It’s been awhile since we gave you a good Star Wars Episode VII Rumor Roundup and we have a couple of good ones for you this week. Rumor: Construction Of The Millennium Falcon Is Underway For Episode VII – Star Wars Underworld brings us this interesting rumor of Star Wars VII. We know that production for this film is under way but a lot of info about it is still being kept secret, as is expected from a franchise as popular as Star Wars. But a recent rumor says it might be farther along in the process than we think: In an article primarily about J.J Abrams’ presumed Star Wars upgrades to the Bad Robot facilities in California, the Latino Review’s Kellvin Chavez mentions that everyone’s favorite ‘hunk of junk’, the Millennium Falcon, is currently being constructed at Pinewood studios in London. Here’s what Chavez had to say: “…I’ve been told that the…
Patch 2.4 coming October 1? Summer of SWTOR Update
New info is out today about the Summer of SWTOR Update, Patch 2.4. We also have reason to believe that this means the new PvP Warzone Arenas are coming soon. The devs said it would come with the Summer of SWTOR Update on October first, which means we are only a couple of weeks away now. It’s always great to see Bioware (or any MMO developer, actually) creating new content and finding new ways to get and keep the players interested in the game. But will this be enough to hold the interest of players who are getting bored with SWTOR? Are you excited to see the new content and PvP arenas? SWTOR is also implementing BitRaider streaming so new players can check out the game for a trial without having to do a really big, long download. Bruce Maclean, Senior Producer posted this to the official SWTOR forums: Hello everyone!…
Appearance Designer Sale! – 50% off your plastic surgery
Eric posted the news that there will be a big sale on Appearance Design for the next 10 days. This means you get 50% off your plastic surgery! Now we all want to know what happens when you change your species before finishing Chapter 3? Do you unlock the former species you had when you originally created your character or the one you are currently appear as? Hey folks, Over the next ten days, starting tomorrow, we are going to be offering a 50% off sale within the Appearance Designer! Here are the details: Start: 11 AM CDT Friday, September 13th End: 11 AM CDT Monday, September 23rd The Sale: All Appearance Designer changes and Appearance options will be 50% off. Note that subscribers will get this discount in addition to their normal subscriber discount! -eric
Activate a Retail Copy on a Preferred Account for a 30-Day Sub
Back when the Microsoft Store was having it’s deal on copies of SWTOR, many players decided to take advantage of this offer to get a second account or even buy an account for a friend or family member. Some people were asking questions about going from preferred to subscriber status by using a retail box code. The question has been tossed around about whether or not this is possible. Comments were split on whether or not this is possible, with some people saying it was and others saying it was not. So some users tested it. If you have not subscribed before, and you buy the retail box and activate it, you can get the 30-day sub for free. After the 30-day period, the game will then place you as a Preferred player. But the magic question is will it work if you have already subbed before? It doesn’t seem…
SWTOR-Mined: Latest 2.4 PTS Build from 9/11/13 (spoilers within)
We now have more info from swtor_miner on the latest 2.4PTS data mined info. As always, there are some spoilers within so don’t read if you don’t want anything potentially leaked. And as always, keep in mind that there is no guarantee any of this is accurate. It’s not official SWTOR/Bioware news. We don’t know what will change between now and when it goes live. Here is the info as shared on Reddit: Well, I finally got time to do a teardown of the latest PTS Patch Raw GOM Additions/Removals New Item Names & Descriptions Note: I think the Varactyl Descriptions are from an old template, as they are currently in the Cartel Market category. So, don’t assume you’ll be able to tame them! Full Item properties – Same note as above. New Abilities All the changes to current abilities were to icons, the new operations, and changing the Seeker Droid Boosts to…
2.3.2b Patch Notes 9/11/2013
BioWare has taken down the servers tor fix a bug that apparently have been pretty game breaking. I haven’t had any issues my self, but I have heard of some people that couldn’t play for days. Of course the forums are going to make it sound like this is the worst possible thing to ever have happened on September 11th. 2.3.2b Patch Notes General Corrected an issue that could cause players to be kicked back to Character Select when attempting to log into certain characters.
