There’s little doubt that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be one of the more anticipated titles at E3 2011. But what does BioWare have in store for fans at this year’s E3 gaming convention? Yesterdays update sheds a little light on what the developer has planned for the event and offers a sneak peek at what fans can expect to see during this year’s EA press conference and it involves a new threat that has yet to be revealed on the planet of Belsavis. The last two years have yielded a new CG cinematic trailer and there’s no reason to think that this year will be any different. Gamespot has posted a pre E3 trailer wich also looks amazing. Check it out here: If you’re not attending E3 this year, you can still catch the press conference on Spike TV or via live stream on EA.com, on Monday, June…
The Old Republic Downloads to be Exclusive to EA’s “Origin” Service
Will Origin Top Steam? I have been a Steam gal since 2005. I love the majority of the games released on Steam and I love access to old-school favorites and new releases all from one platform. When rumors first started that EA was building their own similar platform services, I thought it was a great idea, although I was still skeptical about whether or not they would truly compete with Steam when Steam has such a big head start. Launching with Star Wars: The Old Republic is as good a way as any to ensure they have the best possible chance of catching Steam in terms of users. The news was released today that TOR downloads will be exclusive to EA’s Origin Service which should be explained in more detail officially at E3. As of 11:24ET, Origin is officially online if you want to check it out for yourself. And…
E3: BioWare Teases their Star Wars TOR Booth on Spike
During GameTrailers TV on Spike, BioWare teased their booth at E3 2011, which fans everywhere are anxiously awaiting. The booth had a giant poster that advertises The Old Republic, which some have seen before at other events. There is also a line queuing area. But that’s all the info you get… It’s no secret that BioWare is being extra secretive about SWTOR and for great reason. Still for some players, the cat-and-mouse game is getting annoying. Some are ready for a release date already and still others just want any little tidbit they can get on the game. While many suspect there will be an official release date at E3, there is no real evidence to suggest this. Some believe there will not be a release date when there has not been info about end game content released yet. From reading the yellow posts on the forums, I’m not so…
Tickets Now Available: Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, August 23-26, 2012
If you’re gearing up for the Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, then you will be happy to know that tickets are on sale now. After the very successful event last year of the Empire-themed Star Wars Celebration V, they are throwing an even bigger party this year and now is your chance to get tickets. Star Wars Celebration VI is setting down August 23-26, 2012 back at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida! Official Celebration hotels have rates starting at $65 per night, making it more affordable for fans on any budget to make the trip. You can be among some of the first to get your tickets and secure your spot at this must-see event. A Celebration news release states: “We thank you for all your support and passion. It’s the fans who have sustained the Saga for all these years, and…
Community Meet & Greet at E3 Now Planned
If you live in Los Angeles or plan to be in the area at the time, the Community Meet and Greet for E3 is now officially planned. You can follow details from the Facebook page and read more about it on the forums. This public event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8 · 8:00pm – 11:00pm at: Figueroa Hotel (Veranda Bar) 939 South Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA This will be an informal get-together for fans that are not able to get into E3 or that want a more up-close-and-personal meeting option. David Bass explains on the forums: “It’s a much less structured event than PAX East. We’ll be hanging out at the bar, chatting with those of you who are able to show up. Community Meet & Greets are very much for our most devoted fans, and while I’m sure plenty of them will be at E3, there…
George Lucas Strikes Back
Thanks to SlickGigolo, we now have a possible explanation for the perceived huge discrepancy in quality between the first three Star Wars films and the prequel trilogy released some sixteen years later. The youtube video, written and directed by SlickGigolo’s usual creative team of Bridge Stuart & Mike Litzenberg offers a slightly more feasible explanation for the unthinkable lapse than George just somehow forgetting how to make impressive, complex sci-fi films… Secret solved.
