Continuing with the theme of multi-content Friday Updates, Bioware has hit us with the CE Unboxing, Eurogamer Highlights Video, and some Fan Artwork. First up are the Collectors Edition Unboxing. Everyone already knows what’s included with the collectors edition for Star Wars: The Old Republic , there as been some confusion as to what items come with what edition of the game. So to clarify, BioWare released a bread down of what is included in each version and a video of the items you’ll find inside the Collectors Edition box. Below we have the digital items listed for all pre-orders, the Digital Deluxe Editions and the Collectors edition. Below that is the video. All Pre-Orders: Color Stone. Included as part of every pre-order of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the Color Stone is a special crystal that players can use to change the color of any lightsaber blade or blaster…
fan friday
SWTOR Fan Friday and Gamescom Plans
It’s Friday witch means it’s the last work day of the week ( for most of us) and time for BioWare to update us on Star Wars: the old republic. Ihave to admit that this Friday is a kind of slow one, as one of today’s updates is simply an announcement outlining the team’s Gamescom plans. Attendees will get hands-on play time on each of the Origin Worlds, and lucky players will get to try out the Alderaan player-vs-player Warzone as we wrote about ealier today. The festivities taking place include an EA press conference on Tuesday, August 16 at 10am EDT. As an added bonus to those members of the The Old Republic community, we will be housing a special area within the stand where you can play Warzone PvP. This area is designed to allow members of the community to play Warzone matches in a slightly more relaxed…
SW:TOR Updates: Writer Blog and Fan Friday
Writing is one of the key elements to crafting a living world and few understand that better than BioWare and the vision they have for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This week’s update is all about those guys that shape the world and keep it evolving to fit the lore – the writers. This week BioWare Writer Ian Ryan takes us through the writing process and how writers continue to shape the game world long after the final piece of the story has been written. The writers continue to play the game and examine each area for subtle details that need improving. One example given is the vast improvements made to the planet of Nar Shaddaa, which has been given quite a new glamorous look to better match the taste of the Hutts thanks to writer feedback. If you’re curious to see the impact that these talented writers have on…
Fan Friday and 2011 Event Appearances
It’s Friday once again and that means that it’s time for another BioWare update for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This week brings a trio of updates starting with a new video from the recent Fan Site Summit held at BioWare’s Austin, TX studio in April. The video reflects on the event and what attendees thought of their hands on time with SWTOR. It’s nice to see BioWare developing a nice, cozy, friendly relationship with the people that will be objectively reviewing their product. Part two of this week’s update is a new Fan Friday feature, which highlights some of the SWTOR fan art from the community and a new Fan Site Spotlight featuring SWTOR Life with a brief Q&A with Serge “Mikto” Stanarevic about the site. The Fan Friday update also confirmed the 2011 events that BioWare and LucasArts will be showing off SWTOR at. Fans can look forward…
Friday Updates: Environmental Polish and Class Q&A
BioWare returns this week with a two-part update for Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). The first part of the update goes behind the scenes with Senior Environmental Artist Robby Lamb, who details how the game environments evolve and transform. Lamb details the creation and polish of environments in SWTOR and how he works and re-works the content to make it as epic as possible while maintaining the best game performance. The second part of the update comes in the form of a Community Q&A, which addresses a number of different questions from the community. To summarize, each class will have a number of companions from each archetype. Players can choose which of those will become their main companion and can enhance them through the use of kits. Bounty Hunters will not be able to use jetpacks outside of battle and the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior will have no…
Friday Update: Animation Blog, Flashpoint Q&A
The latest batch of updates on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site include a dev blog on animations, a community Q&A on Flashpoints, and a fan site spotlight on our good friends TORWars. Also, there’s some concept art and fan art thrown in for good measure. In the cinematic animation blog, Animator Andrew Lauretta explains how animations are created for in-game cinematics. He shows step by step how the team worked on a scene in which characters need to Force Push some guards away and slay a couple of Hutts. The latest Fan Friday segment contains the usual artwork and avatars, and this one also includes an interview with Jeff Hollis, the creator of TORWars. Community Q&A on Flashpoints Today, World Designer Jesse Sky has answers to some of your questions about Flashpoints: Q: Will Flashpoint for Republic and Empire ever meet? – Sirious_Nora A: Certain Flashpoints, especially at…
Sith Temple Art, Podcast Spotlight and Fan Q&A
