SWTOR

[luckton]

Troopers get a healing GRENADE.

IA's get a healing 'probe' 

[tmp]

Does the game allow to create clearly underage twi'leks for my the agent to probe heal?

[Fordel]

Only boy ones.

[Paelos]

Yes, but before meters I could just tell them to STFU and do their job. Now, I get spreadsheets telling me why I am wrong for having this person involved.

Wait, wait wait.

You're a fucking accountant.  You should LOVE that shit.

I bet your home server is fucking 95% Excel.

I know! I'm shocked as well that I don't want to do exactly what I do for a living in a game.

[Mrbloodworth]

Not sure why recover password is taking so long.

[luckton]

Not sure why recover password is taking so long.

I did the same thing earlier, but never got an email.  I was able to login a little bit ago though without having to change my password.  I would suggest trying again, unless you legitimately forgot your PW 

[tmp]

Only boy ones.

I suppose this is where the change of initial plans and agent Robinson come in.

[Zetor]

Troopers get a healing GRENADE.

Bounty hunters get a healing MISSILE.

(yeah yeah I know that the two abilities are identical mechanics-wise)

[Sky]

Still waiting for my "official start time" email.

I find the staggered start time thing more than slightly absurd. Color me jaded on the Bioware empire. Do they really need to simulate this? Are they afraid the metal in their hardware gear isn't solid enough? It's not like it's been a dragon's age since the last beta weekend. And it's not like they can't use the evidence in hand and make a highly educated guess/plan for the mass effect of adding new testers.

Howzat for a useless thread bump?

3/10

Looks like the problems with the website for the (not) open beta are putting the systems to a proper stress test. And yeah, I bet they're doing the staggering this weekend to get a real-world simulation of the staggered launch. Doesn't hurt to run the actual hardware through the real cycle before you're dealing with paying customers.

[Bunk]

But you do need some kind of level on gear for the dungeon finder. EQ2 didn't have that when their LFD launched and it was a disaster because you had people with completely inadequate gear being put into tanking roles and that sort of thing. (Along with a dozen other complete failures in the tool like assuming all tank capable classes were tanks--no clue if they ever fixed it.)

So essentially you are saying that gear in WoW reached the point that it was effectively just an alternative to increasing the level cap. Get to level 80 then grind your way through the next 20 levels of Gearscore. So some Raids were essentially level 80 and others were level 80 + Tier 3 gear.

Problem with this mechanic being that actual character power level becomes ridiculously hard to judge past the level cap without using addons to scan every piece of gear someone has equipped.

I guess I knew this was the case, but never really thought about it.

I wore whatever gear looked coolest. *shrug*

[Viin]

Yes, the endgame is basically Diablo in disguise.

[DraconianOne]

I wore whatever gear looked coolest. *shrug*

No jeans, no trainers.

If your name's not on the list then you can't come in.

[Wolf]

a guildie got confirmation mails that he's accepted to the friday test. On three accounts. Yeah, yeah, he's an asshole, at least I get to get in on friday for sure 

[Sobelius]

Yes, the endgame is basically Diablo in disguise.

Makes an argument for level progression = increasing breadth of skill choices rather than incremental stat bumping. I've barely played any GW but I think that is/was their design -- always have 8 skills but higher level means broader range of choices for those 8?

I saw SWTORs skill trees and sighed. Not a selling point for me. (If there have to be skill trees, RIFT's soul system is my preference.)

[Rokal]

I found that DDO had some hard content for small groups -- and not hard because you chose a higher level dungeon than your party. There were a number of dungeons that required multiple party members to have decent environment jumping skills, or coordination in opening/moving doors at the right time, or even just navigating multi-level ramps and twisty interior spaces ("The Pit" being the most notorious such dungeon). Even dungeons that "split the party" and forced them to fight their way back together.

I also really liked being able to block attacks in real time, and use a shield to prevent enemy missiles fire from hitting my party's wizard while the wizard tried to get close enough to charm the undead archers (yay for little pink hats floating over the undead!).  Or the requirement in some dungeons to have to jump and catch a ledge, then move sideways along the ledge, to get past an obstacle.  Yes, this kind of stuff has been around in 3-D adventure games forever,  but I don't see many MMOs supporting it. Perhaps too many casual players find it too hard to maneuver a toon in 3-D space?

Speaking of DDO's active combat, this is where I think SWTOR is really a missed opportunity. The combat is identical to WoW's, and it really feels off-putting for a Star Wars game in 2011. Playing a trooper during the last beta weekend I kept wondering "why am I tab-targeting and playing with action bars when I should just be aiming and shooting". Ranged combat in DDO is how SWTOR ranged combat should be play. Borderlands came out two years ago and it seemed so obvious that it's where MMOs were going. And yet here we are, with another MMO where you click on an enemy to target them, stand still, and then press 1-5 on your keyboard every couple seconds to attack them.

I've been playing a ton of DDO lately, to the point where I haven't logged into Rift in over a week despite a big patch with tons of stuff to do. It's hard to get excited about an MMO where combat (what you're doing for 95% of the game) feels so stale. Rift and WoW both share the same boring combat, but somehow in my mind it's not as egregious because they're fantasy games where I spend more time casting spells than shooting guns, and they don't attempt to feel futuristic.

