This is a common question that comes up in MMORPG communities fairly often. Most WoW players will recall the masses asking for murlocs as a playable race for so very long. Love it or hate it, people wanted to see it. Just like people will want to be able to play wookies in a Star Wars game, there is always something that captures the attention of the players, even if it doesn’t make sense or fit with the natural lore and story. Sometimes fans just want what they want. Sometimes fans want things that don’t make any sense in the grand scheme of things. While we may not ever actually see this live in the game, it can be fun to speculate about what could be. And you never know- Bioware does listen to fan feedback, especially when it comes en masse. With the way SWTOR is growing and changing…
Author: Lisa Clark
SWTOR Los Angeles Community Cantina Q&A Audio (Cana Rum Bar, June 2014)
We love to bring you updates from the Community Cantinas that take place in various cities across the map. There is always new and exciting fun to come out of these events and of course, we can’t forget the flash drive goodies. So the Q&A of this Community Cantina was with Eric Musco and you can find a full write-up of that here on 42gaming.com. You can also listen to the video below (audio only). Here is a snippet: Question: When will we know the rewards for Ranked PVP Season 2? Answer: “We do not like to present the rewards and requirements till at least halfway through the Season” Question: Will classes be able to use weapons that are not intended for the class, i.e Jedi using a blaster? Answer: No, one of the reasons is to allow others to identify the enemy’s class in PVP. Question: Will there be…
Sexism in Our Community?
This is a sensitive topic for many people and I can respect that. However, as a female gamer, I find it really important to address this issue. Is there still an issue in gaming today, and in our SWTOR community, with female players being harassed? I have heard stories of people quitting SWTOR due to the harassment or abuse they have suffered due to their gender, or perceived gender in the game. As always when I hear this kind of story I am angry and also sad. That being said, I’m not 100% convinced there is a real issue of sexism in the SWTOR community. Here is a common scenario: Person is playing a female toon. Perhaps a sexy Twi’lek in skimpy attire because that seems to be the norm for the female versions of characters in most video games these days. Person encounters other players, presumably male, who then…
Video Game Franchises and a Star Wars Legacy
While recording a podcast for my gaming community tonight, we were discussing E3 this year and the announcements that were made. An interesting topic came up; one that I think could use a little more exploration. Basically, we were talking about video game franchises and in particular, franchises that include more than just a line of video games. We have many popular game franchises that started off as movies, comics or books. And there are some that were later turned into movies and books and even TV shows. When a title takes off like this, we are looking at much more than just a series of games. What we’re really looking at is a brand. And the developers who create these games want to keep the fans interested in their brand. They want to take those loyal gamers and turn them into lifelong fans. However, this tactic is not as…
Happy Father’s Day Star Wars Style!
Today is a day for celebrating the men who brought us into this world- our dear old dads! Thousands of fathers will be kicking back and relaxing today, or grilling up their favorite meals in the sunny backyard. Some will be lazy-ing around in the recliners or taking a dip in the pool. Still, others might go fishing or out to their favorite restaurant for dinner.
Versus Series: Luke Skywalker VS Revan
Versus Series Luke Skywalker VS Revan – who would win? Here’s a fun and interesting episode of the Versus Series that pitts Luke Skywalker against Revan. It’s an interesting question but there are some arguments made about the way it was carried out in the versus video. For example, it’s comparing Luke at 63 with Revan at 43. A comparison of both at the same age may have been better. One thing that is certain from the reaction to the video- most fans are pretty hardcore about which side they want to win and their supporting reasons why. Some fans argue that the video was not fair to Revan and that under different circumstances, he would beat Luke without a doubt. But the same counter-argument can be given for Luke, who later becomes very best of all Jedi in the entire universe of Star Wars. Check out the video and tell us…
Star Wars Battlefront TRAILER ANALYSIS from E3 2014
Some very exciting Star Wars related news came out of E3 this week. Ten years ago, LucasArts and Pandemic Studios gave the world “Star Wars: Battlefront,” one of the most popular Star Wars video games ever made. A year later, LucasArts published the console-only sequel “Battlefront II.” After that, we did not see or hear a lot in the development of this game franchise. But now, we have some exciting news. At E3 2013, Electronic Arts, which currently has the rights to the Star Wars video game franchise, showed a teaser trailer for a game it titled “Star Wars: Battlefront.” The studio said very little after this and would leave us wondering what and when, this game might come to light. Recently at E3 2014, Election Arts once again teased some footage from the upcoming “Battlefront” title, although it was mostly comprised of pre-rendered cutscenes spliced with some behind-the-scenes storytelling from the DICE…
What Ideas Can Other MMOs take from SWTOR?
