Friday Update - Beta For All

 

This is the the update everyone has been hoping for. This Friday every follower of TOR has will have had an e-mail saying they will be getting a weekend beta test in the next few weeks.

Anyone that has signed up for beta testing before 11/11/2011 will at some point be getting some much needed hands on game time.
The main object is to stress test the server and give the many followers of the game a quick joy-ride.

Those that register after 11/11 are still eligible to test TOR by gaining beta keys that have been given out to some of the media site.

You can find all the details and the site giving out code here.



Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs. Trooper

EU Invite Come And Gone

 General beta invite started last night for the EU followers of TOR.

General Game Testing Invites are now being sent to EU testers.

Sent Nov. 10: General Game Testing Invites

• Who was invited: Testers from all European launch countries (see list here)
• What was sent: General Game Testing Invites
• Server locations: EU servers
• Invite status: All invites have now been sent. E-mails can take some time to be sent, so please check your www.swtor.com/tester page to be sure!

And as 20 minutes ago if you have not received an invite or you do not see your status updated on the tester page your out of luck for this round.

  Rockjaw Stephen Reid

All EU #SWTOR invites for this round have been sent. Thread updated as promised: bit.ly/sHqHcq

So thats it until the next invite go out. With time running out testing opportunity's are slipping away.

On This Day The EU Gets TOR Invites

Mark it off all on your calenders you EU people, today we got word that some of the 500,000,000+ living in the EU have been sent the TOR testing invite.

Chris Collins

 Today, we’re excited to announce that we are sending out a batch of invites! In particular, this initial batch marks the start of a series of invites to our larger European player base, who get the chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Testing program and provide feedback during the months up until launch.

In other exciting news, we’ll be making further announcements in the coming days and weeks, as we update you on Game Testing on the European service. On top of that, we’ll also be announcing details around the upcoming Beta Testing Weekends!

With the launch drawing ever-closer, we’re more excited than ever to receive your feedback on the game to help make the launch as smooth as possible.

At long last the time has arrived that we here in the EU can check our E-Mails every hour and have  real hope that at sometime we may get the golden ticket from BioWare.

It's been a very long road to this point watching and hoping that we would be included in trying to make the game that we have followed for the last three years, just that little bit better.

It was not too long ago we found out we did not have localised servers here in the EU. This may have diminished your chances a little bit more of getting that invite. But now we are on an even footing with NA.

Sure the chance is still very low but now we have a very real chance. This is better news for me than that of the release date. After all we knew it was coming this year. And BioWare stayed true to there word, but they did manage to squeeze as much time out of 2011 as possible.

Gratz to all those that got in and good luck to all those still waiting.

See you in-game soon I hope :)

Real Fears Mount For Late EU Launch

As always I spend my day scanning websites/twitter and a few vent channels for the latest news around TOR. With GamesCon running this is a minute by minute process, it just so happens this is how the whole late EU launch started.

Stephen Reid Twitter account @Rockjaw asked for some questions using the hash-tag #GabeQ.

It was here I posted a question.

@MrWarlock_ Mick Johnson

#GabeQ With the beta weekends in September will the European contingent be gaining access beta at the same time as those in the USA ?

Friday Update - Huttbaal and Pax info

 Huttball is the latest warzone to be released by TOR. This is a basic capture-the-flag with a nice twist. Adding the passing feature with this game type opens up so many different tactical approaches it makes your head spin. 
So looking forward to giving this a try and I can see it being heaps of fun.



Aslo we get info on next weeks Pax event with the almost ever present meat and great that comes along with TOR little outings you can get all you need here. 

SWTOR Guild Testing Has Begun

Finally guilds will will have a change to work together in TOR, and test the game in an organized manner.


David Bass has just made a post on the forums announcing that a few guilds have already invited and more are on the way Good luck to you all and be sure to test and have fun doing it.

We are very pleased to announce the start of Guild Testing for STAR WARS: The Old Republic! This program will allow guilds to be considered as a whole for inclusion in the Game Testing Program, allowing us to gather important data regarding how guilds play The Old Republic, as well as how organized groups deal with various mechanics and systems in the game. The program is already underway, as we’ve invited the first wave of guilds into testing, however we’ll be adding more over the coming weeks alongside the general Game Testing invites.

