Space Abilities

As we saw in the tutorial image, we get a handful of hot-key abilities to use in space.  From the data mined files, there doesn't look to be a shortage of them either.  Lets take a peek at some of them...

In Your Sights.  "Paints" the current target, causing them to receive 15% more damage for 20s

Sensor Beacon.  Drops a sensor beacon at your current location. The beacon will detect enemies and transmit their location to nearby team members. It will last for <<1>> seconds, or until destroyed, and up to 3 beacons may be active at the same time.

The Sensor Beacon ability is certainly interesting.  It will provide an important tool for scouting.

EMP Burst.  Deliver a large amount of damage to nearby enemies and allies.

Enemies AND allies? Oh my.  Could that mean friendly fire will be enabled.  That should certainly make things interesting.

Tracking Device.  Launches a tracking device at the targeted enemy, which will attach to the target's hull and broadcast their position to all allies within 100 km for 60 seconds.

Another interesting scouting tool.

Graviton Charges.  Graviton charges are launched towards nearby ships and generate an unstable gravity field after attaching to their target. This significantly reduces the speed and maneuverability of the target, and does some mild damage-over-time directly to the hull.

Repair Drone.  Drops a repair drone at your current location. It gradually repairs the hulls of up to three nearby allies. It will last for <<1>> seconds, or until destroyed.

And there we have a 'healing' ability.

There are a lot more abilities listed in the files.  I just chose these examples to give us an idea of what to expect.  I wonder if these abilities are granted by the components that we equip on the ship.  I'm not sure if that is the case or not yet.

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Space Progression

One aspect of the new space system which I had not given any thought to was progression.  That was partly due to me just thinking it would use current warzone systems.  It turns out that BioWare may be adding special progression just for this new type of space warzone.  Again, this is all from datamined information so keep in mind that it may not be accurate.

From the files we see:

Ship XP
Fleet XP
You have gained <<1>> fleet requisition points for completing the skirmish.
You have gained <<1>> ship requisition points for <<2>> for completing the skirmish.
You have gained item <<1>> for completing the skirmish.

It looks like two new forms of progression (or currency, or both?) are being added.  I imagine this is how we unlock things like new ships, and as we saw in yesterdays post, new components.  I really like the direction BioWare is going with this.  Instead of just a mini-game, it is shaping up to have enough depth to be a game in itself.

The last line also shows that there will be items.  Could that indicate individual ship components?  I really hope so.   There are a bunch of them in the files.  But more on that later.

Depending on how deep they actually go, I could easily see dedicated space players just like we saw in Star Wars Galaxies.

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Werit talks Space in SWTOR

Over the weekend I was invited to be a guest on the SWTOR podcast, TORWars.  This is the second time I've been on it, previously talking about datamining and some of the content which was uncovered.  This time I was on talking about BioWare's new Space Project.

http://torwars.com/torwars-podcast-165-super-secret/

Like last time, it was a lot of fun.  I love talking about the game, and the TORWars community is great.  I'm really looking forward to the new space system, which seems to be going into testing soon.

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SWTOR Space Tutorial Image

Over on reddit, swtor_miner has been doing a fantastic job pulling interesting data out of the latest PTS files.  So good, that there really hasn't been a need for me to do it.  He pulled out one very interesting image, a tutorial screen for the new space system.

There is a lot being shown to us in this image.

Controls.  Looks like a pretty standard system.  Not shown is the pitch and yaw though, so I'm going to take a guess and say that the mouse will be responsible for that.  There is also a targeting system, likely used for abilities.

Objectives.  As thought, there will be objectives to capture, which are guarded by some PvE satellites. We just need to destroy the guards and stay near them to capture.  

Shields and Hull.  In the second image we get an idea of what the UI looks like, and I am very impressed.  Ships have a Shield and Hull rating.  I assume the shields will recharge and the hull will need to be repaired.  We saw in the medal list that there is one for repairs, so there will be 'healing' abilities. 

Power Management.  It looks we'll be able to allocate power to different systems.  I'm going to guess Engines, Weapons, and Shields. This will certainly add some depth and strategy to the fights.  

Combat Abilities.  It isn't just point and shoot.  We will have some hot-key abilities too.  

Overall, this image provides us with a good look at what the space system will actually be like.  I am pretty pleased with what I see.  I didn't think we would have this much depth to the system.  Kudos BioWare!

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I Underestimated BioWare

Space week is now Space two-week!  Just so much information coming out that one week could not contain it.  Last week, I gave my prediction about what BioWare's Super Secret Space Project was going to be.  I wrote that post earlier in the week, and of course some new information came out which made some of my post wrong.  Never have I been so happy to be wrong :)

Warzone.  First, what I got right.  The space project looks like it will be a warzone.  As you can see in the tutorial image below, it shows a scoreboard just like a warzone.