SWTOR is a game that has sprung some controversial ideas over the years. It is a game that many called a failure but that actually has succeeded in many ways. For many reasons, there are things that other MMOs can learn from SWTOR and the game history so far. Other MMOs can learn from both the successes and the failures of SWTOR. In some ways, this game has paved the path for those that will come after, just like games before opened doors for SWTOR to be what it is today. So let’s take a look at some of the ideas that other MMOs can take from SWTOR. One very big point is the voice acting. The type of voice acting SWTOR had was unique. Never before has it been done in this way in a video game. All the live voice acting adds a different element and level of…
Can the Dark Side of the Force be Used for the Greater Good?
Star Wars lore and The Force is something that has been written, discussed, debated and analyzed since the first film’s debut. One topic of the Star Wars story that has been questioned and debated over the years is that of the Force and Light and Dark side. In this video, we can explore the question “Can the Dark Side of the Force be used for the greater good?” Some will argue that the Dark Side itself is inherently evil and that simply by choosing to act on the Dark, you cannot do good, and that you will become evil. The same is said of the Light Side and good. But if we really break down the story, we see that even the Light Side sometimes questions their goodness or makes choices that could be considered “evil”. Maybe it is not really as black and white as we’d like to think….
How to Beat the System in the Upcoming Event
On June 10th, Star Wars: The Old Republic launches Update 2.8: Spoils of War, and the casino event called the Festival of Splendor along with most of the patch already resides on the public test server. The new event is based on gambling/casino which is not for everyone, of course. If you like casino games and trying your hand at your luck vs. the house, you might not want to do this trick at all. But if you want a way to beat the system, then check this out. Hyperspace Beacon has found a way to beat the system in this new event. This might be something worth looking into. Here they have an overview on games and prizes: The Smuggler’s Luck slot machines cost the least. Each token is 1,000 credits and there is a higher chance to win something. According to SWTOR_miner on Reddit, every time you play you only have…
Steampunk Darth Vader, Yoda and Leia in New Star Wars Art
I love Steampunk and I love Star Wars. Now I have found something that brings the best of both worlds together. This was shared to me by a good friend who knows what a fan I am of both and I knew I had to share it with the rest of you. If you are a fan of Star Wars, then you will probably like this but if you are also a steampunk fan, then you’ll love it even more. Head over here and check it out for yourself and you will see just what we’re talking about. If you love Star Wars and if you love fan art and conception art, then you will greatly appreciate this entire gallery. These Star Wars paintings are the work of Bjorn Hurri, a Swedish born concept artist currently living and working in London. Let’s take a look at some more images from the…
Rumor on the Future of SWTOR
What could happen in the future of SWTOR? That’s probably a question that all fans could speculate on and the truth is, most of us never would have guessed SWTOR would end up where it is now from those early beginnings and pre-launch info. It’s no surprise then that fans like to speculate on what the future might hold for our game and how it could change in coming months or even years. The truth is, we don’t actually know for sure. One poster on Reddit claims to have inside knowledge about the future of Star Wars: The Old Republic but as always, take this info with a grain of salt. We have no proof that this is real insider info and even if it was, companies often change the plan when sensitive info is leaked. What we do know is that it’s fun to speculate so here we go!…
Star Wars: Episode VII Spoilers
So we’re all super excited for Star Wars: Episode VII and of course, we are looking for all the info we can find on what to expect from the upcoming movies. So it’s no surprise when spoilers come out here and there but we also know how tightly they like to keep any Star Wars news on the lockdown. So it was a little bit of a shock when TMZ released some leaked photos from the set and behind the scenes of Star Wars: Episode VII. Of course, we cannot be 100% all these photos are legit but TMZ does have a pretty good reliability record with this sort of thing. So here are some of the first batch of images that were released. Then the next day, we also saw these leaked spoiler photos. The Internet was pretty much in an uproar about them and what they could mean. So after…
Worst Star Wars Gaming Experiences
