Nov 5, 2011

Posted by | 27 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Are You Afraid Of PUGs?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

Everyone has phobias. There’s all kinds of them… fear of heights, spiders, clowns and so on. If it exists, there is probably someone out there terrified of it. In the world of MMOs we have our own kind of phobia. Fear of the pick-up group, otherwise known as a PUG.

For those unfamiliar, PUGs are when a group of people, who usually don’t know each other, group up to complete a certain objective or mission. While these people say they’ll be able to adequately fill certain roles, you usually don’t know what you’re getting into until it’s too late.

And that’s where the hysteria can set in. In PUGs, you only know what you as a player can bring to the group. You don’t know if the tank knows what they’re doing, if the healer understands what the finer points or if the DPS can actually pay attention and not stand in the stupid. All you’re going on is luck. They’re not friends, or guild-mates that you’ve run things with before. It’s really a shot in the dark.

If you can’t tell so far, I’m terrified of PUGs. It mainly comes from years of healing in WoW, especially when dual specialization was added. You would go into a heroic dungeon blindly, not knowing if you had someone who felt like trying something new. For example, a rogue who felt he was up for some tanking. Ever had that happen? Talk about a headache.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare is going to great lengths to give the classes flexibility in their roles, and depending on the design of the encounters, this could be a blessing or a curse – making the PUG all that much more viable. Or suicidal.

But would you say you have PUGaphobia? Do you absolutely avoid PUGs at all cost? Or do you enjoy throwing caution to the wind and see what happens?

Are you afraid of PUGs?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Read More
Nov 4, 2011

Posted by | 14 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Are You A Screenshot Junkie?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

One of the coolest things about MMO games are the worlds they take place in, and many of us like to consider ourselves digital photographers in those worlds. Players like to take screen-shots for various reasons, ranging from the desire to capture something spectacular, or simply to document something a friend says for later “use.” Regardless, taking a screen grab brings out the photographer in all of us.

If you haven’t caught on by now, I would fit in the category of “screenshot junkie.” I’m always looking for something cool, or breathtaking to snap a picture of. I was the one in past guilds  who took the picture after a guild event, like the first kill of a long-hunted raid boss. I have pictures littered across computers and image hosting sites. I’ve lost pictures I forgot about and stumbled across them later only to be reminded of the story behind them. Just like real photographs!

I’m curious to see if BioWare will do anything to show off pictures that come from the players. Will they do something similar to what Blizzard does and have a gallery and label one picture as, “Screen-shot of the Day”? Maybe they’ll ask for submissions and an occasional Fan Friday will highlight screen-shots. Some games even have a way to take screenshots in game and publish them directly to Twitter or the web!

Would you call yourself a screenshot junkie, or not? Possibly you’ve never considered yourself one, but do take the occasional snapshot. Maybe just prefer to look at the works of others.As a matter of fact, if you’ve got one somewhere on the web you’d like to share, drop a link in the comments! (Editor’s Note: I can tell you the all-new AAJ coming soon will have a gallery for players to show off their best shots!)

Are you a screenshot junkie?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Internet Dragon

Read More
Nov 3, 2011

Posted by | 8 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Are You A Star Wars Lore Nerd?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

I have a confession to make. I know very little in regards to the history of the Star Wars universe. My knowledge for the most part was limited nearly exclusively to the movies. I didn’t check out any books, comics, or anything of the like. So to me, it was like none of that existed.

Was I in for a rude pleasant awakening. Since I became focused on Star Wars: The Old Republic, I have put my self through a virtual crash course on Star Wars. Let’s just say, I’ve stepped my game up.

Notably, I’ve read books the recent books in the Star Wars: The Old Republic series like, “Decieved,” and “Fatal Alliance.” Additionally, I’ve had my hands on the Darth Bane trilogy, and now the Thrawn series. I’ll be adding “Revan,” to that list when it comes out in just a few weeks.

