Are you excited about the new SWTOR Warzone, Ancient Hypergates? I was definitely interested in knowing more about this warzone, the objectives and what it would be like. I really enjoy PVP in SWTOR but doing the same warzones over and over can get boring. A new warzone will be a nice refreshing addition to the game. Anyway, some of the folks in Cologne, Germany at Gamescom were able to visit the SWTOR booth and get a good look at Ancient Hypergates for themselves. Here’s some info on it complete with a gameplay video so you can see for yourselves: The objective of the warzone is to activate the two pylons which then start a countdown before they explode. To save yourself from the explosion all players must go to the middle room where they fight it out until the explosion is over. All the while each kill brings you…
News
The One Thread on SWTOR Forums you Should Read and Contribute To
It began on August 13th and already the thread is 12 pages long. This is the one thread on SWTOR forums you need to read and contribute to. It’s “A Thousand Papercuts” and some of you may already be familiar with the concept. The original poster gives the background of the concept, which began on the EVE Online forums. The explanation is long but interesting and worth the read if you’re not familiar with the idea. In late 2010, there was a thread created on the EVE Online forums with the same title. The players organized to civilly and thoughtfully outline their issues with the game, sticking almost exclusively to small, quality of life issues, or very simplistic suggestions to improve their gameplay experience. These small issues were referred to as “papercuts”; small problems or issues that do not affect the overall playability of the game but that can be…
The Grand Acquisition Ends Tuesday
Joveth Gonzalez | Online Community Manager stopped by the forums to let us know that the Grand Acquisition will be ending on Tuesday so now is your chance to get in and complete the world event over the weekend. If you haven’t started yet, now is the time. The post reads: The Chevin Conglomerate has decreed that you will have until next Tuesday (August 21st) at 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8 AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST) to finish up the Grand Acquisitions Race. They’ve also decreed that the Shady Dealer will remain for an additional week after the race ends, citing “feedback” as the primary reason. Good luck! So now you know how long the event is up and it’s time to get out there and get started (or finished) if you haven’t already.
SWTOR- What Does F2P Mean?
Everyone is talking about SWTOR going free to play. It seems everyone has a theory and an opinion on the topic and whether or not it’s a good thing for BioWare/EA. The big question seems to be whether or not the F2P model is chosen because SWTOR flopped on release or just because it makes more sense and is better for the current economic market in the world today. MMORPG.com had a few words from Richard Aihoshi on the topic. In addition to this, they did a poll with some other experts in the field: Hendrik Klindworth is the Founder and Managing Director of InnoGames (Forge of Empires, Grepolis et al) Jay Choi is the Chief Operations Officer at Gravity Interactive(Ragnarok Online, Dragon Saga et al) Jungsoo Lee is the Vice President of Live Development atSG Interactive (formerly Ntreev; Pangya Golf, Trickster Online et al) Flaviio Daneil Caracasis the Chief Marketing Officer at Rock Hippo Productions (Brawl Busters, MicroVolts) Here…
EA’s Gamescom Press Conference 2012
EA’s Gamescom had some things to say about SWTOR this year and we know how excited everyone is to hear the next new piece of information. If you watch the video starting from this point, you can jump right to the talk about SWTOR with Bromberg. EA’s Gamescom 2012 Press Conference replay from the Cologne Palladium in Germany featuring the new GM of BioWare Austin, Matt Bromberg. The highlights: Free to play this fall Cartel coins (virtual currency) More frequent content updates New operation: Terror from Beyond New series of space missions New Warzone: Ancient Hypergates More dynamic in-game events The video also features a trailer for The Grand Acquisition, the current in game event as well as a sneak peak of the video we brought you yesterday (confirming it is official). See the full press conference video below:
Doctors are Not Leaving BioWare despite Earlier Rumors in the Press
We recently brought you the story of the rumor about Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk leaving BioWare. Well, there is good news for fans of the doctors because they are not actually leaving the company. As I told you before, Matthew Bromberg has been the new leader of BioWare Austin since May but this is not because Greg is leaving BioWare but instead because he’s just leaving Austin to go back home. In a statement to the press, he explains: “”With regard to BioWare Austin, I handed off the leadership of the studio to Matthew Bromberg quite some time ago (back in May),” he said. “Ray [Muzyka, BioWare co-founder] and I picked Matthew to take over and he’s been doing a great job with the studio. “”My time in Austin was always planned to have a finite endpoint (my family was still living in Edmonton throughout my time in Austin)…
