Lot’s of awesome new stuff is tested on the PTS right now. If you haven’t been playing around on the PTS your self yet, you are missing out. Here are a few of the new cool things you can experience. Here is a little story/cutscene background for those who havn’t experience the Kuat Drive Yards flashpoint on the PTS yet. The PTS is kinda buggy right now as you cannot get to that GS area in the fleet where the intro cutscene for the Kuat Drive Yards begins unless you do the flashpoint first via the group finder. This mess up the sequence a bit so it can be a bit confusing. Luckily Dulfy rearranged the cutscenes in order they are meant to be viewed. This little clip give you some intro on Kuat Drive Yards, the recently introduced GS exclusive companions, and a bit of connection between the ground…
Star Wars Characters, Cast, History & Trivia [Infographic]
Over the course of six movies, the role of Darth Vader was played by several people. In the original trilogy that launched in 1977, actor James Earl Jones was the voice for Vader while David Prowse played the regular scenes and Bob Anderson played Vader in fight scenes. Sebastian Shaw plays the role of the unmasked Vader and the deceased but redeemed Darth Vader in his original form, Anakin Skywalker. In the prequel series that launched in 1999, the role of Anakin Skywalker was played by Jake Lloyd and Frankie Ryan Manriquez to show the young Anakin growing up. Later in the same series, Vader is played by Hayden Christensen for episodes two and three. George Lucas created a villain so large it took seven actors to encompass Vader in all of his Dark Sided evilness. Lucas also wrote original characters for Luke and Han Solo that the audience never…
Game Update 2.6: Galactic Starfighter PTS Patch Notes – Last Updated: January 9th
The patch notes for the public test servers are up. It’s now possible to go help out beta testing game update 2.6. Here are the patch notes. Please be aware, that all content and features on the Public Test Server are not final and are subject to change. Highlights New Galactic Starfighter Ship Role: Bomber – The Bomber ship role has been added to Galactic Starfighter, with six new ships available for unlock/purchase! Bombers are tough support ships that drop mines and drones on the battlefield. Mines detonate when enemies get into proximity, inflicting damage or crippling debuffs to all nearby foes. Drones attack nearby enemies with a variety of weapons, while Repair Drones restore the hull of nearby allies. Bombers can also place Hyperspace Beacons which function as mobile respawn points for their allies. New Galactic Starfighter Game Mode: Team Deathmatch – Team Deathmatch is a new game mode which pits…
Swtor-mined: 2.5.2? PTS Patch | 1/9/2014
SWTOR-Miner has been playing around with PTS patch 2.5.2, and found alot of new interesting stuff. First off smugglers and agents seem to get some fairly hefty changes: Smugglers/Imperial Agents: Upper Hand/Tactical Advantage’s buff duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds. Shoot First/Hidden Strike had their energy cost decreased by 2, cooldown increased by 1.5 seconds, and had their damage increased by ~14%. Gunslinger/Sniper PvP 2pc/4pc Set Bonuses got swapped. XS Freighter Flyby/Orbital Strike is now a 2.5 second cast that costs 10 Energy with a 45 second cooldown. It’s coefficient also got reduced by ~62%. Also Troopers and Bounty hunters are getting some changes that haven’t’been announced yet. This is pretty much the end of the hybrid DPS: Troopers/Bounty Hunters: Pulse Generator/Prototype Flame Thrower talent now requires High Energy Cell/High Energy Gas Cylinder Here are the images found in the patch: Lot’s of new stuff for Galactic Starfighter is…
Developer Update: Bomber Class Starfighter
BioWare have posted a new developer update. This time, senior game designer on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Jason Attard tell us about the first new ship being added to the game with game update 2.6. — The Bomber! This ship makes alot of new strategies possible. Personally I expect to see: Scout rushes to a cap a point super quick, defended by a strike fighter. Once they successfully cap the point, and the strike fighter is in place to properly defend the point, the scout intentionally crashes so they can respawn as a bomber. Then they get the bomber on the point they control and spawn mines on it to further entrench that point. You can read the original post in its full here, or our copy pate below: Developer Update: Bomber Class Starfighter 01.09.2014 Greetings Starfighters! I am Jason Attard, a senior game designer on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, and today I’m…
Bolstering and You: A letter from the Combat team
Tait Watson got the Combat team to write an in-depth explanation of the Bolster system. I’m raelly starting to like this bird. You can read the whole thing in it original here, or our copy paste below. If you ask me, bolster still a bit broken, its still way better then the recruit gear system they previously had, Personally I would like to see it in a place where people that did end game pve could use that gear for pvp and have it be perfectly viable. The fact that a set of 66 blue’s are better for pvp then full dreadguard is lame. Hey gang! I know a number of people have been waiting on a post about some more specifics on how bolster works and interacts with items and the regular stat system, so I thought I would try to bring a little light to what is one of…
