Darth Hater

SDCC 2011: Day 1 Live Blog & Coverage

• Join Us, It Is Your Destiny Panel Live Blog


• BioWare Base Q&A Live Blog

• 7:13p: Stream started of the panel, life-size Malgus unveiled at the BioWare Base. Attendees should go to check it out.


• 7:16p: Q&A Starts. Stephen Reid Introducing James Ohlen, Rich Vogel.


• 7:17p: Question: Release Date? Stephen Reid: We are targeting holiday 2011. Rich Vogel: What does that mean? That means we're beta testing the game, figuring out at the quality level we want to release, and that is why we haven't released the date yet. We're testing the game, making sure it has a good balance and experience for our players. We don't want to release crap, and we wont. That's not BioWare. James Ohlen: You heard it from Rich Vogel, we are not releasing crap. RV: There you go.


• 7:17p: Question: You released details in the preorder that there is going to be the store in the collectors edition, what sort of items should we expect to see in that store? JO: Well, they are quite very exciting items that we have yet to determine so... Question: What kind of items will they be then, like cosmetic items, etc? SR: They will be more cosmetic than would be... JO: Actually, there will be weapons and armor but we are not going to be giving you an advantage in power levels. When you get the store you'll be able to buy items that will up your power, but they'll really just be cosmetic in terms of you can a similar powered item that looks different by playing the game normally. SR: But you will have it because you have the CE. And in addition the collectors store is actually a location in the game as well, it's not just a random vendor. JO: It's actually an exclusive location in the game, kind of like a... RV: VIP area. SR: Yeah, like a VIP lounge. Question: Will the items be microtransaction based or credits? JO: Credits. SR: Yeah, we already got your money when you bought the collectors edition.


• 7:18p: Dallas Dickinson welcomed on stage.


• 7:19p: JO: We have the ability to have dozens of dozens of colors to modfiy weapons in the game. The color crystal you get is a yellow, gold, or a "yellow core with a black glow." Look for confirmation later.


• 7:20p: Question: Are there shards in the game? JO: We have the tech to do that but we will be using it very sparingly. On launch day we might have to use it in some capacity, once the population normalizes though, that is not something we plan to use.


• 7:21p: Question: Can you change your Advanced class? JO: "So the question is, in Star Wars: The Old Republic you have advanced classes that you are able to pick at a certain level, or you specialize your class, can you switch once you have made a choice in advanced class? Currently we are going to be allowing you to respec (change) your advanced class, and the reason we went that way was because it is a big choice and some people might make the wrong choice. The very first time you decide to respec (change) your advanced class it's not going to be super expensive, we're going to make it relatively affordable and then after that it will become a lot more difficult. So we're going to let you correct your mistakes, for example - if you're a Sith Warrior and you decide to pick the Juggernaut route and then two levels in you're like "I didn't want to be a Juggernaut" - that first correction will be easy but after that we're going to make your advanced class choice be very difficulty to respec."


• 7:22p: Question: Can we get extra details on the companion ai customization? JO: Can't talk about that yet.


• 7:23p: JO: We wanted to allow customization of companion looks, this was based on testing feedback.


• 7:23p: Question: When can you make that customization? JO: Initial companion kits will happen early but later ones we're working on and will comment later. RV: It's still a work in progress.


• 7:24p: Question: What options are there for people who can't play much? JO: One of the things we wanted was to make sure we never had a grind in Star Wars: The Old Republic. It's endless. We're going to have plenty of story content for you, so if you love BioWare RPGs, you'll have a lot of fun with it.


• 7:25p: JO: We have reacted on the reaction of the speeders. We were originally going with a more traditional upgrade route to the speeders in terms of speed, slow at first and then at endgame get the super-fast one. And that led us to, if you're going to have a slower speeder it has to not look like it should go super fast so that's why we designed those ones. After a little thought and reacting to what fans were saying, we went back to the drawing board and adding new speeders because we were originally afraid of clipping issues but found that they actually look really good in the game in the case of land speeders. So now we're just churning out a bunch of them and I think people will be really happy. RV: Yeah, I think you'll be happy with what you see.


• 7:26p: Q: Will there be multi-seat speeders to have your friends be able to join you on your speeder? JO: That is an excellent idea for a post-ship feature. RV: Absolutely, excellent.


• 7:27p: Q: Any plans for a Mac version? JO: We have no plans for a mac client at launch, we have plenty of people in the office though that play the game on Bootcamp, and it works great.


• 7:28p: JO: We have an unannounced feature that will unlock other races/species for factions. (Legacy system)


• 7:28p: Q: Number of abilities at 50? Everyone: Around 30.


• 7:29p: Q: Sith pureblood inquisitors? JO: Currently not allowing that, they fit the class but not the story, right now we're not allowing it but maybe. There was a lot of debate on this.


• 7:30p: Q: Plans for vanity armor that overwrites the equiped one? JO: We debated that, but we're not doing that. If you want to look great you'll have to make scarifies in combat strength. SR: All of the items you get from the vendor will be primarily cosmetic items like a vip location that you will be able to purchase with credits.


• 7:32p: Q: Are you going to be able to customize the look of your starship? JO: That's on the wall of crazy post ship features.


• 7:32p: Q: Titles? JO: We have a ton of titles and you'll be able to choose. They're totally cosmetic.


• 7:33p: Q: Favorite class? RV and DD: Imperial Agent JO: Sith Warrior SR: Smuggler to balance out this empire bias.

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