For now, join us after the jump for the live blog.
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Note: At certain points the audio is hard to hear due to position and acoustics.
- Starts at 6:30PM ET/3:30PM PT
- 6:22: Reid, Ohlen, Butler, and empty seat likely Karpyshyn on panel. Michael Biton leading the panel
- 6:33: Michael asks about expectations on the project. Ohlen: First MMO, didn't expect it to be so vast, such a big game. Butler: Was always a Star Wars fan so I couldn't wait to jump in. Erickson: Lots of challenges, should be easier in the future. Reid: Came on later, so it's not as bad, knew that we would have that 1% crazy but that 1% is a lot bigger than expected.
- 6:36: Question: Aside from Taris, how much did kotor influence game? Answer: Erickson anything big storywise will get a nod. We wanted to answer some open questions, if someone from KOTOR did something historical, you will at least hear or see a glimpse of it.
- 6:37: Q: If you're on a pvp server can you kill rebel scum? A: Ohlen: Safe early, later it becomes dangerous. We don't want someone stalking you, so there are mechanics in death system to prevent that. Sanctuaries help, they are there but are rare. Example - You can't turn the Hutt capital into a blood bath. Aside from that, there are mechanisms in place to disallow ganking when in dialogue moments.
- 6:39: Q: How will item mods work? A: Ohlen: being modified as a system. As currently stands, you can modify a high % of items. Let's you keep old stuff longer, especially iconic anesthetic armor. Keep your favorite look. High level mods difficult to get. More details later, mods and how they work are still being worked on.
- 6:42: Q: Will there be dual speccing? A: Ohlen: Not for ship, eventually want to add.
- 6:43: Q: Mac version? A: Reid: No. Ohlen: No plans at this moment but we will make sure it works well on Bootcamp.
- 6:44: Q: How soon can you leave your origin world? A: Ohlen: Not at level 1 but pretty early on you can jump a shuttle to another planet. Yes, you can jump to another planet and help out a friend.
- 6:46: Q: What parts of Sith will influence history? A: There is some stuff in there that we know will happen in the future, there will be occasional signs, for example - Alderaan will be Republic later in history.
- 6:47: Q: Legacy system? A: Erickson: We never said anything about that. No news.
- 6:48: Q: How many of the 15 flashpoints are shared with both factionss? A: Ohlen: About a dozen shared. Erickson: I do not remember end game count. Two plus endgame flashpoints.
- 6:50: Q: Smugglers are apparently low on damage according to some sites, any comment about balance? A: Reid: No comment. Skill trees anywhere are probably out of date on leaks. Ohlen: Don't worry about balance. We're working on it. Reid: Forum screams about balance are seen, but we trust Georg's #s.
- 6:53: Q: If there's dual spec... Lots of conditions? A: too theoretical, we'll address when we need to.
- 6:54: Q: Is romance a problem with the Jedi Knight? Erickson: Choices have to be hard. If you're dark side, your commitment will be tested. A huge amount of Jedi fall to dark side bc of romance. Three levers influence morality - social pressure, companions, your morales.
- 6:56: Q: Will we see racial abilities in the game? Ohlen: They won't influence your character choice.
- 6:57: Q: Race/class combos? Erickson: We decided the list. Reid knows. Reid: Sith Pureblood Inquisitor
- 6:59: Q: Can you customize your UI? Ohlen: Limited customization at launch, working on more later.
- 7:00: Q: Observer modes for pvp? Ghost camera? Like SC2? Ohlen: Not in ship. Gabe might look into it later.
- 7:01: Q: Most eye opening feedback from testing that changed the game? Ohlen: Passionate feedback about item mods. We reacted to player feedback on that.
- 7:03: Erickson: I defend the world and story. I stood against repeatable flash points and companion customization. DE: Lots of things from users. Customize companion look. Repeatable flashpoints. If it makes sense and we can do it, we'll consider it. Ohlen: The story element has gone smoothest because we have experience with it at BioWare. The technical aspects are biggest challenge, like the game engine. Erickson: There are a lot of limitations on storytelling in mmo. Can't put in prison. Made us be honest as writers and plan.
- 7:05: Q: How will you deal with feedback post launch? Butler: About the same. We'll listen to users and make changes when they make sense. Ohlen: Neverwinter nights was a source for lessons learned Chapter 1 was playable on nwn engine.
- 7:09: Q: Roleplaying community building? Reid: You get to roleplay your dark/light choices. Feels more like an RPG than anything. Erickson: Artists asked why are we making a wedding dress?
