Activision Blizzard had their 4th Quarter earnings call today and there’s a ton of good news. Since there are a lot of fan boys out there, they will be super excited to hear that another Call of Duty game will be rolling out in 2012 according to IGN. My bet is November. But that shouldn’t be a surprise.

What’s also important is there was announcement that World of Warcraft only lost 100k subscribers during the 4th Quarter, according to MMO-Champion. They were able to stop their hemorrhaging, where they lost a combined 1.8 million subscribers in 2011, while Star Wars of the Old Republic launched in December. I’ve yet to play SWTOR outside of the beta, but I am still very content with WoW. There were also over 1 million Annual Passes sold in the West. Annual Passes is an agreement with Blizzard that you will pay for WoW for 12 months and you will get Diablo III for free, a special mount in WoW, and a guaranteed beta invite for the upcoming expansion, Mists of Pandaria. There’s also a mention of new information coming on March 19th. Mark your calendars.

Speaking of Diablo III, you can now expect to be able to at least play it on your PC before the end of the 2nd Quarter. Sometime between  May and July. If you aren’t lucky enough to participate in the beta, I suggest you become best buds with someone who has an invite and convince them to share. It’s amazing.

BioWare released patch 1.1.2 for Star Wars: The Old Republci on Tuesday and with it came plenty of QQs. This time, the player angst comes because of the changes made to the global cool down UI graphic. If you haven’t logged in to check out what’s the big issue, I suggest doing so and then weighing in with your thoughts over at the official thread. The UI now flashes after every cool down causing people to actually experience headaches (or at least that’s what they’re saying). BioWare has seen the the topic grow and decided to at least hold a poll to see what people think.

So far the poll sits at 58% negative, 30% positive and 12% indifferent.

What do you guys think?

The official SWTOR patch notes for 1.1.2 were released on the official SWTOR forum yesterday. Not a whole lot going on unless you are a Jedi or Sith warrior. Those of the Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor classes will see the most difference this coming patch. Most of the other classes will notice a change in the Operation Boss enemies, as a lot of abilities no longer effect these baddies.

One interesting update (that I am sad to see) is the bug fix where your companion will no longer appear unclothed randomly when summoned. Why the no random nudity BioWare? I like my chance that I will see a naked something anytime I log onto the interweb.

For a complete listing of all the patch notes go here. See something that should have been left alone, or think something else is missing? Let us know in the comments below!

Fans or foes of Star Wars: The Old Republic who think the sky is falling and that EA/BioWare’s massive MMO title is beginning to fail should take notice of some facts that just came out. Reuters reported that EA sold two million units of SWTOR since the game’s release in December. More importantly, they have managed to get 1.7 million users to signup for at least a one month subscription. Not a bad start by any stretch. Of course it’s entirely possible that after a month some subscribers will leave, as a lot of people who’ve played MMOs in the past generally give a game more than the 30-day trial that comes with every copy. If EA/BioWare can keep that number from dipping however, that will be an impressive start.

The really challenges they have to look forward to is when other MMOs like Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World come out later this year.

In the latest developer blog up on on the SWTOR website, Rich Vogel, Executive Producer, sheds some light on the inner workings of bugs and how the team addresses them. It’s a pretty refreshing article and gives a great look into the complex system any MMO title is built upon. Bugs need to be categorized (exploit, game blockers) researched (is the bug real, can it be reproduced), and then fixed not only by priority but how easily it can be fixed. For anyone who’s done some QQing on the forums, and their have been a lot of people, I suggest giving it a read. I’m not saying that bugs in any game are excusable, but people should have a little understanding on what a company goes through. I’ve read a lot of threads on many MMO forums and while I empathize with people paying good hard earn cash on a product they expect to work, I also understand that programing anything isn’t perfect. If anything, BioWare has done an admirable job of keeping the player base up to date and communicating with them via the forums, Facebook, and Twitter.

They may not be perfect, but hell if they aren’t trying.

