What does all this mean?  Well it means that the game is coming along well.  However, as we begin closing in on what seems to be the final stretch of the development cycle, I am not without my concerns.  Playing an MMORPG means being a single character in a massive world with thousands of other players, all the while maintaining enough of a sense of individuality to prevent from blending in perfectly with everyone else.  My main concern is that Bioware, with their history of making fantastic single player titles, may not be addressing that sense of individuality that makes your character in an MMO worth more than anyone else.

With the beautiful looking ships, it makes me wonder, are they all going to be absolutely identical?  How much customization will we be able to implement to make our ships, and our characters our own.  Also, I understand that there is going to be a lot of armor customization options for each class, but will the options be distinguishable enough.

Regardless of this concern, I am still confident that Bioware will be able to make our several-hundreds-of-hours adventure into Star Wars:  The Old Republic more than worth the wait, I just pray that it doesn’t go the route of World of Warcraft, where at the higher levels, everyone has the same armor, the same weapons, the same mount, the same everything.

What do YOU think?

Drop us a comment and let us know.

28 BTC:  The Sith Onslaught

28 years BTC (Before the Treaty of Coruscant),  The Sith Empire, who had been driven into exile centuries before, suddenly went on the offensive targeting the Republic colonies on the Outer Rim.  Without warning and without a chance, the Outer Rim colonies rapidly fell to the ruthless Sith attack.  In addition to the annihilation and capture of a great number of Out Rim colonies, the Sith also managed to secure their home planet of Korriban from the Republic.

The utter shock and disarray that took the Republic and their allies made the Sith’s conquest quick and efficient.  In the words of Master Gnost-Duran, “The attack of the Sith Empire was the most well orchestrated and carefully coordinated military maneuver in the galaxy’s history.”  It is assumed that much of the Sith’s time in exile was spent planning out this fateful day.  The Sith Onslaught served as the violent catalyst that plunged the galaxy into a state of war leading to the brutal stalemate that left the galaxy divided in half, the Treaty of Coruscant.

18 BTC:  The Battle of Bothawui

Ten years after the Sith Onslaught,  the Sith had managed to capture most of the Outer Rim and were shifting their focuses to the Mid Rim planets.  A small Sith invasion force traveled to Bothawui attempting to capture it.  However, the Republic foresaw the Sith’s strategy and had the entire Republic fleet ready to defend the Bonthan home world.  The Republic ships made short work out of the Sith invasion force making the first Battle of Bothawui the first major victory for the Republic.  The fleet left the planet, however a small Republic force led by Jedi Master Allusis remained behind in anticipation of the Sith’s retalitation.

The Sith did indeed retaliate, and they bought with them an enormous fleet.  The planetary shield surrounding Bothawui made it impossible for the Sith Fleet to land.  This made a ground assault the only possible means of attack.  Master Allusis and his men had come to terms with their odds of survival and held the line with resolve and successfully managed to drive the overconfident Sith back.  For every Republic Soldier killed, ten Sith fell.  Eventually, only Allusis and a small force remained.  Grand Moff Zellos offered them survival if they surrendered.  The Republic Soldiers denied his request and were struck down, but not before driving the Sith from Bothawui making the second Battle of Bothawui a draw.

14 BTC:  The Empire Changes Strategy

Another branch of the Sith Emperor’s plan was to reunite the creed of deadly warriors known as the Mandalorians.

To do this, the Empire employed the subterfuge tactics of their Imperial Agents to infiltrate and manipulate the results of Gladiator battles taking place across the galaxy.  The Empire singled out a young warrior on Geonosis who was competing in the Gladiator battles.  The Imperial Agents became the young warrior’s manager in the battles and used his convenient position to infiltrate the quarters of the young warrior’s opponents and drug them.  Because of the Imperial Agent’s manipulation, the young warrior was undefeated in the arena.  Soon, the crowds began cheering the word “Mandalore!  Mandalore!  Mandalore! (referring to the name given to the leader of the Mandalorians, considered to be the greatest warrior in the galaxy)”

It wasn’t before long that young warrior took on the title of Mandalore, with the Empire and his Imperial Agents serving as his invisible superiors.  With the control of the Mandalorians, the Empire was able to institute the Mandalorian Blockade, which served as a major blow to the Republic.

