11-15-2013, 09:04 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-16-2013, 04:27 PM by M1A2Tanker.)
So some heads up, as I'm watching them do a stream of this expansion via the Public Test Server on twitch.com, and I haven't heard them say it specifically, but there's some conflicting comments in the chat about how joystick is not allowed at all...but others saying it's not allowed "YET" so...it might mean that they haven't worked on that yet. Or not at all.
As it stands though, it's a pretty sweet looking deal, good flight characteristics. Still has that "shoot here" targeting reticle, but it might not be quite as stupid as the Galaxies version was. It's definitely action packed and fast paced. You have engine boosters that you can use so you can rush into an area or close with a target. There is throttle control, but it doesn't look to be very precise. Bit more like the Xwing series: push a button, and you can switch from full speed to zero, to quarter, to half, and 3/4 speed.
You can also swap fighters. Death is going to happen, so they took that into account and let you set up multiple fighters that you can use after you die. You can keep using the one you started with, or you can switch to another type. You also get visual indicators of where incoming fire is coming from, which is a nice touch. There's also some special abilities you can use to mess with your targets, such as a skill called 'sabotage' that disables your target for a bit...and let them crash into a wall.
Some things that they did bring from like Xwing and others: there is a limited amount of power for your shields and weapons, so you will have to let them recharge if you want to keep using them. Nothing unusual there. They did make use of velocity, so dropping to 1/3 does make you turn fast, so that tactic can be thankfully retained. There is flying in asteroids on some maps, so yay! Bring on GASFIGHTER!
Things I'm not seeing or hearing: joystick control, as mentioned, isn't available at this time. Also, I do not think you have the ability to transfer power from one area to another like you could in the Xwing series. Not unless it's a special ability.
Pluses: ships are customizable and the gear you get will affect how your ship handles. Ship progression is separate from your ground game. So you can be a level 55 Jedi on the ground, but in the starfighter expansion, it means nothing. You could have a Level 1 guy who's far beyond you in Starfighter. They also have an anti-camping mechanic in place so you can't camp over the spawn areas. IE, the capital ships can and will fire upon you so you can't camp'em. Though if you happen to be outside of it's activation range, you can still camp, it just won't be as effective (not that we would do such a thing
).
Negatives: there are no real differences between Imperial and Republic ships. They all fly the same, based on their type (Scout, Strike and Gunship).
Here's the archived video if you wanna watch for yourself and get a sneak peek. http://www.twitch.tv/swtor
Edit: would seem their promise to add the archived video has not shown up yet.
As it stands though, it's a pretty sweet looking deal, good flight characteristics. Still has that "shoot here" targeting reticle, but it might not be quite as stupid as the Galaxies version was. It's definitely action packed and fast paced. You have engine boosters that you can use so you can rush into an area or close with a target. There is throttle control, but it doesn't look to be very precise. Bit more like the Xwing series: push a button, and you can switch from full speed to zero, to quarter, to half, and 3/4 speed.
You can also swap fighters. Death is going to happen, so they took that into account and let you set up multiple fighters that you can use after you die. You can keep using the one you started with, or you can switch to another type. You also get visual indicators of where incoming fire is coming from, which is a nice touch. There's also some special abilities you can use to mess with your targets, such as a skill called 'sabotage' that disables your target for a bit...and let them crash into a wall.
Some things that they did bring from like Xwing and others: there is a limited amount of power for your shields and weapons, so you will have to let them recharge if you want to keep using them. Nothing unusual there. They did make use of velocity, so dropping to 1/3 does make you turn fast, so that tactic can be thankfully retained. There is flying in asteroids on some maps, so yay! Bring on GASFIGHTER!
Things I'm not seeing or hearing: joystick control, as mentioned, isn't available at this time. Also, I do not think you have the ability to transfer power from one area to another like you could in the Xwing series. Not unless it's a special ability.
Pluses: ships are customizable and the gear you get will affect how your ship handles. Ship progression is separate from your ground game. So you can be a level 55 Jedi on the ground, but in the starfighter expansion, it means nothing. You could have a Level 1 guy who's far beyond you in Starfighter. They also have an anti-camping mechanic in place so you can't camp over the spawn areas. IE, the capital ships can and will fire upon you so you can't camp'em. Though if you happen to be outside of it's activation range, you can still camp, it just won't be as effective (not that we would do such a thing
). Negatives: there are no real differences between Imperial and Republic ships. They all fly the same, based on their type (Scout, Strike and Gunship).
Here's the archived video if you wanna watch for yourself and get a sneak peek. http://www.twitch.tv/swtor
Edit: would seem their promise to add the archived video has not shown up yet.
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Tanker (tangk'er)n. 1. A dusty, crusty, grease-covered, dirty, sweaty, bright eyed, fuzzy faced, haircut-needing, beer-drinking, underrated, over-worked, underpaid, oversexed, little s%#* who can take a Tank and do more battlefield damage in ten minutes than a grunt squad can do all day.
Tanker (tangk'er)n. 1. A dusty, crusty, grease-covered, dirty, sweaty, bright eyed, fuzzy faced, haircut-needing, beer-drinking, underrated, over-worked, underpaid, oversexed, little s%#* who can take a Tank and do more battlefield damage in ten minutes than a grunt squad can do all day.