Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 12:53 am
'Cross my palm with silver and I will look into the mists of time for thee....'
OK, OK, not that melodramatic!
I thought it would make sense to create a general prediction thread for TOR based on what we know from release information coupled with our experience as MMO gamers as well as any 'gut feelings' we might have about TOR.
It will be interesting to discuss ideas and hypothesis and look back on this at a later to date to see how on the ball (or wide of the mark) we were.
Right, I'll go first with a few doozies.... CLASSES:
What we know:
* At release there will be 8 classes. 1 Empire Class (The Bounty Huntter) has been confirmed. 2 Republic Classes (The Trooper and The Smuggler) has been confirmed.
What seems pretty certain:
* At least 2 more of the 8 classes are pretty much a given, seeing what we have of Screen Shots and Dev Videos.
1 Empire Class (The Sith) 1 Republic Class (The Jedi)
Speculation:
* It makes sense that there will be a stealth / dynamic class on the Empire side to mirror the Republic Smuggler. This tallies with the pattern so far: 1 Ranged DPS class was announced (The Bounty Hunter) followed by another Ranged DPS class (The Trooper). It stands to reason (especially for the sake of game balance) that an Empire Dynamic class will be announced, probably next.
So what of the two remaining classes?
Well, in my opinion, that depends very much upon how they do Jedi / Sith. I see 2 options here (assuming hey are following the tried and tested mmo model).
* 1. Sith & Jedi will be Melee DPS (but will have ranged abilities in the same way Troopers & Bounty Hunters have close combat attacks). That would mean that a Healer Class would be needed for each side to cover the last base. In this model the "Heavy Armour" given to the Bounty Hunter & Trooper would mean they would probably more accurately described as Ranged DPS/Tank
* 2. Sith & Jed will be a hybrid class. Being a hybrid they would be good at everything but would not excel at any one thing. The would be Secondary DPS for both melee and ranged (a mix of AOE and DOT, probably) as well as have healing capabilities. In this model there would be a gap for a pure Tank Class on each faction.
* There is, of course a third option: BioWare may forgo the Healer Class entirely, allowing players more liberal use of 'Heal Pots' - presumably in the way of med-packs and stims. I consider this the least likely scenario, given that they would need to find jobs for the two remaining classes still.
PLANETS:
What we know:
* 4 Planets have been revealed (If you don't include Coruscant which, while likely may not be available until higher levels (if at all prior to an expansion).
1. Tython 2. Korriban 3. Nal Hutta 4. Ord Mantell
What seems pretty certain:
* Unless the areas on these planets are HUGE, it is unlikely these will be the only locations in the entire game
Speculation:
I think there will be a minimum of 4 more planets to come before launch and I personally think these will be the "Starting Areas" for the classes. So far each of planets seem a perfect starting area for a class:
ASTROGRAPHICAL REGION Imperial-controlled Outer Rim
ALLEGIANCE Sith Empire
STATUS Tightly controlled by the Sith
TERRAIN Red, rocky desert
KEY FACTS Original home world of the Sith
Hutta: - (Bounty Hunters)
ASTROGRAPHICAL REGION Hutt Space
ALLEGIANCE Neutral
STATUS Over-industrialized; Polluted
TERRAIN Swamps and Industrial wasteland
KEY FACTS Also known as Nal Hutta, this is where the Hutt Crime Cartels originated
Ord Mantell: - (Smugglers)
ASTROGRAPHICAL REGION Mid Rim
ALLEGIANCE Galactic Republic
STATUS Embroiled in civil war
TERRAIN Saltwater seas and Islands
KEY FACTS Despite the planet's status as a critical Republic military outpost, the local government is controlled by criminal elements
RACES:
I'm going to stick my neck out here and say the chosen "Race" in SW:TOR will be largely cosmetic with perhaps a very few minor abilities for each.
I have a few ideas to support my theory:
1. Many have been shown, none have been confirmed. 2. By making the Race have less "mechanical" effect on the game, BioWare can get away with putting more in, keeping the cosmopolitan feel of the SW universe. 3. So far the emphasis has been very much on "class" rather than "race". The devs have discussed "Class-Based Stories" but have mentioned nothing about race-based ones. 4. Working on the above model for the planets, each of them seems to be catering to a specific class, not race (Ord Mantell is very smuggler-based, Hutta is a haven for Bounty Hunters.
