Tribe Heads into Throne of Thunder!

On March 5th, Patch 5.2 went live with the Throne of Thunder raid - tier 15. The new raid consists of an ICC (Icecrown Citadel) sized raid with 12 bosses and increased difficulty.

The Isle of Thunder zone was also released with the patch. IoT has a series of daily quests which unlocks in stages similar to and older Burning Crusade zone - Isle of Quel'Danas.

Our first week into Throne of Thunder and we defeated two bosses, Jin'rokh and Horridon.

Congratulations Tribe!

Rise of the Hutt Cartel Launches April 14

We’re thrilled to announce the launch date of Sunday, April 14, 2013, for the release of the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Introducing five new levels of gameplay and the vibrant new planet of Makeb, Rise of the Hutt Cartel will be available for download beginning April 14 or for players who qualify for Early Access*, beginning April 9. To start the download, simply log in to the game and click Play.
If you pre-ordered the game on or before January 7, 2013, your five days of Early Access starts Tuesday, April 9, 2013. At the same time, Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy will also go live, providing you with exciting new Level 55 content, Legacy Achievements, and more.

If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, it’s not too late to receive exclusive pre-order rewards**, including the Makrin Seedling Mini-Pet, the Dr. Oggurobb Hutt Holostatue, and a unique title, “Scourge of the Hutts”. This pre-order offer expires on April 13, 2013 at 4:00PM PDT / 11:00PM GMT, so don’t wait!

Check out the Making of Rise of the Hutt Cartel Part 2: Conflict on Makeb video to unravel the storyline behind the new planet Makeb.

To pre-order Rise of the Hutt Cartel, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/RiseoftheHuttCartel.

Stay connected to www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

ESO: Ask Us Anything: Combat 2

Will we be able to easily determine what type of armor (heavy, medium, light) that an enemy player character is wearing before we attack them? My guild intends to concentrate on sniping behind enemy lines, and we expect that armor will factor into our initial target selection. – By Jeff Bangle

Light armor, medium armor, and heavy armor all have distinctive looks. There are also many different types and levels of armor. For example, there are different levels of Orcish armor in light, medium, and heavy. Our goal is certainly to have you be able to tell what armor someone is wearing at a glance, but that’ll come more easily the longer you play because there are so many possible combinations.


If we use a weapon which needs projectiles, we will need to get more projectiles or are they unlimited? – By David BR

As of now, there is no ammo. You have unlimited projectiles.


While holding down the mouse button to perform a more powerful attack, how would that affect mobility? For example, could I run towards a target (wielding a sword), and hold down my mouse key to load up the sword swing to be released when I get close enough? Or would my character start walking or slow down when "loading" the attack? Vice versa, could I walk while holding my shield up? – By Grumbelbum

You can move while charging a heavy blow. Blocking consumes Stamina and you can only walk while blocking. So yes, you could begin charging a heavy attack with a sword while not in range of an enemy, move into range, and then hit the enemy with the attack when you release it.


You stated in your last Ask Us Anything that (essentially) weapons bring certain skills with them, but does your weapon of choice have any effect on your class skills?  For example, are the effects and range of class spells the same regardless of whether my character wields a dagger or a longbow? – By Chris Hansen

Class spells have a range independent from the weapon you have equipped. That said, it is a very good idea to keep your weapon range in mind when selecting what abilities you want to use on your shortcut bar.
 
Weapon abilities, on the other hand, can only be used while the appropriate weapon is equipped. You can slot them at any time, but they will be grayed out if you aren’t wielding the correct weapon. There may have been some question as to weapons determining the shortcut bar, but they do not. However, weapon swapping is set up in such a way that you have one shortcut bar for each of your two weapons (active and backup). The shortcut bars switch when you switch weapons, but again, you can populate either bar with any abilities you like.


I have always been a fan of sneaking, stabbing, and assassinating. Previously in The Elder Scrolls series, there was an indicator which told me if the enemy was aware that I was there, if they knew where I was and if they had no idea I was right behind them with the dagger going for their neck! How will you handle the sneaking system in The Elder Scrolls Online? – By Imba Taggen

This is handled in a very similar way to Skyrim. Your crosshairs change to an “eye” and it closes to show you if you are hidden. When it opens a bit, it shows that enemies are looking for you. If you melee attack an enemy from behind while successfully hidden, you get a bonus to that attack.
We also have disguises in the game. Disguises work by allowing you to put them on. This will make some normally hostile monsters neutral to you. You will see “disguised” instead of “hidden” on your crosshairs. Detection will be very similar.


