We’ve been waiting on a new race and we’ve talked about the Cathar here before. Now we finally have the news that Cathars are coming in SWTOR Patch 2.1! Bioware teased previously that the Cathar were coming but then they left us hanging and wondering. A second post filled in more of the mystery for us and now finally, we know they are coming with Patch 2.1.While they officially announced the new playable species last year, we now know that they will be coming to the game and available for purchase with Cartel Coins (no surprise there, right?) The Cathar will be unlockable via the Cartel Market for 600 coins and you can either reroll a new character or you have the option to convert an existing character to the new species. One bonus is that the unlock is account-wide and not just legacy-wide, meaning you can apply it to…
Author: Lisa Clark
Tales from the Republic Fleet
“That’s amazing… you look just like me!” “Yeah, the doc did a great job. Your looks and charm got us in, now I should be able to get to the Senator’s computer. So, let’s get ready for the big date tomorrow night.” “Right. First thing – DON’T mention anything about the Senator’s hairpiece, he’s very self-conscious about it!…” “The slaver said they were on a ship bound for Lonos Prime.” “Lonos? Keval, that’s in Sith space!” “I know, but I have a plan – there’s a slicer that can get us some fake ident chips and a transponder. That’ll get us onto the planet, at least.” *sighs* “Alright, brother. I should be able to meet up with you in a few days.” “Sounds good. I promise you, Jorda, we’ll find Mother and Father.” Oh yes, here we have Tales from the Republic Fleet. Previously we brought you the story of…
EA Didn’t Ruin BioWare Games, Says Dr. Zeschuk
We have all heard the rumors: EA ruined SWTOR, EA ruined BioWare, EA destroyed BioWare games. But one of the Doctors is speaking out against these rumors. BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk says he had a hand and a voice in how things operated at EA/Bioware. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, the doctor says: Zeschuk also rejects any notion of Electronic Arts being a negative influence on BioWare. “They don’t second-guess you, they don’t say you shouldn’t do that,” he explains. “We had complete creative control over a lot of it; some fans didn’t like some of it and some of it was experimental, quite frankly.” Well, it’s a sign of honor to own up to your own mistakes, right? It’d be easy for BioWare to blame EA for their lackluster year(or two) but instead he admits that they had too much money and possible too much free reign and they made…
How ROtHC Makes SWTOR Better
Most MMORPPGs can only hope that their expansions will make a game better. That is the idea afterall, to add more to the game, bring in new players and keep the current players interested. But when it comes to SWTOR, it’s a great game and we have Rise of the Hutt Cartel on the way to hopefully make it better. So what’s so great about ROtHC that is going to improve SWTOR? It’s not because of the waterfalls (hehe) so what is it? Well the one thing we need to remember about ROtHC is that it’s not just about Makeb. There is so much more to the game now. There are many additions to the core game play itself such as new armor and new quest lines. This will add a great deal of new content to explore and master for both new and old players alike. Here are some…
SWTOR Guide: Making the Most of Your Companions
Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic Having a companion by your side when on missions can greatly enhance the overall experience and make playing Star Wars: The Old Republic even more exciting. They can be very useful when it comes to gameplay by getting you out of some tough situations and they help to keep things interesting. However, it can be very difficult trying to decide which companion to take along on each mission, especially if you are not used to having a helper. Choosing the right one can greatly enhance gameplay but choosing the wrong one can make things more difficult than it should be. In order to get the most from your companions, here are a few things you should know. Update Your Companions Gear One of the biggest mistakes new players make is not updating their companions gear….
