I hope this has been said before, and if it has... Well I'm saying it again. I really hope this expansion is a doorway to free-flight space combat and missions in a PVE setting. Visiting local space around planets we know and love while also letting us go into deep space or fly in the atmospheres of other worlds we have yet to visit.

 

This may be getting to far ahead but maybe this flight system could be applied to under water travel with mini-sub "fighters". Allowing us to visit world like Dac (mon cal) and Manaan and experience it in a way we have yet in any other star wars game. Walk around in/on the under water/floating cities and such...

I hope this has been said before, and if it has... Well I'm saying it again. I really hope this expansion is a doorway to free-flight space combat and missions in a PVE setting.

 

Unfortunately they have indicated that will not be happening any time soon:

 

http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/10/20/dont-expect-swtor-space-pve-any-time-soon/

That is a fairly ignorant post. If they were only implenting new ground based pvp warzones, you might have a point. However they are implimenting completely new playstyle to the game that PVEers have been begging for from the beginning and then slap us in the face.

 

Like ROTHC was a slap in the face for pvpers. Not an ignorant post, just one done by someone that doesn't hold pve on such a high pedistal. The pvp aspect is more fun to me than the pve aspect. An entire expansion dedicated to something I have been waiting for since launch. Epic space battles against other players. Hopefully they can extend this so a faction can take a planet. Hopefully they expand the world pvp by one day placing it within the currwnt non existing space content.

 

As for making an entire new engine to do this. I don't think they would have to. Bioware is a company that develops very good engines. Take the aurora engine series for example. (NWN1 and The Witcher both used a verison of the aurora engine. Both engines were awesome and the toolsets were very easy to use.)

 

Bioware is good at making engines. Gameplay wise there hasn't been a pc game bioware has made that I didn't like. I refuse to play me2 or 3. Solely because the story has been ruined for me from everyone telling me the ending.

 

This game is really good and it has come a long way. It has longer to go still, but I have no doubt bioware will continue to do a good job. Hopefully this years development cycle will open the doors for the player base to extend the story beyond what the npc driven lines are. I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. With the hopes that one day the evil, corrupt, and greedy republic senate gets what they deserve.

i seen someone put 'guild capital ships' now tbh that guy is fricking awesome coming out with that. and it should be put into the game if we have to purchase it with credits cartel coins or unlock somehow the guild capital ship should be put in the game.

Sad part about this whole thing...

 

Everything he mentioned that they DIDN'T put in sounds infinitely more fun than what they are putting in...

 

Totally agree

sry peeps out tere but i dont remember them saying anything about it just being pvp plus who said that they cant add a pve thing because i dont think that they are that stupid

 

p.s awesome read thanks for giving us stuff lie tat :)

 

Actually they have said many times that it will be free roam PvP only.

Will someone please tell me if this is going to work with my Saitek joystick or not ?

I mean really... how can you possibly fly a star fighter without a flight stick ?

It would almost be like a retarded sniper that can only shoot 30 meters. LOL.

Ehhhh, only PVP? No tie-in with our character stories? No PVE at all?

 

Not interested.

Like ROTHC was a slap in the face for pvpers. Not an ignorant post, just one done by someone that doesn't hold pve on such a high pedistal. The pvp aspect is more fun to me than the pve aspect. An entire expansion dedicated to something I have been waiting for since launch. Epic space battles against other players. Hopefully they can extend this so a faction can take a planet. Hopefully they expand the world pvp by one day placing it within the currwnt non existing space content.

 

As for making an entire new engine to do this. I don't think they would have to. Bioware is a company that develops very good engines. Take the aurora engine series for example. (NWN1 and The Witcher both used a verison of the aurora engine. Both engines were awesome and the toolsets were very easy to use.)

 

Bioware is good at making engines. Gameplay wise there hasn't been a pc game bioware has made that I didn't like. I refuse to play me2 or 3. Solely because the story has been ruined for me from everyone telling me the ending.

 

This game is really good and it has come a long way. It has longer to go still, but I have no doubt bioware will continue to do a good job. Hopefully this years development cycle will open the doors for the player base to extend the story beyond what the npc driven lines are. I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. With the hopes that one day the evil, corrupt, and greedy republic senate gets what they deserve.

