Alessandra Torresani is insanely hot. This much is certain. Today, I’m also a little more convinced that she is actually also straight up insane, thanks to the video below. Featuring full frontal Sith Lord tonguing action, a Darth toddler and some wonderfully off-kilter humour, the video charts Torresani’s relationship with Darth Vader from the heady highs to the neck-crushing lows. It’s odd, but it’s our kind of odd. I’m pretty sure that putting an oversized Darth Vader helmet on an infant verges on child abuse, but it looks pretty bloody funny. And if it’s done in the name of entertainment, Social Services presumably have to be more lenient. Otherwise those little hairy children they put in Ewok costumes would never have been granted permission to work…
The Guild Sphere: The Crescent Rose
This week I sat down with one of the admissions officials with the The Crescent Rose, a republic RP guild guild focusing on PvE and some PvP. These guys has really thought over everything, so enjoy: Where did your guilds name come from? In every game, we spend time finding a new guild backstory to suit the lore, and we take a name that will suit that backstory. It’s more work, but it gives us a chance to look at the world, and also self-examine every so often. Here, our background writers looked at a few things: The idea that the Republic and Empire aren’t in open conflict, but in a cold war, the thought that Force classes are likely going to be very popular, concepts of secrecy, and we started playing with words and images that would fit those ideas. The word “Subrosa,” or “Under the rose,” got thrown…
Darth Hater Turns 2
Darth Hater celebrates their 2-year birthday/anniversary this week. “Episode 89 “Two Years of Hate” of the Darth Hater Podcast is now live. Check the bottom of the post for the stream and download links. Podcast notes after the jump.”Here are the credits of the 2-year podcast:Intro Justin Lowe – Sado – @zirak Pete Trerice – Misenus – @petetrerice Joshua Ogborn – Sleeper – @dhsleeper Ben – Dover – @doverbsOfficial Darth Hater Twitter Pre-Show Two year anniversary SegmentsFriday Update: Studio Insider, Community Q&A and Final Comic-Con Details Revan Excerpt in Star Wars Insider DevTracker Highlights For The Week of July 14, 2011 Facebook Image of the Week 7.13.11 The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of PvP Lore Update: Jedi Consular Community Poll Would you like to see a player review system added to PVE Flashpoints/Operations?Yes (853 Votes, 66%) No (442 Votes, 35%) Would you like to see the PVP…
SWTOR Currency Sellers Prep for Upcoming Launch
As we get closer to the eventual launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we see more and more websites selling in-game currency and power-leveling. It’s an interesting phenomenon but not surprising, really. Everyone is trying to jump in and get their own piece of the SWTOR pie and for those who offer shortcuts in the game, that piece might not be so little. While some still do not understand why gamers would want to fast-track their way through the game, there seems to be no shortage of people willing to buy such services. Some argue that they don’t have the time to level up in the game or farm for currency and that adults who work hard to be able to afford it should be able to pay their hard-earned cash to get more of what they want in the game. Is it really hurting anyone other than them?…
Pre order banner ads showing up around the net
I guess all the buzz about pre-orders was correct.When I woke up this morning, many of the major MMORPG websites are showing banners and backgrounds for Star Wars the old republic. Here is a picture of how WoWHead looks: And here is a picture of how mmorpg.com looks this morning: All links seem to be pointing at a page over at swtor.com that’s not open yet. This might be due to time difference between Europe and USA, but I’m pretty sure it will be working later today. We also now know one of the announcements that BioWare will give us at comic con. Edit: BioWare has send out the Pre-Order mail. GO GO GO !
Facebook Image of The Week #21
While the internet is going nuts over preorder and release dates, BioWare updates the official Star Wars The old Republic Facebook page with a new image. This time it’s an image of a Republic shield generator on Hoth: Partially buried beneath the ice, the Republic’s shield generator serves as the first line of defense against an ever-present Imperial threat on the contested world of Hoth.
