Yesterday BioWare introduced a new member to the community team. Hillary “Pokket” Nicole now joines the team as new Community Coordinator. Her role will be to help maintain relationships with fan sites, streamers, guilds, and any other aspect of the SWTOR community. If you have been following the mmorpg comunity, chance are you already know Pokket for her work on mmorpg.com, or followed her on her own website. Check out the announcements below, and check out her private website over at POKKET.TV Post #1 HillaryNicole A wild Hillary appears… | Today , 03:19 PM Greetings everyone! My name is Hillary Nicole, but some of you may know me as “Pokket.” I recently joined the Bioware Austin team as their new Community Coordinator. My role will be to help maintain relationships with fan sites, streamers, guilds, and any other aspect of the SWTOR community. To give a little history on myself, I’ve…
DICE given ‘creative freedom’ with Star Wars license
DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson was interviewed by CVG, regarding the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront. Karl Magnus Troedsson told CVG of the partnership: “It’s been a good collaboration, because when you’re working on somebody else’s IP it can often turn into a bit of a challenge I bet. But that’s why this has been so positive, because the teams are working together. Check it out: “I won’t go into specifics, but what I can say is that it’s been extremely positive. We don’t feel limited in any way. We feel completely enabled within this framework. I can’t go into all the details about how that collaboration works, but what I can see is that it’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience. “The way that I would sum it up is we have one game team with a lot of experience building games, who are so passionate about Star Wars, and…
Star Wars Episode VII Rumors Swirling: Possible Plot Details
Star Wars Episode VII, first announced back in 2012, is currently the much-anticipated and hyped cinematic flagship of the Star Wars universe. The movie carries quite a bit of importance from the point of view of the recently announced Battlefront 3too, an under-development title, an early trailer of which elicited quite a bit of emotion at the 2014 E3. What is the connection between the game and the movie? While the E3 trailer only showed a handful of action sequences taking place on Endor and Hoth – both original trilogy locations – the developers have hinted at the fact that locations and other elements of lore to be introduced in Episode VII may also find their way into the game. The move would indeed make quite a bit of sense as it would essentially allow the game to ride the hype generated by the movie and vice-versa. Episode VII has…
Star Wars X-Wing Knife Block: Awesome Star Wars Stuff
So if you’re looking for something to get me for my birthday, look no further. Seriously, for Star Wars fans, this is pretty cool. We love finding and sharing this kind of stuff with you. If I had this X-Wing, I would use it as a collector’s piece for display only. I really don’t think I could bring myself to actually use this for anything. It’s far too beautiful.
SWTOR Fan Picks: New Playable Races
This is a common question that comes up in MMORPG communities fairly often. Most WoW players will recall the masses asking for murlocs as a playable race for so very long. Love it or hate it, people wanted to see it. Just like people will want to be able to play wookies in a Star Wars game, there is always something that captures the attention of the players, even if it doesn’t make sense or fit with the natural lore and story. Sometimes fans just want what they want. Sometimes fans want things that don’t make any sense in the grand scheme of things. While we may not ever actually see this live in the game, it can be fun to speculate about what could be. And you never know- Bioware does listen to fan feedback, especially when it comes en masse. With the way SWTOR is growing and changing…
SWTOR Los Angeles Community Cantina Q&A Audio (Cana Rum Bar, June 2014)
We love to bring you updates from the Community Cantinas that take place in various cities across the map. There is always new and exciting fun to come out of these events and of course, we can’t forget the flash drive goodies. So the Q&A of this Community Cantina was with Eric Musco and you can find a full write-up of that here on 42gaming.com. You can also listen to the video below (audio only). Here is a snippet: Question: When will we know the rewards for Ranked PVP Season 2? Answer: “We do not like to present the rewards and requirements till at least halfway through the Season” Question: Will classes be able to use weapons that are not intended for the class, i.e Jedi using a blaster? Answer: No, one of the reasons is to allow others to identify the enemy’s class in PVP. Question: Will there be…
Sexism in Our Community?
