Star Wars The Old Republic Roll Call

[celedhring]

I like Voss, it's a well-designed planet with an intriguing race and culture. All the quests around the mystics and the Temple of Healing are pretty cool.

[katmai]

I like Voss, it's a well-designed planet with an intriguing race and culture. All the quests around the mystics and the Temple of Healing are pretty cool.

Just midway through the planet for first time ever as my Jedi knight is
up to lvl 47

[Syt]

One thing I absolutely love about SWTOR (and KotOR2) are the soundtracks. Some pieces (the Jedi Enclave in KotOR2, the string piece on Senate Plaza on Coruscant, and a few others) are similar in style to Miklos Rozsa's movie soundtracks - some are on YouTube, some on Spotify. E.g. Bargain and Ransom are two pieces from Ivanhoe that could easily be from SWTOR, same with some pieces from Ben Hur or Quo Vadis.

[celedhring]

I like the OST a lot too. They got the same guy that did the KOTOR soundtracks, which were outstanding. They manage to create a characteristic sound environment for the game/saga while still sounding very much like Star Wars music.

[Syt]

I believe they actually had several composers on the soundtrack.

*googles*

KotOR was Jeremy Soule
KotOR2 was Mark Griskey

TOR (according to Wikipedia) has
Mark Griskey
Jesse Harlin
Lennie Moore
Gordy Haab
Wilbert Roget II
Peter McConnell
Steve Kirk
Jared Emerson-Johnson

*looks up composers*
Griskey also did Force Unleashed I & II. Lennie Moore did the Outcast soundtrack. Haab did the new bits for EA's Battlefront (which are good) and the new TOR expansion. Peter McConnell has done too much to list. Let's just say he's been around from X-Wing to Hearthstone and a lot of Lucasarts/Double Fine in between. Emerson-Johnson has worked on pretty much all Telltale games.

[celedhring]

Weird, I thought Grisley had done all the Kotor music for some reason. My bad.

[celedhring]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Now it's time that I play one of my imperial toons more seriously. The Agent story is very good, but I don't enjoy playing the class as much as I enjoy my other toons.

[Syt]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Now it's time that I play one of my imperial toons more seriously. The Agent story is very good, but I don't enjoy playing the class as much as I enjoy my other toons.

I hear you - if you just want the story, SF Debris has finished his review: http://sfdebris.com/videos/games/swtoragent.php

[katmai]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Now it's time that I play one of my imperial toons more seriously. The Agent story is very good, but I don't enjoy playing the class as much as I enjoy my other toons.

I just finished my Knight and now leveling smuggler.

[celedhring]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Now it's time that I play one of my imperial toons more seriously. The Agent story is very good, but I don't enjoy playing the class as much as I enjoy my other toons.

I hear you - if you just want the story, SF Debris has finished his review: http://sfdebris.com/videos/games/swtoragent.php

Not the same; never got into let's play videos or cutscene montages.

I enjoy choosing how my characters act, anyway. For example, my agent is an imperial patriot, not particularly bloodthirsty unless the safety of the Empire is at stake, and has no time for the Sith and all their infighting and scheming (because they weaken the empire). He also hates being played by others, which means lots of fun with Kaliyo, that scheming *****. I find that I can roleplay that quite effectively with the options given to me, and I enjoy doing that. It helps that story is so particularly well written.

After playing a "serious" trooper I'm even meditating doing a quick run with one that acts like Zapp Brannigan (there's lots of dialogue options to pull that off  ).

[Syt]

I understand that.

Give some of SF Debris' other reviews (movies or TV shows, especially Star Trek) a try - he's IMO very good at dissecting stories, themes, and characters. He's doing more than snark (though he does that, too), but when it comes to analyzing plot and characters he's my favorite online video producer.

For an example of reviewing a crap episode: Star Trek VOY: Macrocosm http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/v854.php
My favorite review of ST crap of his is Star Trek Nemesis, though: http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/film9.php
For an example of a reviewing a good episode: Star Trek TOS: Errand of Mercy http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/s027.php
Or TNG's Yesterday's Enterprise: http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/t163.php

[Barrister]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Let me guess which one...

The mission with Sgt Jaxo?

