There has been a buzz recently about BioWare dropping the ban-hammer with prejudice on SWTOR gamers for things such as profanity, going to Illum before level 50 and anything that appears like chat “spam”, even if accidental. This has a lot of players asking if BioWare is being too heavy-handed in their banning practices. While most of the threads on the official forums about it are quickly locked or deleted, there is a discussion going on about it at Reddit and one user also captured a screenshot of their ban warning email which was posted on the forums but that thread was later deleted. Basically, this user said he was sent an email warning after using profanity in private tells to friends in game. The email warns the user that he will be banned if he is caught using this language again. No one seems to be able to get…
Author: Lisa Clark
How the Old Republic Didn’t Change MMOs from Escapist Magazine
I read a really interesting piece today from Escapist Magazine. It was part of a weekly column “First Person” written by Boston, MA-based freelancer Dennis Scimeca that I often enjoy. This particular write-up on how The Old Republic didn’t change MMOs is spot-on with how I feel about the game in many areas. Let’s start with saying that it’s not a negative review. In fact, the columnist seems quite content with SWTOR as far as the game itself goes but he makes some very valid points about the MMO aspects and how there are certain things that just cannot be revolutionized yet in the genre. While SWTOR has done some things that no other MMORPG has done, there are still some things that it just hasn’t changed about the genre in SWTOR. However, it may not really be BioWare’s fault. I mean, this is reportedly one of (if not the)…
Contest to Win SWTOR Razer Gaming Mouse
Have you been looking to get your hands on that SWTOR Razer mouse but Santa didn’t bring you one for Christmas? We might have a good opportunity for you because we stumbled across this post and contest for a SWTOR Razer gaming mouse and you still have 2 more days to get your entry in! (The deadline for entries is midnight on January 4th 2012.) Ctrl + Alt + Del has a contest that you are going to want to check out, especially if you consider yourself a Photoshop aficionado. All you have to do is create a SWTOR image in Photoshop from a SWTOR screenshot as the starting point. How creative can you be? Contest rules: I have three sets of SWTOR mouse + mousepad by Razer to give away, so I’m going to ask you to get a little artistic for this one. I want you to whip…
What to Do During SWTOR Maintenance
So it’s maintenance day for SWTOR and you are finding yourself at a loss for what to do. You’ve been playing every day, working your way to max level, completing missions, earning credits and building a legacy. Now what? SWTOR maintenance day is not a need for stress and worry. There are many productive things you could be doing instead while SWTOR is down for maintenance. Here are some ideas of what to do during SWTOR maintenance: Read SWTORstrategies.com Go take a shower Step outside-remember that thing called the sun? Have a Star Wars movie marathon Sketch your character Play KOTOR Reintroduce yourself to non-gamer friends (do they remember you anymore?) Make a list of things you will do when the server is back up Organize your screenshot folder Spend time on forums talking about SWTOR Many people have work or school during the maintenance hours anyway so they don’t…
Is SWTOR PVP Broken?
Recently there have been a lot of complaints about PVP in SWTOR and not all of them are just from hardcore PvPers who don’t like the way things are set up in SWTOR. In fact, there are many bugs and legitimate complaints that lead a gamer to ask, “Is PvP in SWTOR broken?” MMO Crunch has a piece that asks “Where’s the PvP?” and brings up a pretty good question about the lacking world PvP in SWTOR. I have to agree with the author since I play on a PvP server and have yet to run into a PvP encounter in the open world once so far and I’ve been playing since pre-launch. MMO Crunch says: “The problem with the open PvP zones is there is absolutely no incentive for players, which is why they’re empty. Why bother in a open zone when you can queue up for a warzone…
TOR Wins MMO Game Of The Year From GameSpy
While it’s not really a surprise to any of us here, we are happy to announce that Gamespy ranked SWTOR as Game of the Year: MMO Category. Released just before the end of the year after years of anticipation, the game is off to a fantastic start, breaking genre records across the board and drawing in tons of happy gamers. In what many believe to be the first MMO to rival WoW, SWTOR has made an impressive launch into the industry and now only time will tell if BioWare can keep it up for the longterm. FromGamespy: “We’restill logging hours in a galaxy far, far away to bring you our full review, butthis award should give you an idea how we feel about BioWare’s long-awaitedStar Wars MMO. From day one, the renowned RPG studio said it would set its gameapart from the competition with story, voice, and choice — and…
Star Wars: The Old Republic Pre-review from Gaming Age
Gaming Age takes a look at SWTOR for the first time and it’s safe to say that overall, their reviewer was thoroughly impressed with the game. They’ve taken the time to write up a nearly 1,000-word pre-review to explain what they think of it. This is a great “early impressions” type piece that we wanted to share with you. And if any of you have friends that still have not bought SWTOR, this is a great preview/review to send to them. The pre-review begins: “Star Wars: The Old Republic is the first MMO that could legitimately take the top spot away from the long-running champ of MMO’s, World of Warcraft.” And haven’t we heard this one before? While the haters and WoW fanboys may disagree, there are actually some really good reasons why this might be true. The reviewer at Gaming Age takes some time to tell us their opinions….
