OotiniCast Episode 54

Posted on by November 23, 2012
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Chill, Teo and Hyp discuss the release of Game Update 1.5 “HK-51 Activated” and free-to-play!

1. Introduction

2. Trivia question

Detractors of the prequels sometimes argue that George Lucas almost killed the Star Wars franchise. But what other well-known director/writer/producer, who has similarly made at least one sci-fi movie, also came close to killing the Star Wars franchise during the making of the original series, by delaying one of the three original movies for weeks upon weeks and adding 20% to its cost? (Hint: it is not Lucas, nor is it either of the directors of Empire or Jedi.)

If you are interested in being entered in the random drawing for a Tauntaun Fawn code, please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com.

3. The Holofeed

  • On Thursday 15 November, Game Update 1.5 “HK-51 Activated” was released, which included making SWTOR free-to-play! The projected 12 hour downtime was extended to around 15 hours, but once it came up things seemed stable. A short downtime was needed the following morning to deploy a small patch (1.5.0a).
  • Jeff Hickman (Executive Producer) and Blaine Christine (Senior Producer) posted a welcome for the update, summarising its features and emphasising the awesomeness of those Cartel Packs.
  • Included with the release was the rest of the pricing information for Cartel Coins (via buy.swtor.com):
    • $US4.99 buys 450 CC ($1 = 90 CC)
    • $US9.99 buys 1050 CC ($1 = 105 CC)
    • $US19.99 buys 2400 CC ($1 = 120 CC)
    • $US39.99 buys 5500 CC ($1 = 137 CC)
  • The monthly stipend was also explained, with more per month based on the length of game time subscribed or purchased:
    • 30 days (1 month) subscription for $US14.99 – 500 CC/month
    • 60 days (2 months) game time card for $US29.99 – 525 CC/month
    • 90 days (3 months) subscription for $US41.97 ($US13.99/month) – 550 CC/month
    • 180 days (6 months) subscription for $US77.94 ($US12.99/month) – 600 CC/month
  • Having a digital (subscribers only) or physical security key attached to an account will grant an extra 100 CC/month.
  • The Friend Referral programme continues, granting a one-time 500 CC when your referred friend subscribes, and an additional 100 CC/month for each month they remain subscribed.
  • A few days after launch, a trailer was released: “A Galaxy of Possibilities” (also on YouTube).
  • For Free and Preferred players, it was revealed that the 2 character slot limit was per account, not per server.
  • Some new frequently asked questions have been added to the Help Center:
    • Physical “Cartel Coin Cards” can be purchased from BestBuy and GameStop in the US, each costing $US19.99, and conferring 2400 CC. A unique account-wide mini-pet is granted the first time a card is used from each retailer (Arctic Manka Lynx from BestBuy, Lobelode from GameStop).
    • Free Player Guilds are guilds created by Free or Preferred players, with a slightly reduced feature set for the Guild Leader.
    • Legacy will unlock earlier now (previously it was the end of Chapter 1), though it has yet to be discovered just how early, or what the triggering event is.
    • Player status (Free, Preferred or Subscriber) does not grant any kind of boost to conversation or loot rolls!
  • There are breadcrumb missions that lead players to Section X (thanks to Hru for pointing these out):
    • Republic Fleet: General Conlath [-4590, -4745] (southern end of the GTN quarter, at the bottom of the steps that lead up towards the Mission Departures elevator)
    • Imperial Fleet: Captain Gostel [4710, 4800] (in the main corridor that runs south from the central hub, at the top of the steps that lead down to the Crew Skills quarter)
  • BioWare’s Damion Schubert (Lead Designer) answered a set of questions from Dulfy in SWTOR F2P & Future content interview with Damion Schubert.
  • Game Update 1.6 is already on the PTS! You can find the current patch notes in the Test Center. Game Update 1.6 includes the new Ancient Hypergates warzone, and six new 50+/hard mode space missions for each faction.

4. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @JediTChalla (T’Challa), @Dimbo56 (Dimbo), @ForceChuckle, @tshapedvisor, @VinzerFlinn, @killed_bydeath, @TullyAckland, @JKremss, @HolyCrapItsLate, @SWTORReforged, @IRBountyHunter, @sochobbit, @Thoroughmas, @vayne_verso, @copythat22, @terencemyers, and @voyak.

