Bioware drops new screenshots and concept art for The Old Republic

by Griffin McElroy { Dec 27th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Bioware recently released a veritable cornucopia of visual media for their upcoming midi-chlorian-infused MMO, The Old Republic. There's plenty of eye candy to go around between the eight new pieces of concept art and eight new screenshots, giving diehard Warsies an impressive look at some of the far, far away environs featured in the game. You can check out the official site for further details about each image -- not that you don't already know all there is to know about Imperial Sensor Arrays and Republic Troop Transports.

[Via Massively]

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Concept Art

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Screenshots

Tags: bioware, concept-art, screenshots, star-wars, the-old-republic

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

HitNRun @ Dec 27th 2008 6:06PM

[Salvage Droid Thrasher] pewpewed [You] for 47 damage. (Energy)

swmarc @ Dec 27th 2008 6:33PM

I don't know how to feel about this game. I going to continue to hope that it will be awesome.

Charlie_Six @ Dec 27th 2008 6:36PM

This game's story is gonna rock! The gameplay is gonna suck! Yay and boo Bioware!

Haggard @ Dec 27th 2008 9:44PM

Hooray/Awww for awesomeness/mediocrity!

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 27th 2008 6:40PM

I fucking hate Bioware...I want to hate the game to the fullest of my capacity, yet there's something about it that keeps my hopes up....damn you Bioware!

t3kni9e @ Dec 27th 2008 7:15PM

Ahh, why hate them? They make some of the best RPG's around.

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 27th 2008 7:26PM

No, I like Bioware. It's the fact they're making an MMO...

Deck @ Dec 27th 2008 7:38PM

So you like BioWare but now hate them because they are making an MMO?

I can understand not wanting the next KOTOR to be an MMO. I would have loved a 100+ KOTOR 3 single-player game. That would of been EPIC. But it sounds like they are going to be putting some of that into SWtOR.

No reason to hate the western RPG developer of the current time!

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Dec 27th 2008 9:25PM

@ Deck

This my dillema. This is an MMO - kill it with fire, made by Bioware - send them a cake with a crate of puppies.

Part of me hates the game and wants it to fail so KOTOR 3 comes out faster, while the other has a tiny sense of hope that it'll actually turn out good.

t3kni9e @ Dec 27th 2008 6:46PM

If it wasn't for the fact that it's an MMO and you have to pay monthly (chances are $15/mo) I would care.

I really hate MMO players mainly because they're the ones paying $15/mo for ONE game. I pay less than $4 a month for any console game on the XBL and there's alot of people who cry about that small amount (Wii/PS3 fanboys).

I know $15/mo is actually very little and alot of obese fatties spend more on fast food. But it's not about that. You're basically paying to be allowed to play ONE game online and $15 a month is just too much for that. There's what? over 10 mill subscribers on WoW? Even if they charged $1/mo they would still make over $120,000,000 a year! Wtf? That sounds a bit much... Is that shit taxed or something? I know that money goes into running servers paying for the team that keeps working around the clock to expand the game. But that's ALOT of money with only $1/mo, imagine how much it is at $15/mo.

Which is why I rather play a game like Diablo and I wish I had a computer that could run D3 :( Hell if a Mac Mini can run D3 and possible SC2, I will buy one when the games are released.

Strategy_Panda (The Sandwich Poisoning Crew) @ Dec 27th 2008 6:53PM

This game is supposed to follow a free to play/micro transaction model

Jake B @ Dec 27th 2008 6:54PM

Your argument about a monthly fee is tired. The fact is that most successful MMO's, WOW included, continually update the game with new content. Otherwise the MMO gets tired and people lose interest. A monthly fee is necessary to keep the population levels high, which in turn keeps the fun at a good level.

Charlie_Six @ Dec 27th 2008 7:04PM

Strat Panda, where did you hear that?? o_O

Strategy_Panda (The Sandwich Poisoning Crew) @ Dec 27th 2008 7:06PM

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/12/09/star-wars-the-old-republic-now-with-microtransactions/

I just read the update to the link I posted. The Micro Transaction hasn't been confirmed it seems. But there is still a possibility.

t3kni9e @ Dec 27th 2008 7:12PM

To Jake: You must be illiterate, did you not read the part where I said:

"I know that money goes into running servers paying for the team that keeps working around the clock to expand the game."

So obviously I know it goes into updating the game, because I SAID THAT.

