The following is a report from the The Old Republic panel from Star Wars Celebration V. Information was reported by EUCantina staff from the panel, via Twitter or email. Be ready for more updates as the week continues! The Old Republic panel starting. David Collins ask Jedi fans to cheer, followed by Sith. Sith dominate the audience. Hope trailer being shown today. Concept art being created as panel runs. Concept art drawn by TOR artist as panel continues. RT- avgoins- “You will be playing as the best smuggler who has ever lived. Han Solo would just shake his head and retire” – Drew K. RT- avgoins- Smuggler will have a special move called The Dirty Kick. “Use your imagination.” A lot of “we can’t discuss that yet” as the answers to audience questions at the TOR panel. There are a lot of species exclusive to classes. Some species do overlap. Final…
New Droid Companion! Meet T7-01
Meet T7-01, the companion droid you interact with if you choose to be a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Old Republic. He’s kind of like R2D2, but he’s got a ‘tude. His memory banks haven’t been erased in over 200 years and 3 previous high profile masters, so he pretty much thinks he knows the universe. He’s got a fierce independent streak and a candid personality, and will put himself in danger if he can save his more fragile organic allies. T7-01 was created as a repair and pilot droid, but his extensive experience have given him abilities that he can use in combat. The little guy can take care of himself, he survived the destruction of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for The Force’s sake.
While we wait for the old republic: Return of the Jedi deleted scene
Here it is Fanboys and Fangirls, the Return of the Jedi deleted scene to be included on new Blu-Ray release. The scene shows Luke Skywalker building his Return of the Jedi lightsaber. It gave me goosebumps, and I hope it gives you some too! Oh… and by the way: “RT @starwars: Lucas reveals that the six movie Star Wars saga box set is coming out on Blu-Ray in 2011. Will feature deleted scenes. “ Awesome news! Spread the word!
BioWare’s Daniel Erickson Talks on Star Wars History
Creating a MMOG for a franchise such as Star Wars is likely to be quite the balancing act. For the writers of Star Wars: The Old Republic, they must draw their knowledge and inspiration from so many sources and you can be certain that if a mistake is made, one of the many SW fans will find it! So where does a SWTOR writer get their inspiration? Techland.com interviewed BioWare’s Daniel Erickson, the Writing Director of SWTOR to learn more about his Star Wars background and what it’s like to write for a game with such a rich storyline. Writing for Star Wars is always a delicate piece of surgery. We must carefully carve out the archetypes, rhythms and overlaying themes of the movies and then place them in a completely new body of work. Players want to feel what it’s like to live as Han Solo did but they…
SWTOR Updates Vital Info on the Jedi Knight
Confirming what you may have already heard on the Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Jedi Knight, BioWare has finally updated the holonet to include specialization and companion information for this deeply iconic class. The Jedi will be able to choose between the heavily armored tank-like specialization aptly name the Guardian or the more limber and offensive specialization of the Sentinel. To assist you on your journey through the brutal worlds in the Star Wars universe, you can choose a T7-01 droid to accompany you. With centuries since its last memory wipe, this droid would be a valuable asset of knowledge! You can learn more about the Jedi Knight, their specializations and known associates by checking out the freshly updated holonet on the official SWTOR website. A symbol of hope in dark times, the Jedi Knight stands for the legacy of the Jedi Order—more than twenty-thousand years of protecting the Republic…
May the schwartz be with you: Grand Moff Tarkin and Count Dooku (pic)
Pre expanded universe mash up, but Check out the 1958 Hammer version of “Dracula” to see Cushing as Van Hellsing and Lee as Dracula. Or check out the Hammer film “The Curse of Frankenstein” to see Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Lee as Frankenstein’s monster. OR check out the Hammer film “Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell” to see Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and David Prowse (aka Darth Vader) as Frankenstein’s monster. They appeared together in many films, mostly by Hammer.
May the schwartz be with you: Vaderex
We have to be honest … the first time we heard about “midichlorians” they sounded like a sexually transmitted disease. Of course, you need a pill for that.
