Greetings all, it’s time for another edition of the Community Q&A. This week the developers talk about the story decisions behind one of the Sith Warrior companions (you have to be logged in to see due to spoilers), discuss character mergers in respect to the Legacy System, and touch on a few crafting questions. You can find all the questions and answers from this week after the jump. Due to the spoilers associated with the Sith Warrior question it will be omitted, but you can find the question and answer over at this week’s Community Q&A post. Continue Reading »

Do you want to help BioWare test out new and upcoming content? Do you want to be one of the first people to see what is in store for the SWTOR world? Well now you have your chance.

 

BioWare is looking to expand its testing and is looking for experienced players in Austin, Texas to help them test upcoming game content. This includes new Flashpoints, PvP Warzones, and end game Operations. Players will be expected to dedicate at least one weekend an month to testing new content. As an added bonus, this is a fully paid position. That’s right, you can get paid for testing new SWTOR content! If you are interested then fill out and submit this survey.

 

Don’t live in Austin and still want to help out? Well you are in luck. BioWare is also looking to get teams of players from various guilds to help them test the new content we will be seeing in the 1.2 game update. This includes the new Warzone, Flashpoint, and Operation that will be included with the patch. Guilds will need to put together a group consisting of anywhere between 8 and 20 players that will be willing to put their live games aside for a while to test new content on the Public Test Server. You can read all the details and requirements in this blog post. Space is limited, so if you are interested get those applications in soon!

The application process for the upcoming Guild Summit has ended. All the guild leaders who applied for an invitation should expect to hear back from BioWare in a few days after they have the time to review everyone’s applications.

 

BioWare also announced that certain parts of the summit will be broadcast on a livestream, including presentations by developers and feedback discussions. This way even players and guild leaders who cannot attend are able to participate, great news for anyone who has ideas they want to share but are unable to secure an invitation or able to take time off work to head to Austin for the event. Even if you cannot catch the livestream BioWare will be posting videos of the event after it has ended.

 

BioWare will be revealing more details as we get closer to the event date. Keep watching SWTOR-Life as we bring you all the updates as they are announced.

This week marked the first of BioWare’s promised “Community Q&A” blogs where the developers answer various questions posed to the by members of the SWTOR community. They orignally stated that they would be answering 10 questions a week but the players must have hit them with some good ones because they went ahead and answered 15 of the biggest questions concerning the community.

 

You can read some of the highlights after the jump. Continue Reading »

Are you the leader of a guild in SWTOR? Well then you may get a chance to head to Austin, Texas in March to speak with BioWare developers. BioWare is inviting guild leaders (or a designated officer in the case the leader cannot attend) to join them in roundtable discussions, Q&A sessions, and give leaders a chance to see some upcoming game features.

 

The goal of the summit is to facilitate an open discussion between guild leaders and the game design team. This event will provide an opportunity for attendees to voice their feedback directly to the teams responsible for the design of Star Wars: The Old Republic, hear the team’s thoughts and reasons behind design decisions, and discuss the current direction of the game. Guild from all over the world are more than welcome to attend, though BioWare reminds everyone that the meeting will be in English.

 

There apparently have already been guild leaders invited but there are still some spots open for non-invited guild leaders to attend. all you need to do is head to this page and fill out an application. All those attending must be 21 or older and will be responsible for their own travel, food, and lodging expenses.  If you are interested in attending make sure to get your application in by midnight on February 10th (central standard time).

BioWare released a new video today which features James Ohlen talking about some of the various new features players can expect to see in the near future. He focuses on four major aspects of future content; new warzones and PvP content, Legacy system upgrades, guild features, and UI customization. All of these features are things that the developers have talked about before, but it is awesome to get to see these features in action.

 

One thing that caught my eye in particular was a Miraluka who appeared to be using Force Charge. That’s right, a Republic Only species using a Sith only ability. Does this mean the legacy system will allow you to roll a previously unusable species on new characters? Only time will tell.

 

What do you think of the new features we have coming our way? What would you like to see that has not been discussed? Let us know in the comment section below.

 

Hey wait this is a Thursday you say?  We don’t get news about SWTOR unless it’s Friday!

Even though we still got great news from Bioware today, via the official forums and Alyson Bridge we got the news that Phase 3 for guilds would be started with the first step of “Deployment”.  There are guidelines and things that have changed in this latest installment so be sure to read it and discuss it here on the Official forums.