8 BTC:  The Return of the Mandalorians

The young Gladiator from Geonosis took up the title of Mandalore with the help of the subtle, yet affective, Imperial Agents working in the shadows.  The title Mandalore was one that was left vacant for centuries before, as it signified the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and the leader of the powerful Mandalorians.  The Mandalorians were scattered about the galaxy, most of them working as bounty hunters and mercenaries.  However with the new Mandalore in place, the Mandalorians were reunited under their powerful leader.

Meanwhile, in the conflict with the Empire and the Republic, the battle found itself at a standstill right outside of the Mid-Rim, with the Republic successfully holding the ground.  This soon changed as Mandalore reunited the Mandalorian people and set up a blockade along a crucial Republic trade route.  With their supplies running dry, the Jedi amassed a force to attempt to destroy the Mandalorian blockade.  The Jedi fleet was destroyed without mercy and they were unsuccessful in disrupting the blockade.  The blockade was eventually destroyed by a savvy Smuggler and her fleet.

7 BTC:  The Mandalorian Blockade is Broken

With the Mandalorian Blockade bleeding the Republic dry, the Republic deemed that they would take any measure to obtain the essential raw goods that they were being blocked from.  It is at this point that a Savvy smuggler named Hylo Visz came up with a plan to make her and her colleagues a tremendous amount of wealth.  The bottom line, break the Mandalorian blockade and be heroes of the Republic.

Visz loaded a fleet of massive freighters with all of the raw goods the Outer Rim could offer and had them wait a parsec away from the Mandalorian Blockade.  With the Mandalorians distracted by the freighters, Hylo Visz and her smugglers burst out of hyperspace and open fired on the blockade.  When the Republic got wind of the attack on the blockade, they amassed all of their available resources and aided Visz in her attack on the Blockade.  The Blockade was successfully broken, and Visz’s freighters landed on Coruscant full of raw goods.  She and her colleagues left Coruscant with vast amounts of wealth.  The following day, an elaborate celebration was planned in Hylo Visz’s honor, where she did not show up.

It is rumored that she was killed the following year for going against the Hutts.

0 ATC:  The Treaty of Coruscant

With the unexpected destruction of the Mandalorian Blockade, the Emperor became impatient with his armada’s acquisition of  territories.  Because of this, he sent a group of Imperial Ambassadors to Alderaan to offer the Republic a very one sided peace agreement.  Due to the horrible casualties and circumstances that the Republic had sustained, they had no choice but to sign the peace agreement.

However it did not end there.  While the Imperial Ambassadors were in negotiations on Alderaan, the Sith Empire attacked Coruscant and sacked the Jedi Temple and left the city in ruins.  Upon their return to the Temple, the Jedi found their home ransacked and destroyed.  Coincidentally, they were also blamed for the sacking of Coruscant by many of the diplomats.  The Jedi returned to their home planet of Tython to regroup and meditate, hoping to receive some guidance from the force.

Got something to say about Bioware’s timeline series?  Let us know, drop us a comment below! Also consider following us on Twitter to stay up to date on what we’re doing here at TOR Universe.

So without further a due, let’s get started.

Here is a screen grab that I pulled from Bioware’s third video documentary on TOR.

As you can see, I have narrowed the H.U.D into ten distinct elements, all highlighted and numbered left to right.  As far as appearance, this H.U.D looks very similar to the one from World of Warcraft, in that it seems to contain many similar elements.

Let’s get started!

Element 1:  The Chat Box

In the top left corner of the screen resides this box, which should look fairly familiar to any seasoned MMO player.  By the looks of it, this is your standard chat box.  As of now, all that is residing in this chat box is quest data, however in most MMORPGs, the chat box is your conduit to the rest of the world.  For those players who are interested in exactly what is happening in the game, the chat box frequently comes with a function that will display all combat data, which includes damage dealt, damage received, and critical strike damage.

In addition to information, the chat box is also where one would input commands and “emotes.”  As you can see at the top of the box is the command “/quest. removeall.” By preceding certain words with a slash, the game will react in different ways.  A popular example of this demonstrated in the ability to make your character dance by typing in the command “/dance” in the chat bar.

