Posted by Lethality | 8 Comments

PAX 2011: A Conversation With Gabe Amatangelo

One of the highlights of running a fan site is going to all of these conventions and having the privilege to be able to interview some of the developers, designers, writers and artists that are working on our favorite upcoming game.

During PAX last weekend, I was excited to have a chance to speak with Lead End-game Designer Gabe Amatangelo. While I first met Gabe at the Fan Site Summit in April, we never had a chance to do a one-on-one interview with him.

I sat down with Gabe to talk about some end-game Operation topics, as well as some reader-submitted questions. The interview went great, Gabe was able to provide some answers, and I left the booth happy, headed off to the hotel room to edit some video!

And then it happened.

I discovered that I had not one but TWO equipment malfunctions! Not only did the video camera shut off about halfway through, the lapel mic that Gabe was using wasn’t ever turned on! So, without any of that backup, I can only recall parts of our conversation from memory.

But that’s ok, because some of them really stick out, and I feel are some important points of clarification! Read on for a quick recap of my conversation with Gabe…

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Posted by Lethality | 3 Comments

gamescom 2011: Gabe Amatangelo Interview

The-Force.eu was able to corral BioWare’s Lead End-game Designer on Star Wars: The Old  Republic Gabe Amatangelo to ask him a few questions during gamescom last week.

Gabe talks about operations and even Crew Skills during the piece. Again, it’s a must-watch for the TOR faithful!

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Posted by ReDDoT | 34 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: What Do You Think Of The Loot Container System?

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!

At this point, we know that Star Wars: The Old Republic will have raiding (known in TOR as Operations), which of course is an MMO end-game staple. But what will keep Operations interesting? Running with your guild mates? For sure. The challenges thrown at you? Most definitely. The story line that will grasp everyone? Very possible.

But perhaps the most appealing aspect of a raid to an MMO player is the idea of acquiring that new piece of gear – the loot. It keeps players coming back hunting for more gear to start or complete their sets. Some gear can be so unique and hard to get that it is exclusive to only a few players on a server.

And to make all of this looting fun rather than a chore, you need a fair system for loot distribution. It needs to be flexible enough to allow guilds to implement their own rules, while allowing all players present to have a chance at getting something from  participating. A few days ago, Stephen Reid gave us some preliminary details on the “loot container” system that is currently being tested. Here’s the quote:

As it’s currently implemented, at the end of a key encounter within an Operation, upon looting a high-level opponent, everyone in the Operations group will get an individual container which has a chance to give you a random piece of loot that’s specific to your class. It could be part of an armor set, a weapon, and so on. If you don’t get loot, you’ll get commendations which can be used to purchase gear.

From this, we can see that everyone will walk out at least somewhat happy after completing a high-level encounter in an Operation. Of course, some will be more lucky as they might get a piece of a gear, but everyone will have a reward of some sort. In my opinion, this is a great change that will attract even more players to participate in Operations. They know they won’t leave empty-handed.

So what do you think? Is this a new, innovating idea? Or is it essentially the same old thing wrapped up in a new box? Will this solve loot disputes? Let us know your thoughts!

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Posted by ReDDoT | 13 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: What Is Your Ideal Raid Size?

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!

When a player goes through their class story in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and finally reaches the level cap, he will reach the end-game. While we don’t know BioWare’s exact plan yet, this end-game content is crucial for any MMO, as that’s normally what progression is based around, and what keeps players coming back for more. In many MMOs, this end-game content takes the form of large groups known as raids.

Among the huge variety of MMO games out there, each stands with its own specifics in regards to how many players make up a “raid” group. For example, World of Warcraft’s first raid – Molten Core – was originally a 40-man raid. Today, World of Warcraft’s largest raid size is 25 players. Most current MMO games have raid content that accommodates group sizes of about 20 people.

So far, we know that TOR’s raids will be called Operations. We even have a trailer for one of the operations, titled the Eternity Vault. And just recently we found out from a german GameStar magazine, that interviewed BioWare’s Gabe Amatangelo, that all raids will come in 8 and 16-man sizes, with different difficulty settings per size. This news immediately sparked a large debate on the official forums and is still quite heated. Of course, any news will do that. :)

Personally, I think an 8-man raid is a perfect size. It allows the groups to be organized much quicker, requires a reasonable amount of people, while still keeping the functional organization and coordination at a challenging level. I went through 40-man raids, 25-man raids and many others – and I believe that the ideal size of a group hovers between 8 and 18 people, luckily, TOR seems to be just in that range, so big thumbs up to BioWare from my end.

What about you though? Are you happy with the 8 and 16-man raid size? What’s the ideal raid size for you? Let us know!

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Posted by Lethality | 16 Comments

GameStar.de Talks Operations With Gabe Amatangelo w/ Screenshots

It seems German magazine GameStar.de was able to score an exclusive interview with BioWare’s Gabe Amatangelo to discuss Operations, which is BioWare’s take on raiding in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The September issue which is out now would seem to be a perfect lead-up to gamescom, which happens in Cologne, Germany next month. Perhaps we’ll get more details on Operations there? Time will tell!

For now, you can find more information in a thread on the official forums started by user Cebo, who also posts some scans of the article’s pages! He was able to provide a partial translation that confirms both 8- and 16-man raid sizes.

There seems to be a furious effort underway to get it all translated, so if you can help out, hop on over!

Some items of note coming out of the thread:

• 8- and 16-man raid sizes
• Different difficulty settings per size
• Loot commensurate to difficulty
• Badges to purchase items
• “Loot bags” – each player receives from boss
• Area control and capture the flag style Warzones
• 4 and 8 player warzones (per faction)
• Open world PvP objectives confirmed
• Possibility for armored combat vehicles (even though Daniel Erickson told us no)

Stephen Reid comment on Loot Bags:

‘Loot containers’ (name is still a work in progress!) do indeed exist and are designed to alleviate the frustration some feel around high-level loot drops.

As it’s currently implemented, at the end of a key encounter within an Operation, upon looting a high-level opponent, everyone in the Operations group will get an individual container which has a chance to give you a random piece of loot that’s specific to your class. It could be part of an armor set, a weapon, and so on. If you don’t get loot, you’ll get commendations which can be used to purchase gear.

Please note, this feature is currently in Game Testing and may well be modified before launch.

[UPDATE] New screenshots added below. Molten Core confirmed!

 

 

 

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