The irrepressible Chong (@EmpireDivider) provided some pictures for our enjoyment:

Chong has a new pimp speeder. Thanks @SWTOR

@SWTOR The temptation is too strong!

Not only can HK51 one shot your foes… He can also get down!!!

5. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher.

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OotiniCast Episode 53

Posted on by November 16, 2012
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Chill, Teo and Hyp are joined by SWTOR Reforged’s Evarwyn on the eve of Game Update 1.5’s release to talk about the latest news. We also examine three case studies of players wishing to take the free-to-play route, and consider how much it will actually cost them.

1. Introduction

Evarwyn, who we were honoured to have join us this week, is one of the hosts of SWTOR Reforged, a most excellent SWTOR podcast. He also co-manages the Quest Gaming Network, which includes many excellent podcasts in addition to SWTOR Reforged.

2. Trivia question

We had some great entries, which you can see in this post; all easily matched or surpassed the coolness of Chill’s original image. The winner was chosen randomly, rather than trying to judge which was the best: congratulations to Chong!

3. The Holofeed

  • The announcement confirming our estimate of free-to-play’s release being Thursday 15 November came not long after we recorded. There was also a press conference that was attended by convention media outlets, including Darth Hater, who provided a summary of what was covered.
  • The second video previewing free-to-play was released (also on YouTube).
  • BioWare released a developer update that gives an overview of the new Section X on Belsavis and the quest line to obtain our new companion, HK-51.
  • A developer blog gives some background into what’s coming with the new Nightmare Mode for the operation Explosive Conflict.

4. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @EmpireDivider (Chong), @ForceChuckle, @ActiveNick (Nick Landry), @PedroLopezJr, @IRBountyHunter, @Dimbo56 and @voyak, and comments from T’Challa and Murraugh.

5. Sarlacc Digest

We consider three case studies for players who wish to play without subscribing, and attempt to determine the minimum they can spend to do this. In all cases, we assume that the player will either be a former subscriber, will subscribe temporarily, or will purchase at least $4.99 worth of Cartel Coins, thus permanently granting them Preferred Status.

Where prices are shown, they are given as a range; the higher value (shown first) assumes CC are purchased by the $4.99 packs containing 450 CC ($1 buys 90 CC), followed by a lower value (shown second) which is the cost if purchasing the $39.99 packs (5500 CC, $1 buys 137 CC).

Case 1: Former subscriber with an existing geared 50 who wants to raid

As a former subscriber, we assume they will have already unlocked sufficient inventory modules and cargo bays, and thus will not need to purchase more.

If they purchase the following, their initial investment will be either 2050 CC ($22.75-14.99) for a single character, or 4590 CC ($50.90-33.39) for the same items purchased account-wide:

  • Authorization: Artifact Equipment (1200/$13.31-8.73 or 2700/$29.94-19.64)
  • Unlock: Additional Quickbar (250/$2.78-1.82 or 540/$5.99-3.93)
  • Unlock: Guild Bank Access (600/$6.66-4.37 or 1350/$14.97-9.82)

These are probably the minimum that a former subscriber could get away with. After that is the recurring cost of the weekly pass to access operations:

  • Weekly Pass: Operations (240/$2.67-1.75)

While there is a significant outlay to start, the ongoing cost would end up being lower than a subscription, especially if purchasing the CC in the largest pack.

It’s worth noting that there is no need to also purchase the weekly pass for Flashpoints, as that only is required to obtain more than 3 rolls on loot drops per week. Without the pass, a player can still do hard modes to do the weekly and daily quests.

Case 2: New player who just wants to play KOTOR 3

The assumption is that this player has never subscribed before, wants to play SWTOR for its single-player story, and has no interest in the endgame. However, they may play through multiple times on each faction.

BioWare has actually been most generous for this case, with the only mandatory purchases (we believe) being the following (both account-wide) totalling 1320 CC ($14.65-9.61).