This is Why SWTOR Matters
Ever gotten on a soapbox when it comes to talking about video games? You certainly wouldn’t be the first to do so. In fact, gamers are often so passionate about their video games that they find themselves on a soapbox quite often. Adam Harshberger of Pexielsordeath.com has a soapbox opportunity to tell us all why SWTOR matters. It seems everyone who has played the game has a strong opinion one way or another about it. For some, SWTOR is just another MMO attempting to rival WoW that will probably wither and wane just like so many others. To some, it doesn’t matter at all. However, to others SWTOR matters and here is a glimpse into why. Harshberger says: “But, regardless, Bioware has succeeded in igniting my brain in ways that only single player games have previously – and, to frank with ya’ll, I can’t stop playing it.” He says that…
SWTOR Beats WoW at its Own Game- Epic Battle of the MMORPGs
We have heard talk for years now of how BioWare just might have the first MMO to rival the infamous World of Warcraft. However, it would not be the first game to make attempts to take down the Blizzard giant in the MMORPG scene. There were skeptics and there were supporters but no one could say for sure if SWTOR would measure up to the level of WoW until it happened. Here were are just a few days past the official launch and SWTOR is breaking records right and left. It would appear now that they have also beaten WoW at their own game. Daily Mail reports on the stats: Hits 1 million subscribers faster than any rival, including World of Warcraft Gamers play for 5.5 million hours over Christmas Three billion enemies are killed Dark Side is narrowly ahead: 810,000 Jedi created, 850,000 Sith While WoW boasts the title…
SWTOR Shows MMO Market is Healthy, According to Analyst
If there was any doubt that the MMO market is at an all-time high, SWTOR just took measures to highlight this for all of the industry to see. Kris Graft from Gamasutra gives us the lowdown on how SWTOR points to a healthy MMO market right now. Baird Equity Research analyst Colin Sebastian said: “”We view the early success of Star Wars as an indication of a healthy MMO market. While there is likely some shifting of usage from Activision’s World of Warcraft, we see a viable market for multiple million-user MMOs in the U.S. and Europe.” The Gamasutra article goes on to explain why the analyst says this about SWTOR and what it might mean for the MMO industry/genre as a whole. While the MMO market does have a wild history of bug launches that failed miserably, it’s safe to say that gamers in general are willing to try…
BioWare’s Muzyka and Zeschuk defend subscription model of SWTOR
While no one actually asked them this time, the BioWare docs found reason to defend their subscription model once again, according to joystiq. In an interview with the BioWare figureheads, they spoke up with a defensive explanation of their subscription model for SWTOR, although the interviewer didn’t actually question them on it. Perhaps they are just so used to be grilled over the subject, it’s like a canned response to interviews. Nonetheless, it was pretty fun and their answers/explanation was interesting. “”You look at the online space in general and it’s fragmenting into all these different areas, but the core still works. The subscription model still works,” Zeschuk said. “”We know a lot of people say, ‘Oh, everything’s just going free-to-play.’ But that’s just one slice. There’s one slice that’s free-to-play, there’s one slice that’s social, there’s traditional subscription still going.” He goes on to talk about the differences between…
AMA on Reddit with Stephen Reid
Ask Me Anything! AMA on Reddit with Stephen Reid @Rockjaw today was really exciting, lots of fun and brought us some fun and interesting stuff. My only complaint is that many of the questions were regarding issues that have already been publicly discussed. I would have preferred to see more personal stories, insider info and insights into the game and the making of the game. Anyway, it’s still good info. If you missed it happening live, that’s a-ok because I caught it all and we’re here to give you the highlights. Reid started the event with a few caveats: I’m not in charge of any design decisions on the game – if you are looking to get something changed, ask nicely on the official Forums 🙂 I’m not aware of every single bug in the game, or the status of their resolution – although I am happy to hear about…
Ability Delay — Character Responsiveness Can Make or Break SWTOR
While every new game will have some bugs, there are bugs that are much more serious in game than others. Some, in fact, can be completely game breaking and this is frustrating for someone who enjoys the game but then gets caught by a bug like the ability delay that is slowing character responsiveness in SWTOR. A thread on the official forums breaks down this very important issue that could make or break SWTOR. The original poster explains the issue: “The “Character Responsiveness” for lack of a better term, is how “smooth” the game plays from your avatars perspective. I have played SWG and EQ to a lesser degree as well as Warhammer Online and several other MMOs and I must honestly say that Bioware has gotten this all too important aspect much better than any previous MMO that I have experienced (with the obvious exception, to which we will…
