Star Wars: The Old Republic is the highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the pre-A New Hope version of the Star Wars
universe that developer BioWare first developed for its critically
acclaimed 2003 RPG, Knights of the Old Republic. But you knew that. You
know the game will let you be a Jedi, a Sith, a bounty hunter, and many
other classes. You know the game will have warzones
(player-versus-player arenas), flashpoints (instanced content similar to
dungeons in other games), and operations (large-scale adventure areas
similar to raids in other games). You probably know a whole lot about
this game because it has been a long time coming. And you probably just
want to play the game already, and we don't blame you. Unfortunately,
it's not available just yet--but we do at least have some new details on
the way companion characters in The Old Republic will work. http://laguerradelasgalaxias-starwars.blogspot.com/ bobba fet adventure Star War
Companions, as you've probably heard, are computer-controlled characters
that will join you in your adventures--not unlike the companions that
have joined you in other BioWare games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age.
Just like in those games, your companions will interact with you, pass
judgment on your decisions, and even fall in love with you if you decide
to romance them. Your character will eventually build up a stable of
different companions but will be able to travel actively with only one
at a time. However, the development team has recently fleshed out the
way companions work to add lots of new options and abilities, such as
customizing appearances and even gaining levels. Game director James
Ohlen explains.
GameSpot: We understand that companions in Star Wars: The Old
Republic have been greatly fleshed out since the last time we played
with them--players will even be able to customize their appearances? How
much freedom will players have to mess around with how their companions
look? Any chance a companion's appearance will change with your
character's alignment between the light and dark sides?
James Ohlen: Players are able to customize the appearance of
their companions in two ways. Because companions are full characters
with inventory slots, players can change the equipment their companions
are wearing. You can give your tough-as-nails Mandalorian warrior
companion some badass Mandalorian armor. Or you can put her in clothes
reminiscent of Princess Leia's famous gold bikini. Players can also
change the skin color, hair, and facial features of their companion
characters. We wanted players to have more freedom than in any previous
BioWare RPG when it came to companion customization.
GS: We also understand there will be a new companion controls
system that assigns an actual class to your companions. Tell us about
how this system works and what it will add to the game.
JO: Fans of BioWare games are used to their companions having
almost as much depth as the main character. We felt it was important
that we do the same thing in SW:TOR. Companions have a class and can
also level up and gain a full suite of combat abilities. They have their
own ability bar, just like the players do. Players can also modify the
artificial intelligence of their companions' behavior on the fly.
GS: So now, companions will gain levels and even unlock skills.
How in-depth will companion advancement be--is it as in-depth as player
character advancement? Will they be able to choose advanced professions?
JO: While players won't be able to choose advanced professions
for their companions, companions will be unlocking new abilities as they
gain levels. Some of the abilities will be completely unique to
companion characters. For example, the Wookiee companion character has
an ability that lets him toss enemies around like rag dolls--just like
Chewbacca did in the movies.
GS: Why was the decision made to flesh out companions and their
development? Did part of the decision have to do with a need to more
closely complement the skill set of individual characters, for instance?
JO: We were originally a little gun shy about making the
companions too complex. In a single-player BioWare RPG, players have the
option to pause the game and micromanage their companions' actions. In
SW:TOR, the game takes place in real time, all the time. In high-stress
scenarios, such as war zones and operations, the added complexity of
managing a companion would be too much for a lot of players. However,
the AI for our companions turned out better than expected. Players who
didn't want to micromanage their companions didn't have to. In addition,
we actually removed companions from war zones and operations, as we
felt these activities should be entirely controlled by players. So we
decided to add a lot of the depth that we had removed early on in the
design process back into the game.
GS: We know that you don't have to manage your companions'
actions all the time and can basically leave them on their own to pitch
in with their standard attacks in battle. But we understand that part of
the new companion content lets you get more specific in setting their
behaviors. What kind of controls or artificial intelligence can you set
for your sidekick? Can you give us some examples?
JO: We knew that there was going to be a large group of players
that didn't want to micromanage their companion. Since every player has
to use a companion, it was important that we didn't force a gameplay
style on those players. We added a system where players can customize
the AI of their companions. You can decide exactly which abilities your
companions will use and which they won't use.
GS: Can you give us a general update on the game and its progress? What's being focused on in the beta at the moment?
JO: We're getting really close. You can play the game from start
to finish. You can play the end game content, including flashpoints and
operations. All the core game systems are in. Right now, we're making
some balance changes to the space game, to the itemization progression,
and to the leveling curve. We're improving enemy AI across the game.
We're polishing late-game quests. But mostly we're focused on bugs. We
want the game to hit the high standards set by previous BioWare games,
and that means providing our fans with a polished experience.
GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about companions or about the game in general?
JO: Companion characters are going to be a significant innovation
to MMORPGs. All of the testing feedback we've received so far on these
characters has been extremely positive. We didn't expect something so
core to the BioWare experience to be such a wonderful surprise to MMORPG
players.
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