According to recent stories, EA wants to refresh the Star Wars game license and create games that will make “your jaw drop”. For Star Wars game fans, this is good news but will they really pull off this hefty goal? One can only hope, right? “The most important thing for me is that we take the Star Wars license and come up with games where peoples’ jaws drop,” said Patrick Soderlund of EA games to Polygon. “We need to do with this what [Batman: Arkham Asylum] did for the Batman license.” The first game they are set to work with is Star Wars: Battlefront, a game that many fans have been waiting a very long time to see happen. Soderlund says the DICE team will have access to this work. While they could not tell Polygon much about the game, it’s still great news to know it is in development and…
Female SWTOR Characters Got Bustier?
There’s no denying that female video game characters often have large breasts. The reasons why have long been debated. Perhaps it’s a throwback to comic book culture and early feminine heroines. Or maybe it’s because many early video game developers were men and they liked these busty characters. Or maybe it just looks good in video animation. Whatever the reason, we do see more busty females than flat-chested ones in video games. As for me, I don’t really mind. In fact, as a female gamer who most always plays female characters, I usually make mine very large breasted. In games that have a slider on character creation, I slide that sucker all the way automatically and make those puppies as big as they’ll go. Then if it looks odd, I’ll adjust as needed until I like the way my girl looks. But 99% of the time, I leave those boobs…
Oricon on PTS
Lots of good stuff still to come in the Summer of SWTOR. For example, Oricon is now on the PTS. This means we all get to see a touch of what this new area is going to be like. This will be an actual zone, with quests and new story. This is a welcome surprise for many players who may have been growing a little bored with the current game content. Fresh content is always a good thing, right? Oricon is where you confront the Dread Masters at the end of the planet story/weekly. The two operations “Dread Fortress” and “Dread Palace” are based here. In the first operation, you kill Dread Master Brontes. Second operation, you kill the other four Dread Masters and Dread Council. It’s supposed to be coming with 2.4, probably in October but we don’t know for sure exactly when this game update will launch. Here…
Star Wars: Hunt for the Holocron
Here is a pretty good fan film that I have been waiting for for a while. It named “Hunt for the Holocron” and is directed by Martin Spitznagel. The movie is made by a dedicated group of young people entirely with practical effects — no 3D models were used in the film, only real models filmed against a greenscreen! — the film is a 30-minute love letter to Star Wars, complete with an original orchestral score. Read more about the movie here, and check it out below: HUNT FOR THE HOLOCRON is the story of Bando (Mark August Spitznagel, SAG-AFTRA) and Sahn (Dan Clavey) Jinkuru, young men thrown into a dangerous world when they find a Holocron, a record of Jedi secrets. Pursued by Dark Jedi Dregr Jarrat (Martin Spitznagel), whose thirst for the Holocron has reached obsession, the boys are aided by Jedi E’Din Kyle (David Turka) and smuggler…
Data Dump Patch 2.3.1
More good stuff from swtor_miner today and here’s a forewarning: It might contain spoilers. We have another Data Dump of details from Patch 2.3.1. As always, there is no guarantee that these things will end up in the live game. We also don’t know completely what all this data means when we see it. Well I wasn’t really expecting this, and I can’t separate some of the 2.4 stuff out of my stored files. But, I ran some straight dumps of 2.3 and 2.3.1 and compared them. This is what got changed or added: GOM Dump – Includes ids for items, abilities, phases, etc. Note the Rakghoul event entries. Item Name and Description Dump – If an existing item appears here, they added a new variant or applied a bugfix. And, all the Cartel stuff that they put on the PTS last week. Edit: I’ll see about doing a more complete teardown later…
Maintenance: August 22nd – Patch 2.3.1a