SWTOR “fastest in history” MMO to 1 million subscribers
Star Wars: The Old Republic “fastest in history” MMO to 1 million subscribers – or so says Geek.com. I am not surprised in the slightest to hear of these statistics. Even if I wasn’t a personal fan of the game, it’s easy to follow the history of the game to date and see the great popularity of it thus far. It has the makings of an incredible, stat-breaking game or a failure of epic proportions if it lets the gamers down. So far, it’s leaning towards the former. Sure there are gamers who just aren’t that impressed with SWTOR and that’s ok. To each his own, right? But still, there are millions who are into the game and appreciate it for what it is and what it might be. Can you believe that SWTOR has 1 million subscribers already? This makes it the fastest MMO to reach this feat. Geek.com…
SWTOR Damage Meters Coming Soon
Like to analyze your game stats? Want to keep track of how much damage you do? Trying to get your guild “raid-ready”? If you agree that SWTOR has been lacking in the stats area, then you will be happy to hear the news that Massively reports on upcoming changes and additions to SWTOR. Massively tells us: Players on the Star Wars: The Old Republic official forums have dug up a Fansite Summit Q&A session with the game’s lead combat designer Georg Zoeller in which he suggested that some new features will be coming to the game post-launch for those who want to ensure they’re getting the most out of their character builds. During the talk, Zoeller claimed that combat log parsing and other such performance analysis features were “very high on [BioWare’s] priority list.” This sounds really promising, especially to the type of MMO gamer who wants those stats and…
Remote Skillin’ from iPhone and iPad, Legit?
Want to level up your crew skills but you have to leave for work? Bummed that you’re missing SWTOR over the holidays while you do family stuff? While there are many great reasons to cherish and appreciate family time, it’s also normal to miss this hot new game while you’re away. There is no real surprise then that gamers would find a way to get the best of both worlds (or at least as close as possible). If you cannot play SWTOR while on the go, you might be able to log in remotely and do a few activities, such as leveling your crew skills. If you have an iPad or iPhone, you might be able find an app that allows you to check in and deploy your crew while you are not actively in the game enjoying it. You can level up your crew skills from anywhere you can…
Star Wars: the Old Republic Initial Statistics
Since the launch of SWTOR just a few days ago, the world has seen new standards being set in the MMO industry. It’s the fastest-growing subscription MMO in history, with more than one million registered players since launch and growing. Darren Centinello brings us a feature that discusses just how well SWTOR is doing post-launch based on a few stats and early numbers. It’s too early to say exactly what this will mean for the future of SWTOR and BioWare but it’s definitely a strong start to a popular game. Quick stats on SWTOR from VGRevolution: Logged 28 million in-game hours – roughly equivalent to watching all six Star Wars movies, two million times. Averaged well over five hours a day playing the game. Created more than 3.8 million characters; 510,000 Jedi Knights and 550,000 Sith Warriors. Killed more than 2 billion non-player characters in the eight days since Early…
Stephen Reid AMA – Wednesday, December 28th @ 2pm (CST)
Stephen Reid, the Community Manager for Star War: The Old Republic, known to many of you as @rockjaw, has agreed to do an AMA at /r/swtor – this is exciting news for anyone looking to gain more info about the game, BioWare and other game-related info. What are you doing this upcoming “hump day”? On Wednesday, December 28th at 2pm (CST), many gamers will still be off for holiday vacation and it’s a great time to get in a little more SWTOR action. As much as you can in between visiting or traveling that you might have planned, you can also learn more about SWTOR and the experience as a whole in a variety of ways. If you’ve ever wanted to ask Reid something specific, here’s your chance. The AMA will work somethng like a question and answer format. According to Reddit: “The format is simple: Ask Mr. Reid a…
Star Wars: The Old Republic TV Ad
