Busy SWTOR weekend

It was only a long trek to 50 because I made it that way, but finally the Dark Schneider made it to 50 last night. Although I am not sure I will keep playing him a lot at 50 – wanted to try out Scoundrel healing but the server population made it impossible to try – it was definitely worthwhile to play through the end of the stories on Corellia and the smuggler’s class story. Props to the Wookiee Bowdaar for sticking it out with me, responding quite affectionately to…most of my choices! After a long history of being the good guy, making the light choices, and sparing folks, working with shady types, and getting betrayed repeatedly for it…Daku went on a dark-tinged killing spree on Corellia. Darmas Pollaran, who made the Republic privateer job sound so good before he twisted it all to serve the Empire? Contemptuously asking for a price to spare him? Blam! Senator Dodonna, who recruited you for the privateer job before throwing in with the Empire? Ends up a kitchen slave? Even plays the True Love card? Blam! And the Voidwolf, the beneficiary of all that betrayal…well, let’s say his plan to unite the underworld to work for the Empire backfired, along with the grenade that he should have had on a shorter fuse. Oops.

So that’s the wrap-up on 50 levels of scheming, plotting, finagling and flirting. The smuggler becomes the hero of the Republic for freeing Corellia, and ruining the Voidwolf’s plot, and getting the other smuggler types to work for the Republic…at least, for a while. A nice final touch was hearing from the entire crew, most of which I sadly hadn’t seen much of since I started working with Bowdaar, my kick-ass melee partner. And after a little chat, the crew heads back to the ship for more adventure…and there is more. How much more I don’t know yet. Clearly not enough for some, but plenty for me, so far.

Besides, still haven’t finished courting Risha, and that simply will not do.

Fight!

Just passing along some really nice music from the Gundam Unicorn OST volume 2, that I used yesterday as inspiration for an RPG fight scene. The last minute in particular is wonderfully intense. Maybe I’ll loop it this evening as I go into SWTOR and try to get my smuggler at long last to level 50. One more level to go.

On the likelihood of Trandoshan PCs

Based on what I read today, I would peg it as ‘low.’ And for a reason that makes sense to me; a writer for Old Republic has the words to express it that I couldn’t think of.

Q: Would you be excited by the possibility of bringing in new playable alien races, as right now you’ve stuck to rather humanoid looking races without touching on the likes of Wookiees or Sullustans?

AF: So, again I can’t speak specifically for future content. You know, the reason for our humanoid range of species, it’s a matter of relatability to a large degree. The further you get from human the more difficult it is for players to get into their mindset, the more difficult it is for all the other characters in the game to relate to them the same way. There are enormous technical obstacles, there is building all the lip synching, all the emotion into the face of the human is incredibly difficult and time consuming, doing that for something like a Wookiee – and we couldn’t half do it, we couldn’t let Wookiees be only a third as expressive as humans. At that point we’re just giving up. We’re building a game designed to do these things, we can’t do it in half measures. Same with customising appearances. Adding one dramatically different alien, we still need as much variety as we would need for humans. Between the relatability aspect and the technical aspect it seems best to focus on what Star Wars has always done best which is people who look like us.

Relatability. Now, I can just hear Dave telling me how he relates to cold-blooded reptiles better than people, and maybe I’d agree, heh. But I can see where it would be a problem writing story and doing animation and expressing enough personality with the resources they have. Could you get into an alien character and do quests where your end of the conversation is a series of Star Warsian gibberish, to the point that you begin to recognize the phrases and can finish sentences?

The writer had some more to add:

AF: Yeah, and there are a lot of people who are really into playing the incredibly alien stuff but I think what a lot of those people are into is the fact that they are strange and different. So if we can’t pull that off in the storytelling. If we can’t make you feel like yes, you are a Wookiee, everyone is going to look at you differently than if you were human, your entire background is going to be very different, that’s going to shape everything you do differently. If you were doing humans with Wookiee masks in the story then I don’t think it’s going to satisfy most of the people who are going to play Wookiee.

It’s not the aesthetic of it, it’s the whole package. It’s being the barbarian from some planet who is stronger and wilder than everyone else and who is only half understood. That’s what people love about Wookiees. We don’t have anything against that storytelling, it’s not a moral opposition to not having inhuman characters but in order to do it right you need to write a story around that character.

So, having done the intro content in SWTOR a few times, would it lend itself to the Trandoshan PC? What classes would they be? Would you feel shortchanged if, say, they couldn’t be Sith because the Empire has an anti-alien bias? Would it feel right to be doing the same series of quests that the more human, more ‘relatable’ races are doing? Could the short list of canned responses at each point of conversation adjust to a truly alien mindset? Would you care about the hapless Coruscant refugee who’s lost his mate to a gang of corrupt merchants?

I mean, I never liked him anyway, but…could be trouble if you go to pick up quests and you think, half of these, my Trandoshan wouldn’t give a damn.

Seems a fair question to me, and perhaps in the future, they could have alien-exclusive starter worlds for new races, kind of like how WoW handled blood elves, draenei, worgen and goblins. But maybe the more alien – as in less relatable – races are better off as NPCs and somewhat  baffling, mysterious companions.