AmberGreen just informed the community via the official Star Wars: The old republic forums, that BioWare will be taking down the servers 2 hours today, to patch a few errors. Below are the message: Maintenance: August 22nd | 08.21.2013, 04:42 PM On August 22nd, all game servers will be unavailable as we perform brief maintenance. Patch 2.3.1a will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Thursday August 22nd Duration: 2 hours Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) – 5AM PDT (12PM UTC) Patch Note Items The incorrect alignment requirement has been removed from the following gear: Section X Guardian Armor Scalene Armor (Red, Blue, White, Gold) Voss Ambassador Armor Hyperspace Hotshot Armor Deep Space Starfighter Helmet Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Time Zone Start Time UTC Offset PDT Thursday August 22, 2013 03:00 AM -7 hours MDT Thursday…
Sneak Peek at 2.4 from the PTS – What To Expect
If you’re looking for info on what to expect from game update 2.4, and if you’re not on the PTS, you’re in luck because there is some great info coming out from those who are. swtor_miner is bringing us some great updates as follows: I got a tip that a new patch went up on the PTS. I’ll have to look at more thoroughly after I get some sleep. But, here’s a preview. Arenas, oricon, and Ranked Season 1 are a go. Respec’ing is disabled during and while queued for pvp matches. As are combat rezzes and normal rezzes. Strike Team Oricon/The Dread Executioners are the new rep faction. Master of Dread, Scare Bear, Judged Dread, Dread War Veteran are new legacy titles. Warzone Annihilator, Deadly Contender are new titles. The Droid and Mecha-Rancor from the Community Cantina keychain are SPOILERS HERE- see on Reddit Varactyl mounts are there, as well…
Game Update 2.3.1 Patch Notes – 8/21/2013
Patch notes for today’s servers maintenance is up. This time they got around to fixing out-of-space Pierce and Double Risha and “If players receive a whisper while in the process of replying to another whisper, the reply no longer displays the correct name while incorrectly delivering the message to the name who whispered most recently.” Something that have annoyed a lot of players for over a year now. Whoever writes the patch notes has a wonderful sense of humor. Check out these two goldies: “Treek no longer attempts to accentuate her humble by sinking into the ground.” Skadge has given up his ventriloquism hobby and will move his lips when saying the line “You got somethin’ to kill, or what?” Wonderful stuff 🙂 Check out the full patchnotes below: Highlights The first Packs of Shipment Three are now available for sale on the Cartel Market! Most items in the Contractor’s and Freelancer’s Bounty Packs…
Scheduled Maintenance: August 21st, 2013 – Patch 2.3.1
Amber Green posted a notification on the official forums, that maintenance this week will be on Wednesday August 21st. Game Update 2.3.1 will be implemented during this downtime. We will post the patch notes as soon as they become availible, so be sure to check back later. AmberGreen Scheduled Maintenance: August 21st, 2013 | 08.19.2013, 01:12 PM On August 21st, all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.3.1 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 Duration: 4 hours Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) – 7AM PDT (2PM UTC) During maintenance, all updates and additional information will be posted on our Twitter account. Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Time Zone Start Time UTC Offset PDT Wednesday August 21, 2013 03:00 AM -7 hours MDT…
Republic CZ-198 Jump Guide
Are you looking for instructions on how to do the new daily area CZ-198? Well, ask and you shall receive! I never cease to be amazed by how awesome SWTOR players and fans are. Here we have an excellent guide on imgur that walks us through this area. The game has several platforming puzzles where you do get a reward and then others like this that are just for fun. But for many players, the reward is just completing it.
TOR TV: Treek is gothams reckoning
Here is something that had to be done. A Swtor/ Batman Parody. I’m so glad the idea of the Bane Ewok outfit has now been planted in my head. She’s pretty hard core in a fight too… I didn’t see my first shiny metal god until I was already a man. No one cared who I was until I got rid of the cute. You think the forest is your ally?! …when it is done…when your fleet is ashes…then you have my permission to yubyub. I Laughed out loud at work, everyone stares at me, I try to explain the joke, but I just get frustrated and give up because no is familiar with Star Wars. This video was made by ResidentPenguin. We have earlier showed some of his stuff, so don’t miss out on He-Man and Tribute to the relaxed Jumpsuit
THE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL SWTOR PLAYER SURVEY
