The New York city Comic Con ended earlier this month and videos from the event are starting to surface on the web. Of particular Star Wars interest is the one for Disney’s latest TV series called Star Wars Rebels. In the four-part video posted below, we take a closer look at the connections between the original Star Wars movies and the series as well as the back story of Rebels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo2u1gJJhos&index=2&list=PLZRd3qFud5ts40VL4OarQ2sLQgVKaxDWj During NYCC, Disney also revealed an exclusive clip titled “Phantom Chase” that you can watch below. SWToRStrategies is certainly watching “Rebels” with a lot of interest. The show has the right balance to appeal to both new and long-time Star Wars fans. It is Star Wars done right. One can certainly see the connections between the original movies throughout all the episodes of the series. Voice is acting is extremely nicely done. The dynamic between Hera and Kanan remind us a lot of Princess Leia…
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SWToR revenue surpasses $100 million for 2014
Superdata research released yet another report looking at the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. In the past, the same firm had published information relating to the top 10 PC games by free-to-play earnings for 2013 which set SWToR at no.8 with $139 million right behind World Of Warcraft with $213 million. This report, in addition to others, signaled a come-back for Bioware’s first attempt at MMOs and was source of excitement for fans of the game. SuperData’s research data for 2013 The latest report released covers January to September 2014 and looks at the top 10 MMOs by revenue for the year. While SWToR didn’t make the top 10, it still remains at a respectable no.12 with $106 million in revenue, right behind Elder Scrolls Online with $111 Million. Keeping in mind that Shadow of Revan is yet to be released, one would expect to see a significant increase over the last 3 months of the…
Community Stream updates fans on in-game commendations changes
Bioware shared some additional details on upcoming commendation changes during the regularly scheduled Community stream. The SWToR ommunity team made up by Eric Musco, Courtney Woods and Hillary Nicole shared information about what’s going to happen to in-game commendations after Shadow of Revan goes live. In detail: Ultimate and elite commendations are staying the same: While Musco admitted this is subject to change, he reassured that fans won’t lose any commendations either ways. Earning commendations: Some slight changes will occur impacting how fast you can earn the before-mentioned commendations. More details will be released next week. Three types of commendations become one: Every other type of commendation (excluding warzone) – classic, basic and planetary will be collapsed into a single type of commendation called basic. As mentioned above, Musco was quick to point out that these changes are not confirmed and could change as a result of testing before Shadow of Revan goes live….
Bioware teases with details about “Shadow of Revan”, new playable race, solo Flash points and more!
Massively, Hyperspace beacon, MMORPG and Ten Ton Hammer were treated to a unique opportunity by Bioware recently. During a livestream, lead writer Charles Boyd, producer Bruce MacLean and Game director James Ohlen shared more information about what’s coming to the latest SWToR expansion. Some of the highlights included: There will be a Patch 4.0 – there are more stories to be told (and probably more expansions in 2015) SWToR development is speeding up – expect to see more exciting announcements after the release of Shadow of Revan Patch 3.0 might expand to other locations other than Yavin IV and Rishi Togruta will be the next playable race and will be a Cartel Market item Solo flashpoints confirmed – A droid companion will be available to carry players through tough fights Class missions return – you can now play your unique class mission story
Episode 7 Ready for Post Production?
According to Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, filming on Episode 7, the much-awaited Star Wars movie sequel, is about three weeks from being completed. Most of the footage is apparently done, and after the actual camerawork is finished, the movie will enter post-production, where the special effects, the sounds and the score shall be added, which will apparently take about another year to complete. Given that the above said announcement was made about a week ago at the Industrial Light and Magic Studio opening in London, it is safe to assume that the movie is indeed on track: great news for fans of the series as well as for the fans of the upcoming Battlefront title currently under production by DICE. While the actual plot tie-ins between the Episode 7 and Battlefront will be few and far between, the release of the two titles will apparently be timed to more or less…
TOR Radio: A galaxy of podcasts!
After a brief hiatus for 2 weeks, we’re back with the latest and greatest SWToR podcasts out there. Obviously Shadow of Revan is the most talked about topic this week as well as Eric Musco’s recent interview with Snave and upcoming PVP changes. 1. OotiniCast – Episode 170 (Released: October 16,2014) Hosts discuss Patch 2.10.1c, the various answers flowing from the New York Community Cantina, and include many tips for making the most of 12x XP. Community News Holofeed News 2. Old republic Radio – Episode 83 (Released: October 21, 2014) The cast finally catches up with all the 3.0 updates Review of Cantina event in New York In SWTOR 101, the cast go over thoughts for all those returning to the game after a long hiatus 3. TOROCast – Episode 217 (Released: October 20,2014) Snave joins SWTOR Miner and Road to talk about Community Management Leveling with x12 EXP…
Enhanced guild conquest option now available
Patch 2.10.2 was released yesterday and Bioware discovered (!) an additional feature they implemented as part of the update. According to Community Production Coordinator Tait “pariahloki” Watson the enhanced guild conquest option is: Hey folks, After doing a check to see what else was pulled into 2.10.2, we found that the ability for Guild Masters to allow other Ranks within the Guild to start Invasions was also put in! GMs can set this permission within the Ranks tab in the Guild window. I’ll put that in as part of my Patch Note update as well. -tait It’s good to see Bioware working hard to implement additional features in the game based on the feedback they receive from the community.