Cats, always loafing

…even in middle-earth, it seems. Since SWTOR will be in the stores tomorrow I expect to be installing it and witnessing long queues and server crashes. Tonight I was taking care of my affairs in LOTRO and having a look in the Lone-Lands. My remaining deed points in Bree-land are ridiculous, so they can wait (killing hundreds of barrow-wights and spiders). Came back to Bree to crash in the Prancing Pony, and I spotted this cat doing what cats do. Even the pixelated breed.

Musical interlude

After finally laying WoW to rest, I’ve been goofing off playing LOTRO – just a stopover, a fill-in until SWTOR hits the stores next week. Could have preordered, I suppose, but I’m in no particular hurry. Being on a raiding schedule is not something I miss.

Yesterday was interesting, though, and not just for the frivolous Deeds I was working on to accumulate Turbine points rather than buy them. My elf hunter is ready to move on from Bree-land, but I have lingered there awhile to finish some content that’s worth points. But working out of Bree allowed me to see a little in-game concert being held outside the Prancing Pony.

I already knew that there was a system for generating music in-game, and how files could be written up, stored, and then called from within the game. But I hadn’t seen it in use extensively before, much less by a group. Not sure how they handle timing it so they all begin at once, but it was nice to watch groups of 2, or 4, or 6 get together and play.

I stuck around for about an hour and they were still going in ‘open mic’ mode, with individuals and pairs stepping up in turn to play a tune. Xmas music, LOTR music from the movies, the Star Wars theme, current RL music…well, someone had to translate it into LOTRO’s version of the ABC notation.

Of course, the song that got the most cheers was Tom Bombadil’s theme. The most popular character that somehow got cut from the movies, sheesh. Got time enough for five different endings but not this fellow, what gives?

Having played through almost all of the Bree content, and certainly all of the Shire stuff and the epic book quests that involve him, I can see why. Tom’s this one bright, happy spot in the middle of a forest full of nasties, next door to the Barrow-downs full of wights. Bree is not the most pleasant area. Quite a contrast from running mail and spoiled pies around the Shire. There’s actual orcs and such.

I suppose the game will get somewhat more grim, should I venture onward at some point. Nice to see the community there, however small it may be, thriving in its own way. It’s a good thing that the game went F2P.  It shouldn’t go under the way some other MMOs had to, for lack of subscriptions.

Calling it a day

The Old Republic beta testing is finally over, leaving me with a couple of weeks to find something else to do. This evening I took care of some business that turned out to be a lot sadder than I’d expected.

Tindalos has found his spot to settle down.

With access to the new replica gear vendors and the transmog reskinning of armor pieces, I picked up his DK starter blues from back when he was just taking off for Outland and transmogrified his mix of Cataclysm gear to resemble the best gear set death knights ever had. Better even than the junior-Lich King model from Icecrown Citadel. Would have liked to leave him with Shadowmourne, but I figured out a long while ago that it just wasn’t in the cards.

I have parked him in Grizzly Hills, down the hill from Conquest Hold, where he can relax with the Horde left behind in Northrend and fish for Glacial Salmon. I liked death knights enough, I guess, that the game felt…done after the end of WotLK, slaying Arthas and finishing what the death knights set out to do.

While I took my last cruise around the zone looking for a spot, it figures that my favorite piece of music would cue up (the first song from the Night Music set). Good sendoff from the game. I have some pre-paid subscription time left until January, but little reason to play again. Maybe in the future I’ll be back at it, playing pandaren monks or the next big thing after that, but for now, all done…and that will probably close the book on WoW posts here as well. Seven years playing WoW, a good run.

I played a lot of toons in WoW before settling on my DK (and his/her many races, genders and faction switches) as the character and story I liked most. I wonder who my next avatar will be in a galaxy far, far away?

Old Republic beta adventures

Now that the non-disclosure restriction has been lifted, I can finally write a bit about my adventures in beta testing. Although this has been off for a little while now, being sick and busy at work have made things difficult. Anyway, on with the show.

This is one of the many little treats you can run into in TOR. Doesn’t look like chess — pazaak I think. But the lesson is the same. Let the Wookie win. He shrugs and hoots and hollers and gets up and stomps around and pumps his fists, while the hapless dis-armed droid just sits there. I spotted this yesterday while re-playing the intro zone with the Imperial Agent class; that’s my Chiss agent gawking at the spectacle.

And yes, way off on the other side you can see the Twi’lek dancer on a stripper pole…doesn’t matter if they’re clothed or not, the female Twi’leks dance like night elves. Doesn’t even require a mailbox. It does help to be in a cantina in Hutt space, though. This screenshot was from the main Hutta world; later on Nar Shadaa is an adventuring option.

I’ve tried out a variety of classes in SWTOR, and dabbled with all of them. But the one I leveled the most was the Republic’s Trooper. Here is my trooper flying a whale on Alderaan. It was interesting to get to Alderaan, while completing the first big chapter in the trooper’s story. Her squad on Ord Mantell defected to the Empire by the time she reached the end of the quest line there. The first chapter, crossing many levels and several worlds, chronicled her efforts to bring them all to justice.

