I love pinball and I love Star Wars. I also love video games. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s take a look at Star Wars Pinball and let me tell you what I think of it. Star Wars Pinball from Zen Studios is a pretty good game for a non-arcade pinball on the Wii. It has a realistic feel to it and you start off with three tables, and have the ability to get more in the future. The initial tables are based on “Episode 5: A New Hope,” “The Clone Wars Series” and Boba Fett so there’s something good there for fans and this adds to the fun. The game also steps it up with the music and I was impressed to hear classic music from the movies. There’s something here for both Star Wars fans and pinball lovers. Some of the controls are hard…
BioWare Reading all Posts in Bug Reports Forum
Amber Green made a post in the Bug Reports forum that clarifies that BioWare staff is in fact reading all posts made to the bug reports forum. Even if they don’t reply individually to every post, they are reading them and taking them into account. This is important information to know for all players. Nothing is more frustrating in playing a game than reporting bugs and feeling like the developer and staff doesn’t care or doesn’t even read the bug reports. But BioWare wants you to know that they care about the game and about us. Amber Green says: Often we will post in threads in this forum to gather additional information about something that is reported or to update the status of a particular issue. However, please note that while we will be reading every thread and report in this forum, we will not respond to every thread, and…
Frank Gibeau Interview with Venture Beat
Frank Gibeau talks with Venture Beat on EA’s digital ecosystems, Star Wars games, and Titanfall (interview part two) with information about EA’s future, games in the works and more. As you may already know, Electronic Arts has some very large properties in the video game world. FIFA Soccer, Titanfall, Star Wars Battlefront and more are examples of some of the big titles we have coming from EA this fall. Venture Beat talked to Gibeau about this and more in part 2 of this great interview. See a snippet here: GamesBeat: It seems like you guys, as EA, can believe in a digital ecosystem around games. If you’re Disney, you can believe in transmedia. You can do toys and films and whatever. You guys have the Need for Speed film. When do you step outside that? Gibeau: We have an embarrassment of riches in terms of intellectual properties at EA. Then, you couple…
Launcher Patch notes – New streaming Feature
EA installs BitRaider, reduces long patch downloads, patch on the fly? We Hope so. Launcher Update Patch Notes New Launcher Feature: Streaming Mode! The Launcher now uses a streaming mode, which will allow new players to begin playing prior to downloading the entire game. Current players with an existing installation: All patching and playing functions are as before, as the streaming mode offers no advantage. All new installs of the game will see the new streaming interface. After an initial download period, the “Play” button will be active and players can create a character and begin the Origin World experience as the rest of the game downloads in the background. The time it takes to get to a playable state depends on the speed of your Internet connection: On a standard 6Mb/s connection, you should be ready to play in under 2 hours. For Internet connection speeds that are less than 6Mb/s,…
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP Rant 2013
Are you a fan of PvP in SWTOR? If you are, then you might have a rebuttal for this SWTOR PvP rant from Hyperspace Beacon. Or maybe you’re none too pleased with SWTOR PvP and you agree with what they have to say. I agree that they make some good and valid points but overall, I enjoy PvP in SWTOR and I don’t agree with the rant. Also, they begin the piece that blasts into SWTOR PvP with the lines “I will not pretend that I see the whole picture. All I can see is the situation presented to me. And from my perspective, PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic is broken.” Honestly, this opens the doors largely to criticism of this review because it’s little more than an opinion-based rant of one person’s limited point of view of an aspect of the game. That being said, without the opinions of…
Star Wars vs Game of Thrones- Meme Throwdown
Star Wars and Game of Thrones face off in this epic series of memes that Mashable has combined for us. Mashable says: Westeros and the Death Star may seem light years apart in the sci-fi universe, but Game of Thrones and Star Wars actually share a lot of scenarios. And thanks to this awesome subreddit, we can prove it. Ok, so we knew Redditors had to be behind this all along! So what the heck do these two things even have in common? Well Mashable lays out a few examples of the symmetry: Sure, outer space doesn’t have any dragons and the Seven Kingdoms won’t be fighting off Darth Vader and his Stormtrooper army anytime soon. But long before Cersei Lannister macked it with her brother, Princess Leia made familial flirting look totally normal. And Lord Walder Frey probably learned a few things about betrayal from Lando Calrissian himself. If you’re a fan of Star…
