Crafting is a legit form of gameplay for many MMOG players and the guys over at BioWare know this! Today’s Friday update covers Star Wars: The Old Republic crafting and other tasks that your crew will be able to perform. The galaxy is full of resources and opportunities for your character to benefit and profit. The Crew Skills system allows you to gather those valuable resources, craft a wide range of useful items, and send your crew out on their own missions to retrieve rewards. With Crew Skills, you’ll be able to do all these things while your character stays in the action or even if you have to log off! Crew Skills are a unique approach to a crafting system, built to suit the tastes of a broad range of players and to maximize your time spent adventuring and experiencing your character’s story while still earning useful benefits. Put…
May the schwartz be with you: Darth Vader Vs Hitler. Epic Rap Battles of History
First I thought it would be retarded, but the battle was actually hilarious, and it gets more funny each time I watch it. So, who wins? Hitler or Vader? I guess there’s no real competition going on… the choice should be fairly evident to us geeks
Star Wars Rarities: The Mythology of Star Wars (1999)
In an oasis of calm, far, far away from the tumult of excitement that was leading up to the premiere of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Bill Moyers joined George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch in northern California to talk about the ancient myths and personal values that have synthesized into Star Wars. The epic themes in Lucas’ cinematic stories are a springboard for a candid conversation about family, fatherhood, spiritual beliefs, and the importance of moral tales for every generation. Intercut with movie footage from the original trilogy as well as the newly-released prequel, The Mythology of Star Wars with George Lucas and Bill Moyers provides a revealing journey in the company of the filmmaker through some of the most famous scenes of the Star Wars saga.
EA and LucasArts Enter Into New Global Publishing Agreement for Star Wars: The Old Republic
In what amounts to a bit of publisher houscleaning, Electronic Arts has announced that it has entered into a new agreement with LucasArts that basically has EA taking over most of the publishing and marketing duties for the upcoming MMO Star Wars The Old Republic. Under the new agreement, LucasArts will continue to collaborate with EA and the game’s developer BioWare on the “design and marketing” for the game in addition to LucasArts’ basic role as the licensor of the Star Wars property itself. Financial terms of this new deal were not disclosed. BioWare and LucasArts first entered into an agreement to collaborate on Star Wars The Old Republic back in 2007 before the game itself was announced and just before BioWare was acquired by EA. The game itself was announced in October 2008. EA and Lucasfilm Ltd, announced today an updated global publishing agreement for the highly anticipated massively multiplayer…
Jedi classes hands-on preview
Eurogamer, Gamespot and pcgamer weren’t the only gaming websites visiting this years EA Winter Showcase. Apparently the frensh gaming website jeuxvideo also took a trip to London to cover the show. Hopefully there will be even more media outlets reportingfrom the show the comming days. The entire article on jeuxvideo is in French so you have to turn on the google translator if you don’t read this language. I wtill recoment you to check it out, as it gives lot’s of new info on the Jedi classes: The impression of power generated by his avataris in fact what immediately jumps to the face. Graphically, the game is doing quite well indeed. The lighting effects and animations accompanying the blows of the Jedi give thanks to their power. Special mention to one of Knight’s attack which allows him to make a leap of fifteen feet with air to spin the key…
New crafting screenshots
pcgamer has released a few new screenhots of crafting in SWTOR. The screenshots comes with an article about the new crafting informatin we discussed a few days ago. Here is a snip: BioWare’s Blaine Christine was more cagey on TOR’s crafting skills, but unveiled two subsets of the overarching ability: ‘artifice’, presumably used to make weapons and armour, and ‘biochem’ that provides medical and stim-packs. The image of a Sith Warrior beavering away at a workbench packing band-aids into a first-aid kit clearly doesn’t work within Star Wars’ fiction – instead, you can stand at the back and bellow “WORK HARDER” at your friends and minions as they do your nit-picky work for you. Or just leave them to it and get on with other missions. The Old Republic only lets you take one computer friend down with you on missions, and when you’ve packed a buddy off to complete…