  • Unlock: Additional Quickbar (540/$5.99-3.93)
  • 2 x Unlock: Inventory Module (390/$4.33-2.84)

There are also recurring cost if the player chooses to purchase consumables, such as:

  • Medical Probes (500/$5.55-3.64)
  • Fleet Pass (Single Use) (90/$1.00-0.66)

Weekly passes for Flashpoints aren’t really necessary, as they can be experienced without the pass, with the only limitation being three loot rolls per week. Note that passing on a loot roll does not increment your total (though losing the loot roll does!).

Case 3: New player who wants to do it all, including eventually endgame

This case is more or less a combination of the first two cases. We believe this player will eventually purchase the following account-wide unlocks for 6315 CC ($70.04-45.95):

  • Authorization: Artifact Equipment (2700/$29.94-19.64)
  • Unlock: Guild Bank Access (1350/$14.97-9.82)
  • Unlock: Additional Quickbar (540/$5.99-3.93)
  • 2 x Unlock: Inventory Module (390/$4.33-2.84)
  • Unlock: Crew Skill Slot (945/$10.48-6.88)

Once they’re at endgame, they can then purchase the necessary weekly passes to do operations, Flashpoints or warzones (240/$2.67-1.75). It seems clear that if a player wants unlimited access to two or more of those activities, they’re better off subscribing.

Subscribing for even a short duration is also a good way to unlock inventory space and cargo bays using accumulated credits.

6. Outro

Thanks to Evarwyn (@Evarwyn) and Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher.

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OotiniCast Episode 52

Posted on by November 8, 2012
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Chill, Teo and Hyp discuss various developer updates, including Jeff Hickman’s State of the Game. We also review the Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia.

1. Introduction

2. Trivia question

This one isn’t exactly a trivia question, but should be fun. Beat Chill’s cool score! He found a fun place to be in game that he didn’t know you could get to, then took a screen shot.

That’s his sorcerer standing on the cheek of the golden statue of Karagga the Hutt on Nar Shaddaa.  Of course, he’d love to be on the hat, but it turns out the brim is too steep.  He’s so high up that the ceiling on this screenshot has partly disappeared and the buildings of Nar Shaddaa show through.

Anyway, to enter this week, send in a screenshot of your SWTOR toon at the coolest or just most unusual or hard-to-get-to place in game.

If you are interested in being entered in the random drawing for a Tauntaun Fawn code, please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com.

3. The Holofeed

  • There was a short maintenance this week, on Wednesday (after being postponed from Tuesday) with no new patch. We are predicting that Game Update 1.5, and with it free-to-play, will launch next week on Thursday 15 November.
  • Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer for SWTOR, delivers his first State of the Game.
  • Damion Schubert, Lead Designer, has written the Developer Update: Free-to-Play Option. As Joveth subsequently pointed out, it was actually written a few weeks ago; free-to-play is far closer to being ready than the article implies!
  • We were provided with some background story for our soon-to-be-acquired sixth companion in the Community Developer Blog: HK-51 Classified Intel.
  • There is also Developer Dispatch: HK-51 Activated, a short video (also on YouTube) elaborating on what’s coming in Game Update 1.5.
  • Damion tells us that they’re looking for some more rewards to be added to the Legacy system for those who’ve reached its cap (Legacy Level 50), but we shouldn’t expect them until sometime after free-to-play has launched.
  • He also confirmed that the new warzone Ancient Hypergates will be delivered in Game Update 1.6, following the launch of free-to-play; he anticipates it’ll be out before the end of 2012.
  • In Developer Update: Technical Changes in Game Update 1.5, Ben Cloward (Senior Technical Artist) tells us about his enhancement of the shaders used by the game engine to recreate the effect of light shining through leaves and grass. Chill observed this directly on the PTS; the first image shows a scene with the new shaders on the PTS, with the same scene on live:

4. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @ForceChuckle, @Dimbo56, @IamAlana (Alana), @StoleTarts (Megan), @AspisVodox, @copythat22 (Lance) and @thehatfield (Hatfield).

@voyak referred us to this thread on the official forum, discussing how the presence of free-to-play players enrich everyone’s experience in the game, especially subscribers.

You can hear Megan’s (@StoleTarts) husband Bordeau as a guest host on episode 139 of the Darth Hater podcast. His livestream is also well worth watching, mainly for his entertaining commentary as he plays.

5. Sarlacc Digest

This week we finally review the Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia.

6. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! You can subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and listen to us on Stitcher.

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SWTOR Reforged Episode 17: Ootini!

Posted on by November 7, 2012
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We are cross-posting episode 17 of SWTOR Reforged on which Chill and I were guests. We hope you enjoy the show, and consider subscribing to them if you don’t already!

We have FINALLY returned, and the wait was worth it! The crew sits down with Chill and Teo from Ootini-Cast! After escaping the clutches of Slimey The Hutt, Chill and Teo talk with Evarwyn, Lou and Fred about their week in game as well as the MASSIVE news that Disney purchased Lucas Arts and that there WILL be an Episode 7,8 and 9! Also, the guys talk a bit about F2P model as we learn more information, not the least of which being an announcement from Joveth Gonzalez that 1.5 will not be this week, but rather, VERY soon! After our talk, Lou enters the Jedi Archives where he presents to us the origins of the title “Darth”!

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OotiniCast Episode 51

Posted on by November 1, 2012
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Chill, Teo and Hyp have much to cover this week: Disney is buying LucasFilm, Star Wars: Episode 7 is coming in 2015, EA had its latest earnings call, and there’s plenty of updates on the free-to-play conversion, as it continues to be tested in Game Update 1.5 on the PTS.

1. Introduction

2. Trivia question

Congratulations to this week’s winner, JT Long. He plays Arveshet of the Timor sub-guild of AIE (Alea Iacta Est) on the Jedi Covenant server.

3. The Holofeed

  • The news that George Lucas has sold LucasFilm Ltd to Disney took the Star Wars world by storm this week. The sale includes LucasArts, the company which makes Star Wars games, and which partnered with BioWare to make SWTOR. As part of the announcement, it was revealed that Star Wars: Episode 7 will be released in 2015. A source within LucasFilm indicates that it will be an original story, rather than based on an existing story from the Extended Universe.
  • Fans were quick to create some suggestive imagery reflecting just what the Disneyfication of Star Wars will mean.
  • Patch 1.4.3 was deployed during a long scheduled maintenance on Tuesday. Along with a few fixes, the patch included a beefing up of the rewards offered by story mode operations. It seems they went a little too far when they were reduced in Game Update 1.4!
  • Electronic Arts held its 2Q 2013 earnings call this week, though SWTOR was barely mentioned. No subscriber numbers were revealed, and when questioned, the response indicated the subscribed community was “stable”.
  • Peter Moore, COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Electronic Arts, was interviewed by Wired. Many topics were covered, though a couple of questions directly applied to SWTOR and its free-to-play strategy.
  • Due to an apparent increase in buying credits with real-world money from unauthorised sources, BioWare has warned that the penalties for doing so are severe.
  • There was also plenty of news on the free-to-play front, as Game Update 1.5 continues to be tested on the PTS.
    • Nathan Emmott goes into detail about Preferred Player status, which is earned once a payment has been made for a given account (e.g., purchase of Cartel Coins, subscription). Any player who has previously been subscribed will automatically be elevated to Preferred status once free-to-play is launched.
    • Damion Schubert describes the changes that are being made as testing of Game Update 1.5 continues, including the relaxation of some restrictions on free-to-play players. He also confirms that account unlocks apply to all current and future characters, regardless of server.
    • Blaine Christine answered many player questions about the free-to-play conversion.
    • It’s well worth checking the current patch notes for the PTS, to see the current shape of Game Update 1.5.

4. Force Feedback

Our sincere thanks to Howard for his donation! He also emailed us for some PvP tips for a Gunslinger; Chill was most happy to oblige.

We discuss tweets from @DarthPops (Marshall Carr Jr.), @weihanthekidsun (Weihan Sun), @EmpireDivider (Chong), @John_K64 (Ry), @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @voyak, @ForceChuckle, @Dimbo56, @StoleTarts (Megan), @AspisVodox, @Rabbi_Shekky and @bytorsnowdog.

We’d like to recommend the Coffee Talk with Niq and Lance podcast, a general gaming show from the former hosts of Pink Side of the Force.

Our guildmate Terg has demonstrated some quite remarkable pumpkin carving skills for Halloween, creating a pretty accurate recreation of everyone’s favourite Sith, Darth Malgus!

5. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! Subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and watch for us in your Bind on Equip feed.

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OotiniCast Episode 50

Posted on by October 27, 2012
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With the revelation that Game Update 1.5 will be the free-to-play release, our discussion topic this week is all about the Cartel Market and the restrictions being placed on players who don’t subscribe.

1. Introduction

2. Trivia question

What SWTOR earnable character title is from something said by Princess Leia, and was not used as a compliment?

If you are interested in being entered in the random drawing for a Tauntaun Fawn code, please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com.

3. The Holofeed

  • While there was scheduled downtime this week, no patch was deployed.
  • BioWare have released Free-to-play Preview #1 (also on YouTube), a video introducing free-to-play, and teasing some of the goods that will be available for purchase.
  • At least for now, reverse engineering mods that were crafted by others is a legitimate (if unintended) way of learning their schematics.
  • Sith Marauders and Jedi Sentinels (using Rage and Focus specs respectively) are now performing extremely well in PvP, to such an extent that they are over-represented. BioWare is monitoring the situation to see whether this is due to them being the “flavour of the month”, or if they’re overpowered enough that nerfing may be required.
  • In the minefield (Colonel Vorgath) encounter in story mode Explosive Conflict, the Probe Droid’s Cleave ability no longer cleaves (single-target only); also, while the enrage timer for Vorgath himself has been raised, the timer on the minefield remains as tight as ever.
  • Enter now to win a SWTOR-themed Razor laptop! Entries close 4 November.

4. Force Feedback

Our sincere thanks to Mags for his donation!

We discuss tweets from @NULLZERO1, @DarthPops (Marshall Carr Jr.), @John_K64 (Ry), @Rrubb (Rub), @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @voyak, @ForceChuckle, @Dimbo56, @StoleTarts (Megan), @AspisVodox, @Rabbi_Shekky and @TranscendenceG (The Trancendence Guild on the Prophecy of the Five east coast PvP server).

@JediAio linked us to the old (but great!) Saturday Night Live skit, “Star Wars Auditions”.

@voyak recommends this YouTube video of a flashmob in Germany. In terms of personal flexibility (and possibly fitness), he also suggests we try Star Wars Yoga.

Marshall Carr (@DarthPops) showed us how to make pumpkin-carving fun, at least for Star Wars fans!

Kuze shows us that some bugs in SWTOR can have a funny site.

5. Sarlacc Digest

The Cartel Market has been added to the PTS, thus revealing that Game Update 1.5 will be the launch of free-to-play. The PTS patch notes were updated with the new features. In addition to the Cartel Market, more welcome changes have been added to 1.5:

  • re-specialisations are now free for subscribers
  • subscribers will have access to 2 additional quickbars (giving us 6 in total)
  • our inventory’s currency window now includes a progress bar for each currency, indicating the applicable cap
  • the preview window has been greatly enhanced, showing a fully-animated model of the character, now allowing the equipped (or previewed) weapon to be drawn

Teo spent some time on the PTS playing with the Cartel Market interface, investigating what was for sale:

