Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. These are the emotions the Sith Warrior channels to purge weakness from his body and become a cold-blooded, Force-wielding wrecking machine. Check out the class progression overview for Sith Warriors below:
Existential Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope(Lessness)
A couple of days ago we received an email from YouTuber OneMinuteGalactica which was both unassuming and incredibly intriguing at the same time. Here, judge it yourself: Hi. I was just wondering if you’d be interested in linking to a new Star Wars video I posted. It’s sort of what Star Wars would be like if the dialogue had been written by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Star Wars and Existentialism? I still can’t quite work out whether OMG is a genius or a wierdo, but his video certainly works, adding a typically Satrian darkness and bleakness to proceedings that fits quite well with the Dark Side’s overall ethos. OMG has re-dubbed a section of Episode IV: A New Hope in French, with Sartre’s philosophical musings appearing in English subtitles to accompany it. And the result is surprisingly fun for someone who mourns the pointless nature of existence. Obviously didn’t have…
The Guild Sphere: Jen’Jidai
This week I sat down with some of the members and leadership of Jen’Jidai” a hardcore RP guild covering PvP and PvE Where did your guilds name come from? Jen’jidai is Sithanese for “Dark Jedi” Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? Jen’Jidai (Meaning Dark Jedi in ancient Sithanese) is a Sith based RP/PvP-PvE guild for the MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. This guild is a chapter of the multi-gaming network; Legend-Gaming. How did your guild come about? Due to the lack in choice of great MMORPG’s around the time of the MMO Darkfall’s inception, we were looking for the next big game. We then soon stumbled onto SW:ToR. What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP? All three. What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild? Jen’jidai is a community first and foremost. With that…
BioWare Announces Jeff Hickman to be Executive Producer, Live Services
For those of you who have been wondering who will fill BioWare Austin’s Co-Studio General Manager Gordon Walton’s shoes, we now have an official answer. BioWare announced that Jeff Hickman will be Executive Producer of Live Services for SWTOR. During the Fan Site Summit event, Stephen Reid explained that Jeff Hickman joined BioWare to take on the role left open by Gordon Walton’s departure. Hickman is known for his roles in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Dark Age of Camelot. However, some fans are concerned about his role in SWTOR after the somewhat flop of WAR and the early launch problems the game had. But maybe the skeptics are being just a little too tough on Hickman. I mean, WAR struggled for many more reasons than just that and Hickman was not solely responsible for the issues that happened anyway. He was just following orders on what he was…
First Embargo on the SWTOR Fan Site Summit Drops
This week could mean big news for SWTOR fans all over the globe as the first embargo on the SWTOR fan site summit drops this week. This means those site representatives who attended will be able to start posting information about what they experienced at the summit. Since there was a wide variety of people who attended, it should make for a good variety of opinions and viewpoints on the content from the summit and help all of us gain better insight into what we expect from the game. As we all anxiously await the release of SWTOR, any news is good news at this point and fans will scramble for even the tiniest bit of new information about the game. So what can we expect from the first embargo dropping? It sounds like we will see information on the content that was played at the event, which will include…
LucasArts licenses Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games
In a press release by GamaSutra, it was announces that LucasArts signs a multi-year, studio-wide Unreal Engine 3 Licensing Agreement from Epic Games. The press release states: LucasArts and Epic Games, Inc. announce a long-term, studio-wide agreement for LucasArts to develop multiple projects using Epic Games’ award-winning Unreal Engine 3 for the engine’s supported platforms. “”Unreal Engine 3 is a forward-looking solution that shortens the path between inspiration and execution on a wide variety of gaming platforms,” said Zak Phelps, director of technology at LucasArts. “We are thrilled to add another exceptional tool to our technology mix.” “”LucasArts is now primed to capitalize on Unreal Engine 3’s ability to scale across platforms, from mobile, through PC and console all the way up to the next generation of games,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “”We can’t wait to see what happens when LucasArts combines their talented workforce and…
May The Pork Be With You: Here Comes the Star Wars Porn Parody
The world of the Porn Parody has long held the distinction of featuring some of the greatest, and most creative titles in the entire movie industry landscape. Everyone knows the legend of such tongue-in-cheek (among other body parts) titles as Shaving Ryan’s Privates and Edward Penishands, and now something is even more exciting is happening in the world of filth. A couple of years back, Kevin Smith’s Zack & Miri Make A Porno focused on Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks’ attempt to make a Star Wars based porn flick, and now it seems that reality is about to mimic art with the release of a real XXX parody of George Lucas’ franchise. And it’s in lurid 3D no less! The news comes as star Kylie Ireland posted this photo of the construction of a landspeeder on the set – though to me it looks a lot like someone’s just stuck…
Will SW:TOR Release Be Announced at E3?