The Story of Bioware
Over the years, BioWare has earned a reputation as one of gaming’s greatest storytellers with titles like ‘Knights Of The Old Republic’ and ‘Mass Effect’. Find out how they did it. If you don’t want to read a wall of Text, you can just watch the videos. Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka, and Augustine Yip, medical students at the University of Alberta, played video games to relieve stress and relax. The three went on to meld their medical knowledge with their computer savvy, developing patient simulation software. Their small operation, BioWare, took off in another direction when publisher Interplay advanced funding to develop a game demo. Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka 2002 Shattered Chain was released in 1996. BioWare re-signed with Interplay and spent three years developing Baldur’s Gate for the Irvine, California, company. Zeschuk and Muzyka headed up the company as co-CEOs and practiced medicine on a part-time basis. Yip’s…
From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic
The incredible evolution of George Lucas’ special effects dream factory, including an inside look at “Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace.” I am always interested in behind the scenes programs. “”Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic” gives a good behind the scenes look at Star Wars plus many other movies that ILM has been involved with over the years. It is fascinating to see the way special effects have evolved from the original models used in Star Wars to the modern computer generated images. It is also reasonably entertaining without being too distracting. I do have one really big problem with this show. They showed special effects from many ILM movies (Star Wars, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Men In Black, Forrest Gump, etc…). However, they did not even mention the Star Trek movies. ILM have done the special effects for all but…
Bigpoint CEO claims SWTOR won’t be profitable
Bigpoint is one of the Biggest Publishers for F2P and Browser Games and CEO Heiko Hubertz recently stated that he believes that Star Wars – The Old Republic will never be profitable with it’s current financial concept. “If you look in the traditional industry there are still a lot of big bets there,” said Hubertz, keynoting the London Games Conference this evening. “Still there are companies investing $20-40 million for a game. These companies have to be profitable after one or two months. They don’t have 12 months or even more. I think these companies are really in trouble in the future if a user can play online games for free. “If you look at a game like Star Wars from EA and BioWare, they estimated a development budget of more than $100 million. This is an online game for many million of subscribers, so a big publisher does not…
Knights of the Old Republic Volume 1: Commencement Review
Was Commencement a good starter for the entire Knights of the Old Republic series? Read on to find out! Going into Commencement, you may think that you need to have played the actual Knights of the Old Republic games to understand what’s going on in the comic. But almost as soon as Commencement begins, it becomes obvious that this is not the case; Knights of the Old Republic stands so well on it’s own feet that even if you have never heard of the games or played, you can read this and understand what’s going on incredibly easily. There are references that only the people who have played the games will get, but understanding these isn’t absolutely necessary – it’s only an added bonus. One aspect of Commencement I just loved was the characters; they were all so entertaining, and the interaction between them all is great. Zayne and Gryph…
SWTOR Release date and EA Lousegate
Eurogamer has an lengthy interview up with Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk from BioWare. They talk about a number of things, including Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 2, and more importantly for MMORPG fans, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Regardign SWTOR they discuss that EA Louse business from a while back, But what’s most interesting is that they’re asked about a release date and oddly no longer seem to want to commit to a spring 2011 release date: Eurogamer: When will Star Wars: The Old Republic be out? Ray Muzyka: Next year. Eurogamer: Can you at least say whether it’ll be the first half or the second half of the year? Ray Muzyka: No. We’re just saying 2011. That is quite different from what they’ve been saying in the past where they’ve always stated “spring 2011″”. Signs of the release having slipped perhaps? Regarding EA Louse gate, Zeschuk and…
Friday Update: Warzones, and (voting for) a new name for the Jedi Wizard.
