SW:TOR Update- Playable Species, and new Timeline holorecord

OK, I'm pretty sure no we don't have a post regarding this latest update, which I found a bit surprising. i checked the SW:TOR website and there are two new updates.

New Playable Species

Timeline: The Mandalorian Wars

There are some interesting new species, including one which will make Darth Maul fans happy. As for the timeline, its not as good as some of the previous ones, but it ends with a cliffhanger as usual.

I thought the timeline, like you said, was okay. Though they are still pretty enjoyable regardless.

I wasn't really too concerned with any of the playable species since none of them interesting me too much though im sure thats not the case for all.

Don't really care about the timeline anymore. They've butchured the pre SW:TOR lore enough as it is, so I'm having none of it.

For the species, I'm a bit disappointed that they are seeming to make species class-specific, as it cuts down the possibilities. For instance, why can't the Zabrak and Mirilian be non Force User? Hylo Visz (important timeline character) was Mirilian and a Smuggler, and she was NOT green, she was more of a yellow colour. I also don't understand why they would make Zabrak a species for the Sith Inquisitor. Maul was more of a Sith Warrior, and even then, there's been numerous amounts of Zabrak Jedi, and non Force User Zabrak. I'm just not a fan of nearly all species being class specific.

Well they needed an entry on the Mandalorian Wars so I think it was just an update for updayes sake. Anyway the next one should be great on Exar Kun.

Typho Raame wrote:

Don't really care about the timeline anymore. They've butchured the pre SW:TOR lore enough as it is, so I'm having none of it.

What ever they do is the lore.

Owen Keez wrote:

What ever they do is the lore.

Not when it is already pre determined law, that they are simply retconning into something they feel will generate more money for them. It's what BioWare has always done.

Thats what businesses do, make money.

Yes, but they should not do so at the expense of tearing down what was already set stone in place, otherwise lore would not be able to function, because everything would be getting changed each time something new came out.

It's not drastically changing. Kreia could have been wrong on her facts to. And prior statements have confirmed that the timelines are from the view of the jedi council thousands of years in the future. And if you say bioware is just being stupid about doing that in the timelines then you are not supporting the lore side. Lore wise the jedi council would not have pretty much known anything about the exile or kreia talkings of revan.

But it's not merely been said from the point of view of the Jedi Council. The lead writer of SW:TOR himself has said that what the Jedi believed to have happened is what has happened. And I doubt Kreia could have been wrong on her facts. She was Revan's first master, and the master who he came back to once he had learned all he could from the other Jedi teachers. She pretty much moulded Revan into what he was and so if anyone knew Revan best, I think it would have been her.

Did kreia see revan herself after he and malak came back from the unknown regions?

Revan returned to her immediately prior to him joining in the Mandalorian Wars. But that itself shows that Kreia had a huge influence in Revan's fate and decision, and that she no doubt had measured out what Revan would be like, and the reasons he did things. There's on quote from KotOR II, which follows as "Eventually, however, it was said that Revan returned to his first Master Kreia when "he realized there was nothing more to be learned from the Jedi—except how one could leave them forever." That says to me that he returned to her to seek her advice on how to best utilise the force to his will, not to leave the Jedi and join the Sith.

While the timelines certainly do muddle some things about Revan, I dont think they, as you say, tear down the existing stones of the story. Nobody really knew exactly what Revan's intension's were, even Kreia, who only saw him prior to the Mandalorian War and not before going to the unknown regions.

I still believe that its possible that Revan might have served as a pawn as the Emperor briefly after meeting him, but after finding the Star Forge realized it would have been better to use for himself. Master Gnost Dural even says something hinting along the same lines in the Jedi Civil war entry. Now you can argue he used it to strengthen or destory the Republic all day, and Master Dural says that he believes Revan has ambitions of his own empire, however I don't see any way he could have known what Revan really intended.

Quote :

But it's not merely been said from the point of view of the Jedi Council. The lead writer of SW:TOR himself has said that what the Jedi believed to have happened is what has happened.

