Game director James Ohlen describes the changes coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic, one of which is guild banks for the thousands of guilds still playing. BioWare is also focusing on PvP, warzones, and convincing people that SWTOR is a good game.
SWTOR getting Guild Banks because BioWare is listening
by Jessica Conditt 
on Jan 20th 2012 2:00AM
52
Game director James Ohlen describes the changes coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic, one of which is guild banks for the thousands of guilds still playing. BioWare is also focusing on PvP, warzones, and convincing people that SWTOR is a good game.
Reader Comments (52)
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:01AM type2red said
LoL
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:17AM Dol said
hehe
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 7:20AM SoldierShredder said
@Dol
Can I join to the complete senseless, stupid comments at the top? Ok.
Crab people. There, I said it.
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Can I join to the complete senseless, stupid comments at the top? Ok.
Crab people. There, I said it.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:26AM akeso said
Considering it was pointed out that this feature needed to be in game a while ago in beta... like almost a year ago?... I hardly call that listening.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 3:30AM Jabong said
It's nice that it's going in but I don't understand some people who are weirdly super excited about guild banks and UI customization. These features are pretty standard in many MMO's. But a some people are acting like this they just announced player modification of cities or guild built star destroyers..at least on another forum I lurk through. Only thing here that I find kind of interesting is the legacy system.
And end game is World of Warcraft. Loot treadmill-instance gear grind-badge accumulation-daily quests-raids and PvP. Fun for those that have never done this kind of thing but "bleh" for most MMO vets. Story and voice acting is really the only thing that has me playing.
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And end game is World of Warcraft. Loot treadmill-instance gear grind-badge accumulation-daily quests-raids and PvP. Fun for those that have never done this kind of thing but "bleh" for most MMO vets. Story and voice acting is really the only thing that has me playing.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:26AM NickDynmo said
I can't be the only one here who genuinely loves this game. Anyone?
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:48AM Wompdevil said
@NickDynmo
You can add me to the list. I have been having a blast with it so far! I think they did a great job merging elements of a single player RPG with a MMO. You can't please everyone and of course things aren't perfect since it has not even been out a month yet, but I've been impressed so far.
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You can add me to the list. I have been having a blast with it so far! I think they did a great job merging elements of a single player RPG with a MMO. You can't please everyone and of course things aren't perfect since it has not even been out a month yet, but I've been impressed so far.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 3:14AM SolCross said
@NickDynmo
My wife and I thoroughly enjoy it, with no intention on going back to WoW for the foreseeable future. I see all the hate in the comments and insinuations in article titles, and I can't help but roll my eyes. At the end of the day all that really matters is that you're having fun, rather than the popular opinion that people like to enforce. I'm not saying everyone who dislikes the game is like that, there truly are some level headed people with legitimate complaints, but then there's the bandwagon with the megaphone that loves attention.
For all the flak it gets for bugs, I've been playing since launch and encountered very few notable ones, which was how WoW was during its initial release. And it's not that I hate WoW, I don't mind the Pandaren expansion coming up, but I'm just really burnt out on that world. Star Wars is a franchise I've loved since I was a kid, whereas I was only vaguely familiar with Warcraft when I started, so being familiar with everything kind of adds to my experience.
tl;dr - yeah I like the game, I'll be playing it for a long time
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My wife and I thoroughly enjoy it, with no intention on going back to WoW for the foreseeable future. I see all the hate in the comments and insinuations in article titles, and I can't help but roll my eyes. At the end of the day all that really matters is that you're having fun, rather than the popular opinion that people like to enforce. I'm not saying everyone who dislikes the game is like that, there truly are some level headed people with legitimate complaints, but then there's the bandwagon with the megaphone that loves attention.
For all the flak it gets for bugs, I've been playing since launch and encountered very few notable ones, which was how WoW was during its initial release. And it's not that I hate WoW, I don't mind the Pandaren expansion coming up, but I'm just really burnt out on that world. Star Wars is a franchise I've loved since I was a kid, whereas I was only vaguely familiar with Warcraft when I started, so being familiar with everything kind of adds to my experience.
tl;dr - yeah I like the game, I'll be playing it for a long time
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 3:37AM (Unverified) said
@NickDynmo
I agree, I thoroughly enjoy it. I tried WoW and it never stuck (everything I hear, this is like that), maybe it was lack of lightsabers and awesome voice acting or stories that seemed to make me care about them. Either way, I feel like there are tons of great elements in SWTOR that I like it. It's NOT WoW. I donno why ppl keep whining that it's not, lol.