Space Combat Details
It seems that the German magazine PC Action has been released with details on the space combat in The Old Republic. And to say that the official forums have exploded over it is probably an understatement. The gist of it is that it seems that space combat in The Old Republic isn’t the X-Wing, Tie Fighter or even the Jump to Lightspeed type gameplay that everyone was hoping for, but rather more of an on-rails shooter meant for the more casual gamer. SWTOR-Station has the (translated, you might have to click the English flag first) details both on Space Combat as well as some further class details (nothing shocking there though). Here are the space combat details from SWTOR-Station: Sprace Combat reminds of Rebel Assault We call this gameplay “tunnel shooter”. That means there are especially designed levels which make you follow a certain path. The player has a range…
Timeline trailer 9: The Mandalorian Wars
Star Wars: The old republic Timeline trailer 9: The Mandalorian Wars, has just been released. Since the last timeline told us about Revan and Malak and the events of Knights of the Old Republic, we are now presented the bloody wars, which were responsible for KotOR events: the Mandalorian Wars. In this timeline Bioware basically made everything that happened in Kotor 2 Vapor-Ware and made their own story canon. So Exile didnt really do anything with Malachor V, it was all Revan. Carth Onasi Also get a mention in this timeline trailer though. The Mandalorian Wars included some of the bloodiest battles in the Republic’s history. Mandalore the Ultimate’s relentless campaign to goad the Jedi into open conflict cost the lives of millions. Though the entrance of a Jedi splinter faction into the war is perceived as the factor that turned the tide against the Mandalorians, the perseverance of Republic…
Jedi and Sith Species Announced for Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Star Wars: The Old Republic website has announced that all classes in the upcoming MMO will include different alien species to play as. Aside from Chiss, Rattataki, and Twil’lek, fans haven’t heard a lot about the playable races in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Now Players can look forward to becoming a Sith Pureblood, a Miraluka, a Mirialan, or a Zabrak. So far we’ve only dropped hints about the range of playable species in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. You may have heard about the Rattataki Bounty Hunter, Chiss Imperial Agent, or the Twi’lek Smuggler, but we can tell you now that all classes will include optional non-human species. Sith Purebloods are “the red-skinned descendants of such notorious Sith Lords as Naga Sadow and Marka Ragnos.” SW:TOR is the first video game allowing players to choose the original Sith as a playable race. Sith Purebloods originated on Korriban and later settled on Ziost and…
George Lucas joins other billonares in “Giving Pledge”
George Lucas is among the billionaires making a public pledge to give away at least half their wealth to charity. In a letter posted on The Giving Pledge website, Lucas writes: My pledge is to the process; as long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages. I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future – and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt – as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so. The “Giving Pledge,” spearheaded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, is…
E3 Interview with Greg Zeschuk
The Danish Gaming site Pixel.tv ( or TV station as it actually is) released an interview with Biowares co founder Greg Zeschuk about Star Wars: The old Republic. We’re probably about at the tail end of E3 now. There might be a few more things (like perhaps some awards) after this, but I’m not expecting much more.