Warzones, crafting and (voting for) a new name for the Jedi Wizard. That’s what BioWare has for us today. This week was EA’s annual winter showcase in London, during which they revealed details on warzones in The Old Republic as well as details on crafting. With the warzones BioWare released a new video showing some PvP; here is the official news: We’ll be offering more insight into how Warzones work in the near future, but for now, we hope this video will give you a good sense of the Warzone experience in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Also, be sure to check the screenshot section to see how this battle is heating up. Next to all that BioWare is showing that it’s listening to the community. After the massive outcry over the “Jedi Wizard” advanced class name they’ve now selected three names (plus “Jedi Wizard”) for the community to vote on, saying that the winning…
EA Winter Showcase Update: Crafting Revealed
Gamespot is present at this years EA Winter Showcase in England. Earlier this morning they published an interview with Blaine Christine and Gabe Amatangelo from Bioware about crafting, collecting and PVP. Here is a snip of the crafting part: The crafting and collecting, for starters, is designed to fit the player’s experience in a way that is credible in relation to fiction. As Christine puts it, more or less, it does not make sense for a badass Darth Vader-like Sith skin WOMP rats in a new pair of boots in between conquering worlds. And yes, the coherent fictional basis for the low, the crew skills system. “You are the hero,” says Christine. “You make your crew work for you.” The crew consists of companion characters work as you play with your spaceship as their base of operations. From the ship, your comrades sent to collect materials and commanded to crafts while you go…
EA Winter Showcase: Big Update Tomorrow?
Electronic Arts and Bioware are back in Europe again with the yearly EA Winter Showcase. The last time we saw the Star Wars: The Old Republic team on this site of the Atlantic, was way back in May this year. Last night, BioWare’s community team took to the social networks to tease fans about “juicy” new information: We’re in Europe where we’ll be announcing new details about The Old Republic™! Stay tuned to http://www.swtor.com/ this Friday for juicy details. Is this announcement directly linked to Europe? Will they announce European testing – wich we all over here desperately are waiting for? Maby.. Details on Crafting and for many, pvp are yet to be revealed also. What they got for us time will tell, but since we normally get updates each Friday, and they’re making a special callout for this one, we hope that it might be something special.
SWTOR Spacecraft Wallpaper
With the X70B-Phantom-Prototype, bioware revealed one of the modern spacecrafts from SW TOR last friday. The Ship that you can control when you choose to become an imperial Agent is equipped with a smooth, radarabsorbing cover and a modern navigationdevice. In Addition to last week’s official video about the Phantom, there is a new Wallpaper from the X700B Phantom on the official website. There can also be found some older but not less interesting wallpapers that show the jedi’s ” Defender” and the Sith’s ” Furry ” Among the Pictures that show the outer layer of the ship , there are also Pictures that give you an impression of the interior.
Know your lore: Darth Bandon
Darth Bandon was a male Human Sith Lord, and the first known apprentice of Darth Malak during the Jedi Civil War. Once a Jedi Knight, he eventually became one of the the Sith Empire’s most dangerous hunters. Biography Though trained in his early life as a Jedi, Bandon was never at peace with the ideas inherent in the Jedi Code. He lusted for power and influence, and the peaceful ideals of the Jedi way angered him, as he felt that he was never in control of his destiny and that his life would be ruled by the Jedi Code. Longing for independence, Bandon relied heavily on his emotions, especially the rage that flowed through him, and, as a result, fled the Jedi Order to join the Sith Academy on Korriban as the Sith, under the command of Darth Revan and Malak, rose to power. Bandon completely embraced the dark side…
Star Wars Revisionism: it was all Jar-Jar’s fault
LEGO® STAR WARS™: BOMBAD BOUNTY answers the question no one was asking: What if Jar Jar Binks had appeared in the original trilogy?