SWTOR Pre-Orders will open on July 21st and other Rumors
The rumor mills were buzzing yesterday and today about pre-orders, pricing, collector’s editions and release date announcements for SWTOR. First, we stumbled upon the screenshot of EA Support saying that Pre-Orders would open on July 21st: Then we also got a report about a pre-order placed with the online retailer hmv.com being cancelled. This was presumably because there will be new, upcoming news about preorders. Our belief is that they buyers first bought it for 26.99£ but now the price will be more like 35£. With Spanish and Polish retailers putting out info about the pre-order, it seems like this was more than just another rumor in the rumor mill. One of the more interesting screen shots shows the Collector’s Edition package. Gamestop was another retailer that put out early info about the pre-order that was later was removed. According to Gamestop’s site, the Collector’s Edition will run for…
System Requirements for SWTOR
Many players are curious about the system requirements for SWTOR. Will you need the latest system to run in properly? Will the graphics look good on your current system? Will you be able to play without lag? Now we know the system data for SWTOR so those of you who have been speculating in the SWTOR official forums thread that has been split off more than 5 times over the years, we now have a pretty good expectation of what the requirements can be. Find out if your system is up to snuff. If not, you still have some time to make the upgrades and adjustments you need before the release of SWTOR. But don’t wait too long- rumors have it we might be getting a release date announcement soon. Here are the system requirements for SWTOR: OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual…
How Stuff Works: Ryyk Blade
A weapon that finds its origin on Kashyyyk, the ryyk blade is the traditional melee weapon carried by a Wookiee. Ryyk blades can vary in design based on their specific origin, but generally consist of sharpened blades with hide-wrapped grips. A Wookiee’s ryyk blade is considered, much like a bowcaster, a prized possession and weapon. It is often brandished with Wookiee writing, sometimes depicting great adventures that happened with the ryyk blades. A Wookiee who is able to successfully carry out a hunt with only a ryyk blade is held with high respect among his peers and clan members. The average ryyk blade weighs about thirty-three pounds, although this is nothing to a Wookiee, who is able to wield the weapon with blinding speed and agility. Traditional Wookiee combat styles emphasize brute force over finesse, although Wookiees use the weapons with great precision, wasting no energy or motion, making them…
SWTOR Pre-Order Leak
A Polish online store had a potential SWTOR pre-order leak up recently that has since been taken down (or maybe the link was never valid?) but BetaCake blog has the original photo with an attempted Polish translation of the text up on their site today. The translated description according to Beta Cake says: “Discover the period of the Old Republic – thousands of years before the rise of Darth Vader when the war between the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire divided the galaxy. Choose and create your own character from many classic heroes of Star Wars ™ series, like : Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter or Smuggler. Make decisions that will define your personal story and shape your own path at the Light or Dark side of the Force. During the adventures complement to your team that you support the will to fight. You will fight an amazing fight, you…
Drew Karpyshyn has revealed his appearances planned for Comic-Con
Drew Karpyshyn posted an update on his site about his planned appearances at Comic Con this upcoming week. His update came a little late because he was waiting to be able to fully explain his Comic Con schedule, which he posts as follows: Friday July 22 2pm-3pm – I’m part of a writer’s panel at the BioWare Base 4pm-5pm – I’ll be signing books, games, posters, etc at the BioWare Base (and we may have a few free copies of some of my novels to hand out) Saturday July 23 12pm-1pm – I’ll be signing books at the Random House booth (again, hoping to have some free copies to give away) 2pm-3pm – I’m part of a writer’s panel at the BioWare Base 4pm-5pm – Another signing at the BioWare Base 7:30pm-10pm – Community Meet and Greet at the BioWare Base Drew adds that he will be…
Absolutely No Fishing in SWTOR
Many players are asking whether or not there will be fishing in SWTOR. It’s a reasonable request since many MMORPGs have fishing implemented as a profession in the game. Georg Zoeller addresses the topic on the official SWTOR forums and explains why there should be absolutely no fishing in SWTOR. Zoeller explains why it is not really possible to fish in this galaxy by breaking down the various worlds and areas: “Hutta – Poisonous swamp, all fish are horribly mutated creatures that would eat you on sight. Better not go fishing. Ord Mantell – Wartorn world, full of Separatists and men of fortune. Overabundance of unexploded ordnance polluting landscape and the ocean. Better avoid fishing there. Tython – Lush landscape, so peaceful, except for those Flesh Raider guys. Who look like Sharks (at least according to Tython chat on the test servers). Just think about it. Sharks that walk. Better…
