Author: Soeren Kamper

Pax east 2011: Taral V Developer Walkthrough

BioWare continued its presentation of Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) at PAX East 2011 today with the release the Taral V Developer Walkthrough video. Taral V is a mid-level Flashpoint aimed at a four player group. The video offers a look at the gameplay and story of the Flashpoint from the view of several different classes and narrated by SWTOR’s Director of Production Dallas Dickinson. If you’re curious to know how these Flashpoints will play out and see some new SWTOR gameplay,

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EA/BioWare can Revoke Your Gaming and DLC Licenses for Forum Conduct Violations

Yesterday a post appeared on the official BioWare forums containing a complaint from a gamer who says he was unable to play his recently purchased copy of the Signature Edition of Dragon Age II (from the EA Store) because his main forum account (which is tied to his EA account) was suspended for 72 hours: So. My other account got suspended yesterday for 72 hours. My suspended v_ware account has all my Bioware games registered to it. My other games are Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening. I have played every game off Bioware since KOTOR, which is my favourite game of all time. Since I have these other games and off course have played the DA2 demo, my previously unlocked DA2 content is assigned to this account. When I got the mail I was curieus. I wanted to know what I did that was offensive. The mail…

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Star Wars Vinyl Wall Decals

I don’t think the pictures are doing justice to these decals. All of these would be awesome in the right setting – like the Stormtrooper in a white bathroom. I do miss an AT-AT though. If I was to put these on my wall, id place them a little lower to the ground. just floating there looks…. off. Chewbacca might also be good  for scaring off burglars. 4’1”W x 6’5”H Darth Vader vinyl wall decal. 4’2”W x 4’2”H Death Star vinyl wall decal. 2’1”W x 6’H Stormtrooper vinyl wall decal. 6’4”W x 3’5”H Millennium Falcon vinyl wall decal. 2’4” x 6’4”H Boba Fett vinyl wall decal. 4’7”W x 6’6”H Luke Skywalker vinyl wall decal. 6’1”W x 5’9”H Darth Maul vinyl wall decal. 3’9”W x 2’2”H Yoda vinyl wall decal. 4’W x 6’5”H Han Solo vinyl wall decal. 2’1”W x 5’6”H C-3PO vinyl wall decal. 2’1”W x 3’2”H R2-D2 vinyl wall…

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BioWare panel appearances at PaxEast

BioWare Senior Community Coordinator Stephen Read posted an update regarding Bioware staff appearances at PaxEast earlier today. In this he stresses that there will be no panels or events dedicated to Star Wars: The Old Republic at PAX East, but several BioWare employees will be taking part in some more broad panels: Hello from Boston! With PAX East 2011 just a day away – well, give or take about eight hours, given my late post – I’m very pleased to tell you about a few guest appearances BioWare staff members will be making on various panels over the weekend. Please note, these are not official panels for Star Wars: The Old Republic. They are panels on various subjects that we were asked to provide speakers for. If you attend any of these panels, there is no guarantee that The Old Republic will even be spoken of… well alright, it’s pretty…

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The jedi depicted in the Hope trailer finally confirmed as Satele Shan.

Many people have speculated about who the girl fighting Darh Malgus in last years hope trailer is. Yesterday Alexander Freed from BioWare confirmed that the girl was no other then Satele Shan: There’s been a lot of (understandable) confusion about Satele Shan, so I figured I’d clarify a few points: First, yes–Satele Shan is the Jedi depicted in the Hope trailer. When Satele originally appeared in the Threat of Peace comics, her appearance wasn’t yet final in-game. Ultimately, we’ve gone in a different visual direction for the character, and you’ll be seeing more consistent portrayals in the future. (One of the perils of releasing information–even seemingly innocuous information–so early!) Second, regarding Satele’s age and experience–at the Battle of Alderaan, Satele is a fully trained Jedi Knight. By the time Threat of Peace rolls around, she’s had significant real-world experience and trained under several Jedi Masters, Dar’Nala included; she’s a candidate…

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The Lost Suns official Darkhorse press release.

Yesterday Dark Horse Comics posted a press release regarding the upcoming comic Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns, a new five issue miniseries that ties directly into the new MMORPG video game from BioWare. DARK HORSE CONTINUES ITS STAR WARS®: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ SERIES WITH NEW MINISERIES THE LOST SUNS03/09/2011 11:20amMARCH 9, 2011, Milwaukie, OR—Dark Horse Comics, in collaboration with LucasArts and BioWare, is proud to announce a new chapter in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the comic series that acts as an invaluable companion to the upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game of the same name. Featuring a story by BioWare’s senior creative writer, Alexander Freed, that runs concurrent to the game’s plot, The Lost Suns comes straight to you with new twists, a new mission, and a new hero!“The Lost Suns is our chance to craft an Old Republic story we could never tell in a video game,” Freed…

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Delayed into 2012?

The folks over at 1-up.com posted an article predicting that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be delayed. 1-up.com predicts that we have to wait another year to play the game, and belive the game will out in 2012. This is of course purely speculation, and not confirmed by BioWare, so don’t start a riot yet folks. Check out the full text about SWTOR below, and read the full article here BioWare isn’t known for its delays. On the other hand, MMORPGs are hard to nail down as the genre constantly evolves, and most avoid launching in the crowded holiday release season. DC Universe Online opted to release in the relatively quiet month of January. Only World of Warcraft: Cataclysm had the clout last year to hit in December. What we’ve seen so far has been promising, but the license and development costs make this a pricey proposition. If the…

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Healing in SWTOR – What do we know?

