Many on both sides of the fence are displeased with how BioWare has handled the issue of same-gender romance in the game but Fox News had something to say about it yesterday in their article, ‘Star Wars’ game segregates gay characters on gay planet. Depending on who you ask, Fox News is either an excellence source for news and updates on all issues and current affairs, or a debacle of news station putting out biased and botched stories disguised as “news””. We’ll let you make the decision for yourself but either way, it’s good to see the topic getting some media attention. SGR in SWTOR has been heavily debated since before the game even launched and BioWare has always taken a positive stance on the issue, despite the complaints from some fans. BioWare’s Jeff Hickman, executive producer of ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ has said more than once, “Allowing same-gender romance…
News
State of the SWTOR Community
With the news that Curse has fired all the Darth Hater team, we see a spur of conversations taking place about the game, its players and the community that revolves around the game. Some are saying that this is a sign of the community falling apart, a reflection of the current state of the game and some are even saying it’s BioWare’s fault for not caring enough about their game and its community. There are lots of different opinions but one very strong opinion comes from someone who was once a very big player in the SWTOR community. The guy who runs SWTOR Extreme YouTube account had some pretty harsh critical words for the SWTOR community: “The game had a massive audience yet some of the best content on the web, whether it was videos like my own or a websites blog/article, they got so little support and none of…
Darth Hater Team Let Go by Curse – Is This the End of Darth Hater?
If you follow DartHater.com, you probably noticed they have not posted any new content since the end of December. The rest of the community definitely noticed and it seems we now have a reason. The whole staff has been let go by Curse and no one knows whether or not they are going to try to revamp it with new staff or One of the most active members of the DH team, Jaspor, admits on Reddit that he is no longer working for them but he doesn’t seem to have any additional info on what will happen to the site in the future. In fact, it seems no one really has any information at all other than- they were let go. It was just back in September 2011 that Curse bought Darth Hater and made them a part of the Curse network. Most of the community seemed happy about it…
Damion Schubert Speaks on Phantom and Spymaster Gear Changes
If you spend any time in the forums the past day or so, you probably know that the community was upset regarding some changes to gear bought from the Cartel Market. Many players want their money back after spending cash in the Cartel Market for Phantom and Spymaster gear based on how it looked, only to have the appearance changed later. They see it as a bait-and-switch and while BioWare claims it wasn’t intentional, we can definitely see the point these players are making. So we were holding on to see when BioWare would chime in with a solution to this problem. Lead Designer Damion Schubert piped in to this thread about the issue: Hey, guys — We care a lot about the fact that you care about the appearances of your characters. In fact, the Mod system is my baby, largely because it allows players to customize their appearance…
Purchase More Character Slots for SWTOR
As we discovered recently, you can now purchase more character slots for SWTOR from the Cartel Market. This is great for people like me who suffer from alt-it is and like to have lots of different characters in the game. Massively brought us to news: Star Wars: The Old Republic’s 1.6.2 patch notes are now live on the game’s website. Along with a laundry list of tweaks and bug fixes, there are a couple of blurbs that might interest free-to-play players concerned about character slots. First of all, slot restrictions are now being enforced, so free players should see a maximum of two per server. Preferred status players get six slots per shard, while subscribers get 12. If you must know, the global active character limit is 350! The Cartel Market is selling additional slots at a cost of 600 Cartel Coins. But there are some players who are having issues with different…
George Lucas Engaged- Congratulations and May the Force Be With You!