Last edited by Lunarwolf on Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
Sureshot Chief Operative
Number of posts : 5209 Age : 47 Location : Reading, England Registration date : 2009-02-11
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:13 am
Phew! Here we go!......
CLASSES
As some of you already know I'm firm in my belief that BioWare are looking at mirroring each class. From what we've already seen this looks true to form PLUS they did say they were enjoying what Mythic were doing with Warhammer Online. So my predictions are this:
Jedi mirrored with the Sith Trooper mirrored with the Bounty Hunter Smuggler mirrored with Imperial Spy or Assassin ?? mirrored with ??
You may notice that I've left the last two blank because I really don't have a clue what they may be. However, going by the "we want the characters to reflect those in the movies" comment and the fact that there is no representation of a Leia/Amidala type character, I'm expecting to see something like her fill the last spot for the republic. This 'noble' class on the other hand are a bit tricky to mirror on the Sith side so I reserve my judgement for the meantime.
Although it does seem to suggest that the normal trinity of Ranged DPS, Melee DPS, Buffer etc will be present I'm still convinced that as there are so little classes that they'll somehow intergrate roles within in each class. So for example Trooper as we know will be a Buffer but also Ranged DPS. I envision Jedi as being Melee DPS, Healer and maybe Tank all in one. With this in mind I don't think we'll have your basic 'Healer class' or even your standard "Tank class" but each class will have a multitude of roles, or at lease I hope. Nothing will please me more to see Bounty Hunter as a Ranged DPS/ Crowd Control class or even Smuggler for that matter.
PLANETS
First off I personally think going by the picture below, we're looking at 8 planets per faction (so 16 in total):
Here is what we know so far about the planets and what class starts where:
Nal Hutta : Bounty Hunter and maybe the new Spy/Assassin class. Ord Mantell: Trooper & Smuggler (check the holonet and it says the planet underneath.) Typhon: Jedi Korriban: Sith
Now onto the planets that I think we'll be seeing soon:
Tatooine: Honestly, whats a Star Wars game without this planet? Agreed, I don't think an awful lot is happening on Tatooine at this time period, but it sure has a lot of options for questing there.
Coruscant: I think the concept art has pretty much already confirmed that this will be around as it's a central key location for the war. I'm a massive fan of Coruscant so I'll be dissapointed if this doesn't appear.
Nar Shadda: A big favourite from the KotOR games so I'll be surprised if this doesn't make the cut.
Alderaan: This is just a bit of guest work really but I think if we do have a Leia-based class then this is quite possible as a starting planet. As far as I know it hasn't really been looked into that much either, The only thing people really remember about Alderaan is Peter Cushin (god rest his soul) blowing it to kingdom come!
Manaan: SO many people have asked for this planet it's crazy. It gives us a different type of enviroment to most others as well so it'll be interesting to see if this gets in.
Hoth: This is more of a "I HOPE THEY @%&# PUT IT IN!" than an actual prediction. Hoth is so cool (excuse the pun) and everyone know that one of the best scenes in a Star Wars movie is the Battle of Hoth. It is a very neutral planet as well so who knows? PvP anyone?
As a side note, you have to remember that most MMO worlds/map areas are designed to be completely different from one another to keep the game interesting and diverse. Expect to see this because it's just what MMO's do.
PLAYABLE SPECIES
Now this truly is a tough one. BioWare has made it very clear that customization will be a big factor in this game but quite frankly every MMO has told us the same and failed to live up to it. The only one that truly springs to mind for great customization is City of Heroes/ Villians. The options really did seem endless and it was rare if ever saw anyone that looked truly the same as my Chameleo villian character I created!
I live in hope that BioWare will listen to the fans and give us as many playable races as possible but what with how big this game is going to be anyway with voice acting, individuals changing stories and what not, I can't see there being room for anything on the species front, I do hope I'm wrong though.
Ok lets go with the obvious choices:
Human (we know its in) Kel Dor (semi-confirmed) Togruta (pretty much confirmed) Chagrian (pretty much confirmed)
These are speculations but again obvious choices:
Twi'lek (very popular) Zabrak (very popular - Thanks L-Dubz!) Nautolan (again very popular and one I hope to see) Wookiee (Star Wars just wouldn't be Star Wars without them and someone needs to play the role of Chewie! RAAAAAOOOOWRRRR!) Rodian (Greedo was such an iconic character that they'd be dumb to leave it out.) Mon Calamari (It's a trap!!!!)