I also really like the Mario levels in DDO, but I know I'm the minority there. Weird puzzle quests like Tomb of the Tormented and platforming levels like Spies in the House show me things I haven't already done 300 times in an MMO, and I really enjoy them.

Edit: To clarify, the 'missed opportunity' is that the game probably would have felt much more refreshing, and maybe had a longer hook for jaded MMO games and non-MMO gamers alike, if the combat felt like a step forward rather than a rehash.

[Sjofn]

There does not seem to be a "log in" button on their website any more for me.

[Mrbloodworth]

I was just going to post that.

Apparently logging into the client tells me: "This account requires activation steps to access the game. Finalize verification for this account" where account is a link to sign in.

Is this the prompt to do the security questions.

[taolurker]

The login page now says page not found... LOL

Bioware HQ: We can stop people from getting into the beta by keeping them from logging into our webpage! GENIUS!

[Fordel]

No Sjofn's allowed.

[Mrbloodworth]

I wonder if its a reaction to the load. How many copies did this sell anyway?

[Morfiend]

They remove the login button when their site is under super heavy crushing load. Like it is right now.

[murdoc]

Still waiting for my "official start time" email.

I find the staggered start time thing more than slightly absurd. Color me jaded on the Bioware empire. Do they really need to simulate this? Are they afraid the metal in their hardware gear isn't solid enough? It's not like it's been a dragon's age since the last beta weekend. And it's not like they can't use the evidence in hand and make a highly educated guess/plan for the mass effect of adding new testers.

Howzat for a useless thread bump?

Just got my "official start time" email.

[Pezzle]

I never used the healing bullets thing as a Commando.  I also specced out of the Kolto Grenade.

Last night I was forced to use an ability I NEVER use, which was interesting.  You have to use it or lose the fight.  Silly Sages.  


Shit like gearscore gets me into fights with group members.  Not interested in your spreadsheets, thanks.  Also, wtf?  Why do you need this stupid mod shit for 4 man groups?  Yeah, you can form raids but they are pretty damn rare.  Go ahead and fight your 500k HP world boss and get 2 drops for 16 people.  That stuff is all PUG right now and who wants to fight that level of loot retardation.  

[Jherad]

You’ll be able to begin testing Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ very soon! Your test begins:

Friday, Nov. 25 at 10:00AM CST


Of course, I'll be at the in-law's eating turkey. 

[VainEldritch]

I wonder if its a reaction to the load. How many copies did this sell anyway?

If you have an EA Origin account, change your PW there  - it takes about 30 seconds and since they merged it with your SWTOR PW all will be good. I tried three times to reset my PW through SWTOR.com and every time they failed to send the reset E-mail and I used Origin.

They have a made great game but their login is a fucking mess. They'd better sort this shit out before launch or the forums will be apoplectic with rage.

Nothing creates a bad impression and leads to closed wallets faster than an ugly front end. Just ask a ten dollar whore.

[Mrbloodworth]

I wonder if its a reaction to the load. How many copies did this sell anyway?

If you have an EA Origin account, change your PW there  - it takes about 30 seconds and since they merged it with your SWTOR PW all will be good. I tried three times to reset my PW through SWTOR.com and every time they failed to send the reset E-mail and I used Origin.

They have a made great game but their login is a fucking mess. They'd better sort this shit out before launch or the forums will be apoplectic with rage.

Nothing creates a bad impression and leads to closed wallets faster than an ugly front end. Just ask a ten dollar whore.

So close. I changed it, and i get the same line. I guess its because I never set up security questions.

[Sobelius]

They have a made great game but their login is a fucking mess. They'd better sort this shit out before launch or the forums will be apoplectic with rage.
Nothing creates a bad impression and leads to closed wallets faster than an ugly front end. Just ask a ten dollar whore.

ROFL -- and I agree. The security checks/changes/lockdown are understandable given the Steam forum hack, but why didn't they just do an authentication app in advance of release? Maybe they will...?

[Sky]

In friday and I'll be at work.

Hey guys, maybe when they sent out all the emails saying you should update your shit, you shoulda updated your shit.  

[Fordel]

There is some kind of authenticator planned yes. They have a field on the launcher for your authenticator code to go.

[Mrbloodworth]

In friday and I'll be at work.

Hey guys, maybe when they sent out all the emails saying you should update your shit, you shoulda updated your shit.  

Never got one. This message is when I log into the launcher. I was never asked to update anything.

[Sky]

Listening to the grumbles, I ran the patcher just to be sure I could log in and there is a patcher update and a patch. So you should probably grab that stuff asap just in case.

[Fordel]

The patch isn't very big, and no notes with it.

[Mrbloodworth]

The patch isn't very big, and no notes with it.

It also requires a log in :)

[Ingmar]

Soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/user/SWTORost

[Mrbloodworth]

Rejoice!

Customer support forums also requires a log in. Origin CS told me to use the SWTOR CS.