We’ve talked about the best Star Wars games here lately but let’s take some time to look at some of the worst. Here are some Star Wars games that were considered flops: Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing – Arcane-style karting game but it wasn’t what fans were looking for Star Wars Kinect – A good idea gone horribly wrong? Star Wars: Force Commander – Star Wars RTS, what can go wrong? This one just wasn’t developed enough before release Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi – Remains at the top of nearly every list of “Worst Star Wars games ever Star Wars Demolition- Star Wars skinned “Twisted Metal” knockoff that didn’t quite work out Do you have any you’d add to the list? It’s important when talking about our worst Star Wars gaming experiences that we remember that without the worst, we would not have the best. It takes failures,…
The History of Star Wars Games
If you are a gamer fan and a Star Wars fan then there is a good chance you have seen and heard many things about the history of Star Wars games. You’ve probably played quite a few of these games for yourself. Perhaps you even have a hard time deciding which of these new Star Wars games you should try and which ones are just not worth your time. You won’t be the first person to wonder this since there are so many new titles being tossed around today. But we talk of Star Wars games, we have to take a look back at the history of this franchise and the games that have sprung from it and for that, we go back to 1982. Gamespot really gives us a good breakdown of the history of Star Wars games in this first part of a 2-part feature on the subject. Here…
Custom LEGO SWTOR Blackbolt
You know how we love bringing you cool Star Wars and SWTOR related stuff. And if you’ve followed my posts here over the past few years, you also know that I am a big LEGO fan. So we are very happy to bring you this cool story of a custom LEGO SWTOR Blackbolt. The builder/creator had this to say about it on Reddit: “A couple firsts for me here: first reddit post, first lego set I bought since childhood (Fury Interceptor), and first custom lego build. The ship and its landing platform are entirely built from the Fury set and there were many leftover pieces.” I wonder how long it took to build this? The images in the gallery below give a good guideline of the process of how it was done. I love to see creative projects like this where people take their LEGO sets and make something original…
EA Should Use These Star Wars Games as Inspiration
We all know that EA is a big leader in Star Wars video games. With the new canon, we know that they can also do pretty much anything they want in terms of story and put a Star Wars spin on it. But is this really the best way to do it? Are we steering too far away from what made us all fans in the first place- the original story and movies? What if new Star Wars games complemented the new movies coming out? cinelinx tells us what they think EA should use as inspiration for future Star Wars games: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Star Wars Starfighter for the PS2 Star Wars Republic Commando Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (no complaints from us on this one) They go on in their article to explain why they think these games are the best representation…
The Empire Strikes Back Voted Greatest Film of All Time
The Empire Strikes Back has topped a poll of the greatest movies of all time. I can’t say that we are really all that surprised at this news. Despite the beef that some people have with the movie, it is still a classic. It’s a part of pop culture and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone today who doesn’t at least know of the movie. The movie, which came out in 1980, beat over 301 other titles in Empire magazine. Yahoo! UK News brings us more on the story: Creator George Lucas said it was a “privilege” to be voted top. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather came second in the survey involving 250,000 film fans. “The fans like The Empire Strikes Back the best, partly because it is so dark. “It’s an overall story and as it happens in the second act, things get dark. “I never really planned it…
Disney Cancels Star Wars: Attack Squadrons
And another Star Wars game bites the dust. If you were planning to suit up for your X-wing, you might be disappointed at this news. Unfortunately, Disney has cancelled Star Wars: Attack Squadrons and fans everyone are left wondering why. Disney Interactive has halted development and testing on its new PC-only, combat sim game, Star Wars: Attack Squadrons. They have this to say: We want to thank all of the fans who participated in the closed beta of Star Wars: Attack Squadrons,” Disney Interactive posted this week on its Facebook page and official site. “After much consideration, we have decided to cease development so that we can focus on other Star Wars game experiences. We truly appreciate the time you spent engaging in the beta.” We first heard about the game in Dec of 2013 and while it has seemed like slow going, it was supposed to feature ships that users could mod,…
Unofficial GTN App (/w Mobile Support) – Coming Soon!
