Had a play with a Jedi Consular & found it ok. The main thing i found good was going from the previous beta with a 9800 GT GFX card to a GTX 460 Huge impact on gameplay with a good card.
I will be a bounty hunter in release so want to keep it all new. Had play a Marauder to about 19 in the last beta
I had a good 5-6 hours in TOR over the weekend. Picked the only server in the list that had Standard as the server load and didn't have any login problems at all on either day. I come away with mixed feelings however.
Inquisitor or Imperial Agent are the classes I want to roll, so I went with an Agent to start. Combat wise, nothing flowed. Had to roll in to cover for some of my skills to work which seemed very clumsy, and even then my Snipe skill never worked. /bugged that. I lvl'd him to 4 before deciding to try Consular, the Republic mirror for the Inquisitor. I enjoyed this combat style much more and was just getting into the story line when I ran out of time, right about lvl 9.
My main gripe (and it's a biggy for me) is the graphical style. When games are increasingly going photo realistic with spectacular results, TOR is incredibly basic and cartoony. Max settings on 1920x1080 screen, I'm very dissapointed. In a market with the likes of Rage, Skyrim, BF3 etc, TOR is stuck in the KOTOR generation from 2003. Yeah I know they have to keep it simple for the 'average' PC, but really, they've gone way too far the other way imo. If there's one demographic of PC owners who would upgrade for a title they believed in, it's gamers.
The fact there's no advanced graphical options compounds the issue. Even those who have a decent PC will see very little difference at Max than those on lesser settings. So far there have been no breath taking visual moments akin to some of what you can see in LoTRO for example, and that game was released 4+ years ago. It's all far to basic... I really wanted\hoped for more because I derive alot of my immersion from visuals. If I can't believe I'm there, or at least be entertained by eye candy, that's almost half the game gone.
Anyhoo, I'll be rolling an Inquisitor at launch and hoping the story pulls me in, provides me with enough stimulus to keep my attention off the graphics. I had goosebumps the first time the intro and theme rolled. Sadly that magic didn't seem to last all that long.
I've started a new guild 'Knights of NZ' (or 'KNZ') - generic, but short... and to the point.
Open to all republic players. Hoping to quest/PVP together if anyone else is interested.
It's a bit of a marketing ploy insomuch as 4 pre-ordered accounts are required for the guild to go live but that's modest considering the amount of New Zealand players who enjoyed the beta enough to buy the game - I hope.
Also, if someone could establish a corresponding imperial guild then we can have some intense PVP sessions.
I am aware of an ANZ guild but I'm keen for us to have our own.
JimmyC: My main gripe (and it's a biggy for me) is the graphical style. When games are increasingly going photo realistic with spectacular results, TOR is incredibly basic and cartoony. Max settings on 1920x1080 screen, I'm very dissapointed. In a market with the likes of Rage, Skyrim, BF3 etc, TOR is stuck in the KOTOR generation from 2003. Yeah I know they have to keep it simple for the 'average' PC, but really, they've gone way too far the other way imo. If there's one demographic of PC owners who would upgrade for a title they believed in, it's gamers.
The fact there's no advanced graphical options compounds the issue. Even those who have a decent PC will see very little difference at Max than those on lesser settings. So far there have been no breath taking visual moments akin to some of what you can see in LoTRO for example, and that game was released 4+ years ago. It's all far to basic... I really wanted\hoped for more because I derive alot of my immersion from visuals. If I can't believe I'm there, or at least be entertained by eye candy, that's almost half the game gone.
Bioware stated the reason for not have realistic graphics is that they looked dated very quickly. So they went with a stylised look that won't go out of date in 2 years time. It has worked very well for WoW and I think it looks fantastic.
If you're playing an MMO, it is not for the amazing graphics, I'm playing for the content which is story, progression and group play.
JimmyC: My main gripe (and it's a biggy for me) is the graphical style. When games are increasingly going photo realistic with spectacular results, TOR is incredibly basic and cartoony. Max settings on 1920x1080 screen, I'm very dissapointed. In a market with the likes of Rage, Skyrim, BF3 etc, TOR is stuck in the KOTOR generation from 2003. Yeah I know they have to keep it simple for the 'average' PC, but really, they've gone way too far the other way imo. If there's one demographic of PC owners who would upgrade for a title they believed in, it's gamers.
The fact there's no advanced graphical options compounds the issue. Even those who have a decent PC will see very little difference at Max than those on lesser settings. So far there have been no breath taking visual moments akin to some of what you can see in LoTRO for example, and that game was released 4+ years ago. It's all far to basic... I really wanted\hoped for more because I derive alot of my immersion from visuals. If I can't believe I'm there, or at least be entertained by eye candy, that's almost half the game gone.
