Intergalactic Intel: First thoughts Intergalactic Intel: First thoughts “I heard you got into the beta.”“You’ve heard correctly…”“So what’s it like?”“…” I smiled. “Nothing I had expected.” Now with the press NDA lifted, we here at SWTOR strategies can begin talking about the specifics of The Old Republic. For the next few weeks I’ll be giving you my experience from levels 1-16, (as much as the press NDA allows). Let’s begin with one of the biggest things Bioware has been promoting is the full voice acted game. The install time is ridiculous. I literally started installing one morning at 6am, and it was not finished until 4pm that evening. It’s a lot to download, and lot of patching, but overall well worth the wait. Originally I was a skeptic thinking it would not change my experience as an MMO player. It did. The voice acting is superb for every single…
Intergalactic Intel
Intergalactic Intel: Raiding
Intergalactic Intel: Raiding I heard a group of people enter my dorm room. I paid them no mind. I was focused. “What’s going on, on his screen?”“Dude I can’t even tell what’s going on.”“Ya, know I’m raiding here.” My annoyance was growing thin.“Wrong side Marth,” was screamed into my headphones. I quickly corrected it before killing my raid group.“Can you guys leave or be quiet? I need to concentrate.”“Sure, but what’s raiding?” Raiding is a form of end game play. As I mentioned last week in my PvP vs PvE article, it is one of the two options players have to do with their max level players, and at the moment is more popular than PvP in World of Warcaft, though requires a lot more preparation. The idea of raiding has many origins but was popularized during Everquest. Players group together in large groups of massive numbers. In the…
Intergalactic Intel: PvP vs PvE
Intergalactic Intel: PvE vs PvP “Please it’s not even hard they don’t think for themselves. It’s the same thing every week!” “It’s not you even have to try. You just pick whatever class is flavor of the month and just win.” “Let’s ask Nigel.” “Ask me what?” “Which is harder? PvE or PvP?” For as long as I have played world of warcraft the question of which is harder, and more fun has always been an issue amongst the higher end players of the game. This week I’ll delve into my experience of with both forms of game play. Player versus environment, or PvE, is a form of play in which players do battle against enemies who have been programed by the developer. This usually includes quests, leveling and dungeons. But PvE truly becomes a challenge in raiding environments where users have to fight enemies that are far stronger than…
Intergalactic Intel: Choosing a Role
What should I play? Jedi ConsularGrowing up I never knew what I wanted to be. And as a twenty-two-year-old college senior I kind of have an idea. Choosing your role in a community is very difficult. You want to be able to support yourself and live happily while still being a good person. The same thing can be said about any game with a class system. Do you want to be the guy who charges in head first? Or do you want to be the one executing enemies? Or maybe you’re better off on the side lines supporting your allies? In MMO’s we have always run the classes by something known as the Holy Trinity; tanks, healers, and DPS. Tanks: people whose goal are to take damage and keep enemies off of their allies. Healers: people who support and make sure that their allies stay alive throughout the encounter. DPS…
Intergalactic Intel: PvP
“OH MY GAWD.” My ear drums were being destroyed by my team mate. “Dee, you need to stay calm and not panic we’ve go-” “HE’S CHARGING ME!” I was interrupted and drowned out. “GET IT OFF ME!” “DEE! Calm down!” “ARGGHHAHHHHE’SKILLINGMEAGHAAAHHHH!” “DANGLES SHUT UP!” The yelling ceased. “Interrupt his next cast and we’ll focus him. Dangles you’re fine I’m throwing heals on you the entire time.” Player versus player, or PVP, is a popular form of game play in video games today. I personally have spent my week playing Team Death Match in Gears of War 3. Shooting everything that moves and giggling crazily. I always get asked why PvP in MMO’s? It’s very interesting journey that has much to do with the progression of MMO’s in general and me as a player. When a player hits maximum level or very high level in MMO’s they begin something called, “End…
Intergalactic Intel: The Player Holocron
The Holocron of Players If I were to give you a short and simple synopsis of Star Wars I would tell you that it’s a science fiction story taking place in space. The two factions warring are the rebellion and the empire. Both groups are led by wizards wielding laser swords. While the statement above is a very rough experience of Star Wars, it is true. When I think of the Rebel Alliance I don’t think of tons of troops fighting for a galaxy The Empire doesn’t have any control over, but Luke, C3-PO, Leia and the other main characters. I feel the same exact way when I MMO’s. I don’t see a guild or a faction but the friends I play with. Everyone needs their own group to make their adventure. So this week I’ll be talking about different types of players you will encounter. Some you will want…
Intergalactic Intel: Being Competitive
Why be competitive? “God will you just freaking stun him!” “Dude chill it’s just a game! Aren’t we supposed to be having fun?” I bit down on my lip so hard I was pretty sure I was going to leave a puncture wound. “Yeah it is a game, but I don’t wanna play with tards like you! So shape up and stun the bastard next time he pats by!” “Dude what’s your problem?!?!” “Problem? I’m competitive.” This was a common scene when I played World of Warcraft, still is in Heroes of Newerth. Having a sense of competitiveness supposedly makes you a better player in trade for whatever fun you may have with the game. While this isn’t fully true it can defiantly give you a new experience with MMO’s and games in general. So what is “being competitive” and why would anyone want to be competitive? Being competitive in…
Intergalactic Intel: Faction
Which Side to pick? On Wednesday my power went out. All day. And for someone on break ready to bust through another ten levels in borderlands, it is needless to say frustrating. So I ended up reading Deceived by Paul Kemp. It had been sitting on my shelf for a while and I decided to stop ignoring it and read. I’m not going to give you a synopsis, but it is a good read. But what really caught my attention of the story was the side of the Sith that had not been explored before. Compassion. So being a long time wow player I always love the one question. “Which faction should I play?” To many coming into the game The Horde seem like the bad guys with their undead, magic addicts and monstrous races. While The Alliance seems to be prim and proper with the usual fantasy races with…
Intergalactic Intel: Community
Looking for Friends! Rafe is a 20 year old, who lives in Tennessee. He plays complex characters and always challenges people to do their best. Zach is a college senior in digital animation, from California, his nick name Heal-bitch-2000. Gene is single mother of three. She spends her time in Stormwind recruiting for her guild while working full time. What do these people have in common? Every week we’re willing to sit down in front of a computer The key to having fun with any MMO, or any game for that matter, is community. Everyone starts off with the one real life friend on their buddy list. Maybe one or two people they’ve been introduced with. But usually they are on their own. While not a bad way to start an MMO, but when I tell people you should try an MMO. I really mean is gather a group of…