MMORPG.com had the chance to interview Producer Jack Wood, at the BioWare cantina tour in Boston earlier this month. The full interview can be read here, but Reddit user bstr413 made A summary of the Q&A not relating to strongholds: Why is there a sabacc table on The Esseles when there isn’t any sabacc? “Good question.” (No mention of adding sabacc to the game.) Why was Op/Scoundrel knockdown now a root?: That and the assassin skills would keep the player stunned for 1 second if they used a stun breaker due to the animation. More Same Gender Romance: Yes in future content. No in past content due to it breaking a lot of things. In retrospect, they should have made it possible to add it to all romanceable characters. EA/BioWare will not remove any Same Gender Romance in the game and romance opportunities in the future will be Bisexual. Moraband vs Korriban:…
New Star Wars Kids Books Announced by Disney Publishing
Disney Publishing, which we already knew was handling the Rebels books, has also recently announced they are going to be releasing a new original-trilogy book series for young readers. They have brought together some bestselling children’s authors- Tom Angleberger (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda,) Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles,) Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark and Grimm,) and R.J. Palacio (Wonder) – to help create something awesome for the younger Star Wars fans. The books will start hitting the shelves in October. Here’s a video to show you more: Coming October 2014 is a new series of Star Wars children’s books reimagining the films of the original trilogy. The classic saga will come to life like never before through adaptations by bestselling children’s authors Tom Angleberger, Tony DiTerlizzi, Adam Gidwitz, and R.J. Palacio, with art by famed Star Wars concept artist Iain McCaig. Each of these celebrated authors will bring their contemporary, unique voice…
4 Year Old Jedi Gets a Final Farewell
It’s something no parent ever wants to have to do- bury their child. Sadly, the parents of 4-year-old Jack Robinson had to do just that. Their little boy had an inoperable brain tumor and sadly, died on April 1st. But little Jack but have a send-off worthy of his short, but special life. His parents and family gave him a Star Wars- themed funeral that they say he helped to plan before his passing. The family said that there son was a very special soul who brought together people from all over the world, despite his young age. Because of this, they wanted to give him a very special, unique funeral. UK’s The Mirror describes the event: “His body arrived in a Star Wars coffin on a white horse-drawn carriage surrounded by Stormtroopers. The carriage was decked with floral tributes, including one reading ‘Jedi’ and wreaths in the shape of…
SWTOR’s early subscriber access to Galactic Strongholds delayed
Star Wars: The Old Republic’s early access to the upcoming expansion: Galactic Strongholds has been delayed for a few weeks. The news was just dropped in a letter from senior producer Bruce Maclean on the official website. According to Maclean, subscriber early access has been moved from June 24 to August 19 so the development team at Bioware can add more features such as a Tatooine Homestead stronghold, and more. The deadline for early access rewards has also been expanded to July 15. Producer Letter – Galactic Strongholds 04.23.2014 Hi everyone! For the past year, we’ve made it our goal to share updates and information on what’s happening in the studio and our upcoming plans for the game. We got the message that you appreciate transparency and want to know what we are working on. With that in mind, we wanted to share a change in plans to our most recently announced…
Rumor: All Six Star Wars Films May Be Released on 3D Blu-Ray
When it comes to the new Star Wars films, you know how we like to share rumors and any other tidbits of information we can come across. Well, a reader from Jedi News found an interesting piece of possible Star Wars film info, which she shared with them and they shared on their site. Jedi News reader LadyFerry explains: Hello! it’s me LadyFerry! Just a quick message to say that I was looking online for blu-ray pre-orders and found this, it’s a pre-order notification for the six 3D Star Wars movies coming out on blu-ray. Just thought it would be an interesting titbit for the front page at Jedi News: See it here: Amazon Ok, that’s pretty interesting indeed. Amazon now has listings for all six current Star Wars films for 3D Blu-Ray! (They also have listings for Episodes VII-IX on regular blu-ray). No release date is given. This could be…
Are Double XP Weekends Helpful to SWTOR Community?