WoW has over 10 million subscribers, so just to be fair im just going to go with 10 mill. 10 million people pay $15/mo, so that means in on year a person pays $180. Multiply that by 10 million people and you have exactly $1,800,000,000 (1 Billion, 800 Million Dollars). You think it costs that much to run the servers and update it in one year? Even if they have a 50% tax on that money, that still leaves 900 Million dollars which is still way more than enough.

Which is why I think $15/mo is way overpriced.

But if Strat_Panda is right, then I guess we won't have to pay. But from what I have heard this "micro transaction" model sucks because apparently you can't get any of the good stuff because in order to get the actual good stuff you have to pay for it.

Snowblind @ Dec 27th 2008 7:23PM

@Jake B

Monthly fee keeps the content coming, but it also means you're paying even if you're not playing, or even using the content that's added.

A transaction model means that new content could be added just as regularly, but you only need to pay for what you want and what you're actually going to use.

Assuming they don't rip us off by trying to make us pay for every little thing, it's a far better system. Guild Wars for example is updated with new content more regularly than most subscription based MMO's (or at least was, before GW2 was announced). WoW is pretty much the only exception, and that's only because of the amount of players.

zuburi @ Dec 27th 2008 8:06PM

T three kni nine e is right. Monthly fees are huge scams. Ever wonder why these companies won't release actual data on how much these servers cost to keep up? The chain could be broken if just one company would charge like $5/month, but everybody has dollar signs in their eyes ever since Everquest.

At the least, the client for MMOs with monthly fees should be free. I'd feel a lot worse paying $15/month if the software was free to begin with. Then the companies would have to make sure their game didn't suck if they wanted to get their investment back.

Charlie_Six @ Dec 27th 2008 8:07PM

I used to work for an MMO game company. The MMO wasn't all that great, but they made a massive profit on it. For every dollar that went to operating costs, they got back like 8-10 dollars in profit. This was for free to play games, too.

Blizzard is making extreme amounts of profit on WoW's subscription. Don't believe the PR deception. They tell you that such high monthly subscription is necessary, but in reality they don't want you to know the real numbers behind their business. The fact is, if every WoW subscriber boycotted the game while demanding subscription costs be lowered, it would happen. But most people are too busy being hooked in by the carrot-and-stick gameplay of WoW to bother with such things.

R @ Dec 28th 2008 12:25AM

You all also forgot to include that many people paid for the inital game, ($20, which includes the first month), and all the people that bought the expansions. And Wow is actually up to 11.5 million subscribers so yeah, its pretty retarded.

Guild Wars is proof you can have an MMO without monthly fees and keep a decent population.

Dr. Spiegel @ Dec 28th 2008 1:56AM

However you put it, your numbers aren't correct. Around half of the players are from eastern markets, which have a different payment method (they pay for hours, or something along those lines), making your monthly fee statement invalid.

Search the web for more information. ANYHOW, I thought everyone had already discussed this three years ago?

Tidy @ Dec 29th 2008 6:26PM

Erm.. economics 101..

Products are priced according to what people are willing to pay for them, not by some commie share-and-share alike deal which only covers a companies costs and then provides a little cheeky spending money.

t3kni9e @ Dec 29th 2008 9:14PM

No you think? Thats why I hate MMO players, because they're the ones dumb enough to pay that much. Same with random stupid DLC like a gamerpic, theme and even better things like map packs. PC developers release many new maps for their shooters yet on console they charge because people are stupid enough to buy them. Yet if everyone would just stop paying for stupid things like that then developers would not charge for them. Remember the whole EA Battlefield fiasco?

Jose R @ Dec 27th 2008 7:11PM

Poor Griffin McElroy. Are you the only one working today? I'd condemn the lack of news today, but it's a holiday weekend, and they're all from you. You poor bastard.

Deck @ Dec 27th 2008 7:36PM

These screenshots are looking even better.

What I don't understand is how they are going to incorporate this single-player epic journey in an MMO universe while still making it an MMO. I love BioWare, I love the stories they've created, and because of that, I am not afraid they are going to screw it up. It just doesn't seem that it can stay an "MMO" if they are incorporating "Companion Characters" and so much story and single player experiences.

Reader @ Dec 27th 2008 11:10PM

They mentioned instancing. I'm betting very heavy instancing, something akin to Guild Wars possibly.

LordVesper007 @ Dec 27th 2008 7:42PM

I wish it wasn't an MMO...

Are they working on a single/multiplayer normal game? Something not like WoW?

