E3: Presentation with Blaine Christine

We were lucky enough to be the first group to see Star Wars: The Old Republic on the E3 show floor today. Before getting our hands on time and interviews were treated to an official presentation by BioWare's Blaine Christine. In addition to seeing the new trailer, we learned all about the marketing focus during this years Electronic Entertainment Expo.
Once the Hope trailer was finished we were reminded about the many facts we already know about Star Wars: The Old Republic (fully voiced, heroic combat, cover system, and of course story). He finished his recap with the very Yoda like statement, "Story drives choice; choice drives action." Now that the old news was covered, Blaine turned his focus to the first new reveal: player ships.

We learned that these ships will work as a base of operations for players as they travel across the galaxy. The two examples we were shown are the Sith Fury class Imperial transport and Jedi Corellian Vanguard class light corvette, with multiple screenshots of their spacious interiors. The Sith Fury in particular appears to be the same vessel used by Teneb Kel in the Blood of the Empire webcomic.These ships are very similar to the Ebon Hawk in Knights of the Old Republic, with multiple rooms and companion characters milling about. However, TOR is a multiplayer game and Blaine was quick to point out that these ships will also be a place where you can interact with your fellow PCs.

These ships were enormous, dwarfing the PCs standing outside of the entrance ramp. In a nod to true immersion, the outside of the ships appeared to be large enough to hold the rooms within. The apparent 1 to 1 scale in the images could do wonders to aid in immersion and is looking very promising.

Moving away from the new ships, Blaine reminded us that TOR is a massively multiplayer game and, "yes, we're going to have an incredible story, but we also have all the key elements that make a great MMO experience." With this stated, he moved on to talk about player progression and customization; or more correctly, he showed us. With a mixture of stills and recorded footage, we saw a male Bounty Hunter progress from a weak noob with simple gear and only minor armor to a mid-level character with advanced armor and a jetpack and finally a full fledged veteran in complex armor with all the visual bells and whistles to match. He finished up the focus on player advancement by stating that these many sets of armor were only a, "small slice of the many customizations available."

Continuing this focus on MMO tropes, Blaine moved on to the new PVP Warzones revealed during the EA press conference. We learned these Warzones are specially crafted areas designed for team versus team battles between the Sith and Republic. We were shown multiple stills of the Alderaan zone with player abilities filling the shots with particle effects. These Warzones were presented as distinct zones that are separate from the persistent Alderaan world map.

With these reveals out of the way, Blaine drove on to a live group combat demo. This combat demo consisted of a Republic group of four players, with each team member being one of the Republic classes. We were also told that each of these players would be filling a specific role for the demo. Kako the Jedi Consular acted as the group's healer, Evan the Trooper acted as the tank, Lylora the Smuggler acted as both a crowd controller and back up healer, and Wynn the Jedi Knight acted as DPS and secondary tank.

After getting a briefing from a Mon Calamari commanding officer we learned that this group of players represented Havoc squad, implying this quest was a Trooper specific mission. Sith forces were boarding their Republic vessel and it was up to the players to keep the boarders at bay. The ensuing battle was an interesting mix of the single boss battles seen in other MMOs and the multiple weak-target combat we have seen in older TOR media. The Trooper, being the tank of the group, focused on engaging the larger targets while the agile Jedi Knight cut a swath through the smaller mobs threatening the group. On the other hand, the Smuggler and Consular were kept on their toes by controlling adds, assisting in burning down mobs, and healing their beefy counterparts.

Each class filled their niche in uniquely un-MMO ways. The Trooper held the attention of the larger mobs, but also appeared to do massive damage; this meat shield had spikes. The Consular did a great deal of healing but also had her lightsaber in hand, helping out with the overall damage. The Smuggler was safely hiding behind cover filling multiple rolls: including crowd control, damage, and healing. Finally, the Jedi Knight hammered down on the smaller mobs but also acted as a tank when a Sith "Lieutenant" ran around the corner, red lightsaber in hand. Each class appeared to fill not only a primary roll in the group, but also a secondary roll, making the combat appear versatile and dynamic.

As the last enemy fell, Blaine concluded the presentation and we prepared to get some hands on time with game. He left us with the following sentiment, "Star Wars: The Old Republic is an amazing MMO that offers players engaging choices that actually change the action and story of the game." Marketing message received Mr. Christine, now lets go make some decisions.

