If you’re ready to get your Star Wars fix in an electronic book format, then you are in luck! Random House and Lucasfilm recently released the news that all Star Wars books will now be released as e-books. There are currently 30 Star Wars titles available via e-book. However, beginning June 28, all 106 will be available for download. Now it will be easier than ever to keep your Star Wars reading collection in one place. You can enjoy them on the go on your favorite e-reader and of course, you can also store them on your personal computer. It’s never been so easy to ready- and enjoy doing it! The Star Wars series of books have been so popular that not a single one has gone out of print in the 30 years since the first one was published. The books have been published under the Bantam…
Author: Soeren Kamper
How Stuff Works: Blasters
Much of the following technical info is taken directly from Del Rey publisher’s “Essential Guide” series, and I highly recommend them to any fan looking for more. BlastersA blaster was a ranged weapon that fired bursts of particle beam energy called blaster bolts from a replaceable power cell. The most commonly used weapon in the galaxy, blasters’ intense beams consisting of compacted high-energy particles and intense light could kill or paralyze their target, depending on their setting. Blasters ranged from compact pistols, all the way up to large, heavy rifles and starship-mounted blaster cannons. The oldest known type of blaster was used by an ancient droid of an unknown model employed by the Rakatan Infinite Empire. This weapon was considered to be extremely up-to-date compared to the blasters of the year 3,956 BBY. Technical informationThe term blaster was often used interchangeably with the term laser in everyday conversation, both denoting…
The Guild Sphere: Raze
This week I sat down with the leadership from Raze, a Hardcore PvP that enjoy’s PvE, crafting and many many other aspects of the game, I hope you all enjoy the interview. Where did your guilds name come from? The name “Raze” originates from an old Vanguard pre-release Hardcore PvP guild. We were very involved in its community and loved what the guild stood for. But, unfortunately Vanguard crapped out, and the guild fell apart, aside from ourselves. So, when we finally figured, “hey what the heck, let’s make a Star Wars: The Old Republic guild”, Raze would be the perfect name, and we would pick up off the guild’s old values, with a few tweaks of course. The word Raze, if defined, means to tear down, which is kinda fitting for a hardcore guild, right? Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? Raze is…
SW:TOR Meet and Greet in Los Angeles during E3
David Bass, Senior Community Coordinator posts on the official forums about the “meet and greet” for SWTOR fans in LA: Hi everyone, Since E3 isn’t open to the public, we’re considering holding a meet and greet in Los Angeles during the expo so that fans who are in the LA area can meet up with us one night and chat with the developers. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to have the game playable at this meet and greet, but you’d get a chance to chat with those of us who’ll be at the show, and hear about some of the cool things that are happening inside E3. We’d like to get a better idea of the size of group we’re looking at for an event like this, though. If you’d be interested in coming downtown one night between June 6-9 to meet up with the SW:TOR team, let us know…
Danish Shops are starting to promote SWTOR
It pays to preorder SWTOR, at least if you order from certain Danish shops. This neat little find shows that many countries are already promoting pre-orders of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The sign says: “Order now – it pays off” “Double bonus points if you pre order” The Bonus points are a point system the shop has. You can trade the bonus points to discounts on games. (As if we needed more motivation to buy SWTOR!) Most video game stores and shops around the globe have similar deals and discounts in the works. There’s no word yet on whether or not BioWare will be offering special deals or discounts to Other gaming sites around the globe have had preorder deals up for as long back as 2010. play.com says : Star Wars: The Old Republic £29.99 Free Delivery Pre-order. | Due for release on 28 Oct 2011 (later changed…
Know your Lore: Noab Hulis