I was wondering if there are perk trees to specific skills, like knowing beforehand what skills can be unlocked so you could prepare yourself (grinding for some XP). – By Mahamed Bashir

Once you have a skill, you can see every spell and passive that can be unlocked by mastering it.  However, you won’t have every skill on your character initially. For instance, there is a Mages Guild skill line. Until you join the Mages Guild, you cannot see the line or the abilities in it.


In most MMOs, the healers get left out of PvP rewards simply for lack of DPS. My question is: Does ESO follow suit or is a strict healer rewarded comparably to an equally skilled DPS character? Does a healer have a chance at becoming Emperor? – By Donald Kindy

While you can take on the role of the healer at any time, it is still important to mention that you could be a very effective healer and still have plenty of damage dealing available to you. For the sake of argument, let’s say you are “geared up” for healing. You can absolutely gain Alliance Points by healing your allies. And yes, you have a chance to become Emperor.


What I don’t like in some other games is that most abilities seem to just “do damage.” I like utility (Spell Reflection, Disarm, Intervene). On a damage:utility ratio, how would you say ESO fares? – By Jeremy Walton

The vast majority of abilities are focused on utility rather than damage, and the weapon light and heavy attacks “just do damage” when that’s what you need. There are a few spells that do bonus damage in specific situations, but for the most part, you’ll want to select abilities for their situational value.  This includes abilities like heals, spell reflection, casting a light source, stuns, intercepting attacks, summoning pets, and more.


I have never played an Elder Scrolls game before but I do enjoy playing MMO games with friends. Will I be able to play this game or will I be hopelessly lost because I have no "background" knowledge? – By Odd Thomas
Y
ou won’t need previous knowledge from the other Elder Scrolls games to play The Elder Scrolls Online. You should just be able to jump in and play.


Is an arrow to the knee a killing blow? – By Smittyj Ryan Smith

Only in Star Trek VI.


Will you be able to block with other weapons besides a shield? Does blocking block all damage or is it just damage reduction? Can ranged physical and magic spells be blocked? Thank you! – By Patrick

You will be able to block with all weapons, though a shield is the most effective. Blocking doesn’t block all damage and is far less effective if you are out of Stamina. Ranged physical attacks and spell projectiles can be mitigated with a block, but all other magic will go right through. You have the chance to interrupt some magic spells, though.


Having six usable abilities at any time is much less than virtually all other MMOs. How does ESO plan to keep combat engaging and reward skillful play with so few abilities? – By Christopher Trammell

Our shortcut bar is a tool more than a means to define our combat. Our combat is based more on what you’re seeing in the world and how you react to situations. Combat stays engaging because situations change, requiring you to think about what you are seeing in front of you. It is probably much easier to think of the combat from Oblivion and Skyrim than a more common MMO system.


I've found in the past that one of the “make or break” elements of an MMORPG is how they handle crowd control. What types of crowd control—like roots, snares, stuns, mesmerize—are you going to have in the game and how important will they be in both PvP and PvE scenarios? – By Shawn Skelton

Perhaps it is better to go into the philosophy behind crowd control. Yes, we will have crowd control: stuns, roots, snares, etc. However, we know it isn’t fun to be on the receiving end of these. Provided you have enough Stamina, you can usually get out of a CC situation and have temporary immunity after. But if you have been using your Stamina for other things, you may not be able to extricate yourself.


ESO has been talking about how it will have high density content in zones to keep players busy, but will there be any areas, such as the Alik'r Desert being a good candidate, that will purposefully be left more sparse to force exploration into the expansive unknown, containing hidden treasures for those who can brave the area long enough to discover them? I for one would love to travel out in one direction of that desert hoping to come across a hidden dungeon! – By James Brooks

Content really works better on cadences—some areas which have less content and some areas which have more. We will definitely have a good cadence in all of our zones, and exploration is something which benefits everyone.

