At some time yesterday Machinima.com lunched the new Smuggler class intro video on youtube . The video is in the same vein as the previously released Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight trailers. Among other things. the video shows a third person view of stealth at 00:54, and what appears to be a Wookie companion reveal at 01:00.
Predator Podrace
Bootlegs are as common as popcorn at a movie theater, but even in a world of piracy, at least the covers are entertaining. This Malawi bootleg DVD of The Phantom Menace would make for one heck of a podrace. Via Star wars blog
How Stuff Works: Spice
Spice was slang for various mind-altering drugs. Varieties included ryll and the strongest (and most expensive), glitterstim. The planet Kessel was rich with these spices, which were harvested from dangerous mines, at one point in history by slave labor. Sevarcos II, Rori, Ryloth, and Troiken were other sources of spice. The word could also refer to non-narcotic herbs and minerals used to give foods or drinks flavor. History Spice was mined on Kessel by criminals. Since Kessel lay within the Maw Cluster, if a prisoner were to escape (very unlikely under Imperial rule) they would not likely go far because of the black holes. The spice found on Kessel was glitterstim, one of the most prized spices in the galaxy. This particular spice was created by a species of energy spiders that would spin the spice into webs. Any unlucky miner that came into contact with one of these creatures…
The “Find Your Ideal Guild” Quiz – Featuring 43+ Guilds, 34 Questions
The ‘Find Your Ideal Guild’ quiz is now live! Read on for more information, or go directly to the quiz: http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the…eal-guild-quiz What is it? This quiz will ask you 34 questions, and recommend a guild to you based on your answers. As of Sept 2010, this quiz contains 44 guilds, meaning 44 different potential results… and will only grow as it is maintained. The results are based off of every guild leader’s own direct input, meaning each match is straight from the horse’s mouth, and not a matter of opinion. Why take it? Finding a guild can appear deceivingly simple, with so much selection to choose from. Unfortunately, far too many people realize too late that they’ve failed to ask the right questions – and that’s where the typical ‘guild drama’ stems from; disagreement over fundamental issues that you should have known about before you joined. Taking the time to…
Boba Feta Quiche!
Star Wars fan Alicia Policia is celebrating her 30th birthday alongside The Empire Strikes Back’s 30th anniversary in geektastic food, drinks and party favors! We’ve already reported about her Wampa Cake and now here’s her awesome Boba Feta Quiche! The green is the spinach of the quiche, the brownish purpley black the kalamata olive tapenade, the red is chopped red peppers and the white is grated cheese.
Ackbar Potato Discovered!
“Admiral Ackbar was found in our store today!” via GoodFoodsCoop
May the schwartz be with you: Wampa Cake!
Star Wars fan Alicia Policia is celebrating her 30th birthday alongside The Empire Strikes Back’s 30th anniversary in geektastic style with this awesome Wampa Cake! Alicia writes: This week I’ll be posting pictures of my spectacular The Empire Strikes Back themed 30th birthday celebration for grown-ups and all of the homemade crafty, nerdy goodness that made it so. That’s right, Monday to Friday — all Empire – Mynocks to Fett comma Boba. Made with my mom’s classic sour cream pound cake recipe shaped into an Alicia style Wampa, buttercream icing, and one very forgiving decorating style — I’m tempted to make only shaggy monster cakes from now on. Read more about it here: An Empire Strikes Back Birthday: Episode I — Wampa Cake
Wookiees won’t be a playable species
Daniel Erickson has made a post on the official forums with some clarification. Apparently, in a conversation with a fan at PAX, he said something like (when speaking about what species players will be able to play): “If you can’t imagine it making out with Princess Leia, you probably won’t be able to play it.” People got confused over that since a lot of people tend to have a pretty strong imagination and can imagine all kinds of things making out with Princess Leia . So Daniel posted: Hey Folks, Sorry for the confusion. Booth chat is, let’s be clear, not an official information release. What you got was one line of an extended conversation that was had between me and one of the players at the booth. We started talking about what made a hero in Star Wars and then, once that was clear, there were some jokes about…
SWTOR Friday Update: Highlight on Corellia
This week’s Star Wars: The Old Republic update takes a closer look at the planet of Corellia. As a pivotal part of the Republic’s strength, the planet may be a consistent target for the Imperial struggle for dominance. Home to some of the Republic’s most influential leaders, the notoriously independent world of Corellia is of critical strategic significance. It’s been a symbol of personal and economic freedom since the Republic’s earliest days, and it’s become the center of all the Republic’s industry and enterprise. Despite long-standing evidence of corruption in Corellian government, the citizens have always been staunchly loyal to the Republic. Losing contact with the planet and receiving images of destruction has caused grave concern in the Senate for what may be happening on the ground in Corellia’s capital. Read more on Corellia via the updated Holonet. While you are checking that out, also be sure to catch the…