Here is what was said, better get your house in order guilds the clock is ticking….

Continue Reading »

Today on the subject of phase 2 for guilds we got an announcement that the phase 2 for guilds is starting today.

Back in March we initiated our Pre-Launch Guild Program, where members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community could search for already established guilds or register one of their very own through the Guild Headquarters page. We are thrilled to announce that we have begun the second phase of our Pre-Launch Guild Program!

With Phase 2: Alignment, we are introducing new features which allow guilds to set their allegiance with other guilds in The Old Republic. Now a guild leader, along with members who have the proper permissions, can select up to three guilds as either Allies or Adversaries, depending on their faction affiliation. Qualifying guilds that are marked as Allies and Adversaries of other guilds will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server.

Another feature being implemented with Phase 2 is the ability for guild leaders and members with the proper permissions to invite friends to join their guild via email. You can start recruiting new members today!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Continue Reading »

Hopefully your guild has one of these to guide you into SWTOR Beta!

In the latest podcast from TorSyndicate, David Bass and Stephen Reid talk about the possibility that we might soon see testing invites going out for guilds leading up to the September beta weekends plan.  When does this mean that they will go out?  While we are not sure of the actual date it does appear that it will be very soon.

Here is what David Bass had to say on the subject:

(1:12:00 into the podcast)    In addition to phase 2, we’re also going to be starting up a guild testing program. We’re obviously continuing to expand out invites for testing and we’re going to start including guilds in that list. So if anyone is interested, I don’t know if that is something people would be involved in or not. It’s more about trying to get an entire group of people who enjoy playing together into the game together. As we’ve said before, guild testing invites are random and so you get some people grouping up and playing together but it’s nice to have an entire guild there playing together so they can plan out…they can be more coordinated in-game which really helps us see how that is going to happen at launch when you have all of those guilds in the game, playing the game.

So hopefully you are already part of and in a established guild for SWTOR.  If so you might just be getting guild testing invites soon!

Watch those email boxes and pester your guild leaders cause it’s coming.

🙂

 

UPDATE:  Shortly after making this post “Doctordake” AKA David Bass had this to say on twitter,

doctordakeDavid Bass

We are very pleased to announce the start of Guild Testing for STAR WARS: The Old Republic! This program will allow guilds to be considered as a whole for inclusion in the Game Testing Program, allowing us to gather important data regarding how guilds play The Old Republic, as well as how organized groups deal with various mechanics and systems in the game. The program is already underway, as we’ve invited the first wave of guilds into testing, however we’ll be adding more over the coming weeks alongside the general Game Testing invites.

How do I sign my guild up for Guild Testing?

All you need to do in order to have your guild considered for Guild Testing is to have an active guild with at least 10 members registered in our Guild Headquarters. We also recommend creating a recruitment thread on our forums, but please make sure you are following the Recruitment Guidelines we’ve set forward. Guilds that spam recruitment messages after multiple warnings, for example, will not be considered for Guild Testing.

How are guilds selected for Guild Testing?

In general, guild testing is done randomly from all eligible guilds (that is, those with at least 10 registered members in the Guild Headquarters). Throughout the program, we will be looking to let in both large and small guilds, so as long as your guild meets the minimum requirement, you have an equal chance of being invited to testing. In addition, we may, at our discretion, choose a few select guilds that are active and helpful in the community, since we could use that sort of helpfulness in-game and on the Testing Forums. Note that this will be done in rare circumstances, in order to reward our dedicated community members. Please do not contact any BioWare staff requesting access to Guild Testing, or else your guild may be removed from consideration.

How do I know if my guild has been selected for Guild Testing?

Guild leaders will be contacted directly with detailed instructions when their guild gets selected for testing. It’ll be their job to pass the appropriate information to the rest of their guild in order for everyone to be sent testing invites.

What is involved in Guild Testing?

Guild Testing works the same way as Game Testing does, however by being invited as a guild, you gain the advantage of being in the same testing group and being on the same server, allowing for more coordination amongst the guild for testing group content. You’ll still be a part of the general Game Testing population as well, and will have access to the general testing forums as everyone else does.

Are European guilds eligible for Guild Testing?

European Guild Testing will begin at the same time the European Testing Program begins in the near future.