Ask Us Anything: Combat

Would you please explain the soft locking system in detail? For example, how does it interact with dodge? Does it apply to melee attacks, or just ranged? During missile travel time, is it possible for another target to intervene between you and your existing soft lock target to take the attack? – By Matt Feisthammel

You must be facing your target to hit it. However, soft locking allows you to pick a target out of a crowd to hit. It is possible that your target could be behind another target. You would hit the target you had soft-locked, provided you were aiming at them. Another target could not step in the way of the soft-locked target to prevent you from hitting your soft-locked target. As for dodging? The target can execute a roll dodge or evasion move to avoid attack.

I know left click will be the main attacks ability but will there be "counter attack" abilities you can put on the hotbar that can only be used after a successful block with your shield or weapon? – By Jesse Perry

There certainly are attacks which work better when capitalizing on certain opponent states, for example, exploiting your opponent’s vulnerability after an interrupt. However, we don’t have attacks that wouldn’t work without that situation being true.

How important will the 'holy trinity' be in PvE endgame/raids? Will dedicated tanks and healers be required, or will lighter armored characters be able to utilize the dodge system well enough to serve as competent tanks? Will healers need to focus entirely on healing, or will a more offensive spellcaster be able to sustain his group via spot heals? – By Lynx

Let’s have some fun here. This is what one of our internal testers sent out on Wednesday, February 27th. This email is unedited other than removing the ending of the letter which would sound a little too self-congratulatory of the tester.

Yesterday in the lunchtime dungeon test, our group of four (all at level 12) included:
· 1 Templar with light armor and healing staff, abilities focusing on healing
· 1 Templar with light armor and dual wield, Templar abilities focusing on healing
· 1 Dragonknight with light armor and destruction staff
· 1 Sorcerer with heavy armor and dual wield
 

This was with no real consultation with each other while making characters, other than ensuring there was at least one healer. For the sake of the dungeon we really could have used a true tank (the closest we had was the sorcerer wearing heavy armor and using unstable familiar to get the monster’s attention, with no real “keep myself alive” abilities), but as a group we were (eventually) able to take down the Fungal Grotto bosses. More to the point, with four players making independent choices in abilities and gear, three of the four made builds that defied the standard templates – and yet felt perfectly viable in actual play. The players were each able to build a character to their own taste with class abilities as a supplement, rather than the rigid defining aspect to the character, and have effective characters.

So in summation, we’re pretty happy watching the progression system allow people to play the way they want in the groups they want to play in.

In the introduction video you say that you can start with PvP at an early level. Will you be able to level up through PvP? – By Jan Schuh

Yes, currently you can start leveling via PvP in Cyrodiil at level 10.

With so many people fighting in the world alone or with groups what will be done to stop people stealing kills and XP? – By Danny Blades

Put simply, there is no reason to steal kills. We grant XP to both people for killing, and we have a looting system which makes it so both parties benefit from kills.

I have a question about your targeting system for combat, from what I've heard there will be a soft targeting system. My question is: How does this system work in raids/large PvP groups for healers? Will healers have a hard time finding players, and keeping track of their group’s health? – By Jacob Avila

Soft-lock targeting doesn’t really affect healing because you don’t have to find your target to heal them. You don’t target allies. Most of our heals are area-of-effects (AoEs) or cone effects. To be effective, you might want to stay in the middle of your allies for AoEs or face them for cone effects. Healers will need to be aware of their environment of course, and pay attention to the battle.

I want to know how the different armor types will be balanced. Why shouldn’t just anyone wear heavy armor? With advantages will a warrior have wearing light armor? – By Oliver Sieger

Each armor type has a full progression line associated with it. If you advance down the light armor progression line, you are likely to get bonuses to spells, magicka regeneration, and the like. Medium armor skill lines give you more bonuses to stamina activities such as dodge, sneak, etc. Heavy armor skill lines give bonuses to received healing, bracing, etc. And, of course, armor can have magical properties beyond this, and you may wish to mix and match as you see fit.

Will everyone be able to use active dodging via WASD movement, or will that be an ability linked skill? – By Ken Tweddle

Everyone with enough stamina will be able to use it. It is linked to movement and is not an ability you slot on your bar though certain passive abilities may augment it.

