Virtual reality (VR) is the rage in the tech industry this year. There was a lot of talk about it at the New York Media Festival this year and we even got to try out some of the latest VR technology for ourselves in the exhibits. But we recently heard some interesting news about Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic. As part of this year’s Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects arm of Star Wars studio Lucasfilm, announced that it will give a talk at the Virtual Reality Developers Conference. The event takes place on March 14 and we should know more specifics after that. But for now, there are some hints that VR might be coming to Star Wars. They don’t directly name Star Wars but there’s a good chance this is the franchise being implied here: “At VRDC, Lucasfilm Industrial Light and…
How BioWare Makes Use of Livestreamers for SWTOR
You might remember when BioWare was promoting KotFE that they brought in several well known live streamers and live video people to help promote the new expansion. They had YouTube content creators as well as popular Twitch streamers talk about SWTOR to their own fanbase. They also seemed to talk to outside streamers from other games about trying SWTOR and also introducing it to their audiences. It’s not a bad strategy, honestly. It’s something that most companies will do in a time like this but some will say it failed for BioWare in this scenario. It doesn’t look like it paid off how BioWare would have hoped because they aren’t using that tactic anymore. It’s common practice for companies to experiment with different marketing tactics to see what works and this wasn’t a bad idea in theory. I work in marketing and I know the power behind brand ambassadors and…
The Academy: How to Make Your Character Look Cool in SWTOR
There are many reasons to love MMORPGs and SWTOR has all of these features packed into one great Star Wars themed game. Of these, character customization is an important one. Sure, there are many other important elements, such as those that affect gameplay, but when it comes down to it, looking cool is important to many players. When you’re rolling characters in a role playing game, there is usually a part of you that wants to get into the character you’re playing. You want your character to reflect parts of your personality or of the personality you are role playing. Now if you want to learn how to make your character in SWTOR look cool, this great video from SWTORista’s Academy series will help you. In the video they explain the outfit designer, which is a pretty cool feature. I remember when WoW first got a feature like this. It…
Curious How BioWare Created SWTOR Classes?
If you’ve ever wanted to know how BioWare created the SWTOR classes, you’re in luck. There is a special guest post series on StarWars.com from SWTOR lead designer, Michael Backus that tells you all about it. You can see Part 1 here, which talks about the Republic. Blakus has been on the SWTOR team for seven years now and if you’ve ever had any interaction with him, you know that he is really passionate about what he does and it shows. So it’s great to see that he is the one doing this guest post series because I’m sure it’s going to be good. Here’s a snippet from part 1: “So I’m going to do just that. I’m going to talk about the different classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but more importantly, about each class’s story arc. And by this, I don’t mean spoilers about their plots, but really, what…
KOTOR is Getting a Fan Made HD Unreal Engine 4 Reboot
Attention fans of KOTOR: you are going to love this! For how long have fans been saying they want KOTOR back or a KOTOR 2? Well, you’re getting something along those lines with this KOTOR reboot. Wait, can they even do that? Actually, they can and here they explain why and how: “Engine refresh of games has been around since the 80’s and some have become very sucessful. Games like Black Mesa did it with Half Life and Renegade X rebuilt Command and Conquer in the Unreal Engine 3. This is a full conversion refresh, that being said you will have to own a copy of the orginal game in order to play Apeiron since we are using the orginal audio and music. At it’s core Apeiron is the most instense KotOR modification ever.” Apeiron is a reboot of the Knights of the old Republic that was released in 2003. Apeiron…
BioWare is Hiring for a New Game
BioWare is putting out the call once again for a new IP. Could it be a new MMO? We don’t know for sure yet but it is exciting news. It’s always great news when BioWare is planning a new game but from the sound of this one, it might be an MMO which would be good for fans. Here is what the job listing had to say about this particular project. The job description says, “BioWare is seeking a qualified Senior Lead Server Engineer for a new, unannounced BioWare IP. This role will direct a team of software engineers to create the backend systems that will drive online play for this exciting new game. The successful candidate will have expert knowledge of and experience in the design, implementation, and continuing support of large scale real-time client/server applications using primarily C++. Extensive experience with and knowledge of multi-tier client/server architectures as…