[spoiler]I wasn't sure what to think about that one.  In the game up to that point there were never any real "consequences" for choosing LS/DS.  When someone said you "had" to kill someone to fulfill your mission there was always a way out without any deaths.  But now, for the first time, there was a "light side" option that had you killing someone.

I wasn't sure what to think about that.  I mean on the one hand maybe games should be (to mix my Sci-Fi metaphors) more like the Kobayashi Maru, where there truly is a "no win" situation.  But SWTOR up to this point hadn't been like that at all.

When I faced that dilemma just a couple days ago, I also had the side-dilemma that I was in a romance with Elara, but I had cheated on her with Jaxo a little while ago (the only DS points I'd ever picked up).  I was kind of curious on the one hand where that love triangle would go, but also knowing Bioware's dialogue system means no going back, I was equally worried it would just unceremoniously end both relationships (and there are no other romances out there for the male trooper).  So in some ways letting her die brought too easy closure to that plotline, but that hardly seems like something I should earn LS points for.[/spoiler]

[celedhring]

Finished the trooper story yesterday. I liked it quite a bit, despite the fact it isn't as "big" as the Jedi Knight story. The whole concept of playing the CO of an elite Republic unit is well fleshed out. It also had the most agonizing LS/DS decision I have had to face in the whole game.

Let me guess which one...

The mission with Sgt Jaxo?

[spoiler]I wasn't sure what to think about that one.  In the game up to that point there were never any real "consequences" for choosing LS/DS.  When someone said you "had" to kill someone to fulfill your mission there was always a way out without any deaths.  But now, for the first time, there was a "light side" option that had you killing someone.

I wasn't sure what to think about that.  I mean on the one hand maybe games should be (to mix my Sci-Fi metaphors) more like the Kobayashi Maru, where there truly is a "no win" situation.  But SWTOR up to this point hadn't been like that at all.

When I faced that dilemma just a couple days ago, I also had the side-dilemma that I was in a romance with Elara, but I had cheated on her with Jaxo a little while ago (the only DS points I'd ever picked up).  I was kind of curious on the one hand where that love triangle would go, but also knowing Bioware's dialogue system means no going back, I was equally worried it would just unceremoniously end both relationships (and there are no other romances out there for the male trooper).  So in some ways letting her die brought too easy closure to that plotline, but that hardly seems like something I should earn LS points for.[/spoiler]

Yeah, that one.
[spoiler]
I thought it was genius, because of how they had been building up Jaxo's character on the sidelines. So when the decision came up, I honestly couldn't decide. I really cared for her character, I didn't want to have her killed. But at the same time I couldn't put her in front of the lives of so many people.

Also, I commend them for not taking the easy way out and having Jaxo pull a "leave me, save the others" routine. No, she begs you for her life. She doesn't want to die. It's also very fitting that afterwards the general asks you about Jaxo, and you're given the possibility of lying and saying that she sacrificed herself voluntarily. I did that.[/spoiler]

That mission is the best bit I have found in Swtor so far.

[Syt]

Finished Shadow of Revan. I thought it wasn't too bad. I liked the Raiders Cove on Rishi. Kind of reminded me of some of the old Star Wars Marvel comics form late 70s/early 80s. But dear lord, all those flashpoints that are part of that storyline.

I've also noticed that I skipped the interlude with the Dread Masters (which explains why I felt like I was missing part of the story).

[celedhring]

Finished Shadow of Revan. I thought it wasn't too bad. I liked the Raiders Cove on Rishi. Kind of reminded me of some of the old Star Wars Marvel comics form late 70s/early 80s. But dear lord, all those flashpoints that are part of that storyline.

I've also noticed that I skipped the interlude with the Dread Masters (which explains why I felt like I was missing part of the story).

Yeah the whole dread masters storyline is spread around among several places. It surely made sense when they released it piece by piece, but if you come to the game right now, it's easy to miss.

You have to complete Belsavis as an imperial player for the first part, and then do section X. Then there's a few raids that have pieces of story - which mostly can be summed up as foreshadowing as the DMs are showed pulling the strings/manipulating several other enemies into attacking the Republic and the Empire -, in parallel to that there's the seeker droid storyline, and the final piece of the story takes place in Oricon.