I've always been a high-tier competitive player so the intricacies of the player versus player combat interaction is what interests me the most. From the perspective of one player fighting another, where would you say the skill cap evidences itself (i.e. what part of the combat system will we use to distinguish ourselves and surpass opponent's in combat)? – By Martin Schelasin

There is a huge amount of skill in how you have built your character:

• What abilities you have on your shortcut bar
• What consumables you have at your disposal
• How you allocated your health, magicka, and stamina points
• What armor and weapons you’re using
• Where you place your skill points

Once you are in combat, the big skill differentiators are:

• Using your spells at the right time so you don’t waste magicka
• Dodging or blocking at the right moment so you make your opponent waste his magicka
• Coordinating your healing and crowd control with your teammates
• Fighting near cover
• Recognizing when you need to swap to your alternate weapon
• Using area denial spells to defend choke points and break up formations
• …and more

A small, coordinated group can definitely take down a larger group with the right tactics, character builds, and execution.

How will the bow and arrow system work? Will it just be auto-aim and auto-shoot kind of thing or what? – By Gabriel Bera

Like any of our combat, you must aim at your target to hit them. Bows will have a charged attack, meaning they hit harder if you hold down the left mouse button longer.

You've stated that any class can use any weapon, but will different weapons have different abilities? For example, I plan to be a healing Templar character; will I have the same healing abilities with a greatsword than with a staff? – By Zalkar/Braeden Weibel

Yes, each weapon has a unique set of abilities that can be unlocked as your skill increases. For example, if you become an expert with Restoration Staff, you can use the ability “Grand Healing.” If you equip your greatsword, you would not be able to use that ability. Your Templar healing spell, however, can be used regardless of what type of weapon you have equipped. Finally, you can equip a back-up weapon and swap between the two in combat. So you can have one loadout with a restoration staff and healing abilities, and then swap mid-combat to a greatsword with damage abilities.

ESO Beta Test

The Elder Scrolls Online beta is approaching, and we have more details for you about the program, how it works, and when it starts. Read on for new beta information.

Our first invites are going out this month. We know many of you have questions about the program, so we’ve put together this article to give you some answers and help prepare you to beta test ESO. Thank you for all your enthusiasm about testing, and we look forward to seeing you in the game.

How do I sign up? 

 

If you haven’t signed up to beta test ESO yet, sign up now.

When does testing start?

 

We held our first small friends-and-family test on February 28th.  Invitations to the general public for the first round of beta events will be sent around the end of March. We’ll post notifications on our website and social media channels whenever we send a batch of invitations. When we do, check the  e-mail address you used to register for the beta. If you’ve been selected, you’ll receive an invitation with instructions.

What is a beta event?

 

In the beginning of the beta program, invitations will be for scheduled play sessions. This means that the game will only be available for play during specific times (provided in the invitation). Every beta event will have a clear focus; our developers will be looking for feedback on specific areas, features, or other gameplay elements.

How long are beta events and when are they held?

 

At first, beta events will generally be held on the weekends, and each test will have limited windows of access to the game. You’ll receive your invitation in advance so you can make time to participate. While there will only be a few events per month early on, they will be held more frequently as we approach launch. As we progress through testing, we’ll also begin scheduling longer tests that allow testers to provide more detailed feedback on topics like progression.

How many testers will be invited?

 

We’re starting with smaller groups of focused testers during March and April. However, as we approach launch, beta events will get bigger. Our AvA tests will likely require thousands of participants, and stress tests will be even larger!

How do you choose testers?

 

We’ll select testers based on different criteria for each beta event depending on our needs for that test. For instance, we may invite players who indicated a preference for a certain type of content (PvE, PvP, crafting) or who reside in a certain territory for particular events, and for others, computer specs may play an important role. We’re not only looking for one type of tester or only for testers with top-of-the-line PCs; a broad range will be selected.

What happens if I’m selected?

 

If you’re invited to test, you’ll receive an e-mail at the address you registered with for the beta. The invitation will include a download link for the game client. You should expect a download size of around 20GB, so it’s best to start downloading as soon as you receive your invitation.