How stuff works: Teräs Käsi
Teräs Käsi, or “steel hand” in Basic, was an unarmed combat discipline. It was created sometime prior to 3,678 BBY on the planet Bunduki by the Followers of Palawa, refugees of the planet Palawa, which was devastated earlier in a war somehow involving the Jedi Council. The Followers of Palawa created Teräs Käsi solely to defeat Jedi, and presumably, ensure that another world would never be destroyed by the actions of the Council. The Followers of Palawa studied The Force and Midi-chlorians, even though they themselves where not necessarily force sensitive. Teräs Käsi, enabled a user to develop extreme speed, and an aptitude for anticipating strikes, most notably shown by clone assassins. In addition to this, Teräs Käsi taught non force sensitives how to close their minds to Jedi and Sith, thus protecting themselves from mental based attacks. Teräs Käsi also had a developed set of fighting skills, and Nine…
Star Wars: The Old Republic nears completion
BBC has an interesting interview with Greg Zeschuk from Bioware. We don’t get an exact release date, but it seems like spring 2011 is still the goal. The interview mostly made for people that are new to the MMORPG scene, but it is till an interesting read. The massive multiplayer online role-play game (MMORPG) Star Wars: The Old Republic is nearing completion. While the Canadian developer BioWare would not be drawn on an exact date, it said that spring 2011 “was not unrealistic””. “”It’s getting closer, it’s coming down the pipe,” the firm’s founder Greg Zeschuk told BBC News. At present the MMORPG market is dominated by World of Warcraft, which boasts more than 10m players. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set 4,000 years before the events in the movies, which gave the developers almost a free hand in creating a unique persistent Star Wars universe. “The only requirement…
While we wait for The Old Republic: Spaceballs
Spaceballs is a 1987 American science fiction parody film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks. It was released on June 24, 1987, and earned only modest returns, but has gone on to become a seminal cult classic on video and probably Mel Brooks’ most popular film. Its plot and characters contain numerous parodies of elements primarily from the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as Star Trek and other popular science fiction films, like Alien. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 62% of critics gave positive reviews based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 6.2/10. At another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 46%, based on 14 reviews. Many critics agreed that, while it was funny, doing a Star Wars parody ten years after the…
Comic-Con 2010 Recap: Best Star Wars Costumes
It seems you can’t go five steps without running into a stormtrooper at San Diego Comic-Con, and that’s fine by us. While Comic-Con has it’s share of the always-impressive fans in the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion, as well as the ever-stunning Slave Leias, we also wanted to feature our favorite Star Wars costumes that made us smile. May the Force Be With Your Cosplay. Utini! Ahsoka “Snips” Tano! Tusken Raider Darth MaulHan Solo probably wouldn’t resist THIS Boba Fett!Imperial BFF? When you need a costume quick, why not wear the Slave Leia apron?Star Wars Celebration V – Orlando Troopers Slave Leias! Obi-Wan’s expression says it all. Death Trooper! Anyone for a Rebel yell? Yoda, look out! It isn’t Comic-Con without Elvis Trooper! Jedi Aayla Secura! Zam Wesell & Jango Fett This young Jedi is ready for fun! Check out more Star Wars costumes here: Comic-Con 2010 (all photos)
Blood of the Empire #8 is online!
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire concludes Arc Two of The Broken World [HERE] this week. The eight issue of the ongoing free webcomic is continuing the crazy mystery that left everyone hanging at the end of issue seven. Will Kel find his answers in time? What is Kressh’s ultimate plan? Check out the synopsis for issue eight below: Teneb Kel is confronted with a strange and frightening vision of the past, the future, and of his greatest enemy. As he lies broken in the Lenico wasteland, he must seek the truth about Exal Kressh and the Emperor’s goals within his mystical dream–or be utterly destroyed when he returns to reality. As if issue seven wasn’t confusing enough! The eighth issue continues to perplex the mind. Kel continues his “vision quest” or at least we are left thinking he’s having a vision. While in his vision he…
Haden Blackman Resigns From LucasArts
Only months after LucasArts saw its President, Darrell Rodriguez, depart the company, its Executive Producer has now also left. IGN reports that Haden Blackman, executive producer and writer for The Force Unleashed series, has resigned from his LucasArts position. IGN got confirmation from LucasArts on the news and a representative assured that the development of The Force Unleashed II will not be affected. Blackman issued a statement that included the following: “I’ve had a fantastic time working with the team at Lucasfilm and am really grateful for their ongoing support.” “While the decision to leave LucasArts did not happen overnight or come easily, I really feel that now is the best time for me to move on and explore new creative challenges and I look forward to the next phase of my career.” This news is just coming out so we’ll be sure to update as we learn more on…
Nar Shaddaa: Crowning Jewel of the Underworld
This Friday’s update brings us a new playable planet: Nar Shaddaa. To me, a surprising one, as I thought there would be no more planets left, then Corellia. Nar Shaddaa also featured in KotOR 2, so it will be an interesting planet to (re-)visit, though I must admit that I’m not entirely sure what it offers that other planets don’t already offer. With Coruscant already in the game we have a city planet and with Hutta we already have a crime capitol. But here it is: Circling the planet Hutta is its largest moon – Nar Shaddaa, the ultimate corrupt city. Dominated by underworld concerns and owned by the Hutts, this sprawling mass of skyscrapers is considered one of the most dangerous and exciting places in the galaxy, where anything can be had for the right price. Access the HoloNet to learn more about Nar Shaddaa. Check out this video…
Chewbacca riding giant squirrel, fighting Nazis
Created by DeviantArt user Gamefan84, who says all that needs to be said: “Craziest request ever: Chewie riding a giant cute squirrel chasing down Nazis. He needs long flowing fur and a giant roar.” You might stop by his DeviantArt page and tell him how great this is.