Star Wars Retroperspektive: Rare 1977 Harrison Ford Interview Emerges
Yesterday, the New York Times posted a story about a rare 1977 Harrison Ford video interview conducted by a Dallas-Fort Worth news channel reporter just as Star Wars (A New Hope) was making waves across the country during its initial release: Wearing lapels as wide as the Millennium Falcon itself, Mr. Ford actually seems gracious about the budding fantasy franchise and complimentary to its creator, George Lucas, telling his interviewer that though he doesn’t regard himself as the Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon type, the film works because “it’s finally about people and not finally about science, so the energy of the movie goes towards exploring these human relationships.” The interview, which apparently had first been posted to the original reporter’s website bobbiewygant.com back in July (and contains scores of other filmed interviews), presents a rare peek at the actor on the brink of super-stardom in 1977. Check out the…
Community Manager Sean Dahlberg Departs Bioware
What began today as a rumor, has now been officially confirmed: Sean “AshenTemper” Dahlberg has departed Bioware. Sean served as Community Manager for the Star Wars: The Old Republic community, and this story originally began as a simple rumor posted to the official SW:TOR forums this morning. The rumor asserted that, according to “various sources” Sean had left the company. The post’s author, “Lauren”, pointed to Mr. Dahlberg’s Twitter account, which no longer reflected his position at Bioware, to reinforce their claim. Earlier tonight, Bioware’s Senior Community Coordinator Joanne Laroche confirmed the report, explaining that Sean had indeed left the company: Hi Everyone – Sean Dahlberg has recently left BioWare. We would like to thank Sean for doing a great job building the TOR Community and we wish him well in his future endeavors! Best, The Star Wars: The Old Republic Team Sean himself confirmed it on his own blog…
Midichlorian Rhapsody
How do you make Star Wars prequels better… or at least more tolerable? Shorten them to six minutes altogether and put it behind a parody of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. – In the very, very small pantheon of acceptable “Bohemian Rhapsody” covers and parodies, I think we have to include this Anakin-themed version, titled “Midichlorian Rhapsody.” I don’t even want to tell you how much I laughed at “Mama Shmi-oh.” Thanks to Doogz and everyone else who sent this in for the tip. In other news, really? 2100 fucking entries? You bastards. You bastards.
PAX 2010 SW:TOR presentation
The vidoes of BioWares presentation during the Pax 2010 is now finding it’s way into the internet. TOROcast has now uploaded a 32-min video of the complete presentation! The only part that misses is the Q&A you can see it here below: The Q/A part of the show that took place at the end of the presentation is now online. askajedi.com have posted a few videos revealing some spoilers on Jedi story (including on how you will get a lightsaber) and the Republic Smuggler. Darth Hater went there as well and got a few nice tidbits for us. First there’s an interview with Blaine Christine. Here’s an excerpt: There is really a controversy on the forums right now about the Jedi Wizard, and the meanings behind that name and why it was chosen. Blaine Christine: I’m not intimately involved with that particular naming process, but all I can say at…
Pax 2010: Mysteries of Knights of the Old Republic
Bioware just released a new video about the “Mysteries of Knights of the Old Republic”. It shows a few new gameplay scenes as well, but is mostly about the history of Revan. The Jedi Civil War left many unanswered questions. In the difficult days following the showdown between Darth Revan and Darth Malak, the Jedi Order struggled to survive, leaving little time for investigations. Redeemed as a Jedi, Revan traveled into deep space in search of a mysterious evil. We now know that the source of this evil was the reconstituted Sith Empire, but that solves only a portion of the mystery… Personally I think this is going to be awsome. A final conclusion…maybe…to the story of Revan…something we’ve all wanted for since his disapperance in the second KoTOR. From a story stand point though it would be good to look back at the KoTOR’s for some advice. In the…
pax update 1
As you all know, PAX is currently in full swing and BioWare is there as well showing of Star Wars: The old Repulbic . And website Ask A Jedi has the first details. In particular they had a Q&A session with Senior Producer Blaine Christine and Lead Writer Daniel Erickson and posted a few highlights from that (with the full interview to follow later): They’ve definitely heard the “feedback” on the Jedi Wizard. My take is that there is more info coming in this regard. Companions aren’t going to make players gods above those who choose to play without them, but also players won’t necessarily be able to “spec” their character to make up for lost companion stats, if they choose to play without one. Advanced Class choice has been relegated to “still in development” – meaning, very much on the fence as if it will be permanent or not….