  • Cartel Packs (the “gambling” boxes) could be bought for 180 CC or 360 CC
  • Cosmetic items included:
    • a minipet for 240 CC
    • an adaptive speeder (matches your current speeder piloting level) for 720 CC, which included Speeder Piloting I
    • Carbonite Chamber for 1440 CC
    • Rancor Holo-replica for 180 CC
  • Unlocks were available, primarily of use to non-subscribers:
    • Authorization: Event Equipment Requisition (175 CC/char or 400 CC/account), one-off unlock
    • Authorization: Artifact Equipment (1200 CC/char or 2700 CC/account),  one-off unlock
    • Unlock: Guild bank access (600 CC/char or 1350 CC/account)
    • Authorization: Crew Member Appearance (325 CC/char or 725 CC/account)
    • Unlock: 10 GTN sale slots (125 CC/char or 280 CC/account), apply 5 times for 50 total
    • Unlock: additional quickbar (250 CC/char or 540 CC/account), once per quickbar [start with two]
    • Unlock: inventory module (175 CC/char or 380 CC/account) per row of 10 [start with three]
    • Unlock: crew skill slot (420 CC/char or 945 CC/account) per slot
    • Unlock: cargo hold access (475 CC/char or 1050 CC/account) per bay
    • each racial unlock costs 350 CC
    • Customization control: display titles, display legacy name (100 CC/char or 200 CC/account)
    • Customization control: hide head slot, unify colors (350 CC/char or 775 CC/account)
  • Equipment could be purchased, all adaptive:
    • chestpieces, suitable for level 15 (150 CC) and level 43 (325 CC)
    • armor sets (containing head, chest, gloves, pants, boot) for 1200 CC
    • weapons (e.g., Gamorrean Axe for 350 CC)
    • +41 color crystals for 900 CC
  • Various consumables useful for both free-to-play players and subscribers:
    • 25% increased XP boosts, in two versions:
      • major, lasting 3 hours, for 120 CC; also 5-pack for 480 CC
      • minor, lasting 1 hours, for 80 CC
    • 25% increased valor (major for 50 CC, minor for 30 CC)
    • single-use (no shared cooldown) fleet pass for 90 CC
    • single-use quick travel (90 CC)
    • 5-pack of medical probes for 500 CC (free-to-play players have a finite number of medical probes, and need to buy these to restock!)
    • weekly passes for 240 CC to give unlimited access to warzones, space missions and operations
    • weekly pass for 240 CC making Flashpoint boss loot accessible

Items purchased from the Cartel Market are intended to be gifted to other players or sold on the GTN, though some will be temporarily bound so that they can’t be parted with straight away.

The restrictions on free-to-play players were discussed, though given they’re currently in flux, we’ll go over them again the next episode. We were happy to hear that free-to-play players will start with two quickbar slots, rather than just one!

Finally, we speculated as to how much Cartel Coins would be worth. Our best guess is that they’ll be priced like BioWare points (used to purchase DLC for other BioWare games, like Mass Effect), which would be $1 for 80 Cartel Coins. BioWare confirmed that Cartel Coins will not initially be earnable via in-game activities.

6. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! Subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and watch for us in your Bind on Equip feed.

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OotiniCast Episode 49

Posted on by October 19, 2012
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Chill and Teo are joined by Hyp to discuss the latest SWTOR news, focussing on the features to be found in Game Update 1.5 which is now available for testing on the PTS. Our discussion topic this week is about the newly-revealed details of the upcoming free-to-play conversion, especially the restrictions that will be placed on free players.

1. Introduction

2. Question to the panel

3. Trivia question

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Tony Tomkinson!

4. The Holofeed

  • Patch 1.4.1a, a small client-side-only patch, was deployed late last week to fix the hitching/stuttering performance issue that some players were experiencing.
  • During an extremely long downtime during scheduled maintenance, patch 1.4.2 was deployed.
  • Game Update 1.5 is now available for testing on the PTS. Probably the most anticipated feature is the quest line to obtain the new companion, HK-51. Dulfy and Darth Hater have both produced guides for how to go about it. In addition, we have the new dailies and world boss (Dreadtooth) in Section X on Belsavis, and Nightmare Mode for the operation Explosive Conflict (Jesse Sky details what players should expect).
  • Vendors now sell Dread Guard relics for 300 Daily Commendations, and Campaign armoring mods (which are better itemised than the current Black Hole gear, and include the set bonus) for Force and non-Force users can be purchased with Black Hole Commendations.
  • The Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia is now available for purchase. We will be reviewing it next week.
  • Jesse Sky, the featured developer from last week, has answered a number of follow-up questions from players.
  • Congratulations to BioWare for winning four of the categories in the GDC Online’s Game Developers Choice Online Awards.

5. Force Feedback

Our sincere thanks to Grim for his extremely generous donation! It is very much appreciated.

We discuss tweets from @JediAio, @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @rickheaton, @adolyte, @voyak, @ForceChuckle, @Dimbo56, @DanCremer, @StoleTarts (Megan), @Rabbi_Shekky, @hallhood  (Hall Hood) and @TranscendenceG (The Trancendence Guild on the Prophecy of the Five east coast PvP server).