Rise of the Hutt Cartel – Free to Subscribers Starting September 12th!
BioWare posted some great news last night. From tomorrow, all active Subscribers will receive the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel free of charge as a newly added benefit to the Subscriber Rewards Program! This is awesome stuff, as it 1) encourages subs (because yay free expansion), it is an arguably considerable reward to those already subbed and don’t have the expansion. Still the butt hurt on the official forum is comical, all the early subscribers want coins too, but don’t realize they’ve gotten 5 months of expanded content and are not getting compensated because Bioware hasn’t developed time travel yet. Anyways. Check out the full story below: Beginning September 12, 2013, active Subscribers will receive the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel free of charge as a newly added benefit to the Subscriber Rewards Program! Rise of the Hutt Cartel offers the breathtaking planet of Makeb, five new levels…
Interview: Baron Deathmark, Part 2
BioWare’s HoloNet News psoted the the conclusion of “an exclusive interview” with legendary Huttball host Baron Deathmark Yesterday. If you don’t know who Baron Deathmark is, he is the guy that commentates all the Huttball games. With the upcoming gameupdate 2.4, mr. Deathmark will become extra busy, as he will be announcing all Arena games. In part one posted a few weeks ago, Deathmark reflected on his storied career, hinted at future plans. In part two, Deathmark take a look at the new Warzone Arenas. Read it all here, or check out our snippet below. LAMALLA RANN: Baron, what can you tell me about the so-called “Arenas of Death”? What makes them stand out from Huttball? BARON DEATHMARK: I’m so glad you asked that, Lamalla! A lot of folks out there assume that all Giradda’s doing is taking the ball out of Huttball, and that just isn’t true. That would leave nothing but…
Matthew Bromberg New Head Of The BioWare Label
General Manager of BioWare Austin, Matthew Bromberg has been given a bit of what you might call a promotion and Bioware gets to fill a spot that has been empty since the doctors left. He has now been appointed the head of the BioWare label by Electronic Arts. VentureBeat explains more: The job has been open since the founders of BioWare, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, left last year after decades of developing games. The post is an important one because BioWare has some of EA’s most successful game franchises — Mass Effect and Dragon Age — and also some of its biggest budget games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bromberg will now be the group general manager of the BioWare label. He will retain leadership of the BioWare Austin division and extend his responsibilities to include BioWare Canada (Edmonton and Montreal), as well as the Victory studio…
EA is treating ‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ like a new IP
It appears that Electronic Arts are treating their newly acquired Star Wars franchise as a new IP, along with 7 other titles. To combat criticism that the firm is not working on any more new games, they released a statement about these new IPs in the works. EA Games chief Patrick Soderlund told MCV that EA is working on new ideas that include Star Wars and Mirror’s Edge 2 as proof the firm is still willing to take risks on new ideas. As he says to MCV: “We are working on a new Mirror’s Edge game, and although that’s not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way. We are developing Star Wars Battlefront, which to us is a new IP, even though it isn’t technically,” he said. “We have six to eight completely new IPs in the works. The day we stop making new IP…
BioWare Austin is Looking for Local Testers
One thing I love about living in/near Austin is the opportunities like this that come up. Once again, as happens often from time to time, Bioware has put out an ad that they are looking for local testers. I’ve also seen these ads before in comic shops, in the paper, on their website and of course, online job boards. I’ve yet to do one of them because I have a full time job of my own but I have some friends who have done it and it can be a lot of fun if you love the game.