If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to post in this thread or email us at guilds@swtor.com. Again, please do not contact us asking for Guild Testing consideration or your guild may not be considered for testing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today we got a big surprise, a Wednesday update!  Today it was announced that Bioware has included a Pre Launch Program for Guilds in SWTOR.

Allison Berryman tells us the following:

 

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the new Guild Headquarters (HQ) as well as the Pre-Launch Guild Program. Many members of the community have already been organizing guilds on the forums, and we’re now happy to provide the tools to officially register and reserve your guild’s name. In this new section of the website, you can search for an existing guild to join or you can create a new guild and begin recruiting members. When Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ launches, you may be able to import your guild directly into the game, subject to availability and meeting certain criteria*.

Every guild gets its own guild mini-site on www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, complete with information about the guild, its recruitment status, and its own public and private forums. Create or join a guild now and you’ll have the opportunity to have your own space to socialize and organize before the game launches. Every guild is automatically entered into the searchable guild database, which makes it easy for players to find their ideal guild. Get your guild together early and get ready for The Old Republic!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

*Conditions and restrictions apply. See Guilds FAQ for full details.

To report bugs, please use this thread in the Website Feedback and Support forum. Please note that some words and phrases, particularly some relating directly to Star Wars, are restricted. If you feel your desired guild name is restricted in error, please contact us using the site support form.

 

The end result is guilds now have the capability to reserve their in game name, that can be huge for some guilds that have names that are contested.  I see the possibility for griefing here, but hey what are you going to do as a game development company?  You have to give players the chance to reserve some things.

The main thing I do not like about this process is this little nugget of uncertainty…..

 

*”We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that qualifying guilds are imported into a server that meets your specified preferences, but we cannot make any guarantees given the anticipated volume of guilds (among other factors). All server placements therefore remain in our sole discretion. We also cannot take responsibility for technical errors or glitches that prevent your guild from importing into the game as planned. See Terms of Service for more details.

When we begin placing guilds on servers, we will take into account all the information that has been provided, including the server type and the allies and adversaries you have selected. We will make reasonable efforts to place each guild according to their specified preferences but cannot make any guarantees given the anticipated volume of guilds (among other factors).“

 

So what this means is that Bioware will be placing your guild on a server at release, you dont pick they do, and if your lucky you will get to land on the server type you have chosen (pve,pvp,rp-pve)

I dont find this to be very cool at all.  As a guild I should be able to choose the server I wish to play on.  What if certain guilds want to be aligned in game but they get “placed” on different servers?  I don’t think Bioware has put enough thought into this aspect of the system and frankly I am sad about that.  I can understand the reasoning behind it such as server balancing and such but I dont like when my liberties that I have grown used too in past MMO’s are taken away.

There are other requirements or “criteria”  that will need to be met if a guild can successfully use the pre-launch system in phase 3, for example:

 

1) At the beginning of Phase 3, the guild leader must log in to the website and verify that their guild remains active and wants to be imported; and

2) The guild has at least four members who have pre-ordered the game by the time we initiate the import.

3)Guilds will have no more than 500 members.

 

The pre-order requirement is fair i think.  They could have made it higher but i think they chose to be fair and allow guilds that may be smaller the chance to still use the system.  I plan to pre-order.

Also we got a look at what might be the final server play style designations?

Star Wars: The Old Republic will offer different server types that emphasize different styles of game play such as Player-vs-Environment, Player-vs-Player, and Role- Play. When your guild gets transferred into the game, it will be placed on the server type that most matches your selection.

Player-vs-Environment (PvE) servers can be considered representative of the standard play style and rule set. The focus on PvE servers is on experiencing the story and working with friends against the non-player enemies in the game world.

Player-vs-Player (PvP) servers have a slightly different rule set as PvE servers. On a PvP server, players may be attacked by other players from the opposing faction in more areas of the game world.

Role-Playing (RP) servers use the standard PvE rule set, but are identified as great places for players who enjoy acting out their characters in the game world to congregate and find other like-minded players.”

 

So no big deviation from the norm here, PVE, PVP, and RP are pretty much the standard server types and what most players have grown to expect.  I think most of us expected just this type of classification.

All in all it is a pretty neat addition to the options a guild has in game and out of the game, and it helps them get organized pre-game.  This is very important for most guilds that will have formed their member base before release.

I give it a thumbs up even though I am not too pleased with the server placement being out of my control.