As I’ve mentioned time and again, MMOs are not my favorite genre. While I was a big, big fan of Ultima Online, I don’t really lump that into the same class as titles such as Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, and World of Warcraft (all prior MMO titles I’ve played). UO was a different type of MMO with a different strategy. It played differently, in all regards. While I played the game for years and years and had a few characters who were 7x grand masters (the highest amount of skills you could get for the game), I can’t really use that game as an example.

With every other MMO title I’ve played in the past, the same result occurred: boredom. While the games might have been entertaining in one way or another, it was either the grind (WoW), the horrible launches (AO and AoC), or the  boredom (LOTRO) that killed the experience for me. When Star Wars: The Old Republic was first announced and BioWare assured us that story would take precedent, I began to think that this could be the first MMO that keeps me engaged for more than a month. Lo and Behold, we are a little over one month in from the official launch date and my level 50 Sith Warrior is still kicking with the same amount of ferocity as when he first landed on Korriban. How has BioWare managed to keep my attention longer than any other MMO to date?

Story – Story – Story

Throughout my Sith Warrior’s story, I felt compelled to keep on going. Everyday, I talked with friends about the choices we’ve made, and the consequences of them. Without revealing spoilers (really though, when have you ever said that when talking about an MMO), the Sith Warrior’s story features plenty of backstabbing and revenge. By the end I felt vindication, and hitting level 50 was more of a consolation prize. Sure there was some downtime, and even though you can’t solely rely on your class quest to level up, there were plenty of other things I was doing that kept me occupied. Flashpoints are fast, frantic, and fun; warzones, while not perfect, are a great way to mix things up a bit and acquire a good amount of XP, and there were plenty of side quests that had a good amount of love poured into them. The great thing about SWTOR is that when I choose to roll a new character, there will be so many other side quests I’ve never done before. I’m interested to see what I missed out on planets like Tatooine and Hoth, where I spent very little time. Sure there might have been some quests that I rushed through and ignored the back story, and some quests do mimic the typical fetch x amount of these, but overall, the stories kept me engaged from level 1 to level 50. No other MMO I’ve played has been able to do that.

More liberation, less grinding

Even though I might complain from time to time that going from one location to the next might take too long, or that having to actually acquire a skill called sprint is a little ridiculous, BioWare did a great job in making the “grind” in SWTOR close to nonexistent. Whether it was from doing my class quest, partaking in some PVP, trying out a new flashpoint, or engaging in some space battles, the XP never seemed to slow down. Of course going from level 1-20 is a lot faster than 20-40 but I never felt the process slow to a crawl. Progress was always being made, and for those who are new to the MMO genre, I think that’s a pretty important facet of the game to nail down. Some people may think it wasn’t hard enough, but one of the problems I had with WOW (when it was first released) was that the grind was so damn unbearable it killed any type of fun I was having.

So now what? After hitting the level cap I’m faced with a few questions I’ve never had to ask myself. Do I roll a new character, something I’ve never really done in an MMO (I’ve avoided it like the plague)? Do I move onto a new game? What are my options?

Ilum

Ilum is the one planet where level 50s can go and experience PVP on a broader scale than warzones. It’s also one of the planets they can go and do “dailies.” These daily quests allow you to earn commendations which are used to purchase high level gear for PVP/PVE. The problem currently is that Ilum still needs to be fixed on a multitude of levels. Some of the daily quests are broken and the PVP lacks any real substance. Fighting on Ilum requires Republic and Imperial forces to take over five points on the battlefield. The problems however, are that the area in which the battlefield is located makes my computer perform like a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. While I appreciate BioWare’s flair for the dramatics (the area consists of lasers and cannon fire bombarding the locations as well as huge tanks), my frame rates suffer because of it. Add on top of it that most servers are seeing an issue with Republic forces being outnumbered at least 2-1. While BioWare has fixed the spawn camping issue, it’s still a huge problem when Republic forces don’t want to get slaughtered time and time again. This current setup presents a few problems.