The Guild Sphere: Krayt
It’s Monday and time for a new guild feature to start of the week. This time I had the chance to talk to the guild leader Shadowreborn and Lead Officer Miahmite from the republic guild Krayt. Enjoy! Where did your guilds name come from? Guild Leader Shadowreborn: “We thought about this for a long time. Many names were thrown around and eventually we settled on Krayt. In the star wars universe the Krayt dragons were hunted for their pearls and could be embedded into light sabers as a power source. This was mainly a tribute to the beautiful creatures they are and a send-off to the game star wars galaxies that closes December of 2011.”” Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? Lead Officer Miahmite: ” We are family and friends but not limited to that. In Krayt, every member has an opportunity to contribute to both the guild and…
SWTOR Moves from TBD to TBA
There has been a recent move in the status of Star Wars: The Old Republic. It is now listed on EA Games as To Be Announced (TBA) instead of TBD. We weren’t the only ones to discover this as the discussion heated up in the official forums about it as well. So what does this really mean? Opinions are varying but it could be one of two things: a. Not really a big deal at all and TBD and TBA are considered pretty much the same thing b. A date has been officially set and could be released soon. If the date has been released, is it possible they might reveal it at SDCC? Well it is always possible, of course, but who can be certain at this time? Many people thought they would release it at E3 and that turned into a big disappointment. It could mean that they…
SWTOR Friday Update Recap
This week’s Friday update from SWTOR.com came in a two-part series. First, we learned about San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) which most of us are already aware of. This update contains all the info you need to know about SDCC and what to expect. BioWare will be at the Hilton Gaslamp: Thursday: 12:00PM – 7:00PM Friday: 12:00PM – 7:00PM Saturday: 12:00PM – 7:00PM Sunday: 12:00PM – 5:30PM Don’t worry if you won’t be making it to Comic Con because they also had this to say: “If you are unable to attend Comic-Con, you won’t be left out in the cold. We’ll have exciting updates for you on the website throughout the week and you can get live updates straight from the showfloor by following us on Twitter or liking us on Facebook.” Now on to the new Friday update news: Crafting the Class Intros- SWTOR is all about storyline and…
SWTOR FTW Weekly: Comic-Con, Revan, Intro Crawls And More
FTWBroadcasting has just brought us the first edition of SWTOR FTW Weekly, a weekly update on all the best articles, news and more about SWTOR. They will be bringing us a video every week to recap the news and events from that week so you can stay updated on everything about SWTOR as it happens. This week talks about the predicted launch of sales for TOR by Pachter which we brought you this week. Next up is the biggest news this week of Comic Con San Diego. Preview night starts on July 20th and the event runs from July 21st- 24th so you can bet there will be a lot of exciting news coming out of that event. The video also recaps some of the info that will be covered at SDCC such as a panel and some new reveals. There will also be a promotion with free Revan…
Know your Lore: Simus
Simus was a Sith Lord who lived during the first Sith Empire. Around a century before the Great Hyperspace War of 5,000 BBY, Simus dueled fellow Sith Lord Marka Ragnos for the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and total control of the Sith Empire. Ragnos defeated Simus, who had been beheaded in the battle with the other aspiring Dark Lord. However, Simus did not give up. Rather than letting himself die, he used his ancient Sith powers to preserve his life. However, very little of him was left; he lived as a severed head in a special jar for the rest of his days. He was carried around by heavily-armed, hulking Sith servants, and joined the Sith Council. He became a respected member of the council, and his opinion was highly valued by the other Sith on the Council. He lived for over a hundred years, and watched…
SWTOR Companions List
Here is the full companions List for Star Wars: The old republic. Each class will be able to get a total of 5 companions through out the game. Each companion will be able to do different types of damage or play different roles in a group. Each companion will also give different bonuses to your crew skills in swtor. Pro Tip 1: If you enter your Quest Log, go to Codex then ‘Person of Note’, you can see what your companion likes/dislikes. This way you know what to say on dialogs to get +affection. Pro Tip 2: Companions use crafting materials that are in your cargo hold, you don’t have to carry crafting materials on you. Pro Tip 3: If you hit N for crew skills, you can click the individual crew skill next to each companion. For the longest time I was picking the general “slicing” button at the…
