Posted by Lethality in News | 4 Comments
Friday Update: Companion-palooza – Developer Dispatch + William Wallace Dev Blog
It’s a good week if you’re a fan of companions!
Yesterday, GameSpot gave us a sneak preview at part of today’s Friday Update in the form of a brand-new Developer Dispatch video. The video takes is through the importance of companions in Star Wars: The Old Republic and goes into some detail about their abilities and customization as well.
Many BioWare devs make an appearance including James Ohlen, Daniel Erickson, Jeff Dobson and forum super-hero Georg Zoeller. It is of course a must-watch for any fans reading these words.
Today, BioWare capped off the the Friday Update with a new Developer Blog from the legendary William Wallace, Senior Game Designer at BioWare. It’s been a while since we heard from Mr. Wallace, but he does not disappoint.
We get a sneak peak at Mako and Khem Val appearance and armor progression, which shows off some of the customization that was first disclosed during San Diego Comic Con.
Mako Apperance Variations
Khem Val Appearance and Armor Progression
Further, Wallace goes on to take us through the experience evolution of Corso Riggs, the first companion you come across when playing the Smuggler class. He takes a dive into how the abilities of the companions come into play and grow over the course of leveling and teases us with companion AI as the topic of his next blog:
William Wallace: We believe with these recent updates to companion abilities, we add another dimension to companion characters, really making them come alive in combat as well as conversations. In my next blog, I’ll explain how companion AI works, as well as giving more details on their roles in a group.
There are also some great video examples embedded in the page, so be sure to head over to the new Developer Blog to check ’em out!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I have always loved companions characters in BW games so I am glad they are fleshing them out. Without these changes I think they would have just been another fire and forget pet as in WoW in regards to combat.
Original Mako is still the cutest :p
I like Khem Val and Bioware’s creative use of the loin cloth – I think the transition from loin cloth to loin plate might be the most interesting evidence of evolutionary (and fashion-ary) dead-ends since Mad Max and chaps that don’t cover the rear.
Lots of great customization difference for the Mako. If only the Khem Val were as customizable!