Now for some of the not so likely but possible species:
Trandoshan (Bounty Hunters will always love these reptilian juggernauts!) Droids (These seem to be very popular as a playable 'species' (I use that term lightly as they're not) so don't be surprised if they show up.) Cathar (BioWare pretty much made this species what it is today. It's popular and I'm sure they want to add their own touch to the game). Nikto (I'm convinced that in one of the videos that I can see one of these lurking about. Whether they are just a companion I don't know but I can tell you that it's NOT a Trandoshan.) Selkath (These are again quite popular for some unknown reason but again they're quite possible. There is even one shown in the cantina screenshot.) Duros (Big bulbous eyes and you just can't seem to get rid of these odd little fellas. I'd say these are really rather likely).
The dark horses, very unlikely but you never know:
Falleen (My dream playable species. They are a big part of the EU and we really need a sexy race amongst all the ugly bastards!.) Gungan ( I can't really see this happening cause EVERYONE must be sick of the sight of them since Jar-Ja.....I can't bring myself to say his name! Kubaz (Strange little insect/ant eater type creature but I couldn't think of a better species to play as a spy. They also appear in an avatar). Neimodian (I was going to put this in the section before, but then I realised that they wouldn't be very popular at all. I don't midn them personally and they are more likely than most in this list but no one is jumping around demanding them.) Cereans (I see these more as an NPC species to be honest, but thanks for the reminder LW!)
I'm sure there is a lot I missed out on here but if I feel the need to change any of it I will at a later date.
Last edited by Sureshot on Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
Harlequin2 Veteran Agent
Number of posts : 1887 Age : 29 Registration date : 2009-02-25
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:57 am
Classes
Though Biowares stresses that their classes have no mirror on the opposite faction, it's still semi-true. I say semi-true because the classes will still have varied playstyles. For instance, a BH is a swiss army knife were-as a Trooper is a mega-gun and armour Marcus Fenix type character.
It appears that the classes seem to take inspiration from those in the movies soley. Below is a list of the characters that the classes seem to take main inspirations from. Jedi - Luke Skywalker Sith - Darth Vader Trooper - Storm/Clone trooper Bounty Hunter - Boba Fett Smuggler - Han Solo
The above classes are (or are pretty much) confirmed, and it's obvious that there is a trend in that they come from the movies. Therefore, following this the next classes will be from movie characters aswell. Below are some ideas I have and their movie counterparts.
Spy - Kubaz In the movie, a Kubaz note the group as they come into the Mos Eisley cantina and I think after that aswell. I believe that the Kubaz works for the Imperials. In any case, someone dressed in black with a hood must have some dark/suspicious intent. Therefore, the spy could very well mimic that of our Kubaz friend. The spy also mirrors that Smuggler class very well, as they are both 'stealthy' classes.
Noble - Leia/Padme I was the first one, at least on this forum, to recognise that Leia/Padme represent the noble very well. They can really argue (discounts at shops?) but still kick some serious storm trooper/droid booty. As such, the noble class can be a viable one as still sticking to the Bioware "It has to be combat-ty" ideal. At the start, the Noble could well be a student in politics, drawn into the war as "action must be taken".
Moff - Tarkin Seriously, Tarkin is awesome. The Moff is a viable class as many of their kind can do combat very well, pulling a blaster as summery execution style. It would easily "mirror" the Noble class giving the Sith a good combat-politician class. I believe that the title of Moff has been around a long time, though I'm unsure if it has been since TOR... The startering rank could be a weak officer, similar to those seen during the Alderaan Negotiation in the comic. EDIT: Perhaps the "Moff" class will have a different name as Black Heart has pointed out that the name did not exist yet.
