Bioware has released the first Developer Walkthrough of The Old Republic. Still a work-in-progress, there is a lot to glean from this four part introduction to what could be the most in-depth MMO of all time. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the video, you’ll find a breakdown here by clicking the read more link!

Part I

The video starts with an introduction by Senior Content Producer Dallas Dickinson, who has worked for Disney, as a producer for Sony, and is now the Sr. Content Producer at Bioware.

The walkthrough begins with a bounty hunter walking through an interior location on the planet Nal Hutta, the home world of the Hutts. The bounty hunter reminds me of a character out of Team Fortress 2, walking almost bowlegged due to his heavy armor. The HUD shows an action bar across the bottom, radar, text box, and character portrait. The bounty hunter walks up to a character and speaks with him. Dickinson mentions that the entire game will be fully VO, meaning every character will have voice-over. Many times in MMOs, characters skip text and get on with quests, but here, Bioware allows the character to interact with NPCs by choosing from a few responses. Interesting here is the subtitles of the Nikto speaking Huttese, which really gives us a flavor for being on this planet.

Right before walking outside, the bounty hunter gives a silly wave of his hand to an NPC, hopefully to mock him. Stepping outside, the green and yellow hue of the air speaks volumes about the vile nature of the Hutts. A few trees shoot high into the air, but everything is tiny compared with the palace in the background of Nemro the Hutt. Suddenly the bounty hunter begins firing upon a group of humanoids with his blaster, rockets, and most enjoyable to watch – his flamethrower.

Part II



Part two sets out with Blaine Christine, a Producer at Bioware, who formerly worked for Activision. He informs us that we are about to witness the smuggler class in action.

The walkthrough begins with a smuggler dressed in Han Solo fashion. The smuggler runs outside on the planet of Ord Mantell, where the Republic is battling separatists. The smuggler is attempting to provide the Republic with munitions. On his way, the smuggler runs into some trouble and is forced to utilize a smuggler-specific skill – taking cover – which is somewhat ground-breaking for an MMO. When the smuggler initiates combat, green markers light up on the screen next to positions that will provide cover. The smuggler moves behind a tree, throws a flashbang, and then finishes off an enemy by firing a barrage of blaster bolts at the last man standing. But wait! There’s one more enemy. The smuggler runs up to the enemy, kicks him in the groin, and then headshots the stunned enemy scout. What a nice guy.

Dallas Dickinson is back to introduce the first look at the Sith Warrior Class on the Sith planet of Korriban. The warrior starts off by dealing with a looting problem in one of the ancient tombs. Also plaguing the old tombs are giant slugs, which the sith warrior will have to dispatch. Suddenly the Sith warrior unleashes his red lightsaber against a slug, and makes quick work of the beast. The glow reflects off of the stone floor, and the blade streams through the air as the warrior races forward in a Force sprint. Happening upon some looters, the Sith blocks their blaster bolts and moves in for the kill.

Part III



The third act of the walkthrough highlights what the developers are calling a Flashpoint, or what seems to be the equivalent of an instance or dungeon. The demo begins with a higher level Sith Warrior wearing armor and a Bounty Hunter wearing a jet pack. The two are on a Sith warship that has disobeyed orders to attack the Republic. Most of the dialogue begins with the warrior telling the captain off until he comes to a decision point. The warrior can either kill the captain or convince him to attack the Republic. It’s tough luck for the captain as the warrior cuts him down and takes control of the ship.

Because the warrior decides to kill the captain, the following battle against the Republic will be harder given that the captain had previous experience; however, the warrior did gain dark side points. Because the game is an MMO, one can imagine that flashpoints will be played more than once, but we don’t have any confirmation about that yet.

It is on the bridge of the ship speaking with the NPCs that the character models look the weakest. They appear to be children in Sith Empire uniforms. Still they have their orders and make the jump to lightspeed. When they come out of hyperspace they attack the Republic ship, but they are in for a surprise. The Republic sends boarding vessels that penetrate the Sith hull. Suddenly for the first time, the bounty hunter chimes in and tells the officers that they are bantha fodder. He is also able to make choices in dialogue and it is nice to see that the conversation will always play slightly differently depending on who is present.

The third part ends as the Sith warrior Force chokes a Republic trooper while the bounty hunter sets a few on fire with his flamethrower.

Part IV



The forth part continues with the battle on the ship, and the Sith warrior sends lightning across the floor, stunning enemy troops. Slightly strange is that the electricity does not seem to emanate from his fingertips. While the skill is cool, it may need some aesthetic revamping. Suddenly the bounty hunter utilizes his jetpack and fires blaster bolts down from above. This is a pretty sweet ability that will come in handy against melee opponents if in fact Bioware plans to distinguish the two.

It appears now that the engineers are trapped deeper in the ship. The bounty hunter throws an explosive on a set of blast doors and blows it away. Quickly the two sprint into action and kill more Republic troops. Suddenly nearby blastdoors show signs of tampering. A hot spot shows up in the middle, until the door opens and a Jedi emerges. The two immediately engage in battle. The fighting is entertaining although the plethora of sparks flying from the clashing sabers might be turned down a bit. In time the Sith warrior is victorious.

After battling another Jedi, the developers reveal the current loot system. A window pops up and thumbnail images represent the items on the fallen Jedi. There is a take or leave option, but no word yet on whether there will be a rolling for higher-end loot. Suddenly the developer says that the only thing better than one lightsaber is two. The Sith warrior whips out the fallen Jedi’s lightsaber and twirls it around. That’s just prime.

In conclusion, it appears that while there were many features to show, there is so much yet to see – and that’s a good thing. There is no doubt that the story and experience is going to be phenomenal, and in time the graphics and models are sure to undergo polish. This is a great first look at things, and really gives us a sense of what this game might be like.

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