EA Responds to “Worst Company in America” Poll; Makes History
EA Chief Operating Officer, Peter Moore, has responded to what looks to be EA’s second year in a row winning The Consumerist’s ‘Worst Company in America’ award. Their stock might be on the rise but there are clearly still some issues that EA needs to work out. EA is the first company in the contest’s history to win this award twice (not the type of award you want to brag about, right?) Electronic Arts COO Peter Moore had some things to say about this development: “Are we really the “Worst Company in America?” Moore asks. “I’ll be the first to admit that we’ve made plenty of mistakes. These include server shut downs too early, games that didn’t meet expectations, missteps on new pricing models and most recently, severely fumbling the launch of SimCity. We owe gamers better performance than this.” He then goes on to explain how last year they won the…
EA’s Survival Has Been “A Rare Feat”
We’ve talked before here about the ups and downs of EA. They’ve had a rough couple of years and those shareholders who are still holding on saw stock drop from around $25 back in the winter of 2011 to just about $11 last August. Now they’re back up to around $18 a share. So those who have stayed in it for the long haul are seeing their efforts pay off. At last week’s Game Developer’s Conference, GamesIndustry International talked to EA president Frank Gibeau (a possible replacement for Riccitiello) about the state of EA: “It’s a dynamic industry. At one moment social is the hottest thing in the history of man, and the next minute it’s not. One minute console is dead, the next minute console is incredible. There’s no market in Russia, Brazil, China, and now we’re seeing some of the largest markets in the world in the emerging market. The…
Rise of the Hutt Cartel Preparation and Guide
Are you ready for the Rise of the Hutt Cartel? Whether you waiting until the last minute to start preparing or if you’re ready and rearing to begin right now, you’re going to love the new, fresh content. In order to ensure you get the maximum benefit from the experience, we have some tips and guidelines to follow. There are many guides and tips already available so when appropriate, we might make a link or referral to an external site as a resource. It’s all about getting you the best info as quickly as possible. Prelaunch So here are some things you can do/should do as preparation before the launch: Get more experience boosts- whether minor or major, these boost will help you as you are leveling up. Using the exp boosts, you can get the max level as quickly as possible. Do some dailies and weeklies- you’re waiting anyway,…
Other Star Wars Games: Zen Pinball 2
If you love Star Wars games as much as we do, then you might want to consider Zen Pinball 2. I’m actually a big fan of pinball games so when you combine the both of them into a mobile game, I am hooked! C Net says: The good: Star Wars Pinball has some of the sharpest graphics we’ve seen on Android. The bad: The physics of the game could use some work. The bottom line: Whether you’re a fan of “Star Wars” or pinball, or both, this game is a visual delight that’s worth its price. Very nice but what is it really all about? Well it may be 2013 but pinball is still alive and well- only now we have ePinball. Game creators at Zen Studios have two new innovative titles – Star Wars Pinball and Zen Pinball 2. “”Star Wars Pinball” is for iOS and Android devices. It’s…
SWTOR Last Double XP Weekend
Are you ready for Makeb? It’s the last double XP weekend and the last weekend before the release of Game Update 2.0 and Rise of the Hutt Cartel for those who are eligible for ‘early access’ so this is your chance to get the most from this experience while you still can. Friday through Monday, April 8th at 12AM PST, those who still don’t have a level 50 character can take advantage of the event this weekend just before the Makeb content releases on the 9th. You can get up to 310% experience points using the double XP, XP boost and legacy perks. This is your chance to take full advantage of this experience boost and get your character to max or level up a new character as far as you can while it is still available. Then, we will see Makeb and the Rise of the Hutt Cartel so…
Star Wars Episode 7 Rumor Roundup
We’re all anxiously awaiting Star Wars: Episode 7 and with the news of Disney letting LucasArts staff go, we’re even more interested in what will happen with this new film series. So this is why we’re keeping up to date on all the hottest and greatest news about the new movie. This means a lot of talk about what Abrams will do with Episode 7 as well as what kind of records the film might set when it makes it to the big screen. Let’s take a look at what some others are saying about it. Den of Geek says: We seem to be in a bit of a limbo at the moment with regards Star Wars: Episode VII, with the thinking being that Lucasfilm will wait until JJ Abrams is fully finished on his new film, Star Trek Into Darkness, before making a full and formal announcement about the…
EA Pays Probst Seven Figures, Looks for New CEO