May the schwartz be with you: Comic-Con 2010: Slave Leias
It wouldn’t be San Diego Comic-Con without Slave Leias. Of course, this year at the annual Slave Leia photo op, the usual mayhem occurred. Who needs red carpet celebrities when you can see all the Slave Leias at the convention all in one spot? The lovely ladies were out in full Force this year, complete with a supermodel addition of America’s Next Top Model winner and reality TV star Adrianne Curry. (photo by Bonnie Burton) (photo by Bonnie Burton) (photo by Bonnie Burton) Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Nicole Love. Photo by Bonnie…
Making SWTOR Not Suck – Ending the MMORPG Launch Curse
Every announcement made for Star Wars: The Old Republic sends the loyal fanbase into a new swarm of debate, concern, and excitement that causes popular opinion to fluctuate faster than the stock market. It isn’t the little things though that will win it or lose it for BioWare’s latest Star Wars game, and we have learned a few important lessons from recent MMOG flops. We will make a dozen characters before settling down with a favorite one or two so if there isn’t variety in early content, compulsive altoholics will be clawing off their faces after playing through the same twenty levels every single time they start a new character. Save us the gore and plastic reconstruction bills and just give us something new to do while we are trying to make up our fickle minds. What features will BioWare have to nail in order to win player support? Ten…
Interview with Alexander Freed – Questing and choices
Massively brings an interesting interview with Managing Editor on Star Wars: The old republic, Alexander Freed. The interview is mainly about what the different types of quests will be available in SWTOR, what compelling choices players have to make, and what it takes to write for a project of this magnitude. Here us a snip: We’ve got four different kinds of quests. We’ve got our class quests, which is what we’ve really focused on when we’ve talked to the press about story. It’s traditional BioWare storytelling in an MMO space. The other three types of quests that we’ve got are all group quests. We’ve got world quests which are essentially like the side quests that you’d see in Dragon Age or Mass Effect. They can be played in a group. That is where you see our multiplayer dialogue system in action. Then we’ve got our flashpoints, which are our big,…
Family Guy ROTJ Spoof Gets A Title
The Hollywood Reporter Live Feed reports on the following Star Wars-related information coming out of the San Diego Comic-Con Family Guy Panel – December’s spoof of Return of the Jedi has been given the title “It’s a Trap!” – Due to the expense, this looks to be the last Star Wars parody from Family Guy – The creators of Family Guy are not looking to do any more full-out movie parodies, except for possibly Indiana Jones. Visit HollywoodReporter.com for more non-Star Wars related details on the upcoming Family Guy season. “It’s a Trap!” will debut on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 21, 2010. First Look At Family Guy ROTJ Spoof TV Guide provides our first look at the promo artwork for Family Guy‘s next venture into the GFFA, a spoof of Return of the Jedi. See below for some cliff notes of additional details from the TV Guide article: Guest…