MMORPGs And YOU! - Part Six - Star Wars The Old Republic

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Rise of The Hoth Cartel Splash Screen SWTOR[/caption]

(Rise of the Hoth Cartel Splash Screen)

Welcome back My Dear Readers, to The Other Shoe and to the Sixth edition of ‘MMORPGs And YOU!’. Our subject for today? ‘Star Wars – The Old Republic’ Based on the intellectual property, that we all love, ‘Star Wars’ serves as a fantastic backdrop for this genre of games, MMORPGs. A little gaming history with this edition of ‘MMORPGs And YOU!’.

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 [youtube+http://youtu.be/1f1bv-p6suE]

(Enzomatrix Riding Speeder Bike In Empire Space Port)

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This was the very last game venture for the venerable game development team @ Lucas Arts. Working with Bioware via Electronic Arts (the 800 lb gorilla in the gaming industry). When Disney bought out Lucas Arts (this was back in March) they shutdown (from what I understand) the Lucas Arts gaming studio. I do not believe that this rupture, in the gaming universe, will spell the end of this awesome MMORPG. They have already consolidated the servers, and gone FTP (Free to Play). This game did not make the FTP transition well, but I will get to that later.

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[caption id="attachment_1142" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Enzomatrix/Danny Main 'Toon' At Startup Splash Screen[/caption]

(Enzomatrix/Danny Main 'Toon' At Startup Splash Screen)

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The Jedi Knight series of games (thanks to companies like Raven Software and I.D. software) brought single player game graphics to multiplayer games and maps. They were the first, way back in 1998. I don’t think I will ever forget my first experience having a light saber battle, with some guy in Pennsylvania. Granted, it was choppy and there was a great deal of hitching. I think that even for a moment we might have hitched at the same time and the game completely froze, for both of us, for just a nanosecond. .

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/qJ692oSXyqc]

(Air Space Battle In Game Video SWTOR)

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Nevertheless, we were Light Saber Fighting across the internet! Lucas Arts excelled at that bringing a pioneering gaming moment to gamers just like me. The MMORPG ‘Star Wars – The Old Republic’ delivers a like experience. For sound (music) you have John Williams playing in your ears throughout the entire game. Everywhere you go, everywhere you fight and die… there’s John Williams playing in the background in huge orchestral style. It makes key moments, in the game, seem almost cinematic. See, right there… that is what Lucas Arts did with games. Lucas Arts made games that were larger than life.

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[caption id="attachment_1136" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Enzo on Courasant with Bldngs and ships[/caption]

(Enzomatrix/Danny At Spaceport On Coruscant)

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I won’t (at least I do not think I am) go into all the different classes. You can be; A Jedi and be one of three species. You can be a Storm trooper and wear that neat white plastic armor. Then there is the Smuggler, which is a Hunter Class type. The Jedi are broken down into assault or defender/Healer types. You can choose the Dark Side, too. There are Dark Side Jedi and they look pretty gnarly and very dark.

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 [youtube=http://youtu.be/cwBC0Qv06h0]

(Enzomatrix/Danny Riding Speeder Bike on Ice Planet HOTH)

. You have a ‘Skill Tree’ where you place points. Where you place these points = what skills and Jedi Powers you can use. This part of the game is quite similar to how skills in World of Warcraft used to be. Your Jedi can be quite specialized, as far as which powers you can use. Jedi Guardians are a Healing Class and Jedi Knights are Fighters or Defenders. My second favorite class was the Heavy Gunner class of Republic Storm Troopers. The Heavy Gunner was a gas to play. With the right chain gun he can, literally, mow down waves of attackers without blinking an eye. So, there are more than a dozen combinations of characters and classes. I have just begun to scratch the surface.

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 [youtube=http://youtu.be/0KMJ02Wyf4M]

('News Cast' In Game Video The Old Republic)

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The Old Republic comes complete with Professions and Trades. If you can equip it someone can make it. When I left the game, I had a toon for each type of item that could be made in the game. All that is left is leveling the skill and find the right recipes. You can even construct your own light saber (a Quest Chain for all Jedi classes) from parts you manufacture yourself. You build the; hilt, power crystal, Modifier, and Augment. Then, you put them all together and spark-up your self-made Light saber. There is Alchemy and Armor Making. There is crafting power crystals and blacksmithing armor.

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[caption id="attachment_1140" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Anarcouxs/Danny On Ice Planet Hoth[/caption]

(Anarcouxs and Companions On Ice Planet Hoth)

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As with all other MMORPGs there is an Auction House for the sale and purchase of items, made, found or looted. There are vendors of every imaginable kind selling every item imaginable. With the recent consolidation of the servers there are many crafters for each server representing every type and class of item. However, I would not rely on the Auction House or vendors to equip and armor your toon. The more you can create for your toons, the better off you toons will be and the less in game currency you will need.

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/7u9qYK-N9xE]

(The Old Republic Space Battle)

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I could go on for hours about everything that Star Wars The Old Republic has in common with all other MMORPGs. Basically because SWTOR has everything that every other MMORPG has and it all looks like it belongs in this universe. What SWTOR has going for it? Everything happens in the world of ‘Star Wars’. The game occurs about the time of the cartoon series ‘The Clone Wars’. Right around the time of the very last ‘Star Wars’ movies.

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[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Enzomatrix/Danny on the Bridge of His Star Ship[/caption]

(Enzomatrix/Danny on the Bridge of His Star Ship.)

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I loved, and still hold an affinity for, ‘Star Wars’. It is a story of hope. The hopes and dreams of a boy from a small town… in a strange land. A story with chivalry and sword play. A story with clearly defined Good and Evil. A world where dreams and aspirations are achieved, and surpassed. Mankind lost something, when we went from fighting and killing those we opposed by hand. It takes courage and the conviction of one’s beliefs to slay another man… facing him only inches away… with a sword.

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[caption id="attachment_1135" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Enzomatrix/Danny With Companions On Coruscant)[/caption]

(Enzomatrix/Danny With Companions On Coruscant)

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As always, My Dear Readers, it has been a pleasure to have you here @ The Other Shoe. You honor me with your presence; you give life to my work.

“Thank YOU!”

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