Element 2:  The Party

Throughout many parts of any MMORPG, it is necessary to “party up” with other players in order to overcome a challenging quest.  Element 2 represents the party bar, where the members of your party are listed.  The party bar also displays some important information that is necessary to keeping track of your party’s well being.

As of now, it appears as if the party bar will include:

• The portrait of the party member
• His/her health bar (the red bar represents the player’s health)
• His/her action bar (the blue bar likely represents the capacity to perform special moves.  Different classes may have different action bars)
• His/her level
• It will most likely include any buffs or debuffs affecting the player

The party bar also works well to provide you with a quick access point for all the information about your party members.  Though it doesn’t spell out every bit of data, it gives you easy access to click on their portrait.  By clicking on their portrait, you will make them your “target” per say, and all of their data will show up in the Target Status Bar (Element 7, listed below).

Element 3:  The Target Ring

This element is very simple, if you see a red ring around the feet of of a player or NPC, you are targeting them and they are your enemy.  Often times it is good to determine your target before entering into combat.  That way you can prioritize who needs to drop first.

Whoever you are targeting will appear in the Target Status Bar (Element 7, listed below)

Now the ring will not necessarily always be red.  In this instance, because the Sith Warrior is in combat and targeting a Republic soldier, the red means enemy.  There could also be a blue (or different colored) ring around the feet of your target, which will likely signify that he/she is friendly.

Element 4:  Player Status Bar

This element shows detailed information about you, the player (or in this case, the Sith Warrior cleverly named DARTHEVIL).  During a combat situation, it is important to be continually glancing at your status to check up on your health and action points.

As of now, the known elements included in the Player Action Bar are:

• The Player’s portrait
• The Player’s health bar (represented by the red bar)
• The Player’s action bar (the yellow bar likely represents the player’s ability to perform special moves.  Different classes may have different action bars)
• The Player’s name and level (Also the [Sith] may represent clan tag)
• It is likely that it will also include any buffs or debuffs that are currently affecting the Player

Element 5:  The Experience Bar

The experience bar is another fairly self-explanatory element of the TOR H.U.D.  In essence, as you defeat enemies and complete quests, the blue bar will begin to fill with yellow from left to right.  Once the bar is completely full, the Player will advance a single level.

Traditionally in MMORPGs, quests are the most efficient and rewarding way of obtaining experience, each one giving a large boost to your experience bar.  The alternative to doing quests is defeating enemies.  When done in excess, this is referred to as “Grinding,” which, from personal experience, tends to get tedious and annoying after a little while.

My recommendation is to pick up a bunch of quests, and on the way to the quest, defeat every enemy in your path.  That way it streamlines the leveling process, which traditionally tends to get a bit tedious towards the final levels.

Element 6:  The “Spell Bar”

Here we have the “Spell Bar.”  In essence, each number is defined by the player and correlates to a number (or symbol) on the keyboard.  Inside each square lies a special attack or “Spell” that can be used, usually depleting some action points from the action bar.  In Combat, the player will rely on their “Spell Bar” to best their opponent by employing strategy in the execution of their attacks.

As you can see, the number three has a partial square drawn around it.  What this represents is a global cooldown.  A global cooldown is the default cooldown between attacks.  Because not all special moves have a pre-defined cooldown period before they can be used again, every move has to first go through a global cooldown before it can be used again.  In World of Warcraft, the global cooldown lasts about one and a half seconds.  This is put in place to prevent the spamming of attacks.

Also, on the “Spell Bar,” it will display the cooldown period necessary for each attack if previously used.  The cooldown period depends on the individual attack and can be anything from a couple of seconds to several hours.

More experienced players will utilize “hotkeys” which can be defined in the option menu.  “Hotkeys” streamline combat and make for more simple access of the harder to reach “Spells.”  Also, there may be the option to spawn more “Spell Bars” on the screen for further customization.

Element 7:  Target Status Bar

This element is very similar to the Player’s Status Bar and it contains much of the same information.  It appears that because the Sith Warrior is targeting a Republic Soldier NPC (Non-Playable Character), there is no portrait, however just the Republic insignia to show the Soldier’s allegiance.

