(Part 2) Top products from r/swtor

> In 1996, Richard Bartle published a study of MMO gamers that eventually led to his 2003 book Designing Virtual Worlds, which was at the time the de facto MMO genre's design bible. Of course, this was before World of Warcraft hit the scene, but many of the principles Bartle laid out still hold true. In fact, if you don't believe me, take it yourself: GamerDNA still has an online test based on the Bartle study.
>
> Bartle categorized players based on their interests in the game; I would like to do the same this year as I did last year for Star Wars: The Old Republic since it's a good way to measure the game against the average expectations of certain types of players. Bartle divides us all into Achievers, Socializers, Explorers, and Killers. I'll explain what each of those means as I discuss the different aspects of SWTOR. If you know what that means and so you have a point of reference, my profile is SEAK, which means that I interact with all types of players.
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> For fun, I've added a grade-card-style of rating system: A, B, C, D, or F. Just remember the information I give about that score counts for more than the score itself.

> ----------------------------
> ###Achiever: A-

> Under Bartle's scenario, an Achiever likes points. These are the people who like to see the numbers go up. I think all MMO players in some fashion are achievers. We like to gain levels or make our armor stats better or fill out little achievement boxes. It might seem as though I'm making light of this type of gameplay, but I'm not. Although I only scored 20% on the Bartle test for Achiever, I do have the drive to fill in some of the Achievement boxes.
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> Specifically, SWTOR did really well for Achievers when it came to events. Even with my low Bartle Achiever score, I couldn't help but fill in the boxes for the Rakghoul event or the Bounty Hunter event. The conquest system introduced during the Galactic Strongholds expansion was an extension of the base achievement system extended to the guild as a whole. Conquests didn't just introduce the gated guild content; they also rewarded players for their individual accomplishments.
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> The only reason I couldn't give the achievement system a higher grade is that the game would be better with more varied and dynamic events. The rakghoul event might have been in a different location each time, but the tunnels were exactly the same and so were the quests. It would have been a bit more interesting to change things up a little. I wouldn't turn down more events, either.
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>----------------------
>### Socializer: B
> Many people who glance at the Bartle study believe that Socializers are roleplayers. It's true that roleplayers are a part of the Socializer sphere, but I don't believe that all Socializers are just roleplayers. I know many people who play MMOs because their friends do and they like to hang out with friends and play the game solely because of the social interaction. I know very few people who play MMOs completely on their own, but even those player are a fringe part of some sort of social circle.
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> Star Wars: The Old Republic would have likely received a lower grade in the social area if it hadn't been for the Strongholds expansion. Strongholds were an amazing boost to roleplayers and socializers. On my server in particular, there are roleplay events on a regular basis in Strongholds, and most of them couldn't happen the way they do without this expansion.
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> On the negative side, there is no chance that we will ever see anything like chat bubbles in this game, and the other in-game chat systems are rudimentary at best. And although the group finder pops are now fast because of the tactical flashpoints, it doesn't exactly encourage socialization. My suggestion for next year -- assuming chat bubbles are out of the question -- would be to include more games for players that include social interaction. I know Pazaak and Sabaac have been suggested, and I believe those kinds of games need to be introduced as soon as possible.
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>---------------
> ###Explorers: C+
> The name Explorer kind of gives away what these players look for in a game: secret, hidden places and exciting points of interest. It's easy to forget in a linear MMO to step off the beaten path. These players will step off the path no matter what kind of MMO the game is.
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> Because of the narrow, linear story SWTOR presents, it's going to be hard for this game to receive anything but an average grade. However, there are quite a game mechanics that encourage players to step off the narrow road. I'm not a fan of the datacron jumping puzzles, but there are some people who love them. And with each new map, there are similar puzzles. But I think this game improved its standing with conquests and event because they require you to explore the areas we would normally not explore if there hadn't been some sort of event or achievement in that area.
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> ###Killers: D-
> Although Killers in the Bartle papers like to pit themselves against other players, it's not just PvP in the MMO sense that excites the Killer type. Killers also like to measure themselves against other players and show off achievements in that regard. You'll find many Killers checking their status on leaderboards. For them, it's all about the competition.
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> I can understand the drive to prove that you are better than the next person. Not all that strive for that are looking to lower other people so that they can feel better. Some are just trying to better themselves. I believe there are two keys to making a game work for Killers, and although I might make this sound simplistic, I understand that it's a little more complicated in execution. The first key is pitting players against other players or providing opportunity for players to do so themselves. The second is to allow players to compare themselves against other players, skill to skill. Right now, there are multiple arenas for players to pit themselves against other players in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but the game falls way short on the comparision part.
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> BioWare has introduced systems like ranked rewards and leaderboards, but those cater only to one type of Killer: the type who favor arena deathmatches. And it's safe to say that not all advanced classes are geared to work in deathmatch. To top it all off, PvPers saw only one new ground map this year, and there have been no additions to Galactic Starfighter since its official launch at the first part of this year. The D- is well deserved.
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> From achievements in PvE to Roleplay to PvP, Star Wars: The Old Republic doesn't fare too badly for a game that's three years old. Last year, I gave Galactic Starfighter praise, but unfortunately, there just wasn't a lot of follow through. However, the game did turn the tide socially. For me, it's seemed to be in a slump. Heading into 2015, the BioWare team will have to pick up the pace to retain the high rating for Achievers and take on the tremendous job of bolstering the Killer side.
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> That's my yearly report for the game. What's yours?