So we talk about SWTOR Double XP weekends a lot here, for obvious reasons. But let’s consider for a moment if they are not really as good for the community as they may seem. Just for the sake of discussion, let’s look at it from another perspective. What happens during a double XP weekend? Generally, more players flock back to the game who never got around to leveling up alts. Some might bring their friends as well. Or you might even get some brand new players to the game who just want to take advantage of the opportunity to level up fast. Double XP from the event combined with any other Cartel Market boosters or guild bonuses and you can get level 20 before leaving the planet you’re on. You could get to max level in one solid weekend of playing, even if you just created the character. So this…
Former LucasArts President Joins Dungeon Defenders as CEO
Independent developer Trendy Entertainment has hired former LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez as its new CEO. Trendy Entertainment, best known for its action-RPG Dungeon Defenders, is hoping the former LucasArts president will help lead their company to future success. Rodriguez tells Game Industry Biz: “When I first visited here I saw tremendous potential–both in Dungeon Defenders II and their cross platform backend and technology, Playverse, and needed to be a part of it. Working with talented, passionate people and putting them and customers first to help unlock Trendy Entertainment’s potential is why I’m here,” Rodriguez said. “I have been extremely fortunate to work with some of the most talented and passionate people across various creative industries and at some of the most renowned companies in the world. I am equally impressed and blessed to work with the passion and skill that exist at Trendy.” He also discussed that Trendy Entertainment will…
SWTOR Housing Speculation- What Can We Expect?
Some of us have been looking forward to SWTOR player housing since we first heard about SWTOR. Now that we know it will be coming soon, there is a lot of speculation about what we can expect to see in the actual final version of player housing. We know it’s coming this summer with the release of Galactic Strongholds but we don’t know a lot more about what this will bring. And since it’s coming soon, players have been doing a lot of speculation. We have learned to be cautious when it comes to news from Bioware about future features of the game but with one as highly anticipated as this, it’s hard not to be optimistic. We don’t want to get our hopes up and then bet let down but we are feeling good about some of the things we might see. We were told we would get “prestigious apartments” that…
Developer Blog: What’s New in Season Two?
Hello PVP fans! If you enjoyed Season One, you might be excited to know Season 2 is coming. This most recently Developer’s Blog has some great info for us about what to expect in Season Two:
Boston Cantina Tour Flashdrive assets
Sorry for the delay on this one, but here are the Boston Cantina Tour Flashdrive assets. There isn’t much new stuff here,if you already seen the contents of the Hotshot pack which is previewable on live servers now. There is some concept art of Selkath NPCs and a Wookie NPC that is interesting though. These guys will apparently play a big role in the further installments of Forged Alliances storyline. Cartel Market Coruscant Bedroom/Coruscant View Nar Shaddaa Interior
Todd Stashwick Co-Writing Visceral’s Star Wars Game
Writer and actor Todd Stashwick will co-write Visceral Games’ Star Wars project alongside ex-Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig. Hennig tweeted yesterday, “Thrilled to announce that my friend @ToddStashwick will be joining me as co-writer on the Star Wars project for @VisceralGames @EA!” Thrilled to announce that my friend @ToddStashwick will be joining me as co-writer on the Star Wars project for @VisceralGames @EA ! — Amy Hennig (@amy_hennig) April 11, 2014 You might know Stashwik’s voice, if anything because he narrated the teaser trailer of the upcoming Uncharted for PS4. Visceral announced Hennig as creative director and writer of its Star Wars game earlier in April. The idea itself is already exciting. Merging two opposite but cooperative minds could be the best for the Star Wars Game. All those who have been living with Luke Skywalker and the rest of the cast will have more ways to be with…
New Double XP Weekend Coming 5/2 – 5/5
3 double XP weekends in 2 months?! I wonder if Bioware has a marriage counseling program for their players? I may need one if they keep giving me excuses play SWTOR all weekend. A thing to note is that Double XP event will be on Star Wars Day. Now we just need a Episode VII casting announcement on May the Fourth and it will be a great weekend. DON’T MISS UPCOMING DOUBLE XP WEEKENDS: APRIL 11 – 14 AND MAY 2-5! Get Double XP between April 11 – 14 and May 2-5 during the following times: STARTS: Fridays April 11, 2014 and May 2, 2014, 11AM PDT / 6PM GMT ENDS: Mondays April 14, 2014 and May 5, 2014, 12AM PDT / 7AM GMT Achieve even faster gains with XP Boosts, available in the Cartel Market. Level 55 players can also earn double Legacy XP – so jump in now…
PvP Fixes for 2.7.1
Many players have experienced issues with warzones since game update 2.7 hit the servers. These bugs will be fixed with patch 2.7.1 Alex Modny have more on this: Post #1 AlexModny PVP Mission Terminals In Warzones | 04.10.2014, 11:22 AM Hey everyone, we will be adding the “turn-in” terminals next to all the current Mission terminals in the Warzones for 2.7.1. (Actually I’m adding them right now while I chomp on a delicious sammich for lunch!) Thanks for the feedback! Post #2 AlexModny Post-Match Scoreboard Still Bugged, post 2.7… | 04.10.2014, 07:19 AM The highlights on the scoreboard will be fixed in 2.7.1. I apologize it slipped through.