Stephen Reid, Senior Online Community Manager for SW:TOR answers a forum question regarding more release date debate. GamewizX was trying to locate a quote from Reid regarding the release date announcement and a possibility of a connection to E3. Who would then pop into the thread to clear up the confusion? Why, none other than Stephen Reid himself: “Or I could just say it for you right here. I seem to recall I was trying to address the idea that the ‘only’ time a release date would be announced would be at a major show (this was pre-PAX). I have no idea where this idea started, but it’s not a definitive suggestion. It’s just a possibility. That said, if we chose to announce a release date at any show, E3 would be a good choice, as it’s probably the most high-profile games industry show on the calendar. (It’s not the…
Facebook Image Of The Week #10
You know how I know that you know that it’s wednesday?? BioWare is updating the official Facebook page with a new screenshot of Star Wars: The old republic – That’s how! This time we get to see Han Solo and Chewbacca shoot down an Imperial probe droid on Hoth. Han diden’t hit it that hard, so it must have had a self destruct mechanism… Oh wait. That’s much later in the story. Here is the real description: This Jedi Knight silences yet another security Droid as he approaches a Separatist stronghold on Ord Mantell.
SWTOR Fan art by StandAlone-Complex
I like all things dark. Dark and stuff full of tension. I love it when I get an adrenaline kick watching a movie or a picture. Maby that’s also why I love Star Wars so much. So In todays column I would like to put the spotlight on StandAlone-Complex. This guys has it all. Darkness. Tension and incredible detail. Check out his deviantart profile here for some truly impressive work. Inevitable Death Ambush Twilek Sith Sar’Qeush Akla
Angry Star Birds: Episode II: Imperial Pigs
Here, as promised is Part 2 of the Angry Star Birds line-up (brought to you via the excellent Bite.ca), this time dedicated to the Dark Side of the Force, otherwise known as the Imperial Pigs. It is incredibly difficult to resist the charms of these mashed-up characters, or to admire the brains behind their creation. My personal favourite is the Boarba Fett variation, and I have to say I’m more than a little tempted to take up Bite.ca’s offer to purchase it on a T-shirt from RedBubble. Feast your eyes on these…
Angry Star Birds: Episode I: Angry Rebels
Considering the level of unprecedented success that Rovio Mobile’s iPhone App “Angry Birds” has had since flying into Apple App Stores in December 2009, it was only a matter of time before the art transcended the medium it was released to. Forget the 100,000,000 plus downloads and the lucrative related merchandise lines; the moment Angry Birds really became mainstream was earlier this month when Bite.ca created their own Star Wars/Angry Birds mash-up. Because everyone knows that success is only judged by proximity to the Star Wars universe. Anyway, without further ado, below is the first half of Bite.ca’s Angry Star Birds mash-up line-up (split in two because it originally came in two installments, and because doing it all in one go might devalue some of the images, and to do so would be criminal).
