Is the DH podcast going to be delayed because of the release date news?

Right now I'm thinking there are ten or maybe twelve planets. It might not be much to go on, but part of the reason I'm thinking that is; if you look at the holonet pop-up menus, there isn't enough room for many more planet names.

If there are ten planets, then I think the next planet reveal will be a Sith-controlled world, leaving the balance of allegiances as equal in terms of Sith and Republic. That is, 3 Sith worlds, 3 Republic worlds, 3 Independent worlds and 1 Neutral world. If there are twelve planets, maybe there will be 3 Neutral worlds to even things out?

I would be surprised if there are more than 10 planets, as I'm hoping they are all filled with lots of content and detailed, rather than 20 planets that just seem "meh" because they were rushed and didn't have enough time spent on them.

I think there will be around 10-12 planets as well. I agree with mostly all the reasons people mentioned before i posted, but i also read something in a forum on the official website that made sense as well. Someone there felt that if there were literally dozens, that is, at least 24 planets at release, it seems like they would reveal planets more like the web comic or the time line. It would make sense that if they had many more planets to release that they would release them with other kinds of reveals. Hypothetically speaking, if there are at least 24 planets, then that's about 15 more fridays or just under four more months of planet reveals. Even though the planets being released are really nice, does anyone think they would release the information stretched out over 15 weeks? It just seems logical that if there are still that many planets they would be released with other information. This is why i feel there will be around 10-12 planets but no more than 16 at release.

I'm bored, so lets guess what the remaining planets.

Dantooine - it's in the web comic too much for it not to be in game but they can open up the rest of the planet with new content and not just focus on the Jedi enclave ruins. It also serves the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor story lines.
Geonosis - considering that's where the Mandalore started it's clear they're going to make it important for the Great Hunt or they wouldn't have bothered mentioning the planet.
Nar shadaa - it's orbiting Hutta they really have no choice without major backlash.
Ziost - although with Dromund Kaas as the capital I don't think it will show up at release
Bothawui - The Sith would want revenge, but I would think it would be apart of the Agent's storyline.
Rodia - might show up after that one mention in the web comic, probably the same as Balmorra.
Yavin 4 - it's an important planet to Exar Kun's lore so I think it will be mentioned in his timeline video, which also serves for the Consular/Inquisitor story line

I don't think there have been any other planets hinted at.

Another question which has just occurred to me while watching the Clone Wars season 1 Blu-ray... do you think there will be many opportunities for "moralistic" choices for quests? For example, I'm watching 2 Jedi work with a Sith lord to escape capture, as they are all bound together in the same cell. Should the Jedi trust the Sith lord to do as he says in any plan that they make to escape? I would expect the Sith lord to further their own aims in escape by working with the Jedi, would would they jeapordise that by providing false information, by breaking a truce, or otherwise trying to manipulate the Jedi? There's been some evidence of this in the videos, but how far do you think it will go, how much will it affect other players in the group your in? It seems to me that there is a fantastic potential in the ability to make a decision which will affect your character in game, and ideally, affect the persistent world, even if only in a small way. I'd love for the far reaching consequences of such a system to be discussed; the more that you think on what this system could achieve, the more you realise that this could differentiate SWTOR from other generic MMOs.

There is much to appeal to a general PvP player; however I'd love for something to be implemented in an MMO which provides a different area of (long term) consequence, namely the decisions made of the course of your characters career, perhaps in association with politics, trade and diplomacy.

Enough planets to have a decent variety of monsters and terrain while telling an interesting story.

As for factions... I would go for an even split. Maybe 40/40/20 (Sith/Republic/Independent)

I might be in the minority, but every single planet revel keep's getting better and better! With regards to layout, level design, lore, story potential, etc. I'm with the majority that 12-16 seem's to be the cap. With more planet's coming with patch's/expansions, it's just all way to exciting. I really have to give BW/LA credit, they are doing some amazing things with these planet reveals.