Quote! This'll be a great expansion and I hope Bioware could increase PvP aspects

Edited October 26, 2013 by VanderII

Do you create a massive, open world to fly transports around, smuggling goods through enemy lines? Do you create capital ships, some so vast players feel they’re on another planet? Do you populate all of that with more quests and voice actors and opportunities for crafting and Star Destroyers and the Force™ and more?

 

Yes, Yes!

 

And then we thought, wouldn't it be SO much easier and cheaper if we made it PVP instead?

 

.........................

Edited October 26, 2013 by DarthZeroe

That smuggling part didn't sound half bad, hope some dirty money on the side will become available in the future:rak_03:

At least it's something that could be called actual content and gameplay enhancements. Over at Star Trek Online all we have to look forward to is another Reputation grind with a new set of story missions that can be completed in 2 hours and the same 2 or 3 missions that have to be played ad nauseum for reputation marks. Not to mention the inevitable new set of bugs that will join the old bugs in being ignored by the devs and never fixed and the power creep.

At least it's something that could be called actual content and gameplay enhancements. Over at Star Trek Online all we have to look forward to is another Reputation grind with a new set of story missions that can be completed in 2 hours and the same 2 or 3 missions that have to be played ad nauseum for reputation marks. Not to mention the inevitable new set of bugs that will join the old bugs in being ignored by the devs and never fixed and the power creep.

 

This got me thinking to the saving graces of ST:O. I like Star Wars, but I am also a Trekkie. I am not ashamed of being a Trekkie. I am ashamed of ever playing that game. The only real saving grace of that game was two things. Space PVP and they had when I played an online content generator.

 

Then I thought about the many Bioware games I still enjoy..One in particular is NWN..It is a game I still play and has limitless possibilities. Over the years the scripting language and syntax of Bioware Toolsets have become recognizable by many who may play this game. While the scripting language and how they implement it may or may not be drastically different. So there is no doubt Bioware has the capability of introducting something like this at least on the public test server...

 

Why should Bioware put all this time and effort into something like this?

 

Very simply, some players want space based pve. Bioware should develop pvp for this style first. But to keep the players happy and to not overload the developers. One of the solutions I thought of is let the players that want the pve for the new GS system should be the ones to do it. They should be the ones doing the scripting and everything for it..Here is what I thought to fix the obvious problem. Make each of these player created things be considered an operation. That require a group of 16 people..or have the ability to make it a 8v8 pvp operation..

 

Try it on the public test server see how it does. You could even do a contest or an event that displays on the public server every player made content . It would be better to have an offline scripting checker that checks for syntax errors and compile errors...to reduce bugs introduced by this feature. Or have an offline, program and have them e-mail a completed mission to Bioware, to reduce security vulnerabilities.

 

It is something to consider and after reading these posts and seeing what those that can't post on the forums and in-game. This may be something to toss around.. If anything else it is another weekly pass/sub thing which may cause less people to ragequit. PVPers are really happy..PvErs are happy enough not to flood the forums enough for EA to add more work to the developers work load.

 

Win/WIn

Edited October 28, 2013 by enkilleridos
errors

Happy Friday!

 

Lead Designer Michael Backus has written the first of many Developer Diaries centered around Galactic Starfighter! We start with some of the history behind the development of the upcoming Digital Expansion here.

 

Well you explained all what we needed to hear. You have discussed many of the possibilities and broad range of them. But instead of making something hard, interesting and complex, you just took the most simple approach and simplest of ideas. Out of many great possibilities, you have picked simple PEW PEW PVP, which is good for PVP fans, but totally useless for any of the other players, for me as well. Great way of finally making the feature you wanted to make from release of the game, and perfect way to ruin it. Yes players wanted the Capital ships, boarding capturing and destroying. But not arcade PVP in space, where all you can do is pew pew, in most the simple of ways. Greatly disappointed, as this will last for a week before it gets boring. No major objectives, only PVP grind.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Nemesida

So, um yeah, when will this be updated? I mean you take the time to send out this message telling us basically nothing.

I was hoping for JTL style Space in this game. I spent most of my life in space when I played SWG, space here is a joke. Seemingly this poor joke for space is to continue.

SWG was not fun. Let it go buddy.

