A few days ago we reported about the new advanced class details that was given to us during Gamescom. Although alot of detail was still vague, the official SWTOR website has now updated us with the latest. The main goal of the Advanced Class System is to allow you to customize your character according to your play style. So far, we’ve announced the Advanced Classes for the Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight. Today we’re letting you in on the names and specializations of the remaining Advanced Classes! Please be aware that since the specific class details are still under development, the information provided below may be subject to change. We’ll, be updating the class pages with more information in the months to come, so be sure to check back for our future Friday updates. Trooper Commando Heavy Blaster Cannon Grenades Ranged DPS Vanguard Blaster Rifle Energy Shields and Defense Tank…
Author: Soeren Kamper
Star Wars Rarities: John Williams Conducts for ‘Star Wars’ Ballet
When it comes to things that don’t seem to go together, Star Wars and ballet would be pretty high up on my list. Sure, Lightsaber duels have a certain choreography to them, but full on ballet? That’s what viewers are treated to in this old clip featuring performers Galina and Valeri Panov dancing an elaborate tribute to Star Wars accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra — conducted by none other than John Williams. I’m not sure when this event happened, exactly, but you know it was in the distant past because once the segment ends they toss it to George Burns. I’m no expert on ballet, but this was impressive. And while I still don’t really see the connection between the adventures of Luke Skywalker and this performance (they’re not even dressed like Star Wars characters), you do have to admire the athleticism on display.
Star Wars: The old republic GAMESCOM Day 2
The German gaming site – gamestar.de managed to film some decent footage of The Old Republic. Below is a Google translated snip from the article plus the movie: In Cologne on the gamescom there is Bioware’s highly anticipated online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic to Preview. Michael Graf has looked at the demo, and played in the video with a Trooper – even if he had to create for themselves a real Storm Trooper. Michael’s impressions and the video with the scenes, see below or in our gamescom area..
Star Wars: The old republic GAMESCOM Day 1
Today is press day at Gamescom 2010 and tons of new information have been reviled. Darth Hater reports the names of all the advanced classes were revealed and they are: Republic: Jedi Consular – Shadow (double-bladed lightsaber) and Wizard (healing / single lightsaber) Trooper – Commando and Vanguard Sith: Imperial Agent – Operative and Sniper Sith Inquisitor – Sorcerer and Assassin Bounty Hunter – Powertech and Mercenary The German Fan Site (they have an English translation button) swtor-station.com had a good 15 min. of playtime today, were they gathered heaps of information. Amongst a detailed list of stuff, they confirmed that the Zabrak trooper was seen as a playable race. Here is a list of what they gathered: 36 people can play at the booth at the same time. The Jedi classes are not playable yet, but the remaining six classes are. Character creation could not be seen, there are…
Space Combat trailer!
If you are curious about Star Wars: The Old Republic’s space combat (let’s face it, who isn’t?), BioWare has posted a space combat trailer that will feed your need! Just as expected from the information that has been floating around the net, space combat does appear to be fast paced mission scenarios meant to give players a taste of something a little different than typical ground combat. While SWTOR won’t be releasing with the option to explore space in any sort of open format, BioWare has stated some possibility of future space gameplay. Check out the SWTOR space combat trailer and let us know what you think! Will you be hunting down these missions in game to get your chance to pew pew your way through space? Share your thoughts below.
Star Wars Celebration V: Fans in Costume
(MTV’s Liz Lee smooches a lucky Gamorrean Guard guard) words: Bonnie Burton photos: Bonnie Burton & Jenny Elwick It wouldn’t be Star Wars Celebration without seeing a Gamorrean Guard guard wandering through the crowds or a tiny Jawa waiting in line for nachos. The beginning of Star Wars Celebration already seems like giant photo op with all our favorite characters. Here’s a roundup of some of the coolest costumes we’ve already seen in Orlando. The cutest Jedi you’ll see all day. In a parallel galaxy, Darth Vader fears these two. Bossk would like a word with you! Han Solo, Chewbacca and Slave Leia = 3 x the cool! A clone trooper rainbow! Utini! Thirst first. Empire second. Look out behind you, Yoda! A Whole Lotta Hans! Darth Maul takes romance very seriously! Indiana Jones strikes a pose by the ATMs.