Also, some of these "should have been done" features are not here yet, for good reason. It takes time to implement this all. It's an MMO, it will forever continue to change/upgrade/update/fix, so why ppl are mad that it's not PERFECT now is a little ridiculous. WoW's been around for a decade (I think) and not EVERYONE loves it or even thinks it's perfect.
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I agree, I thoroughly enjoy it. I tried WoW and it never stuck (everything I hear, this is like that), maybe it was lack of lightsabers and awesome voice acting or stories that seemed to make me care about them. Either way, I feel like there are tons of great elements in SWTOR that I like it. It's NOT WoW. I donno why ppl keep whining that it's not, lol.
Also, some of these "should have been done" features are not here yet, for good reason. It takes time to implement this all. It's an MMO, it will forever continue to change/upgrade/update/fix, so why ppl are mad that it's not PERFECT now is a little ridiculous. WoW's been around for a decade (I think) and not EVERYONE loves it or even thinks it's perfect.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 4:33AM KaySakura said
@NickDynmo Yeah I don't understand why people need convincing,, it truly is a great game. The level of immersion is amazing. You actually find your safe caring about the characters to work with **cough* Vette **cough**, and the things you say. I must admit though. the on screen chat choices need to better reflect what the character actually says. I find them vague at best. I click thing it willl go one way by how its written only to here it said differently and far more or less rude than hoping for...
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Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:05AM xHotPotatox said
@NickDynmo
A few technical issues aside I love this game too. I've been playing my inquisitor so evil that I sometimes have to turn off the game, thats how guilty I feel for the choices I've made lol
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A few technical issues aside I love this game too. I've been playing my inquisitor so evil that I sometimes have to turn off the game, thats how guilty I feel for the choices I've made lol
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:16AM for we are legion said
@NickDynmo
Your not the only ;D
Loving my lvl 50 Sith Inquisitor Healer spec...
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Your not the only ;D
Loving my lvl 50 Sith Inquisitor Healer spec...
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 6:49AM Punkrawk Bbob said
@Bielzer
< Not a Halo type, did not dig SWTOR. It's not my bag but I enjoy MMOs. I played and enjoyed Vanguard, EverQuest, LotRO, and even the original Star Wars Galaxies to some extent. SWTOR just feels like a reskin with the same elements of WoW to me, which got boring fast. It's too easy to level and I feel that it's just pushing MMOs into a "more of the same" direction. The fact that these changes are making it more like another MMO just further cements that.
It feels to me like if this was the shooter genre that this is the Battlefield 3 to CoD series. It's something heavily influenced by the success of the other big FPS... While personally I'm waiting for the Gears of War to change shit up enough so it delivers a completely different experience within the genre. So while I dig MMOs and the concept, until they take off the easy-mode where everyone caps out in two months (with heavy solo play options) on their char level and just spends time collecting loot from raiding... I'm afraid the genre left me.
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< Not a Halo type, did not dig SWTOR. It's not my bag but I enjoy MMOs. I played and enjoyed Vanguard, EverQuest, LotRO, and even the original Star Wars Galaxies to some extent. SWTOR just feels like a reskin with the same elements of WoW to me, which got boring fast. It's too easy to level and I feel that it's just pushing MMOs into a "more of the same" direction. The fact that these changes are making it more like another MMO just further cements that.
It feels to me like if this was the shooter genre that this is the Battlefield 3 to CoD series. It's something heavily influenced by the success of the other big FPS... While personally I'm waiting for the Gears of War to change shit up enough so it delivers a completely different experience within the genre. So while I dig MMOs and the concept, until they take off the easy-mode where everyone caps out in two months (with heavy solo play options) on their char level and just spends time collecting loot from raiding... I'm afraid the genre left me.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:17AM Darklink2009 said
@NickDynmo You are not alone. Lovin' my Sawbones Scoundrel. This game feels like the perfect sequel to KOTOR, and when I want a diversion from single-player story mode, I can team up with friends to take down some truly challenging enemies. People who are having a bad experience with a game are usually a lot louder than those who are having a good one.
That said, can some of you come over to Firaxan Shark? I made the mistake of rolling on a low-population server.
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That said, can some of you come over to Firaxan Shark? I made the mistake of rolling on a low-population server.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 9:29AM Spookimitsu said
@NickDynmo
I thought it was cool, but I was under the impression be able to manually pilot around in spacecraft as well (a la rogue squadron)
still holding my breath
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I thought it was cool, but I was under the impression be able to manually pilot around in spacecraft as well (a la rogue squadron)
still holding my breath
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:01PM digitalheadbutt said
@NickDynmo
I had 4 months of beta and I am stil having fun at launch. People keep comparing it to WoW, which is game that has had years to mature, that is a stupid platform from which to agrue. WoW's launch was far more plagued with unexpected down time and such, so much so that they that gave us a day of play for every unplanned outage. I accrued well over a month of playtime during the first 3 months of downtime. SWTOR is cool, has some weaknesses but is a great starting point for BW's first MMO.
