Due to Labor Day, Next week’s scheduled maintenance will occur on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. Check out the the official forum for more info or see our Copy past below: Courtney Woods We wanted to inform you all that due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 3rd, 2012, we will be moving next week’s scheduled maintenance to Wednesday, September 5th, 2012. We will be performing scheduled maintenance for four hours on Wednesday, September 5th, 2012 from 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST) until 6AM CDT (4AM PDT/7AM EDT/12PM BST/1PM CEST/9PM AEST). All game servers and SWTOR.com will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than four hours, but could be extended.
Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld Trailer
Are you excited for Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld? Want to learn more about the upcoming game title? Haven’t even heard of it before? Here’s a video you’re going to want to check out. Star Wars 1313 will feature epic action adventure game play including exotic weaponry and gadgets that bounty hunters depend on for survival. In addition, the game will feature a combination of agile cover-based combat, epic platforming and seamless playable cinematic game play. Players will experience awe-inspiring and action-packed cinematic sequences, constantly staying engaged through the threat, pressure and tension of this criminal underworld. Are you looking forward to it? Will you play or do you think LucasArts has another Star Wars title on their hands that isn’t going to make it big? Star Wars 1313 Descent to the Underworld Trailer [HD] Developer: LucasArts Release: TBA Genre: Action/Adventure Platform: PS3/X360/PC Publisher: LucasArts
Developer Update – Terror from Beyond coming in 1.4
As mentioned by Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez in his forum post a few days ago, BioWare would have a new Developer update for us this week. This time Lead Operations & Flashpoint Designer Jesse Sky talks about the new Operation Terror from Beyond, that comes with patch 1.4 some time next month. Here is an interesting snip: Terror from Beyond offers five new major boss encounters that will challenge even the most highly-coordinated groups of players. In keeping with previous Operations, Terror from Beyond includes one “puzzle” encounter that really steps outside of the bounds of what you normally see in a boss fight. To defeat this new enemy, players will need to work together to repair a massive, ancient Gree computer from within the machine itself. Unlike previous puzzle encounters where the solutions were relatively easy to figure out, this one has players leveraging their particular group composition to control a chaotic situation. It’s very different…
Jeff Hickman Interview
With the news of SWTOR going free to play, there are many who want to learn as much as they can about the game or any changes being made in the upcoming updates to the game. Even those who are already fans are listening with eager ears to anything new. This interview with Jeff Hickman didn’t have any big secret reveals over the game but it did have some very interesting topics and some insight into the very experience Jeff Hickman and his work on SWTOR. RPG Site says: With a background rooted in Mythic Entertainment, Hickman has a long history with MMOs – first on Dark Age of Camelot and then on Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. We quizzed him not only on the future of The Old Republic, but of the MMO genre in general. Here’s what he said. They came prepared with some great questions and Hickman…
The Dwindling Dev Tracker
Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez talks about the communication from BioWare on the Forum tracker. He also hints at new blogs incoming tomorrow? Check it out here, or read our copy pate below. Joveth Gonzalez While we appreciate all kinds of constructive feedback, as Allison pointed out, the forums are only one small measure of communication. Do keep in mind that while some days it seems that there isn’t any forum activity from us, we’re busy hopping around, taking a look at the SWTOR subreddit, Twitter, Facebook, and responding to PMs. Consider that our fanbase is large and spread across various social media sites, and you can see that we strive to make sure that they are covered, no matter where our fans are. We’re also working on some new community blogs that we’ll be posting in the upcoming week or so, in addition to our standard weekly blogs that…
Interview with SWTOR Lead Writer Hall Hood
Last week TORWars had a great interview with SWTOR Lead Writer Hall Hood via their podcast. There are some amazing details in this hour-long interview and they cover topics like: ~ Character development that keeps players interested~ Why some classes are clearly Republic, and some are Sith, and some walk a very gray line~ Drawing inspiration from Episodes 4, 5, and 6 (and not so much from 1,2, and 3!)~ Why humor is important to Star Wars~ Writing characters and NPCs that people care about~ Why the Sith aren’t completely evil~ How does one write for players who like to be smartasses?~ Where do the stories go, now that players have leveled to 50?~ Why plot twists are essential to the Star Wars universe~ Can great villains (or heroes) truly die, or can they re-appear? Give it a listen and check it out for yourself. It’s definitely worth it and…