 

Your right, it wasn't that fun, but it had great concepts like guild housing / towns and customizable ships. The thing that made SWG so unplayable was the fact that it was vast open world with sparse mob / npc population and lackluster story. SWTOR is so much better, but it could use the concepts that SWG had in place. Especially space. Wouldn't it be fun to have the option to fly into a spaceport like you do now, and be able to not just go to the planet for your storyline quests, and planet quests, but also have a series of space missions to complete for that sector?

Not sure why they're complaining about it being this impossibly hard new achievement. It's been done before on a scale much more massively than what they're doing now. It was in Star Wars Galaxies for a long time why don't they just build off of that?

Maybe its out there, but I havent seen it. And even if there are rare examples, they were definitely in the minority. Sure, people wanted the space revamp to include PvP options, but the vast majority wanted PvE. Getting back to my opening statements, the vibe I get from this article is "we heard what you wanted, and here it is". Except this isnt how most people asked for it to work.

 

The thing is, PvP is much easier to implement; Bioware doesn't have to put in any AI for the server-controlled ships, because there aren't any -- or, at least, the server-controlled ships have very limited responses, for missions like 'side A has to protect this cargo ship while it gets from this point to that point, side B has to destroy it'. What making it PvP-only does for Bioware is let them get space combat out to the players so that they can get a large amount of data about how the different ships play against each other, which will give them data that they will need as they work on the AI code for server-controlled ships in PvE missions, as well as giving them more time to work on the AI algorithms while the playerbase gets to have the PvP side, rather than holding it all back until they can release PvE and PvP space combat together.

Exactly, as ey've previously stated, at least it's somewhat out there, a prototype, and hits 2 objs w/ 1 blastr shot, new/more p v P for the p v Prs and space combat in a more open area, something to go back on latr and work w/ when making, as what this gam should start to become more like, more galaxy-like content. A staggered launch is bettr then all at once for so many reasons ey've already covered some of. This will allow a snobal like effect, mroe money, the c market is payin itself off, an increase in subs, more money, more content, repeat.

Being a smuggler with a cargo vessel and not a star fighter, and also not interested in PvP, I will not be purchasing the expansion.

Being a smuggler with a cargo vessel and not a star fighter, and also not interested in PvP, I will not be purchasing the expansion.

 

You don't have to purchase it, you will get it for free! Yaaaay!

I wished, there was an option to not install it and save the space on the HD, though.

I am very interested in this! It is going to get me back into playing.

 

Though I think it wasn't the best idea to make this about just starfighters. If it expands into our real ships for travel and dogfights, but these starfighters be a part of guild capital ships, it would be the correct path.

 

My idea of the best development progression:

1) Starfighter pvp (basically a cool minigame)

2) Story Ship missions (flashpoint type missions, smuggling, defense, protection, exploration)

3) Integrate Story ships into starfighter pvp (Story Ship> starfighter but you have to pay to repair the story ship, so it is a tradeoff of what to use)

4) Capital Ships (Guild Ships, though a couple new ones at Home Stations for the non-guildies)

5) Capital Ship PVP

6) Capital Ship Missions (operations)

 

Include ship customization and gear for starfighters and story ships.

 

Ideas on Operations/flashpoints that integrate space and planet stuff, like a space dock that needs to be taken over would be truly star wars. Though for the people that dont want the space stuff, you can do the basic flashpoint...

I am very interested in this! It is going to get me back into playing.

 

Though I think it wasn't the best idea to make this about just starfighters. If it expands into our real ships for travel and dogfights, but these starfighters be a part of guild capital ships, it would be the correct path.

 

My idea of the best development progression:

1) Starfighter pvp (basically a cool minigame)

2) Story Ship missions (flashpoint type missions, smuggling, defense, protection, exploration)

3) Integrate Story ships into starfighter pvp (Story Ship> starfighter but you have to pay to repair the story ship, so it is a tradeoff of what to use)

4) Capital Ships (Guild Ships, though a couple new ones at Home Stations for the non-guildies)

5) Capital Ship PVP

6) Capital Ship Missions (operations)

 

Include ship customization and gear for starfighters and story ships.

 

Ideas on Operations/flashpoints that integrate space and planet stuff, like a space dock that needs to be taken over would be truly star wars. Though for the people that dont want the space stuff, you can do the basic flashpoint...

 

I pretty much like everything you put up for a idea, I think capital ships can be uber operations mission. Capital ships can bring in several different things to the table.

So we ever going to get a Part II or Is the expansion so tiny that it doesn't warrant another page of developer text?