Choreographed Combat…sometimes
SWTOR will have choreographed combat… at least sometimes. But just what exactly this entails has many gamers confused. Can attacks be parried by moving out of the way? Is the combat already sequenced with the viewing of the “scene” shown once a character is already determined dead? Georg Zoeller attempts to clear up some confusion about this on the forums: “Ability. These kinds of abilities have multiple segments, each of which can hit or miss (which may give the target a window to escape…). That said, some of these abilities can be upgraded to root or stun, or the player can use other abilities before hand to set up the kill and make sure the target is not going anywhere. The whole system is rather complex and we’ve spend significant amounts of resources and time to balance visuals and gameplay – we don’t want to lock the player in place…
Facebook Image of The Week #15
Some how we mange to forget BioWares weekly facebook Image. So one day late. Here it is: Dromund Kaas is a beacon of efficiency and discipline. With a fully militarized society, police actions are rarely needed.
George Lucas has not shot 50 episodes of a ‘Star Wars’ TV series
Stories emerged yesterday morning about George Lucas that had Star War fans buzzing with excitement and a little confusion. According to Inside TV, the stories made a bold statement saying that Lucas shot 50 complete episodes of a live-action series for TV about Star Wars! That in itself may not be that hard to believe but what’s so amazing about this story is that if it were true, he had to gathered together the cast members and shoot this series, all 50 episodes, without anyone learning anything about it until after they were all completed. Now, that would be an amazing feat to accomplish. Lucas is known for operating and doing things in private at his “Skywalker Ranch” but this story seemed to be very far-fetched even for him. That’s a lot of episodes to put together without anyone noticing. It was also said that this TV series was packed…
And The Prize For Most Committed Star Wars Wedding Goes To…
Themed weddings happen every day, and most people don’t bat an eyelid. Whether you want to dress up in full Medieval threads, or commit to an entirely naturist ceremony, no-one really cares as long as no-one gets hurt, so 90% of those themed weddings pass by unnoticed. But thanks to the ultra-modern tradition of Showing Off On The Internet, that gave us such phenomenons as the Dirty Dancing and Baby Got Back first dances and the JK “Forever…” entrance dance, we get to peer into private ceremonies like never before, for good or bad… While I’m not hugely impressed by all this dancing, one thing I do love is a Star Wars themed anything – birthday parties, bah mitzahs, funerals, whatever… And the mother of all Star Wars themed weddings has come to my attention, thanks to Offbeat Bride. Here’s a mouth-watering introduction to the ceremony by the bridge herself…
Tank’n’spank and Game Tactics
Those of us anxiously awaiting the release of SWTOR have many questions about gameplay and tactics. One issue that has come up after videos of the gameplay have been released is in relation to the apparent tank n’ spank nature of some of the bosses. Some worry that the game will be too easy or that there does not seem to be any mechanic involved in tanking the bosses. Georg Zeoller, Principal Lead Combat Designer, explains how this is not true and why more information cannot be released at this time on the topic: “This has been discussed before, but to re-iterate: The Old Republic uses a wide palette of mechanics for the harder boss fights, it is not just ‘tank ‘n’ spank”. When it comes to videos, there’s a number of reasons why you haven’t seen anything more complex: (a) Throwing people who have never played the game at…
Gear swapping in mid-combat? – No Says Georg Zoeller
While many MMOs have gear-swapping or weapon-swapping in combat, Georg Zoeller says that SWTOR will not. This has some fans unhappy but Zoeller explains the reasoning behind it: “Switching weapons to maximize stats is not the kind of gameplay we want to encourage. It’s tedious and not fun for the overwhelming majority of players, and since some players would feel compelled to engage in the behavior if it offered a benefit, regardless how tedious and unfun it was, we just disallow it, period.” Some are worried about what would happen if say, you were caught in combat without a weapon. Zoeller answers this as well: “It’s pretty much impossible to not have a weapon equipped. You’d have to work for that. Sure, you can unequip a weapon and not equip a new one, but there’s no compelling reason to do so .. even less outside in the wilderness…
How Stuff Works: Gaderffii
