I can mount a gun to shoot Zombies!
Today we saw the something that marks a milestone for SWTOR, Bioware released what they are touting as the first major game content update 1.1 which comes in at just over 200mb and adds a new flashpoint named “Kaon Under Siege” triples the size of the “Karaggas Palace” operation, and a slew of other features and game fixes. One of the major things this game content update does however is that it introduces new lore with that flashpoint and creatures (rakghouls) content to the game world and for a MMO that is technically a couple of days under a month after launch that sets a precedent that I hope they plan on continuing.
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Today we were supposed to have access to the first content update for SWTOR since the game went live at release. This content update is aptly named 1.1 It is thematically named “Rise of the Rakghouls” in honor of its main content upgrade and additions. However it has been delayed as per the statement from the patcher from Bioware and the announcement blog on the forums,
Hello everyone!
Because we care about ensuring that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ provides you with a consistent and quality game play experience, we will be postponing weekly maintenance this week. Downtime was originally scheduled for Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 from 2AM CST (12AM PST/3AM EST/8AM GMT/9AM CET) to 10AM CST (8AM PST/11AM EST/4PM GMT/5PM CET) and will now occur at a later date due to issues requiring additional testing that have been discovered with the Game Update 1.1 content on the Public Test Server.
These issues were primarily brought to our attention by the diligent players on the Public Test Server Forums. Your participation in testing helps to improve the game as a whole, and we appreciate your discussion and feedback. The bug reports you provide are a valuable part of the development process. Thank you!
We’re working hard to bring you Game Update 1.1: Rise of the Rakghouls and are working hard to ensure your overall experience with Star Wars: The Old Republic is spectacular! The maintenance window for Game Update 1.1 will be rescheduled for some time within the next few days, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. When there’s a definite time, we will post here on the Community Blog as well as on the Official Forums. Please keep your eye out for updates, and we will provide information as soon as it’s available.
So if you were waiting on this content today you will have to wait a little longer it seems as the people who are playing on the public test server helped Bioware determine some issues that required further testing. We here at SwtorLife are glad to see Bioware take this so seriously in an effort to make sure that the content they distribute to us is as bug free as possible they are willing to postpone its launch in order to get it right the first time.
I am also glad to see the public test server be so useful to them in identifying these issues, that lets me know that the hours i log there in an effort to make the game better by testing new content actually matter! 🙂
We will be sure to let you know first thing when we find out when this content will be going live so until then hang tight folks!
Crafting for reals, I am serious!
Finally SWTOR is released and operating, the NDA is not a problem anymore, and I have had time to experience and digest the crafting system in SWTOR. It has been a long drawn out time of waiting for this game and to find out if I will be pleased or not based on what they have created as their crafting system and dubbed “crew skills”.
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So, I have been trying PvP in pretty much all its formats since launch. I have to say that I am happy with it overall. Continue Reading »
Hot off the presses comes word on one thing that has crossed my mind while I have been playing the game so far since launch and that is the question of whether or not Bioware is going to be as aggressive as other companies have been in getting control of their in game economy via banning or suspension. As my inbox fills with spam, power leveling advertisements, offers to sell me credits and such, I have been wondering this for sure.
On average as it is now I get about two whispers a day and a in game email, I report them all and ignore them but they do not stop. While this does not seem like an insane amount I have to wonder when factored in among all the players of the game just how big of a problem this is. I have seen in the past in a MMO just how bad things like this can become and just how much damage they can do to a in game economy. That is why I was very glad to see them address this issue as to some of the steps they have been taking to fight things like exploiting a in game mechanic to farm credits.
Recently, in this forum post on the official forums, Stephen Reid had this to say about steps they have recently taken to try to combat this situation:
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GameSpy.com powered by IGN has released it’s video games of the year awards and SWTOR has been chosen by them as “MMO of the year for 2011”.
While this is no surprise to us the fans that have followed SWTOR since it’s initial announcement over three years ago, there really was no question for us. SWTOR was always our “game of the year” and has been for the last three years!
Still, it is nice to see Bioware recognized by the big sites in the gaming community and given their due for a truly awesome game and a stellar launch. So far in my experience SWTOR has had an amazing launch and has done very well and based on the performance of so many other MMO’s in the last few years it looks like SWTOR is here to stay.