Depends on you and your hardware.

You might wish to change movement from WASD to ESDF. The reason being you'll have more room to the right and left of your movement keys to bind abilities. QW and RT for abilities is much nicer then just Q and E... assuming of course you got rid of keyboard turning for your camera, which I hope you did. Moving to ESDF also makes more numbers reachable, 123456 are all within a reasonable reach.

If you have mouse software, you could for SWTOR rebind any of the mouse buttons 3-5 to shift, alt, or crtl. This would allow you to SHIFT-Q for example without contorting your hand or taking your hand off movement keys. It would also very easily allow you to use your movement keys whether they WASD or ESDF as shift, alt, or ctrl keys. Shift-W is a whole lot easier to hit when the thumb on your mouse can be shift. :)

Of course if you have a mouse with a ton of buttons like the Razer Naga you'll want to bind those as numpad buttons so that you have 1-6 on your keyboard as different keys then 1-6 on your mouse.


As for what to assign what abilities and layout of the ui, there isn't any right way to do it. You want to see target of target, you want to see focus target. You want debuffs to be larger then buffs, especially large on the raid frame so you can cleanse them. Highlighting your own effects as well as cleansable debuffs will help you know what's what as well.

If you've wondered what a kickass light-side Imperial Agent looks like, or a Trooper who's not willing to toe the party line and become a white-armored thug like all the others, Zahn's Allegiance is one of the best books I've ever read. The sequel Choices of One is also excellent.

Links:

• Kindle
  
• Audiobook / Audible (digital download)
  
  The audiobook versions are great, they're voiced by Mark Thompson who can pretty much do any characters voice in star wars perfectly.
  
  However, the DRM they put on it is crippling and very annoying. You must use activate your audible account on each device you want to play the book on, and it must be played using the audible app.
  
  enjoy!

Highlight of this video for me: finally seeing what Jennifer Hale looks like in real life. She's the voice of Bastila in KOTOR and Satele Shan from TOR (female Shepard in Mass Effect, too).

Was that Mark Hamill @ 0:37? Wow the years have not been kind. But then it's easy to forget that Return of the Jedi was almost 30 years ago.

Must've been awesome to meet Drew Karpyshyn there, too. We all have him (along with other writers, but mostly him) to thank for making The Old Republic era so awesome. Can't wait 'til Revan comes out in November.

The newest Essential Reader's Companion is the best yet. So many original pieces of artwork in it, and the summaries are insanely well done. You could honestly read through just that and have a pretty thorough understanding of everything that has ever happened in the Star Wars EU.

I recommend getting a Razor Orbweaver and Naga mouse. It's a bit of an investment, and it takes some time to get used to, but once you do you'll never go back to using a regular keyboard and mouse.

With these I never need to move my fingers far from the WASD key area. In fact, both my arms rest comfortably on the arms of my chair.

$74.99 USD for 180 days via Amazon.

$77.94 USD for 180 days via PayPal or Credit Card when you subscribe directly through the swtor.com website.

Simple Google search ;)

This is better than the ones in the players guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Republic-Explorers-Guide/dp/0307890457

I saw a few of the Star Wars: Republic comics and they definitely looked interesting. I'll have to check into those too. If I'm not mistaking this is a collection of those, https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0785193987/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YQNSKTF9YY9P9FFPDG0F

There is actually a book that fills the gap between kotor2 and this game titled "Revan" by Drew Karpyshyn (one of the swtor writers)

if allowed, link to amazon for book:
http://www.amazon.com/Revan-Star-Wars-Republic-Book-ebook/dp/B0051AMYTO

Get it on Amazon. Six months of game time for $74.99US, which is cheaper than buying it directly from BioWare/EA. At 6 months, you'll get 600CC a month, and the Amazon purchase will net you a unique pet.

4real

Anyone ever read this one? I think I would be into short stories set in the universe on "behind the scenes" type characters

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Eisley-Cantina-Star-Wars/dp/0553564684

I think it's just 'Revan'

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Revan/dp/0345511344

http://www.amazon.com/English-Grammar-Dummies-Geraldine-Woods/dp/0470546646

stop playing and you can buy this book for less than one month's subscription

• Revan follows Revan doing important stuff after KotOR (about 300 years before SWTOR)
  
• Deceived follows the events after the Sacking of Coruscant.
  
  
• Fatal Alliance is a self-contained story that no other Legends content has mentioned. I can't remember what it's about, sorry.
  
• Annihilation follows SIS Agent Theron Shan some time after Chapter 3 but before Rise of the Hutt Cartel.
  
  There's also a plethora of comic books, including a prequel to Annihilation, but I don't know much about them. Sorry.

Kind of OT, but I was trying to figure this out last night and failed. Chronologically, does that come before or after Fatal Alliance?

I thought the zombie thing was a different book by the same author.

That having been said.. yes... angry about his plants... sigh

Prior to the acquisition by Disney, Star Wars had an official atlas showing the galaxy and where the various planets were. SWTOR had to follow this guide for the planets that were in the atlas.

Now that the atlas isn't canon, when BioWare adds a new planet I'm guessing they just pick an appropriate location.