Star Wars: The Old Republic is currently looking a bit overdue despite being one of the most high-priced video games ever made. Age comes for all of us. While the MMO has seen some improvements over the years, it’s demanding to ignore the fact that the environments – especially those introduced in 2011 – and character models look a bit abrasive 13 years after launch. After today Update 7.6However, your ancient stomping grounds will look a little different.
Last month, Broadsword revealed the scope of this update, as well as some of the upcoming changes that everyone will be able to see for themselves once the expected five hours of downtime ends today. You should be able to jump back in at 18:00 GMT/10:00 PST.
While the update is broad in scope, of particular interest are the graphical updates to several outlying worlds in the galaxy, including Korriban, Tython, Hoth, and Illum. The changes here are quite extensive, and while some of the improvements are quite subtle, with some lighting tweaks, some objects being removed and a fresh coat of paint being applied to the foliage, others are more immediately noticeable, like the impressive statues on the dramatic Korriban ship looking prettier.
Korriban has always been one of my favorites, so this gave me a great excuse to create another alt so I can replay this fantastic storyline over and over again. Yes, I still have problems with the alt.
Character models, especially heads, have also been re-examined, adding novel textures, lightweight reflections, lighting and shader improvements. Don’t expect any large changes here, but it’s probably for the best: you don’t want characters you’ve been playing for over a decade to suddenly take on a completely novel face.
In addition to the visual improvements, we’ve also introduced active encounters (which, as a Guild Wars 2 guy, I’m very excited to see in SWTOR), starting with Tattooine and Hoth. I’m especially looking forward to “herding escaped banthas running amok in a spaceport.”
Finally, our companions and animals will no longer disappear when we mount our mounts. Well, not every mount, anyway. Version 7.6 will introduce the first companion and pet holder, Meirm Cicada, which will be free for all subscribers. Some other novel mounts will also allow you to zoom in while just dragging your pet behind you. Life on the road no longer has to be lonely.
While Broadsword has been very lively since it took over from BioWare last year, this update in particular puts to rest any concerns I had about the MMO effectively going into maintenance mode. Most importantly, the improvements introduced in version 7.6 are just the beginning: we will see more and more cosplay worlds in future updates as modernization efforts continue. This applies not only to graphical and graphical improvements, but also to active encounters.
So those are my plans for the evening sorted. Lots of choking down disobedient soldiers and cutting down Korriban’s wildlife. Good times.