Unofficial Q&A with Damion Schubert
Many of us assumed the thread would go unanswered but much to our surprised, Damion Schubert decided to answer in full, thorough details what a typical day is like for him. In case you missed the thread, here are some highlights of the impromptu “interview”: So I was wondering, at this stage in development, what’s a typical day in the life at Bioware Studios? “The answer to this question is going to vary wildly and dramatically based on who you ask, so I’ll answer only for me – keep in mind that my role and position is pretty unique in the team, as I both manage a team of systems designers who do itemization, maps, crew skills and other features, as well as act as a primary liaison from design to several programming teams (yes, that’s plural). So for me, my day is usually a combination of: Meetings, and lots of…
One million subscribers are attainable for SWTOR says analyst
What do you think? Will SW:TOR make one million subscribers or are they counting their chickens before they hatch? Personally, I think the 1 mill mark is very attainable but the real question is whether or not they will hold that many subscribers over time. How many MMOs have launched with high expectations and then fallen flat on their faces? (Think Warhammer and Age of Conan) I’m not expecting SW:TOR to join this list of overhyped MMOs but maybe I’m just holding high hopes as a big fan. We’ll have to wait until Fall to know for certain. While there is no definitive release date of the game, it is announced that it will be complete and ready for launch later this year. (We hope!) At the Electronic Arts fourth-quarter shareholders’ conference earlier this year, CEO John Riccitiello stated this about his soon-to-be-released MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic: “At…
The Guild Sphere – Prime Defense
This week I sat down with some of the leadership from Prime Defense, a PvE focused Republic guild with close ties to their guildies. Hope you enjoy the Interview. Where did your guilds name come from? Our guild name consists of two words. Prime as in top quality, best or perfection and defense as in defenders of the galaxy. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? Prime Defense is an active and tight knit community filled with members from around the world. We strive to provide a relaxed environment where members can hang out and get to know each other while still retaining a serious attitude in game while running PVE instances or participating in tactics based PVP. How did your guild come about? Our guild was born from another community that went under the name The Royal Echani. During the summer of 09, the…
The Best Star Wars Twitterers: Empire Edition
Billions of people now use Twitter – sadly, most of them just to massage their own egos and pointlessly try and collect as many followers as possible without using their influence for any good or even for entertainment value, but look hard enough and there are some ripe choices in amongst there. And it seems that the Star Wars universe is as well represented in the land of tweets as the real world is, with an impressive array of characters from every time-period of the many-faceted franchise. A lot of those characters are humorous versions of those we see on screen, and it is my aim to introduce you lot to the cream of the crop of these fictional but very real Twitterers. So, to start with – Series One if you like – are a handful of malignant foes, either fully paid-up members of the Empire or at…
SWTOR Forums “Off Topic” Section Gone Forever
On April 22 the “Off Topic” forum was closed at Star Wars: The Old Republic. While some might not consider this breaking news, there are others who beg to differ. Some forum regulars are in a huff over the takedown of their Off Topic forums; even going so far as to threaten to unsubscribe. The official notice of the closure of the forum states: Hello Everyone! As of today, it is no longer possible to create posts in the Off-Topic forum. We know some of you may want to preserve old discussions or posts, so the forum will be viewable until 4/22. After this date, the Off-Topic forum will no longer be available.Post all discussion about this topic in this thread. Please remember to follow the rules when posting about this subject! Thank you! As you might imagine, it didn’t take long before posts of complaints over the decision…
SW:TOR User Interface
As we sit and anticipate the release of SW:TOR, there are many things we are pondering as gamers. One big question in the minds of many is what the user interface (UI) will be like. To me, this is really important. It’s how you interact with the game and it can really make or break a game if it gets screwed up. So far from early impressions of the UI, does it look good? Do you think it flows well? Will there be addons? SWTOR community forums had this to say about early released information on the UI: The first look at an early Companion UI seen (Check out the image, not the videos) – Bioware The UI we are currently seeing is not the final product, there are big changes coming – AskAJedi Some settings seen while at PAX: Enable Color Blind Mode, Map fade while moving, map flashes…
Drew Karpyshyn’s New Novel Revealed
If you love Star Wars lore, then you are going to be really excited about the news that Drew Karpyshyn’s new novel has been revealed. The new book titled, Raven will expand beyond the core game and into novels and comics of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Del Rey Books has already published two novels in the Old Republic timeline, Fatal Alliance and Deceived, and they announced last year that there would be a third Old Republic novel. Drew Karpyshyn, Principal Writer at BioWare would be the author of this book. Fans may know him from the Darth Bane series of Star Wars™ novels. In an exclusive Q&A, Karpyshyn shares some information about the book. This part will be rather interesting to those who are anxiously awaiting the release of SW:TOR MMO: Q: In what ways will readers who have read Revan benefit when playing Star Wars: The…
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Iconoscope
I love nerdy dedication – it is after all what makes the world go round. And Wayne Dorrington has taken the biscuit with his genius Iconoscope version of The Empire Strikes Back, the scale of which you can see below. Bear in mind that this is only the first half of the Iconoscope, thanks to Dorrington’s assertion that it needed to be lengthy in order to fit in the entire plot of the second of the original trilogy: …You realise how much more complex and in-depth the story was compared to first movie. The narrative is split into several sub-stories and keeps jumping between them – plus, in the first move there were virtually no costume changes for the main characters – but in this one, each had several, all of which are iconic. Anyway, here’s the second half as well… Oh you bloody clever person, you.
