Sneak Peak at New Space Expansion

Oooh, new pvp space combat is coming. If you are a subscriber you can get in early. I guess the theory that this would be a full expansion (paid no less) isn't accurate.

TAKE YOUR BATTLE TO SPACE!
Experience epic Player-vs-Player (PvP) dogfighting in the new Free-to-Play Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Digital Expansion, Galactic Starfighter. Join 12v12 free flight combat action and jump into fierce factional battles as the war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic explodes into space. Compete and advance to earn ground game rewards plus new weapons, powers and abilities to customize your ultimate Starfighter!

SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER
Subscribers as of November 1, 2013, qualify for the following bonuses:
Exclusive Gunship "Daring" Paint Jobs with Early Gunship Unlock - plus all Subscriber Early Access Rewards*!

SUBSCRIBER EARLY ACCESS
BEGINS: DECEMBER 3, 2013
Subscriber Early Access Rewards
(December 3, 2013 - January 13, 2014)

Early Access Starting December 3
Exclusive Gunship "Daring" Paint Jobs with Early Gunship Role Unlock Only available to Subscribers who were also Subscribers on November 1, 2013
Strike Fighter “Valiant” Paint Jobs
Scout "Valiant" Paint Jobs
Imperial Battle Ace and Republic Squadron Commander Pilot Suits
In-Game Titles: “First Galactic Starfighter” and “Test Pilot”
Maximum leveling and progression

PREFERRED EARLY ACCESS
BEGINS: JANUARY 14, 2014
Preferred Status Early Access Rewards
(January 14, 2014 – February 3, 2014)

Early Access Starting January 14
Imperial Battle Ace Pilot Suit
Republic Squadron Commander Pilot Suit
In-Game Title: “Test Pilot”
Also available to Subscribers during this period.
Are you a Preferred Status Player?

Players gain Preferred Status by purchasing anything from the online store. Former Subscribers are automatically granted Preferred Status.


FREE-TO-PLAY ACCESS
BEGINS: FEBRUARY 4, 2014
Free-to-Play Access Rewards
(February 4, 2014 – Ongoing)

Imperial Battle Ace Pilot Suit
Republic Squadron Commander Pilot Suit
Available to all players with a SWTOR account during this period.
Click to expand...

http://www.swtor.com/galactic-starfighter
 
Have they indicated whether you can group? Is it Republic vs Empire or just a free for all? In any case, it sounds like it'll be awesome!
 
I haven't done much digging yet, but it says you can have 12 v 12 battles, so it appears that it is faction based teams.
 
i was on earlier today and checked out the new space pvp. it's quite fun actually, and at least from what i can tell so far it's pretty deep. three different styles of ships, upgradable, your crew (consisting of your companions, as well as additional NPCs specific to the starfighter) gives you options to add different buffs or special abilities. there is definitely a different feel to the fighting style of each. gunship is least manuverable, but man the sniper mode is AWEsome. scout is pretty quick and agile, can get in, kill, and get out before you even knew it was there lol. and the last one is a good balance btwn the two, i would say a mid-range fighter. i forgot what this one is called off the top of my head.

it does have a slight learning curve if you're not used to space combat, but the tutorial is good enough to learn the basics very quick. there is a good balance between learning the basics good enough to enjoy it, but still offering enough of a challenge that it will keep you busy getting really good at it. i can also see the potential for them to expand the system in the future. i will say it's not as good as SWG JTL (star wars galaxies players know what i mean lol) but i've resigned myself that we'll never get that in any game ever again. (hears taps playing softly in the background).

all in all, at least with the starfighter system, i'm pleased with this "mini-expansion".

now... where is everyone?? :D
 
I was working late again, then had to go fetch a late dinner for the family. I set the game to download while I was gone, though. I'm logging in now. RhemaTom experienced a computer crash when he tried the space stuff. I guess there's a lot of complaining about crashes in the swtor forums.
 
wow, i haven't had any issues, thank God. i spent the night with my best friend watching tv and catching up on the day. took a little nap this afternoon so i'm wide awake atm... so i'm gonna hop on and play some lol. don't know how long i'll last tho. i'm not as young as i used to be lol.
 
Good summary Khali. Also, similar to how you can earn pvp comms via pvp battles, battling it out in starfighters will earn you credits you can only spend on upgrading your ships or (separate credits) buying new ships.

I was having problems with my video drivers when I first launched the game but no system crash. I thought it might have been something else I was doing at the time that was interfering with the game and drivers. I do note, that most of the space combat graphics get messed up even before the starfighter was added. When I run space missions I typically will lose the graphics for my blasters so it's harder to judge where I'm hitting. But since its all "on the rails" that usually doesn't cause problems.
 
Spoke too soon. I just tried to fire up SWTOR and it hung. It didn't crash, just hung at a black screen.
 
Kahiel said:
Spoke too soon. I just tried to fire up SWTOR and it hung. It didn't crash, just hung at a black screen.
Click to expand...

I forced the SWToR to close. Windows said I had the most up-to-date driver, but I downloaded the driver package from AMD and installed it again. The game ran fine after that. Not sure if that fixed it or not...
 
I did the tutorial a couple of times last night and didn't experience any problems. I haven't done a full battle yet, though. Looks like it'll be fun.
 
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