Multiboxing-HW to 4-Box SW:TOR

[eauxfolles]

Hello Multiboxers,

knowing that the focus in the forums is on WoW - well, actually the focus of Multiboxing in general might be WoW - I guess you might still be able to help me out a bit. I'm planning to Multibox the upcomming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic... on one PC.

The setup I'm planning looks like this for the time being. Any comments are more than welcome!

Memory: 2 x Corsair, 2 x 4GB, DDR3-1333
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K BOX, 3.4GHz
SSD: 3 x Samsung SSD PM810 64GB, MLC
HDD: 2 x Samsung HD502HJ, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO (B3), Intel P67 B3, LGA1155, CFX/SLI
GPU: Gainward GTX-580 Phantom 1.5 GB
Monitor: 2 x Dell UltraSharp U2311H, 23″ TFT Wide

I plan to install the OS on one SSD and either 2 instances of SW:TOR on another SSD, or the main instance on the second SSd and the other 3 instances on the 3rd.

In addition I plan to use 2 Monitors (similar to the SSDs either 2 /2 or 1 / 3).

Unfortunately BioWare has not announced yet any HW-requirements. However, it should be possible to scale down the graphics to quite some extend (as the plan is to support also older hardware).

Looking forward to read what you think... Thanks in advance!

[Ualaa]

If your software supports virtualization of configuration files (which many do), you don't really gain anything from multiple installs. Even a game which normally wants one install per client, can often be run from a single install.

I would be surprised in your processor was your bottleneck.

We know a windows based application cannot use more than 2GB of ram, and most games won't use that much. Four boxing on 8GB of ram, even for a newer game is probably a safe assumption.

Have to see what the requirements are, what engine they will be using etc. Rift is a fairly new game, but it is using a relatively ancient engine... so the requirements to play or box are far higher than equal levels of eye candy on a newer engine.

[eauxfolles]

Thanks for the comments Ualaa, gives me some points to think about.

SW:TOR will use the HeroEngine.

[Tim]

Do you know when SWTOR comes out?

[eauxfolles]

It is expected in Q3 / Q4 this year (some guesses are September). Officially announced is only a release in 2011.

[Tim]

So you think it will be a multiboxable type of game? Will it be along the lines of Star Wars Galaxies? I played 8 toons at once with that game, went pretty well

[eauxfolles]

Well, so far it is not known yet if the EULA will allow for multiboxing, however I do not expect that BioWare (or better EA) will let go the additional income.

Regarding the game and what I see as related to multiboxing:
- quite some slots in the (extendable) action bars for skills
- key bindings are configurable
- commands like "target", etc. are confirmed to be in the game
- gfx will be scalable to allow also to run on older hardware
- traditional roles are in the game (tank, healer, dd)
- No ingame addons supported for the start

Not all features are announced yet, but there will be small raids for 4 chars and pvp on a scale of 8 vs. 8 (also larger raids are expected to be announced soon; first hints given).

However, there might be some new touch on one or the other aspect. E.g. there is a range tanking class, which so far I haven't seen in any other MMO. Also there is a "cover system" in place for 2 out of the 8 classes, which might be not so easy to handle for multiboxing (but interesting).

So far I haven't found a reason why it should not work to multibox it.

Btw. my Blog is in german, but includes a translation button. You might find some additional information there.

P.S. Compared to SWG, SW:TOR will be more story driven. It will also be less of a sandbox-type of game, i.e. the crafting system will be not that extensive and also the housing possibilities will be different (player housing is realised via an own ship).

[Ualaa]

Lax has a working software FTL set up, without addons for Rift.
But the Rift macro system is rather advanced.

Still, the absolute minimum to box a game aside from it not being against the EULA/ToS would be:
- The ability to Follow
- The ability to Assist

[eauxfolles]

True... so far there is no list of available commands. I've found something about "target of target and others" and the developers have confirmed "extensive options"... but as long as I do not have my hands on the Beta, hard to find out more details.

Btw. Beta is running in the US . "Unfortunately" I'm located in Europe.

[eauxfolles]

A guy who had the chance to play SW:TOR during a Fan Site Summit has confirmed, that there is a follow-command. So I continue to be positive regarding the ability to box in the game.