Do you want the opportunity to share how you really feel about SWTOR, the classes and the storyline? Would you like to see stats on what real players think of the game versus the stats that BioWare gives out? Well, now is your chance! From the post on Reddit: PLEASE UPVOTE FOR VISIBILITY, SELF POSTS YIELD NO KARMA, RESULTS MUST BE THOROUGH FOR IT TO BE A PROPER SURVEY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-h14ZOP1vEPO-3G-SNqnCNm1T521qaTShAUB-AcM_fQ/viewform PLEASE FILL OUT ALL QUESTIONS, AND WHEN SPEAKING OF SPEC E.G. DARKNESS OR MADNESS, USE EMPIRE VERSION, SO NO RESULTS ARE DUPLICATES. Results will be posted next sunday. This survey is set up via Google Docs so it’s really easy to complete and submit the questions. You can take your time and answer at your own pace but be sure to get it in before the deadline if you want it to count torward the results that will be read…
FREEBIE WARS: Free CD Key Giveaway from Allkeyshop and SWTORSTRATEGIES
AllKeyShop.com the most trusted CD KeyPrice Comparison Store and swtorstrategies.com a blog devoted in covering Star Wars and the upcoming MMO Star Wars The Old Republic (SWTOR).They cover all corners of the Star Wards: old republic and star wars game with news and commentary, interviews, reviews and more., brings you the biggest event for this month. Win a free CD key of any PC game of your choice! Check it out! Swtorstrategies.com teams up with AllKeyShop swtorstrategies.com partners with AllKeyShop.com. Allkeyshop, with its exceptional service, provides the most competitive prices in the market. They have tested, and frequently continue to anonymously check CD key vendors that they present, to offer you a great quality of service and allow you to buy your pc games, Gamecard and Xbox products (Xbox points, Xbox live and Xbox games) with confidence. What’s CD key? It’s a multi-digit code that the store will send you via e-mail after your purchase. You will then use this code…
Bounty Hunt Event with Same Sex Flirting
If you’ve been waiting to see some same sex flirting in the game of SWTOR, then we have a scene for you. Here in this Bounty Hunt event, you will see some same sex flirting. In fact, if you did it before already, you might have been surprised when you hit that flirt option that it wasn’t for the female but was actually some male-on-male flirtation. See it here yourself: In the Makeb quest line, there is also some male flirt options between the male Sith Juggernaut and male NPC Sith Lord. Have you experienced some other same sex flirting in the game’s story as of late?
BioWare Writer Quits Due to Death Threats to Family: Exaggeration
UK website Metro wrote a controversial post yesterday titled BioWare writer quits after death threats to family. If all the facts within the article were true, it would be pretty astonishing news. Unfortunately, while true, it was more of an exaggeration with some facts withheld. But before we go into this, let me say that I believe the fact that people are so willing to accept the story at face value says a lot about the gaming industry today and the state of people on the internet. Trolls and bullies run rampant and the gaming world is no exception. It’s up to those of us who have been a part of this culture for a long time, and who truly love and care for it, to push out the bullies and trolls and show them they are not welcome on our playground.
Game Update 2.4: Live on PTS
The PTS is up with the first issue of Game Update 2.4. Minor change to Phase Walk and some big changes to Vanguard and PT DPS trees. And offcourse The big focus here is on the Arenas making their debut. I am Curious to hear what people think. Below are the patch notes, and below them, is a stream currently playing SWTOR on the PTS. Game Update 2.4 PTS Patch Notes – August 16th, 2013 The patch notes published for the Public Test Server are intended to guide testing. They are not final and are subject to change. The new Obroan PvP armor set is currently using placeholder art that will be updated before the release to the Live Servers; the sets themselves are incomplete on the PTS and are subject to change. The Public Test Server Patch Notes will be provided in English. The final release notes will be provided…
Patch Notes – 2.3.0c – 8/16/2013
BioWare performed a short maintenance to fix some bugs with the Bounty Contract Week. Servers should all be back up now. Below are the patch notes: 2.3.0c Patch Notes 8/16/2013 General An issue affecting the spawn rate of Shady Characters has been corrected. The respawn rate of Shady Characters has been increased significantly. The “information” count required to advance Bounty Contract missions has been reduced to 4 (from 5).