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Facebook Application – Escape from Kamino
Star Wars fan will be delighted to know that along with the release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II comes another game. Lucas Arts and Activision join the world of Facebook game applications with Escape from Kamino. A retro-styled game that bring players further into the world of Star Wars. Lucas Arts and Activision are proud to announce the launch of the official Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Facebook application. This new retro styled game called “Escape from Kamino” follows the opening sequence that many TFU fans have played already in the TFU2 demo, at the same time tapping into the viral nature of Facebook by allowing you to challenge your friends and other players internationally. Within the game you can choose to play as lead character Starkiller and attempt to escape the clutches of the Evil Empire, or become Boba Fett and hunt for the cloned Jedi…
BioWare Asks for Star Wars Costume Pictures
BioWare is currently asking fans to share pictures of their Star Wars themed Halloween costumes for a chance to be featured in an upcoming Fan Friday post on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site. Players have until Nov. 8 to submit photos, so there’s still time to work on your costume. Considering today is Halloween, it’s the perfect time to browse through the thread and check out some of the costumes that forum members are wearing this year. Have you ever dressed as a Star Wars character for Halloween?
Retro ( and new) Star Wars Advertising
The world would be a different place today if it weren’t for Star Wars. Check out this selection of Star Wars Retro Videos: Kellogg’s C-3PO’s I remember when I was a kid, and saw C3PO’s cereal in the grocery store. I rolled my eyes, wondering what ELSE they were going to slap my friends on. By that time, I was well over the hyper-marketed licensing, though I still loved the films. It’s over two decades later, and I now look at C3PO’s with quite a lot of fondness. Perhaps they seem innocent, in a time when any film marketed at kids gets it’s own cereal (though with the new laws and such, for how much longer). George Lucas Japanese TV Commercial I am fairly sure that George Lucas would never do a TV commercial like this in U.S. So be warned, this video represents the funniest use of stormtroopers since…
Friday Update: Imperial Agent Details!
It’s time for BioWare’s regular Friday update on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site, and this one’s pretty massive. BioWare took pity on the many fans who have been clamoring for gameplay information and released an All Imperial Agent Extravaganza including a new class gameplay video: The update gives a little more detail on the Agent’s advanced classes: Healing skills are confirmed for the Operative just as his specialization on close-range combat. In contrast to the Sniper, who’s more into stealth and ranged combat. He frequently makes use of his long range blaster rifle, although it seems that one needs “extensive training” to make use of this weapon. Combining the expertise of multiple disciplines, Operatives adapt to any environment and any circumstance to ensure the Empire’s agenda is achieved. Whether emerging from stealth to ambush and eliminate enemies in close-range combat or using advanced medical technologies to keep colleagues in…
May the schwartz be with you: Vintage Star Wars travel posters
Steve Thomas Has made some pretty amazing Star Wars mash up travel posters. They are very much inspired by some of the vintage travel posters of the early 20th century. These were done in association with a website in order to have them printed. That website is still working on making that a reality. There are eight in all and you can see all of them together here.
New EA Layoffs
Earlier this month an anonymous blogger referred to as EA Louse posted an inflammatory blog claiming that they were part of a planned layoff at EA scheduled to take place later this year. While many have speculated that there was no credibility to the bloggers words because there was no way to confirm whether or not EA indeed had layoffs planned. However, earlier today Shacknews reported something that could confirm at least some of what EA Louse posted. A source told Shacknews that as many as 100 people at EA may have been laid off just in time for the holidays. Joystick later confirmed the layoffs through EA corporate communication spokesperson Jeff Brown, who explained that the “seasonal roll-offs” (aka layoffs) are a common thing following game launches. Despite that, I will call it what it is, layoffs, and not that attempt to fluff the word with “seasonal roll-offs.” This…
Return of the Ewok
Young Warwick Davis decides he wants to be in pictures, so he gets himself an agent. The agent gives him an Ewok outfit and points him towards Elstree Studios. There Warwick wanders from set to set looking to find the other Ewoks. Return of the Ewok is a 24-minute mockumentary starring Warwick Davis, the actor who played the Ewok, Wicket W. Warrick in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Ewok spin-off films. Davis and David Tomblin, Return of the Jedi’s first assistant director, created it, with Tomblin directing. Lucasfilm planned to use the movie as a promotional film for Return of the Jedi, but post-production on the film was never completed. The film is set in both the “real world” and the fictional locations of the Star Wars universe. Real world locations include an airport, Elstree Studios and the actors’ dressing rooms, while the fictional locations…