Today’s update to the Star Wars: The Old Republic site is a package deal that contains new Studio Insider and Fan Friday segments. Both of the articles are packed with content and are worth a look for SW:TOR fans. As always, the Fan Friday segment contains fan art, concept art and forum avatars. In addition, this issue contains the first installment of the new Fan Site Spotlight series. The team talks with the hosts of Mos Eisley Radio to learn more about the podcast. BioWare also announced that it will be hosting a Community Meet and Greet at PAX East on March 12. In this week’s Studio Insider segment, Concept Artist Diego Almaza explains how he created the concept for the Sith Temple (seen above). Rich Vogel, Executive Producer of The Old Republic and Vice President of Production at BioWare Austin, also answers six questions from the…
Fan Friday
As always, the Fan Friday segment contains New Fan Stuff by the Geeks to the Geeks. The most noteworthy portion is the announcement that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be present at PAX East this year. The convention will be held from March 11-13 in Boston, Massachusetts. Other then that you can find tons ofother cool stuff: New Smilies and avatars pics for www.swtor.com. Dont miss the New Studio Insider this month for an in-depth look at the design of the Agent starship and more Community Q&A answers. If you have some talents you wish to share then visit the community forums. Greighson from the SWTOR forum community created Sith-themed propaganda. Another member named Crypticgrrl detailed close-up portraits. They look really awesome. There are Some really nice Fan Fic work. The story’s called Final Ex a member named Kharnis. If I finish any of my Star Wars stories then…
Friday Update: Studio Insider – Experience Coruscant and Fan friday
So, Fan Friday. It seems that Bioware decided to split the “Developer Corner” out of the Fan Friday and give it its own thing, called “Studio Insider””. Last time we got a look at the work the development team was doing on Flesh Raiders, and this time we get to experience Coruscant. Read the full article here We are excited about sharing new work-in-progress art, special screenshots, animations, and other insights from the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team. In this Studio Insider, World Designer Eric Young walks us through the process of building the city world of Coruscant. Also, we have picked some questions to answer in the Community Q&A section! Designing Coruscant They call me Eric Young. I’ve been a World Designer at BioWare for almost four years now; my job is to design the layout of planets, place buildings and mold terrain into mountains, valleys and roads. I work from the…
Friday Update: Flesh Raiders, and Fan Friday
Yes! It’s Friday again, and that means two things: Weekend with lot’s of beer and more news from Star Wars: The Old Republic. This time we get the monthly “The Studio Insider” wich gives us a glimpse of what it takes to produce a multi-million dollar MMO. In this issue of the Studio Insider, concept Artist Diego Almazan shares another step-by-step demonstration of the creation of the Flesh Raider, from base sketch to fully tricked-out creature. When starting a concept, it’s important to get as much information as possible to help make the creature or object fit best in its place in the game. For this concept in particular, I was excited to take on the task of creating an alternate Flesh Raider which would fit alongside the current set. After gathering and studying art work and other assets related to the Flesh Raider, I started off with a base…
Fan Friday
This week’s update have arrived! After two amazing weeks with a new planet and a Timeline holorecord, it’s now time for Fan Friday and new biographies. First up, Fan Friday. As the name says, we’re not suprised that BioWare was able to dig out some treasures from the official forum grounds. The interactive TOR Paint Adventures and KariaVen’s animations are only two examples of the great creativity of Star Wars fans. It wouldn’t be Fan Friday without a couple more polls! The first asks, “Who is your favorite character in the Blood of the Empire webcomic series?” The second poll asks, “Which class are you planning on trying out first?” This time the development corner look at the creation of Kaas City, the Empire’s capital. Senior Concept Artist Ryan Dening gives us another step-by-step demonstration of taking a concept and turning it into a finished piece of artwork. The purpose…
The Old Republic Fan Friday Returns
The Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday feature made its return to SWTOR.com today! Community Creations – a reminder to submit your fan-made artwork through the TOR forums for possible future Fan Friday features Fan Art – TOR community member Tang has the spotlight shown on his concept art scrapbook – Community member Vitellius created a 4 minute 3D animation video of Darth Rasp infiltrating a Republic base – One more commuity member featured; Oxyjin displays what he hopes his character will look like Developer Corner – Get to know that Cathar species Events – Upcoming events for The Old Republic include Celebration V, Germany’s GamesCon, and the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Wallpapers – “Hope” cinematic trailer wallpapers are now available Fan Site Kit – The fan site kit has received its first update Avatars – New avatars are available with characters featured in the Galactic Timeline, including Master…
Friday’s Update: Fan Friday and Blood of the Empire Issue #5