Celebration V: The Old Republic Panel Report
The following is a report from the The Old Republic panel from Star Wars Celebration V. Information was reported by EUCantina staff from the panel, via Twitter or email. Be ready for more updates as the week continues! The Old Republic panel starting. David Collins ask Jedi fans to cheer, followed by Sith. Sith dominate the audience. Hope trailer being shown today. Concept art being created as panel runs. Concept art drawn by TOR artist as panel continues. RT- avgoins- “You will be playing as the best smuggler who has ever lived. Han Solo would just shake his head and retire” – Drew K. RT- avgoins- Smuggler will have a special move called The Dirty Kick. “Use your imagination.” A lot of “we can’t discuss that yet” as the answers to audience questions at the TOR panel. There are a lot of species exclusive to classes. Some species do overlap. Final…
New Droid Companion! Meet T7-01
Meet T7-01, the companion droid you interact with if you choose to be a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Old Republic. He’s kind of like R2D2, but he’s got a ‘tude. His memory banks haven’t been erased in over 200 years and 3 previous high profile masters, so he pretty much thinks he knows the universe. He’s got a fierce independent streak and a candid personality, and will put himself in danger if he can save his more fragile organic allies. T7-01 was created as a repair and pilot droid, but his extensive experience have given him abilities that he can use in combat. The little guy can take care of himself, he survived the destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for The Force’s sake.
While we wait for the old republic: Return of the Jedi deleted scene
Here it is Fanboys and Fangirls, the Return of the Jedi deleted scene to be included on new Blu-Ray release. The scene shows Luke Skywalker building his Return of the Jedi lightsaber. It gave me goosebumps, and I hope it gives you some too! Oh… and by the way: “RT @starwars: Lucas reveals that the six movie Star Wars saga box set is coming out on Blu-Ray in 2011. Will feature deleted scenes. “ Awesome news! Spread the word!
BioWare’s Daniel Erickson Talks on Star Wars History
Creating a MMOG for a franchise such as Star Wars is likely to be quite the balancing act. For the writers of Star Wars: The Old Republic, they must draw their knowledge and inspiration from so many sources and you can be certain that if a mistake is made, one of the many SW fans will find it! So where does a SWTOR writer get their inspiration? Techland.com interviewed BioWare’s Daniel Erickson, the Writing Director of SWTOR to learn more about his Star Wars background and what it’s like to write for a game with such a rich storyline. Writing for Star Wars is always a delicate piece of surgery. We must carefully carve out the archetypes, rhythms and overlaying themes of the movies and then place them in a completely new body of work. Players want to feel what it’s like to live as Han Solo did but they…
SWTOR Updates Vital Info on the Jedi Knight
Confirming what you may have already heard on the Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Jedi Knight, BioWare has finally updated the holonet to include specialization and companion information for this deeply iconic class. The Jedi will be able to choose between the heavily armored tank-like specialization aptly name the Guardian or the more limber and offensive specialization of the Sentinel. To assist you on your journey through the brutal worlds in the Star Wars universe, you can choose a T7-01 droid to accompany you. With centuries since its last memory wipe, this droid would be a valuable asset of knowledge! You can learn more about the Jedi Knight, their specializations and known associates by checking out the freshly updated holonet on the official SWTOR website. A symbol of hope in dark times, the Jedi Knight stands for the legacy of the Jedi Order—more than twenty-thousand years of protecting the Republic…
May the schwartz be with you: Grand Moff Tarkin and Count Dooku (pic)
Pre expanded universe mash up, but Check out the 1958 Hammer version of “Dracula” to see Cushing as Van Hellsing and Lee as Dracula. Or check out the Hammer film “The Curse of Frankenstein” to see Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Lee as Frankenstein’s monster. OR check out the Hammer film “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” to see Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and David Prowse (aka Darth Vader) as Frankenstein’s monster. They appeared together in many films, mostly by Hammer.