Noab Hulis was a Jedi Master prior to the Great Sith War. He was the father of Krynda Hulis, later known as Krynda Draay, and her two sisters, as well as the husband of a Human female. Noab Hulis was first mentioned in the Tales of the Jedi Companion, published in 1996 and written by George R. Strayton. Twelve years later, the character made his first appearance, in flashbacks of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series issue Vindication, Part 2. He was also rendered for the first time, by Bong Dazo. In the issue, Hulis is shown to cover his useless Miralukan eyes, whereas in the Tales of the Jedi Companion, he is said to leave them exposed. Biography Noab Hulis was a male Miraluka who served the Jedi Order. In time, he sired two daughters, both of whom entered the Jedi Order, and then a…
IGN editors flashpoint recap
If you’re wondering what the flashpoints are going to be like in SW:TOR, two IGN editors set out to give us a recap. As we know, all great MMOs need group content and flashpoints are one way that SWTOR will bring that to the players. There have been a few early impressions about the flashpoints already but no one can tell exactly what these instances will be like until they have tried them for themselves. Two IGN editors give us an honest, inside look at the world of Flashpoints that’s fun to read and revealing at the same time. IGN Editors Dana Jongewaard and Nick Kolan spend some time in the first Imperial player Flashpoint encounter and they write about it in a 1200-word article on their site. Here are some highlights: Nick: The first thing that sticks out to me is how the flashpoint began. We’re in this big…
SWTOR Beta Sneak peek
A long sneak peek from the beta has just been published. A lot of the video is normal questing with some strange breaks where the player stands still for awhile and you see in the chat box that the Ambiance is turning On and Off multiple times. Animations and graphics look great. Running (which if I remember was previously reported to be clunky?) looks good and the combat is smooth. Some polish needed for some of the quest conversations. Animations and set pieces don’t line up sometimes and it defiantly breaks the immersion. I assume this will be addressed and corrected so don’t hold it against BW.
Sith Inquisitor Class Details Released
Yesterdays update to the Star Wars: The Old Republic site is the full reveal of the Sith Inquisitor class. Sith are not shy about their conquest for power and few pursue that goal as aggressively as the Sith Inquisitor. In this week’s update from BioWare, the Sith Inquisitor shows the limitless power that the Force can offer to those who aggressively pursue it. Check out this week’s new video and update to learn more about the Sith Inquisitor, their ships and the sleeping monster and devourer of Jedi known as Khem Val. Inquisitors, the dark geniuses of the Empire, are masters of treachery and dark Force power. Feared as much on the battlefield as they are by prisoners and political enemies, they will stop at nothing to earn themselves more power. The paths to power are many, though. Is your Inquisitor an Assassin, striking down enemies from the shadows with…
New Facebook Image
BioWare reached an incredible milestone today, as the facebook page for Star Wars: The old Republic reached 300.000 likes. This is very impressing since the game is not even out yet. To celebrate and to show their appreciation, BioWare have posted a new screenshot of a Sith Assassin preparing himself for a fight by readying his double-bladed Lightsaber.
The Guild Sphere: A quick overview
Today on The Guild Sphere, I thought it would be great to do a small over view of all of the guilds we have featured so far. And after putting everything together began to notice we have featured a rather large range of guilds, from PvP-centric Sith, to RP Republic, and I would like to take the time to thank them all again for taking the time to answer my questions. The Republic Knights who say ni The Knights Who Say Ni has been around for a 4 years now; KWSNi is a multi-game guild which includes plenty of experienced gamers. We’re on a mission to recruit new members and play The Old Republic with style. Browncoats “Tell you, we get a mechanic, get her up and runnin’ again, hire a good pilot, maybe a cook. Live like real people. Small crew, them as feel the need to be free,…
The Next 12 Months is Super Important to EA
The next 12 months will prove to be very important to Electronic Arts (EA). While they had many things to be happy about in their recent company earnings call, they will also be held accountable over the next year to many predictions and investments. Gamasutra reports that the next 12 months could make or break EA. There are a lot of things working in the favor of EA but it’s too soon to start celebrating victories. While their revenues and earnings per share were higher than expected, and they reported a shift to a more aggressive stance at several fronts, there is still room for things to go wrong over the next fiscal year. CEO John Riccitiello said, “We’re shifting to offense and running plays no other company can,” which is a big promise they have to hope they can hold up to. They are going in…