Good news for Star Wars creator, George Lucas. His firm announced this week that he is official engaged to long-time girlfriend, investment firm president Mellody Hobson. This is great news for the “Star Wars” and “Indian Jones” creator who has been dating Hobson for more than six years and it seems he may finally be in a position where he can commit to marriage. Known as a man who has been married to his work, it will be nice to see him have time to fully settle down with someone special. Hobson serves as chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation and is a financial contributor to ABC’s “Good Morning America” so she is no stranger to the film industry either. We wish the both of them the best in their upcoming nuptials and for a long and happy life together! Congratulations Lucas and Hobson! “”Star Wars” creator George Lucas will marry his longtime…
Star Wars: The Old Republic – State of the Game #2
It’s been awhile but BioWare decided to give us another State of the Game report. Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic post an update today to let us all know what is happening with the game. One of the biggest and most anticipated pieces of news: an update on Same Gender Romance in the game! Hickman says: First of all, I want to apologize that this is taking so long to get in the game. I realize that we promised SGR to you guys and that many of you believed that this would be with a companion character. Unfortunately, this will take a lot more work than we realized at the time and it (like some other pieces of content we talked about earlier in the year) has been delayed as we focused on the changes required to take the game Free-to-Play. As we have said in…
Cool SWTOR Lego Build
We love SWTOR Legos. In fact, I love any type of Lego and these sets are really amazing. If you love Legos and you play SWTOR (or you are a Star Wars fan), you’re going to love the SWTOR sets. We’ve written about them before but here we found a guy sharing some pretty awesome photos of his build and the final project of one of the sets. It costs $90 if you want one for yourself and no, it’s not even the most expensive SWTOR Lego set out there right now. In the first few photos, he shares the process of building the body and the wings, then attaching the wings, Malgus and the troopers, and the finished project. He also has some great pictures of the Republic Striker and Sith Fury together. Check it out and let us know if you have this set yourself. Here are some…
SWTOR PvP Imbalance and Possible Solutions
There is a lot of talk about PvP imbalance in SWTOR and the truth of the matter is it does seem to exist. Despite how hard a developer tries to prevent it, there will almost always be some imbalance amongst the classes. The real trick is to reduce this imbalance as much as possible. Some players believe SWTOR is struggling with that. Depending on who you ask, certain classes need to be nerfed and others need to be buffed and it’s the age-old battle with PvP in an MMORPG. The difference being that in SWTOR, some players have some pretty solid evidence on imbalance. Check out this screen shot for example: The fact that anyone, especially AOE, can hit for that hard in pretty outrageous. There definitely need to be some adjustments to the classes and to the types of damage but just what those adjustments are will vary according…
New SWTOR Lego Set is Out – 2013 SW Lego Series
If you’ve been waiting to see the new Lego Star Wars series for 2013, you won’t have to wait much longer. One set is already out and there should be more to come. This one is now available at Toys R Us and other LEGO dealers. LEGO Star Wars – Republic Troopers vs Sith Troopers (75001) Available at Toys R Us for $15.99. I think I’ll be heading out today to try to get a couple of sets if they have them available in my local store. Product Description The Republic troopers are under attack! Fire their blasters as you battle the red and black Sith troopers and their hover speeder with dual flick missiles! Recreate epic battle scenes from the Knights of the Old Republic video game in your own living room! Collect the never-before-featured Republic trooper helmet! Includes 4 minifigures with assorted weapons: 2 Republic troopers and 2…
Razer SWTOR Mouse – Only $96! Get It While It Lasts
Yesterday there was a great sale on the Razer SWTOR Mouse and before we could even tell you about it- it was over! It was the daily ShellShocker deal at 50% off and only $65. But if you missed that, you still have a chance to get this mouse and save some money. Don’t worry- it’s still on sale! Here on NewEgg (but we don’t know for how long) you can get it for only $96. That is still $43 off the original price. You can get this awesome mouse from Razer with a SWTOR theme for a low, low price. For $100, any Razer mouse is worth it. I’m a big fan of Razer products for gaming and work. I currently use the DeathStalker keyboard and Naga mouse and they are fantastic! I am at the computer all day- both for gaming and work – and this equipment is…
Star Wars EP7 Rumor Round Up
We have not had a Star Wars E7 rumor round up in awhile and it’s time to give you all the lowdown. Remember this is gossip and heresay as there is not a lot in terms in So here are some recent rumors! A recent Reuters story, Guatemala, their Mayan temples, and Star Wars says: Yavin 4 and the rebel base return to the Star Wars plot in the forthcoming Episode VII, announced in October by the Walt Disney Co, in which Skywalker comes back to the planet to build a Jedi Knight academy. However, fans said that Disney will likely film those scenes in a studio rather than return to Tikal. Yavin 4 does reappear as the site of the Jedi Academy in the Expanded Universe but there is no official source or inside information to lead us to believe it could be in the movie. Then again, there is no…
Star Wars Comics License Returning To Marvel?
