Author: Editor

SWToR Developer Blog: Remnants

Bioware released recently yet another developer blog post titled “Remnants”. The short story paves the way for the upcoming SWToR expansion and takes place at Rakata Prime

The protagonist is a smuggler named Kaya who’s “re-purposing” antiques out of the hands of the natives of the planet. Her droid and her ship barely manage to escape their pursuers before running into more trouble…

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TOR Radio – A galaxy of SWToR podcasts!

TOR Radio is a new column covering the latest and greatest podcasts in the SWToR galaxy. It aspires to introduce you to the plethora of SWToR podcasts currently available from multiple sources. Most importantly, it’s dedicated to all these die-hard SWToR fans who in addition to playing and enjoying the game, share their experiences and knowledge with the rest of us through their podcasts.

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Small Guild Alliances to “fix” SWTOR Conquests?

The question is: do conquests need any sort of “fixing” at all? According to most players, they’re fine the way they are, but they’re a bit slanted towards favoring larger guilds, and that’s where some improvements could be done. Some smaller guilds have decried the conquest reward system, which they deemed unsatisfactory. This issue however has been shot down by others, who have come out against an altered reward system, saying that any alternatives would allow larger guilds to extend their conquest domination even further. The bottom line about the conquest “conundrum” is that for the most part, they’re great for everyone: they’re enjoyable and they offer a great common goal to work towards. Those in smaller guilds do find it more difficult to come out on top though. While this small glitch in the conquest mechanics may seem minute indeed, it can in fact be dangerous, because it may…

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SWToR server issues lead to Patch 2.9.0d

It’s no secret that since yesterday a number of SWToR servers have experienced a series of issues. Lag spikes, dropped connections and queues started with the Harbinger server, and then expanded to Begeren Colony and the Bastion. These issues forced Bioware to take these servers offline for maintenance today. According to an official post by Eric Musco at the SWToR community forums, players in the Harbinger server experienced some “rollback” after the server’s downtime. Musco was also quick to point out that no other servers were going to be affected by this issue. The situation eventually lead to the announcement of Patch 2.9.0d set to be deployed tomorrow.

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New SWToR Conquest Tracker goes online

With the recent release of the conquest system, fans have been asking Bioware for a way to track conquest scores on their browser. This was a request that also came up during the recent Cantina Tour event two days ago. Lucky for us, we didn’t have to wait long. A new website titled SWToR Conquest tracker provides an alternate way of keeping track of conquest competition across all servers.

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Should SWTOR be transitioned to Consoles?

A little more than a week ago, the company behind Star Wars: the Old Republic, BioWare, got around to making what seemed like a major announcement at the EA Gamescom Press Conference. Indeed, those who attended the conference could rightfully hope for something huge to be announced, like the porting of SWTOR to consoles…a console version of the 2-year of MMO…Alas, those who had their hopes up would be inevitably disappointed, as the announcement so carefully hyped and set up turned out to be nothing more than one concerning Galactic Strongholds, and it ended up delivering no relevant new information at all. Still, the idea of SWTOR making the jump to consoles is a pretty good one, especially from the point of view of fans of the 2012 MMO. Other Star Wars gamers may just shrug and say they’d be better off with KOTOR 3, but for those who actually…

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Star Wars: Commander is your next Star Wars game

Disney Interactive just announced Star Wars: Commander, a free-to-play game for mobile devices. The game, which is available for iOS devices, is set between George Lucas’ original two Star Wars movies and follows players from the planet of Tattooine as their careers advance inside whichever group they choose to belong to. The combat strategy game will be familiar to fans of that genre. Players control a commander of either Rebel of Imperial forces and deploy vehicles and troops into battle. The difference, of course, is that “Star Wars: Commander” gives fans the chance to deploy Stormtroopers AT-AT’s, and X-Wings. And characters they’ll meet along the way include Han Solo and Chewbacca (voiced by sound-alikes, not the original cast). “Commander,” which like most new mobile games is free-to-play but includes paid options for players who want to advance more quickly, includes both single player and competitive multi-player options. The single player…

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Star Wars Episode VII villains may have just been revealed…and their descriptions sound very familiar!

According to an article that appeared on IO9.com, Star Wars Episode VII villains may have just been revealed. Even though the website quotes other sources, we couldn’t help notice the similarity of the rumored villains with some of the elements we see from SWToR. Needless to say, these rumors have not been confirmed so they should be taken with a grain of salt. IO9 quotes “Latino review” in stating that the main villains of the upcoming Star Wars movie are the Sith Inquisitors who are the defenders of the Sith Order. The movie will tie Darth Vader with the Inquisitors and highlight their relationship to the former. Obviously, the Sith Inquisitor is a very familiar figure in the SWToR universe with a very interesting story line. Another similarity with the original Knights of The Old Republic (KoToR) game is the villain’s description that Io9 retrieved from “Indie Revolver”. According to the latter: He’s tall and thin…

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No Clone Wars in Star Wars: Battlefront (for Now)