New Comic – Star Wars: The Old Republic The Lost Suns
Dark Horse Comics has a new Star Wars: The Old Republic comic, The Lost Suns, coming out June 8, 2011. Alexander Freed plugged it on the SWTOR forums recently: (If you’re curious, you can get a peak inside the SIS in the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns comic, which features a Republic spy as its lead. The SIS isn’t the focus of the story, but it has a role to play. Here ends my plug. ) Alexander Freed, senior writer of SWTOR, is the comic writer as well so we can expect good things from The Lost Sons. Dark Horse says the story, ““…intertwines with the narrative of the game, revealing secrets players will find nowhere else.” That’s exciting news for SWTOR fans and just Star Wars fans in general. Freed explains in his forum posts about the Strategic Information Service (SIS): In SWTOR, the…
The Guild Sphere: It’s A Trap
This week I sat down with another Sith guild, It’s A Trap, a PvE focused guild with some added PvP for some extra fun. Where did your guilds name come from? My love of Admiral Ackbar Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? We are a casual but progressive guild who hope to have fun and enjoy all the Star Wars Universe has to offer. How did your guild come about? Formed it as soon as we could to start recruiting What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP? PvE, some PvP if there is interest. What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild? We have a few officers, and a very strict no drama policy How serious do you play and/or run the guild? Casual, but plan to spend a lot of time in-game Do you…
Know Your Lore: Tott Doneeta
Tott Doneeta, also known as Tottdon’eeta, was a Twi’lek Jedi Knight who was an apprentice to Master Arca Jeth, together with his Jedi brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, on Arkania. He assisted in ending the crisis on Iziz and fought in the Great Sith War. He was a competent pilot, and learned to fly one of the Beast Rider’s war beasts. Doneeta was present at both the Jedi Convocation on Exis Station and the Convocation at Mount Meru. Tott Doneeta was also present when his Jedi brother Ulic fell to the Dark Side, and the subsequent action of Nomi Sunrider’s robbing Ulic of the Force. Later, he saved Vima Sunrider by grappling onto her escape pod as it drifted towards a star, due to his delayed arrival at the latter Convocation. Later in life, he attempted to help Cathar Jedi Sylvar free herself from her anger; however, he realized he…
SWTOUR PvP Impressions
The SWTOUR PvP news broke yesterday and there are so many great, exciting stories that it’s hard to know where to begin. Here’s a recap of the top breaking stories that came out today about the PvP experience from SWTOUR. Mos Eisley Radio New article posted by Evan Lewis on the site. He discusses his PvP experience while at SWTOUR. Evan says himself, “As I have stated many times over, I am NOT a PvP kinda guy. At least, I wasn’t.” His write-up gives a good comparison of PvP in World of Warcraft and SW:TOR. He goes on to say: “Now, while I can’t comment on the world-PvP aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic, I can certainly say that the organized PvP portions, the Warzones, are such an improvement over what has been featured in previous games that I am now a PvP fan.” MMORPG.com Star Wars: The Old…
Free comic book day is coming
Free Comic Book Day is a single day that happens each year on the first Saturday of May. On this day, participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores! How cool is that! You should check with your local comic book shop for their participation and rules. Free Comic Book Day in L.A. with have Geoff Johns, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola, Steve Niles signings The Core in Cedar Falls is celebrating their 10th year of the event. Owner Mike Blanchard will donate $400 worth of graphic novels to the school best represented at his shop Saturday. The Bay City Times -On free comic day, Cashman’s Comics will have 100 Green Lantern HeroClix game pieces to give away. What is your area comic book store doing? There’s also a Free Comic Book Day app available…
How Much Storyline will SWTOR Have?