swtor.com updated with the next chapter in their Blood of the Empire webcomic: Act 2: The Broken World Chapter 1: Act 2: The Broken World – Teneb Kel has received his mission from the Dark Council: Find and slay the Emperor’s traitorous apprentice, Exal Kressh. But can one young Sith defeat a master of the dark side? And what are Exal Kressh’s true plans for the Emperor and the Empire? Jedi, slaves and Sith alike clash in act 2 of Blood of the Empire. In the fifth issue of Blood of the Empire, Teneb Kel comes face to face with Exal Kressh, the Emperor’s apprentice! But what power does she possess, and what secrets will she reveal to the man sent to kill her? Meanwhile, Maggot’s night off continues, and new faces observe from the shadows. It’s the beginning of a night full of revelations… Check out 7 new pages…
Blood of the Empire
And here I thought that the combat video was awesome enough to carry this Friday on its own. But it seems that next to the video documentary on combat we get not one, not two, but three more updates this Friday. Of course none of them are quite as awesome as the video, but still. First there is the news that Threat of Peace has gone to print: Great news for comic book collectors! BioWare, LucasArts, and Dark Horse Comics are gearing up for the release of a three issue comic series of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Threat of Peace™. Each issue features 27 vibrant full-color story pages, and will be priced at $2.99. Experience the passions and convictions driven by a handful of Star Wars™ heroes and villains as they reignite a legendary war between dark and light in this comic series originally published entirely online. The story…
SW:TOR Fan Friday Offers a Look at Facial Markings, Renders, Fan Fiction, and More
As you can see from the image above, this week’s Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday brings us a peek at some of the customization options for character heads. We also get to see some fan art, fan fiction, and a short video of some of the force powers of the Sith via a 3D render, You can see the video below:
Fan Friday with Fan Site Kit
Today’s update is a Fan Friday update, including some community art, two bits in the developer corner, a couple of new forum avatars and the Fan Site Kit. I’ll just be lazy and copy-paste the entire thing: Welcome to another exciting Fan Friday where we shine the spotlight on talented members of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community and share some gems from the Development Team. This week, we also want to present you with the official Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Site Kit! We know you’ve been waiting for this, and we think you’ll be impressed. Be sure to see it all, plus check out the new avatars, and don’t forget to vote in the latest series of polls! Community Creations StandAlone has been busy creating some breathtaking Star Wars™ fan art. The three most recent paintings, Ambush, Inevitable Death, and Darth Satus were all created using TOR…
Fan Friday: Composing the Sith Inquisitor Developer Blog
The latest Fan Friday content has been posted on the official Old Republic site! This week Sean presents the TOR community with a developer blog from writer Rebecca Harwick giving an overview of the Sith Inquisitor: When we set out to build our game, we knew we needed more than one Sith class. The original trilogy only has two Sith in it, but they couldn’t be more different: the heavily armored brutal physicality of Darth Vader compared to the frail but immensely powerful Emperor Palpatine. When we extend our inspiration to Episodes I-III and The Clone Wars cartoons, Count Dooku, Darth Maul, and Asajj Ventress further expand our concept of what a Sith can be. Is a Sith a lithe quick fighter who uses the Force to enhance his/her physical combat prowess, a calculating deceiver adept at Lightsaber duels, or a master manipulator and amasser of dark side secrets? Does…
Fan Friday & Threat of Peace
This Friday sees both the next three pages of the threat Threat of Peace comic as well as a Fan Friday update. The latter they decided to spruce up a bit, but more on that in a moment. First we’ve got the comic; here’s the official news: The twenty-fourth issue of Threat of Peace™ drops us right back into the action as Jedi Knight Satele Shan and Master Dar’Nala press their attack against Lord Baras. Satele is given pause, however, when Baras reveals the truth—that Master Dar’Nala was responsible for the recent violent attempts to undermine the peace treaty. As Satele considers the implications, Baras makes the bold attempt he’s been planning—now that Satele sees the true weakness of the Jedi, Baras urges her to join the Sith… Check out the latest issue of Threat of Peace now. The second update is a Fan Friday update, which includes a number…
Fan Friday for August 2009
Happy Friday everyone! We hope you en joy these community spotlights for the month of August. Star Wars ASCII Art Much like a Trooper and his gun, Star Wars™ and ASCII Art make a great combination. Check out some great ASCII creations inspired by iconic Star Wars images in this ASCII art thread created by ilsabay. Maybe you can try your hand at an ASCII creation in the community! Smuggler’s Alliance Icon It’s undeniable that a Smuggler likes to show off, and needs an impressive icon to represent his group. VannikDesh created these three awesome Smuggler Alliance icons for the TOR community to use in their signatures. The first image combines the Aurebesh letters “S” and “A” to create a dagger hilt and includes the downturned wings of The Old Republic logo. The second and third versions used The Old Republic blaster concept art with the Aurebesh dagger in blue…