SWTOR Free to Play Commercial
We came across a really cool SWTOR commercial for the free to play feature coming this fall. I’m not sure yet that it is an official SWTOR video but it looks like it could be. It’s short and plays on the “choose a side” battle between Empire and Republic which is what the storyline for the game is based around. This 32-second spot looks like it would fit perfectly in a television commercial slot and that it was designed so that the voice dubbing could be done in any language over the same video. Check it out and let us know what you think. EA and BioWare announced they will be expanding Star Wars: The Old Republic by adding a new free-to-play option this fall. And for everyone who plays between now and then or who was previously subscribed, there will be benefits by way of Cartel Coins. Players who…
SWTOR New Operation Terror from Beyond
There’s a lot of great news coming out of Gamescom today, including exciting news from EA. SWTOR is getting some great new features, including a new operation called Terror from Beyond. In an EA press conference this morning, we learned about the new changes and additions to SWTOR. Matthew Bromberg, new head of BioWare Austin, confirmed a number of new changes for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Challenge of the Chevin, the new SWTOR live event, was launched today. But then there is more (coming next month): Terror from Beyond – a new Operation on Belsavis. Ancient Hypergate – a new PvP Warzone New Flying Missions – aimed at level 50 players There was also a sneak peek at a new live action trailer for the next phase in SWTOR as the Free to Play change draws nearer. It looks really exciting. Stay tuned as we will keep you updated on any new info coming out of Gamescom about…
SWTOR Live Event – The Grand Acquisitions Race
SWTOR is launching its second live event tilted: “The Grand Acquisitions Race”. Be ready for the arrival of the Chevin. We’ve been waiting on another live event and now it’s here. The event has begun and you can start the quest chain now. And of course, there will be rewards for doing so! Who are the Chevin? [box] “Chevin are a bipedal pachydermoid sentient species native to the planet Vinsoth. They had a poor reputation in much of the galaxy, partly due to their involvement in unsavory activities such as smuggling, and partly because they had enslaved the Chevs, a humanoid species who shared Vinsoth with them.” Via SWTOR Wikia [/box] Players have been waiting for a new event for a long time now and while rumors will abound, the entire point of the world events is that we do not know they are coming until they’re here. Check out…
CNN Money Discusses SWTOR’s Free to Play Model
Star Wars: The Old Republic made big news when it announced that it would go free to play very soon. After all, it was just released in December of 2011, so it’s still a fairly new game. It’s also one of the most expensive MMOs ever made and it took years to put it all together. While some predicted the change in the model, others thought it might hand on a little longer before making the change. So, why is one of the most expensive video games ever made making such a drastic change? Here’s what CNN Money had to say about the decision: “It’s a straightforward economics problem. The subscription business model cuts off casual players, who can’t justify paying $15 a month (particularly in this tough economy) for a game they only touch on occasion. That leaves the hard-core players, who are often reluctant to split their time…
Expert: MMORPG Players Better than MBA candidates?
According to learning guru John Seely Brown, expert World of Warcraft players make better job candidates than an MBA from Harvard. While that may sound a little bizarre, you can listen to his explanation on a youtube video below. While some employers still hang onto the old notion that job applicants who play video games are not the best candidates, perhaps because they believe they’ll spend their days playing online and are easily distracted, smart companies realize the value of the leadership skills as well as organization skills that are learned by WoW players, making them the better candidate for the job.YouTube video here. Seely Brown is just one among many who have come to the same conclusion, and he is certainly not a slacker by any means. He is currently an independent co-chair of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation and has degrees in physics and mathematics from Brown…
What Are Bioware Fans Looking For?