I found myself a bit sad adventuring on Alderaan. Knowing the end of its story was destruction and all. But it was neat to see it, not just intact, but before it became such a staunch defender of the Republic. At this point in time it has seceded and is up for grabs, and on Alderaan I got to work for the Organa family/house. Contributing to a piece of Star Wars history; nice touch.

Also, nice to have such interesting stories to pursue with the shooter classes. After the experience with Star Wars Galaxies, I went in expecting the non-lightsaber classes to be lackluster and unenjoyable compared to the shining stars of Jedi and Sith characters. Hardly! I have no doubt that I will be playing an Imperial Agent/Operative when the game finally arrives around xmas, and I’m not sure what I will choose on the Republic side, but the Trooper/Commando has been a lot of fun. I’m not sure which I like more, crushing my enemies with gravity effects or setting them on fire with plasma.

Also, I found on this last go-round that the variety of races available is class-based. The test server I was on this last beta build has gotten stuffed with new players this weekend, so I’m wandering. I had thought there was just one simple set of four races, but it’s a set of four for each class, and they vary. It appears the Chiss Bounty Hunter is still an option (awesome). And the Miraluka was an option for the last Jedi Consular that I tried.

Still no playable Trandoshans that I can see, though.

Also on Alderaan…look out, it’s a Stray Nerf! Run for your lives!

Seriously, I could not help but laugh when I found the origin of the ‘scruffy nerf-herder’ line. Never mind that similar cow-ish beasts populate other worlds. This is the vaunted Nerf. Sadly, no one was herding it.

Well, enough for now. I expect maybe another WoW post or two, but it’s going to fade to black for me as I move on to SWTOR — at least for awhile. Maybe time to give the Smuggler a decent try and see if I like that more than the Jedi Consular, which has been interesting in either advanced version.

Here, have some pandas

So anyone who’s been paying any attention at all to this year’s Blizzcon knows. The ‘Mists of Pandaria’ trademark that Blizzard registered some time ago was not a joke, not a ruse designed to lead investigation astray. It’s actually the legit name of the next expansion.

It’s kind of amusing in retrospect to consider the articles I read before Blizzcon, the writers talking about how Blizzard needed to set the stage to take on the Old Republic MMO and whatever else, to prep some compelling content that would keep players interested for years to come.

So, we got pandas.

Well, Pandaren, and companion pet battles…

I understand there’s no going back now, and besides, they’re expanding into southeast Asia. Could not be a better time for an oriental themed xpac. For my part, though, this is the first time I’ve felt pleased about my decision to cancel my subscription a couple months ago. Now it’s like…oh, this is what I’m going to miss? Hey, great.

So in the next couple months I will maybe check out the armor transmogrification feature, if it arrives soon enough, and maybe I can suit up my DK in his original blue set from their starter zone. If not, no big deal. Never did get his legendary axe, but again, no big deal. He would be just as much at home in lumberjack attire, fishing on a salmon pool in Grizzly Hills. I’ll have to pick out a spot before long.

The Zen of Not Caring strikes again

After last night, I was expecting a bad day, and for awhile it definitely was. Things got better, though. There were at least a few people to talk to, and after that I had a surprise waiting for me in-game.

Although the Wreckies on the Garrosh server have a fairly set raid group, I continue to get the odd invite to tag along, and I knew I was in for it when I got summoned to the end boss of the Firelands…

Second time I’ve been to see this fellow, but this time it was post-nerf. Oh, now it’s on.

(…hours later…)

Last try of the evening, and down goes Frazier! Pity I didn’t think to get a screenshot! Not that there is much to see; Ragnaros just takes a dive and leaves a big chest. That and our skeletons from all the previous wipes. I understand that on heroic mode, it’s a bit more impressive. So, now I guess I’ve seen most all of the Firelands content, and I haven’t been trying. I didn’t even transfer over to the Wreck List with this in mind. I knew the best I’d do was an occasional substitute raid slot, but they’ve been good opportunities. Except for the loot; damn little of it has been useful, and I haven’t won any tier 12, like the helm drop this evening. Not that it matters. The DK does fine.

Next week, they’re looking to solidify their B team’s raid with my DPS. Strange. It’s like I belong, or something. It still doesn’t seem like enough to stick around for in the long run, but at least it’ll make the last few months of WoW a bit more fun. Deathwing’s raid I can take or leave.

Some unusual WoW business

So today, I was responding to a player abuse report I had submitted to Blizzard about a particularly nasty episode of Trade Chat. It directed me to log on through Battle net to view a typical form letter. I don’t know why they didn’t just email that form letter to me, but logging on got me thinking. So I cancelled my subscription while I was there.

Oh, nothing so grandiose; I switched banks this month, so my old info is obsolete. But I have not re-upped yet with the new bank. It’s just…odd, not knowing for sure if I will. I don’t have a compelling reason to do so right now. Maybe I will, between now and next January. If not, that’ll be it.

At least with the pre-paid time, I can go on playing till then. Although I wonder if they will throw some enticements my way or otherwise beg or harass me about it. Time will tell.