If you haven’t caught it yet, there is a really fun and interesting SWTOR TV ad out for you to see. Maybe you hate watching TV, always skip the commercials or maybe it won’t be airing in your country. But don’t worry if you haven’t seen it yet because your friends online have your back. The ad is on YouTube and we are happy to bring it right here to you for your viewing pleasure. It’s a fun little video. I showed it to my mom who wants to play the game even more now and while it’s made up of snippets of other cutscenes, it’s still very well done. It will definitely grab the attention of anyone who has yet to play the game or even those few who have not heard of it yet (have they been living under a rock?) So check it out and tell us…
SWTOR Australia/New Zealand Official Launch Announced
On December 20, 2011 when SWTOR launched to Europe and the United States, big news hit Australia and New Zealand. SWTOR made an official announcement confirming the launch of the game to those regions in 2012. So if you are an Aussie who’s been waiting to hear if you will get SWTOR, the time has finally come. Here’s what Stephen Reid had to say on the official forums: “We can confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be launching in Australia and New Zealand in the spring of 2012. Right now we are targeting March 1st, but that could change as our number one priority is making sure that customers have a great service to play on. For those of you who may have already imported the game, we will be investigating solutions to allow you to continue to play on a local server once they come online in…
Star Wars’ universe is getting a lot bigger Says USA Today
For those people out there who have yet to hear about SWTOR, USA Today brought them the news this morning in a feature piece about the very popular MMORPG. According to their report by Mike Snider, “That disturbance in the Force is millions of voices crying out in delight as they join the battle of Jedi vs. Sith in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a huge new online game and universe.” While regulars to this site already know about SWTOR, it’s great to see a mainstream media source reporting on the game and its popularity on launch day. First, they tell us a little about BioWare: “The Edmonton, Alberta-based developers are hardly video-game padawans. BioWare’s recent role-playing successes include series such as the fantasy Dragon Age and the sci-fi saga Mass Effect. And the company has a history with the Star Wars universe, having developed 2003’s Knights of the Old…
Hands On with SWTOR: Natalie Shoemaker and PC Mag SWTOR Review
For five years we have waited for this game. We were not waiting alone. Natalie Shoemaker of PC Mag has been waiting as well and now that the big day has finally arrived, she’s sharing her hands on experience with the Internet world. She starts us off with an overview (for those who might still not know much about the game, yet): “The company has set lofty (read: expensive) goals for itself: A fully voiced game complete with cut scenes. BioWare also hasn’t left SWTOR without the company’s signature touch for creating involved storylines for each character class, as well as dialogue options and a moral choice system that affects certain outcomes of your game (though it’s currently uncertain how much in SWTOR).” She then tells us about some of the basics of SWTOR and what you can expect from the game. Again, basic info for those of us who…
Game Hunters USA Today brings us Interview with BioWare Doctors
SWTOR is big news these days and with the launch of Star Wars: The Old republic – we heard about it all from all directions. USA Today’s Game Hunters had a fantastic interview with BioWare doctors Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka about the game and its development. The article by Mike Snider would draw interest to even those who have not already bought the game. First, they talk a little about the undertaking and the development process for SWTOR. Then they tell us about how big of a project this is for BioWare, something that those of us who have been following the game for years definitely know already. Muzyka says “It is probably bigger in content than all prior BioWare games put together. The volume of content is going to give players a ton of different things to do and many different kinds of activities, too, so it’s really…
SWTOR as a Single Player Game
Are you the type of gamer who loves RPGs but typically skips the multiplayer aspects of MMOs? You might still like SWTOR. While I enjoy my fair share of multiplayer games, I also have a tendency to go solo quite often. I spent a good year or more of my 7-year history in World of Warcraft playing solo. I just got tired of everything else there was to do in the game and focused on speed-leveling characters, getting achievements, making money on the Auction House or whatever other random activities gave me enjoyment at the time. I leveled some characters outside of a guild and I didn’t talk to anyone- just ran through doing my own thing. I have discovered in my years as a gamer that other people like playing this way sometimes, too. One gamer wrote about it on Arstechnica.com in “Forever alone? Star Wars: The Old Republic…