Swtor-mined: Not-So Super Secret Space Project | Preview #2 Spoiler
This time swtor_miner has brought us some incredible data mined info but this is the kind of stuff Bioware staff really don’t want us to find. Before you read any further, be aware that this will contain major spoilers and some players just prefer not to know at all. If that’s you, then click away and don’t read what was found about the super secret space project coming up in SWTOR: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES POST ANY OF THIS INFORMATION TO THE OFFICIAL FORUMS. THE POSTS WILL BE REMOVED AND YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE BANNED. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!! Previous: Preview #1 Today I spent several hours and rewriting my adapted modelviewer to work more easily with the new ship models. I cut down the time necessary to prepare models by at least 90%, if not more. Then I spent a few hours (see below)…
My SWTOR Authenticator Won’t Work
If you are a current or returning player of SWTOR and find your authenticator doesn’t work, your first though might be to panic. But don’t worry- there is a process you can go through to get your authenticator reset or replaced, if needed. You will be able to get back into your game once you prove who you are. Here are the basic steps to take when your authenticator will not work: Go to the official website. Select ‘Login’. Fill in your Display Name and Password. Leave the Security Key Field empty. Next, press [LogIn]. You will get an error screen. There will be a link that reads “Lost your security key?” Click that link and follow the instructions. You will then get an email that prompts you to reset your security key.
Secret Space Project Preview #1
SWTOR Miner is at it again. This time he has reassembled the individual pieces of the new ship models into something coherent. He managed to load complete models into Noesis, and view them. Right now it’s very time consuming to reassemble them, so expect more in the next coming weeks. You can check out the full preview album of the Republic Striker ship in the bottom of this post. He also managed to dig out all the Space Tutorial Graphic (Ship UI Graphics) Check that out as well. Here is what we know from the latest data mining: The space update will have Free flight gameplay with a a mixture of passive, active, and defensive combat abilities with several types of resource management: Below is a direct copy from his post: There will be Multiple Modes of Group vs Group Space PvP. It Looks like there will be several objective maps, and…
SWTOR 2.3.2a Patch Notes
Servers were down for a few hours today, so BioWare could add a new patch fixing some of the issues that came with patch 2.3.2. Apparently there is a bug regarding the cartel market. Check out the patch notes below: Cartel Market The in-game Cartel Coin purchasing feature has been fully disabled and the Cartel Market no longer contains a banner referencing it. Please note: Cartel Coins are still available for purchase via www.swtor.com/buy. Clicking the “Add Coins” button in the Cartel Market now properly directs players to www.swtor.com/buy. UI The Advanced Class Selection Window no longer displays incorrect text.
“Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan” – Fan Film Project
If you’re a fan of Revan, you’re going to want to keep updated on this project. This is a fan film in the works and you can be a part of helping to make it happen. They have full permissions from BioWare and Lucas Arts to use storyline in the way that they will for their film so it’s completely legit and on the up. It’s existing to know that this sort of thing is possible and easier today than ever before and that you can help be a part of it when you donate. And of course, if you donate, there are different prizes based on how much you contribute. So you can get a little something to remember your contribution. So far it has 29 backers and counting and halfway to their goal of $5,000 minimum. Visit them on Kickstarter to learn more about this fan film project:…
PTS 2.4 Update 4 – Patch Notes and Known Issues [Updated: September 5th]
Here are the newest patch notes + known issues form the Public test servers. Personally I find the GTN upgrades to be very good. I have been missing these features. I am also glad to see the armor sets are just placeholders. They are boring and the same for all classes both side. Still hope to see some balance before release, tho. Game Update 2.4: The Dread War – PTS Update 4 Patch Notes – September 5th, 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 and Dread Forged armor sets are 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…
Petco’s Star Wars Pet Fans Collection Released September 1st
PetCo and Star Wars fans will be extremely happy to see the Star Wars Pet Collection. Over the past week at select PetCo locations, they had several events to help celebrate this cool new pet collection.