Can I be invited to multiple beta events?

 

Yes, it’s possible to be selected for multiple beta events. However, an invitation to one beta event does not guarantee that you’ll be invited to additional events. When you receive an invitation, it will be for a specific beta event.

What kind of feedback will I be asked for?

 

Your invitation will contain information about the focus of the test you’ve been invited to, so make sure to read it! You’ll be asked to complete surveys and submit feedback and bugs in-game as you play, and you may be asked to participate in additional surveys once the in-game portion of the test has concluded. The beta forums will also be available for feedback and discussion.

How do I avoid beta scams?

 

As we ramp up for beta events, it’s likely you’ll see more attempts by scammers to trick you into sharing your personal information with them. We’ve seen many video, e-mail, and website scams pretending to offer access to The Elder Scrolls Online beta. Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself from scammers:

• Always check elderscrollsonline.com for official announcements. We will make official updates when we send invitations.
• Don’t click on links you aren’t sure about, whether they’re on a website or in an e-mail. Copy or type the URL in the address bar in your browser to be safe.

If you have any questions about an e-mail you’ve received or a site you think could be questionable, contact our Support Team and they’ll be happy to help.

Discuss this on the official ESO Facebook page.

Your Beta Questions Answered

 

The Elder Scrolls Online beta is approaching, and we have more details for you about the program, how it works, and when it starts. Read on for new beta information.

Our first invites are going out this month. We know many of you have questions about the program, so we’ve put together this article to give you some answers and help prepare you to beta test ESO. Thank you for all your enthusiasm about testing, and we look forward to seeing you in the game.

How do I sign up?

If you haven’t signed up to beta test ESO yet, sign up now.

When does testing start?

We held our first small friends-and-family test on February 28th.  Invitations to the general public for the first round of beta events will be sent around the end of March. We’ll post notifications on our website and social media channels whenever we send a batch of invitations. When we do, check the  e-mail address you used to register for the beta. If you’ve been selected, you’ll receive an invitation with instructions.
What is a beta event?

In the beginning of the beta program, invitations will be for scheduled play sessions. This means that the game will only be available for play during specific times (provided in the invitation). Every beta event will have a clear focus; our developers will be looking for feedback on specific areas, features, or other gameplay elements. 

How long are beta events and when are they held?

At first, beta events will generally be held on the weekends, and each test will have limited windows of access to the game. You’ll receive your invitation in advance so you can make time to participate. While there will only be a few events per month early on, they will be held more frequently as we approach launch. As we progress through testing, we’ll also begin scheduling longer tests that allow testers to provide more detailed feedback on topics like progression.
How many testers will be invited?
 

We’re starting with smaller groups of focused testers during March and April. However, as we approach launch, beta events will get bigger. Our AvA tests will likely require thousands of participants, and stress tests will be even larger!

How do you choose testers?
 

We’ll select testers based on different criteria for each beta event depending on our needs for that test. For instance, we may invite players who indicated a preference for a certain type of content (PvE, PvP, crafting) or who reside in a certain territory for particular events, and for others, computer specs may play an important role. We’re not only looking for one type of tester or only for testers with top-of-the-line PCs; a broad range will be selected.

What happens if I’m selected?

If you’re invited to test, you’ll receive an e-mail at the address you registered with for the beta. The invitation will include a download link for the game client. You should expect a download size of around 20GB, so it’s best to start downloading as soon as you receive your invitation.

Can I be invited to multiple beta events?

Yes, it’s possible to be selected for multiple beta events. However, an invitation to one beta event does not guarantee that you’ll be invited to additional events. When you receive an invitation, it will be for a specific beta event.

What kind of feedback will I be asked for?

Your invitation will contain information about the focus of the test you’ve been invited to, so make sure to read it! You’ll be asked to complete surveys and submit feedback and bugs in-game as you play, and you may be asked to participate in additional surveys once the in-game portion of the test has concluded. The beta forums will also be available for feedback and discussion.

How do I avoid beta scams?