More Character Slots Per Server in the Works
Do you suffer from alt-itis like me? Do you ever wish there were more character slots so you could play more toons without having to go to another server? You have a common problem that many gamers face and with SWTOR going free to play soon, there’s a good chance there are going to be other people just like me who want to make new toons to level up with friends but do not want to lose existing characters. So more character slots would be the answer to all of this and there’s a good chance we’re going to get it soon. Allison Berryman SWTOR Senior Community Coordinator says: We do have plans to make more character slots available per server and will bring you more info as soon as we can. Thanks for all your suggestions in this thread! The one thing that comes to mind for me here…
Star Wars prequels 3D reissues set for back-to-back releases in Fall 2013
Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox are taking a page out of the successful 1997 re-release of the original “Star Wars” trilogy as they prepare for a 3-D launch of two more movies from the space saga next year. “”Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” the fifth and sixth movies — but the second and third chronologically — will be released in 3-D on Sept. 20, 2013 and Oct. 11, 2013, respectively. Lucasfilm announced the news on its Facebook page Monday. Putting the two movies three weeks apart mirrors Fox and Lucasfilm’s strategy 15 years ago when the original “Star Wars,” “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” were re-released in three-week increments over the winter. The approach can help create the feeling of a major fan event lasting a month or more. It will also save marketing dollars, as Fox (which handles distribution and…
NVIDIA adds native Ambient Occlusion support for SWTOR in 306.02 BETA driver release
NVIDIA is showing some love for Star Wars: The old republic in there upcoming driver release. In the new beta release NVIDIA is adds native Ambient Occlusion witch is a visual effect that was originally developed by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and used in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor. Hardware support has been available since 2003 with NVIDIA’s GeForce FX. One of the first games to use ambient occlusion was Crysis, which was developed by Crytek and released in late 2007. In 2009, NVIDIA added Ambient Occlusion as a Control Panel feature in its v185 drivers. An up-to-date list of games that support ambient occlusion through the Control Panel is given at the end of this article. What It Is and How It Works: One of the most difficult challenges in 3D game design is realistically modeling the behavior of light and its effects on various textures and surfaces without compromising frame rate….
TOR TV: Directive 7 Hard Solo
Youtube user NadaButH8 posted a video of him soloing Directive 7 on Hard mode. Pretty impressive stuff if you think of how good gear you have to optain for your self and your companion before doing this. Boss fights are played at normal speed, everything else is 2X (Bonus Boss was not attempted) Boss name–Time -Assassin Droids– 2:20 -Interrogator– 7:45 -Bulwark– 11:23 -Assembler– 16:52 -Mentor– 19:20
SWTOR Biochem Leveling Guide 1 through 400
The patterns used in this leveling guide for Biochem are obtainable from the Biochem Trainer only. You use Biochem to make stims, implants and medical packs. Any class can use this skill but the healers will benefit the most. The primary gathering skill used in Biochem is Bioanalysis using compounds and Biochemical Samples. The secondary mission skill is Diplomacy using Medical Supplies. After you complete each step, you can train for the next level by visiting the Biochem Crew Skill Trainer. If you use reverse engineering, you can use fewer materials on the items you make. However, this method produces random materials, which means that you cannot calculate a precise number for the materials players need to use for crafting. For this reasons, this leveling guide uses the materials needed when reverse engineering for Biochem is not used. This makes it possible for you to know exactly which materials you’ll…
Holocron Computer Case Mod
I love custom computer cases. I know most everyone thinks they are cool or could think of a custom case they would like to have but I have a real obsession with these. I am addicted to see what people can do with their computer cases and I have seen some of the most amazing cases you can imagine. There are those that are artistic, practical, water cooled, fish tank cases and more. But this one that we came across is one you’re probably going to love as much as me. This is a Holocron computer case mod. It’s really awesome looking and they photo-logged how they did it on Tumblr so you can see the whole 21 day process for yourself. Maxwell explains to Tumblr a little about what they were doing at the start of the project: After this coming weekend, we will have more exciting progress to…
Schematics Leaving the End Game of SWTOR
