find that people are very split on how they feel about these changes and upcoming plans. Some players are really happy about it while others have their own ideas of how certain aspects of gameplay and other details should go. The diversity is one thing that makes the gaming community so unique and broad and we do know from experience that BioWare listens to what the players have to say about certain things like this. But when we look outside of the community, how can we expect these changes to affect the competition that SWTOR has now and in the future? Elite Monster has done a write-up on this that pretty much echoes my thoughts on the matter. The first point…
Why Do People Talk about SWTOR Like It’s a Failure?
A lot of people keep talking about SWTOR like it’s a failure but that’s really not the truth. So why do so many people seem to have this perception about SWTOR? As I explained in my recent post, SWTOR’s Cartel Market Rakes in $139 Million Dollars in 2013, one reason for this is that many people mistakenly associate a game going from sub to F2P as a sign that it is failing. But that’s not always the case. It really just means that a different pay model was needed and now that they have it, BioWare seems to be doing very well with SWTOR financially. If you spend any time around the gaming communities, you will notice people talking about how SWTOR is a failure or making reference to how some other game is going to be a failure “Just like SWTOR” but no one can give you any real proof of…
How to Keep SWTOR Servers Loaded in 2014
Do you like having a full server of people to play with on SWTOR? Since server mergers last year, most servers are on heavy now, which is great for fans who want to have plenty of people to play with. But the new year means new games and some people worry about what this might do to SWTOR population. With many new games coming out in 2014, how can SWTOR keep the servers busy and loaded? Here are some ideas of what they could do to help keep the servers heavy: Build a new planet to explore Create an expansion and add 5 more levels to the level cap Create cross-server gameplay Explain PvP Create more Operations and harder Operations Build some minigames such as cantina games or good old-fashioned pod racing Add more ship quests/games Build a housing system or expand player ships to be more customizable like a…
My WoW experience and how it makes me appreciate SWTOR more
I started playing WoW back in 2005. I played an enhancement shaman almost the entire time until I stopped playing about a year ago. I’ve seen what started as a really terrible, unfocused class spec dramatically improve, get tweaked, and finish off into mediocrity. Coming from that experience I’ve been very pleased with SWTOR ‘s handling of classes, specs, and especially PVP. This is a brain First, my WoW experience. Back in classic WoW, enhancement shaman had two active abilities. I would use one, use the other, then wait for the cooldown to end. In a group my job was to cast a buff or two and keep it up. Our spec was shit. All shaman had to be healers if you were in a serious raid. There was no gear itemized for my class and my class sets were useless. Of course I didn’t know any better and I…
Discussion: Improving SWTOR PvP
PvP in SWTOR has long been a controversial topic. There are some who love it, there are some who hate it and everything in between. A recent post in the forums talked about how to improve PvP and it was written by a self-confessed old WoW PvPer. As someone who has also played hardcore World of Warcraft PvP, I can see a lot of their points as valid. However, SWTOR is a different game and I try to avoid any comparisons between two different games since it’s really different playing fields here. It’s apples and oranges- so comparing WoW PvP to SWTOR PvP just doesn’t stack up for me. However… there are some things that you can learn from doing PvP in another MMORPG, such as WoW that you can take with you into new games that you play like SWTOR. So with the spirit of that in mind, let’s…
Will Warzones Die When Arenas Go Live?
With the new PvP arenas coming to SWTOR, some players have questions about what will happen to current warzones once the arenas go live. As many players already know, in current warzones, there are usually several people who run around killing, rather than doing the objective on the warzone. Such is always the case in objective-based PvP in MMORPGs. Now obviously we know that as soon as arenas go live, people are all going to want to sign up for them. But does this mean warzones will completely die off? What about the players who like the current traditional warzones? The good news is that there are several reasons why warzones will not die off when arenas go live. There are actually two different options you get when you queue: Regular: you will get the same old 8v8 warzones you’ve seen since launch or arenas. Your rating will not be affected by wins/losses in…
Free to Play Isn’t Play for Free
Many industry experts said that SWTOR could be setting the stage for a new F2P model for MMORPGs. Other said it would be the last subscription-based MMORPG and that they expect future games of the same caliber to be based around F2P models. That hasn’t exactly happened yet. While there are more free to play MMORPGs than ever before, there are still games coming out with subs, at least for now. And this brings up a great conversation about free to play MMOs. While a game may be labeled “free to play”, this doesn’t make it play for free. You still may end up needing to pay for certain features or items you want in the game. And you might have to pay for features that subscribing members don’t have to pay for. The upside is that you only have to pay for the features you want and you can…