We’ve been keeping an eye on the development of DICE’s much-hyped Star Wars: Battlefront ever since the first few crumbs of information surfaced in this respect and it has been becoming increasingly clear that the game – which is indeed shaping up as a truly monumental and epic effort – will only cover a small part of the Star Wars universe, namely the original trilogy and its locations. While this is by no means bad news, it does mean that there will probably be no Clone Wars lore elements in the game. The Clone Wars era earned no mentioning in the impressive E3 trailer presented by the developer, the locations the team has scouted and the LucasFilm museum that the visited this summer are also indicative of an original trilogy-only focus. If anything, for the fans of the series, those awaiting the release of the title with bated breath, this…

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Star Wars Battlefront: to Tie in or Not to Tie in With Episode VII?

Lately, there has been some speculation in regards to whether or not DICE’s much-hyped upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront – a title already sweating under the burden of the expectations of the community – will in any significant way be tied in to Episode VII, the upcoming movie of the Star Wars franchise, just as hotly expected, and probably even more pressured by outlandish fan expectations, and officials linked to the project have done a poor job at bringing any sort of clarity to the debate, to say the least. DICE’s Patrick Soderlund had the following to say about the release date of the game “Obviously there will be things in there that are somewhat tied to the new movie. I wouldn’t say that we have a particular tie to the movie. Now, obviously we would prefer to be close to the movie, but I wouldn’t say that we’re directly tied…

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Star Wars Community Buzzing, Churning Out Wild Battlefront Ideas

The E3 trailer of Star Wars: Battlefront, presented by DICE – which we have referenced countless times on these pages – gave the populous Star Wars community but a minute taste of what could be achieved through the engine used by the developer, but it was more than enough to give wings to the imaginations of those who can hardly wait to get their hands on the working title. Indeed, from the handful of scenes released through the trailer, it was obvious that great things should be expected from the game, so in this piece, we’ll take a look at some of the ideas inspired by the first Battlefront performance of the Frostbite engine. A couple of the most popular such ideas are about the Death Star and the Super Star Destroyer being featured as locations in the game. The Death Star and its eventual destruction have thus far been…

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Star Wars: Battlefront – Release Date Already Pushed Back?

Shortly after the E3 trailer of Star Wars: Battlefront was shown, people began speculating a possible release date for the title. A commonly floated time-frame was the first quarter of 2015, placing the game’s release within striking distance of Star Wars:  Episode 7, something which – as I have said before – would indeed make perfect sense from a marketing angle. According to some very recent rumors however, it now looks like a more likely release time-frame for the much awaited title is late 2015/early 2016. While these are indeed just rumors and nothing has been confirmed by DICE in this respect, and while such a push-back of the release date definitely pains die-hard fans of the Star Wars universe, there may unfortunately be some solid reasoning behind it all. While development has indeed begun as evidenced by the above-said E3 trailer, it may already be running late, given how…

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Star Wars: Battlefront – More Details Emerge from DICE

DICE’s 2014 E3 Star Wars: Battlefront trailer was definitely enlightening and promising if somewhat stingy detail-wise, but the way it ended, with the “Spring 2015” tag, was somewhat disheartening for true fans, because that didn’t just push the likely release date into the way-too-distant future, it also sort of closed the curtains on the deal, as if saying no other details concerning the much worked-on and hyped masterpiece would be released anytime soon. Since then though, the team has apparently delved into development and with that came a new willingness to share behind-the-scenes bits of information. DICE General Manager Karl Magnus Troedsson gave an interview recently, and needless to say, most of the back-and-forth was focused on Star Wars: Battlefront. The team is apparently enjoying full creative freedom on the title, the development of which they once called “scary” – in a good way of course. While the expectations of…

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Star Wars Episode VII Rumors Swirling: Possible Plot Details

Star Wars Episode VII, first announced back in 2012, is currently the much-anticipated and hyped cinematic flagship of the Star Wars universe. The movie carries quite a bit of importance from the point of view of the recently announced Battlefront 3too, an under-development title, an early trailer of which elicited quite a bit of emotion at the 2014 E3. What is the connection between the game and the movie? While the E3 trailer only showed a handful of action sequences taking place on Endor and Hoth – both original trilogy locations – the developers have hinted at the fact that locations and other elements of lore to be introduced in Episode VII may also find their way into the game. The move would indeed make quite a bit of sense as it would essentially allow the game to ride the hype generated by the movie and vice-versa. Episode VII has…

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Star Wars: Battlefront, DICE Increasingly Looking Like Match Made in Heaven

For a layman, the Star Wars: Battlefront trailer presented at the 2014 E3 may have been disappointing. After all, it contained precious little in-game footage and much more of the “people dramatically entering an office” sort of thing, as one reviewer so keenly pointed out. For a true fan however, the trailer told much more than a straight hour of in-game state-of-the-art graphics frenzy would have, and it really did say what every fan out there wanted to hear: that the folks at DICE were treating this project with utmost respect and that they were aiming to make a game that they, as Star Wars fans, always wanted to play. The trailer also showcased the lengths the team went to in order to create as authentic a Star Wars experience as possible, immersing themselves into the annals of the Star Wars universe in ways only true fans would ever be…

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Star Wars Battlefront: Official E3 2014 Trailer

Star Wars: Battlefront reveal out of the way early with the announcement that more game info will be available in Spring 2015. That’s around six months ahead of Star Wars: Episode VII‘s theatrical debut, so 2015 should definitely scratch your Star Wars itch with a bunch of new books, movies, and games. The publisher used their 2014 E3 Press Conference to show off a quick behind-the-scenes video (DICE went poking around in the LucasArts archives to get the look of their game just right) Check it out below: Star Wars™ Battlefront™ is the ultimate Star Wars battle experience, brought to life by the creators of Battlefield. Fight in epic Star Wars battles on iconic planets and rise through the ranks playing as the heroic Rebellion or the evil galactic Empire.

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DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront – Something for the Fans to Really Look Forward to

Star Wars gamers and fans of the movies/universe are certainly living in exciting times these days. While they do not currently have much available to them gaming-wise, they certainly have great things to look forward to and to be excited about. There’s a lot on the horizon for fans of the cult classic, and even though it is now certain 2014 won’t bring them the fulfillment and joy only a well-put together Star Wars game of movie can deliver, 2015 looks promising, at least according to EA’s Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen, who said at the annual shareholders’ meeting of the company that Star Wars: Battlefront would indeed be released during the second or third quarter of 2015. The stormy history of the title and the speculation sparked by the game’s introduction at E3 in June, 2013 (trough a ~30-second intro), don’t exactly paint a clear or even relevant picture…

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Fantastic Four filmmaker Josh Trank confirmed to direct his own Star Wars spin-off movie

Josh Trank will direct one of the planned standalone Star Wars films, it has been announced. Lucasfilm announced that the 30-year-old filmmaker will be at the helm of one of the two announced Star Wars spin-offs being made outside of the third trilogy. Josh said: “The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood. The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time.” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family. He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.” An earlier announced spin-off is to be led by Godzilla director Gareth Edwards. Movie bosses announced last year that they…

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Gareth Edwards Will Direct The First ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff

“Godzilla” director Gareth Edwards has a date with another monster franchise. A week after his “Godzilla” reboot claimed the top spot at the box office with a $93 million debut, Lucasfilm announced late Thursday on StarWars.com that Edwards will helm the first planned “Star Wars” spinoff film. Soon after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012, it announced its plans to produce at least three spinoff films not directly related to the planned trilogy currently shooting under J.J. Abrams’ direction. Those films will reportedly focus on various characters from the “Star Wars” universe — Boba Fett, Yoda, Han Solo (anybody but JarJar Binks). It hasn’t been revealed who the main subject of the Edwards film will be The plan is to release a new “Star Wars” movie every year starting in 2015, alternating between trilogy installments and spinoffs. Edwards film is slated for Dec. 16, 2016. ““Ever since I saw ‘Star…

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JJ Abrams offers fans chance to appear in Star Wars Episode 7

Star Wars director JJ Abrams has announced he is offering one fan the chance to film a cameo appearance on the upcoming film. The new charitable venture between Disney, Lucasfilm and Bad Robot aims to raise funds for UNICEF’s Innovation Labs, which funds life-changing projects for children across the world. Abrams tells fans in a new video that by donating $10 to the charity they could win the chance to appear in Episode VII, visit Pinewood Studios and meet the cast. The video message was shot on the set of Episode VII and features a new alien character which resembles an ostrich. Watch the video below For each $10 contribution made eligible participants will be entered into the draw for the incredible prize which will also include airfare and accommodation in London, behind-the-scenes access on the closed set and the opportunity to meet the A-List cast. Abrams explained: “The ‘Star Wars’…

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Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher lead cast of new ‘Star Wars’ film

It’s official! Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher have been signed up for Star Wars VII. The three original cast members were spotted in London ahead of filming, sparking rumours that they will be involved in the film. And now it’s been officially confirmed via a press release stating: “The Star Wars team is thrilled to announce the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.” Director J.J. Abrams said: “We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII. It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life,…

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Footage from cancelled Star Wars game shows Darth Maul in action

Video game developer Red Fly Studios and publisher LucasArts were working on a new Star Wars based Darth Maul video game experience in 2010, which was supposed to expand the gameplay mechanics that were introduced in The Force Unleashed. Footage of the game has emerged online and sources are saying that the game was designed to initially be launched only on the Wii U by the same team that handled the port for Star Wars: The Force Unleashes II. LucasArts was impressed with the initial development work done by Red Fly Studios and decided to also greenlight the title for the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Prototypes were being created in late 2010 using Darth Maul and his unique double-sided lightsaber as the core feature, but it seems that George Lucas intervened in order to add a cooperative element to the title, with the inclusion of Darth…

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