Star Wars: The Old Republic - Developer Dispatch: Designing Companions Exclusive Video

@t0a5t3r well said, I can't wait to start testing this bad boy. Glad you like it!

@ Pyerun , You my friend are what they call an idiot. Thanks for saying it will have millions of subscribers though. This part is true. This game is the ultimate evolution of MMO. Any and hardcore MMO player desperately wants the genre to evolve. Grats BioWare, I tested it and loved EVERY minute of it . Much love ???

Looks terrible! Within 3 months, this game will go from millions of subcribers to less than 100K.

@Docphear OH ok thank you... That is making sense. I thought something had to be different from KoToR

@Coryblaze: you only have one companion roam around with you. the others will stay on ship. and if you are in a 4 man dungeon, you can play with 4 real players, 3 real players and 1 person's company, or 2 players with each of their selected companions.

@jimmybean26: Ummm... EA and Blizzard don't work together. That would be Activision and Blizzard. And actually, Blizzard has been working on Diablo III for a few years. This has been a slow process for them, what with WoW continually sucking resources. Of course, it's not like it doesn't generate the resources to fund Diablo III, but that's the point. Diablo III is taking a long time to drop. Personally, here's my take on the release date of Diablo III - Good for them for not rushing any aspect of the game and making it the best it can be. As for SW:TOR - You can't expect that EA will sit around and wait for the next potential blockbuster to block its next big launch by following behind something. If - and that's if - SW:TOR is ready for launch by the release date of 12/20/11, then awesome, if not, I hope they don't push it out anyway. I'm all for deadlines to keep things timely, but when it comes to game products I really hate to see things pushed to meet a deadline only to have it end up making compromises... MW2/Black Ops/GT 5/AddYourOwnAdditionHere. It tends to ruin the overall experience for the gamer on the other end, who just shelled out a quarter of their week's wages or more to invest in a company that cut corners.

@ExplosiveChorro but your swords hitting like wet noodles is okay? Sorry but weapon damage in MMOS, will always be superficial

@Targzissian Even though TOR will definitely come out before GW, remember this: You get one free month of TOR when you first buy. Worst case scenario, you dont like the game, you dont have to continue it.

This really is a nice touch. To have not only your character but companions like KoToR but that you actually have a say so in. I am worried though that if I have so many companions and the online people too and we group up... won't that be a lot of different people? Like there would be big mobs. Unless I'm missing something. Sounds good though

@CarlitosWay The last sci-fi MMO I played was Tabula Rasa, and before that Auto Assault. TOR has a much bigger budget, bigger team, and more brand recognition than those, so I'm sure it won't meet the same fate. I enjoyed both TR and AA, but especially TR. I'm kind of a Richard Garriott fan, due to all the hours I spent playing the old Ultimas in the eighties and nineties. Well, I'm definitely considering TOR. The companions, story-telling, and familiar setting are definitely strong points for it. There may be room for another sci-fi MMO on my plate, if I can fit it in between Guild Wars 2 sessions. ;) "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine!"

By the way, even though I care about the good and the bad stuff concerning TOR and I'm still in doubt about many things, I don't care at all about GW, be it a great MMO or not. I'm here for Star Wars and neither for a discussion about GW nor a comparison between TOR and GW. What's the point anyways????

I really like the companion feature! good job Bioware & Lucasarts!

Looks pretty good. :)

@CraZkid37 Nop,the 40 companions is split into groups each class has a set of specific companions that you unlock you can't choose your companions.

good

@Targzissian I wish more GW players were like you. Or at least the ones that spam on TOR news. There is nothing wrong with admiring both games. Both games are introducing great new things in the PC world. Why people cant try both is beyond me. As per what we discussed before, by endless possibilities, i meant that as an MMO experience, content wont cease to be added until close (which will probably be years). But i understand your point. Fortunately for me, gaming wise, it will be my only expense, so i will not have that worry. Hope to see you out there.

do we get to has teh s3xy tiem with out companions? lol

Well im getting blizz

what is it with all the haters of this and Bioware? Or are the vast majority of them just sad little trolls?

@PrplMnkyDshwsr7 The same thing happened to me! I nearly wanted to cry after I so excited thinking I was about to play it. Oh well. :P

I can't wait to play this game. It looks so fun and I'm sorta liking the subscription fee scheme, it seems alright for longer month plans.

It's a SoloMMO game. Or solommo.. Both versions copyrighted.

@silversix_ u dont understand how MMOs work, do u?