Here’s an interesting topic for SWTOR fans, especially those who also played KOTOR. Daniel Erickson speaks out on the forums about the length of the chapters for the classes of SWTOR. This was mentioned briefly in the interviews from the fan site summit and left many of us confused about what it actually meant. First, you have to understand what BioWare mean when they talk about “length” of the game, as this can be defined in different ways. Erickson says, “The whole critical path of the game is the length. The walking, the combat, the travel on your ship, world quests, everything you’d have to do to come out the other end the right level. When we say the story of Chapter 1 is X long we do not mean if you somehow took all the conversations and ran them together.” He goes on to clarify: “So all the content…
SWTOR Beta testing to hit Europe
According to a report by fansite, ToRWars.com, SWTOR beta testing will soon be on its way to Europe. They report getting an email with the headline: “Prepare for European game testing!” Well, that’s about as simple as it gets, right? The email goes on to clarify: Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will soon begin a new round of game testing in Europe. Want to be a part of BioWare’s most anticipated game ever? Sign up at swtor.com/tester. So there you go. If you’re reading this from Europe, it’s time to go sign up for the beta. Remember that you need to be 18 years of age and you have to accept the Game Testing agreement. You also have to complete the Game Testing registration process. If you haven’t yet signed up for beta testing and you live in Europe, now would be a good time to do so. No word…
Electronic Arts Q4 Earnings Live Blog
Electronic Arts Q4 Earnings Live Blog. At 2:00PM PDT (5:00PM EDT) today, Electronics Arts gave their quarterly call for investors to report results. I joined the call as a member of the media and got the inside scoop on what’s happening with EA. There was a lot of great info in this call so I’m bringing you the highlights right here. First, they reaffirmed that Star Wars: The Old Republic will ship in CY 2011. Additionally: Star Wars: The Old Republic will be launched as a Digital Service. Subscription revenue expected to rise with the launch of SWTOR. SWTOR was mentioned as a Subscription based MMO Over 1 million testers (signed up) Server infrastructure for Star Wars: The Old Republic is a significant FY12 cost investment. There was also an interesting Q&A involving SWTOR: Question: On the beta test for SWTOR, how long can a test like that last before…
The Guild Sphere: The Dark
This week I sat down with the largest guild in all of ToR, The Dark, a great bunch of Sith PvE’ers, that even though they are so big, is still closely knit. Where did your guilds name come from? We wanted to keep it simple and after many ideas we realized most of them included “dark” so we just stuck with that. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? Were a Sith guild that basically just wants to have fun and enjoy the games story. Were PVE and endgame Raiding focuesed but were also very diverse. How did your guild come about? Our leader started the guild with him and one of his friends started the guild by themselves and within 1 day had 60 people with no recruiting! After a week the guild had 200 members, so basically by freak occurrence. What kind of…
SWTOUR Roundup part 1 –
Now that the embargo is lifted on the Austin Fan Site Summit, people are talking and fans are anxiously awaiting all of the exciting news to come of the event. There is so much information out already that it can be difficult to make sense of it all. Unless you have hours to pour over it all (like me) then here are some recaps of the top, must-see info in our very own SWTOUR Roundup: Audio: Blaine Christine and Daniel Erickson via youtube, via darthhater.com Right from the start, this audio covers one question we all have which is what they are doing to prepare for the expected huge launch of the game and to prevent servers from crashing/experiencing downtime during this much-anticipated launch. Next they speak about Datachrons and the reward involved as well as other concepts of the Datahrons and the mini games and space content that will…
SWTOR Art by Diana Mezzina
In this weeks fan art spotlight we take a look at French artist Daennika or Diana Mezzina wich is her real name. Daennika art style is much more cheerful then last weeks art by StandAlone-Complex and has been quite popular on the official forums, were she has been drawing members ideas to female characters. Daennika also does Sci-fi writing and have so far done 5 short stories over at fanfiction.net. You cen check out ms. Mezzinas website here, and her deviantart profile here. And if you wanner check out her writing, do so here Sith Inquisitor Mirialan engineer/Bounty Hunter. Let the Sith win Young Zabrak Jedi Dar Kyram Tara-Willow’s Seren No Escape
Pitchblack Games seeking testers for new HeroEngine MMO
I love to beta games. It’s been a hobby of mine since I was a young girl. As soon as I had my own gaming PC, I signed up for each and every beta I could get and I have found myself accepted to a great number of them. So when I heard that Pitchblack Games was seeking testers for a new HeroEngine MMO, I was intrigued. There’s really not a lot of information about the game yet, which as of now, has no title, but it seems like it’s really in the alpha-alpha stages of development and far from what you would call a beta test. Other than the potential Sci-Fi theme, it could be anything. They’re calling it an MMORPG and not an MMOFPS but that’s about all the hint we get as this stage in the game. So if you’re looking to get in on the ground…