Also, from the UI files we have the following:

Annihilator Medal awarded for dealing 2k damage in a single hit!
Assassin Medal awarded for slaying an enemy player in a one-on-one dog fight!
Combatant Medal awarded for dealing 10k total damage!
Fighter Medal awarded for assisting other players in slaying 5 enemies!
Defense Basic Medal awarded for gaining defender points!
Defense Bronze Medal awarded for gaining 3k defender points!
Defense Silver Medal awarded for gaining 5k defender points!
Defense Gold Medal awarded for gaining 7.5k defender points!
Defense Platinum Medal awarded for gaining 10k defender points!
Defense Diamond Medal awarded for gaining 15k defender points!
Demolisher Medal awarded for dealing 3k damage in a single hit!
Destroyer Medal awarded for dealing 30k total damage!
Guardian Medal awarded for earning 2k Defense without dying once!
Mechanic Medal awarded for delivering 5k in ship repairs!
Offensive Basic Medal awarded for gaining attacker points!
Offense Bronze Medal awarded for gaining 3k attacker points!
Offense Silver Medal awarded for gaining 5k attacker points!
Offense Gold Medal awarded for gaining 7.5k attacker points!
Offense Platinum Medal awarded for gaining 10k attacker points!
Offense Diamond Medal awarded for gaining 15k attacker points!
Paladin Medal awarded for earning 10k Defense without dying once!
Protector Medal awarded for earning 50k defense points!
Quick Draw Medal awarded for delivering 2 killing blows!
Savior Medal awarded for delivering 10k in ship repairs!
Shield Medal awarded for earning 5k defense points!
Ace Medal awarded for delivering 5 killing blows!
Wingman Medal awarded for assisting other players in slaying 10 enemies!

Yep, a whole new medal system to go along with it.  Not to mention there were references to queues and rewards for completing a 'skirmish.' So I am pretty confident that this is something we will be queuing for.  Hopefully it is a brand new queue and not in the existing warzone queue.

Customization. Here is where I was wrong.  I set my sights low and figured we would not have any way to customize our ship.  I even thought our ship would be based on our armor class, wrong again.  In the datamined files, we see evidence of exactly the opposite.

Loadout is already ready for battle.

You cannot equip the same component twice, this component is already equipped in another slot.

COMPONENT UPGRADE SYSTEM

Click to unlock this tier of upgrades.You must purchase previous tiers to unlock this tier.(Drag up to ready loadout for battle)(Drag off to remove loadout from ready list)(Loadout is ready for battle)

At least one readied ship is required to be eligible for combat.

So yeah, there looks to be a customization system with unlocks and components.  There is also a lits of a bunch of different ships, but I'll save that for another post.

I clearly underestimated BioWare, and and quite pleased with what I have seen.

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Second Chance Heroes Beta Giveaway

We’re running another giveaway over at The Noobist.  This time it’s for the co-op arcade action game, Second Chance Heroes.  We've got a bunch of beta keys to give out.  So Werit, how do I get my hands on one of these keys?  I’m glad you asked, it’s simple.  Go to http://www.noobist.com and click on the Sites with Benefits widget on the right side of the screen, sign in using any of the providers, complete some missions, redeem your points for a beta key.

Why should you play Second Chance Heroes?

The Heroes.  There are a bunch of heroes to choose from and they are adding new ones all the time.  They are also pretty funny and a lot of fun to play.  Take two with you into a level and switch between them at will.  Who doesn't like Queen Elizabeth with a Gatling Gun?

Co-Op.  You can play alone, but it is even more fun if you bring some friends.  Four people can play together at a time.   Here at the Noobist we try to have game night, we spent one of them just hanging out and playing some Second Chance Heroes.

The Levels.  At least some of the levels take place in a shopping mall.  Of course the mall is infested with zombies, vampires and man-eating cheeseburgers.  The artwork is very nice, and the levels have some interactive elements.

Not convinced?  Check out this video:

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What SWTOR's Space Project Probably Is

This is the final post of Space Week.  We've gone from the video, through data-mining and to my own selfish desires.  I thought it would be a good idea to finish up with what I think this whole thing will actually turn out to be.

Instanced.  Sadly, I really don't see BioWare putting in a static space area.  It didn't work too well with Ilum, so no reason to think it would be any better in space.  There are all sorts of challenges when it comes to Open RvR, like population, when dealing with a two sided system.

Also, the teaser video really looked like a warzone to me.  You had ships jump in on each side, then go to fight.  Each side also had a capital ship.  Really reminded me of how they did some of the current warzones.

An instance is not necessarily a bad thing, but the scope would be a lot smaller than introducing an open world zone to fight over.