This bar correlates directly to Element 3, the Target Ring.  Whatever player or NPC has the colored ring beneath them is the one that you are targeting, and their information will appear here.  Traditionally, you can target anyone, friend or foe, but you can only attack enemies.

As of now, the apparent elements listed in the Target Status Bar are:

• Target’s portrait (or allegiance)
• Target’s health bar (the red bar represents health)
• Target’s action bar (the blue bar likely represents the player’s ability to perform special moves.  Different classes may have different action bars)
• Target’s name and level (The [fodder] could refer to the Target’s class)
• It will likely include any buffs or debuffs affecting the Target
• The distance from the target

Element 8:  The Menu Bar

This little guy down here looks to be the Menu Bar.

Although it is difficult to make out all of the elements, my guess is that the Menu Bar will include:

• Quest Log
• “Spell Book”
• Options Menu
• Game Map
• Talent Trees (If this game uses them)
• Possibly Inventory

Though the Menu Bar doesn’t have much place in the heat of battle, it is incredibly necessary when trying to strategically build your plan of attack.  From the options menu, you can customize the hotkeys on your “Spell Bar,”  Also, from the “Spell Book,” you can drag and drop your special attacks into place on the bar.

Element 9:  The Mini Map

The Mini Map is the condensed version of the full map that shows only your immediate surroundings.  On the Mini Map, your character is displayed at the center, and any party members are displayed in their relative position.  The Mini Map can also include a number of other important bits of information such as quest locations, or positions of enemies.

It also appears like the function to zoom in and out on the map are available.

Element 10:  The Quest Tracker

The final element is where the game displays your current quest and the objectives required to complete it.  It is likely that you will be able to put more than just one quest on the bar, so that you can have an idea of your main focuses when out in the world questing.  In order to make a quest appear on the quest tracker, you must activate it from your quest log.

Conclusion

So there you have it, as of now those are all of the elements of the SWTOR H.U.D.  It is important to mention however, that although the provided H.U.D. looks to be very competent, the creation of user made interfaces is almost an inevitability.  And once the game is roughly six months in, it will be difficult to find someone using the provided interface.

Also, I found it odd that there is no visible “Inventory” aspect of the H.U.D, perhaps that has yet to be added, or the inventory will be handled in a more unconventional way.  Unfortunately there is no way of knowing until getting some hands on time, which I can’t wait to do as soon as possible!

What do you think about the new H.U.D?  Do you like it?  Could it use improvement?

Let us know, leave a comment.

Apparently, the Czerka Corporation, the galactic arms corporation who supplied Boba Fett with his iconic wrist mounted flame throwers, took an  interest in occupying Tatooine and attempting to mine it’s surface for valuable minerals.  Although their mining operation failed, they managed to use the planet for another purpose;  as a center for dangerous weapon tests and experiments.  As a blind eye was turned to the planet of Tatooine, the less than legal experiments would also be ignored by the rest of the galaxy.

However, this story takes a bit of a turn.  The Czerka Secret Weapons division suddenly pulled out of Tatooine and left their facility abandoned.  The reason surrounding this sudden abandonment is the mystery that the folks over at Bioware are leaving us with.  Whatever it is, it is likely residing in the underground abandoned Czerka facility that, as of now, is occupied by the Empire who are frantically searching through it.

Although the Empire has the largest influence over Tatooine, I would not be so quick to label it an Imperial planet.  Tatooine’s nature has always been one of a lawless wasteland and a home for smugglers and bounty hunters.  In the word’s of Obi Wan Kenobi, “A wretched hive for scum and villainy.”  If I had to guess, I would say that with the hidden Czerka secrets being of some value to whomever stumbles on them, Tatooine may be a good strategic candidate to be a contested territory.  Whatever the case is, I am excited to see what Tatooine will be bringing to TOR.

Have something to say about Tatooine, please leave us a comment and let us know!

With this announcement, Bioware also released some new screenshots and concept art pieces that we’ll put up in the galleries.

To find out more about Tatooine, check out Bioware’s official HOLOTNET entry.