I decided that there will likely be more contested/Independent planets simply because it makes more sense for PvP. There are more options available to both players and developers if there are more planets "up for grabs" instead of planets that are allied with either the Imperials or Republic. I also decided that there will be between 10-12 planets...I'd love around 15 and I don't really believe the idea that More Planets=Less Detail...but it's just a feeling I have that they're getting the planets out of the way now so they can talk about other things later. As far as which planets have yet to be revealed? Bothuwai is the only one I feel safe about. There was an entire timeline video dedicated to a battle there. Geonosis was also heavily mentioned in another...I'm not a big fan of that planet but there's great PvP potential there with the arena. It's a tossup with #12. I'd personally LOVE Corellia, but since we have Alderaan now which is somewhat similiar (and also Tython) it makes it less likely. I also personally like Ziost...but that would be an Imperial planet. So...

#10. Bothuwai
#11. Geonosis
#12. Taris/Kashykk/Dantooine/etc

Here is my question...

What do you guys think about elite classes? For instance, "up and coming Moffs" were mentioned side by side with "Imperial Intelligence operatives" on the holonet page for Dromund Kaas. And we also know Grand Moff Tarkin was part of the inspiration for the Imperial Agent. What else is an "up and coming Moff" if not an Imperial Agent anyway? I checked out wookieepedia and there doesn't seem to be much information about how Moffs were used during this time period. What if they had it where...Jedi could become Jedi Masters (or an equivalent), Sith could become Lords (or something similiar), Imperial Agents could become low-ranking Moffs, etc.

I would rather have a small number of worlds, if it meant that the zones/areas were guaranteed to be large and wide open. What I've seen so far in persistent zones has seemed rather...cramped.

They will likely be made up of mostly contested planets. I really see them doing a heavy PvP lake system similar to WAR with each side having their respective PvE areas for questing and a shared lake for PvP and PvP related quests.

As for the number they have said that there will be "dozens of planets" at launch. So if we assume that some of those arent fully developed and are for the purposes of instances or some thing like that i put down 19-21. If each planet is as large as even Outland in WoW im happy and think it would make for a pretty expansive game.

More independent/contested planets would be ideal for a conquest type pvp system. The more factional planets, the less fun it will be because of the exploitation of the guards or other "police" to prevent battling. As much as I hate being banned from certain planets, it does not mean there isn't any hidden places where the Sith could land on them and invade somewhere. I am curious to see what will happen as they make more planets and providing mechanics of the pvp system.

For the number of planets, I am really tied into in the middle of just around 16-18 because any less will miss out the story and lore of missing planets that are not brought up yet, and having more than 18 will bring way too much lore with more capacity to make it feel "empty" of lore, like SWG did with their crappy Endorian and Yavianan planetary system and boring layout. I think by having less, it will put a lot of effort into each planet and make the community more tight knit than spread out where questing or raiding will be difficult, but it would not be because they said you can solo the game, so having more seems plausible without LFG 10+ planets to get a raid or quest done. With +20 planets and having a game to be able to solo and defeat content is plausible without needing to quest with people, but having guilds and having grouping systems such as battlegrounds, war zones, dungeons, etc will be more prominent in a game like this. Besides, the server size can increase with the more planets as well. With more space comes with less lag, and with less space comes with more immersion, more open world feel-alike. My concern is that having too much will desert planets themselves unless there will be very few servers when the game comes out. Having less than 10 would be pretty dumb with the missing key lore that some planets have during this era.

With that, I am excited to see more as we go down the road, but I feel it is necessary to have planets that are mixed in factions, independent, one-sided faction, contested, and just plain neutral where no one has conquered yet. It will be a dream to just live it out in the giant universe and battle it all out for the glory of the galaxy. :)

3 DH team

-macer

On a different line. We've seen with both classes and planets that Bioware likes to mix the tried and true favorites with some rarely seen or new content. I figure this will continue with species. What are DH speculations for species?

Not really in line with the planets, but some food for thought on other topics ( though I doubt you've missed it )

At level 4, a character was seen with 450 life ( in Vid Doc 3 )
At level 30 a character was seen with 1270 life ( in designing the sith vid )
Thats less than 32 life per level. I think this means that a level might not mean as much as it does in other MMOs. Sure, you wouldn't want to send a level 4 against a 30...but perhaps a level 20 would have a decent shot.