Do you ever wish you could check in with the Galactic Trade Network while away from your PC? Well, you might be able to do exactly that here very soon. There is a GTN app in the works and the developer posted on Reddit to explain the details. Hello everyone! I am pleased to announce one of the latest projects I have been working on – The Galactic Trade Network (app). This is a simple GTN tracker of popular items (such as materials and gear) that shows you price over time for your server. As of this post, the initial framework is in place. The overall design is placeholder at best and will change. Data currently shown is NOT ACTUAL DATA, this is an early preview! What’s coming before release? The ability to select a server that has available data A submission form to allow automated data submission More items…
TOR TV: Short and Simple: Draxus 16 man Nightmare
Are you looking for a great guide to help you beat Draxus 16 man on Nightmare mode? Well, this is probably not it but it’s darned funny to watch anyway. In just 1 minute and 36 seconds, you will learn all you need to know … sort of. Actually, we think all guides should be done exactly like this. “Dread Fortress 16 man Nightmare, Gate Commander Draxus guide. Did you get all that?”
50 EA Titles to be Taken Offline Next Month Including Star Wars: Battlefront
Big news from EA this week about online service updates coming as soon as June 30th. EA will be pulling more than 50 titles with online multiplayer components and it could affect some games you still play. This can be frustrating news to those of us who still play some of these titles. There are several games that I still play with friends or family and several that are really only fun in multiplayer format so it’s a real let-down that they are pulling them offline. I can respect and understand that an online game will have a lifespan and that it is not reasonable to expect them to be supported forever but it’s still sad to hear this news. Check out the list of 50 titles yourself and see if any of your favorite games are on there. Take note of the following Star Wars games on the list:…
Minecraft Huttball! Check it Out
Do you love Mincraft? Are you a fan of Huttbal? Now you can have the best of both worlds- sort of! Here we have Huttball maps in Minecraft, thanks to Joevahskank. This is actually really cool and I know the creator spent a lot of time on it and trying to get it right. He had this to say: “I did more work after I posted my last album earlier, so here’s the replacement. The first picture is of the foundation. The second is behind the stands… hoping to get some concession stands out there. The third through last? Well, you can see the arena’s nearly finished!” It’s coming along nicely and I, for one, enjoy Minecraft and will have to check this out. Check out some more images of Huttball in Minecraft:
New SWTOR Event and New Alien Species on PTS
Will we soon be seeing a new alien species in SWTOR? Data-mined info says it’s possible, although little more is known at this time. Here are some images of a potential new race (playable?) that we might see coming with a future content update that is also supposed to bring a new SWTOR event. swtor_miner explains some of what the data shows about the model, “”These new aliens fall into the Bothan semi-custom model category, and not the full-custom model Wookiee one. This means they share animations with regular humanoid species.” I agree that I don’t think this will be a playable race based on what the datamining found. Probably they will be NPC models but perhaps this shows us what the new event or some of the new content will be about. Of course, this early in the process, the whole thing could be scrapped. We can never depend…