CEO John Riccitiello recently resigned from Electronic Arts but executive chairman Larry Probst is reportedly taking the reins until a suitable replacement is found. But his temporary position of two roles will not come cheap- As reported by GameSpot, an EA filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week revealed that Probst will be paid an annualized salary of $1.03 million for the duration of the search for a new CEO. In addition to the seven-figure salary, Probst stands to earn an additional one-time bonus for his work from the Board of Directors for his temporary stint as executive chairman of the company. Of course, Probst will be abstaining from any discussion the board has on that particular topic since it would be a conflict of interest. He is also foregoing his board of directors cash retainer fees (which were $100,000 for the company’s fiscal 2012) for the duration…
ROTHC is Download Only : EA Says Digital is 50% of Sales by 2015
Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore said digitally delivered video games may account for 50 percent of sales by 2015 as more players migrate to tablets and smartphones from consoles. (via Bloomberg). As more players are migrating to tablets and smartphones from PC and tablets, mobile seems to be the way to go which means digital downloads of games. While this might be the future for EA, some hardcore PC fans are not as excited about it. ROTHC is download only but some gamers really like getting a boxed set. Our current home office is surrounded by shelves of boxed Collector’s Editions of various games that my husband and I have purchased and played over the past 10 years or so. We love getting boxed sets, expansions and collector’s editions of the games we loved because they usually contain extras such as music, figurines, posters and more. Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI)…
15-Month SWTOR Review and Never Hit Level Cap
Would you review a video game you hardly played? What about an MMORPG when you never hit the max level cap? Well, let me ask you this one- would you come back and review a game 15 months later and say it was a “Take two” on the game but then admit in this very same review that you have never experience any endgame experience of this particular MMORPG? Well, that’s exactly what one Massively writer did and it beats us why this ever got published in the first place. Now let me preempt this and say that we are not afraid to publish negative things about Bioware and SWTOR here- in fact, we’ve done it on multiple occasions. We like the game but we are also committed to the truth. SWTOR is not perfect and Bioware has made mistakes along the way. We’re not denying it. But haters hating…
Disney Shuts Down LucasArts and Cancels Star Wars Games
(image belongs to Kotaku- see their version for funny annotations that say how we all feel) Just recently we brought you the rumors that LucasArts is facing a shutdown. While we didn’t have enough proof to call it a fact, we highly suspected the confirmation was coming soon. Today was the formal notification. According to a source reliable to Kotaku, the staff was informed this morning that LucasArts was shut down. Publicly, Disney is saying their current games could be licensed out to a different publisher or developer, but according to our source, that’s unlikely. Our source says Lucas has pursued the option for “one or both games,” but nothing happened. “”With the teams now basically being dispersed I think both games are effectively dead forever,” our source said. A second source also told Kotaku this afternoon that the chances of Lucas licensing out 1313 are very slim. The odds are “effectively zero,” the…
Gamestop/Best Buy SWTOR now sells Cartel Coin Cards
A few months back, we heard rumors about Gamestop and Best Buy selling Cartel Coin cards in their stores that would also get you an exclusive mount. So what did I do? I ran out to my local Best Buy to check it out. Admittedly, I had something else to go for that night anyway, but this just made me more motivated to get in my car and head down to the shopping center. So there I am in Best Buy when not one, but two, friendly employees came over and offered to help me but alas, there were no cartel coin cards. In fact, they didn’t even have a clue what I was talking about. That’s because the information was leaked early and they were not available yet. But these cards were in the works… And the story is that they are finally live! But there are a few…
SWTOR Climbing Since Going Free to Play
So has changing their game model to free to play had any impact on SWTOR for BioWare? , creative director on Star Wars: The Old Republic says yes at GDC. He revealed that the number of players has now increased to 4.5 million, up from 2 million, which makes it a rate of 10,000 new players each day. This switch to F2P has been a real game-changer for SWTOR, that was losing its player base. Ohlen goes on to explain how SWTOR had more problems on launch than just its subscription model (ya, think?) He explains that the lack of a group finder was a major downside to the game and also the poor implementation of the Public Test Realm (PTS). No group finder meant it was hard to players to get together to experience much of the content in the game and the poor PTS meant there were a…
George Takei to Star in New Star Wars Film