Following the Treaty, Alderaan seceded from the Republic and became an independent system in the galaxy.  As it is currently a completely neutral planet engulfed in civil war, it makes Alderaan a likely location for large scale player vs. player (PVP) battlefields.  In its recent history, Alderaan had been occupied by both the Republic and the Empire at different times preceding the treaty of Coruscant.  That means that both sides view Alderaan as an important strategic location.  And whether it be for its location in the galaxy or the strong political influence it contains, it is an object of conflict.

Now as Bioware has not yet released much information on PVP combat (other than confirming its existence in TOR), I believe that they will borrow greatly from the successful system set up in World of Warcraft, allowing for random PVP encounters in the world while having secure areas designated as Battlegrounds where epic and often large scale battles are carried out.  Perhaps Bioware has plans for a persistent war campaign planned, where contested territories such as Alderaan and other neutral planets can be won by either the Empire or the Republic based on the results of large scale PVP battles.

Have something to say about Alderaan, please comment below!

Along with this announcement came a slew of screen shots and concept art that we will be adding to our gallery.  Enjoy!

Want to know more about the planet of Alderaan, check out Bioware’s entry on the Holonet

This brings about a lot of speculation. How long will TOR be in beta? More importantly, is this really a beta?

Back during the days of Netscape, they’d release their browsers and call it a beta, but the truth was, it was still in its alpha stages of being tested. Now, I don’t think this is what BioWare is doing, but the point stands: is this a beta that has come after a very long alpha or are we experiencing the first time that there is any real testing? If you want my opinion, I don’t think that this is the case. I think, truth be told, that BioWare has really done quite a bit of testing already and is releasing this beta because they are feeling confident with the software. The reason they are making it a closed beta is because they want those that are good at testing to do it and to keep the other people even more excited.

Go to the SWTOR Homepage to and fill out the registration to get your name in.

The article was written by Shauna Perry, the Director of Audio and Localization at Bioware and it describes the process of voice over work for their games, and how they plan on undertaking such an enormous endeavor with the help of Lucas Arts.

Apparently the system goes a little something like this:

Bioware is in charge of writing all of the lines (hundreds of thousands of them), managing all the schedules, and tracking where the voice over assets would be used in game.

The Lucas Arts Audio Department, led by Darragh O’Farrell, would be in charge of arranging the actors, recording the voice talent, assembling the VO assets, and shipping them back to Bioware.

In total, SWTOR expects to contain more than ten times the amount of lines of dialogue than the original Knights of the Old Republic.  In addition to the vast number of lines that are necessary for such a game, the fact that the game contains a non-linear dialogue system (much like most Bioware games) leads to many complications in scripts and the physical recording of the voice acting.

Also, here are some interesting tidbits that Shauna included at the end of the blog:

1)  The voice over is being recorded in 5 different cities (so far); Los Angeles, London, New York, Sanfrancisco, and Toronto

2) By the time the project is finished, they will have worked with hundreds of actors – many on multiple occassions.

3)  The entire game “script” contains approximatley 40+ novels worth of content.

4) One of the biggest challenges of the production:  consistency in pronunciation across the whole project!  You would be amazed at how many ways there are to say “Thul” or “Holo” Projector.

This Developer Blog gives a fantastic amount of insight into the process required for adding the unique layer of depth into their new MMORPG.  Shauna Perry goes into much more detail on other aspects of the voice over process.  I encourage you to check it out here.

Fun Fact

During a phone conversation between Shauna and James Ohlen (The Creative Director and Lead Designer of SWTOR), James informed Shauna of their exact plans on the extent of the voice over project that was to come.  The title of this article is the reaction from Shauna when she heard the news.  The entire phone conversation is included with the Developer Blog at the link above.

What do you think about the project that Bioware has chosen to undertake, do you think it will revolutionize MMORPG games or just be a nice added touch to the giant mound of Awesome that tends to be anything that Bioware releases.  Let us know you care, drop us a comment and tell us what you think!

For those of you not familiar with the Mass Effect dialogue system, the conversation takes place real time, and when it is time for your character to respond, you are given a wheel of dialogue options to respond with.  This is only made possible by having the game fully voiced, meaning all NPCs and all player characters.  It also shows some of the ways that your decisions affect the way that characters in the game view you.

I highly recommend you check this awesome video out yourself.  Please do enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=86gqxMZQLnw

What do you think about it, let us know!