Upcoming Bug Fixes
Eric and Tait have been busy today, updating the community about bug fixes we can expect in near future. I have consolidated a list of the forum posts for your viewing pleasure: Source TaitWatson Relaxed Vestments Chestwraps: Graphical Glitch (Picture) | 01.09.2014, 11:01 AM Hey everyone! I know that this issue has been a really big one for a lot of people, so I’m really happy to be able to let you all know that it has a fix coming next week in 2.5.2. The fix won’t just affect the Relaxed Vestment Chestwrap, however, and will resolve fur/skin color on many pieces of gear that have revealed skin. Tait Source EricMusco Don’t worry Bioware..I got this!! Things SWTOR WILL see in 2014!! | 01.09.2014, 10:56 AM Quote: Originally Posted by Tyrth 1.) A QOL adjustment, most likely around 2.7-2.8 allowing the ability to queue for both GSF AND WZ simultaneously… This…
New Weekly Community Live Stream!
Eric Musco is starting a weekly community live stream were he will be playing through the game. In the beginning only Eric will host the live stream, but in future, both Courtney and Tait will get on there as well. If possible, they will kidnap the devs to play also. Below is the announcements: Post #1 EricMusco New Weekly Community Live Stream! | 01.09.2014, 11:07 AM Hey everyone! I alluded to it during our GSF stream at the end of the year, but I wanted to let you know that we are going to start having a weekly community live stream! Early on, you will see me playing but in time we will definitely get both Courtney and Tait on there as well. We may even expand it to other folks in the studio but that remains to be seen. The stream will be more of a “let’s play” than…
Star Wars Movies Timeline [Infographic]
During the course of six movies, the role of Darth Vader was portrayed by numerous people. In the original trilogy that released in 1977, actor James Earl Jones was the voice for Vader while David Prowse played the regular scenes and Bob Anderson performed Vader in fight scenes. Sebastian Shaw plays the role of the unmasked Vader and the deceased but redeemed Darth Vader in his pioneer form, Anakin Skywalker. In the prequel series that released in 1999, the role of Anakin Skywalker was taken on by Jake Lloyd and Frankie Ryan Manriquez to show the young Anakin maturing. Later in the same series, Vader is enacted by Hayden Christensen for episodes two and three. George Lucas set up a villain so big it took seven actors to embrace Vader in all of his Dark Sided evilness. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community…
SWTOR Galactic Starfighter Shield, Sensor and Armor Components Comparisons Guide
The components separate the different Starfighter ships from each other and affect how the ships perform during battles. When you know which components are available for each ship, it’ll help you determine which Starfighter will suit your style of play the best. Most components have between three to five upgrade tiers and you can use the requisitions you earn from competing in battles to purchase the upgrades. This components comparisons guide focuses on the shields, sensors and armor available for the Galactic Starfighter ships. Knowing a little about these components will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each ship better. Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic Shield Components This section discusses the ships default components, the stats and the upgrades for the shields along with some basic information concerning the hull capacity for each Starfighter ships. Shields Default Stats…
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade – Longplay (Supermodel Emulator)
Who remembers “Star Wars Trilogy”? This brilliant Sega arcade game from 1998 was a huge hit with Star Wars fans everywhere. So here’s something you’ll really love: [ARCADE] Star Wars Trilogy Arcade – Longplay The uploader explains a bit more for us. Longplay of “Star Wars Trilogy” the popular and brilliant Sega arcade game / coin-op from 1998! Played via emulation on PC. PLEASE READ – * This isn’t actually MAME I’m playing this on, but in fact the new “Supermodel” emulator (“A Sega Model 3 Arcade Emulator”) which more accurately emulates the arcade game than MAME currently does. You can get it here – http://www.supermodel3.com/ * The game still has *graphical glitches*, most apparent on the Endor stage, the final death star run and sadly the lightsabre duels. However as you can see it’s still very playable! Sound quality isn’t brilliant, and not a recording/compression issue – it is as…
The Economics of Star Wars [Infographic]
This infographic shows how much it cost to make the Star Wars films and how much the films made in the box office. It also provides information for the revenue of Star Wars merchandise sales. Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.
