I'm very glad we're getting explorably planets again. As much as I liked the areas of Copero and Nathema for example, I didn't like that they were only Flash Points. It feels more restrictive as there is a single path with a clear start and finish point. I like that for the main story but not for new planets. I also hope they don't do the same thing as with SoR where FPs were also made part of the main story which definitely decreased the replay value of the story for me. It's a different flow, dynamic if you will.

 

Ossus was great in that respect. I beautiful place with stuff to do. Ok, it was lame that you could easily get better gear there than in NiM Ops for example but I'm hopeful that 6.0 will reward difficult content again.

 

Currently what I do with new alts is that I play them through their vanilla class story and then I skip straight to Ossus.

Makeb you can still do.

SoR though interesting by itself is killed for my by all those FPs you have to chore your way through.

KotFE/ET, well it's not for me.

Iokath is annoying particularly from how the map is built up and the mob density. Also dailies can be a chore and buggy.

Umbara is just a buggy FP that's not really that fun in the end. I especially love not being able to leave the FP because I'm still in combat with something.

Copero and Nathema are much more enjoyable but should've been explorable but skipping them story wise is no problem once I've gone through it once. I can still do the FPs after all.

 

I am hopeful that 6.0 will do these things better and from what I'm reading it looks promising. Looking forward to it, but above you've got an idea what not to do :D

 

So yeah, although it's certainly not all bad, I have various reasons that make it better for me to skip straight from vanilla to Ossus.

The more I read these interviews the more hyped I get, just when you thought you couldn't get any more excited, you read another.

I read that about Mek-Sha, it looks really good. I'm sure my GunSlinger and company will have a great time there.

Got one or two characters who are going to be concerned if the forcefield will blink . Only having that to protect everyone from the cold hard vacuum of space is got to be a frightening experience. The livestream showed a demonstration of Mek-sha as a work in progress and there were Republic Thranta corvettes in the background. i'm sort of wondering if a stray turbolaser shot will hit one of the shield points that help cover the hollowed out living area if a fight develops between the republic and pirates or the empire?

I really really really want a Mek-sha stronghold. Come on, you have the assets.. make it happen swtor.

Mek-Sha looks beautiful! I love the concept art and the lore around it. A hallowed out asteroid? SIGN ME UP! Seriously though the city looks beautiful and I'm glad you guys are always thinking of new ways of implementing new types of planet, Iokath and now Mek-Sha. Its good to see new stuff.

Aww, now I'm really excited.

Hello everyone!

 

Since we did a behind-the-scenes styled interview to talk about the making of Onderon recently, it's only fair we did the same for Mek-Sha! We sat down with both our Art Director, Carrie Meade, and our Creative Director, Charles Boyd, to talk about what went into creating Mek-Sha. You can find the full article here!

 

It looks really nice, Dan. surprised, albeit happily that you guys are putting together a new planet for the game! With this comes the possibility of new features!

 

I am curious if you guys are considering anything like a new class or new sub-class to add to the game, or perhaps some new companions?

 

Regarding a new class or sub-class, some people came up with some great ideas on how to incorporate a new class or sub-class in this thread here; http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=967526

 

 

 

A couple posts I thought were pretty ingenius on how to make it work are here:

 

 

There's no reason it would have to be an entirely new class.

 

It could easily be an added sub-class to one of the other classes.

 

Heck, this idea could even be just a single added discipline (though I like the idea of a new sub-class better).

 

For example, within the Sith Warrior Class, we already have the Juggernaut (DPS and Tank) and Marauder (DPS only). The OP's idea would fit nhttp://www.swtor.com/community/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=9757263icely as either

 

A. a new sub-class called the Intimidator or Terror,

B. a new Mara healing discipline

 

Personally, I think adding 4 new sub-classes or disciplines is the way to go.

 

Warriors would get a melee healer

Inquisitors would have a pet-based (abilities only, not a companion) tank/dps.

BHs would get a turret dps class

Agents would get a hybrid controller/tank with delayed damage abilities and AoE pulls/stuns.

 

 

 

 

The ONLY way a new class could possibly work is if it was a third advanced class for an existing one. That way they could reuse all the existing story content and just develop the mechanics.

 

To make it manageable, just do one advanced class and mirror at a time. You don't actually need all four at once, you just need both factions to have the additional option.

