Dev Interview

Apr 19, 2011

Please leave your comments below revolving around the interview.

• We have heard a lot about story and how it plays one of the leading roles in The Old Republic. Can you please explain a little more about World Quests and Heroic Quests? Do World Quests work like WAR Hammer Online Public Quests? What exactly makes a Heroic Quest so heroic?

World Quests are not public quests. We use the term to separate them from class-specific content. So Heroic Quests, World Arcs, these are all World Quests. Basically if it’s not a Class Quest or a Flashpoint, it’s a World Quest. Heroic Quests are World Quests that require more than one player and often a full party to complete. They tend to be much more dramatic enemies and are always optional.

• How are the stories told? Is there a timeline and they’re told over a large span of time like in Dragon Age II? Or is it more like Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect, and KotOR we’re it’s told over a few months and you don’t necessarily notice a time change?

Each of the Class Stories is a trilogy. Chapter 1 itself is far bigger than the entirety of Knights of the Old Republic. Each Chapter has a distinct ending, wrap up and then the next Chapter starts. When we said it was akin to KOTOR 3-10 and beyond it wasn’t a facetious claim. Each chapter covers an unspecified (and not always the same) small amount of time more akin to Dragon Age Origins or the original Knights of the Old Republic. Between Chapters we tend to jump forward a bit but more in the space of months than years. One of the most interesting things is that the Class Stories are often saw-toothed, so you’re seeing the results of other classes adventures in your developing story.

• How much of the 200 hours of story is our class story? Does that 200 hours for each class story include our world arcs, heroic quests, and companion quests as well?

We’ve never put numbers on how many hours of story there are. It’s almost impossible to define. Was the combat to get to Darth Malak in Knights of the Old Republic story? Just the talking bits? Regardless, your class content is approximately 60-70% of your quest content in the origin worlds and slowly ramps down to 10% or so. The goal is to establish time, place, setting and individual identity then get you playing with your friends and out in the world.

• Will there be any tangible benefits for playing/accumulating Dark side points if I’m a Galactic Republic player, or Light side points if I’m a Sith Empire player?

Absolutely. Content paths, gear paths and some surprises we’re holding back. There are also rewards for the disciplined grey players who can hold to the middle.

• Will playing “against the grain” (AKA choosing Light side choices as a Sith or vice versa) only hold me back from anything normally associated with my factions “Moral Compass”?

It will keep you from specific paths or chains within quests but never from a quest itself.

• Exactly how big of an impact do players have on the outcome of a Flashpoint? Are there one or two endings? Possibly more? Depending on our choices will we fight different end bosses?

Depending on the flashpoint there are often two or more endings or wrinkles that terribly complicate those endings. You will absolutely see different bosses on different paths.

• Other than story what makes a Flashpoint different than typical MMO dungeons?

A dedication to amazing cinematic scripted moments with an MMO party. Running through a ship while it’s under fire, fleeing the exploding building etc.

• Is the Jedi Knight restricted as of right now from using certain force abilities because of the heavy armor such as in KotOR?

No. Different advanced classes get certain abilities and that covers the same bases. Since the Knight has heavy armor as one of his advantages we wouldn’t penalize you for using it.

• Does a long ranged based Smuggler or an Imperial Agent need to be in cover to use some of their stronger abilities?

Depending on the advanced class and build. A sniper (Agent advanced class) really needs cover. Luckily Portable Cover means you always have it.

• Will we possibly be able to train certain companions to become Jedi if we play as a Jedi like we were able to in KotOR II?

No. Not everyone you’ll meet is Force-sensitive. There are CCs you can take as apprentices on both sides and those that you can wrestle for power with but not everyone can be a Jedi or Sith.

• How successful has the guild launch system been so far?

It’s been fantastic. We’ve had more than 30,000 guilds sign up already and people are quickly making friends and forming their own communities to discuss the game.

• Sort of an obvious answer but I think some people need to hear it, can we expect the visuals in The Old Republic continue to improve before launch?

Absolutely. Art tech tends to come last. Compare recent screens to the ones from early development. At this stage of the project the improvements come much faster.

• What is everyone’s reaction when they first jump into game testing compared to the end of their session?

Many people are shocked when they first get into testing. Hearing us talk about playing an MMO in a different way isn’t the same as experiencing it. My favorite people to hear from are the numerous folks that swore they’d be skipping the story content to rush ahead as fast as possible who walked out fans of BioWare storytelling.

• What are you looking for from the players who test The Old Republic?

Brutal honesty and a dedication to making the game the best possible place it can be for the fans.

• What are some challenges that you have faced in game testing?

The game is huge and there are only so many things you can have people test at the same time. Plus the game is constantly changing underfoot so the amount of effort it takes to get the most recent, important build in front of the right tester group and focus them on where they can make the most impact is huge. The live team has a very hard job these days.

We wanted to thank Daniel Erickson for taking the time to answer our questions! We know he and the development team are extreamly busy so again thanks a ton Daniel!