Apparently, there are a large number of people who are claiming that Bioware is ruined forever and that they have betrayed their fans. Some are so upset they’ve vowed never to purchase a game with the name Bioware on it ever again. Why are they so angry, and what does the company need to do to satisfy the fans who have alleged betrayal? Bioware has a great history of getting things right. Obviously they’re not going to knock one out of the ballpark every single time, but many fans are concerned that Bioware thinks they can get away with making rushed products only for the sake of the dollar instead of cranking out games where there was obviously a lot more effort put into the final product. In Eric Cain’s blog at Forbes.com, Cain admitted he was “extremely harsh on Bioware,” and added, “I was biased, and while I stand…
Star Wars 1313 Featured at this Year’s E3
At the 2012 E3 expo, one of the highlights was Star Wars 1313, reportedly a new and darker Star Wars game put together by many division of the Lucasfilm organization, according to a recent blog on GameNGuide.com by Juan G. Rodriguez. While Industrial Light & Magic’s visual effects supervisor Kim Libreri noted that he believes “in 10 years game graphics will have advanced to the point of being indistinguishable from reality,” adding, “one day it will be impossible to spot the differences between real-time rendering and live action.” The early footage of Star Wars 1313 reportedly showcases fluid animation and cinematic quality visuals but does not approach anything near photorealistic quality. With the leaps and bounds in advancing technology and the difference in what video games looked like just a decade ago compared to today, it is not surprising to hear Libreri’s opinion on where they’ll be another ten years…
SWTOR withdraws from Star Wars Celebration 2 Weeks Prior
With only two more weeks to go, SWTOR has officially pulled out of the Star Wars Celebration, shocking many fans. They will, however, still be attending Gamescon which has a lot of people questioning the motives behind this decision. Players will also be able to play the new warzone at Gamescon which sounds like exciting news for those who get to go. It’s kind of hard to understand why they could not spare the staff to go to Florida but they can go to Germany. Seems like they are saying one event is higher on their priority list than the other. Maybe if they had not laid off so much of their staff (particularly those in the community department) then they would not have to back out of this event. Anyway, it’s a real bummer to the fans but it sounds like it’s officially a sure thing. This thread explains the news:…
In Defense of SWTOR’s Subscription Launch from Gamasutra
Gamasutra writer Simon Ludgate has an interesting blog today about SWTOR’s subscription launch and his experience in the beta of the game, which was fairly short-lived. Find out why he believes BioWare did the right thing by launching with a sub model and moving to a f2p model once they were unable to hold the numbers in subscriptions. Here’s a snippet: When I played the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, I thought to myself that the game was fun, but that I would never pay a subscription for it. It lacked the key element of MMORPGs: players playing together in a persistent, mutable world. While it had nice graphics, decent gameplay, interesting storylines, and an amusing group story participation dynamic, it had no strong foundation as a “massively” multiplayer game. At best, a one-time box purchase with private multiplayer, kinda like Borderlands; but certainly no justification for a subscription. He goes…
MMORPG Interview with Jeff Hickman and Matthew Bromberg
SWTOR is going free to play and it’s happening sooner than you think. We’re all excited about the news and here’s an interview from MMORPG.com’s William Murphy to give us more info about the game, the move to f2p and other questions you might have. It’s happening, and sooner than you might think. BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is going F2P with a hybrid business model this fall. Players have been wondering about it, journalists have been begging for it, and it seems that all this time BioWare’s been listening and reacting. After being informed of the then embargoed announcement this morning, I had the rare opportunity to sit in on a call with BioWare’s Jeff Hickman and Matthew Bromberg (who recently took over as GM of the Austin studio. We talked about the timing, the reasons, and the way in which they believe SWTOR going F2P is just finally giving…
Twitter Post by Hall Hood (lead writer) Suggests New Event?
Do you follow your favorite game developers and staff on social media? Lots of us do and it’s one of the greatest parts of the popularity of social media. I love when I can look up someone who works on a game I enjoy and can find them on Twitter, especially if they update regularly. But one downside to this easy-access is that misinformation is sometimes spread. It’s a casualty of the platform and perhaps that 140-character limit. We saw a good example of that today. For those who follow SWTOR’s lead writer Hall Hood on Twitter, you may already know that he often teases us with snippets of things to come in the game. This morning he set Twitter afire with SWTOR fans expecting a new event after this tweet: #SWTOR SIS Intel Report: Rumors indicate Czerka research vessel “Theoretika” has been located by deep-space salvage team. Investigating. — Hall Hood…
Swtor collectors edition now 30 bucks at Kmart
Star Wars: The old republic collectors edition is now at sale for 30 bucks at Kmart. This is might be somewhat depressing considering what we paid for it at release, but this could also be an especially good deal for players when the Free to play version launches. Think of all the cartel coins you will get. A BioWare CSR has confirmed that it is indeed possible to upgrade your account to the collectors edition. You also get access to the Collector’s Edition Store if you upgrade it now, and of course the Darth Malgus statue!
Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk Leaving BioWare? Unconfirmed Rumors
Rumors are going around the past 24 hours after this report on GamersGlobal says that BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have left the company or plan to do so soon. It has caused discussions on both the BioWare forums and the SWTOR forums but no one really knows for sure if this is anything more than just a rumor. GameBanshee says: A trustworthy source has been told by an employee of Bioware Austin yesterday that neither Greg Zeschuk nor Ray Muzyka have been present at a Bioware Company Meeting in Austin, Texas, just a few days ago. The employee claimed that this has not been the case before at such a meeting. The six others members of Bioware Austin’s leadership have been there. Also, Greg Zeschuk has not been seen for several weeks now, the Bioware Austin employee claims. There are supposed to be internal rumours at Bioware Austin that…
World of Warcraft has 9.1 million subscribers, down by a million since May
With talks about SWTOR going free to play, we also hear a lot of talk about World of Warcraft, the popular MMO from Blizzard. Many people said SWTOR might be a WoW-killer and then it turned out to have less of an impact on WoW. We can compare WoW to SWTOR until the cows come home but it’s like comparing apples to oranges. While both might be fruits, an apple just doesn’t cut it when you want an orange. But what does this mean for the industry? Well, there is some interesting news about WoW release with the Q2 2012 earnings report from Activision Blizzard. This report says that World of Warcraft currently has 9.1 subscribers. This is down one million since May- pretty large numbers when you look at it. World of Warcraft remains the reigning titan in terms of subscription-based games… but the titan is looking just a little…
LucasArts president Paul Meegan steps down after two years
The high level turnovers with LucasArts continues as it was announced today that LA President, Paul Meegan, would step down after two years with the company. A statement was released today by parent company Lucasfilm that reveals the news. “”Development on all current LucasArts projects will proceed,” reads a line from Lucasfilm’s statement. “”Paul has been a valuable member of the Lucasfilm leadership team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. We remain committed to our current projects and will be re-evaluating LucasArts’ leadership needs to ensure that we make the right decisions to keep the studio focused.” In his own statement, Meegan said LucasArts has “come a long away” and he is “extremely proud” of what the teams at the studio have accomplished. He said there are a number of projects that have yet to be announced, and that he wishes the company “all the best”…
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II Restored Content Mod
Many SWTOR players were fans of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and if you’re missing the game, there is now a new, fun option for you. One of the greatest Star Wars video games ever made is back, 8 years after its release. LucasArts is releasing a combo package called Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Collection, Now fans can experience the Jedi role playing game from BioWare along with the Obsidian-developed sequel, both of which set the stage for Star Wars: The Old Republic as we know it today. Obsidian’s sequel Knights of the Old Republic II—The Sith Lords was well known as being a disappointing letdown to excited fans who waited for it and then got a buggy, basically unplayable game. It had a rushed development and launched with far too many flaws in place. So players, fans and modders set out to fix it the way they…
SWTOR Free to Play is on its Way!
EA and BioWare announced today that it will be expanding Star Wars: The Old Republic by adding a new free-to-play option this fall. And for everyone who plays between now and then or who was previously subscribed, there will be benefits by way of Cartel Coins. Players who choose to engage in free-to-play will be able to experience a majority of the game for free, including the first 50 levels and all eight classes. BioWare did state that there will be restrictions, but those can be removed with microtransactions. SWTOR announced: Now is the time to play The Old Republic™! Over the coming months there will be more frequent Game Updates, including group content like Flashpoints, Warzones, Operations, and dynamic in-game events and more included in your subscription. They go on to show what the rewards will be, including a vote for “player’s choice” rewards. The Developer Blog explained the…
GDC Online debuts Smedley, SWTOR and more!
With GDC Online getting closer, we’re all looking forward to more information, updates and fun interviews. That’s exactly what they’re working on to give us. The show has added a new trio of talks, featuring Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley on transitioning to the free to play model, BioWare on the platform supporting Star Wars: The Old Republic, and CCP on nurturing an MMO community. Gamasutra brings us full details on these new sessions: – First, John Smedley, the president of Sony Online Entertainment, will discuss how the company transitioned its entire game lineup to the free to play model in theBusiness and Marketing track lecture, “Free-to-Play: Driving the Future of MMOs.”” Referencing games from EverQuest to Planetside 2(pictured), Smedley will share some of SOE’s insights and lessons learned to help other developers successfully adopt the free to play model. With this knowledge, attendees will walk away understanding how to grow not only their player…