Charlie_Six @ Dec 27th 2008 7:59PM

Dragon Age Origins is what you seek.

gawd @ Dec 27th 2008 10:24PM

oversized weapons + wow-graphics = BIG FAT FAIL!

mirilene @ Dec 28th 2008 12:49AM

11 million people would disagree with you

Foetoid @ Dec 28th 2008 1:24AM

Are those 11 million people all Wow players, cause then you have to add Star Wars fans to that list, which bumps it up over 50 million. I don't ever want to play an MMO and i've avoided Wow and WAR like the plague, only because i KNOW i'll be chronically addicted and i have 2 kids + other games to finish, all of which would take a back seat. Ive sunk hundreds of hours into the Titan Quest games and i've only just stopped playing it. Time to finish games i've missed like Bioshock, COD4, COD5, Fallout 3, Dead Space, Red Alert 3....and many more.

Dr. Spiegel @ Dec 28th 2008 1:59AM

You don't need to play excessively to enjoy a MMO, you know?

SHRUG

Snowblind @ Dec 28th 2008 6:48AM

The weapons were only over sized in the first few screens. They've been adjusted to a more normal size. Although I'm not a huge fan of the the cartoony style either.

It's funny going to the official forums and seeing all the PC fanboys complain how consoles would only hold the game back.. When it's the PC users that mean the game has to look like this, to ensure it will run on all systems.

Nothing against cartoony games, I love the Windwaker and all that. But it shouldn't have been used here.

potato @ Dec 28th 2008 2:13AM

It'll be awesome, because it's BioWare. I'm afraid it'll also be slow as hell. BioWare has some serious story-telling chops, but all of their guys have been lackluster in the performance department. Mass Effect on the 360 was unbearable in a lot of places - long load times, the eternal elevator ride, texture popping to the Xtreme...

Little Big PSN ID: johnnynumber5 @ Dec 28th 2008 2:40AM

I wish it would come to consoles (not because of monthly payments) because I don't like gaming on my PC. It's as simple as that for me. The same reason I bought World Of Goo on the Wii instead of PC. I'm a console gamer for life and that's why I want this on home gaming consoles. I would even consider paying a subscription fee if the game was worth it. The PS3 has some MMO's coming in 2009 (The Agency, MAG & DC Universe Online) so I'm sure that monthly for pay strategy will be implemented.

Zsavior @ Dec 28th 2008 3:19AM

I am sorry I know it is cool to bash MMO's but this game looks to be good. I feel genuine excitement from those screen shots. Maybe I haven't read about the control system that is why I am not down on it.

Lmda @ Dec 28th 2008 10:44AM

The fact that I could play through KOTOR without having to grind is what upsets me about this MMO version. Last i checked MMOs involve considerable grinding so for that reason I'm staying away.

Rhamsey @ Dec 28th 2008 10:56AM

oh how i want to be a beta tester

Mr.Wiggles @ Dec 28th 2008 12:27PM

::Short Version:: Due to recent MMO releases I'm very wary of new MMO's. DAOC is in bad shape and I'm bored with WoW. I think it will be xbox360 for the forseeable future for me no matter how good a new mmo on the horizon looks.

It's hard for me to get excited for any new MMO on the horizon these days.

I love em when they're done "right" but the new ones just don't a) live up to the hype (actually deliver on promised content/gameplay) b) lack depth in character development, social gameplay (in aoc and war you're actually punished for grouping xp wise) and finally pvp (pvp in all mmos since WoW have been seriously dumbed down)

I started playing MMO'S with EQ1, A bunch of new friends in a new neighborhood I had moved to introduced me to the genre. Although EQ wasn't necessarily my cup of tea I still found certain elements very entertaining.

Once Dark Age of Camelot came out I was instantly hooked. I couldn't get enough of the games RVR and the 'fun' (some people may have hated it) of putting together armor templates. The game also rewarded and promoted socialization alot more than current MMO's (wow the exception). I played DAOC for 5 or so years.

I played WoW for about 2 years and some change. It was a satisfying experience. The first year I got my feet wet with entry level raiding. Got bored and sold my character. With the release of TBC I came back and was fortunate enough to fall in with a great group of people on a new server. In under a year we went from 1-70 and cleared all of TBC content. (although I quit while we waited for sunwell to come out) All in all I quit WoW because I came to the conclusion that after a bit all encounters are the same in WoW. The only challenge is making sure that everyone listens and is capable at the helm of their character. It just got boring and monotonous to me.

AOC/WAR Are just very watered down games in my opinion. I could go on but this is already a wall of text.

Ganzor @ Dec 28th 2008 7:20PM

Somebody tell bioware that the Old Republic didn't have imperial sensor arrays because the empire didn't exist for a very long time after the KotOR games took place in.