This is a sensitive topic for many people and I can respect that. However, as a female gamer, I find it really important to address this issue. Is there still an issue in gaming today, and in our SWTOR community, with female players being harassed? I have heard stories of people quitting SWTOR due to the harassment or abuse they have suffered due to their gender, or perceived gender in the game. As always when I hear this kind of story I am angry and also sad. That being said, I’m not 100% convinced there is a real issue of sexism in the SWTOR community. Here is a common scenario: Person is playing a female toon. Perhaps a sexy Twi’lek in skimpy attire because that seems to be the norm for the female versions of characters in most video games these days. Person encounters other players, presumably male, who then…
Video Game Franchises and a Star Wars Legacy
While recording a podcast for my gaming community tonight, we were discussing E3 this year and the announcements that were made. An interesting topic came up; one that I think could use a little more exploration. Basically, we were talking about video game franchises and in particular, franchises that include more than just a line of video games. We have many popular game franchises that started off as movies, comics or books. And there are some that were later turned into movies and books and even TV shows. When a title takes off like this, we are looking at much more than just a series of games. What we’re really looking at is a brand. And the developers who create these games want to keep the fans interested in their brand. They want to take those loyal gamers and turn them into lifelong fans. However, this tactic is not as…
Happy Father’s Day Star Wars Style!
Today is a day for celebrating the men who brought us into this world- our dear old dads! Thousands of fathers will be kicking back and relaxing today, or grilling up their favorite meals in the sunny backyard. Some will be lazy-ing around in the recliners or taking a dip in the pool. Still, others might go fishing or out to their favorite restaurant for dinner.
Versus Series: Luke Skywalker VS Revan
Versus Series Luke Skywalker VS Revan – who would win? Here’s a fun and interesting episode of the Versus Series that pitts Luke Skywalker against Revan. It’s an interesting question but there are some arguments made about the way it was carried out in the versus video. For example, it’s comparing Luke at 63 with Revan at 43. A comparison of both at the same age may have been better. One thing that is certain from the reaction to the video- most fans are pretty hardcore about which side they want to win and their supporting reasons why. Some fans argue that the video was not fair to Revan and that under different circumstances, he would beat Luke without a doubt. But the same counter-argument can be given for Luke, who later becomes very best of all Jedi in the entire universe of Star Wars. Check out the video and tell us…
Patch Notes – 2.8.0a
Patch 2.8a is now available for download. Below are the patchnotes: General Group Finder’s Operation queue has been set to 8-Player (down from 16-Player) in order to decrease server load and resolve widespread connectivity and instancing issues. Addressed a bug that caused Legacy cooldown unlocks to not apply properly for certain Abilities. So back to nobody using GF for operations 🙁 I had nothing but positive experiences running DF and SNV using it, capped out two of my characters at the beginning of the week. I was even bringing out my tanks, which are usually too much of a pain to gear but are fine with the bolster and ultimate comms showing up everywhere now. They better bring 16man back
Star Wars Battlefront TRAILER ANALYSIS from E3 2014
Some very exciting Star Wars related news came out of E3 this week. Ten years ago, LucasArts and Pandemic Studios gave the world “Star Wars: Battlefront,” one of the most popular Star Wars video games ever made. A year later, LucasArts published the console-only sequel “Battlefront II.” After that, we did not see or hear a lot in the development of this game franchise. But now, we have some exciting news. At E3 2013, Electronic Arts, which currently has the rights to the Star Wars video game franchise, showed a teaser trailer for a game it titled “Star Wars: Battlefront.” The studio said very little after this and would leave us wondering what and when, this game might come to light. Recently at E3 2014, Election Arts once again teased some footage from the upcoming “Battlefront” title, although it was mostly comprised of pre-rendered cutscenes spliced with some behind-the-scenes storytelling from the DICE…
Update on Area Transition Issues & Unscheduled Maintenance 6/13
BioWare will be taking down the servers and perform an Unscheduled Maintenance tomorrow. After this maintenance Group Finder Operation queue from 16-Player to 8-Player will no longer be available do to technical issues. I really hope we do end up getting more details from Bioware about what exactly is happening. But to me it sounds like their servers just buckled under the pressure of all of the instances it had to spawn (most likely due to how many people were queueing up for something new) of a large area (an operation) and 16 people to track. Post #1 TaitWatson Area Transition Issues | 06.12.2014, 12:23 PM Hey everyone, We have identified a fix to the ongoing area transition/instancing and connectivity issues that players have been seeing since the release of Game Update 2.8. In order to alleviate these issues, we are going to be doing unscheduled maintenance tomorrow morning (Friday, June…
What Ideas Can Other MMOs take from SWTOR?