Here is part of what GameSpy.com had to say about SWTOR you can see the full article here.
We’re still logging hours in a galaxy far, far away to bring you our full review, but this award should give you an idea how we feel about BioWare’s long-awaited Star Wars MMO. From day one, the renowned RPG studio said it would set its game apart from the competition with story, voice, and choice — and we’ll be a scruffy nerf herder, BioWare has delivered.
Whether playing as a member of the Republic or the Empire, as a Jedi, Sith, or any of the other classes, our staff was sucked into SWTOR by its well-written storylines — storylines we likely would have glossed over if they weren’t delivered with a staggering amount of recorded dialogue. Add in BioWare’s signature dialogue trees and the element of choice, and we’ve become fully immersed in SWTOR unlike any MMO before it.
So what do you think at this time of reflection, when you look back on the last year you spent with SWTOR? Is it your game of the year? Was the time you spent following, reading about and playing it worthwhile?
The first maintenance update has come and gone since SWTOR has released. Even though there was a lot of QQ-ing about the length of the update and that it went beyond the planned downtime schedule, I still see it as a success. There were a lot of things they addressed in this first update that had been giving players fits in game and it shows us that they indeed are listening to the feedback they are receiving via the forums and I am assuming through their in game ticket system.
You can find the posting of the patch notes on the swtor.com site here, now lets look at these and see from a player’s perspective some of the changes they have made and how they affect us.
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In response to long queue times and the need for servers, the folks over at BioWare having been bring up new servers of all types for both the European community and the US since the start of early access. Here are a list of the new servers and the lore explanation for their names. As with my previous list I will not provide a lore explanation for a server if the name is drawn from SWTOR itself to avoid spoilers.
You can find the first list of server names and the lore explanations for them here Continue Reading »
It appears Bioware has heard the uproar from their fans and have decided to allow SWTOR purchasers that may not receive their physical copy of the game by the 20th a small grace period in which to be able to enter their code. Here is the latest from Dr Greg Zeschuk!
Thank you Bioware for listening to your fans and customers!
Hello everyone,
While we’ve worked closely with our retailers in the launch territories to ensure copies of Star Wars: The Old Republic are available from our launch date of December 20th, we understand that for those of you who’ve pre-ordered, there may be a concern about getting your copy on time. We’ve heard you want a ‘grace period’ where you can continue to play without having to enter a final product registration code (AKA ‘game code’).
We’ve been listening, and after doing another deep review of our platform infrastructure, we’re taking action. Today, we’re announcing a two day grace period for Star Wars: The Old Republic customers.
This means that everyone who pre-ordered and is in the Early Game Access program has forty-eight hours from launch in which to enter their product registration code, which will be found inside the physical Standard and Collector’s Editions of the game; for digital editions of the game from Origin.com, the registration code will have been emailed to you after December 16th and will arrive before December 19th at 11:59PM EST. After December 22nd 12:01AM EST, you will be required to have a valid payment method and a product registration code registered to your account to continue to play. We strongly recommend that you register your product code as soon as you are able to do so (rather than waiting until the last minute) to ensure a seamless entry into the game, a smooth experience on the account website and to collect any special gifts and items you may be entitled to based on the version of the game you purchased.
We understand that for some, your copy of the game may still arrive on or after December 22nd. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the grace period any further. We suggest you contact your retailer to discuss shipping options, if this is a concern.
You may be wondering if your 30 days of game time (included with your purchase of the game) will be affected by the grace period. The answer is no. If you redeem your product registration code during the grace period, and add a valid payment method to your account, you will begin your billing cycle from then, and you will be entitled to 30 days of game time. If you redeem your product registration code before December 20th, your billing cycle will begin on December 20th at 12:01AM EST (the official launch date and time of the game).
We know this has been an issue for some of you, and we apologize for the concerns. We’re looking forward to welcoming all of you to the official launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic!
Thanks,
Ray and Greg
(This post is available in French here, and in German here.)
So we have seen the easy ones here, now lets see about something that may take, if not more time, a bit more brain power.
The following few recipes are ones my family enjoys. We tend to make popovers for breakfast when we have a bunch of guests, and if we are having a party we tend to make deviled eggs. I am going to type out one of the recipes, but there are a total of three that we will use interchangeable. Continue Reading »
