A friend of mine sent me this link today and dared me to watch all 10 minutes. For those too young to remember, Donny and Marie Osmond had a musical variety show in the ’70s called, appropriately enough, The Donny And Marie Show (she was “a little bit country” and he was “a little bit rock ‘n’ roll”). I was in elementary school at the time and actually watched it pretty regularly. But I don’t remember this incredible moment: Donny and Marie lead an all-star cast in this number. Kris Kristofferson plays a too-cool-for-school Han Solo, while the comedian Redd Foxx plays Obi-Wan Kenobi and Paul Lynde is an Admiral with the Empire. There are also dancing Storm Troopers. Wow. I can’t take my eyes off it.
New SWTOR Screenshots from the Gamestar Article
Last month we posted a story about German Computer magazine Gamestars hands on with Star Wars: The Old Republic. It turns out the article has a bunch of new unseen ingame screen shots. So for your viewing pleasure here they are:
Interview with Georg Zoeller
Torocast hat a chance to sit down with Georg Zoeller, the lead combat designer at Bioware and ask him a bunch of questions. TOROcast: Early in development, BioWare said that they were doing something unique and special with healing. What is happening that is different compared to a typical MMO design? Georg Zoeller: In Star Wars: The Old Republic, improving your character’s Presence attribute, which governs healing ability, also improves the character’s active companion in various ways. Coupled with the ability to adjust companion behavior and equipment, this enables the player to function as a healer; even in solo situations.
Funny, How?
Humor is good part in any story even if it seems to be that everyone likes it because they like happier moments in the story unless you’re a cold-hearted Imperial Agent that enjoys his work way to much. That would be comical to she the Agent laugh even if it was forced. Daniel Erickson has made it known that every class has their moments of humor and that each class has their own writer to concentrate their complete attention to. Drew Karpyshyn creator for my favorite Star Wars books “The Darth Bane Trilogy” is someone that has experience in different areas in the SWTOR project and he has been helping out everyone with what he knows. If he told you what he was doing personally for the game, there would be spoilers.
EA CEO Claims Cloud Gaming Is Not The Future
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitello has announced that he thinks cloud-gaming is not necessarily the future, and that games issued on disc are still the best way for consumers to enjoy gaming. In an interview with Industry Gamers, Riccitello claimed that discs will be around for a long time to come as they are still the most practical and reliable way of accessing games quickly. “I think the consumer…doesn’t care what the technology is, what lives behind the veiled curtain; they just want it to work,” Riccitello said. He explained that streaming a game is often not the most efficient way of processing the experience. He pointed out that relying on an internet connection means that users would be unable to access games if their broadband was down and that there are lag issues with slower connections. “The point, though, that I’m making is that sometimes you’re not going to…
MMO: Heaven or Hell?
I can’t wait anymore! So close and it driving me crazy, I really love reading everyone’s opinion or predictions of what might happen but it’s 2011, YAY! Two years of being in aggravating pain in anticipation for the ultimate game of the next decade or this decade now. If SWTOR doesn’t release soon I’ll harakiri myself with bothan stunner. OK, that’s off my chest, I’m ready for my review now 🙂 Will Star Wars: The Old Republic it be the greatest game everyone is waiting for? Yes! I want it to. No surprise there, but if it doesn’t go well all hell will break loose and I mean that literally I will grab my plastic lightsaber and start seeing everyone else Bantha Fodder. But of coarse if it does go well you won’t see any mmo lovers or Star Wars enthusiast (which are almost the same category with a few…
Buy Cheap Star Wars: The Old Republic Credits… WTF?
Here is something strange. There is still a few month until Star Wars: The old republic will be released, but already the gold-sellers are setting up there shops ( and spamming my inbox). This morning I got a mail about Swtorcreditsale.com selling 1000 credits for only 10$ – what a bargain! They also have a professional Star Wars The Old Republic items Online store, that provide us with a wide range of SWTOR items. I’m sure there will be plenty of gamers willing bankroll their way to a uber character, but do we know anything about the games currency system yet? Do we have imperial and republic credits? Will Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa have it’s own money? Who knows One thing is for sure, gold sellers starting up early means that they have high expectations of the game to. Is this a good or a bad thing? PS. This is not a…
Star Wars Fan film : 3 Minutes