Bounty Contract Event is Live
Starting today, the Bounty Contract Event for SWTOR will finally be available – but just for only this week. The Bounty Contract Event allows you to visit previously explored planets where you will get missions to kill different high-profiled targets. With every completed contract, you will earn reputation points that gives you access to purchase new rare items. The Bounty Contract event only lasts for one week – but will return every month. Those who are aiming to gather so much reputation that they will be able to reach Legend Status, will have to spend at least four months on this, before it happens. However, if you have multiple characters, it can be done very quickly as you can stock up reputation trophy that you can be used every week every time you max out the weekly reputation cap. So ss a heads up the Completed Bounty Contracts are not BoP so mailing…
SWTOR Developer Update: Warzone Arenas
There was a BIG update from the SWTOR developer blog today. It’s all about PvP- and we’re excited to share this with you today. Here are the highlights: Arena PvP play is coming with deathmatch-style gameplay, where the only objective is to defeat the enemy players first. The setup will feature 4v4 where the best out of three rounds wins. Three Arenas currently exist: Corellia, Tatooine, and an Orbital Station There will be a deterrent for those who try to stalemate a match in the form of a poison gas cloud. Ranked Arenas will feature both a Solo and Group queue in Game Update 2.4. They’re getting rid of 8v8 Warzone The target testing date for PTS is August 16th so those on the test realms won’t have to wait long to see it. And while all of this is pretty exciting, here’s the real highlight of the update: But…
Movie Defense Force Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Escapist Magazine has something fun for fans of Star Wars: Episode 1. Star Wars week happened to fall on a week in which Movie Defense Force was not scheduled. May God have mercy on Jim Sterling’s soul, for Star Wars fans have none to spare. For even more Jim check out Jimquisition. Follow Jim on twitter for a chance to win Twitter updates from Jim: @JimSterling Don’t forget to get to watch Jim with Yahtzee in their Rhymedown Spectacular. New episodes of Movie Defense Force appear every other Thursday only on The Escapist. Do you remember the first time you saw Star Wars: Episode? Where were you? Did you like it? How many times have you seen it? Was it different each time? The Escapist : Movie Defense Force : Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
BioWare Easter Egg in SWTOR
Just when you feel like game developers have lost their spirit of fun, a group like the team at BioWare comes along and does something neat. In this case, it’s a hidden “Easter egg” in SWTOR’s macrobinocular missions. Old school gamers will get a kick out of this one if you haven’t seen it already. The mission “All The Pieces” has a part you have to jump across moving garbage vehicles and speeders. If you felt some déjà vu going on during this part, there might be a good reason for it. If this part of the quest feels strangely familiar to you, it’s not just you. The mission is actually a reference to the Ord Mantell Junkyard mission in the old N64 game Shadows of the Empire! Here’s a clip of what we’re talking about: And if you missed it in SWTOR, here’s a video of the actual mission:…
SWTOR Tauntaun Mount: A Guide on How You Can Obtain Yours
Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic If you’re one of the many SWTOR players that have anticipated the arrival of Tauntaun mounts, get ready to celebrate because your wait is over. They’re finally here! BioWave added Tauntaun mounts to the 2.3 update, so you can now travel through the galaxy on one of these incredible animals instead of a vehicle. It gives the game a completely new feel and you’re sure to enjoy the change. Now that they are here, the next big question is how do you get one? Well, you have two different options. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but buying a Tauntaun mount with cash is not one of them. Here are your two options. Use Credits to Buy Your Tauntaun Mount The easy, simple way to obtain your Tauntaun mount is to be a…
Tips for Getting the Most of Game Update 2.3
SWTOR Game Update 2.3 is now live. Titans of Industry is here and it’s time to say hello to the Czerka. If you spent any time on the test servers, you might already be somewhat familiar with this game update. But if you’re just jumping right into that new content, then you might want a few tips to help you get started with a bang. Get your group on- First, if you’re going to dive in and enjoy the new content, don’t be shy. Just like with other game updates, this new content will be easier, faster and more enjoyable in a group. The quests are not hard but just as always happens when new content releases, the areas are going to be super crowded with all the players trying to get things done. Grouping up will help you complete the quests, rather than fight over the zone space. Don’t…
Scheduled Maintenance: Server Consolidation
Tuesday August 13th is the day BioWare will be closing down the APAC servers. All servers will be consolidated into West Coast North American servers from that day onward. CourtneyWoods On Tuesday August 13th,2013 we will be performing scheduled maintenance for consolidation of APAC into West Coast North American servers. There will not be a patch to download during this downtime. Details are as follows: APAC and NA-West Coast Servers will be unavailable from August 12th 10PM PDT (August 13th 5AM UTC) until August 13th 10AM PDT (5PM UTC). To minimize downtime for other services, NA-East Coast and European Servers, SWTOR.com, and the game launcher will remain available for several more hours. We anticipate they will come down on August 13th between 12 AM and 4 AM PDT and will remain unavailable until 10AM PDT (5PM UTC). During maintenance, updates and additional information will be posted on our Twitter account….