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I had 4 months of beta and I am stil having fun at launch. People keep comparing it to WoW, which is game that has had years to mature, that is a stupid platform from which to agrue. WoW's launch was far more plagued with unexpected down time and such, so much so that they that gave us a day of play for every unplanned outage. I accrued well over a month of playtime during the first 3 months of downtime. SWTOR is cool, has some weaknesses but is a great starting point for BW's first MMO.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:28AM omgJOHN said
They convinced me some time ago that it was a good game.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:48AM for we are legion said
This is great!
Just hit lvl 50 and there is still so much to do. I don't under stand all the bad press about this game not having any end game.
Ok....back to swtor need my fix...
Just hit lvl 50 and there is still so much to do. I don't under stand all the bad press about this game not having any end game.
Ok....back to swtor need my fix...
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 4:44AM Thurro said
I've only played a couple days of the last beta weekend so I won't judge the game, but I have questions: What motivates most players to invest lots of time in a game? Does SWTOR have this?
There are probably several ways to answer this but my feeling is that the vast majority of people invest lots of time in WoW to try to be better than other players (consciously or subconsciously, aggressively or for fun). Better geared, better skilled, better looking, better mounts, better achievements, and better knowledge of their class. Can a game this young provide that? Can it provide that to a playerbase that is made up mostly of people sick of another game that does have that?
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There are probably several ways to answer this but my feeling is that the vast majority of people invest lots of time in WoW to try to be better than other players (consciously or subconsciously, aggressively or for fun). Better geared, better skilled, better looking, better mounts, better achievements, and better knowledge of their class. Can a game this young provide that? Can it provide that to a playerbase that is made up mostly of people sick of another game that does have that?
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 6:57AM Punkrawk Bbob said
@for we are legion
You don't see a problem with already being capped out after only two months of the gaming being out...? It's like 1-49 were just artificial, meaningless training levels? Hardly seems like you'd have much time to enjoy them over the course of 9 weeks...
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You don't see a problem with already being capped out after only two months of the gaming being out...? It's like 1-49 were just artificial, meaningless training levels? Hardly seems like you'd have much time to enjoy them over the course of 9 weeks...
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:19AM Darklink2009 said
@Punkrawk Bbob SWTOR doesn't feel like that because of the story mode. I've not felt yet like I'm just grinding for the sake of grinding - even when that's what I'm doing (i.e. Space Missions). The story is what motivates me to play this game, not the levels.
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Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:48AM Haizeus said
While I hate to be so negative, watching Bioware and EA reap exactly what they've sown, well, it's pretty darn satisfying.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 9:19AM Doctor Who said
@Haizeus
I don't understand your comment. By all accounts, this game has been an incredible success, what exactly do you think they're reaping in besides money?
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I don't understand your comment. By all accounts, this game has been an incredible success, what exactly do you think they're reaping in besides money?
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:49AM Emophia said
SWTOR is a great game but a terrible MMO, I like it but will be leaving after I finish my Bounty Hunter's story cause the actually gameplay PVP and world is mediocre. Story is very fun though! Although I am getting a lot of repeated dialogue by my character, even in story cutscenes, very off putting and shoddy.
But yeah LMAO guild banks, not the other 1million broken tings with the game.
But yeah LMAO guild banks, not the other 1million broken tings with the game.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:21AM Darklink2009 said
@Emophia
"I wasn't planning on living forever anyway. I'm in!"
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"I wasn't planning on living forever anyway. I'm in!"
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 3:11AM NickDynmo said
Oh man!
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 3:28AM Hank Hill said
Oh god!
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 4:01AM Frostblade10 said
I wish he'd at least look me in the eye when he tells me that I matter and that I'm being listened to.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 4:35AM KaySakura said
I don't understand why people need convincing. This game is just simply amazing! BioWare has hit a home run with this one.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:34AM for we are legion said
Well I'm in a guild of mostly players new to mmo games and right now there is none of that..... About 200 people in our guild.
So with that said there is none of this o.O look what I have that you don't or I'm not helping you cause your a noob. So far from most of what I have herd in guild chat are people are loving there story line and playing pvp. We run flash points all the time and there is a lot of good team work going on. Something I can't say I saw a lot of playing 5 years of WoW.