1. Doing daily missions that require you to take out Republic forces becomes difficult
2. Even when you get lucky and a good fight is occurring on Ilum, my frame rates suffer so bad that it becomes more of a chore than actual fun
3. PVP becomes more of a grind than anything else I’ve encountered in SWTOR

To someone who’s never really experienced end game content, the PVP on Ilum leaves a lot to be desired. While having a persistent battlefield to romp around in is a great idea, it almost becomes an exercise in futility. For someone like me who spent hours on end PVPing in Ultima Online, I couldn’t care less about loot. I’d just like the opportunity to have some fun with my guild. Right now, Ilum isn’t offering it.

They call it hard for a reason

On the other hand, flashpoints are still a consistent amount of fun and after going through my first hard mode, I can see myself doing many more. The good thing about hardmode flashpoints are that they also award higher end loot. Getting more of this loot will allow you and your guild mates to take on operations which are the creme de le creme of end game content. While I haven’t had the chance to run through an operation yet, it’s definitely one thing I’m looking forward to doing soon. But until then, I’m content with experiencing a few of the level 50 flashpoints, getting some more loot, and even helping lower level guild mates. But, when the time is right and I see myself wanting to change it up a bit, I do have one more alternative.

The world is my oyster

The class stories are the only reason I would consider starting out a new character. I’m excited to see where the experiences of a bounty hunter or imperial agent may take me, or if I’m feeling frisky, I might consider going over to the Republic side to see how the Jedi’s story goes. The point, and the entire purpose of this post, is that BioWare has managed to do something for me that no other MMO has ever done. While they still need to work on some of the endgame content (mainly PVP), they have given me an MMO title that has kept me occupied for more than a month. They have given me a game in which I’ve actually been able to experience end game content. I haven’t been this wrapped up in an MMO since Ultima Online; that’s over ten years ago. Star Wars: The Old Republic may not be perfect, but this is a game that has raised the bar for every new MMO title that comes out.

It’s been a pretty busy week over at Bioware. Star Wars: The Old Republic saw the 1.1 update go live and subsequently the world stop spinning. Plagued by a few bugs and PVP issues, the forums went batshit crazy. One of the biggest issues was the fact that PVP on Ilum went from bad to worse. The rebels were getting their ass kicked and the imperials were gaining massive amounts of valor due to spawn camping. While a lot of people were hoping to get some type of roll-back (to erase the huge valor gain people obtained), the developers are choosing not to. Jeff Hickman , Executive Producer of Live Services explains the situation : “We have made the decision not to enact a mass ‘rollback’ of Valor points for all players in the game, or even on Ilum. This would unfairly penalize some players who may not have been present during this event. Rest assured though, anyone and everyone who is found to have exploited the situation to an unreasonable degree will be investigated and actions taken as needed. Our in-game metrics are able to give us precise details on where players were, what they were doing and what rewards they gained.”

It’s good to see Bioware is addressing the issue and I can agree to a certain extent that there were probably plenty of people earning valor legitimately. However, until I start seeing proof that something is being done, I’m approaching the situation with cautious optimism. A lot of people on the forums are ready to carry their pitchforks and torches and have an insatiable blood lust. I’m thinking they’ll only be happy if they see some proof that something (more than just words) is done to the abusers.

One of the biggest gripes players have had during the last month of SWTOR is the fact that, at times, abilities just don’t work. There’s either a slight delay (something other than lag) in the ability when it should be firing off, or they just fail to work like they should. Obviously this can be a real pain in the butt, especially during PVP instances. Fortunately, things should be getting better soon.

Georg Zoeller, lead combat designer, gives a glimpse into the problems causing the issue and what they’re doing to fix it on the official SWTOR site. They’ve identified two issues regarding ability delay: one in which it appears the ability was ready to be used, and another that causes instant abilities to not work at all. Apparently there’s also an issue that could add a delay in player response time. A fix for the first two problems should be added to the test server soon, while the last problem is still being worked on.

So get your butts on the test server and give these fixes a shot. With any luck it should only be a few weeks before a patch is sent out.

