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Old Republic starts open testing

Published on 30th September 2009 by Joe Martin

BioWare has opened Star Wars: The Old Republic for public testing - so what are you all waiting for?

Bioware has opened it's new Star Wars MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, for a bout of public testing and begun inviting volunteers to help in shaping the game.

It's stressed however that this is a 'public test' and not a public beta as such - meaning that players may be asked to play with more specific elements or prototypes of the game's systems than those that would be traditionally seen in a beta. Or not - it really remains to be seen, but Bioware has steered away from using the word 'beta' at least.

You'll have to meet certain conditions for being considered obviously, such as being over 18 years old and having an active community account with Bioware, but if you meet the requirements then you can sign up at the official site.

Bioware is also stressing that this will be an extended test of the underlying systems and that fans shouldn't take the public nature of the testing as being indicative of an imminent release. This is Bioware's first MMO - they want to be sure they get it right.

The Old Republic is set in the main Star Wars universe obviously, but set long before the events of the films or the other Old Republic games. It also lets you play as smugglers, Jedi, Sith or bounty hunters, boasting a blend of singleplayer story in an MMO setting. It also has an incredibly cool trailer, which you can see here.

We're not usually the type to get excited over MMOs, but we'll admit to be quietly hopeful for how The Old Republic might turn out, but let us know your thoughts in the forums.

10 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

l3v1ck 30th September 2009, 12:04

If it's a good as the other Old Republic RPG's I might well play it. Until now MMO's have held little interest to me.

Mentai 30th September 2009, 12:21

The fact that each class has an individual storyline and all dialogue is fully voiced is enough to convince me that it's closer to KOTOR than WoW, and I want it badly. Not too happy with the art direction though.

Horizon 30th September 2009, 12:32

Doesn't work, infinite loop

Terms & Conditions -> Personal Information -> back to T&C and so forth

ano 30th September 2009, 12:34

It's just the MMO bit that confuses me, if you're running quests on your own or in a small party that isn't very massive. Still interested though. It just feels like they like the economic model of creating a game then releasing it to subscribers then using the funds to generate more content when they feel like it, rather than an online universe where the game is almost an emergent property of the sandbox the devs give you, like EVE.

deltaworld 30th September 2009, 12:40

Doesn't work, infinite loop

Terms & Conditions -> Personal Information -> back to T&C and so forth

Same here.. Infinite loop. I can't sign up.. grrr. so annoying

klutch4891 30th September 2009, 12:58

Finally! I've had an account on their website for months just waiting for this! As for the loop, I got a loop a few times, but once I tried a couple of times it went through.

T&C-> Personal Information-> T&C->T Personal Info.->System Scan. And after I did that twice it went through.

deltaworld 30th September 2009, 12:59

I have managed to fix this infinite loop.

1. Login from IE 8 and fill in all the details Step 1: Sign up to T&C, Step 2: Fill In Details
Then in Step 3 Install addon from Huang San for the scan. This then brought me back to the beginning.
I repeated the process 1-2 then came to 3 and clicked on Start Scan. It brought up a popup AJAX iframe but there was no button to submit.

I then logged out.

2. Login in Firefox 3.5, login then go to My Account-> Basic Info
At the bottom you should see
Yes, I would like to be considered for testing.
System Specification: Incomplete
Contact Info Complete

Click on System Specification Incomplete to perform the scan. Accept the install addon and run the scan
you may need to do this a couple of times till you get the ajax iframe popup but this time you should see submit button. I hope this helps.

bowman 30th September 2009, 13:17

Meh. I was excited about the announcement but from the preview videos so far it looks like WoW with lightsabers, complete with unengaging, boring combat (the lightsaber animations even suck - when a lightsaber goes through something it tends to burn through it, not annoy the creature).

Coupled with paying a sub fee for this WoW clone (with voice actors, sure, they have that, it's still a WoW clone) I say they can keep it.

Xtrafresh 30th September 2009, 13:27

@ wowman above:
So WOW has so much better animations? When i vertically insert a battleaxe into your skull, i think it'll look quite different from "1402" in blue letters floating over your head. :)

Anyway, i'm inclined to go and give this a whirl, an Old Republic MMO by Bioware almost matches the cheesecake factor of coop zombie-shooting by Valve.

bowman 30th September 2009, 14:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xtrafresh
@ wowman above:
So WOW has so much better animations? When i vertically insert a battleaxe into your skull, i think it'll look quite different from "1402" in blue letters floating over your head. :)

Anyway, i'm inclined to go and give this a whirl, an Old Republic MMO by Bioware almost matches the cheesecake factor of coop zombie-shooting by Valve.

That was my point when I said it was a WoWalike..