Footage from cancelled Star Wars game shows Darth Maul in action
Video game developer Red Fly Studios and publisher LucasArts were working on a new Star Wars based Darth Maul video game experience in 2010, which was supposed to expand the gameplay mechanics that were introduced in The Force Unleashed. Footage of the game has emerged online and sources are saying that the game was designed to initially be launched only on the Wii U by the same team that handled the port for Star Wars: The Force Unleashes II. LucasArts was impressed with the initial development work done by Red Fly Studios and decided to also greenlight the title for the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Prototypes were being created in late 2010 using Darth Maul and his unique double-sided lightsaber as the core feature, but it seems that George Lucas intervened in order to add a cooperative element to the title, with the inclusion of Darth…
SWTOR Consolidated Bugs List
A new major game updates means lot’s of new bugs. Here is a consolidated Bugs List off all the known bugs in the game right now. If you found any bugs not on this list, make sure to report them over at the official forums. Post #1 TaitWatson Female character texture is still messed up. | 04.08.2014, 08:24 AM Hey all! I wanted to update you on the status of this: While it’s not 100% yet, we are looking to fix this with 2.7.1. This is, of course, subject to change. I’ll let you know if it gets pushed! -tw Post #2 TaitWatson Enforcer’s Eyeguard voice modulation | 04.08.2014, 09:00 AM Quote: Originally Posted by Kylanna So as of this patch, the note was, “Many head slot items that were missing voice modulation have been given voice modulation.” That’s great! Now… can we take it off of the EYEPATCH, please? I don’t…
Game Update 2.7 – The Invasion is Here!
CALLING ALL FORCES TO THE SITH ACADEMY AND JEDI TEMPLE! Welcome to Game Update 2.7: Invasion We are very excited to see the release of Game Update 2.7: Invasion today. In addition to many bug fixes and other updates, we also get to experience some great new content. We get a new story arc: Forged Alliances, new Flashpoints, Nightmare Mode for the Dread Fortress, Ranked Warzone Season 1 ends and you can start pre season for season 2, and we see Quesh Huttball Put, a new warzone that looks to be a lot of fun. Bounty Contract Week will be making a comeback and there is a new Galactic Starfighter Domination Map: Denon Exosphere. Developer Blogs explains: We believe this game update captures some of the key elements that make Star Wars™ special: the struggle between galactic factions; engaging in dangerous and difficult trials that push you to the limits of…
Patch Notes – 2.7.0 Invasion
Patch notes are up for gameupdate 2.7. The net update opens tomorrow with a new storyline, Quesh Huttball Warzone, Starfighter Battle Zone and more. What are YOU most excited about?. Highlights New Story Arc: Forged Alliances! Start this story arc by speaking to a droid on the Fleet near the new Outbound Mission Hangar. New Flashpoints! Beginning the next major storyline of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the Korriban Incursion and Assault on Tython Tactical Flashpoints are now available to players at level 55. Nightmare Mode is now available for the Dread Fortress! Even greater horrors await those who wish to challenge the bastion of the Dread Masters, and the Operation provides even greater rewards in the form of new Dread Master equipment! Ranked Warzone Season 1 has ended! Characters that had a qualifying rating have been mailed their rewards. We are currently in Pre-Season 2 and Season 2 will begin with 2.7.1! Giradda…
Known In-Game Issues
Tait Watson, SWTOR Community Production Coordinator made a post in the SWTOR community threads explaining the known in-game issues that currently face the community. If you have So here is that post: Hello everyone! We appreciate you joining us to play Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, and we hope you enjoy the game. As MMORPGs are large and complex projects, inevitably we do discover issues that may affect gameplay. We’re working constantly to fix anything that will affect the player experience, but for now this is our current list of high priority in-game known issues. Please note that this is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all bugs that the developers are working on. Also, we encourage you to report any issues that you do not see on this list via the in-game /bug feature. General A number of Achievements do not grant as intended. A number of Codex…
Scheduled Maintenance: April 8th, 2014 – Patch 2.7.0
On April 8th, BioWare will be taking down all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher to perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.7: Invasion will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday April 8th, 2014 Duration: 5 hours Time: 1AM PDT (8AM GMT) – 7AM PDT (1PM GMT) During maintenance, all updates and additional information will be posted on the official SWTOR Twitter account.
