MER Episode 17 – Microtransawesome?

It has been much too long since we’ve been able to record a new show…and the ridiculous amount of news we cover in episode 17 reflects that! Going all the way back to Voss, we touch on all of the updates through the new Developer Video #4 on Combat. In an effort to give new features like the “Inhabitants” section and the new webcomic the attention they deserve, we’ll be discussing those on episode 18. But there’s more here than just official updates! Based on the recent news around Blizzard’s Celestial Steed mount, we dive headfirst into a great discussion on micro-transactions and how Bioware will likely include them in The Old Republic.

We want to offer a big thanks to jg1001 and flippa299 for taking the time to leave us reviews on iTunes.

Also don’t forget to check out the great community we meantioned at the end of the show, The Imperial Guard, over at www.tigforums.org

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

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News from the Galactic Republic
(4/9) New Planet Added: Voss
-Voss in the Holonet
-Aurebesh translation from the Holonet Project
-Breakdown of info at Wookiepedia

(4/16) New Timeline: “Peace for the Republic?”
-”Peace for the Republic?” at SWTOR.com
-Lore Update and breakdown of the events from Darth Hater

(4/23) The Old Republic in Print
-Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
-Threat of Peace Webcomic
-Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived

(4/23) Combat in Star Wars: The Old Republic
-Video Documentary #4 at SWTOR.com
-Orange box dissection from Darth Hater

Stories from the Outer Rim / Community Poll
Do real-money transactions for in-game items hurt your game experience?
* Yes. Bioware should only allow items to be obtained through the game itself (69%, 61 Votes)
* No. It is okay to pay real money for items in game (31%, 28 Votes)

If Bioware were to accept real-money transactions, what items should you be able to purchase?
* Non-combat / Vanity items (Pets, clothes, hats, etc.) (97%, 74 Votes)
* On-planet mounts (Speeders, Tauntauns, etc.) (34%, 26 Votes)
* Ships (If included in the game…) (17%, 13 Votes)
* Armor and Weapons (7%, 5 Votes)

See where this whole discussion started over at 1UP.com

MER Episode 15 – Gee Dee Cee You At PAX East!

After taking a month off, we knew you guys would want a packed show…and we’ve delivered! Beyond catching up on all the recent news like Belsavis and the Consular developer blog, Darth Hater’s Emlaeh joined us to talk about her hands-on experience with the Trooper last week at LucasArts. We also get to the listener questions that have been sitting in the inbox for a while, and our pal JD joins us for an Old Republic class March Madness! Hope you all enjoy the long format, and we look forward to bringing you our experience at PAX East next week.

Also, we want to extend a huge thanks to Jaysen71581 for taking the time to leave us a review on iTunes!

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

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News from the Galactic Republic
Fan Friday Update: Fan Site Kit, Trooper Animation, Rancor Render

Developer Video: Returning to Taris

Developer Blog: Finding Balance in the Force

New Webcomic with Dark Horse: Blood of the Empire

New Playable Planet: Belsavis
-Info from Wookiepedia

Stories from the Outer Rim
Trooper Gameplay @ Darth Hater

Be sure to check out the rest of the GDC coverage from Darth Hater!

Pre-Episode Poll
Which Unannounced KOTOR planet should be added to the game?
-Kashyyyk (36%, 24 Votes)
-Dantooine (27%, 18 Votes)
-Yavin System (19%, 13 Votes)
-Manaan (13%, 9 Votes)
-Rakata Prime (Lehon) (5%, 3 Votes)

“I’d love to see them explore Dantooine where it says “Buried beneath the deserted Enclave was a hidden facility in which the ancient Jedi Knights carried on mysterious cloning experiments.” in the wiki link. I love the idea of the serene planet surface, but beneath the surface are either jedi ghosts or decayed jedi walking around doing immoral experiments for warped and skewed reasons that were at one time good. And hell, if the Empire could somehow be behind this corruption… all the better.”
-Lazenca

“I’d like it to be a time when the wookiees are “free” from outside influence, and have fallen into a civil war.”
-Axe Faktor

Listener Questions
What are your opinions on flyable ships as opposed to the system in KOTOR where you were automatically taken to another planet?
-Sith Tyro Revan
Check out Gordon Walton’s thoughts on space combat

So I have played (and will play again) the Star Wars pencil and paper D20 RPG game. It plays really similarly to D&D and both KOTORs adapt a bunch of their play styles from it. The big difference between it and D&D is the weapon damage. You would have similar HP, but the weapons just shell out tons of damage, both for the heroes and mobs. Do you think this would be an appropriate play style for SWTOR? Having tons of damage dealt from you and to you, speeding up the game play. Or do you think it should be slowed down to match other MMORPG’s?
-Peter Corey

Hi guys great cast been listening for a few months now. Just wondered what you guys think the planet areas are going to be like and what you will be hoping for in respect to size and exploration. Obviously there will be a lot of instances within open areas for solo and different size groups/raids but what would you like from the open areas? You talked a little about exploration with regards to SWG and Krayt dragons and a little on easter eggs which will be cool to come across but what would you really like from the open areas with respect to size/ random spawns/ gated areas or not?/ random,scripted,GM events/ cool things/ crafting nodes and drops…….etc.
-Kojack

March Madness!!!!

MER Episode 06 – Threat of the Old Republic

What a slow month for news! Don’t worry though, we’ve got a doozy of an episode for you (over an hour and a half!). DeaconX of Heroes of the Old Republic was finally able to join us where we discuss his project and the Threat of Peace webcomic. We also touch on some community rumblings about PVP, microtransactions, and the closing of some Galaxies servers. All that and more!

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News from the Galactic Republic
-SOE shutting down a number of Star Wars Galaxies servers

Stories from the Outer Rim
-Will Bioware be using microtransactions for SWTOR?
-Slash Dance!

KOTOR Giveaway Winners!

Listener Questions
@NpXDinO – Have you guys heard anything about flying a ship, owning a ship, or at least commanding a ship?

@Machine1k – What do you guys think about the amount of CC that might be in game? for PvP and PvE.

JD – We hear a lot from Bioware about the original kotor story being hinted or referenced upon in TOR. But what about kotor II? Do you think its worth making any inclusions or references towards the second game? Do Bioware even have the rights to use the kotor II characters?