- 7:12: Q: Playable wookies? Erickson: No, it is fully voiced. We're not a sandbox. We are a Star Wars movie. No fiction was focused on wookies. Too much time spent listening to yourself.
- 7:13: Q: Is there a reward system for non-extreme alignment paths like grey? A: Ohlen: We won't gimp you. We're careful with it. It doesn't impact all of your abilities. Erickson: You can be snarky and still be light side. You can be a wiseass in conversations but light side. It's the bigger actions that you take that matter.
- 7:16: Q: Will there be multimedia tie-ins after launch? A: Reid: It's not up to us. LucasArts controls the IP that's up to them.
- Q: Any tools for Auction House system? Ohlen: Basic features for ship. More access points than other games. Making some changes now so not sure exactly what will be in at ship.
- Q: Guild perks and leveling? Ohlen: No guild leveling at launch. We work regularly with guilds like the syndicate to check what they like. We're going to enhance post launch as it is important for keeping people around.
- 7:21: A: Erickson: Voice actors locked into long term contracts, will not change.
- 7:22: Q: Future plans for space combat and space pvp? Ohlen: We focused on the hero and the heroic story arc. We have space now. It is more of a mini-game. No multiplayer space combat at launch. Rail shooter is fun.
- 7:23: Q: Are there any other impacts on class story aside from morality? Erickson: Class story changes by actions taken. Actions affect story ending
- 7:24: Q: You confirmed dark side appearance change. Light side appearance change? Ohlen: No light side appearance change. We toyed with a "wisened old" look but scrapped it. You don't grow angel wings.
- 7:25: Q: What about crafting and player housing? Ohlen: Starships are your housing. Can store stuff in them. There are some videos on our site about crafting.
- 7:26: Q: How do you affect companion behavior? Erickson: You can change the way they act towards you based on how you treat them.
- 7:27: Q: How frequent are raid patches? Ohlen: As fast as possible. Can't talk about it much but we'll be pushing content patches.
- 7:29 Q: How are you going to handle gold farmers? Ohlen: We have a team dedicated to quality of life things and keeping gold farmers in check is among that. We have tools and people watching it. Can't speak on specifics.
- Panel over.
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Posted 10/15/2011 1:59:58 AMMost likely the function is there and working and they are ironing out the details. All of which are easy to manipulate if they built the systems correctly.
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Posted 10/15/2011 2:09:05 AMUgh, I guess I know WHY there hasnt been a friday update soley about the economy yet. /palmface.
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Posted 10/15/2011 2:38:17 AM-
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Posted 10/15/2011 2:42:18 AM-
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Posted 10/15/2011 2:20:33 AMThe answer didn't strike me as "we don't know how it's going to turn out," but more like "yes, we have basic features done, we're working on advanced features, but we can't quite promise they'll be ready at launch."
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Posted 10/15/2011 2:29:35 AM-
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Posted 10/14/2011 11:41:59 PMSoo..did he just confirm pureblood inquisitor for launch? Hope so! :D
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Posted 10/15/2011 12:24:00 AMI knew there wasn't solid enough "story" reason behind them not being there. I am now mostly happy. ( Still woulda preferred either Jawa SI or Massassi, but Pureblood was right up there with those 2. )
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Posted 10/15/2011 12:33:47 AMPurebloods are the pinnacle of the society, groomed and powerful. Yet, one has to wonder, with all the infighting going on, would a few families fall from grace now and then?
But in terms of awesomeness, WOOT! Pureblood SI is about the most impressive sights. And suddenly an SI seems terribly alluring once agian.
Charming... yes? http://imgur.com/r6WrI
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Posted 10/15/2011 11:45:04 AMIn this light I'm not really sure that the true blood really fit in. Sure, sometimes they can be fallen, and maybe even sold as a slave. But I don't think that there were any sane person in the empire who calls a trueblood like "you, slave" at the first sight. I'd think most would go "pardon me my lord" even if the pureblood is in rags and a shock collar :D
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Posted 10/15/2011 1:37:08 PM-
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Posted 10/14/2011 11:38:37 PMI thought there was a yellow post "confirming" Dual Spec for release? Now its not again?
Sadly quit :/
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Posted 10/14/2011 11:41:46 PM-
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Posted 10/15/2011 12:24:10 PM-
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Posted 10/14/2011 11:52:55 PMWhat was probably confirmed was that they know a large portion of the community would still like it(at the moment, a lot of people seem to assume that the game they have never played will require dual specs without repeated assurances that it will not, they could be right of course, but they also could be wrong, but I digress) and that it is something that are going to look at doing after release.