Assassin - Darth Maul If it's not spy, the imperial class will probably be the assassin. Darth Maul may not be the best example, but it's the best I can find. A ruthless killer trained by the Sith, perhaps with some force powers (in Maul's case, he had loads!). It is a much more combat-type character than the spy, and moves further away from the Smuggler counterpart, something Bioware may well be after. It's also still stealthy like the Spy/
Planets
I liked the picture that Sureshot came up with, showing the distict border between the Republic and the Sith side. The blips could well be the upcoming planets that we could visit. To be honest, 8 planets on either side is plenty for me, assuming that they'll be huge with tonnes to do and explore.
I see the problem is not only with which planets will be available, but how they will function. You must be able to visit all planets, dispite their alligence, otherwise the game wouldn't feel right. There are plenty of examples of planets that characters have gone to and/or infiltrated. Even if Korriban is swarming with guards, I was to get in there and have a good old romp around, even if I'll get loads of people chasing me.
Now, here are my assumptions concerning this:
Infiltration: I believe that there are screens of a single Sith having gone to Tython and is engaging a Jedi. Likewise, a Jedi has been seen on Korriban battling what seems to be a warrior-like class (bounty hunter?). I think it's obvious that we'll be able to do a bit of exploring into all the worlds, even if they aren't alligned with our faction. Though there will probably be loads of guards (like in a main city on WoW) and we may be forced to take refuge in the woods/mountains/etc.
Neutrality: Hutta goes under the name of neutral. It appears that there will be planets that are neutral in the war (perhaps going against the 'blips' on the star map). These planets will probably accomidate all factions, though will promote friendlness. So, attack an enemy near a neutral guard, and you're attacked! Much like the goblin cities in WoW. Bounty Hunters seem to start from Hutta though, so perhaps there will be some bias.
Discrimination: Wookies and Trandoshans don't mix. Quarrens and Mon Cal don't mix. Kaleesh and Hut don't mix. These are races that may be in the game, some of them have avatars on the TOR forum. These races have an almost traditional fued with the opposite side. So, if Kashyyk is a planet, which it may well be, then I can't see a Trandoshan going there and recieving a hello, more often than not they'll be stabbed in the back. If this does occur, then I would like to see descrimination, perhaps in the form of species bonus +3% damage to Wookies or higher prices. Perhaps even getting into a fight!
Reputation: I'm going to quote from WoW again. In Warcraft, you could gain reputation with various side factions. The rewards being discounts, back-up if you made it to one of their holdouts and even special items. It appears that there will be various factions inside a planet (Hutts, the Mantell Guerillas, etc.). What more incentive could Bioware put in to make you ally to them rather than the above points, perhaps more! I think this is the route that Bioware may take, and it would help you roleplay. Betray one faction to befriend another.
I don't think I have to go into what planets will be about as Sureshot and Lunar seem to have done a good job on that front...
Species
There are just a couple of races which I want to publicise:
Gran: The humble three eyed race appears as a character in a screen (maybe more!) where he/she faces off against a jedi. The Gran is known well enough for it to make its way into the game, and to be honest, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. After all, Grans aren't a particularly disliked race among fans.
Ithorian: A render appeared of the humpback hombre a while ago, very beautiful and it may well be a race that appears in the game. There is a chance that they will, but being a peaceful race, they may not. However, that's not to say there haven't been warrior Ithorians before, such as the Moo-Maw(?) Brothers in the KotOR comics and those in Star Wars Galaxies (point taken that it was extremely lore-faulty).
Last edited by Harlequin2 on Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:30 am; edited 1 time in total
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:51 pm
I have to admit, I think a 'Noble' class would be awesome, especially if done correctly.
For the record, Classes from The Saga Edition RPG go like this:
Jedi Noble Scoundrel Scout and Soldier
There are certainly some similarities with what BioWare are doing, and the 'Noble' is a pretty interesting class.
They can opt to go down four specific 'paths' to shape their characters:
INFLUENCE: Which is all about manipulating people, intimidating them or otherwise using your position of authoritiy to put others to heel. (De-buffer)
INSPIRATION: Which allows the bolstering of allies and helping them to reach their potential (Buffer)
LEADERSHIP: Similar to Inspiration, except more focused to leading others directly through instruction and powers (Pet-Class)
or
LINEAGE: Which is all about who you know, discounts or certain deals and spontaneous 'cover' skills that allow you to perform skills you dont normally know (Hybrid-class)
Personally I think if they included something like that It certainly wouldnt do any harm!