Have you been wondering why there are no end game schematics for your crafting skills in SWTOR? You are not alone and other people have brought this question to the forums where Allison Berryman, Senior Community Coordinator for SWTOR, gives us a little insight into why this is. I talked to Systems Designer David Hunt about this, and (related to this question), he told me that content in the near future generally won’t have schematics as drops in endgame content, and that those high-end schematics will come from reverse engineering. So, for content in the near future, schematics for all crafting skills won’t generally be part of those end game loot tables. It makes sense, when you think about it. But some players feel like crafting is just not balanced right now and that more needs to be done to even out the crew skills. Do you think it will…
Knights of the Old Republic: Shadows of Corruption
Seaichfilms new psychological Star Wars fan film “Shadows of Corruption””. The film is based off the expanded Star Wars Universe of the game series Knights of the Old Republic. Darth Revan continues his rule of tyranny in the galaxy. Conquering system after system the Sith Lord comes across the discovery of an ancient Sith artifact. He swiftly aims his resources to recover it in hopes to gain the advantage in the ever growing war. Republic intelligence catches wind of the artifacts existence and head to the planet Syres to try and recover it. The long awaited live action Knights of the Old Republic film is finally here in its entirety! Part 1 has also been remastered and reinserted into the film. Seaichfilms is proud to release the complete “Shadows of Corruption” fan film to the public. “”Shadows of Corruption” is a new kind of ‘Fan Film’‘. Yes folks, a fan…
Gear Info for New Operation and Warzone
Allison Berryman, the Senior Community Coordinator for SWTOR had a great answer on the forums about future gear for the new PvP Warzone as well. In answer to the post from Ashania which asks: It said somewhere that with the new Operation will come a new tier of gear, so the next leg-up after Campaign. What are the chances that a new tier of PvP gear will be released along with the new Warzone and new PvE tier? Berryman tells us: I talked to David Hunt (Systems Designer), and he shed some light upcoming gear. He said that (for PvE), Terror from Beyond’s Hard Mode will include a new set of gear that is a sub-tier of the larger tier that started with Campaign gear. It will also have non-slot restricted armornings. Nightmare Explosive Conflict will speed up the acquisition of the new set and provides new challenges for Operation…
Star Wars fans gather force for Celebration VI in Orlando
The biggest “Star Wars” party this side of the galaxy continues this weekend in a city not far, far away from Brevard. “Star Wars” fans young and old are in for a real treat as Star Wars Celebration VI returns to the Orlando Convention Center. Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Seth Green, Dave Filoni and Kevin Smith are among the guests, along with the many fans emulating C-3PO, storm troopers, Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Han Solo. For David White of Titusville, a member of the Mandalorian Mercs, which celebrates the subculture of “Star Wars” bounty hunter Boba Fett, the celebration means a chance to don his costume for a good cause. His group will host a jail and bail event in which the Mercs arrest or release folks, with proceeds going to charity. “The last celebration, we only ran it for six or seven hours on one day, and we…
GamesCom 2012: Interview with Gabe Amatangelo
During the first day of GamesCom, DarthHater had the opportunity to get a quick interview with BioWare’s Gabe Amatangelo. Since it was short, they focused on some of the key areas that BioWare has presented at the event – Ancient Hypergates Warzone, future Operation content, and more. It’s a fun interview and I always like hearing from Gabe. The DH crew know how to ask just the right questions, even when pushed for time and they know how to try to dig up those little pieces of information we don’t already have (whenever an interview subject is willing to give it). Here is a snippet of that interview: First of all, you’re showing Ancient Hypergates at GamesCom right? Gabe Amatangelo: Correct. Yes. It’s the first time for many of the fans seeing it so it’s somewhat of a mystery. Give us the general idea of the Warzone and its gametype if…
How to not suck at Huttball
The kind of people who just kill farm in mid or are generally terrible at following objectives won’t be reading this. But here is is. Basics Huttball is not Warsong Gulch. Don’t play like it is. Your team scores when the ball is carried over the opposing team’s end zone. Tie games are won by the team holding the ball when the game ends, or in the case of a neutral ball, the team who most recently held the ball. You can pass the ball to another player. Passing wins games. Passing Passing the ball is a ground-targeted AOE ability. Find it in the general tab of your ability book. It takes a few seconds between throwing the ball, and the other player receiving the ball. If no one is within the targeting-circle (an incomplete pass), a new ball spawns in midfield. This is important. If only an opposing team player is within…
Peter Moore Gives BioWare Vote of Confidence