Community Cantina Tour – Phoenix, AZ – 1/31/14
Bioware will be having there next Community Cantina in Phoenix on January 31. Unlike all previous Cantina Tours this one is listed as 18 years + rather than 21+. I’m not sure why that is? Local state laws? I don’t have much knowledge of US law, so I’m only guessing. Below is the official statement: The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina Tour Arrives in Phoenix, AZ! 01.06.2014 We’re happy to announce that the next stop in the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Cantina Tour will be happening on Friday, January 31st, in Phoenix, AZ! This is your chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic community for a development team Q&A as well as complimentary drinks*, food, and giveaways. Every attendee will be receiving a highly coveted Tauntaun Fawn code. Space is limited so be sure to come early. If you’re in the area, make sure…
New Community Team Member Introduction at the official forums
BioWare have added a new member to it’s community team. Meet Tait Watson. Tait will be taking over some of Amber Greens work ( Not sure what she is up to now). Check out the announcement below: EDIT: Added Posts 2 & 3 Post #1 TaitWatson Is this thing on? | 01.06.2014, 01:44 PM Hey everyone! My name is Tait Watson and I am the newest member of the Community team here at BioWare Austin! I will be taking over a number of the things that Amber Green did previously, so I just wanted to stop in and introduce myself before you started seeing me show up on the forums. One of the many things I will be doing (and the part that will be most apparent) is gathering information for the development team through the Bug Report forums, so you will primarily find me hanging out in there. I have been gaming…
MythBusters: “Star Wars: Revenge Of The Myth”
If you are a fan of the show MythBusters, you may have caught the most recent episode where they tackle some myths about Star Wars. But if you’re also a Star Wars fan, you may have skipped right over that episode, not wanting them to burst the bubble of your childhood dreams. We don’t need anyone to prove to us that Star Wars scenes aren’t plausible. Part of the beauty of it all was the wonder, the fantasy, the dream! But if you are curious and didn’t see it, A.V. Club has a little write-up about this episode of MythBusters. For starters, the show stays appropriately grounded in scientific fact (or at least conjecture), so lightsabers, TIE fighters, hyperspace, and the Force are left to the sort of “could it ever happen?” conjecture of a Doctor Who special —leaving the hosts (and their trio of less-interesting underlings) to cast their skeptical peepers…
How to Keep SWTOR Servers Loaded in 2014
Do you like having a full server of people to play with on SWTOR? Since server mergers last year, most servers are on heavy now, which is great for fans who want to have plenty of people to play with. But the new year means new games and some people worry about what this might do to SWTOR population. With many new games coming out in 2014, how can SWTOR keep the servers busy and loaded? Here are some ideas of what they could do to help keep the servers heavy: Build a new planet to explore Create an expansion and add 5 more levels to the level cap Create cross-server gameplay Explain PvP Create more Operations and harder Operations Build some minigames such as cantina games or good old-fashioned pod racing Add more ship quests/games Build a housing system or expand player ships to be more customizable like a…
Documentary: Alien Planet
I know it has been a while since I last posted a documentary. But Xmas and new-years have taken all my time. Now we are back with a new documentary. This time we are focusing on life on other planets, and as a product of speculative science it is pretty impressive. Using computer graphics it shows how a mission to explore an Alien Planet would be conducted by Earth employing a sublight spacecraft delivering sophisticated probes to the surface. The program explains step-by-step the mission as the probes encounter strange life forms, with frequent asides by scientists who explain how such life forms might evolve and live. Using computer animation, the program is very good. If it has a flaw it is in the asides, which frequently go back to something discussed five minutes and a couple of segments ago. I have watched this Discovery Channel program countless times. It…
It’s official: Star Wars comics will return to Marvel in 2015
Marvel will publish new “Star Wars” comic books beginning in 2015, the company announced yesterday. This means Dark Horse Comics is losing the licensing deal its had for over 20 years, but give Dark Horse the time to wrap up storylines in current series. Its first was Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’s “Dark Empire,” in 1989. The first Star Wars comics were originally published by Marvel in the ’70s based on the original “Star Wars” trilogy for nine years, starting in 1977. “Star Wars #1″ sold more than 1 million copies. Now the rights have returned to Marvel, which plans to release its first new-new Star Wars comics and graphic novels in 2015. Perhaps uncoincidentally, 2015 is also the year that J.J. Abrams’ yet-untitled Star Wars film is scheduled to hit theaters. Here is a snippet from the press release sent out: The Walt Disney Company’s Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel…