A lot of people wants to know about the healing system in SWTOR. Will Star Wars: The Old Republic use a trinity system; the tank, healer, and the DPS class. Will the healer play a massive role, or will groups be able to go with no healing? So far Dallas Dickinson and Georg Zoeller hasn’t always agreed on how many healers their will be, and how healing works. Now the great people over at TorWars puplished a excellent article about what we know on Healing so far. A great read I encourage you to check out. Here is a snip: At this point, BioWare has made it clear that every class will have a sort of ‘second wind’ ability to add some healing and lower downtime. The devs have made it abundantly clear they want to avoid as much downtime as possible. This is a great thing. No one likes…

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Pre-Launch Guild Program

We may not have a launch date for Star Wars: The old Republic yet, but many fans are alrady their guild relations. Guild sites have been popping up all over the place, and many big guilds from other MMORPG’s have launched SWTOR sections. To help out non established guilds, BioWare have now unveiled the Pre-Launch Guild Program, that allows players to reserve guild names and establish or join a group with similar interests. As long as your guild meets certain criteria, it will be imported directly into the game at launch. In addition, every guild will get its own mini-site on the official SW:TOR site, complete with guild information, recruitment status and forums. This is a system I have I have missed in many other games and great development in this type of games if you ask me. Its all a simple process, all you have to do is head…

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Damion Schubert On Designing For Loners

Jef Reahard from Massively have made a very detailed writeup of Damion Schubert‘s recent talk at GDC 2011, entitled “The Loner: Why Some People Play MMOs Alone:” One of the seeming paradoxes of MMO design is that there is a large contingent of players who would prefer to play these games alone. Gamers who want to play this way are often derided by other players and sometimes even designers for their playstyle, but it isn’t as odd or exotic as it seems. This talk discusses the rationale for this playstyle, the necessity to cater to this playstyle from a business point of view, and the design intricacies of providing solo play without invalidating the ‘massive’ parts of your game design. Jef Reahard has made a great rundown of Damion Schubert’s points in his speach, and extracts some interesting quotes from the talk as well: Schubert states that MMOs feature “hardcore…

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USA Today chats with the BioWare Doctors

USA Today has an interesting Q and A with the two founders of BioWare; Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. The interviews surrounds subjects like their recent induction into the AIAS Hall of Fame, how they ended up developing games, and personal stuff. Check out a snip below, and read the full Q & A here. Q: Ray, I know you are an avid poker player. What do you find that has in common with game development? A: There is a lot of nuance to it. It is fun to just sit at the table and talk to other folks. There is a story being told through what you represent with your bets and what you say and what other people say and how you interpret that. There’s a lot of math and statistics, so understanding that is an entry point, a requirement to be successful. It’s sort of a microcosm…

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How Stuff Works: Vibroblade

Vibroblades are the galaxy’s main cutting weapon of choice. Though they come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from knives to longer swords, vibroblades are all equipped with a compact ultrasonic generator in the hilt. This causes the blade to vibrate at enormous speeds, thus giving the weapon its name. Because of this ultrasonic vibration, even the slightest glancing blow become a gaping wound. It could be fitted with cortosis weave, allowing it to parry the blows of lightsabers and energy swords. As it is quieter than a blaster, the vibroblade is popular among assassins, but it can also be easily carried as a secondary weapon for close-range fighting. In the past these weapons were often minted containing a weave of the rare material cortosis, which allowed blade to parry even lightsaber strikes, a property that made the vibroblade a weapon of choice among Sith assassins. However, this practice…

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Know your Lore: Kavar

Kavar was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi High Council during the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War. He was also close friends with the Jedi Exile, who learned under him as an informal Padawan prior to the Mandalorian Wars. From conversations between Kavar and the Jedi Exile, it is known that she received some degree of training under the Jedi Master; however, Kavar specifically states that she was not his Padawan. If the player has set the Exile to the dark side, they will side with General Vaklu. The Exile will then battle against Kavar, who will be surprised to see his former friend fallen so far. As a result, the player is forced to kill Kavar, resulting in his absence on Dantooine. Should the Exile support Talia, there is still a chance to kill Kavar in the Enclave if the Exile killed either of the other…

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3D Version of ‘Star Wars’ Gets a Release Date

Finally, fans can see Jar Jar Binks in glorious three dimensions. “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” has an official 3D theatrical release date. The first part in the space saga will hit theaters on Feb. 10, 2012, according to a Lucasfilm-operated site. Lucasfilm plans to release all six films in the series in 3D, with one coming out each year. The hope is to reintroduce the franchise to young audiences who have only seen “Star Wars” on TV and DVD. This isn’t the first time Lucas has revisited the original trilogy. In 1997, the director spent over $10 million up revising the movies he shot in the 1970s and 80s and inserting scenes and characters that exploited CGI technology. He also inserted new digital alien creations and inserted scenes — alterations that drew the ire of fans. The conversion to 3D was supervised by Industrial Light & Magic.

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