Bioware stated the reason for not have realistic graphics is that they looked dated very quickly. So they went with a stylised look that won't go out of date in 2 years time. It has worked very well for WoW and I think it looks fantastic.
If you're playing an MMO, it is not for the amazing graphics, I'm playing for the content which is story, progression and group play.
Yes, I agree, its not about the graphics at all, and imagine the intense graphics interfering with the quality of play with thousands of players all connected to a server. I personally think they have done a pretty excellent job with the style of the game & in-game graphics.
Bioware stated the reason for not have realistic graphics is that they looked dated very quickly. So they went with a stylised look that won't go out of date in 2 years time. It has worked very well for WoW and I think it looks fantastic.
If you're playing an MMO, it is not for the amazing graphics, I'm playing for the content which is story, progression and group play.
Yup I read that too. I'm not just talking about realism vs stylised. I'm talking about what's possible in MMO's in this day and age. The best comparison I can make in the MMO world is LoTRO having played it for 4+ years.
Take the interior of the Jedi Temple as an example. Simple textures, lots of large, same colour blocks making up the walls and ramps. A non-descript floor, incredibly basic lighting and shadows.
Now take the interior of Thorin's Hall in LoTRO. Detailed brick walls, ceiling and floor. The floor is also reflective, light bounces and reflects off it, you can see yourself in it. You have a large light bloom and lens flare effect coming in from the ceiling over the statue in the first room.
A quick side step from visuals here for a minute too: If you listen to how the ambient noise changes when you open the large doors off of Thorin's steps and move inside the hall, you can 'hear' the cavernous space, echoing footsteps. Now stand in the massive transport dock at Coruscant and listen to the transports flying over head. Step outside the hanger into the open world. Hear anything different? Nope. Exactly the same, transport flying sound effects.
Trees in TOR are blobby masses, rocks and landscapes appear as flat 2D matt paintings placed at differing intervals along 2D roads and textureless paths. LoTRO has individual branches and leaves on trees that cast their own shadows over grass that moves in the breeze. GW2 takes this a step further where the foliage actually responds and moves as you walk through\past it. This is why people like me spend a lot of money on a PC, to see these incredible things the game designers put into their engine that brings their world, stylised or not, to life. To log in to TOR and see their world given so little love should be embarrassing to Bioware. It's certainly insulting to my PC.
In 2012 there's no reason why MMO's can't be stylised, stylish, story driven, lag-free group fests, and still portray drop dead gorgeous scenery, hi-res textures and general eye candy. Others titles have already proved it's possible.
Edit: btw, I should add these things like DX11 dynamic lighting and shadows, water effects, bloom and anisotropic filter options in LoTRO are all client side. If you have a PC that can run them, fantastic. If you don't, switch 'em off. It doesn't add anything more to the server load, nor does running a hi-res texture client.
Got an email regarding early access today. Looks like they're opening up from the 13th (in the US) for those super early pre-orderers. That should be me hopefully, since I pre-ordered like an hour after I got the initial email.
Just a pity that EA have decided in their wisdom to not offer a grace period between headstart and launch. (Think I'll start looking for an alternative to Amazon - g2play.net seems like my best bet atm, unless I can convince an acquaintance overseas to do me a favour...)
Also we have just about perfected our Sith Warrior leveling guide. Which will include both an online text guide with supporting movies. Average time saved for complete leveling from 1-50 is over 10 hours we think. But might be looking for someone to re-test it out. =) Like us on facebook and you could be in for a free copy of the Sith Warrior leveling guide. Just look for my blog if your interested.
Remeber its not only about have a play code for the 20th but also some sort of payment option that doesnt include a red zone credit card. Its assumed credit cards with non eu/USA addresses will be rejected.
Yea, that could put a spanner in the works for us, as far as getting the other class guides up. Australia had a big hoo-ha about the red zone deal. From which EA and BioWare appologised. But did not go any further. Ahh well, guess its Janurary next year for us then!
mattbush: Remeber its not only about have a play code for the 20th but also some sort of payment option that doesnt include a red zone credit card. Its assumed credit cards with non eu/USA addresses will be rejected.
I get a 30 day play card with my CE. Are you\they saying once that's up I can't play anymore because they won't accept an NZ credit card? I find that somewhat hard to fathom.
mattbush: Remeber its not only about have a play code for the 20th but also some sort of payment option that doesnt include a red zone credit card. Its assumed credit cards with non eu/USA addresses will be rejected.
I get a 30 day play card with my CE. Are you\they saying once that's up I can't play anymore because they won't accept an NZ credit card? I find that somewhat hard to fathom.
correct
your contact details you en ter must match your credit card address details and Origin/EA auto reject any address outside sales area.
yea, we also posted the official statement on our website about that. Mentioning the lengths people are going to to continue playing (getting friends in the states to purchase on their behalf etc).
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