As we ramp up for beta events, it’s likely you’ll see more attempts by scammers to trick you into sharing your personal information with them. We’ve seen many video, e-mail, and website scams pretending to offer access to The Elder Scrolls Online beta. Here are a few tips to help you protect yourself from scammers:

• Always check elderscrollsonline.com for official announcements. We will make official updates when we send invitations.
• Don’t click on links you aren’t sure about, whether they’re on a website or in an e-mail. Copy or type the URL in the address bar in your browser to be safe.

If you have any questions about an e-mail you’ve received or a site you think could be questionable, contact our Support Team and they’ll be happy to help.

Discuss this on the official ESO Facebook page.

Developer Blog: The Art of Makeb

So, now that you’ve read Charles’ blog on the story behind Makeb, you’re probably wondering about how we went about choosing the look of the planet. After completing the main storyline in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ and a few of the darker story events, the writers here at BioWare wanted to start fresh when it came to our first Digital Expansion. Makeb is our first new planet since launch and the artists couldn’t wait to get started. Guided by the imagination of our amazing writers, the concept team dove in to explore a number of visual directions.

Makeb is tucked away and off the beaten path, cosmically speaking. This exotic and affluent resort planet is known for its towering natural spires, highly appointed cliff-side homes, meticulously maintained gardens, and accented with marble statuary. When exploring the look for Makeb, the concept team was naturally drawn to the timeless beauty of the Mediterranean while combining the sleek elegance of Cloud City. These main visual cues and goals drove the team to create all new art assets for the entire planet. Nearly every environmental prop, building, rock, tree, and twisted piece of metal conduit was concepted and built exclusively for Makeb. Even our tech art team got into the action and created all new material shaders that improved the graphic quality of our waterfalls and environmental blending.

As the story for Makeb unfolded, it became clear that the planet’s main visual points of interest (POI) would be playing a major visual roll in defining the look. Many concepts for POI’s were created, discussed, tweaked, and changed. Once a design was approved, it went to modeling, texturing, and then placed in the world. One of the iconic POI’s for Makeb is the Gravity Hook space elevator. A number of these space elevators are scattered over the entire planet and used for surface to space transport of goods, supplies, and the rarest mineral in the galaxy, Isotope 5. When building out a Gravity Hook, our environment artists propped the area to resemble a bustling shipping station where workers, vendors, and travelers of Makeb could trade, shop, or take a trip to the space station at the other end of the line.

Much of the great wealth and prosperity of Makeb comes from the rich deposits of Isotope 5 located deep within the spires of this planet. When building the planet, the artists needed to show the lush and opulent side of a prospering city while also showing the results of the aggressive mining practices brought on by the Hutt Cartel since their occupation. The effects of careless mining, blasting, and exploitation that follow the Hutts can be seen on one of these mesas. When concepting and building The Mining Mesa, the artists definitely wanted to create a unique visual experience that was quite different than the lush and beautiful Makeb you are first introduced to. The Mining Mesa’s dry, barren, and rocky terrain is constantly being blasted from the massive mining spheres that float above this dig site. The environment team built out makeshift work sites constructed from modified cargo containers and tents. Scaffolding was placed to support massive rocks and the stone spires that dotted the landscape. The shattered rock and cracked mud textures in this mesa greatly contrast the lush grasses and moss found in the city mesas.

The damaging effects of the Hutt’s aggressive mining practices caused frequent and devastating quakes all over the planet. To visually communicate this, the environment team created a number of destroyed areas that had fallen victim to these seismic events.

On top of creating all new assets for Makeb, the art team also needed to create damaged and destroyed versions of many of these assets. While the planet of Makeb crumbles, the citizens have taken up arms against the oppressive occupation of the Hutt Cartel. The Hutt’s corrupt control over the Makeb Militia can be seen in the propping and check points that have been built over the entire planet. Our environment artists built out battlefields and war torn cityscapes using destroyed buildings, props, shattered tiled streets, fire and smoke effects. Every detail was hand placed and helps tell the greater story of this planet. The look of Makeb was driven by the story and crafted for game play. Many artists put long hours into creating Makeb and we hope you love this planet as much as we do.

Developer Update: Overview of the Planet Makeb

Hello everyone! I’m Charles Boyd, Lead Writer on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, here to shed a bit of light on how the BioWare Austin team initially conceived of the planet in the Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Known as Makeb, this world is an entirely new addition to the Star Wars™ galaxy, and we’re very excited for you to experience it in the Digital Expansion!