Was this game released in 2004? Graphically pathetic! especially for such a huge budget game... Not gg Bioware but its not like you've been doing great lately.

This game has infinite potential. It has the stones to topple WoW. Don't let me down Bioware!

I don't understand why it is so hard for Blizzard to get release things. Anyone else notice that the same week Blizzard pushed back Diablo III, EA announced this release date?

I can't wait for this! I love Bioware, those guys are awesome. Would love to work for them.

email reads..."The Announcement You've Benn Waiting for..." Yay I got into Beta....nope release date oh well, that'll do I suppose

Such epicness, and all in time for Christmas! I actually now kinda want to try all the classes just to get the stories and the companion characters!

@Snaptrap "BioWare and LucasArts are pleased to announce that Star Wars: The Old Republic will launch on December 20, 2011 in North America and on December 22, 2011 in the European Launch Territories!" =D

"pre ordered"

@Bhemont Hear, hear. "Once more into the breach, dear friends!"

20 dec for usa and 22 for EU.. we must wait more!!

@ExplosiveChorro Is that so? I couldn't really care less if this game flops or not, I'm still going to enjoy it, whether you tried to force your immature opinion on me or not. I love star wars, and I love Bioware. I might even buy Guild Wars 2, but I sure as hell won't be enjoying their voice acting, or story telling. ;)

TOR ll be great rpg but bad MMO,companions are waste of time & resources ,same as full voice acting.

@CarlitosWay I compared it to Skyrim because both are RPGs, and Skyrim is an open world RPG, so it's not just a linear one time quick playthrough, and with mods and so forth, Skyrim also "has endless possibilities." And you're right that it's a somewhat different market from MMORPGs like TOR, but I only have so much time and money to invest in gaming, so it is a comparison I have to weigh.

I think TOR and Guild Wars 2 should be able to coexist peacefully. I've been a fan of Star Wars since before a lot of the gamers on these boards were even born, but don't knock Guild Wars until you try it. I sunk untold hours into Guild Wars (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North), but I haven't played for years now. I've been waiting for Guild Wars 2. I'm still undecided about TOR, primarily because it could be a big investment of time and money. Star Wars does have a very distinctive and familiar sci-fi universe to play in, and I have a lot of love for it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to abandon my fantasy themed RPGs. As for differences in gameplay mechanics and the companion system between TOR and GW2, we will have to wait and see.

Bliz looks great!

@ExplosiveChorro Why bother showing up on these vids or boards, whatever. If you don't like just leave and talk GW2 on that page... Just like to start rage wars for no reason.

So much coverage on a game that has no release date.

The more I watch these trailers and dev videos, the more excited I become for the game. I wish BioWare would stop teasing and set a final release date!

@Bhemont Wow, I think you need to get YOUR facts straight. Sure GW 1 is not a true MMO. But it was one of the first to go Free to Play. One of the first to be SUCCESSFUL, and now many other developers are following in ArenaNets footsteps. Sure maybe I overstated companions, but have you even played GW 1 in the last month? I highly doubt it. The amount of content and customization they have added in the last six years is mindbogglingly HUGE. There's a reason why so many people are still playing it. GW 2 will be a true MMO, and TOR has got crap nothing on it. Sorry bud, TOR is garbage. and will no doubt flop on release. On another note, Bioware has already stated that TOR will release this year, GW2 on the other hand has had absolutely no word on a release date. ArenaNet: It's done, when it's done. And that's when you KNOW it will be amazing. Nuff' said.

Hmmm... I wonder if there is also a companion cube?!

Guild Wars sucks

I have to say that in this video this game looks so much better as far as graphics are concerned. Although I have already pre-ordered we will see how well executed the final game is. :)

That was a very nice touch at the end with the Han and Chewie reference.

@ExplosiveChorro Not hating, just correcting your error, Guild Wars didn't revolutionize jack ****, Guild Wars wasn't even an MMO, the devs have even stated that them selfs. Companions have existed since Diablo, heck they have been in pleanty of games before, I don't know what your source is but that's just wrong, any gamer older then 12 should know that :)

And by the way. Guild wars revolutionized companions. They are pretty much taking Arenanet's idea and making it crappier. Dont hate, just stating facts.

wow.... I got moderated. Just stating my opinion. Dont see how that warrants a moderation. Sorry guys, it looks pretty garbage. I dont really like my Lightsabers hitting like wet noodles.

The visuals are looking amazing, especially in HD.