Electronic Arts Names Amy Hennig Creative Director For ‘Star Wars’ Project
Steve Papoutsis, the Vice President and General Manager at Visceral Games had some important news to share recently. Amy Hennig was named creative director for their upcoming ‘Star Wars’ Project. Here is some of what he had to say about the announcement:
Bioware Austin is Hiring
SWTOR Community Manager Eric Musco also shared it on the SWTOR forums. Their web team is looking for a Front End Web Developer to work on SWTOR in the Austin studio. They say they are looking for someone who is passionate about SWTOR and wanting to work on some cool new things. The job listing says you’d be working on “the customer-facing web applications and the web site” for SWTOR.
SWTOR Double XP Weekend Coming Up! 4/11 – 4/13
It’s that time again! Time for another double XP weekend in SWTOR. You may remember that there were some issues surrounding the last double XP weekend and Bioware promised us they would “make good” with another one soon. So here it is: 4/11 – 4/13 That’s next weekend so get your Mountain Dew and Hot Pockets ready because this is a great time for a gaming fest. SWTOR Community Manager Eric Musco took to the SWTOR forums to announce this and also to explain a little about the confusion that happened at the last weekend event. Here’s part of that post: “You may remember back when we ran our last double XP weekend that there were a lot of forum reports around that Kuat Drive Yards was not issuing double XP. Once we realized that, as a “make good” to the issue, we would do another double XP weekend so you can…
The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina Tour Arrives in Vancouver, British Columbia!
The date for the next Star Wars: The old Republic Community Cantina is up. BioWare will be visiting Vancouver, British Columbia on Friday, May 16th. This is your chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic community for a development team Q&A as well as complimentary drinks*, food, and giveaways. Every attendee will be receiving a highly coveted M8-3R Astromech code. Space is limited so be sure to come early. Below is the details: Venue: The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver Date: Friday,May 16th, 2014 Time: 8:00PM – 11:00PM PDT Address:900 West Georgia Street Vancouver British Columbia, Canada V6C 2W6
Commando/Mercenary Top 3 Answers
Eric Musco started a new “top 3 Answers” thread on the official forums. This time about Commando/Mercenary. Here is a Summary made by bstr413: 1: Sustained DPS for Gunnery Assault. Gunnery/Assault will get a (small) boost to its sustained damage after all AC’s have at least 1 good sustained damage spec. (Commando/Mercs have Assault Specialist/Pyrotech already.) Devs are looking for feedback on how to do this. Being able to heal should not decrease DPS. Many off-healer DPS specs are able to do great sustained DPS. 2: Defense in PvP. No new “emergency defense” move for Commandos/Mercs. Instead, current defensive moves will be improved. Devs are asking for inputs on how this should be done. Devs are looking to make Commandos/Mercs better in Ranked Arenas. 3: Assault Specialist / Pyrotech suggestions. Thank you for your suggestions for changing Assault Specialist / Pyrotech. We do not want to do the first few due to the…