New Star Wars: Battlefront Update Reportedly Underway Bringing Weapon and Vehicle Buffs
A living-breathing world like that of Star Wars: Battlefront is in continuous need of updating and tweaking, and the community is indeed very demanding in this respect. The January patch brought many improvements, tweaking various weapons and even characters, looking to smooth out the balance, and while most of these tweaks were welcome indeed, some of them ended up generating unwanted side-effects. The Homing Shot and the Bowcaster for instance got seriously nerfed, so much so in fact that according to the community, the two said weapons have become all but useless. There was naturally a lot of upheaval tied to these botched tweaks, but help is apparently already underway. According to Battlefront Community Manager Sledgehammer70, the next update will target the above said two weapons, and they will be restored to what they should indeed be. The Community Manager also admitted that the tweaks in the works for the…
SWTOR Chapter 11 Disavowed Teaser Video
BioWare just released a teaser video for the upcoming chapter 11 in Star Wars: The old republic, named Disavowed- The next chapter goes live on march 8 for subscribers. Check it out: Join forces with Major Jorgan and the elite solders of Havoc Squad to destroy the Eternal Empire in Disavowed, the next chapter coming in the episodic story of STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ – Knights of the Fallen Empire! In Chapter 11: Disavowed, Jorgan joins your Alliance in a deadly mission deep behind enemy lines. It’s up to you as the Outlander to determine how far to allow Jorgan and his soldiers to go in the war against the Eternal Empire. Knights of the Fallen Empire, including Disavowed, is free to all Subscribers and new players can jump right into the story with a new Level 60 character. Plus, Subscribers are rewarded every month with unique gear, weapons, and…
February SWTOR Subscriber Reward Email Today
Just a headsup to let you know, that the SWTOR February subscriber reward email is going out today. Some may not get it until tomorrow. This email contains the 1050 cartel coin code. February subscriber reward email code | 02.18.2016, 05:49 PM Hey folks! I know there have been quite a few questions about when the Feb reward email would be going out. Many of you spotted the EA Help article which mentioned they would be sent out today. It is our goal that the emails will all be sent today. However, it is possible that they wont go out until tomorrow. If for some reason they are not going out by end of day tomorrow, I will make sure we post an update! Thanks everyone. -eric
SWTOR: Patch Notes 4.1b
Here are Patch Notes 4.1b for today’s maintenance. General Using the “Sort” functions in the Cargo Hold no longer causes item loss. Crew Skills 212, 216, and 220 Craftable Relics are now Bind on Equip as expected. Missions + NPCs It is now possible to complete the Alliance Alert “To Find A Findsman” after starting Chapter X. It is no longer possible to get into a state where you are unable to complete Chapter X.
SWTOR Maintenance: 18 February 2016 Patch 4.1b
BioWare will be taking the servers offline in order to apply Patch 4.1b on Thursday, February 18th. Details: DATE: February 18, 2016 TIME: 5AM PST – 7AM PST (13:00 – 15:00 GMT) VERSION: 4.1b We will post patch notes as we get them. Timezone(s) Start Time End Time UTC Offset Wellington February 19, 2016 02:00 am February 19, 2016 04:00 am +13:00 Australia/Sydney February 19, 2016 12:00 am February 19, 2016 02:00 am +11:00 Australia/Adelaide February 18, 2016 11:30 pm February 19, 2016 01:30 am +10:30 Australia/Brisbane February 18, 2016 11:00 pm February 19, 2016 01:00 am +10:00 Tokyo February 18, 2016 10:00 pm February 19, 2016 12:00 am +09:00 Australia/Perth, Hong Kong February 18, 2016 09:00 pm February 18, 2016 11:00 pm +08:00 Mumbai February 18, 2016 06:30 pm February 18, 2016 08:30 pm +05:30 Moscow February 18, 2016 04:00 pm February 18, 2016 06:00 pm +03:00 EET February 18,…
Will We See Another Star Wars MMORPG?
People love Star Wars. The recent stats of the latest film show us this without question. The popularity of the franchise is one that has crossed generations. People will likely continue to love and follow Star Wars. We also know that fans love Star Wars games. It’s something we talk about every day here on the site. Sometimes we struggle, as fans, to find decent Star Wars games. To find those iconic games that still with you for many years. The types of games that truly shape your life. It’s no surprise that Star Wars fans like MMOs with a Star Wars theme. Who wouldn’t want to be put right in the driver/pilot seat of their favorite thing? This is why Star Wars Galaxies was so popular. Then we have SWTOR. But will this be the end of the road for Star Wars MMORPGs? As we see the new films coming to…
Do Many Star Wars Fans Love Gambling?