Species:
Sure, I have a couple of alien choices to add to your "Speculation" (2nd of 3) Species list:
Cereans Zabrak
nosyd Freelancer
Number of posts : 435 Age : 53 Location : Waddington - Lancashire - England Registration date : 2009-06-06
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:27 pm
Your all far to clever and perceptive for me to post anything worth reading in this thread.
All I'll say is I just pray that Tatooine will be a playable planet. It was my favorite place in SWG. A Star Wars game just wouldn't be Star Wars without Tatooine.
Sureshot Chief Operative
Number of posts : 5209 Age : 47 Location : Reading, England Registration date : 2009-02-11
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:46 pm
Lunarwolf wrote:
Species:
Sure, I have a couple of alien choices to add to your "Speculation" (2nd of 3) Species list:
Cereans Zabrak
Yup you're quite right about Zabrak's and I'm surprised I missed that one! Not so sure about Cerean's. I see them more as an NPC than a playable species so I think I'll put them in with the Dark Horses.
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:49 pm
Sureshot wrote:
Lunarwolf wrote:
Species:
Sure, I have a couple of alien choices to add to your "Speculation" (2nd of 3) Species list:
Cereans Zabrak
Yup you're quite right about Zabrak's and I'm surprised I missed that one! Not so sure about Cerean's. I see them more as an NPC than a playable species so I think I'll put them in with the Dark Horses.
Oh, I don't know.... ok, granted BioWare would have to make custom head-gear models for those mad-as-buscuits cone-domes of theirs, but we've seen models for Ithorians...
Sureshot Chief Operative
Number of posts : 5209 Age : 47 Location : Reading, England Registration date : 2009-02-11
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:53 pm
Harlequin2 wrote:
Though Biowares stresses that their classes have no mirror on the opposite faction.
Just out of interest wheres the article that says that? I can't find it anywhere.
Commander Nord Freelancer
Number of posts : 1761 Age : 39 Location : Norway Registration date : 2009-03-24
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Jun 15, 2009 4:56 pm
After reading this thread and watch the star map i think Dantooine it has been in both KOTOR games.
Black Heart Registered
Number of posts : 334 Age : 37 Location : The dreaded U.S. Registration date : 2009-03-03
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:10 am
My homework can wait, this seems more fun. Alright now to piss people off!
CLASSES
Sure is right in thinking that it's basically going to be mirrored classes, but not completely, I don't think, each will be a little unique in their own way. I feel like I'm talking about a kindergarten class. Anyway, using Sure's model,
Jedi mirrored with the Sith Trooper mirrored with the Bounty Hunter Smuggler mirrored with Imperial Spy or Assassin Republic Weapon Master mirrored with Sith Marauder
Those won't be their names because those are based on Jedi and Dark Jedi classifications. But point the same, melee based fighters with enormous constitution and heavy armor making the Jedi's robes become drenched with blood and tears. Troopers and Bounty Hunters won't be tanks because that's silly. How can someone be ranged DPS and a tank at once? They can't. Great off-tanks, along with the Jedi but neither will be main tank.
I don't think there will be a healing class because Jedi will end up doing it better than anyone. But everyone will still have healing capabilities with first aid, Smugglers in particular, giving everyone sufficient healing abilities for themselves and off-healing tasks.
Nobles don't fit into the republic nor in a combat focused game. They'd be great to have from a roleplayer's point of view but Bioware has shown time and time again that they don't care about roleplaying. They make the game, they make the story and forget about us. Moffs won't be in the game because they weren't created until around 22 BBY or so, they were Palpatine's creation.
PLANETS
I, too, think there are going to be 8 planets per faction (so 16 in total):
(CLICK TO ENLARGE)
I've showed this before on these forums, I think, and I've talked to Red and LW about it and they understandably laughed it off but that doesn't stop it from being the best resource we have. I just tried to make my own but I couldn't do any better, Bioware's original map is just too inaccurate.
We all know the planets they've mentioned so far, and I don't think there will be any sort of mirroring when it comes to these.
Now onto the planets:
Tatooine: Tatooine might be in it, although it says in Wookieepedia that there is a three thousand year gap between Anchorhead with Revan and Fort Tusken and all that, this wouldn't be the first time that they correct or amend canon.