May the schwartz be with you: Vaderex
We have to be honest … the first time we heard about “midichlorians” they sounded like a sexually transmitted disease. Of course, you need a pill for that.
Space Combat Details
It seems that the German magazine PC Action has been released with details on the space combat in The Old Republic. And to say that the official forums have exploded over it is probably an understatement. The gist of it is that it seems that space combat in The Old Republic isn’t the X-Wing, Tie Fighter or even the Jump to Lightspeed type gameplay that everyone was hoping for, but rather more of an on-rails shooter meant for the more casual gamer. SWTOR-Station has the (translated, you might have to click the English flag first) details both on Space Combat as well as some further class details (nothing shocking there though). Here are the space combat details from SWTOR-Station: Sprace Combat reminds of Rebel Assault We call this gameplay “tunnel shooter”. That means there are especially designed levels which make you follow a certain path. The player has a range…
Timeline trailer 9: The Mandalorian Wars
Star Wars: The old republic Timeline trailer 9: The Mandalorian Wars, has just been released. Since the last timeline told us about Revan and Malak and the events of Knights of the Old Republic, we are now presented the bloody wars, which were responsible for KotOR events: the Mandalorian Wars. In this timeline Bioware basically made everything that happened in Kotor 2 Vapor-Ware and made their own story canon. So Exile didnt really do anything with Malachor V, it was all Revan. Carth Onasi Also get a mention in this timeline trailer though. The Mandalorian Wars included some of the bloodiest battles in the Republic’s history. Mandalore the Ultimate’s relentless campaign to goad the Jedi into open conflict cost the lives of millions. Though the entrance of a Jedi splinter faction into the war is perceived as the factor that turned the tide against the Mandalorians, the perseverance of Republic…
Jedi and Sith Species Announced for Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Star Wars: The Old Republic website has announced that all classes in the upcoming MMO will include different alien species to play as. Aside from Chiss, Rattataki, and Twil’lek, fans haven’t heard a lot about the playable races in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now Players can look forward to becoming a Sith Pureblood, a Miraluka, a Mirialan, or a Zabrak. So far we’ve only dropped hints about the range of playable species in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. You may have heard about the Rattataki Bounty Hunter, Chiss Imperial Agent, or the Twi’lek Smuggler, but we can tell you now that all classes will include optional non-human species. Sith Purebloods are “the red-skinned descendants of such notorious Sith Lords as Naga Sadow and Marka Ragnos.” SW:TOR is the first video game allowing players to choose the original Sith as a playable race. Sith Purebloods originated on Korriban and later settled on Ziost and…
George Lucas joins other billonares in “Giving Pledge”
George Lucas is among the billionaires making a public pledge to give away at least half their wealth to charity. In a letter posted on The Giving Pledge website, Lucas writes: My pledge is to the process; as long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages. I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future – and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt – as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so. The “Giving Pledge,” spearheaded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, is…
E3 Interview with Greg Zeschuk
The Danish Gaming site Pixel.tv ( or TV station as it actually is) released an interview with Biowares co founder Greg Zeschuk about Star Wars: The old Republic. We’re probably about at the tail end of E3 now. There might be a few more things (like perhaps some awards) after this, but I’m not expecting much more.