When our team sets out to add a new planet to The Old Republic, we always start by examining things from the player perspective. What sort of environment can we create that will feel new and unique? How can we give players a new or different view of the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire and its effects on the galaxy? What kind of themes can we explore that we haven’t seen before?

Disaster World

Early on, we seized on the idea of a beautiful planet that’s being ravaged by ecological disasters. A place that would normally seem serene and welcoming, transformed into an environment that feels like it could fall out from under you at any second. With that goal in mind, we designed the entire planet to support the “disaster world” experience.

All of Makeb’s livable space is located on top of massive, towering stone mesas. This gives it a unique geography compared to our existing planets and provides for some breathtaking views, but it also begins to feel very precarious when a series of devastating “groundquakes” begin to strike. These beautiful stone mesas start to feel like death traps, constantly on the verge of collapsing into the seemingly-bottomless mists below. Entire cities are split in half, with massive fault lines torn directly across streets and through buildings.
But of course, having an entire world that seems bent on destroying the player isn’t nearly enough of a challenge…

Hutt Hostilities

When the writers discussed who the Players’ direct opposition should be on Makeb, the choice was unanimous: we all wanted to fight the Hutts. The increasing aggression of the Hutt Cartel was introduced in our Game Update (Operation: Karagga’s Palace Part II), and we wanted to bring that looming conflict to the forefront on Makeb and give players a chance to face-off with the Cartel once and for all.

The Hutts give us an opportunity to reinforce just how fragile the balance of power has become due to the ongoing war between the Republic and the Empire. The entire galaxy seems like it’s up for grabs at this point, and it was only a matter of time before a wealthy and powerful entity like the Hutts decided to make their own bid for control.

So, why has the Cartel decided to start their rise to power by seizing control of Makeb? That’d be giving too much away…

Ascendance and Resurgence

The situation on Makeb sees the Republic and the Empire exploring some new ground as well. For the first time in decades, the Republic is in a position of superiority. Their forces are finally pushing the Empire back. The writing team was eager to explore how this newly advantageous position might affect the Republic’s decision-making. Their leaders would obviously be eager to keep the momentum going and drive toward ultimate victory, so Makeb’s request for aid presents a quandary. While it’s obviously important to stop the Hutts before they can become more of a threat than they already are, it’s also important not to lose sight of the big picture. Can the people of Makeb make up for the risk that their rescue presents to the outcome of the entire war? How are the Republic’s values tested when they’re the ones in the lead?

Obviously, this leaves the Empire in the opposite position. There are very few living Imperials who are accustomed to failure, and exploring how this society might adjust in order to survive their embattled situation was something the writers really enjoyed. But while things certainly aren’t easy in Imperial space, they shouldn’t be counted out yet. The Imperials have learned exactly why the Hutts are making their play on Makeb, and if their forces can move with enough speed and guile, the Empire may be able to seize that same opportunity for themselves.

More to Come!

We’ll be pulling back the curtains on Makeb even more in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned, and thanks for reading! On behalf of everyone involved in developing this strange new world, we hope you all enjoy exploring it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Charles Boyd

Star Wars: The Old Republic Lead Writer

Base Head Model

Greetings Citizens,

"Bring me the head of John Q. Citizen! We’re starting off a busy week here at Cloud Imperium Games with a little teaser: the first shot of one of Star Citizen’s character models, currently being developed by artist Mark Skelton. This is our base head for the male character, which will be used as the starting point for our avatar customization system. We will use it to determine the base proportions for the character skeleton and rigging for animation.

It currently does not have any of the additional hair or facial customization options applied that will be in the available in the final customization system, and may be modified as production continues on the characters. 

This is the model you’ll see in the finished game, although it isn’t being rendered through the CryEngine yet. From here, we will build out a more robust and diverse set of character customization features. In the final version, you will be able to customize your character’s appearance, from facial features and gender to clothing and gear – this is only a very small taste of what’s to come! Check back later in the week, where you’ll see more of this man, including his textured body!"

WoW's 5.2 Thunder King goes Live!