SWTOR is a game that has sprung some controversial ideas over the years. It is a game that many called a failure but that actually has succeeded in many ways. For many reasons, there are things that other MMOs can learn from SWTOR and the game history so far. Other MMOs can learn from both the successes and the failures of SWTOR. In some ways, this game has paved the path for those that will come after, just like games before opened doors for SWTOR to be what it is today. So let’s take a look at some of the ideas that other MMOs can take from SWTOR. One very big point is the voice acting. The type of voice acting SWTOR had was unique. Never before has it been done in this way in a video game. All the live voice acting adds a different element and level of…
EA Opens new Star Wars Website
Leland Chee (Manager of the Holocron over at Lucasfilm Story Group), posted an interesting tweet Yesterday. Unknown to most people, Electronic arts, have now started a website for all thing related to upcoming Star Wars video games in development by EA. Over a year ago, EA and our partners at Lucasfilm and Disney reached a multi-year, multi-title exclusive licensing agreement for the creation of new Star Warsgames aimed at core gamers across consoles, PC, mobile and tablets. Today, we’re excited to be launching a new Web Site for EA’s Star Wars games. StarWars.ea.com is a singular destination for Star Wars fans to learn more about the exciting new games in development at EA. Right now, you can find new videos and the latest on Star Wars™ Battlefront™ from DICE, and Star War™: The Old Republic™ from BioWare. This will be pretty interesting to follow for now on. You can check…
SWTOR Game Update 2.8: Spoils of War Consolidated Bugs List
With a new game update comes new bugs. Here a Consolidated Bugs List of all the know bugs in the game right now. If you have found any that is not on this list, remember to report it to BioWare, either ingame or on the official forums. Post #1 TaitWatson Oversight: NM DF bosses still have same HP | 06.11.2014, 12:26 PM QUOTE Death_By_Smiley The Nightmare Buff removed the increased damage. It however did not remove the extra HP. Frankly, I’d almost prefer it would stay this way. However, this is, by definition, and oversight, as the nightmare buff was supposed to affect HP. I’ll send this along to the team to see what’s going on. Thanks! Post #2 TaitWatson Ajunta Pall‘s Mask clipping | 06.11.2014, 12:25 PM QUOTE PavSalco At least in the preview my beard goes through Ajunta’s mask that does not hide it at all. Can any person that equipped…
Can the Dark Side of the Force be Used for the Greater Good?
Star Wars lore and The Force is something that has been written, discussed, debated and analyzed since the first film’s debut. One topic of the Star Wars story that has been questioned and debated over the years is that of the Force and Light and Dark side. In this video, we can explore the question “Can the Dark Side of the Force be used for the greater good?” Some will argue that the Dark Side itself is inherently evil and that simply by choosing to act on the Dark, you cannot do good, and that you will become evil. The same is said of the Light Side and good. But if we really break down the story, we see that even the Light Side sometimes questions their goodness or makes choices that could be considered “evil”. Maybe it is not really as black and white as we’d like to think….