The Gaderffii, or Gaffi stick, was the traditional melee weapon of the Tusken Raiders of Tatooine. Crafted out of whatever salvage was at hand, they were very effective in close combat. Nearly every Tusken was proficient in the use of these weapons and more Tuskens chose the gaffi over the Tusken Cycler. The weapon was of the staff-variety, on average about four feet long, with a weapon-head on each end. The first resembled an archaic flanged mace, with each of the four or more flanges sharpened like an axe-edge. Upon the tip was a spearpoint. The opposite end of the gaffi stick usually was bent into an L-shape, with a large and heavy club head tipped by a hook or second spearpoint (which itself was often tipped with sandbat venom) which would inflict maximum pain to an enemy. The dual weapon-heads gave a gaderffii-wielder a wide and versatile amount of…
Fan Art: Szoki’s Princess Leia Trilogy
Today sees the discovery (via GeekTyrant) of more excellent fan art, this time by a Hungarian artist called Szoki (whose Behance page features all of his Star Wars related work), who has created a Princess Leia themed triptych of posters for the original Star Wars trilogy. You should all now by know that I’m something of a fan-made/alternative poster junkie, and it’s little discoveries like this one that make my geeky heart beat faster. If it was possible, I’d buy pretty much all of this guy’s work, though at the minute he seems to only be posting it for his own personal enjoyment, which is fair enough – but what about the addicts like me who want to immediately own a print?! Someone give him the power to sell. Feast your eyes on these… Szoki is obviously a man of some talent, and I’d urge everyone to visit his page…
Fan Film: Hughes The Force Trailer
The world of fan-made films is a world scorched by the explosive crapness of some of the work released by people who think owning a camera and the ability to make your mother laugh qualifies you as the next George Lucas. So, when something actually good-looking arrives, it deserves a marching-band led parade of honour. Hughes The Force is one such film, which quite brilliantly looks to meld the universes of Star Wars and John Hughes (a match made in Heaven, I think you’d have to agree). And we now have a trailer for it: Looks like a gem. Here’s the synopsis, from the film’s official site: Simon and Henry, two teens tortured by jocks and rejected by girls, are invited to the epic end of the year high school party, but there’s a catch. In order to get in, they need to bring just one hot girl. Unable to…
Bootleg Radio – All TOR, All the Time!
If you’re as anxious about SWTOR as we are then you have to head over and check out Bootleg Radio- All TOR, all the time. And it’s a great time to check in if you are not familiar with them yet because they have recently added four brand new shows, each dedicated to our favorite upcoming MMO- Star Wars: The Old Republic. It doesn’t get any cooler than that. Really. These new shows are in addition to the existing awesome show, the Galactic Underground which airs Saturday at 7:00pm Eastern. This live, four-hour show is uncensored and features special guests live. Hosted by Brehon and other members of the GU Crew, it’s always tons of fun. The new lineup includes: Galactic Core Fridays at 6:00pm EST. Live 2 hour show, hosted by the Mysterious V talking about game: In his own words “it will be informative and requests more than…
Horrifyingly Realistic Bust Of Grand Moff Tarkin
I have terrible, haunting memories of when I was younger and watched both Poltergeist and Child’s Play within the space of about a week and then believed that all of my toys, and especially my sister’s dolls were going to murder me in particularly graphic, innovative manner. The reason I mention that is because from that day on, I vowed never to have anything creepily life-like in my home, because everyone knows that they are the most likely to come alive and slay you as you sleep. The only exceptions to the rule are busts, usually of comic book and movie characters (I have spent way too much money on this little habit), which I love like children and for some reason do not fear. But, for the first time, thanks to some stand-out work from sculpture-artist Jordu Schell, (which I discovered thanks to the legends over at Geeks of…
Species of Starwars – Bith
Bith were a highly advanced craniopod species native to the planet Clak’dor VII. They had pale skin, large heads and eyes, and long fingers. Bith had acute senses of smell, high manual dexterity, and could sense the tonal qualities of sound as well as other races sensed colors. They could also see microscopic details of nearby objects, but were extremely nearsighted as a result. Bith never slept unless utterly exhausted. Bith were one of the galaxy’s most ancient races, with a history going back millions of years. Their society was highly regimented, with everything from mate selection to political leadership controlled by sophisticated computer programs. Bith were also unable to reproduce naturally, instead relying on artificial conception and gestation. Mates brought genetic material to a Computer Mating Service for analysis against prospective mates. Bith children were created from genetic material from two parents, which was combined, fertilized, and incubated for…
