G4 TV officially starts their live E3 broadcast coverage at 3pm Pacific time tomorrow, Monday June 15th. Interestingly, this just so happens to coincide with the end of the countdown timer on the home page of the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site. While we already know that G4 won’t be doing their promised 30-minute coverage of The Old Republic until Tuesday, this does make it likely that the new cinematic trailer will be revealed between the hours of 3:30pm and 6:00pm, which is after the EA press conference.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Exclusive Hands-On – Bounty Hunter, Trooper, Imperial Agent, Smuggler, Sith Inquisitor, and Sith Warrior
It’s starting! Today Gamespot published a long article, which does not only talkt about gameplay impressions, but also announces two playable species: Twi’lek and Chiss. In addition to 4 brand new screenshots, they reveal lots of combat – here is a snippet The Republic trooper and the smuggler professions begin their lives in the same area under different circumstances. As a trooper, we started our career as the newest member of the elite Republic commando unit known as Havoc squad–a handsome human soldier riding on the inside of a giant walker into a war zone on the planet of Ord Mantell. The planet is a Republic world torn apart by a civil war waged by separatist rebels. As a smuggler, we played as a Twi’lek, which is the humanoid Star Wars race that has long tentacles down either side of their heads, similar to the Bib Fortuna character in Return…
Star Wars: The Old Republic e3 2010 preview trailer
Recorded from ‘Spike TV’ as a behind the scenes look at the brand new Star Wars: The Old Republic e3 2010 trailer due for release at e3 2010. After the breath taking ‘Deceived’ trailer, Blur studios have been working hard for this new installment. Expect to see HUGE ground battles, Havoc Squad as the battle rages on Alderaan. Update: G4‘s Attack of the Show features/previews The Old Republic with some gameplay video…
The Force Unleashed 2 Cinematic Trailer Revealed
During the E3 All Access edition of GameTrailers TV, a new cinematic trailer for The Force Unleashed 2 was released. You can watch the trailer below. We expect to hear more about TFU II from E3 this weekend. The Force Unleashed II is set to be released on October 26th, 2010. News: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Collector’s Edition Details Demo for TFU II Coming in September Previews: IGN’s Preview Interviews: Videos:
Star Wars: The Old Republic Timeline 8: The Jedi Civil War
The characters from Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic video game have long been some of the most beloved Expanded Universe characters Star Wars has to offer. Chief among them was the series’ mysterious protagonist, Revan. Although his history has been explored in a few places– including both the Knights of the Old Republic game and comic– his full past was always a mystery. A mystery, though, that now is a bit clearer. Join Jedi Master Gnost-Dural’s in his historical investigation of the past and watch as he examines the events surrounding Revan’s fall and his ultimate fate in the timeline entry “The Jedi Civil War,” which can viewed below. On the official forums BioWare’ Rob Chestney also has a little to say on it, and it’s not entirely satisfactory. But at least it seems like they tried. I guess I just expected them to be good enough to…
Star Wars: The Old Republic Maquette
Just announced on www.swtor.com, Gentle Giant Studios has created a beautiful 7″ statue of the fearsome Bounty Hunter Shae Vizla! Be sure to use coupon code TORDEAL for 15% off the regular price of $79.99. Click here to order.
Rumor: Star Wars: Starfighter to be resurrected
Several video game news sites are reporting that the next installment of Starfighter could possibly be in the works and may even be revealed next week at E3. This is definitely a possibility, since LucasArts has not revisited any flight simulation games since Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, released on the GameCube in 2003. Since we only know of four upcoming Star Wars games (The Force Unleashed 2, The Old Republic, Lego Star Wars III, and the newly announced Clone Wars Adventures), E3 is a mighty fine time to announce a game, but for now, file this one away as a rumor. We’ll keep you updated as E3 draws closer.