The guys over at Blue Sky Disney reports that it’s all but that Disney won’t be renewing Dark Horse’s contract to publish Star Wars comics, and that the Star Wars comics will return to their original home: Fellow Disney brand Marvel. “”The Suits in the know have determined that no new contracts will be given to Dark Horse after the current ones expire. So all new projects after 2013 will be handled internally by Marvel.” The report continues: “”It’s not known yet if titles will be worked into the regular line up, or will Marvel create a special branch of the company that deals with Star Wars. It’ll take a couple of years for the old deals to work there course, but the stories that Dark Horse have coming down the pipeline will be the last. And you can expect anything new from Marvel dealing with Star Wars to arrive around 2015.”” When you think of…
Happy Holidays from SWTOR Strategies!
Happy Holidays from SWTOR Strategies! It’s that time of year, friends! The end of the year, holiday festivities and New Year’s resolutions and one year since SWTOR released. We are happy to have you here with us on the site and hope you’re enjoying your holiday season as much as we are. We’re looking forward to a new year of many exciting Star Wars and SWTOR news to bring you. Christmas from LucasFilm It’s a great time of year to work for LucasFilm. Ok, well any time is probably a great time to work for LucasFilm if you’re a fan but we’re thinking anyone would be tempted to apply when they see the really awesome holiday bonus George sent out to all of his employees. According to various reports online, they got an iPhone 5, a 32gb iPad (3g enabled), a thank you card and a really cool unique LucasFilm…
SWTOR Bug Causes Some Players to Cap Out on Pets and Mounts
I have a longtime history with collecting pets in MMORPGs. I’m not sure why but I just love them. When I play a game with pets, I want to have them all. I do this some with mounts but nothing at all like I do with non-combat pets. I love the fun of collecting them, having pets that few other players have and the variety of being able to pull out different pets whenever I want. If you’re a pet collection, too, you need to be aware of a current bug in SWTOR that makes it where some players cannot get more mounts or pets. I have seen several users post in the forums, in the game or on Reddit about a cap on pets and/or mounts but others do not have this problem. So why is it affecting some and not others? Well, no one actually knows. I have…
BioWare Leaves Fans in the Dark about Same Gender Relationships
Since before SWTOR even launched, we have discussed the topic of same gender relationships (SGRs) in the game. There are some who were for it, those who were against it and others who just didn’t care. The one thing that remained consistent throughout is that the topic causes a lot of controversy. While BioWare first said there would not be SGRs in the game, they later listened to fan reaction and changed their minds, promising that there would be – only not at launch. The reasoning made perfect sense- they just didn’t have time to change the story arcs properly. They didn’t want to simply go in and add the option for romantic encounters with either/or sex of character in the game. Rather, they wanted to do it right, in true BioWare-story fashion and make some characters open to SGRs based on their personalities and previous story line. Fans of…
Happy Birthday SWTOR!
Dec 20, 2011 was the official launch of SWTOR and one year later, here we are! Happy Birthday to SWTOR, all the SWTOR dev/staff, and all the SWTOR players! Can you believe it’s been a year already? It seems like it was just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting the game and while a lot has changed over the past year, we’re happy the game is still around, happy the community is still here and happy to have all of our loyal readers still here as well. Let’s recap a few articles and news pieces over the past year: Our Big List of SWTOR Guides Really Cool Fan Art Stories How Stuff Works column There’s also a cool SWTOR t-shirt giveaway here so check it out for your chance to win! Dulfy also has a giveaway: Items that are part of the giveaway includes 40 SWTOR JINX shirts, 5 Cartel…
SWTOR’s Life Day Holiday Event Angers Gamers
SWTOR gamers were hyped up and ready for Life Day. Unfortunately, many were disappointed at what was offered in lieu of an event. BioWare said, “The stuff we are doing for Life Day are absolutely amazing … I am super excited about it. You guys are going to die when you see it.” So you can just imagine the reaction from the fans when the ‘big events’ fell, well… flat. As one player said “I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a Wookiee Life Day customization for Bowdaar.” It makes sense- it’s Wookiee Life Day- why not even allow players to equip their Life Day items on Bowdaar. Why not have anything in the area to show respect for the date like NPCs in the area in Life Day robes? There wasn’t really any role-playing of it at all. It was pretty disappointing all around and seemed to serve no…
Very Cool SWTOR PC Case
If you’re into case-modding or if you just love cool stuff, then you will be very pleased with what we found. Here are some great pictures of an awesome computer case mod with SWTOR theme. Brian “Boddaker” Carter is the mastermind behind the design and he shows more about this over at The Best Case Scenario. There are some common themes in these cases- each has a mural with a lightsaber extension on one side of the case and they also have a 3-D mask built on the other side. There’s a fantastic holographic display on the front and honestly, even if you don’t like SWTOR, this is all very impressive. Boddaker has some really great projects going on, including this SWTOR PC case. See more here at Bod’s Mods. Check out some of the great images he shared of his modded cases.