BioWare has had a challenging year of ups and downs. There has been a lot of criticism of BioWare after the launch of Star Wars: The old Republic. In fact, the last 18 months have been rocky for BioWare. First, there was the disappointing release of Dragon Age 2 and then SWTOR did not perform as well as predicted and finally, there was the drama over the ending of Mass Effect 3. So it’s safe to say this has been a challenging year to year and a half for BioWare. However, this doesn’t mean the company has sunk. They are still a leader in the industry and Peter Moore, EA COO, has a lot of confidence in the future of BioWare. Eurogamer reports: BioWare has called on player feedback as it creates Dragon Age 3, released free downloadable content to add context to the divisive Mass Effect 3 ending, and…
More Legacy Rewards being Planned for SWTOR
Have you been wanting more Legacy rewards in SWTOR? Does it seem like a lot of effort to level up your Legacy for what you get? BioWare is listening and thre might be more Legacy rewards coming soon. Online Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez says this on the forums: Hello! So I spoke to Principle Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert about this, and he feels that with some of the Legacy rebalancing that has occurred recently, he definitely agrees that there is a need for more rewards for players with Legacy levels 25 and higher. The team hasn’t made any decisions yet, but it is something that they are exploring. My thoughts (especially after visiting BioWare Austin) are that they had a lot planned that just didn’t make it into the game yet and they are now finally getting permission to move forward and finalize a lot of these things they…
Jeff Hickman Interview from GamesCom
During the biggest gaming event in Europe, GamesCom gaming convention in Cologne, Germany, SWTOR Life had the opportunity to interview Jeff Hickman and ask some questions about the game. Mr. Jeff Hickman, the new Executive Producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic sat and answered some interesting questions. You can see the video here: And here are some highlights of the interview from SWTOR Life. Introduction of Mr. Jeff Hickamn and his previous work as well as his tasks in the future His thoughts and plans on how to make the Free to Play model a reality When will Free to Play launch? Correlation between announced content (new warzone, raid etc.) and launch of Free to Play Once Free to Play goes live, will subscribers ever have to pay for anything (like a big expansion/content pack)? Will Makeb increase the level cap? How do you introduce a cash shop into a…
1.3.6 Patch Notes 8/21/2012
Servers are back up, an here are today’s patch notes. General After a player uses the “Reset Local Phases” option, they now must wait 30 minutes to use it again, increased from the prior wait time of 2 minutes. Companion Characters Xalek Many of Xalek’s personal conversations can now be had in Cantinas as intended. Flashpoints and Operations General Using combat revive abilities now consistently returns the revived player to combat if an encounter is still active. Non-boss enemies no longer occasionally respawn after an Operation group has been defeated and re-enters the Operation. Group Finder Pre-made groups of four players that queue for Group Finder now correctly receive daily mission credit. The “Travel Now” dialog no longer fires more frequently than intended. Players now receive an error when attempting to manually add a new group member while queued in Group Finder. Items (Items and Economy) Several Imperial head slot…
Does Player Marking Belong in PvP?
Here’s an interesting topic of debate- player marking in PvP. Both SWTOR and WoW have it and some people love it, where others hate it. I often play a healer in PvP (in both games) and I know what it’s like to be targeted for focus fire with a big mark over your head. You don’t have to see it to know it’s there. So here’s the question: does this feature belong in PvP? Some will say it is an essential part of the game, allowing teammates to coordinate and plan their attack, shut down the enemy healers and spot a targeted enemy from clear across the field. Others say it causes an unfair advantage and that is changes the play of the game, especially when the marks do not get removed upon death. So what do you think? Is player marketing an essential feature of PvP and warzones or…
SWTOR Grand Acquisitions Race Video Guide Roundup
Here are some pretty good videos about the current SWTOR event The Grand Acquisitions Race. If you’re still doing the event quests, they’re worth checking out. Remember you have until Tuesday to get it completed. Videos from SaiTorrsVideos: Part I of the Guide to SWTOR’s newest World Event, the Grand Acquisitions Race, taking place on multiple worlds in the search for miscellaneous items for personal enrichment. But could there be more behind the Chevin’s Scheme for Personal Enrichment? Items/Quests Covered in this section: (QUEST) On your Marks (QUEST) The Grand Acquisitions Race (ITEM) Vandrayk’s Tuning Apparatus (ITEM) Fossilized Krayt Dragon Pearl Part 2 of the Guide to SWTOR’s newest World Event, the Grand Acquisitions Race, taking place on multiple worlds in the search for miscellaneous items for personal enrichment. But could there be more behind the Chevin’s Scheme for Personal Enrichment? Also, do check out CC-Films, a friend of mine’s…