Know your Lore: Arca Jeth
Arca Jeth was an Arkanian male who was a Jedi Master and Watchman of the Onderon system during the time of the Old Republic. He was known to have been one of the wisest Jedi of the Old Republic era, and trained Barrison Draay, Haazen, Ulic Qel-Droma, his brother Cay Qel-Droma, and the Twi’lek Tott Doneeta in the ways of the Force. He was also one of the first known Jedi to use the ability of battle meditation. In 4,050 BBY Master Jeth was part of a Jedi/Republic task force which was sent to the Hapes Cluster to eliminate the threat of the Lorell Raiders, who had been preying on Republic shipping lanes for decades. Following the defeat of the Lorell Raiders, Jeth took part in the Hyabb-Twith Campaign and helped drive the Nelori Marauders from the Hyabb-Twith Corridor. He served the Galactic Republic on Coruscant during the Great Droid…
Strong Stuff’s Retro Star Wars Poster
I’ve said it before that the culture of fan-made alternate movie posters is one of my favourite developments of the internet era, and when someone like Tom Whalen turns his hand to a particular personal favourite movie my joy is untold. The very clever designer/illustrator who calls himself Strong Stuff on Tumblr, has been producing incredible Star Wars art for the past year or so, and has very recently released another, which you can see below… Whalen has tagged the image as the base card for topps’ upcoming “Star Wars: Galaxy 6” card set, a series which has also inspired some exceptional designs by Russell Walks (one of which is below). This card series now seriously has me excited.
Paid to Play SWTOR?
Would you love to get paid to play SWTOR? Who wouldn’t, right? Steven Reid, the Senior Community Manager from BioWare tweeted some news you’re gonna get excited about. If you live in or near Austin, Texas (me, me!) and have an interest in working in QA at BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic, here’s some news you’ll definitely be interested in. Make plans to head on over to Austin Books this upcoming Saturday and you may just get your chance. In fact, it may be the big break you’ve been waiting for to get into the gaming industry and what better video game to do it with than SWTOR? This Saturday is a very special day for gamers wanting to make their presence known within the gaming industry because Austin Books tweeted some information all gamers will be interested in. They will be holding a special Star Wars Day…
Old Republic Action Figures Incoming?
A new rumor is floating around and creating a lot of talk amongst Star War fans. RebelScum, from the “Star Wars action figure site”, has passed on a rumor that he’s heard recently concerning new action figures for Star War fans to collect. Rumor has it that a new Hasbro video game pack containing five action figures is on the way to being a reality. It’s believed this action figure set will be taken from either “The Force Unleashed II” or “The Old Republic”. You can refer to Hasbro confirms The Old Republic action figures, to read where this issue has been discussed before, in which Hasbro’s Derryl DePriest confirmed plans to create action figures from one of these two video games in the near future. It looks as if now these plans may be taking shape. The question on everyone’s mind is which characters will be selected? Could it…