BioWare to Tweak Endgame PvP Balance
In an interview with fansite TORWars this week, we found out from Senior Designer Rob Hinkle that BioWare has plans to make endgame PvP more fun- at least, that’s their idea. They want to make the PvP stat (expertise) equal across the board, no matter what the set of PvP armor. For some players, this is a welcome change but of course, there will be those who oppose. As is typical with an MMORPG, Bioware has struggled to keep endgame balanced for all players. There is a slippery slope in giving seasoned gamers something for their hard work and dedication yet not making them so overpowered that others cannot enjoy the game as well. Hinkle said in this interview that he commonly hears from players that they enjoy levels 10-49 but that at 50 (the current level cap), things change. Many players complain about the lack of imbalance in those who are…
Ben Cousins Paying to Win Talks about F2P Game Model
In November 2009, EA hit the headlines when the BATTLEFIELD HEROES team made sweeping changes to their in-game economy and virtual item catalogue that many felt would completely destroy the game, as Ben Cousins explains in his “Paying to Win” talk that covers the free to play gaming model and if and how it works. While consumer press, forum users and players claimed that the new game model ruined BATTLEFIELD HEROES, economic statistics would show EA otherwise. Despite the predictions of destruction, over a year on, BATTLEFIELD HEROES continues to be a powerhouse in the free-to-play space, with nearly 7 million registered users, no declining trend in active users, and it long-term future assured. So, what happened? In this talk, Ben Cousins, General Manager of Easy (the EA studio behind BATTLEFIELD HEROES) takes us through the story of this controversy. Through the development of BATTLEFIELD HEROES and the early performance…
BioWare LiveStream Q&A Event on Tomorrow
BioWare will be holding their second LiveStream Q&A tomorrow November 29 at 3PM CST. Here they will be taking questions about the upcoming Game Update 1.6. It looks like the event will be on for about 30 minutes, so make sure to ask your questions soon if you want the to have a chance to answer. Check out the details below: 11.27.2012 LiveStream Event #2 BioWare and LucasArts are excited to announce the next LiveStream Q&A Event. Below is all the information you need in order to watch and participate in the LiveStream Event. Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ – LiveStream 11/29/2012 3:00pm to 3:30pm CST The second LiveStream Event will discuss Game Update 1.6: The Ancient Hypergate and the recently launched Free-to-Play option. Game Update 1.6 brings an exciting player-versus-player Warzone and new Heroic Space Missions. If you’d like to participate in this LiveStream Q&A Event, you can ask questions on the LiveStream Channel during…
XFire Charts Show SWTOR on the Rise
We assume that since BioWare won’t really tell us population info and other stats, that those statistics are likely based on xfire user info gained from the xfire chat client. It would only represent xfire users that play SWTOR, so it’s a very small sample. However, from this we can see that SWTOR saw a jump when it went free to play and if it stays this way for the next few days and even weeks, then that is a good sign that the game is gaining momentum. If you’re not new to SWTOR and you’ve been around since the beginning (or at least for some time now), this still benefits you. More players means more people to do things with and it also means more money and resources being put into making the game great. So seeing that graph climb more and more over the next few days and…
Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is on Public Test Server
If you’re just settling in to game update 1.5 and learning about all the new content and features, you might be surprised to know that Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is now on the Public Test Server (PTS). But those who like to jump in the PTS and be on the cutting edge of the next release are probably already anticipating this. BioWare talks about it more on their blog today, letting us know what we can expect with the new game update, including a new PvP Warzone and Heroic Space Missions: Travel to a remote Warzone to discover a brand new PvP battle mechanic. The Republic and Imperial forces are locked in an intense conflict to control two energy pylons. Fight to take control of these powerful pylons and kill enemy forces to discharge energy into your faction’s gate. The first team to open their portal unleashes deadly reinforcements to wipe out…