How stuff works: Teräs Käsi
Teräs Käsi, or “steel hand” in Basic, was an unarmed combat discipline. It was created sometime prior to 3,678 BBY on the planet Bunduki by the Followers of Palawa, refugees of the planet Palawa, which was devastated earlier in a war somehow involving the Jedi Council. The Followers of Palawa created Teräs Käsi solely to defeat Jedi, and presumably, ensure that another world would never be destroyed by the actions of the Council. The Followers of Palawa studied The Force and Midi-chlorians, even though they themselves where not necessarily force sensitive. Teräs Käsi, enabled a user to develop extreme speed, and an aptitude for anticipating strikes, most notably shown by clone assassins. In addition to this, Teräs Käsi taught non force sensitives how to close their minds to Jedi and Sith, thus protecting themselves from mental based attacks. Teräs Käsi also had a developed set of fighting skills, and Nine…
Star Wars: The Old Republic nears completion
BBC has an interesting interview with Greg Zeschuk from Bioware. We don’t get an exact release date, but it seems like spring 2011 is still the goal. The interview mostly made for people that are new to the MMORPG scene, but it is till an interesting read. The massive multiplayer online role-play game (MMORPG) Star Wars: The Old Republic is nearing completion. While the Canadian developer BioWare would not be drawn on an exact date, it said that spring 2011 “was not unrealistic””. “”It’s getting closer, it’s coming down the pipe,” the firm’s founder Greg Zeschuk told BBC News. At present the MMORPG market is dominated by World of Warcraft, which boasts more than 10m players. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set 4,000 years before the events in the movies, which gave the developers almost a free hand in creating a unique persistent Star Wars universe. “The only requirement…
While we wait for The Old Republic: Spaceballs
Spaceballs is a 1987 American science fiction parody film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks. It was released on June 24, 1987, and earned only modest returns, but has gone on to become a seminal cult classic on video and probably Mel Brooks’ most popular film. Its plot and characters contain numerous parodies of elements primarily from the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as Star Trek and other popular science fiction films, like Alien. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 62% of critics gave positive reviews based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 6.2/10. At another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 46%, based on 14 reviews. Many critics agreed that, while it was funny, doing a Star Wars parody ten years after the…
Comic-Con 2010 Recap: Best Star Wars Costumes
It seems you can’t go five steps without running into a stormtrooper at San Diego Comic-Con, and that’s fine by us. While Comic-Con has it’s share of the always-impressive fans in the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion, as well as the ever-stunning Slave Leias, we also wanted to feature our favorite Star Wars costumes that made us smile. May the Force Be With Your Cosplay. Utini! Ahsoka “Snips” Tano! Tusken Raider Darth MaulHan Solo probably wouldn’t resist THIS Boba Fett!Imperial BFF? When you need a costume quick, why not wear the Slave Leia apron?Star Wars Celebration V – Orlando Troopers Slave Leias! Obi-Wan’s expression says it all. Death Trooper! Anyone for a Rebel yell? Yoda, look out! It isn’t Comic-Con without Elvis Trooper! Jedi Aayla Secura! Zam Wesell & Jango Fett This young Jedi is ready for fun! Check out more Star Wars costumes here: Comic-Con 2010 (all photos)
Blood of the Empire #8 is online!
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire concludes Arc Two of The Broken World [HERE] this week. The eight issue of the ongoing free webcomic is continuing the crazy mystery that left everyone hanging at the end of issue seven. Will Kel find his answers in time? What is Kressh’s ultimate plan? Check out the synopsis for issue eight below: Teneb Kel is confronted with a strange and frightening vision of the past, the future, and of his greatest enemy. As he lies broken in the Lenico wasteland, he must seek the truth about Exal Kressh and the Emperor’s goals within his mystical dream–or be utterly destroyed when he returns to reality. As if issue seven wasn’t confusing enough! The eighth issue continues to perplex the mind. Kel continues his “vision quest” or at least we are left thinking he’s having a vision. While in his vision he…
Haden Blackman Resigns From LucasArts
Only months after LucasArts saw its President, Darrell Rodriguez, depart the company, its Executive Producer has now also left. IGN reports that Haden Blackman, executive producer and writer for The Force Unleashed series, has resigned from his LucasArts position. IGN got confirmation from LucasArts on the news and a representative assured that the development of The Force Unleashed II will not be affected. Blackman issued a statement that included the following: “I’ve had a fantastic time working with the team at Lucasfilm and am really grateful for their ongoing support.” “While the decision to leave LucasArts did not happen overnight or come easily, I really feel that now is the best time for me to move on and explore new creative challenges and I look forward to the next phase of my career.” This news is just coming out so we’ll be sure to update as we learn more on…