Friday Update: Space Combat again
Another friday, another dev post from the team over at BioWare! This week, BioWare decided to focus (yet again)on their interesting addition of Space Combat to their highly anticipated Star Wars MMO: Star Wars: The Old Republic. You can follow the link to their uploaded video, which showcases some impressive cinematics and game play of ships blowing up other ships, although for fans who are craving some free-wheeling exploration, it does seem like these are more “guided” missions than just blasting out into the middle of space (and really, that’s a lot of work to do!). In the dev post, the team notes that there will be faction-based missions involving “epic space battles,” with the core focus on space combat. Those flight scenarios look pretty darn nice! Blast your way through asteroid fields, enemy fighters, and a variety of other obstacles as you encounter fast-paced Space Combat missions in Star…
LucasArts Confirms Staff Cuts, As Much As 30% Trimmed
LucasArts confirmed that today that it had let some of its staff go – a response to an earlier rumor that it had fired 30 percent of its staff. In a statement to multiple publications a LucasArts representative said that it was reorganizing its development teams to address the “needs of the internal studio.”” The LucasArts representative would not discuss the actual number of employees let go or which departments they were cut from. Full and brief statement from LucasArts below: “LucasArts is reorganizing its teams to better address the needs of the internal studio. Unfortunately, this means adjusting staffing. LucasArts continues to be committed to creating a first-class internal studio – and to fostering relationships with trusted external partners – in order to deliver quality games that amaze and inspire fans.” We’ll have more on this story as it develops.
The Empire Skates Back
Fans who attended Celebration V this year were not only treated to a Star Wars Tattoo Contest, but also had the chance to check out skateboard decks painted by exceptional tattoo artists. The decks were auctioned off during the Make-A-Wish Auction The Force in the Flesh author Shane Turgeon, who organized the event called “The Empire Skates Back,” contacted some incredible talent to transform the decks into one-of-a-kind works of art for a good cause. Can you describe the gist of the Star Wars Tattoo Art show for fans who didn’t get a chance to see it? The show was called “The Empire Skates Back.” In celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, 30 tattooers were each given a blank skateboard deck to paint, sculpt, or build their homage, rendition or interpretation of this amazing film. Unfortunately, only 22 decks arrived in time for the show, but they were all unbelievable works of art….
Know your lore: Exar Kun
Exar Kun was a Human male Dark Lord of the Sith under the tutelage of Freedon Nadd. Kun displayed an unusual curiosity into forbidden teachings during his time as a Jedi Padawan, so much so that upon completion of his training, he abandoned his Master and set out in pursuit of the knowledge and power of the ancient Sith. His quest led him initially to the planet Onderon and then its jungle moon, Dxun, where he invaded the tomb of a long-deceased Dark Lord of the Sith named Freedon Nadd—and, in doing so, awakened his spirit. Seduced by Nadd with the promise of power through acceptance of the dark side of the Force, Kun allowed himself to become Nadd’s apprentice. As Kun rapidly progressed in the sorcerous ways of the Sith, Nadd directed him to Yavin 4, where Kun acquired even greater Sith powers. He then destroyed Nadd’s spirit, and…
How stuff works: Unknown Regions
The Unknown Regions, Unknown Space, Unknown Sector, or Unknown Territories was the collective term for all regions of the galaxy not formally charted; it differed from Wild Space in that Wild Space was usually minimally charted, but not fully explored. The Unknown Regions was broadly defined as areas not connected with the skein of reliable or well-known hyperspace routes spanning the galaxy, did not look to Coruscant as the ultimate center of civilization, or were not under the broad hegemony of the Galactic Republic before the Galactic Civil War. Beyond the region’s outer edge lay the hyperspace disturbance beyond the edge of the galaxy. History he reach of civilization extended at least nominally to the edge of the galactic disk—for instance, the territory of the Corporate Sector extended to the end of the Tingel Arm. The galactic disk and some satellite galaxies were mapped well enough that the omission of…
While we wait for the old republic: Star Wars: The Solo Adventures
Discover why Han has a price on his head and what the Empire wants with the cargo. In this untold tale, Han and Chewie evade the Empire, loose their cargo, and get revenge. Presented in stereoscopic 3D this short film won the 2010 fan film awards at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando Florida. We won for “Best Animation” This film was created by the students of the Dave School. http://www.daveschool.com/
Gamescom 2010 Wrap-Up
Today’s official update consists of another issue of Blood of the Empire… and that seems to be it. Luckily I’ve also still got the Gamescom wrap-up to do, so I’ll add that as well to spice things up. But first the comic; here’s the official news: In the tenth issue of Blood of the Empire™, a battle between Republic and Imperial fleets rages over Korriban as Teneb Kel chases down his foe. The fate of the Sith homeworld and the Children of the Emperor is in the hands of one young acolyte and his slave–but duty and patriotism aren’t the only forces guiding them… Check out the latest issue of Blood of the Empire now! As for Gamescom, I felt that The Old Republic didn’t have quite as strong a presence as I was expecting. Maybe it didn’t stand out as much anymore after its E3 presence, but to me…
May the schwartz be with you: Luke & Leia: The Truth
Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning. Every epic starts with a hook-up between a brother and a sister who happen to have Force powers…
Sith Warrior Gameplay Compilation
The guys ( or is it one guy?) over at Redrancore made an awesome gameplay compilation of all the sith warrior gameplay showed so far. It’s deffently worth a watch. In my next addition to a developing series of gameplay compilations, I’ve created a mash-up of the skills and acrobatics of the Sith Warrior class. As with my previous Jedi Knight Compilation, not all of the titles for the abilities are necessarily accurate. Any constructive criticism is, as always, welcomed! Feel free to leave questions or comments, and you may view the video below: