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You read that correctly, the Public Test Server is now open for players to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic in 64-bit! This is yet another of our modernization initiatives that we are bringing to the game.
Why make the move to 64-bit?
Star Wars: The Old Republic was initially released in 32-bit on the game client in order to run on the widest variety of PCs available at the time. A decade later, 32-bit PCs are much less common. The last 32-bit PC processor was released in 2010.
The first advantage of moving to 64-bit code is memory. With 64-bits players can use more memory and aren't limited to 4 GB per process. This limit applies to the game client itself, and restricts things like how much content we can be placed in each area.
That ties into the limits that our tools have because they’re based on the same code. SWTOR has ten years of content in it: planets, characters, conversations, missions, systems, NPCs, etc... The migration over to 64-bit removes that limit and will help us streamline the process of building compelling content for years to come.
Additionally, we are future-proofing. With each new generation of Windows PCs, 32-bit support is slowly disappearing. Moving to 64-bit will help keep the game running smoothly by making sure it is running in the preferred mode for the hardware.
What should players expect to see differently on PTS?
We’re releasing the content that is included in Game Update 7.2. Ideally, there should be no difference in the player experience in terms of playability. We want to verify that the game still works the same as it did previously.
What feedback are we looking for?
Please be on the lookout for crashes or anything that seems different. There are thousands of permutations of processor, memory, graphics card, etc. We're especially on the hunt for issues that show up with specific configurations.
We are aware of a known issue currently with trees and foliage as they will look broken or be completely invisible. Upgrades are being made with the modeling software that builds these environment assets which is why they will not appear as functional during this phase of testing.
We encourage all feedback and reports to be submitted in our PTS sub-forums.
For details on how to access PTS, read here.
This is a huge stride forward in our modernization efforts, and we cannot wait to begin this new journey with all of our players.
Please note that PTS is provided in English only.