There is a connection between people who like online video games and people who like online slots. Lots of people who enjoy one enjoy the other. Statistics have shown links between the two and we’ve seen this apparent in pop culture in a variety of ways. While we won’t likely see a casino added to SWTOR any time soon, you can enjoy some of your favorite slots from the comfort of your own home with online casinos. People also bet on the Star Wars film before The Force Awakens was released and there’s a good chance they will continue to place bets on future films, especially with all the records that first movie has been breaking. It’s an exciting topic for people. Just how some bet on the Superbowl every year (even if they’re not regularly sports fans) there are also people who will bet on Star Wars simply because…
SWTOR: Changes to the Cartel Market — Tuesday February 16 – 2016
Here are the weekly cartel market items on sale for the week of February 16 – February 23 2016 . Price Change Old Price New Price Percent Change Normal Price Helpful links UNLOCK: ADDITIONAL LEGACY STRONGHOLD STORAGE BAY 375 750 +100% 750 UNLOCK: INVENTORY MODULE 100 175 +75% 175 THE ARNECLIN MASTERPIECES 500 1000 +100% 1000 Information from TOR FASHION APPEARANCE OPTION: SHAGGY 25 100 +300% 100 APPEARANCE OPTION: UNDERCUT 100 50 –50% 50 ADDITIONAL CHARACTER SLOT 600 300 –50% 540 DATA ENTRY 480 240 –50% 480 THERMAL RETENTION ARMOR SET 1200 120 –90% 900 Information from TOR FASHION Still On Sale Old Price New Price Percent Change Normal Price Helpful links GOING PLACES BASIC BUNDLE 375 250 –34% 312
Has Star Wars Battlefront Improved Since Launch?
So as you know, we’ve been supporters of Star Wars Battlefront since the start but not everyone has loved it as much. There were some who believed the game fell short, or simply wasn’t worth the asking price tag. Then there are some gamers who always prefer to wait on a game, rather than jumping all in from the start. Whatever camp you fall in, it’s safe to say the game has changed and improved over the past two months. Tech Times has a post about how the game is “finally worth playing” and while we agree on some points, we’re just not on the same page with others. For starters, we’ve been behind the game from the get go so I wouldn’t say it’s only now become “worth playing”. They start off by saying that when the game first launched, it was “a mess”. Well, many games are in…
Darth Revan Figure at 2016 New York Toy Fair
There was a very interesting new toy at the 2016 New York Toy Fair. Here’s a picture of the Darth Revan figurine which actually came from a poll that Hasbro organized a few months ago about the next Star Wars figurine in the Black Series. It’s a 6-inch figure that goes along with others in the popular line. It should retail for around $20. As announced at San Diego Comic-Con, evil Sith Lord Darth Revan has won the Fan’s Choice poll and will join Hasbro’s realistic Black Series line! But that’s not all… Runner-up Sabine Wren, the popular Mandalorian explosives expert and artist from Star Wars Rebels will also join the Black Series! Each year at the New York Toy Fair, we get a sneak peek at the latest new toys, trends in the industry and much more. Toy Fair is produced by the Toy Industry Association™, Inc. (TIA), the not-for-profit…
Star Wars Battlefront: 11 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
If you’re playing Star Wars Battlefront, GottaBe Mobile has some mistakes they say you should avoid. Who has ever gotten into a new game and after playing for awhile, realized things you wish you had known early on? It’s just one of the things that comes with starting a brand new game early. One reason a lot of gamers enjoy playing the beta of a game is that they get some of these mistakes out of the way early. Of course, things can still change from beta to launch game mode so it’s not a foolproof method. All of that said, it can be fun sometimes to look at the advice and tips lists of other people, whether you’re new to the game or have been playing since the beginning and that is exactly what we’re going to do here with this post on Battlefront. So here are some of…
Star Wars R2D2 Computer Case Mod
I am a huge fan of DIY projects. I even have a couple of websites devoted to this sort of thing. As readers here will know, I am also a fan of Star Wars. So when a project like this comes along, it’s going to capture my attention. This is such an awesome project for a custom case for his little boy. I love R2D2 (most people do, right?) and I’ve also noticed that kids really take to the little guy, same as kids of today fall in love with BB-8. There’s something about a little beeping droid that kids can identify with, especially when they often become the hero in a situation. I know I would have LOVED a computer case like this when I was 7. So this Star Wars R2D2 modded computer case was built by a dad with and for his 7 year old son. He…
Free DLC Packs that Star Wars Battlefront Needs
Not everyone is fully enamored with Star Wars Battlefront. Others have jumped onto the Battlefront bandwagon but they have a few requests they would like to see coming in future DLC packs. Like, why can’t we play as Yoda? EA has been forced to give us more content and for the most part, it’s been good. Fans have been eating it up and EA and DICE will need to work hard to keep up with this growing demand for content from existing as well as new players. What Culture explores this topic and lists seven free DLC packs the game needs. Here are a few they have on the list: New villains Prequel maps Weapon and vehicle upgrades New heroes They do more than just list the suggestions; they also go into depth about why each one should be there. I have to agree, this is a good list of…
Which Star Wars Games Can You Play on a Mac?