Comments

  • Neko399's avatar
    Dark Councilor
    • Posts: 705
    #30 Neko399 Posted 6/16/2010 3:55:39 AM
    I agree. The market is not forgiving for such things. Hopefully it is something that BW is on track at getter resolved long before launch.
  • darthuser1186's avatar
    Spice Runner
    • Posts: 185
    #32 darthuser1186 Posted 6/16/2010 3:59:32 AM
    The feel of the combat is really important to me, that is why i loved WoW combat system so much! Warhammer online was good but not like wow feel. I wounder if some of the DH crew feel the same?
  • Xavier's avatar
    Dark Councilor
    • Posts: 504
    #33 Xavier Posted 6/16/2010 4:01:09 AM
    And how he doesn't know how to switch between targets. My attack on target A doesn't hit target b. Well then dummy, hit a new attack (or, is that a global cooldown he's suffering through?) I do believe they stated that saber strike would end if you killed a mob, allowing you to switch targets and a hit with a new ability. Sounds like this guy is way to use to Auto Attack coddling him.

    I could be wrong though...I wasn't there. Sad for me :(
  • xeridae's avatar
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    • Posts: 161
    #40 xeridae Posted 6/16/2010 6:05:18 AM
    Yeah I'm not sure what MMO this author thinks he is playing but BW has said from the beginning there is no auto attack lulz. It may take some getting used to but why would you switch your target mid swing in the first place? "I think I'll hit this guy. Oh wait! No I mean this one. Crap I hit the first guy instead."
  • mirp's avatar
    Nerf Herder
    • Posts: 16
    #17 mirp Posted 6/16/2010 2:42:11 AM
    the idea of a ranged tank is confusing, how does a trooper mitigate other then armor? No melee weapon to deflect blasterbolts...
    Maybe they will get a Tower Shield with a gun port, idk.
  • abner_ford's avatar
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    • Posts: 662
    #20 abner_ford Posted 6/16/2010 2:47:56 AM
    There's a trooper gameplay video up on Gametrailers.com that shows the character using a shield-type buff before jumping into battle. I assume it's some temporary armor boost or some other defensive bonus.
  • Zenkei's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #24 Zenkei Posted 6/16/2010 3:05:25 AM
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH48Ph0Sw6Y - Check that video out. It shows the Trooper using a shield or something similar.
  • chronium's avatar
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    • Posts: 1,717
    #25 chronium Posted 6/16/2010 3:27:21 AM
    oh yeah the Goa'uld personal shield from Stargate :D

    edit: I was more interested in the smuggler using a shield wall since that scene lasted longer.
  • Zenkei's avatar
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    #31 Zenkei Posted 6/16/2010 3:56:08 AM
    The shield wall also seemed to be the same one that the Imperial Agent uses.
  • Xavier's avatar
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    • Posts: 504
    #34 Xavier Posted 6/16/2010 4:03:04 AM
    Zenkei,
    That was the Smuggler using the shield wall though, no?

    Chronium,
    The Trooper gold shield thingy, reminded me of the personal shields in Dune.
  • r2d2arm's avatar
    Dark Lord
    • Posts: 440
    #36 r2d2arm Posted 6/16/2010 4:21:11 AM
    The trooper's shield could just be another way of implementing personal shields (seen in both KOTOR games) in TOR.

    I think the only difference between the Smuggler's portable cover were the blinking lights were a different color compared to the Imperial Agent's portable cover. They both seemed to function the same way.
  • Hewo's avatar
    Dark Lord
    • Posts: 312
    #14 Hewo Posted 6/16/2010 2:27:34 AM
    So far I am very impressed with everything showed at E3. However, there is 1 thing that bothers me and that is the Consular healing in the demo. If all the Consular does is run around waving her/his hands to heal the other players then it will be very disappointing. I completely understand if they are running around dpsing then throw a heal here or there, but please please tell me it won't be a bunch of hand waving.
  • gstommylee's avatar
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    • Posts: 102
    #15 gstommylee Posted 6/16/2010 2:31:58 AM
    The player that played the consular decided to play like that.
  • Hewo's avatar
    Dark Lord
    • Posts: 312
    #16 Hewo Posted 6/16/2010 2:41:22 AM
    Yes, but I hope they have a choice of playing different ways instead of having to heal. That is all I want.
  • mirp's avatar
    Nerf Herder
    • Posts: 16
    #18 mirp Posted 6/16/2010 2:44:33 AM
    In the videos. they speakers are constantly reminding you of exactly that...Bioware has said it numerous times, over and over again...
    Um...These were basically players who had never played the game before trying to do some mission. Sheesh, I thought it was getting redundant, but i guess that's not the case for everyone...
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