But, even with expanding my knowledge as I have, I feel I’m still behind the curve. If you move through the chaos that is the Official Forums, you’ll see there are people who know their stuff. Our very own Professor Walsh can hang with the best of them, having read every single Star Wars novel but two.

So why would I want to do something like this? Well, when it comes down to it, it turns out I’m a lore junkie. I like finding out the odds-and ends-on a particular subject. You never know it may come in hand, to fill in a blank. People have their own reasons why they do it, that’s just mine.

How about you? Would you call yourself a lore buff, or not? Is the backstory to the game world you’re playing in even important to you? Has following TOR made you more interested?

Are you into Star Wars lore?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Read More
Nov 2, 2011

Posted by | 88 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Is There A Need For Dual-Specialization?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

In a momentary lapse of reason, it seems that somehow we’ve never run a Blue Milk & Cereal on this topic. It’s one of the most heated in the TOR community (though I’m not sure why.) So let’s do it BM&C style!

One of the core principles behind a class-based character system is that different gameplay styles and combat roles can be represented through them. Since the dawn of (RPG) time, a wizard was a magic user and a warrior was a swords’n’boards type of character. And let’s not forget my personal favorite, the wily rogue who stalks his victims from the shadows! These archetypes have been extended over the years to provide variety but the core concept remained: different classes exist to have different roles.

In recent years however, designers have begun to build more flexibility into classes to allow players to potentially take on more than one role, although not necessarily simultaneously. To do this, you’d have to go visit a trainer in a city somewhere in order to “retrain” into another specialization which could let you perform another role.

In typical “give an inch, take a mile” fashion however, gamers started to complaint that it was too annoying to visit a trainer every time they wanted to re-spec, so the concept of “dual-specialization” was born. Simply, it allows you to store 2 different sets of skills/talents which you can switch between out in the wild (though not while in combat.) It’s definitely more efficient this way, but is it right for the game?

On the one hand, if they’re going to allow you to change your spec at all, then why not make it as easy as possible? On the other, it makes sense to have some kind of time cost, at least, to do this to help preserve the integrity of the classes themselves.

As far as Star Wars: The Old Republic goes, BioWare originally took the stance that it wasn’t needed and had no plans to implement it. Since then, they’ve flip-flopped on the issue stating that it’s something they want to have in the game.

Making it even more complex is the way that TOR handles Advanced Classes, which are essentially the “true” combat classes, each with their own set of specializations. They’ve said that you can switch your Advanced Class, but it will be a total bitch to do so. So common sense tells us that if there is dual-spec, you won’t be able to save a spec from your other Advanced Class. But back to the give an inch, take a mile syndrome – how long before that happens?

On the surface, dual-spec looks like a nice quality of life feature. But I encourage you to think about what it really does to the overall foundation of a class-based system.

So, what are your thoughts on the matter as it relates to TOR, or even MMORPGs in general? Should there be limits, and if so what? Fire away!

Should TOR have dual-spec available?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Read More
Nov 1, 2011

Posted by | 14 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Should All Classes Be Able To Fill All Trinity Roles?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

One thing that’s always guided me towards my class of choice is what combat roles I could fill with it. I like options, and the more options you give me, the happier I am. In World of Warcraft I primarily played a Paladin and a Druid. With just a quick change in talents, I could go from healer to tank, or ranged to melee DPS. I didn’t like being tied to one role, and with these hybrids I didn’t have to be.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is taking it a step further. For the most part, (save high-end content) nearly every class will be able to fill more than one role ably. This allows the player to play what they want to play, and not roll an entire character for a specific for a role. Going back to the age-old MMO adage, take the player, not the class.

So the question is, do we want all the classes to be able to do everything? It might sound nice on paper, but doesn’t seem logical. Think of it this way: would you expect Darth Vader, knowing the kind of character he is, to heal you? Can you envision Han Solo tanking a Rancor while you shoot it in the ankles?

Where do you stand? Do you think all classes should be able to fill all three trinity roles? Or is it best to stick to the idea that classes have specific combat roles?

Should all classes be able to fill all 3 trinity roles?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Read More