Official Forum Class Representatives Selected
Eric Musco posted who would be class Representatives in the future. and its chosen representative. The voting have been on since last week, and now we have the winners. Check them out below: EricMusco Class Representatives Are Here! | 07.29.2013, 03:32 PM Hey everyone! First off, I want to thank everyone for taking part in voting for your Class Representative. Also, thank you to all of the candidates who offered up their services to their community! Without further delay, here are your first ever Class Representatives. Scoundrel – Marshmallow Operative – Morde_ Gunslinger – GalnarDegana (Geldarion) Sniper – Paowee Guardian – Andrew_Past Juggernaut – lMarlfoxl Sentinel – KeyboardNinja Marauder – Gudarzz Vanguard – mfourcustom Powertech – FeralPug Commando – Cashogy_Reborn Mercenary – odawgg Shadow – Kitru Assassin – Xinika Sage – Nibbon Sorcerer – Psirebral Congrats again to you the new Class Representatives! If you are one of the folks…
KOTR for iPad Reviews and Purchase Info
If you are an Apple iPad user and you love KOTOR you will be happy to know about the release of KOTOR for iPad. Released on May 30th by Aspyr Media, this game now comes on the iPad and gives you many great features and story to enjoy. It’s available in the iTunes Store and it’s a real must-have for KOTOR and Star Wars fans. KOTOR remains one of the best Star Wars games ever to launch so there is really no question about whether or not you should play it. The main question, however, is whether or not it’s playable on the iPad. While the controls are a little clumsy, it’s a great solid game and with it, you can take the Force with you wherever you go! See reviews of KOTOR for the iPad: IGN Review of KOTOR for iPad Eurogamer Review of KOTOR for the iPad MacWorld…
Some SWTOR Players Not Happy about Ewok on Cartel Market
Recently BioWare revealed to us that Treek, the new Ewok companion from Game Update 2.3, will be coming to the Cartel Market in August. But as the word spread, it sounds like some players are not as thrilled with the news as BioWare may have thought. Just Push Start tells us about how some SWTOR players are not happy with BioWare’s decision to put the Ewok on the Cartel Market: When the Ewok companion was originally revealed on the Public Test Server, many found out that one of the ways to get the new companion is by having the legacy level of 40 and be able to pay one million credits. A lot of people were pleased to that decision as it gave players motivation to play and level their legacy level up to get the cute companion. However, when the news broke out that Treek will be making its…
Top 50 Star Wars Games from What Culture
If you’re a fan, or even a regular reader of our blog, you know that there are MANY Star Wars games out there and even more new ones coming out regularly. So how do you know which ones are really worth your time to play? What Culture has a real treat for us with 50 Essential Star Wars Games You Must Play This lengthy piece lists the best of the best in Star Wars games and gives you a bit of info about each game and why it made the list. I’m seeing some of my favorites on there for sure. I’m going to let you head on over to What Culture and read it all for yourself but here’s the 50 games that made their list: 50. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – Windows, PlayStation 49. Star Wars (1983) – Atari 2600 48. Star Wars: The…
APAC Consolidations: August 13th
Eric Musco posted some news regarding the APAC Consolidation that is happening on August 13th. If you are one of those players that will be affected by this consolidation, you can find the original thread here; if you have any concerns, please speak up there or feel free to contact the CS team via ticket or PM. Hey folks, Just to clear up any confusion from the email yesterday, the consolidations are going to happen on August 13th as listed, which is quite a bit more than one week away. That actually gives you approximately three weeks before the consolidations happen. Just to reiterate, the consolidation will happen in approximately three weeks on August 13th. Sorry for the confusion, thanks everyone! -eric
Relics of the Gree Achievement Guide
Relics of the Gree event is back and Dulfy, in her typical awesomeness, took some time to put together an achievement guide so rather than write my own, I decided to bring you hers since she beat me to the punch and it’s already thorough. With the return of the event, there are also some newly added achievements.