Coruscant: I think it'd be great if Coruscant were one of the planets but I don't know if Bioware would go the extra mile it would take to create it, or any ecumenopolis for that matter. In the past Bioware games have just shown three or four parts of a major city but I don't know how they're going to handle that for an MMO, I think there'd need to be much more space.
Nar Shaddaa: See Coruscant. Great planet but they've already put Nal Hutta in and that may stop them from using its moon.
Alderaan: Taken from Wookiepedia, "Following the Great War against the True Sith Empire, the planet was the site of a number of border skirmishes and proxy battles between Old Republic and Sith forces during the Interstellar Cold War, starting in 3,653 BBY. In 27 BBY, it was personally protected by Jedi Master Eeth Koth during the Ashaar Khorda crisis." talking about Alderaan. This seems like a highly likely one. Alderaan was a founder of the Galactic Republic but there really hasn't been much story there thus far in the Old Republic, making it easier to create new lore.
Manaan: I don't think this will be in the game, even though they've mentioned it in the little information they've given us. It would just be hard to pull off, underwater gear of the era is too clunky and silly looking for there to be an entire planet filled with players in it. There could have been some advances in the underwater/no oxygen technology and, if so, Manaan would be a great and fun planet.
Hoth: Battle of Hoth is a great scene but I think, because the man for whom the planet likely receives its namesake, General Hoth of the army of light in 1000 BC, hasn't been born yet. But maybe I'm wrong. I think the ice planet, whose appropriate armor for the troopers we have already seen. May be this planet that I thought was quite cool.
Rhen Var:
I honestly don't have any preference for what worlds are in it. They're all great. And whatever ones the pick will undoubtedly become some of my favorites, if they're not already.
PLAYABLE SPECIES
I really don't have many speculations to add to this section. They've been very surprising in their specie choices thus far. Save to say I hope to see Wookiee, Twi'lek and Ithorian. I'm not sure if Wookiee and Ithorian are going to be in it, but still, couple of my favorite species. I don't know how generous they're going to be with species, SWG had tons and there could be some great missions/quests involving species. Don't know. This is the one part of tOR that I feel like I'm going to be disappointed with.
Harlequin2 Veteran Agent
Number of posts : 1887 Age : 29 Registration date : 2009-02-25
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:22 am
Sureshot wrote:
Harlequin2 wrote:
Though Biowares stresses that their classes have no mirror on the opposite faction.
Just out of interest wheres the article that says that? I can't find it anywhere.
Gah, I can't remember, though they definately said it somewhere, or it may have just been a forum rumour on the offical site. Either way, it appears that they're going for some subtle mirroring, but play styles appear to be different as I've said above. In other news, that post was huge Black Heart - the map certainly blew me away, even if it isn't 100% accurate...
Last edited by Harlequin2 on Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:55 am; edited 1 time in total
Sureshot Chief Operative
Number of posts : 5209 Age : 47 Location : Reading, England Registration date : 2009-02-11
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:39 pm
Unlike BioWare I'm all for bumping and if one thread deserves it here it's this! I wanna see what our newer members predictions are.
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Sun Jul 19, 2009 2:58 pm
Oh Dear me...
I forgot about this post... and I bloomin' started it!
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Sun Aug 02, 2009 10:37 am
Okay. I've got a couple of ideas/theories/suppositions floating around in my head which I thought I'd share.
The first one concerns planets: I think the four we've got are going to be it at launch. A number of things make me think so; 1. We know there will be eight classes at launch, four per faction. 2. We know that of the four planets we have there are two planets for each faction. 3. We know the Jedi will start on Tython, the Sith on Korriban, the Bounty Hunter on Hutta. 4. We know that both the Smuggler and the Trooper will start off on Ord Mantel. So if we assume that Bioware will follow a pattern to make the start of play a consistent experience across the classes, from the pattern we've seen it stands to reason that we'll see the eight classes paired off which only requires four planets at kick-off. And four whole planets sounds like enough work to keep them busy till launch imo.
Which brings me to the summation that the Sith Spy/Assassin class (or whatever the Smuggler mirror is) will start off on Hutta along side the Bounty Hunter, if of course Bioware are following a formula for the player experience. So this obviously leaves the unknown character classes to begin on Tython and Korriban. Which begs the interesting question, what type of class would compliment a Jedi/Sith storyline?