CrispyGamer.com named TOR the best overall game at E309.

G4tv.com gave them the award for best trailer of E309.

GamePro.com gave TOR the E3 2009 Gold Medal.

GamersPlus gave them the award for best trailer of E309.

Gamespot.com gave TOR both best PC game and best MMORPG of e3 2009.

Gamespy.com gave TOR four awards!  PC Game of Show, MMO Game of Show, Best Trailer, and Best Use of a License.

Gametrailers.com called TOR the Best Online Game.

IGN.com gave TOR the awards for Best PC Game, PC Game of the Year, Best Persistent Online Game, Special Achievement for Technological Excellence, and Best Artistic Design.

Jeuxonline.info called TOR the Best PC Game.

Jeuxvideo.com called TOR the Best PC Game, and the Best MMORPG.

Joystiq affirmed that TOR was the Best of E3 2009.

MMORPG.com gave TOR the Editors Choice Award, and Best Showing of an MMO for E3.

RockPaperShotgun.com gave TOR the awards for Favorite Game, Best Booth Design, and Smelliest T-Shirt.

TenTonHammer.com called TOR the E3 2009 Best of Show.

VE3D Readers Choice said that TOR is the Best PC RPG, Biggest “Holy S@*t!” Moment, Best Trailer, and the Game of Show.

If you missed the announcements at E3, here is a brief list of all the official and unofficial announcements:

TOR will be the first EVER fully voiced MMORPG.

The Smuggler was announced at E3 with the official announcement on their site about a week later.

In one of the interviews, the developers confirmed that PVP would be in the game, they were just not ready to discuss it yet.

There will be a cover system in TOR.

There is a Multiplayer Dialogue System, meaning that players can engage in the storyline choices in the game.

Unique Class Stories, meaning that each class will have its own fully fleshed out story.

Certainly these announcements are monumental for the entire history of Massive Multiplayer Online RPGs and there is no doubt in my mind that there will be more to come from the team at Bioware.  I am incredibly excited to see what turns this game will take in the coming months, and how it will develop into its own unique experience.  Look out Blizzard, Star Wars:  The Old Republic is looking like its shaping up to become a WoW Killer!

What do you think about these awards, these announcements, and just their general presence at E3 2009, pop us a comment and let us know!

For me, this news is most fantastic, as is the slew of details that emerged with the announcement.  Based on the details announced, it would appear as if the Smuggler will play similar to the ones from Star Wars Galaxies, in that they combine the usage of some dirty fighting along with the lethal speed and cunning of an old western desperado.

In addition to their masterful control over the blaster pistol, the Smuggler also specializes in using his/her cunning and wit to pull them through virtually any situation.  That and their ability to quickly think on their feet make Smugglers very dangerous.  Though they are strong offensive characters, in the field of defense, Smugglers are lacking.  They wear light, flexible clothing to aid their agile nature, however, this also makes removes much of the damage absorption that would come with standard Trooper armor.

The Smuggler class will be aligned with the Republic, though their allegiance does not go very deep.  They are simply allied with the Republic because they deemed them the lesser of the two evils.

Along with a great number of details found on the Smuggler’s info page, Bioware also treated us with eight new images, four screen shots, and four bits of concept art, in addition to three short clips showing a bit of how the Smuggler does combat.  In the short clips, it shows the Smugglers taking cover behind crates and firing with dual blaster pistols at their target.  In one of the clips, it also shows a Smuggler throwing some sort of object (perhaps a flashbang) to distract his foe while he lines up a head shot.  It sounds like what Bioware is cooking up for smuggler will translate into some very interesting combat mechanics, and with their unofficial announcement of PVP in their game during E3 2009 (click here for the Gamespot.com stage demo) I am very curious to see how all of this will translate into PVP.

What does this announcement mean to me?  Well, lets just say that when the game is released, Smuggler is certainly going to be the class for me, and I cannot wait at all…PLEASE BIOWARE, GIVE US A BETA OR A RELEASE DATE OR SOMETHING!  WE LOVE YOU!

Be sure to check out our galleries for the rest of the Smuggler images, and hopefully we’ll have more details to give you soon.

What do you think about this announcement?  Write us a comment and let us know!