Community News: The Revanites’ Ascendance
A new community news post was made available today from Bioware that sets the stage for the upcoming Shadow of Revan Expansion. As the title implies the post takes a closer look at a Revanites’ and their impact on both Republic and Empire. The author of the report, Shroud, makes the assumption that Revan’s followers have infiltrated the two main factions in the game and are slowly working towards their greater plan to conquer the galaxy. You can read a snippet from the post below FROM: The Shroud TO: All Assets (Level 25 Encoding Active) SUBJECT: The Order of Revan I have mentioned in the past that a number of embedded Imperial and Republic assets have been eliminated. Some of these deaths appeared purely incidental, while others were very obviously assassinations executed with varying degrees of competence and flair that would not suggest a pattern. I now believe it was a mistake for me to…
TOR TV: SWTOR – What The Game Could Have Been
Youtube user Kid Lee has posted an extremely interesting video about how much the game has changed since the original SWToR beta. He provides video and screenshots to demonstrate the features that never made it into the game. While one can only speculate why these elements never made it to the game, it’s certainly interesting to see what got left out. You can follow KidLee on: Twitter: http://bit.ly/1fDcU1X Facebook: http://on.fb.me/RpNZDP Tumblr: http://bit.ly/1fUxQMB or Email: KidLeeASF@Gmail.com
Lies, damned lies and statistics: MMO subscription numbers and SWToR
MMO subscription number tracking is a challenging venture. Most developers are extremely careful when crafting public releases relating to how many subscribers their game currently has. For better or worse, these values are considered to be a measure of success (or failure) of our beloved games and tend to offer insights on subscriber trends. Typically one would read announcements about player base increases in official websites or fansites, while occasionally quarterly reports would indicate decreases somewhere in the fine print. Some recent examples include World of Warcraft’s increase to 7.4 Million subscribers and SWToR’s announcement of having 1 Million subscribers since changing to the free-to-play subscription model. Some of the MMO subscription data MMOData.net used to offer At the same time, some community websites have attempted to track subscription numbers and offer clarity on the health of various MMOs. The most recent example is MMOdata.net that was probably one of the best community efforts out there….
Patch 2.10.2 notes – Turn your stronghold into a gambler’s paradise for only 1 credit!
About a month ago, Bioware admitted that the Smuggler’s Gambit slot machine wasn’t part of Constable Stronghold’s pack. To make up for the bug, Bioware’s community manager, Eric Musco, promised to rectify the issue by offering the before-mentioned item for purchase in-game for only 1 credit. Smuggler’s Gambit slot machine We only had to wait for a month for Mr.Musco’s promise to become reality. Patch 2.10.2 notes were recently released and among other things specify that the slot machine is available for purchase through the Binary Star Reputation Vendor. In specific: 2.10.2 Patch Notes Highlights 16-Player Operations have returned to Group Finder! We have made behind-the-scenes improvement to prevent the performance issues that we encountered when the system was initially made available. Check out the Group Finder to enjoy the faster queues and better rewards of 16-Player Story Mode Operations! General Imperial Crate (Single), Imperial Crate (Stacked), Republic Crate (Single), and Republic Crate (Stacked) have…
Get them while they last! Dark Horse Comics launches Star Wars Humble Bundle!
If you’re reading SWToRStrategies.com you know that Dark Horse comics will be transferring its Star Wars license to Marvel at the end of this year. This development isn’t stopping the former from releasing great deals on existing Star Wars publications.
Discipline calculator now available!
With the upcoming release of Patch 3.0, SWToR gamers will have to adjust to a new discipline system. The feedback received from the community has been mostly positive but the challenge of mastering the new system definitely remains. Dulfy and SWToR_miner put together a discipline calculator that helps fans familiarize themselves with the new system in addition to experimenting with new setups. The calculator is still in beta and what’s even more impressive is that it was built from information retrieved from video streams.
Battlefront 3 Footage Available?