Star Wars Pinball Goes Free For One Week, All Star Wars Themed Tables Are 99¢
We have wrote about Star Wars Pind ball a few times in the past. Now there are Great news about the game via App Addict. Now through September 9, 2013, you can grab Zen Studio’s excellent Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back table for FREE (reg. $1.99) simply by downloading the Star Wars Pinball app from the iTunes App Store. It is easily my favorite of the three Star Wars themed tables. That’s not all…you can also save 50% off the in-app purchasable Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Clone Wars tables as well. Note that the ONLY way to get the Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back table for FREE, is to download the Star Wars Pinball app, but all three Star Wars themed tables are available for 99¢ each (reg $1.99) from within the Zen Pinball app as well. This is definitely worth downloading even if you don’t buy the…
The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina Tour Arrives in New York
BioWare is still on tour. Next time the caravan arrives in New York. This will give attendees the chance to quiz the developers and share a drink or two. Check out the announcement below: We’re happy to announce that the next stop in the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Cantina Tour will be happening on Saturday, October 12th, in New York! 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. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and hang out with us! Venue: Stitch Bar and Lounge Date: Saturday, October 12th, 2013 Time: 8-11PM EDT Address: 247 West 37th Street. New York, NY 10018 Space will be limited, so be sure to arrive early! You can RSVP on Facebook here (Facebook RSVP is not required for…
PTS Server Known Issues
Amber Green posted to the official PTS forums the current list of known issues on the public test server. If you currently have characters on the test realms or plan to in the future, you’ll benefit from giving this a read over or at least bookmarking it so that you know what the known issues are. This update came after problems with the servers that also caused the servers to be brought down for a time. There is no reason to continue to report these known issues but if you encounter any bugs or problems other that are not on this list while on PTS, then you should report those. Public Test Server Known IssuesThe following are those issues known to exist on the current 2.4 build on the PTS: Operations General Players are unable to join an Operations Group that is in progress if the group has defeated a…
Patch Notes – 2.3.2 – 9/4/2013
Here are todays patch notes. One of the most noticeable one is this: The base cooldown for the Fleet Pass ability is now 9 hours for subscribers. Legacy Fleet Pass I, II, and III now reduce the ability cooldown by 3 hours each. This means that being a sub and having all three levels would give no-cooldown on fleet passes! It’s also nice to see some Codex updates, though from what I can tell Loremaster and Beastmaster are still unobtainable if these are the only changes. Game Update 2.3.2 Patch Notes 9/4/2013 Highlights New Vehicle! The Desler Nomad is a new rare drop from the final boss of all level 55 Hard Mode Flashpoints. New Feature! Players can now purchase Cartel Coins in-game through the “Add Coins” interface within the Cartel Market. (details under Cartel Market) Vendor Update! Emergency Medical Table and Mood: Outraged have been added to the Bounty Supply Company…
Original Darth Vader Doesn’t Like Recent Star Wars Prequels
It seems there are many who don’t like the recent Star Wars prequels but would you be surprised to learn that you can add one of the most iconic figures of the original films to the list? Dave Prowse, who played the original Darth Vader, says the Star Wars prequels are “really bad movies”. Ouch! Dave Prowse was a British actor, and any Star Wars nerds who have heard the unedited audio from the original films will know that he also sounded quite British. But you wouldn’t have known it when he donned his Vader mask to become the ultimate movie bad guy. Prowse played the deadly Sith Lord onscreen for Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) but it seems he was not a bit impressed with the latter movies in the series. He told the Hull Daily Mail, “I didn’t like…
More Datatmining 2.4PTS – Modeldump
As we await Game Update 2.4, we now have some more datamined updates from swtor_miner to share. Here’s a link to my latest Datamining post on 2.4PTS I’m still working on a method for automatically reconstructing ingame models. It’s going to be a long road for that though. But, this morning I went through the weapon/vehicle models from the last few PTS builds and matched them up with their textures. Now, this is by no means exactly how they will appear ingame. As, most models have a bump/displacement map that adds most of the detail to an item, and I’m not loading that. Then, there’s the scrolling UVs which are present on some of these items, that again I couldn’t load. I’m also ignoring the material (how shiny/matte a texture is). Which led to me turning of shading in some models that were too dark, and led to slightly comical…