Star Wars: Battlefront, DICE Increasingly Looking Like Match Made in Heaven
For a layman, the Star Wars: Battlefront trailer presented at the 2014 E3 may have been disappointing. After all, it contained precious little in-game footage and much more of the “people dramatically entering an office” sort of thing, as one reviewer so keenly pointed out. For a true fan however, the trailer told much more than a straight hour of in-game state-of-the-art graphics frenzy would have, and it really did say what every fan out there wanted to hear: that the folks at DICE were treating this project with utmost respect and that they were aiming to make a game that they, as Star Wars fans, always wanted to play. The trailer also showcased the lengths the team went to in order to create as authentic a Star Wars experience as possible, immersing themselves into the annals of the Star Wars universe in ways only true fans would ever be…
Developer Update: Spoils of War
Game update 2.8 Spoils of War is now live, and with it, BioWare posted 3 developer updates and a developer blog. in These designer Chris Schmidt, PvP Designer Alex Modny, Lead Flashpoints and Operation Designer George Smith and Associate Producer Andrew Horwitz ( many new names here? ), outlines what to expect with the new update. You can read them all in there original form over at the official Star Wars: The old Republic website here and here, or you can read it all below as we have shamelessly copy pasted it all for you viewing pleasure. Developer Update: Spoils of War 06.09.2014 With Game Update 2.8: Spoils of War right around the corner, the developers wanted to give you some more details about some of this update’s major features. We hope you are as excited as we are to reap rewards through Story Mode Operations, Galactic Starfighter, Warzones, and…
How to Beat the System in the Upcoming Event
On June 10th, Star Wars: The Old Republic launches Update 2.8: Spoils of War, and the casino event called the Festival of Splendor along with most of the patch already resides on the public test server. The new event is based on gambling/casino which is not for everyone, of course. If you like casino games and trying your hand at your luck vs. the house, you might not want to do this trick at all. But if you want a way to beat the system, then check this out. Hyperspace Beacon has found a way to beat the system in this new event. This might be something worth looking into. Here they have an overview on games and prizes: The Smuggler’s Luck slot machines cost the least. Each token is 1,000 credits and there is a higher chance to win something. According to SWTOR_miner on Reddit, every time you play you only have…
Star Wars Battlefront: Official E3 2014 Trailer
Star Wars: Battlefront reveal out of the way early with the announcement that more game info will be available in Spring 2015. That’s around six months ahead of Star Wars: Episode VII‘s theatrical debut, so 2015 should definitely scratch your Star Wars itch with a bunch of new books, movies, and games. The publisher used their 2014 E3 Press Conference to show off a quick behind-the-scenes video (DICE went poking around in the LucasArts archives to get the look of their game just right) Check it out below: Star Wars™ Battlefront™ is the ultimate Star Wars battle experience, brought to life by the creators of Battlefield. Fight in epic Star Wars battles on iconic planets and rise through the ranks playing as the heroic Rebellion or the evil galactic Empire.
Patch Notes – 6/10/2014 – Game Update 2.8: Spoils Of War
Tomorrow will see the light of Game Update 2.8: Spoils Of War. The new game update comes with tons of updates and a new gambling event on Nar Shaddaa. Check out the full patch notes below: Game Update 2.8: Spoils Of War Soovada (“Spoils of War” in Huttese) is an annual celebration of total extravagance in Hutt culture, originally celebrated in the summer season of Varl after successful military campaigns. Rival clans compete to prove their superior wealth, attempting to sponsor the most parties, pit fights, bounties, gambling, and every other public display of fortune and excess imaginable. Popularized among outside cultures during visits to Nar Shaddaa, this exuberant holiday is now celebrated on hundreds of worlds across the galaxy, where it’s simply known by its Huttese name; any connection to ancient wartime looting is largely ignored. Highlights New Event: Spoils of War! Players can earn double Ranked Warzone Commendations, Warzone Commendations,…
Steampunk Darth Vader, Yoda and Leia in New Star Wars Art
I love Steampunk and I love Star Wars. Now I have found something that brings the best of both worlds together. This was shared to me by a good friend who knows what a fan I am of both and I knew I had to share it with the rest of you. If you are a fan of Star Wars, then you will probably like this but if you are also a steampunk fan, then you’ll love it even more. Head over here and check it out for yourself and you will see just what we’re talking about. If you love Star Wars and if you love fan art and conception art, then you will greatly appreciate this entire gallery. These Star Wars paintings are the work of Bjorn Hurri, a Swedish born concept artist currently living and working in London. Let’s take a look at some more images from the…
Gree Event Returns – 7/22 – 7/29
While I’m glad to finally see when it will return, I’m a bit disheartened to learn it’ll be just a week. Got a good friend that wants the armor and is a new player so he’s not gonna get it until the 2nd (or 3rd) week played. He’s cool with it and accepted it but I’m a tad sad… for him. But he’ll survive. 😉 Anyways… been waiting for this for months, can finally finish maxing out rep and get all the legacy weapons. Also kind of a PSA, because I didn’t hear myself, but legacy shotguns and vibroknives are available at the Gree vendor now. I thought they were still missing. Here is the official news from Tait Watson: Emeraldon Tomb of Freedon Nadd 2 points 28 minutes ago (2|0) Come on, BioWare! Give us more information! When is the Gree event? 🙁 July 22nd – July 29th, starting…