In case you missed it, yesterday BioWare revealed the newest entry in its Knights of the Old Republic franchise, an MMO called Star Wars: The Old Republic. Amidst equal amounts of fanboy protest squeal and outcries of joy, it was easy to lose yourself in the din. That’s why we’re here with a handy list of the most important things you need to know about SWTOR (we pronounce it Sa-Woah-TOAR).

1. It’s all about story.

BioWare is emphasizing that this game’s all about telling the individual story of your character in the KOTOR universe. Whether you choose to align yourself with the Sith or the Republic, SWTOR’s goal is to make sure your toon doesn’t just feel like Paladin A or Warrior C, but like a genuine person with their own story within the framework of a bigger universe. To that end…

2. Each class will play differently for each player.

Every class has its own story that plays out, but how they play out will be different for each player. Questlines will change, no experience will repeat itself. How BioWare intends to pull this off, I don’t know. But that’s what they’re shooting for.

There are 12 – count em – 12 full-time writers penning this game (does even Blizzard have that many?), so there’s certainly quite a lot of story spinning going on over there, to be sure. And with 12 freaking writers, you can bet

3. It’s going to be huge

Upset SWTOR isn’t KOTOR 3? Well, BioWare wants to tell you it is. Says Ray Muzyka:

We’re making KOTOR 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and beyond–this game is that big, it’s got that much content in it.

Well with that much content in a game you’re bound to have some crummy content, right? Well, the way BioWare sees it, there will be

4. No crappy quests

An MMO without shitty quests? You’re kidding me right. Well, in the case of SWTOR, it goes back to the whole emphasis on story and individual experience – quests are boring in WoW because they rarely have to do with your character – any Rogue or Warlock can kill five Murlocs and bring back their spines. SWTOR, apparently, will color its quests to your individual character.

“You will never have a stranger ask you to save her cat,” BioWare told Shacknews.

Speaking of quess, am I ever going to get a chance to grab some power convertors with Luke? Well, probably not, because

5. It takes place 300 years after KOTOR 1/2

Which means, here let me use my nerd math here, that it takes place 3000 years before Episode 1. So no Luke. No Anakin. No Jar Jar. Man, I was looking forward to some pod racing. Guess I’ll just have to dig out Star War: Episode 1 Racer for the Dreamcast…

Oh, and speaking of the great consoles, I wonder if SWOTR will be coming to my favorite system…

6. No word on console release

Aww shucks. Aside from an “it’s under consideration” remark, mum’s the word on console versions. But who knows. Technologically speaking, BioWare has said that they’re aiming for accessibility, which means it couldn’t be too hard to port in terms of graphics, etc. And basically every other BioWare since KOTOR 1 has come out for consoles, though. Speaking of other BioWare games…

7. It will take after other BioWare releases

SWOTR’s going to feature two hallmarks of BioWare games: companion characters and good/evil choices. Except this time the ante’s being upped on both: companion characters will have significant stories and relationships to your character that’ll impact your game world, and as for good/evil, in an MMO there’s no such thing as a quick save/load – so choose the Dark Side and I am afraid you’re on that path for good.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, though. Sith get those cool red lightsabers…

8. There are going to be lightsabers. Lots of them.

The cinematic reveal showed a Jedi putting together a lightsaber. Every screenshot has Jedi and Sith dueling. BioWare told Kotaku that you wouldn’t end the game with the lightsaber you started with. It’s a Star Wars game all about Jedi/Sith conflict. There are going to be lightsabers.

Excited, aren’t you? Yeah, lightsabers are pretty rad. Well, don’t get too amped up, because well…

9. It ain’t coming out anytime soon

BioWare remarked at the reveal that the game is “playable”. But judging from the screenshots we’ve seen, it’s got a long way to go. Rumors last year said a game would be released in 2009, but you know how the development cycle of any MMO goes. Especially one as ambitious as this.

So maybe we should just go back to playing WoW, getting Beastslayer enchants on our weapons and pretending they’re red lightsabers. At least we know some things won’t change when we pick up SWOTR in 2012, because for all the new things the game is doing, it won’t be completely breaking the mold…

10) It’ll have some standards of the MMO formula

Meaning PVE, PVP, RVR, raiding, crafting and guilds. Lightsaber crafting sounds pretty awesome, but you know what sounds awesomer? Huge armies of Jedi and Sith fighting it out in WAR-style RVR battlegrounds…