Oh really...can I get a quote on that? I had thought that they had issued a statement of the exact opposite saying that nothing Master Dural says can be taken as irrefutable fact. Or at the very least not said anything about it, at which point you can hardly take anything he says as complete fact.

I also feel a tiny bit of disapointment on making so many races class specific, but at the same time I think they a considering certain cultural aspects of each race, I can't really see a Zabrack as a trooper, or Imperial agent, not saying they couldn't, but it's just a little off if you saw hundreds of Zabrack troopers on the server. I think they are just trying to narrow down some outrageous character combinations. Besides, it doesn't really affect me, humans I think can play everything. I don't see a way they could do this perfectly either since really if you get down to it any race can do anything.

As far as the lore being torn up, I did see the Kotor II ending recently, and while a few things Kreia said seem to contradict I don't really see anything she said as factual. She never saw Revan again up to the point she died. Revan was his/her own being, Kreia could have known him better than anyone but she wasn't always with him. She could have made some assumptions, truth is I don't think anyone can say for sure.

If the lore is broken somehow I can't really see it as the fault of bioware, lucasarts maintains an Iron grip on whatever they write.

ive gotta have to agree with typho... i think its bull that they are makeing so many species class based... how is that ever realistic...

Gár The Grim wrote:

ive gotta have to agree with typho... i think its bull that they are makeing so many species class based... how is that ever realistic...

I don't care for it, but I can see why they do it. If you ever played SWG and saw a few hundred Ithorians running around as commandos, or a dozen wookies cloaked as spies for the Empire I think it's understandable.

Darc Akora wrote:

Oh really...can I get a quote on that? I had thought that they had issued a statement of the exact opposite saying that nothing Master Dural says can be taken as irrefutable fact. Or at the very least not said anything about it, at which point you can hardly take anything he says as complete fact.

I'm not specifically saying that Daniel Erickson, lead writer for BioWare, said that what Master Dural is saying is completely fact and what happened, but what I'm saying is that what Erickson said happened, is pretty much the same as what Dural is saying. It can be heard early on in this Video Interview:

http://gameinformer.com/games/star_wars_the_old_republic/m/star_wars_the_old_republic_media/108340.aspx

Deirbhile wrote:

I don't care for it, but I can see why they do it. If you ever played SWG and saw a few hundred Ithorians running around as commandos, or a dozen wookies cloaked as spies for the Empire I think it's understandable.

I can understand why there'd be certain restrictions on classes and species, but for multi-class species like Zabrak and Mirilian. From what I've seen in Star Wars, it would make sense for them to be not restricted into any sense of class. And what you're saying is kind of contradictory, as if BioWare is restricting certain species to classes, then we'll be seeing, like you said, a few hundred of the same species running around as a single class.

I think Deirbhile's point was more that is was unlikely that a spy would be a wookiee or a Ithorians being a commando. Whereas a Chiss being an agent is more realistic.

Typho Raame wrote:

Darc Akora wrote:

Oh really...can I get a quote on that? I had thought that they had issued a statement of the exact opposite saying that nothing Master Dural says can be taken as irrefutable fact. Or at the very least not said anything about it, at which point you can hardly take anything he says as complete fact.

I'm not specifically saying that Daniel Erickson, lead writer for BioWare, said that what Master Dural is saying is completely fact and what happened, but what I'm saying is that what Erickson said happened, is pretty much the same as what Dural is saying. It can be heard early on in this Video Interview:

http://gameinformer.com/games/star_wars_the_old_republic/m/star_wars_the_old_republic_media/108340.aspx

He says that they were "supposedly" to be the vanguard for the sith invasion. Obviously casting some doubt into their true intensions.

As to the thing about the species, I understand Bioware's decision, even if it may not offer as many options as many would want. I think some species more than others need to be restricted and in order to not have things get very complicated with unequal numbers of classes that each species could play, they decided to just give one to each class.

Hm, I don't think so. Everything that they have indicated is that Human will be able to be every class, whilst the alien species are restricted to a few, or even one class. Doesn't make sense for a Sith Pureblood to be on the Republic's side, or for them to be a non-Force user class.