The Ultimate Guide to The Old Republic

Posted October 21st, 2008 by William

Last Updated: 7/13/2009, 11:30 PM PST

On the 30th Anniversary of the MMO, LucasArts announced Star Wars: The Old Republic, a brand new MMO from BioWare which chronicles the era 4,000 years before the movies. Here, we present you with all the details on the game from around the internet.

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“A dynamic period full of Jedi and Sith.”
An innovative, story-based MMO.
Four pillars:
- Exploration.
- Customization.
- Combat.
- Story.
BioWare: “The biggest challenge for this game is the sheer amount of content we have to create. This is a huge game. And just to give you an idea of how huge this game is: we were taking a look at it, and really, this game has more story content then every single other BioWare game put together. That’s come before. So that would mean: Baulder’s Gate, Baulder’s Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, Mass Effect… and all the expansions.”
It will be a good game for KOTOR fans who don’t play MMOs.
You can have companion characters.
- Will HK-47 make a return?
- Companions will have their own stories and quests.
- If you are evil, you can manipulate them.
- BioWare: “companions are not pets.”
- You will be able to interact and upgrade multiple companion characters, but only one can accompany you at a time.
The Story:
- Takes place around 3,500 BBY.
- Set roughly 300 years after the previous KOTOR games.
- There is an uneasy truce between the Republic and Sith Empire.
- The truce is like the Cold War, with proxy wars, etc.
- The characters all know war is going to break out.
- BioWare: “we are trying to recreate the dream of creating their own story and joining other players in the epic conflict over the galaxy.”
- BioWare: “The Sith story is just awesome.”
- BioWare: “A Han Solo story will have a different feel than a Luke Skywalker story.”
- The story is much more personal focused.
- It is not just about you running around and going on the same quests as everyone else.
- Playing as a Jedi and playing as a Sith are like playing two different games.
Factions: Galactic Republic and Sith Empire.
- Each faction will have unique classes.
- If you start in the Sith Empire, you can eventually become a Sith Lord, or you can be good.
- If you start in the Galactic Empire, you can be good, or you can embrace the Dark Side.
The goal is to have individual stories for each character, and you can meet up with other characters.
Players will have to make hard choices.
Key Factors:
- Companions.
- Player choice.
- Unique classes.
- Players joining together.
The game’s art is designed so that it will run well on all PCs.
If it’s in the movies, you should be able to do it in the game.
Meaningful game choices:
- LucasArts/BioWare is “taking companion experience to the next level.”
- You can romance or betray your companions.
- You will be able to kill other players.
  - You get to choose who lives and who dies.
  - There is no “save key.” You can’t undo your mistakes. If you kill a companion, they’re dead. Forever.
“It’s not just about the Jedi Knights.”
The good/evil mechanic has a gray area.
BioWare: “you can play on your own, but we’re going to encourage you to be social; we’re not going to force grouping, but we aim to encourage.”
Players can join together to help each other with quests.
BioWare is trying to humanize the Sith Empire.
- Even though the leaders may be bad, not all members of the Sith Empire are.
As a Sith, you can decide whether you uphold Sith values or change things from within.
- Companions will help guide your thinking/choices.
Regular classes can go up against Jedi/Sith.
- BioWare: Jango Fett and General Grievous are characters who can take down Jedi…
- BioWare: “we’re focused on making a heroic game, so even if you’re not a Jedi, you’re the best representation of that class.”
Characters from KOTOR may show up (at least, those that can live for more than 300 years… HK-47, maybe?).
The KOTOR minigames are back (Pazaak, etc.).
Korriban will be in the game.
There will be enough customization for people who don’t want to look like the stereotypical hero.
Dark Side players will get different gear than Light Side players.
- Dark Side gear looks like it belongs to someone on the Dark Side. Same for the Light Side.
- Smugglers won’t get Dark Side gear.
Possible classes are smugglers, soldiers, and criminals.
The combat is not turn-based. It’s all in real time.
Jedi and Sith will have different quests.
You cannot be a farmer.
The dialog system will be more cinematic, not like early BioWare games where you can have dialog trees dedicated to stupid subjects. (ed. sounds similar to Mass Effect).
BioWare: “If you roll a Jedi character and you play them from the first level to the last level, and then you roll a Sith and you play them from the first level to the last level, you will not see one repeated quest, line of dialogue, or piece of content. It is a 100% different story experience.”
The game’s class-specific storylines mean that if you’ve always wanted to play a Sith Lord, “you are playing – for all intents and purposes – the Sith RPG.”
Will probably be micro-transaction based.
Tython, Nal Hutta, and Ord Mandell will be playable planets

The Ultimate Guide to The Old Republic

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