6. Sarlacc Digest

We finally have additional details about the free-to-play conversion. First is the new Cartel Coin Ledger page, found in the My Account section on swtor.com, that summarises how many complimentary Cartel Coins you will receive when free-to-play launches. Below is probably the most common case for someone who started playing at launch with the base edition, has been continuously subscribed and will remain so:

In the updated free-to-play FAQ, it is emphasised that you will only receive the accumulated Cartel Coins if you have active game time at the point that free-to-play launches. As to when that will be, all we know at the moment is that it will be in the Fall (meaning it could be as late as 21 December), though November has been mentioned at various points.

BioWare have also detailed at least some of the restrictions that will be imposed on free-to-play players in the updated Subscription vs. Free-to-play Features matrix.

  • Story Content
    • Premium (FULL):  All players can play their full class stories from Level 1-50.
    • Free (FULL):     All players can play their full class stories from Level 1-50.
  • Character Creation Choices
    • Premium (FULL):  Full access to all Character Creation choices.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Limited Character Creation options.
  • Operations
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to Operations.
    • Free (LIMITED):  A Weekly pass to unlock Operation access is required.
  • Warzones
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to Warzones.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Three Warzones per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
  • Flashpoints
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to Flashpoints.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Full rewards from three Flashpoints per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock rewards for all Flashpoints.
  • Space Missions
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to Space Missions.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Three Space Missions per week or purchase a weekly pass to unlock this restriction.
  • Cargo Hold
    • Premium (FULL):  Purchase more cargo space with either in-game Credits or Cartel Coins.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Gain and expand the Cargo Hold with Cartel Coins.
  • Inventory
    • Premium (FULL):  Purchase additional inventory space with either in-game Credits or Cartel Coins.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Expand inventory slots with Cartel Coins.
  • Crew Skills
    • Premium (FULL):  Up to three (3) Crew Skills.
    • Free (LIMITED):  One Crew Skill, or purchase additional Crew Skill slots with Cartel Coins.
  • Quick Travel
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to the Quick Travel ability with a reduced cooldown.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Longer Quick Travel cooldown period or purchase an authorization to permanently reduce the cooldown for Quick Travel.
  • Emergency Fleet Pass
    • Premium (FULL):  Unlimited access to the Emergency Fleet Pass. Bypass the cooldown by purchasing a consumable item with Cartel Coins.
    • Free (LIMITED):  No access to Emergency Fleet Pass. Purchase an authorization to unlock quick travel to the Fleet.
  • Death
    • Premium (FULL):  Revive at the nearest Med Center or in the field with a cooldown.
    • Free (LIMITED):  Revive at the nearest Med Center or a total of five (5) times in the field. Unlock additional Field Revive with Cartel Coins.
  • Game Login
    • Premium (FULL):  Priority status in the Login Queue.
    • Free (LIMITED):  No priority status in the Login Queue.
  • Item Equipping
    • Premium (FULL): Equip all purple items they acquire, assuming they meet the in-game requirements (class, level, etc).
    • Free (LIMITED):  Cannot equip most purple items unless a license is purchased from the Cartel Market.

7. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! Subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and watch for us in your Bind on Equip feed.

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OotiniCast Episode 48

Posted on by October 13, 2012
1

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Chill, Teo and Hyp discuss patch 1.4.1, which fixes a lot of the issues introduced with Game Update 1.4. As well as covering other news, we also wax lyrical about experience in the new operation, Terror From Beyond.

1. Introduction

2. Question to the panel

3. Trivia question

This week’s question: What Star Wars-related thing do Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, and Billy Dee Williams all have in common?

If you are interested in being entered in the random drawing for a Tauntaun Fawn code, please send your answer to ootinicast@gmail.com.

4. The Holofeed

  • Patch 1.4.1 was deployed during the regular scheduled maintenance early on Tuesday morning. The majority of the issues introduced in Game Update 1.4 are now fixed, though several remain outstanding, including degraded performance.
  • While the option to allow hoods to be pushed back remains a desired feature, it seems that the team is busy on upcoming content and the free-to-play conversion, and so our hoods will remain up for the foreseeable future.
  • BioWare have introduced a new community feature, the Developer Spotlight. The first introduces Jesse Sky, Lead Flashpoints and Operations Designer. If you have follow-up questions for Jesse, ask them in this forum thread.
  • The datamining of Game Update 1.4 performed by Torhead has turned up some upcoming content, summarised in this forum post. Force Junkies has an article (Leaked List of Upcoming Content and F2P Goodies) summarising what was found.