How do I sign my guild up for Guild Testing?

All you need to do in order to have your guild considered for Guild Testing is to have an active guild with at least 10 members registered in our Guild Headquarters. We also recommend creating a recruitment thread on our forums, but please make sure you are following the Recruitment Guidelines we’ve set forward. Guilds that spam recruitment messages after multiple warnings, for example, will not be considered for Guild Testing.

How are guilds selected for Guild Testing?

In general, guild testing is done randomly from all eligible guilds (that is, those with at least 10 registered members in the Guild Headquarters). Throughout the program, we will be looking to let in both large and small guilds, so as long as your guild meets the minimum requirement, you have an equal chance of being invited to testing. In addition, we may, at our discretion, choose a few select guilds that are active and helpful in the community, since we could use that sort of helpfulness in-game and on the Testing Forums. Note that this will be done in rare circumstances, in order to reward our dedicated community members. Please do not contact any BioWare staff requesting access to Guild Testing, or else your guild may be removed from consideration.

How do I know if my guild has been selected for Guild Testing?

Guild leaders will be contacted directly with detailed instructions when their guild gets selected for testing. It'll be their job to pass the appropriate information to the rest of their guild in order for everyone to be sent testing invites.

What is involved in Guild Testing?

Guild Testing works the same way as Game Testing does, however by being invited as a guild, you gain the advantage of being in the same testing group and being on the same server, allowing for more coordination amongst the guild for testing group content. You’ll still be a part of the general Game Testing population as well, and will have access to the general testing forums as everyone else does.

Are European guilds eligible for Guild Testing?

European Guild Testing will begin at the same time the European Testing Program begins in the near future.


If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to post in this thread or email us at guilds@swtor.com. Again, please do not contact us asking for Guild Testing consideration or your guild may not be considered for testing.

TOR Coming September

Well almost.

Many of the TOR faithful will at last get there hands on the game by the way of weekend testing.

I loved to way rift did this weekend stuff. It was highly successful for the game and I'm sure TOR will try to emulate this too. Rift by this method had the smoothest launch of any mmo I have played, with every weekend being the same as launch day all over again. The more traditional way mmo's do open beta is hit and miss. Yet this weekend thing works really well, you can fix bugs tweak at will from 1 stage to the next without interrupting the flow of the game.

How quick the team reacts to bugs is very telling in these early stages and this will be a huge eyeopener to what is about to transpire when the game goes live.


But before then we still have a vast amount of info to swot up on, info that has yet to be revealed and/or finalized by BioWare, the NDA also may need to be dropped before the September open beta window begins. Even if BioWare do not relax the NDA on the current game testers September will bring a ton of info from those that will get the invites.

Crafting - We are still lacking much of the crafting skills that will appear in TOR. BioWare sure looks like they have worked and re-worked the crafting skills to death. They have said for quite some time now that crafting skills will be coming soon. Yet they still have not appeared.
This tells me they had to re-think remake and totally revamp most if not all the crafting TOR had in-place. Now this has to be good for the game, as they are trying to bring the best system to fit in with the Star Wars IP. But we still need this before a mass of new testers bounces on the game.

Legacy System And Race Ability's - I mentioned this in my blog on SWTOR-Life as my top anticipated reveals that would come from TOR.
The legacy system was confirmed to still be in the game at Comic Con, as well as pushing race ability's to be ready for launch.
Alone the legacy system can change the way many will play the game, depending on how it's implemented. BioWare gave a small hint about unlocking different race's. Now this is nothing huge but most of the game that use legacy do give the player that re-rolls a few benefits. What this would mean for TOR could mean anything, and if the races ability's do make launch this would change the face of the game.
You may start a class just to re-roll a better different class that has a bonus stat or race ability that can only be unlocked from you re-rolling. This will be a must have 2-3 months in if you intend to be competitive at the highest level.

Skill Tree's - Well good news on this topic as BioWare do intend to release these. This will let you go and plan your class before you play.

Of-course there are many more guild structures, customization, class races and so on. If everything goes as it should we will be in for a very interesting few weeks before the September deadline looms ever closer.

But as I wish the weeks ahead away, like many this latest round of reveals has me as hyped as ever and glued to every snip of info that will come from BioWare and SWTOR,.