No Customization.  Going on the premise that the space system is a warzone, I don't really see ship customization coming into play.   On the positive side that would mean 'fair' fights.  Your gear wouldn't matter, just how well you fly.  On the down side, that will leave out potential depth.  Who doesn't like to outfit their ship?

I'm also going to go out on a limb and say you will not get to select ship types.  Instead, your armor class will translate into what kind of ship you get to fly.  There is light/medium/heavy versions, just a coincidence?

If either of these prove to be wrong I will be very happy.  So please BioWare, make this post wrong.  I guess we will find out in the coming weeks, as this could be in 2.5.

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What I want from SWTOR's Space Project

It's time to get a little selfish, and possibly unrealistic.  I have a long history with space combat and Star Wars.  It all started way back when on my Dads computer playing X-Wing and then later Star Wars on the ol' Genesis 32x.  I actually don't remember too much, except the awesomeness of flying round shooting tie fighters with backdrops of Star Destroyers.

1)  Capital Ships.  Star Wars has always had amazing capital ship designs.  Star Destroyers especially stick out in my mind.  Any space system has to include some epic ships to fight around.  I'm not asking to control them (although that would be amazing), but they should be involved somehow.

I also remember breaking out the joystick to plat these games.  I still have one around the house somewhere.  There were no hot-key abilities that just worked.  It was all up to how well you handled your craft.  One could argue that there should be these kind of abilities, as Jedi have been known to influence battles with their powers.

2) Skill Based.  I just say skill, instead of normal MMO target based abilities.  The fight should come down to whose a better pilot instead of rotation and what happens to be on cooldown.  From what we know so far, it doesn't appear that gear will come into play ( that's just a guess though).

Then there was Star Wars Galaxies and their Jump to Lightspeed expansion.  I never got into space too much, but dabbled in it a bit.  What I really remember from it was the variety of ships.  You had all the classics and a bunch of newer ones.  Not only could you pick from iconic ships, but you could customize them with gear.

3) Variety.  Right now, based on our limited information, it seems there are just three kinds of ships for each side: light, medium, and heavy.  I'm sure they will get cooler names, but I would love to see more variety in what ships are offered.  Obtaining new ships should be part of the fun.

4) Customization.  I know I said I wanted it to be skill based, but customizing your ship is a lot of fun.  If done correctly, it can add a lot of depth to the game.  Sounds like something that should be crafted and BoE to me.  Just imagine a Shipwright crafting profession... drool...

I honestly can't remember the purpose of space in SWG.  I think it had some greater effect on the PvP side of things.  I could be wrong though.  I know there was a segment of players who spent all their time in space fighting each other, just because.

5) Purpose.  Since it is looking like the new space system will be PvP, it'd be nice if it meant something.   This is just one of those 'not well thought out wishes' kind of things.  To really mean something, it'd have to be a static area and not an instance.

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What we know about SWTOR's new Space System

Welcome to day two of Space Week!  Yesterday, we watched the video teaser that BioWare put out at PAX Prime.  Just in case you missed it, here it is again...





Video.  The video is pretty short, and does not actually show the UI.  That makes it tough to tell what is a cut scene.  Near the end though, there is gameplay footage!

• Capital Ships.  There are several shots of capital ships.  They might just be decoration/structures though.
• Satellites.  A satellite gets blown up.  This could be some sort of PvE content inside what is believe to be a PvP area.  This also ties into some of the data mined information.
• Locations.  There appear to be stations.  These could be objectives which sides will fight over.  

Data Mined.  Back in late June I wrote an article for TORWars about some interesting space-related findings. We also have some more data-mined information from Reddit.  It's important to note that we lack context for a lot of this, but we can make some good guesses.

• Freeflight!  No more on-the rails gameplay?
• Multiple types of space craft.  Looks like there will be light/medium/heavy versions.  
• Destroyers.  Looks like capital ships might play a role in the new system.
• PvP. Most of the data suggests it will be a PvP area.
• Satellite.  There are entries about Satellites, which we may have seen in the video. 
• Objectives.  There are a couple lines mentioning Imperial and Republic Objectives.

So that's what I have managed to piece together so far.  If I had to guess at what it could all mean, I'd say it's a space based warzone.  Just the way the ships entered the battlefield really makes me think it is an instance.

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Spaaaaaace Weeeeeeeek!

As the title suggests, I'm pretty excited.  What could possibly get me all worked up you ask?  Well at PAX Prime, up in Seattle, BioWare held a Community Cantina which is basically an informal get together and Q&A.    They also give out thumb drives which often contain hints about what is coming up in SWTOR.

This time, the thumb drives contained just a video.  But what a video it was...





Looks like their super secret space project is actually happening.  In celebration, this week will be all about space and SWTOR :)

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