My other one is about factions, after reading the following got me thinking:
swtor.com's Holonet wrote:
Factions Across the galaxy, dozens of smaller alliances have come together. Interstellar crime syndicates, multi-planet economic coalitions, and fleets of spacefaring nomads are plentiful and varied. Whether through political machinations, underworld activities, or sheer military might, many of these factions have grown to have significant prominence and power.
This, to me, reads like confirmation that there will be lots of mini-factions to gain reputation points for; a staple of the MMO genre which I'd be glad to see included in TOR. I imagine there'll be more politicking involved than we're used to (fingers crossed!).^^ "..fleets of spacefaring nomads..." sounds exciting, anyway!
PS. Can an admin possibly turn Black Heart's image to a hyperlink to the image please? I realise he's left it that big to read the text, but still...
Last edited by Redwatch on Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:43 pm
Yeah I've been thinking the same thing about the planets since I discovered Smuggler and Trooper will be on the same planet, Ord Mantell.
It makes sense for the Sith Smuggler Mirror Class to be on Hutta, though as you said, it would be interesting to see what classes could be put on Korriban / Tython.
PS: Image shrunk as per request.
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:05 pm
Lunarwolf wrote:
PS: Image shrunk as per request.
Thank you! Much better!
PrioryJK Special Agent
Number of posts : 2575 Age : 37 Location : UK Hull Registration date : 2009-05-01
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:08 am
I'm not so sure the remaining classes will share planets, It would make sense if they were going to share a lot of quests but thats not whats going to happen, each class is going to have its own storyline and have a few instance style missions thay can colaborate on.
I think it'll depend if they can fit seperate class stories onto one world, Ord Mantall is in the grips of a civil war (trooper) and a crime hub (smuggler) so both classes can play it, with Tython being the Jedi origin world I'm not sure what other class you could add to it as its so specific, maybe a noble class but I'd expect them to be on Coruscant.
If there is a Spy/Assasin class I would expect them to be on Korriban rather than Nal Hutta personally but also if there is a Noble class the Moffs could easily fit on Korriban story wise and the spys would make a great fit on Coruscant maybe along side the Nobles? I mean if theres not going to be much story interaction between classes anyway could you have two different Factions on one world?
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:54 am
I think the remaining classes will share planets, due to some of the stuff I've seen around the net. For example check out 01:58 on the following video:
"So far, with Star Wars:The Old Republic we've talked about four planets that are the origin worlds for the characters as you start the game.."
OK technically you pick up on the point he says "so far" implying there may be more, but I personally read that as there will be more planets in the game in total, not more starting planets. Its the fact he says "four planets that are the origin worlds for the characters as you start the game"
If he had said "four OF the origin worlds for the characters..." then yeah, I'd say we can expect more "starting area planets" at launch.
I reckon more planets will be available, just you'll need to get to them as you progress.
Using World of Warcraft as an example (sorry all you WOW-haters, but I have hump-loads of experience with that game so I'm gonna quote it ), when the original game launched, before any expansion packs, there were a total of 8 characters, 4 per faction (sounds familiar? )
You had:
Alliance - Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Night Elf
Horde - Orc, Undead, Troll, Tauren
When you created a character, not every race started alone. Sure, some did, but not all:
Human: Started at Elwynn Forest Dwarf: Started at Dun Morogh Gnome: Started at Dun Morogh Night Elf: Started at Teldrassil Orc: Started at Durotar Undead: Started at Tirisfal Glades Troll: Started at Durotar Shaman: Started at Mulgore
So as you can see, races (or more importantly Classes in SWTOR) do often share starting areas in mmos. This builds community and saves the developers a shed-load of time.
Its not completely unfeasable to imagine that BioWare might reveal more starting planets, but I don't think its likely. I think we get those four to choose from at the start and then move onto other worlds as the game progresses.
In addition to this, if you look at the HoloNet page of SWTOR concerning the planets HERE you'll see that there are no empty slots available to fill, its just the four planets.
If you look at the class section instead HERE, you can see that there are 5 "empty slots" denoting more classes to come (ok, really that should be 3 empty slots because we pretty much know for sure 1 is Jedi and 1 is Sith, but still).
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:24 am
THE TIMELINE
Also I think I've discovered more evidence to suggest the game may be further away from launch that a lot of people on the net seem to think.