Well…yes and no…you see, apparently, well before DICE got the fate of one of the world’s most anticipated titles in gaming to fall into their laps, another crew had a run at Battlefront, and they actually put together a nearly-finished product, which – due to a set of unfortunate circumstances – never really got the see the light of day, or rather that of the screens of computer/console users world-wide. The company behind the effort was Free Radical, and according to some, they were about 99% finished with the project when they were forced into administration and when they finally closed for good in December 2008. Later, Crytek picked up the enterprise and transferred the team to various other projects, as Battlefront was cancelled, up until DICE came into the picture earlier this year to step up to the plate. Now then, why exactly is this bit of the game’s…
Star Wars Battlefront Progress Report
After all the hype DICE’s upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront generated with its brief but spectacular E3 trailer, the noise around the game has died off, especially after it became clear that its release would not happen this year. Still, those who keep an eye on the news regarding the title, will pick up bits and pieces of information dropped by the parties involved in the making of the game one way or another. Representatives of one website apparently got to take a look at an early version of the game, and they were quick to let the hungry community have a couple of crumbs of much-needed information. Apparently, the new Battlefront will have a higher number of high-definition weapons than its predecessors, and there will be a definite strategy involved in wielding and using these weapons. The weapons will apparently dictate the fighting style on the part of the player,…
Results for Conquest Week 5 – Flashpoint Havic
I will come back to do an in-depth post but I wanted to post the results here. The big news however is the insane points that Trumph and WOOK got on The Shadowlands http://www.swtorconquest.com/servers/8/conquestweeks/11
SWToR Streams and vids
We’re back with version of Streams and Vids! The last two weeks of September proved to be very busy for all SWToR streamers and, in general, content creators. Maybe it was the full release of Galactic Strongholds to preferred members or maybe it is the anticipation of Patch 3.0 and the new expansion. Either ways, SWToR fans as well as Bioware hit Twitch and streamed their latest work.
Datamined: “Shadow of Revan” is the name of the new SWToR expansion
SWToR_Miner, isn’t letting recent developments stop him from posting news about upcoming releases and content details. With the new expansion being right around the corner, everyone is trying to guess what the expansion is all about. Mr.Miner, took some of the guessing out of the equation by revealing the name of the new expansion…
Patience you must have! Expansion announcement delayed…slightly
It’s the last day of the month and of course speculation is high about what the next SWToR expansion announcement is going to be. Fans have been talking about it in various places, including the official SWToR forums where Bioware is always keeping a close eye on what’s going on. One SWToR fan’s excitement caught the eye of Bioware and solicited a response from Senior Producer, Bruce McLean:
Drones Reveal Various Episode VII Details
These days, not much surfaces about the newest Star Wars game currently under production at DICE studios, but when it comes to the actual movie also in the works, Episode VII, producers find it much more difficult to keep everything under wraps. Apparently, the age of drones makes keeping large props out of the spotlight downright impossible, especially if the crew – like the Episode VII team – fails to even set up a more or less rudimentary drone shield. Indeed, fans operating drone aircraft have spotted a number of interesting props at the scene of the shoot, about 50 miles outside of London. The said props were a half-finished Millenium Falcon, as well as an X-wing fighter. Although these bits of information don’t exactly say a whole lot about the story so they can be hardly considered spoilers, the producers would obviously prefer to keep such things out of…
SWToRStrategies: The Wall of Crazy….or…it was a dark and stormy night!
SWToRStrategies: Wall of Crazy (WoC) is the latest column that aspires to look into certain concepts and ideas that could make into our favorite game. The term “Wall of Crazy” is something that Bioware used in the past to describe crazy ideas that developers have during meetings and could eventually materialize if given the right resources. The most recent example, is the implementation of the Guild Capital ships and Guild Battles.
Incomplete “Clone Wars” series episodes now available online for free
When the acquisition of Lucasarts and in extension the Star Wars Franchise, was completed by Disney one of the immediate effects of the deal was the cancellation of the sixth season of the Clone Wars animated series. The series always had a following and its abrupt end left a lot of story lines without a definite end. Disney however didn’t want to leave fans with their questions unanswered so they’re releasing the last four incomplete episodes of the series.
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion movie now available to stream
“Star Wars Rebels” is the earliest sample of Disney’s collaboration with Lucasarts after the latter’s acquisition by the former. The series is set 14 years after Episode III and 5 years before Episode IV, when the Empire is trying to firm its grip on the galaxy. While the official series premier is set for October 13 on Disney XD, fans have the chance to watch the opening to the series in the form of a short 45 minute movie titled “Spark of Rebellion”. You can stream the movie through Disney’s XD page once you enter your cable provider’s information (in the US).
There is no death, there is the Force..
For some who never considered playing games like The Old Republic, the act of gaming is considered a wasteful task. On the other hand, some others might engage in gaming just to seek out a few hours of enjoyment. In many cases however, playing games like SWToR is all about the community around the game and the connection between people who share a common interest and passion in Star Wars and, in extension, SWToR. When a member or a group within this community experiences hardship then in many cases the community steps up and offers assistance or sympathy.