50 pages from Star Wars: The Old Republic: FATAL ALLIANCE free to read
Each Friday, Del Rey Spectra posts 50 pages for free reading from one of their books on their genre blog, Suvudu.com. I love books and I love free so this is a great combination. This week’s book is STAR WARS: Star Wars: The Old Republic: FATAL ALLIANCE by Sean Williams so I’m thinking readers here are going to be interested as well. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re going to love this book and the free 50 pages gives you a good look at what you can expect. You’re likely going to become so intrigued, you have to get the book to finish reading. (Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!) Are you curious about the book but not sure if you want to read the free 50 pages yet? You can find out more because we have already reviewed it and interviewed the author, Sean Williams. Be warned, the…
Know your lore: Dustil Onasi
Dustil Onasi was a member of the Onasi family, and son of the war veteran Carth Onasi who served the Galactic Republic Navy during the Mandalorian Wars, Jedi Civil War and aftermath at the Battle of Telos IV. Dustil was born on Telos IV and raised mostly by his mother due to his father being of the soldiery. During the bombardment and destruction of Telos IV’s surface during the Jedi Civil War, his mother was killed and Dustil was assumed dead, but in fact he survived and gained dislike for the Galactic Republic and his father for their inability to save Telos IV. He, as a Force-sensitive, trained in the Dreshdae colony of Korriban at the Sith Academy to become a Dark Jedi. However, he was discovered by his father and Revan and convinced to return to the light. He also convinced several of his friends to turn from the…
Will SWTOR players be separated by language?
Language is important in an MMO where players depend on communication with others to make the game fun and enjoyable. But with a large game like SWTOR that gathers a varied fan base of multi-cultural fans, it’s no surprise that language would become an issue. Some are calling SWTOR racist and to say the issue is of importance would be an understatement. The available languages and in what manner they will be available is important to gamers, particularly those of the English, French and German languages. Players are very concerned that they will have to be grouped together in one large multi-language server where everyone speaks in their native tongue. Stephen Reid explains that there are not concrete plans as of yet on how the servers will be set up but like most other MMOs there will be servers dedicated to players who speak one common language. “While we can’t…
Chinese Prisoners Forced to Farm Gold in Online Games
“There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn’t see any of the money. The computers were never turned off.” Says a prisoner at the Jixi labor camp, Liu Dali who shares his story of being imprisoned and forced to work hard labor by day and farm for in-game currency by night. Chinese gold farmers have become something of a joke in online gaming. Anyone who spends time collecting in-game currency is commonly referred to as a “gold farmer”. While many gamers have mixed feelings about the subject, most will admit they don’t actually know where the gold comes from. Most gamers don’t understand how many of these companies get their gold and make a profit. Some gold-selling companies have been known to steal or hack accounts and use these characters…
Trooper Class Progression Video Released
BioWare has unleashed a new Star Wars: The Old Republic class progression video, and this one focuses on the Trooper. Watch it below to see some of the armor, weapons and abilities you’ll have at your disposal if you decide to go with this tank class. Will you choose the path of the Vanguard or the Commando?
Synopsis Revealed For Upcoming Revan Novel
While we can’t even see a cover yet, Random House has released the synopsis for the upcoming Revan novel. This is exciting news for fans of Revan, Drew Karpyshyn and Star Wars The old republic. Drew is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two, and Star Wars: Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, as well as several other science fiction and fantasy novels. He also wrote Mass Effect: Revelation and Mass Effect: Ascension. The new book synopsis reads: There’s something out there:a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic—unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it. Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians—and returned a disciple of the dark side, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the…