The Old Republic is a great game, but it has one serious disadvantage: it’s only available for Windows computers. If you have a PC, that’s no problem, but what if you have a Mac? The selection of Star Wars games is a bit smaller, but it’s still out there. Here are 13 Star Wars games you can play on your Mac. If I’ve missed any good ones, be sure to let me know in the comments! LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Who doesn’t love LEGO Star Wars? The games are quirky, challenging, highly replayable, and a hell of a lot of fun. The complete saga, which includes missions through all six movies, has over 160 characters that you can combine in wacky ways, co-op play, and new bounty hunter missions. For $20, it’s a steal, and it’s probably the best Star Wars game available for the Mac. LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone…
February SWTOR Producer’s Livestream Coverage
Here is the total coverage of yesterdays Producer’s Livestream. Eric Musco joined by Ben Irving. The official recap can be found here. Below recap was put together by dulfy over at the SWTOR sub reddit. Agenda State of the Galaxy Chapter X Chapter XI: Disavowed Eternal Championship New Warzone (also something special for PvPers) Quality of Life Improvements coming in April State of Galaxy Not smooth sailing. Downloading issues on Tuesday and now. Few bugs go out with Chapter 10. Key bugs fixed with today’s patch, still some connectivity issue this afternoon. Should be ironed out shortly. Anarchist’s Cartel Market Pack – People not happy with the changes. Please keep the feedback coming. We are continually making the changes. February Subscriber Gift All subscribers who opt in to email by Feb 14 will receive 1050 cartel coins (it is a code you can give anyone). Opt in via your account settings on the forums….
Star Wars Commander Soars in China
Chinese mobile game company, MGE, said that Star Wars: Commander has become a No. 1 hit in China, generating more than 1 million downloads in just four days. This is a huge sign that Western content is popular in China and that the love for Star Wars is truly universal. The Chinese love Star Wars as much as we do. Venture Beat goes on to explain a little more about this: Licensed from Disney, CMGE (China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group) tailored this Clash of Clans-like strategy game for the Chinese market and promoted on the many app stores in that country. That’s consistent with a trend of Western developers partnering with local Chinese companies to take their work to China, which has become the biggest market in the $30 billion mobile gaming industry. The Chinese mobile game market is about 51.4 billion renminbi, or about $7.8 billion, and it has more than…
Feb 11 Patch 4.1a Maintenance for SWTOR
You all know how it goes. A new patch and all hell breaks loose. There for BioWare is taking down all SWTOR servers on Feb 11 5am to 7 am PST from for Patch 4.1a maintenance. Maintenance: 11 February 2016 | 02.10.2016, 08:17 PM Hey everyone! We will be taking the servers offline in order to apply Patch 4.1a on Thursday, February 11th. Details: DATE: February 11, 2016 TIME: 5AM PST – 7AM PST (13:00 – 15:00 GMT) VERSION: 4.1a This patch will address a few issues: missing Crafting Schematics, unusable Alliance Alerts, Chapter X area lag, the Outlander gear that changed color schemes, and an issue that caused Chapter X to not be pushed to all eligible players. Thank you for your patience as we maintain Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!
Things SWTOR Can Learn from Other MMOs
MMOs are not new and as such, there are many things that one can learn from another and we often see those features that are really working being carried over from one game to another. Such is the case with SWTOR also. There are some elements of SWTOR that are typical of a Bioware game and there are also elements that we can see are modeled after other games that have done well. This is actually really common in the industry but let’s look at some ways it might be beneficial for Bioware to take some lessons from other games. Some fans over on Reddit had their own suggestions about things SWTOR could learn from other MMOs. Here are some things that made the list: Warframe: Community communication. I think the key to Warframe’s community success is that the developers and the producers are one and the same. They have…