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @voyak, @ForceChuckle, @IRBountyHunter, @Dimbo56, @DanCremer, @AspisVodox, @banyo1984, @hallhood and @The_Jedi_Hermit.

We’d like to recommend the fine podcast SWTOR Reforged, formerly SWTOR: Off The Record. Well worth listening to!

October 6 was Star Wars Reads Day. As part of the celebration, several authors of Star Wars books (including Timothy Zahn) have written special blog posts on the official Star Wars Blog.

Grim emails us with some rather clever ideas about how user-generated content could be incorporated into SWTOR, as well as some rather unfortunate suggestions about how BioWare could monetise the process!

In response to Sith Jawa’s comment on episode 47, we can confidently assure him that we plan to remain subscribed when free-to-play launches.

6. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! Subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and watch for us in your Bind on Equip feed.

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OotiniCast Episode 47

Posted on by October 5, 2012
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Chill and Teo (with Hyp’s remote presence) discuss what’s happening in SWTOR, focussing on the issues that have arisen since Game Update 1.4’s release.

1. Introduction

2. Question to the panel

3. Trivia question

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Krilltok (John A). His guild, The Brotherhood of Darkness on The Tomb of Freedon Nadd server, cleared 16-man Terror From Beyond. Well done, guys!

4. The Holofeed

  • Patch 1.4.0b was deployed on Tuesday as a hot-fix, with no downtime required.
  • BioWare has summarised the issues that remain extant since Game Update 1.4 was released; there’s quite a few! They include already-known schematics being consumed if you attempt to learn them (and there’s no way to tell that you already know them, aside from checking your crafting window), the second boss in The False Emperor being bugged, and the win for warzone matches occasionally being awarded to the wrong side.
  • While Game Update 1.4 was on the PTS, it was noted that there were two expensive items: relics for 400 Daily Commendations, and implants for 350 Black Hole Commendations. We mentioned last week that during the Livestream, it was indicated that these items were there by mistake; it turns out that only applied to the relics. The implants are correctly priced, though given the stat differences, hardly worth 350 Black Hole Commendations!
  • Story mode operations, including Explosive Conflict and Terror From Beyond, will no longer drop Black Hole Commendations from bosses or in chests. This is due to the progression path being through hard mode operations, with the story mode ops being effectively the entry level.
  • While you can queue for both warzones and Flashpoints via the Group Finder, as of Game Update 1.4 upon entry to a warzone you are automatically removed from the Group Finder queue. It was explained that this was to prevent people abandoning warzones if their Group Finder popped.
  • Companions 101: Kaliyo Djannis is the first in a series covering specific companions. Kaliyo is the first companion that joins the Imperial Agent. You can suggest which companion to cover next on the forums.
  • The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina Tour is an initiative to allow players to meet the community team and developers at various events.
  • The Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia will be published on 15 October 2012. It retails for $US40, though is available for a reduced price at Amazon US and the Book Depository (free shipping worldwide).

5. Force Feedback

We discuss tweets from @AHlaenxna (Vis), @IzaakTheMad (Izaak), @ForceChuckle, @meredithwatson, @EmpireDivider (Chong)`, @Dimbo56 (Dimbo), @grimrok (Grim), @voyak, @IamAlana, @DarthPops (Marshall Carr Jr. of TORWars), @banyo1984 (Benjamin Becker), @rbleamon (Ray Leamon), @BayCityScramblr (Chris Johnson) and @HolyCrapItsLate (Rob Henriquez).

The following the poster that Chill saw with a vision of the future from the early 20th century, that bears a striking resemblance to Coruscant!

6. Outro

Thanks to Hyp (@Hypknotoad) for joining us (remotely!) this week.

You can email questions and comments about the show to ootinicast@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter via @OotiniCast. Check out our website, ootinicast.com, which has links to our presence on Google+ and Facebook. We are a proud member of the TOR Syndicate! Subscribe to us on iTunes and Zune, and watch for us in your Bind on Equip feed.

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