 

Patch 5.2: The Thunder King is now live! Lei Shen has consolidated his power on the Isle of Thunder, and if he’s not dislodged, his reborn army will threaten all of Pandaria. But the return of the Thunder King is good news for you, because it means that new challenges and triumphs await in our latest major content update. A massive new zone, a new raid, server-wide events surrounding the siege on the Isle of Thunder, new factions, world bosses . . . and more. Brace yourself for the storm.

The Thunder King

It has been written that when the great Lei Shen first looked upon the lands of the mantid, he did not feel fear, but inspiration.

As he began to unify his people under a single banner and subjugate the other races of Pandaria, he knew that the mantid would never succumb to his authority. They spoke his language, the language of strength. He commanded his slaves to construct the Serpent's Spine, a magnificent wall that spanned the length of the empire.

It would take many generations to build. But Lei Shen knew how to motivate his subjects. Fear. Fear of the mantid moved mountains, raised armies, secured his empire, and built his wall.

Read all the Patch notes here.

Crafting Interdependence

One of the major aspects of the game we often espouse is a heavily player driven economy to fuel and drive the game versus a heavy emphasis on end-game raiding. Our team is working diligently to create the recipes for the many skill lines, and today we wanted to take a closer look at the interdependence created from the many recipes, skills, and ingredients that will be available. What is interdependence exactly or how do we define it? In many other MMOs you might have some reliance on gathering for crafting, but the design is simple; you either collect the raw materials or purchase them, and then you craft everything yourself. We have a system in place that at times goes 4-5 layers deep with a wide variety of recipes and skills used to create the components that would go into what we call an “end product” such as a Fitting.

This might sound a little excessive at first, and when you see our flowchart for a single fitting it certainly seems like a lot, but crafting is one of the core components of our system and building interdependence will ensure that players have to work together to create the best products in the game. It can be as a solo crafter working through the auction system, shops, or work order system (reverse auction) to purchase the ingredients and agents needed. Alternatively, it can also be with a few friends or new online friends to work together as a group or as a large group feeding the needs of their nation who in return supply them materials and other resources. Materials are gathered through harvesting; whether it is from an ore mine or a defeated creature all the raw materials harvested are useful to one trade or another.

This gives all crafters a specific role to fill since, although crafting an end product like fittings might be a lucrative business, crafting the subcomponents required to make those end products can be equally lucrative. The interdependence of the crafting skills ensures that each skill can be a great source of income. We also have crafting options available for the gatherers in the system as most of the “raw” collected resources will need to be refined before they can be used by crafters. In the case of fittings, this is a very important step of the process as the refined materials determine the available attributes for the fitting to utilize.

As mentioned a few times before, since we have no levels there is no artificial limit in place to stop brand new players from building up their crafting skill and recipes. If you can acquire the materials, through gathering them yourself or purchasing them, you can create anything you have enough skill to create. We have both a grading and a progression system with recipes. The grading system will allow crafters to learn higher quality recipes than other crafters who are just beginning a crafting skill, and the progression system will gradually increase the quality of frequently crafted items.This will help to build up demand for highly skilled crafters and the high grade materials that they will need to craft the best products in the game. Mix that with some special rare drops and a robust recipe system that easily changes the outcome with a simple ingredient change, and you have the ability to provide even more high quality and scarce results. Finally, the crafting attribute system wraps this process up by adding flexibility to stats for fittings and allowing us to wrap other systems around these attributes for other recipes not involving fittings.

Here is an example of a mostly finished recipe set out in a flowchart. This is one of the most complex items in the game, so it will serve as a premiere example of how interdependency works. Remember, recipe mastery, resource quality, sub-component quality, skill level and luck will all play into the quality of the end product. You will not be making '+3 iron dagger' just like the 47 thousand others just like it on the auction house. You will be making the best item you possibly can, using material that you, or other dedicated crafters, have gathered and created. In this example the “Dodge” stat would be the primary one and, depending on the attributes granted by the refined bar, will contain other stats that will be considered secondary and tertiary. We hope you enjoyed this look into crafting interdependence and encourage you to keep an eye out for a new crafting oriented video before PAX East showing how crafting is shaping up for Beta. Click to enlarge picture.