After the SWTOR servers were down for an emergency patch, it looks like things are back up and running. What was fixed? Mainly the Ilum debacle we reported on yesterday. Players will no longer be able to spawn camp an opposing faction’s base, turrets are now immune to damage, and a population cap for Ilum has now been added (which should hopefully increase performance). There was also an issue that cropped up in the 1.1 update that caused a loading screen to pop up for no apparent reason, this has been addressed.

No word on whether or not (or how) Bioware is going to respond to the whole valor abuse issue that occurred yesterday (we’ve put in multiple requests asking), but we’ll keep you posted.

UPDATE: 

We received word from BioWare about their forum’s answer addressing the issue, and giving details about the emergency patch that’s slated to take place tomorrow. See below for details.

Hello everyone; I wanted to update you on the issues we’ve been seeing today on the live servers, specifically within the Open World PvP area on Ilum. We’re aware that on some servers, either Republic or Empire groups have been capturing the Ilum control points, entering the enemy’s base and ‘camping’ the medcenters, preventing the opposite faction from leaving their base to recapture control points. This is not a fair or balanced gameplay experience and can also severely affect client performance, so we’re taking steps to address this.

Our intended design for Ilum Open World PvP is that players are instantly killed when entering the enemy’s base safe area, just like in Warzones, and that the defending faction can take taxis to other points within the zone. As of Game Update 1.1, this is not working as intended. We have found the issue preventing this from happening under server load and will be publishing an Emergency Patch to address the issue. We’re aiming to have this patch published early tomorrow morning (January 19th, 5 AM US CST).

In addition to these changes, we’ll be reducing the population cap on Ilum. This should help increase performance by requiring your client to render fewer characters on-screen at once.

Regarding Valor gains, with the 1.1 update, players now receive a base reward of 20 Valor per unique enemy player defeated in a short time, and this base reward is modified by the number of objectives that the player’s faction owns. The gains are rate limited per player killed, encouraging players to attack unique players, not to pursue vendettas. The Valor gains players can see over time will vary greatly depending on the activity level in the zone. This is expected. 

To dispel a couple of rumors that have been seen today – there is no Valor gain from destroying turrets within enemy bases, and none from killing NPCs.

We encourage players to avoid Ilum until our patch is deployed. As a temporary measure we will be disabling taxi services which would normally take players into the Open World PvP area. However, players will still be able to taxi out of the area.

We will continue to monitor Ilum across all servers and will make further changes to gameplay if required. We welcome your feedback here on the Forums, but please ensure your feedback is constructive and specific. Feedback based on rumor does not help us isolate potential issues.

Gabe Amatangelo
Principal Lead PvP, Flashpoints and Operations Designer

Update: Please see Associate Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez’s update below:

Originally Posted by JovethGonzalez

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to be clear and let you all know that we’re definitely aware of individuals who took extreme advantage of this situation and we will be carefully evaluating and taking action as necessary.

Eek! Patches are definitely a tricky thing. They can fix 10 things but also break a few things in the process. After reading the current 100 page thread on the SWTOR forum, a lot of people are agreeing that the PVP on the level 50 planet Ilum is broken. If you’re looking for something to do on a day when Wikipedia and Reddit or down, I suggest you put your reading glasses on. The 1.1 update added valor to each PVP kill. Valor allows you to gain new PVP items. Obviously the higher the valor, the better the PVP gear. That’s all well and good but when the ability to camp a spawn point and not allow the opposing team to fight back enters the equation, people are going to be pissed. People are gathering valor points at an alarmingly high rate. What was once a chore to max out your valor is only taking a few hours. It also seems like the Republic side is having a lot of issues as they are being outnumbered on many cases. Since they are outnumbered and can’t even spawn, a lot of people are reporting being stuck on Ilum. Currently there is a Livestream going on showing the issue.

Content updates alwayss have a few issues, that’s just the nature of the beast, but this beast seems to be a whole lot more.

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