Cory Butler tweeted a new pod racer
Cory Butler tweeted a photo of a new pod racer. The art assets used for the floor are new, and look a lot like you’d expect a racing circuit’s track to look like. A few data minings ago, we found some data that seemed to be something like podracing tracks with boost pads. Could it be true?! Here is the new ride: pic.twitter.com/aBB1cPIAga — Cory Butler (@BlazeofCory) July 25, 2013
Official Forums Class Rep Voting Begins
Eric Musco posted a quick update on the official forums. He have now posted the polls for all Advanced Classes with their respective nominations! Head on over to your Advanced Class forum and be sure to vote! Voting Links Imperial Assassin Juggernaut Marauder Mercenary Operative Powertech – only 1 candidate showed interest and has been elected Sorcerer Sniper – only 1 candidate showed interest and has been elected Repbulic Commando Guardian Gunsliner Sage Scoundrel Sentinel Shadow Vanguard – only 1 candidate showed interest and has been elected
PTS Character Copy Available Again
Are you on the SWTOR public test realms yet? Did you transfer over any of your existing characters in order to see how they will change with the new content? PTS character copies were available again, as Amber Green explained on the forums. Amber Green, SWTOR Live Services Specialist posted to the official forums: Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce that you can now copy your Live Server characters over to the Public Test Server for Game Update 2.3 testing! To copy your character, please visit the following page: https://account.swtor.com/user/account/transfer/pts Our developers are looking forward to hearing your feedback about the new Bounty Contract Week Event, as well what you have to say about the Alderaan Civil War speeder change and Czerka Flashpoints and Daily Area. Please don’t forget to use the in-game /bug to report any issues that you encounter while testing. Have fun out there, and thanks for…
Drew Karpyshyn’s Revan as a Fan Film – Kickstarter Campaign
Project Revan is the combined efforts of a group of serious and talented young adults, creating the (unofficial) Star Wars independent film based off the book, Star Wars – The Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn.
We have a really exciting Kickstarter campaign to share with you. Project Revan is a fan film based on the science fiction novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan by Drew Karpyshyn. This is produced by diehard fans of Revan. It’s a live adaptation and you can help make it happen and even be a part of it if you wish to donate to their campaign. You can see videos and full details on the campaign itself of the project and also how you can be involved.
SWTOR Datamining the Lastest 2.3PTS Build
Are you curious about what’s coming in 2.3 and how the game will change? What new additions will there be? Tauntaun mounts are coming and what else? As always with a datamine, we can only speculate about what this info means and what it will mean for the game. There may also be spoilers. So with that in mind, let’s look at what’s new. swtor_miner brings us another great datamine update on Reddit about 2.3 PTS So, I got a little free time, and I was going to reveal that they finally added the CZR-9001 weapons. But, it looks like someone beat me to the punch. First off they renamed the Redfur Tauntaun Mount, and they’ve added a second Tauntaun Mount: Mountain Tauntaun – Unlocks the Mountain Tauntaun creature mount. Movement speed increases based on the rank of your Speeder Piloting skill. The Mountain Tauntaun is a reptomammal indigenous to icy…
The Wall Street Journal Spotlights the Star Wars Expanded Universe
We are seeing Star Wars making mainstream news and conversations more often here lately. Even President Obama had something to say about how awesome Star Wars is. So while we were not surprised, we were happy to see The Wall Street Journal handle the topic as well. In the Arena section of Friday’s Wall Street Journal, writer Alexandra Alter reported on the literary universe surrounding the Star Wars films and also addressed the fans who enjoy it and the culture that often critiques it. Alter interviewed author Troy Denning as well as some other key names to Star Wars. Hardcore fans will not be surprised by most of the piece but it was very well researched. TheForce.net tells us a bit more about the article: Nothing in the article will surprise serious Star Wars fans. It mentions Leland Chee’s Holocron, with the obligatory reference to both the database’s scope and level of detail — including “the…
Game Update 2.2.3 Patch Notes