Hope that helps.
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So with that said there is none of this o.O look what I have that you don't or I'm not helping you cause your a noob. So far from most of what I have herd in guild chat are people are loving there story line and playing pvp. We run flash points all the time and there is a lot of good team work going on. Something I can't say I saw a lot of playing 5 years of WoW.
Hope that helps.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 4:48AM Vladeon said
I got to say, me and my guild just did the kaolun under siege flashpoint and had an absolute blast. It was amazing. The first "boss" has you holding a point against an onslaught of Rakhguls with just your trusty blaster/lightsaber and a turret to fend them off. Good times. Can't wait for more content.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:04AM Traptz said
Fix the games engine..then I'll re-sub
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:30AM greycobalt said
I'm another who totally doesn't understand all the hate coming at it. I'm in love with the game. The story is fantastic, and the mechanics are basically what you'd expect out of an MMO. I'm looking forward to all the additions and fixes they'll be coming out with.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 6:59AM Punkrawk Bbob said
@greycobalt
"and the mechanics are basically what you'd expect out of an MMO."
That's where the hate comes from. It's status quo, which is never something to get excited for really.
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"and the mechanics are basically what you'd expect out of an MMO."
That's where the hate comes from. It's status quo, which is never something to get excited for really.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:23AM Darklink2009 said
@Punkrawk Bbob I think the biggest problem is that Bioware wasn't really trying to innovate the gameplay - they were trying to innovate the storytelling. In that respect, I think they did a great job.
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Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:26AM greycobalt said
@Punkrawk Bbob
A lot of people didn't like that it was the status quo, but no one has said what they would rather it be. I'm sure it was some new type of gameplay, there would be a fair share of complaining as well. Bioware's strength has always been it's storytelling, and they succeeded ridiculously in that area. The rest of the game is an extremely competent MMO that uses the now-standard mechanics that every single other MMO does. I don't think those will be reinvented anytime soon.
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A lot of people didn't like that it was the status quo, but no one has said what they would rather it be. I'm sure it was some new type of gameplay, there would be a fair share of complaining as well. Bioware's strength has always been it's storytelling, and they succeeded ridiculously in that area. The rest of the game is an extremely competent MMO that uses the now-standard mechanics that every single other MMO does. I don't think those will be reinvented anytime soon.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 2:05PM Beltyra said
@Punkrawk Bbob It's like saying Halo wasn't innovative and a good game because it still had you shooting a gun from the first person perspective. CoD4 didn't have good multiplayer because you still fought on a map in 8v8 modes.
All the public hate of SWTOR has only made me love the game more I think. Totally not sad to see people canceling their subs.
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All the public hate of SWTOR has only made me love the game more I think. Totally not sad to see people canceling their subs.
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 5:52AM Xemplar said
Isn't most of the rage at SWtOR stemming from the way the 1.1 patch broke/unbalanced Ilum PvP, causing Republic to be steamrolled by the Imps, who then farmed ridiculous amounts of valour points which they then used to buy über PvP gear to continue the pain train which in turn caused people playing Republic to call for a rollback, which they didn't get, then those angry people tried to unsubscribe but Bioware tried to disable unsubscribing? ... *wheeze* whew.. Or have I heard wrong?
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 6:16AM Frez said
"Bioware adding common MMO feature to SWTOR"
How is this news?
How is this news?
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:25AM Darklink2009 said
@Frez Because honestly, that's what most people are complaining about - that it has both too many and not enough standard features of MMOs. Such a fickle group of players.
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Posted: Jan 20th 2012 8:20AM echerringtonYAHOOCOM said
I guess I need to try out SWTOR then. lol
Posted: Jan 20th 2012 9:55AM ReadingRambo said
Bioware IS listening. It self entitled trolls who are convinced the game will fail that spread rumors and disinformation.
If you don't like the game, thats fine. Say why in an appropriate manner.
Personally this game is perfect for me. Its fun to play and story arcs are epic. PvP zones are fun even though there are only 3. More are coming. I love what bioware did with auto-attack by removing it. You control every single move and there is no need to balance around an auto swing mechanic.
Bioware is working on the perceived ability delay as well.
If you don't like the game, thats fine. Say why in an appropriate manner.
Personally this game is perfect for me. Its fun to play and story arcs are epic. PvP zones are fun even though there are only 3. More are coming. I love what bioware did with auto-attack by removing it. You control every single move and there is no need to balance around an auto swing mechanic.
Bioware is working on the perceived ability delay as well.