What’s more awesome than Abrams directing both Star Trek and Star Wars movies at the same time? George Takei acting in them both! As he shared on his Facebook wall today, George Takei will be starring in the new Star Wars films, directed by JJ Abrams: Friends, I am thrilled to announce that I’ll be starring in the Star Wars reboot directed by JJ Abrams. I’ll be playing Master Ceti Maru, a member of the Jedi High Council. The new film, entitled “Star Wars: Galactic Empire,” is greenlit and will begin filming sometime early next year. It is truly a moment for The Star Alliance. Thanks to all my fans for their decades of support. Geeks of Doom gives us more info about the famous actor’s new role: Now, the actor, best known for his role as the original Sulu in the Star Trekuniverse, revealed that he’ll be starring in a…
J.J Abrams talks Episode VII
I’ve been a fan of Abrams for a long time now but these days, when you mention the name JJ Abrams, one question comes out of everyone’s mouths: “When will we learn more about Episode VII?” It’s safe to say that Star Wars fans all over are excited about the new movies and while Abrams was able to work on Star Trek with some level of objectivity, we have to wonder if he will do the same with Star Wars. He is admittedly a big fan and it begs the question of how he will approach this very big task. Empire Online had the chance to sit down with Abrams for a bit and ask him a few questions about Episode VII and his plans for the movie series: “I don’t know because we’re just getting started. So it’s a great question that I hope I’ll have a good answer…
Tales from the Imperial Fleet
Major Brelga shifted uncomfortably. Sith Lords were always unsettling – a fact someone serving the Empire quickly came to terms with – but Lord Veskis made him especially uneasy. “So Major,” hissed the hooded figure. “Do we have a deal?” “… so I slammed the Jedi against the cliff face, then turned and sliced his padawan nearly in half! The soldiers with them wet themselves and ran!” “My dear, you’re so beautiful when the bloodlust rises in you <3” “Did you see the new robes Darth Jiannis was wearing? It looks like she skinned a Varactyl for them.” “Ugh, I know. It’s like all the good fashion designers work for the Republic.”” “Reports say the base was obliterated. Excellent work, hunter! My Lieutenant objected to collaborating with savage aliens. But he was wrong about you and your team!” “Ah yes, Lieutenant Orbos. A real… shame he didn’t survive the battle….
Is LucasArts Facing a Shutdown?
There is gossip around the Internet about LucasArts- the kind of gossip that makes fans a bit uneasy. After the cancellation of The Clone Wars, there have been fears that LucasArts is facing a shutdown. Reports tell us that there are incoming Layoffs for Lucasfilm Animation and it only makes sense now that Disney is on the scene to get rid of the department that does the very same thing they already do. While fans are really bummed about the cancellation of The Clone Wars, Lucasfilm has promised that the bonus content will still be made available to fans. But this isn’t the only reason people are whispering about LucasArts… A report from GamesIndustry International says that LucasArts told them that everything is going according to plan and that the rumors are just that- rumors. But not everyone is buying that, including ex employees. One ex-LucasArts employee said: “The ‘business’…
Aggregated 2.0 Fan Site Interviews & Information for ROTHC
There’s an official date for ROTHC and the BioWare PR team has also been in full swing doing interviews with a number of fan sites about SWTOR and ROTHC. To help ensure all the hard work from these interviews is seen, we’re going to try to aggregate all the links here. We’ll be updating this often as more information and posts come out but if you see an interview we’ve missed, feel free to add it to the comments so we can update the list!
Will Blizzard Bring MMOs to Console?
Since before SWTOR first came out, there has been talk about bringing it to the consoles. But that is all it was… talk. What began as a mixup turned into rumors that were debunked by BioWare. While some players scoff at the idea of SWTOR on console, there are some who really want to see it happen one day. The idea of bringing MMOs of consoles is not a new one but it’s not one that any developer has been ready to tackle. That is, until now. World of Warcraft lead systems designer Greg Street would be keen to bring the company’s MMO experience to next-generation consoles, says VG 24/7. They go on to say: “I would personally be very excited to see that, it would be a huge challenge to take something like World Of Warcraft with its massive hard drive footprint and its reliance on mouse and keyboard,”…
Pro Tips for SWTOR Double XP Weekends
Do you want to make the most of the SWTOR double XP weekends? Just in time for the next weekend on the way, we have some tips and ideas for getting the most from your Double XP weekend. Double XP weekends will be held at the following times: March 15, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 18, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET (passed already) March 22, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 25, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET March 29, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 1, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET April 5, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 8, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET There was an exploit that allowed you to go to Ilum and get powerleveled up especially quick. One guy claimed he hit a record of 1-50 in under 16 hours. As one poster explained: …