More Info on Crafting Professions
AlterSWtor has recently posted a bunch of Crafting screen shots from the game. Looks really promising. Below is a Summary of the different professions, and below that are the actual screen shots. Gathering Archaeology – materials for Artifice and Synthweaving Bioanalysis – materials for Biochem Scavenging – materials for Armormech, Armstech, and Cybertech Slicing – credits, tech materials, unlockable missions Crafting Armormech – non-Force user armor (Scavenging) Armstech – blaster weapons and mods (Scavenging) Artifice – lightsaber and Force user armor mods (Archaeology) Biochem – consumables and implants (Bioanalysis) Cybertech – droid and non-Force user armor mods (Scavenging) Synthweaving – Force user armor (Archaeology) Missions Diplomacy – LS/DS points, light armor materials, companion gifts Investigation – medium armor materials, prototype schematics, companion gifts Treasure Hunting – earpieces/focii/blasters/electro weapons materials (gemstones), credits, companion gifts Underworld Trading – implant materials (spices), heavy armor materials, droid heavy armor materials, companion gifts Gathering Archaeology…
CTRL+ALT+DEL’s SWTOR Beta Test Comic “Exclusive”
The team at CTRL+ALT+DEL have consistently turned their very talented gaze to the world of gaming since way back in 2002, producing stand out comics dedicated to the funnier side of nerdery. And now, praise Chewy, the funny guys have produced one dedicated to the minefield that is the world of SWTOR Beta Invites… Brilliant work. And methinks more than a little true. Do yourself a favour, check out some more of CAD’s stuff if you haven’t already.
Kaley Cuoco’s Slave Girl Leia PSA
Compelled by what is clearly a pressing issue – Slave Leia fatigue – director Zachary Levi has posted this informative PSA starring Big Bang Theory’s nerd-pin-up supreme Kaley Cuoco, advising cosplay girls of a better way. The video comes under the banner of the painfully funny team at BreakOriginals. According to the video, with so many choices available to cosplay girls, there’s no reason everyone needs to be Slave Leia. By acting now, we can save Slave Leia for when we really need her. Incidentally, my own cosplay is a little more off-kilter. I go as an XBox Live user who has recently encountered a girl gamer on the forums. I turn up wearing only my underwear, so when anyone asks what I’m meant to be I can say “I’ve just come in my pants.” I’m here all week. By the way, if you’re numb-skulled like me, and it’s…
Daniel Erickson Interview from Gamereactor
As part of their ongoing coverage of E3, Gamereactor has a pretty interesting video interview never before released with Daniel Erickson that’s worth the time to check out. It’s the longest video they’ve filmed at E3 and we’re all about hearing anything from SWTOR lead writer Daniel Erickson. The interview talks about story, end-game and also the possibility of a closed or open beta. It’s a 15-minute sit down with Erickson just released. “It’s our launch year,” Erickson says, “so I finally get to quit saying — for the most part — I can’t talk about that.” We are happy to hear when you can talk about that, Daniel!
TOR to Sell 2 Million Units at Launch According to Analyst
Everyone seems to be highly concerned with how much TOR is going to sell on launch. We keep hearing predictions, guesstimates and more. One analyst familiar with the industry says the magic number will be 2 million units at launch. Michael Pachter with Wedbush Securities issued an investor note yesterday that says he predicts the launch sale of 2 million units with 1.5 million staying after the initial free month that is traditionally offered by games. Pachter is the host of Pach Attack on GameTrailers, and he tweets from @michaelpachter. I think he’s on to something here and I tend to agree with the numbers. I mean, it makes sense when you add all the factors. This game has something for so many different people- MMORPG fans, Star Wars fans, ex-WoW players, those who want to be ex-WoW players and more. There’s not a lot of question about BioWare bringing…
“Best Star Wars Game We’ve Seen in a Long Time”
There’s a new Star Wars game on its way and we’re not talking about SWTOR! *gasp* Fleet Commander challenges you to forget everything you ever knew about Star Wars games and discover a completely new approach. This game, developed by Arthur Nishimoto, a student at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has a lot to offer that big gaming companies can learn from. The game was initially designed in 2009 as a space strategy game. It was simple but of good quality and then evolved into a multiplayer project available for TacTile touch-screen display. Since it is not a commercial product, it could use Star Wars ships and even sound effects. Kotaku says, “It’s the best Star Wars game we’ve seen in a long time.” There is a 2010 version of the game available for you to see on YouTube. It looks pretty darn good…