Servers are not down yet, but BioWare have posted the patch notes for tomorrows update. Check them out below: Cartel Market New Items A new bundle is available on the Cartel Market. The Unlimited Content Bundle offers players the ability to participate in all extended content. Note: this bundle contains items that require level 50. Cost: 2650 Cartel Coins (Discounted by 50% for a limited time!) Bug Fixes The Primordial Blaster Besh is no longer Main Hand only and can now be equipped as an Offhand weapon. General In-game Customer Support tickets are now limited to 1610 characters. Jumping without a weapon drawn will now animate properly after using a vehicle. Classes and Combat Jedi Knight Sentinel Quickly using an ability that does not respect the Global Cooldown (such as Saber Ward) after using Force Camouflage no longer causes the player to become invisible. Sith Warrior Marauder Quickly using an ability that…
SWTOR and KOTOR Cosplay
We saw a post from Tosche Station on their Cosplay Monday that really caught our eye because we love cosplay, especially when it’s about SWTOR or KOTOR: Welcome back to another edition of Cosplay Monday where we try and brighten the start of your week with some of the awesome costumes we’ve seen around the internet! This week, we’re featuring another set of costumes from Knights of the Old Republic since today is it’s 10th Birthday. Check out these cool Visas Marr and Darth Nihilus costumes from Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords by Sakara and her friend. Not only does the National Space Centre in Leicester make a pretty perfect setting for a KOTOR shoot but the costumes look great! Awesome job! We are super fans of cosplay, especially when it comes with a Star Wars theme so we’re real thankful to Tosche Station for helping us find Sakara,- costumer, alt-model and makeup…
Scheduled maintenance and Patch 2.2.3
Just a heads up that BioWare will be taking down the servers next Tuesday in order to implement Patch 2.2.3. we should see the Gree event come back after the maintenance, and it should be scaled to 55. Check out the official announcement below: On July 23rd, all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.2.3 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday July 23rd, 2013 Duration: 4 hours Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) to 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™.
New SWTOR Arenas Coming Soon
In addition to the new Tauntaun mount that was revealed for SWTOR, Bioware also tells us we will be getting three new PvP arenas when Game Update 2.4 launches on October 1st. The three arenas will be found at Makeb, Tatooine and the new Space Garage. We don’t know a whole lot about them at this time but we do have some great pictures to serve as an example of what’s coming soon. At their San Diego Cantina Tour event they released some great screenshots of the new arenas (and Tauntaun mounts) so we all know what we have to look forward to. Just Push Start has shared some great images. Dulfy also shared some images and info from her flash drive. Alex Modny, Assistant Designer for SWTOR came in the forums to explain a little more about these new PVP arena zones: In such a small, intimate area, LoS…
Angry Birds Star Wars 2
Attention Angry Birds Star Wars fans: something new and awesome is coming in September! New stories, new levels, and new characters in Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Also introducing TELEPODS! You can get it September 19th. It will feature “over 30 playable characters.” But the biggest addition is something completely new- the TELEPODS. Apparently you can buy these little figures from the store and then choose which ones you want to play your game with and it will allow you to boost that in-life toy into the game. Engadget.com explains how it works: What is surprising is that the newest Angry Birds entry has a physical twist that we’ve yet to see from the brand: something called “telepods.” The Hasbro-created toy is a physical representation of an in-game character, and Rovio Entertainment’s VP of marketing Philip Hickey tells us it works by using a mobile phone or tablet’s built-in camera to read the…
Update to TORParse Status
If you were concerned (as many were) about TORParse shutting down, there has been a great piece of news that has developed. They have posted this on their website: Hey everyone, I want to provide you guys with a small update and let you know what’s going on. First and foremost, TORParse won’t actually be going anywhere! There has been a lot of interest from a lot of different people in continuing the project, and I appreciate everyone that has contacted me. If you have not yet received a response from me, I apologize for the long response time and will reply when I can (it may take me a few days). So that everyone is aware, no deals with anyone have been made yet, but I’m confident that one will be made. There is a possibility that transitioning the site will go past the original date I had specified…