 

My thoughts would be base the classes off a niche that isn't already there. So, for examples...

 

1) Trooper (Ranger) / Bounty Hunter (Assassin): a class with three damage disciplines, a stealth generator and an HK-style assassinate talent. The weapon for both is a sniper rifle with an offhand vibroblade for in close attacks.

 

2) Jedi Knight (Warden) / Sith Warrior (Conqueror): a class with a heal spec in the form of instilling their allies with the Force as you lead them in battle. Your weapon would be the double-bladed lightsaber.

 

3) Jedi Consular (TBD) / Sith Inquistor (TBD): another all damage class focused on being a true gish (i.e. basically a 10m damage class that uses a mix of saber and force attacks... kinda like the shadow/assassin's tank spec, but single target damage focused. Their weapons would be two lightsabers.

 

4) Smuggler (Bruiser) / Agent (Extractor): A class with a tank spec and a focus on melee attacks and using dirty tricks to keep the focus on them in a fight. Their primary weapons would be vibroswords/staves with an "offhand" blaster/rifle they use for some 10m attacks (and cut scenes).

 

But that's just off the top of my head.

 

 

TL;DR

 

Will new companions or a new class/sub-class be introduced with the new planet?

An asteroid base as a hive of scum and villainy? It worked great for Farscape and other sci-fi. I'm looking forward to it!

It looks awesome. I want to live there.

Gotta say, this looks like a really awesome place. I'm looking forward to going there .

 

Very cool concept. The only thing that would've made it better is if there was low gravity like an asteroid actually would have, but obviously that wouldn't be so easy to do with the game as it is. I hope there aren't any elevators with long-waits though (with that vertical concept)

Dang. No feedback or response from Dan, I guess he has nothing to say about adding future companions or a new class/subclass to this new planet or perhaps to the existing planets in the future.

It’s also home to a big cast of interesting characters that I can’t wait to see players interacting with during the storyline of Onslaught!

 

Is this confirmation of the return of Kai Zykken?

****.

 

You know what, that's it:

 

I'm done--I can't even anymore, this is just such a sad, pitiful joke.

 

Typical lazy, half-assed BioWare level-design with the same passages copy-pasted 100 times, priority on looking good --as long as you don't look too close-- but Dog hep you if you actually want to get anywhere or get anything done.

 

The Jedi investigators in that [HEROIC 2+]. Can somebody explain to me just where/how the **** I'm supposed to go to even to get there, because I've been looking for a way for almost an hour now, with nothing to show for it but having to /stuck out of geometry whilst going in circles.

 

Seriously, this map is needlessly tight, even more needlessly confusing, overly-convoluted *********** garbage, with lots of the usual brain-dead AI mob-packs for some good old BioWare deliberate time-padding thrown in.

 

Do you people even acknowledge the first, long- and well-understood thing about basic game design? Ever? Even after almost 25 years in business? Or are you still convinced that BioWare will always know better because they're BioWare?

 

Stop sniffing your own farts, stop the grating and laughably hypocritical tone-deaf Progressive virtue-signalling, stop treating your employees like absolute dog-****, and learn to make even halfway-decent, let alone good games again, that are actually fun to play that are even within spitting distance of respecting player agency and giving the merest illusion of actual options.

 

Because your writing and world-building sure as **** aren't going to carry you anymore, let alone the goodwill of what's left of your fanbase, and you're even more sure as **** not going to get away with the blatant fraud that was/is Anthem a second time.

There were things about Mek-sha that I really loved.

 

I liked the aerial views, the lighting, the holo-signs, and the boardwalk feel. I also liked the idea that it's in flux because they recently kicked out the Hutts.

 

But there were things I strongly disliked --

 

* Copying the neighborhood design from Ready Player One and then copy/pasting to the point it looks completely, laughably unrealistic. Why would anyone stack cargo crates that high and how would you navigate them?

 

* Gluing items together in an obvious way instead of making new ones. For example, that's not a podium Huttbreaker's using for her speech, that's the sith scroll case with the gambler's mic glued on the top... POORLY.

 

* Not enough variety of mobs. There shouldn't be a member of the Brothers every 25 feet. That cult really knows how to recruit!

 

* There weren't enough ways into and out of the junk pits.

 

* The QT points didn't seem to match up where they appeared to be on the map, sometimes not all of them appear on the map, and the routing between them is awkward.