It comes from the "TimeLine" section of Holonet.
If you go to "The Treaty Of Coruscant" (link is here) you'll notice that along the very top are tiny tags, they look like this:
(excuse the arrow, I couldnt be arsed to do something decent!)
It puts "The Treaty of Coruscant" at ATC 0 and then the timeline videos go backward ("The Mandalorian Blockade is broken" at BTC 7 and "The Return of the Manadalorians" at BTC
In other words, the next Timeline Video will be "The Empire Changes Strategy" BTC 14
If we follow that pattern then we have 16 more timeline videos to go, for a total of 19.
So far We've seen:
The Treaty of Cosuscant (ATC 0) (Timeline video #1) The Mandalorian Blockade is broken (BTC 7) (Timeline video #2) The Return of the Mandalorians (BTC (Timeline video #3)
So imo it stands to reason, we have to see the following before launch:
The Empire Changes Strategy (BTC 14) The Battle of Bothawui (BTC 18) Onslaught of the Sith Empire (BTC 28) Peace for the Republic (BTC 103) The Jedi Civil War (BTC 303) The Mandalorian Wars (BTC 311) The Exar Kun War (BTC 347) Resurrection of the Sith Empire (BTC 1251) The Great Hyperspace War (BTC 1347) The First Dark Sith Lords on Korriban (BTC 3,247) The Second Great Jedi Schizm (BTC 3,347) The Jedi Join the Republic (BTC 21300) Founding of the Republic (BTC 21400) The Jedi Order is established (BTC 22130) The Force War on Tython (BTC 22140)
and
Force "Discovered" on Tython (BTC 32800)
Now with these videos being shown more than one month apart to me suggests that it will be quite some time before the game is launched.
I could be wrong, I hope I am. I fear I'm not.
Harlequin2 Veteran Agent
Number of posts : 1887 Age : 29 Registration date : 2009-02-25
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:28 am
Ah! But they said that they'll have some videos coming in after the game has launched (not sure were though ). So I think that we'll see around 10 before they release the game (8 more then). Of course, that means that we'll be waiting around a year *groan*.
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:10 am
I'd think if they were looking at doing pre-launch and then post-launch vidoes, it would make sense to stop at The Exar Kun War (BTC 347).
There's a big o' gap between that and Resurrection of the Sith Empire (BTC 1251) so in some respects you could consider everything before BTC 350 to be "recent"(ish) history and anything after BTC 1251 to be "lore" (or ancient history).
That's how I'd do it, anyways.
Tando Special Agent
Number of posts : 1068 Age : 42 Location : London, England Registration date : 2009-04-30
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:58 am
You never know you might wake up one friday and they have released more Info then normal (I know that won't happen but hey you never know) say a race and planet together.
PrioryJK Special Agent
Number of posts : 2575 Age : 37 Location : UK Hull Registration date : 2009-05-01
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:07 pm
:deleted: until I can actually write and understandalbe comment....
Last edited by PrioryJK on Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
Guest Guest
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:21 pm
I read a very informative post from a guy on the Bioware forums a little while back and he actually went through the financial sheets for Bioware/EA (ya I know, some people are nuts ), anyway he checked out the projections for profit and stuff and made some very believable presumptions there. If I remember correctly (getting a bit late here to post) there was no profit calculated for TOR in 2009 or the first quarter of 2010, of course the game wouldn't make a profit from day one probably, but it looked a lot like they wanted to release ME2 first amongst other things (probably to help fund start-up running costs of the TOR servers).
Anyhow ... all that conjecture would lead to a release date earliest in Spring, but more realistically Summer 2010. Not my dream come true, but it made sense when I saw it
Now if only I could remember where he posted that ...
P.S. on an unrelated side-note, Lotro has got a freebie welcome back week thingie, I jumped in and I gotta say, I liked it. Not sure if I'll bother re-subbing, but all this TOR is forcing me to look for a distraction!
Lunarwolf Chief Operative
Number of posts : 6401 Age : 44 Location : Southampton, UK Registration date : 2009-02-23
Subject: Re: The Crystal Ball Prediction Thread Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:19 pm
Well not wanting to get too off-topic, you're more than welcome join some of us over there, SF.
here is the link to the thread on this site about it, and