SWTOR Patch 2.6 Info
Community manager for Star Wars: The old Republic, Eric Musco took on the forums yesterday and delivered a preview of the game’s next major patch. The 2.6 update will come with a unlock to the Galactic Starfighter expansion for players playing the game for free, as well as introduce a new gunship variant and two new bomber variants. Since the 14th is “early access”, I am assuming 2.6 hits then. That fits with their normal schedule too, especially considering 2.5 was really light on non-GSF content. The new rakghoul event is coming very soon too, it’s unclear whether it’s all in the game yet, but there is quite a bit of it there, so it’s possible it will hit before 2.6. EricMusco any info on 2.6? | 01.02.2014, 01:53 PM Quote: Originally Posted by amona when will it be released,? 2.5 was early december so 6 weeks is mid january. what…
Star Wars Retro games: X-WING Collectors’ CD-ROM
No one can really deny that the Rebellion picked the tough road when they decided to rise up against the numbers and might of the Empire, unless of course you argue that good always triumphs over evil. Unfortunately, unless you’re Luke Skywalker himself, X-Wing will quickly prove this to be a rare case. It’s one of the hardest flight combat sims ever made, and it’s filled with odds and situations that will make you wonder more than once if you’re playing for the wrong team (and should the call of the Dark Side become too strong, you can even defect, by purchasing TIE Fighter). But as difficult as it may be, X-Wing is also one of the most addictive and beloved combat sims you can hope to find. Confirmed Star Wars fan status is not required. Provided you have even a passing tolerance for playing what is essentially a combat…
Revan Full Audiobook Part 1
Did you miss out on the Revan audiobook Part 1 released in full on August 30, 2013 by Darth Nion on YouTube? If you don’t like to read or don’t have time to read and just want to listen to the story while you work or do other things, then now you have the chance. Personally, I think the voices are great and I really get into the story. His voice for the reading is not annoying like many I have heard. All in all, it’s pretty darn good and it’s worth your time to check it out, even if you’re read the book already. Winner by votes, I welcome you to a new story about Revan where you can find out what happens to him after the games ,Knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Star Wars : Revan full Audiobook Part 1
The TORParse In-Game Client Service is Back Online
Alright gang, we’ve been bringing you news and updates about TORParse, including the new owners and their call for developers to help out. Well now we are very happy to tell you that they are back ONLINE! You can download the TORParse client or just learn more here. There are many different ingame overlay windows available, tons of customization and a dropdown menu to help you personalize how you want your info to parse. Companions are also fully supported. Take the experience of the TORParse website into your game with the TORParse In-Game Client! Getting setup is fast and easy. Below, you will find a list of features, screenshots and other information about the ingame client. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and highly valued. Head over to the TORParse forums and let us know what you think. Thanks and enjoy! Server status information can be located on the Help! page. Features The TORParse Ingame…
SWTOR Galactic Starfighter Components Comparisons Weapons Guide
The components are what separate the Starfighter from other types of ships. Each one of the ships will have five major components and four minor ones. Major components are responsible for providing the ships with their weapons and they determine how the ships perform during active combat. The minor components allow passive boosts that affect different statistic depending on which weapons the ship is equipped with. Each one of the Starfighter ships will have one default component in each one of the slot category. The type of ship will determine what type of components can be used and how many different options can be unlocked. All components have between three and five upgrade tiers from which you can purchase upgrades with requisition. You can earn requisition when you take part in and complete battles. This comparisons guide compares the weapons components. The shields, engines and sensors will be covered at…
SWTOR Galactic Starfighter Overview Guide
The second digital expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic included four different classes of Galactic Starfighter ships. They are the Scout, Strike Fighters, Gunship and Bombers. This guide is designed to give you a quick overview of the Galactic Starfighter ships for each class, in order to give you a better idea of how each one operates. While it may not cover every aspect of the ships, it should provide you with enough information to help you choose the ship from each class that suits your particular style of play the best. The Scout Ships The Scout Starfighters all have strong maneuverability and speed combined with boost ability. They’re also equipped with blaster cannons and rocket pods. There are three types of scout ships for both factions. S-12 Blackbolt and NovaDive Ships The Empire S-12 Blackbolt Scout ships are fast and easy to maneuver. The sensors and communications systems…