Short, Sweet and action packed. Graduate of San Diego State University’s film program Ross Ching, put together a small 3 min fan film. It’s not really a star wars movie, but it got lightsaber combat and sweet moves. I liked the idea of this short story called “The Most Dangerous Game” so I adapted it back when I was in film school, but when I made it back then I didn’t have many people to help me make it so it didn’t turn out too great. After being in the industry and living in LA for a few years now, I got a chance to make new friends and really take advantage of their professional talents. The producers of the piece, George Wang and Don Le were in talks with Harry Shum Jr. to collaborate on something when I met them. They brought me on the project, and were initially…
Faction lore: The Exchange
The Exchange was a criminal organization active around 4,000 BBY, and possibly the most powerful of its time, that dealt in spice smuggling, extortion, weapon trafficking, slave trading, and bounty hunting. The organization was active on many planets and employed notorious bounty hunters such as Calo Nord. During the First Jedi Purge, they posted a huge bounty on live Jedi, large enough to purchase an entire planet. 300 years later, during the Cold War, the Exchange was engaged in a galaxy spanning crime war with the Hutt Cartel centring on Nar Shaddaa. History The organization was active on many planets and employed notorious bounty hunters such as Calo Nord. Some branch heads included Davik Kang, the crime lord of the planet Taris, Loppak Slusk of Telos IV, and Goto of Nar Shaddaa. The Exchange was an extremely powerful criminal organization that operated throughout much of the Outer Rim Territories. The…
Know your Legends: Davik Kang
Davik Kang was head of the Exchange on Taris, an intergalactic criminal organization, during the Jedi Civil War. His headquarters were in the Upper City of Taris. Kang employed dozens of mercenaries and enforcers to keep Taris under his unofficial control, most notably the former Mandalorian Canderous Ordo and the bounty hunter Calo Nord. Davik collected the stuffed heads of ferocious creatures hunted and killed by Nord, but his most prized possession was his smuggling vessel, the Ebon Hawk. Davik resented the Sith presence on Taris because their planet-wide blockade had halted his his inter-galactic operations, but he knew well enough to avoid bothering them. After rescuing Bastila Shan from the Black Vulkars, Revan (whose identity was secret) was approached by Canderous, who offered Revan the chance to leave Taris, provided he could retrieve the necessary planetary launch codes from a nearby Sith military base. Revan agreed to steal the…
May the schwartz be with you: Star Wars Chariot
This was not In the prequels. It might actually be older then the internet itself. It’s still funny as hell though. On Dasher, on Dancer, On Prancer and Vixen, on Comet and Cupid, On Donner, and Blitzen.
Friday Update: Three New Biographies Added to HoloNet
Today’s Friday update for Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare has added new information on three notable characters to the Biographies section of the HoloNet. Here are the details: In these new holorecords, you’ll learn about Supreme Chancellor Janarus, stalwart protector of Republic ideals and source of hope for its people. Opposite Janarus, hidden in the shadows, you’ll discover the enigmatic puppeteer of Imperial Intelligence, Darth Jadus. Elsewhere in the galaxy, the cold-blooded bounty hunter Jewl’a Nightbringer ruthlessly hunts down slavers, gangs, and crime lords who manage to catch her attention. Some might remember Jewl’a Nightbringer from the one of the first gameplay walkthrough videos BioWare released. She was one of the bounty hunters that the NPC Mako identified as a winner of the Great Hunt – A bounty hunter thing. Another interesting thing about this update is the Aurebesh Translation’s. You can read more about them over at…
Star Wars on Blu-ray!
Darth Vader announced the release of the Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray. This announcement was a lavish event held at the Panasonic Booth at CES. Not only did Darth Vader show up with his “friends,” but major representatives from 20th Century Fox and Amazon.com were on hand. Check out the press release below: LAS VEGAS (Jan. 6, 2011) – The most anticipated Blu-ray release ever – the Star Wars Saga – emerges from light speed this September 2011. For the first time, all six of George Lucas’ epic films (Episodes I-VI) are united in one complete set. Fans worldwide are able to pre-order now with online retailers. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release Star Wars in three distinct sets to meet the needs of every Star Wars fan: Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray (9-disc Set includes all six films) Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy (3-disc set includes…
First Person Experience
Writer Nick Kolan from IGN received some solid gaming time playing Star Wars: The Old Republic during the recent “Jedi Immersion Day. His first experience was playing the Sith Inquisitor class at last years E3 but wasn’t given the time that is needed for such an involving game, but luckily he was able to play a second time as the Jedi Consular the exact opposite of the previous class with much more time. He experience an array of Force attacks that the Jedi is equipped with as well as he noticed that the Force Points regenerate with out the need of Mana potions. As a fellow gamer he barked upon some kill and gather quests that for him didn’t seem to bother him at all which in other games are known to be quite the chore. “My experience with the Consular was ultimately far more positive than my brief time…
WoW Killer or WoW Failure?
Is there room for 2 incredibly powerful MMO’s on the market, can Star Wars: The old republic out shine World of Warcraft where every other MMO has failed to be #1? Maybe… It might be too late though, with WoW already being as big as it is. But we’ve seen game play after game play in anticipation for Sw:Tor to shine brightly in our hands making us the rulers of our own destiny with a lightsaber or Two. If Tor cannot succeed in drawing you in as promised with it’s epic story telling than we might see millions of dollars and hours just thrown away, but I’ve always had faith in the Bioware franchise ever since Balder’s Gate pretty much the only thing I do have faith in. “So where does that leave EA and BioWare Austin? Possibly up a creek given how much money has reportedly been poured into…
Damion Schubert talks game narrative in this month Game Developer Magazine
In the latest edition of Game Developer Magazine, Damion Schubert, Lead Systems Designer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, is once again discussing game narrative. As we all know this is one of the key issues in SWTOR – the fifth pillar as they call it. Here is a short excerpt: The deepest backstories in games come from licenced ones. ARKHAM ASYLUM and FORCE: UNLEASHED have decades of material to draw from and, in both cases, designers worked hard to ensure that they drew on commonly recognized elements recognized by casual fans as well as Easter eggs to cater to the hardcore. In a licensed project, perhaps no application of story is more important, and when reviwers state ARKHAM ASYLUM really brings Batman’s world to life, or that FORCE UNLEASHED captures the far reaches of the Star Wars universe, you have a good understanding why these games succeeded. Schubert goes on to look…
Deceived signed ARC giveaway
Author of the upcoming novel Deceived – Paul S. Kemp, is giving away three autographed copies of is book: I have three bound advance reader copies of my forthcoming Star Wars novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived. I want to sign them and give them away. I will pick three recipients at random from all of those who leave a comment to this blog entry, whether at paulskemp.com or at the mirrored entry on my livejournal. Please use your name or a distinct username and enter only once. You do not need to register for anything to leave a comment (anon comments are enabled). I will announce the three winners on January 24, at which time they will need to send me an email with their mailing address and any personalization instructions. You can read excerpts from the book by clicking here. And, because one can never see this enough, here…
Gamebreaker SWTOR Video Blog #22
We haven’t followed the republic podcast for a while. Mainly becourse it haven’t been that intereseting. But this week, the guys discussed the trooper class — My favorite! This one is a long one though so we have posted a short summary below the video. Basically the podcast could be broken down as: Trooper video analysis: They dislike the female trooper, the guy with glasses wants his trooper to be a bulky bad ass. Also they enjoy the grenade shot by the Trooper that knocks back the force leap. Secondly they discuss what “modular shield” means in reference to the Trooper’s ship. They decide it either means interchangeable shields or damage would effect parts of the shield separately. Recreation Center: They discuss what a recreation center on the space ships likely means and if they think it’s cool. They guy with the bandana thinks a gym where you could workout would be cool,…
Suckadelic Action Figures
We like a show with a bit of humor. A show with the tagline “You’re An Asshole For Buying This,” as is the tag for The SUCKADELIC Art Toy Universe, is said exhibition. Next Tuesday, January 11, Boo-Hooray Gallery in NYC will host Suckadelic’s “Intentionally confusing, misleading, disappointing and really funny, limited-edition parodies of action figures.” The work presented in this exhibit is a documentation of the artist struggle to reach the top of a sinister pyramid scheme; A culture-jacking enterprise where ruthless-yet-compelling super-criminals compete for the imaginations of fickle consumers and a relentless media machine. I can’t wait to get my hands on Anus Head. He’ll look great next to my Gay Storm Trooper
SWTOR voted Most Anticipated MMORPG for 2011/2012 by Massively’s readers
Massively have released the Player’s Choice poll results for both 2010 and the entire last decade in MMOs. Not surprisingly the most anticipated mmorpg for 2011/2012 is Star Wars: The old republic in a close race with Guild wars 2. Source More surprisingly we see Star Trek online voted the best launch, best crafting, best pvp, best capacity for Role playing in a 2010 MMO and best overall new mmo of 2010. Source I’m not usually critical, but I have a REALLY hard time believing that STO is deserving of such positions in poll results. PvP and “Surprise Hit”? The best crafting in a 2010 MMO is handing mats to an NPC to buy the crafted item? It was also really surprising that Blizzard was voted both the best and almost the worst MMO studio of the decade: Source Source Blizzard may be many things, but they’re not the worst MMO Studio of the Decade. The results ended up like this:…
Podcast Results & Sorrowful Apologies
TOROCAST IS YOUR WINNER!!!! Darth Hater came in a close second with The Republic snatching up third place. There seems to be some misunderstandings with the voting procedures. New Years affected us all the next couple of days, MrWarlock the UK blogger of SWTOR believed that their was a voting travesty, but things are now squared away. Let him explain the details personally. http://swtor-uk.blogspot.com/2011/01/burn-witch.html
Harry Plinket has delivered! Revenge of the Sith review
Mr. Plinkett wraps up his video Star Wars prequels reviews with an epic Revenge of the Sith dissection! PART 1: PART 2: PART 3: He was actually dead wrong on the fact that the Millineum Falcon wasn’t in the prequels. Its right down at the bottom of the frame. I Think I am going to email him and demand two pizza rolls.
Know your lore: Vrook Lamar
Vrook Lamar was a male Human Jedi Master who fought during the Great Sith War. He served the Jedi Order on both the Jedi High Council and the Dantooine Enclave Council during the Great Hunt, the Mandalorian Wars, and the Jedi Civil War. During his tenure as a Jedi Master he was generally characterized by his brusque manner, stern demeanor, cautious disposition, and suspicious nature. He had high expectations for his Jedi students and a healthy dislike for any subject that touched upon the dark side of the Force. Vrook was voiced by Ed Asner in Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. As Vrook wielded a green lightsaber, he is identified as a possible Jedi Consular before he became a Master, if the lightsaber color-to-specialization mapping from the first KotOR game is considered canonical. In Knights of the Old Republic II:…
Happy New Year!
From all of us here at swtorstrategies we wish you and your family a safe and Happy New Year. May the Force be with you in 2011!