Behind the scenes – making of a new Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer
GTTV brings E3 to you early with an exclusive behind the scenes making of a new Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer. The show will be broadcast this Friday at 11PM
LucasArts Gets A New President
It looks like LucasArts will be at E3 2010 next week with their new president in place. ust a month after Darrell Rodriguez left his position as head of LucasArts, the gaming company has named Paul Meegan to fill the void at the helm. Meegan formerly helped found Epic Games China and worked at Ubisoft and Jaleco Entertainment. Meegan has had a long history in the game industry. He founded game developer Sinister Games in 1997 which was bought by Ubisoft a few years later. After serving as an executive at both Ubisoft and the now defunct Jaleco Entertainment, Meegan became the co-founder and CEO of Epic Games China. There’s no word yet if Meegan will be attending E3. IGN also reports that Meegan will get started at LucasArts in mid-June. Source: Kotaku
Star Wars Imperial Walker Loft Bed
We hope this kid really loves his father. Now, this is how you create a whole new generation of sci-fisci-fi geeks. This is a loft bed I made for my son that resembles a Star Wars AT-AT Imperial Walker. I searched the Internet and found scale models, cakes, legos, baby strollers and costumes resembling an AT-AT, but never found a bed that resembled an AT-AT. So I made one. It was made with materials available at any Home Depot or Lowe’s. This is a video/slideshow of some of the photos I took during the build process. Hopefully this will help someone who might consider building their own AT_AT. My son sure enjoys his! May the force be with you!
A favored SWG developer moves to SWTOR
Massively reports that a one of Star Wars Galaxies’ developers, and apparently a fan-beloved one, has moved on to join the The Old Republic development team: Massively has learned some exciting news for Star Wars: The Old Republic and sad news for Star Wars Galaxies. According to his Linked-In profile, the fan-beloved developer, Matt Boudreaux, landed a new job at Bioware’s Austin studios working on SWTOR. Boudreaux, known as AdeptStrain on the SOE forums, implemented some of the most ground-breaking additions to the aging game Star Wars Galaxies, such as new Jedi and melee animations, the Appearance Tab, and the Chronicles System. His role on the SWG team was solidified by his role in creating some of the best instances like Hoth and Death Troopers. His wit and easygoing demeanor gained AdeptStrain quick rapport among fans. Roleplayers, in particular, have a vested interest in his work because of the added…
Dramatis Personae for The Old Republic: Decieved
As many Star Wars novel readers are no doubt aware, each novel contains a “Dramatis Personae”; a list of characters that readers are about to see in the novel and who they are. Author Paul S. Kemp (EUC’s interview) has given readers a first look at his upcoming novel The Old Republic: Deceived by posting the Dramatis Personae. It can be considered spoiler-filled, but if you’re so inclined, you can check it out here. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived, a tie-in novel to The Old Republic game, is set to hit stores as a hardcover on December 28, 2010. I’m hoping to get approval in July to begin posting excerpts from Deceived, my Star Wars novel set in the The Old Republic. But in the meantime, I thought I’d post the Dramatis Personae for the novel. There are four core characters (these four are either point of view characters,…
adidas Originals – Star Wars Cantina 2010
This made our day! So cool. Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown, Ciara, DJ Neil Armstrong and others in the world of Star Wars for the “adidas Originals” campaign. Brilliantly done. Enjoy.
Friday Update: Blood of The Empire Issue 4
Today’s Friday Update is now online. It is a new issue of the webcomic Blood of the Empire – like announced earlier today. It deals with Teneb Kel’s search for the Emperor’s apprentice. In the fourth issue of Blood of the Empire, Teneb Kel begins his quest to find the Emperor’s apprentice and learn the reason she betrayed her master. But a war-torn galaxy isn’t always friendly toward Sith, and without a squad of Imperial soldiers to back him up, Teneb must rely on his wits and his lightsaber for protection. Also: what role does the Republic play in Exal Kressh’s machinations? Check out the latest issue of Blood of the Empire now! In reference to hints contained in webcomics, BioWare’s Sean Dahlberg had a statement: While we can understand some people may be frustrated, I want to say the vast majority of people will forgive us after E3 2010….
Ben Balistreri’s Top 30 Star Wars characters
Ben Balistreri is a storyboard artist and character designer for Dreamworks, where he’s worked on How to Train Your Dragon. He’s also — like everyone — a Star Wars fan. So when he tuned his unique design sensibilities to represent his 30 favorite Star Wars characters, we had to take a look. Here they are: Check out his blog.
Leaked Play Guide?
MMORPG.com are reporting that now defunct fan site Ithorians.com has pictures of what seems to be a play guide for Star Wars: The Old republic (most likely for some test version of the game). Whether this is real or some hoax is hard to confirm, but you can see the images yourself here: There aren’t a lot of surprises in the guide, mostly confirming fairly standard play mechanics. The only things of note are that it mentions that players can fill in a surname and that on death players respawn at a med center.
May the schwartz be with you: The Ultimate R2-D2 College Prank
Now THAT’S the droid we’re looking for! Granted, it is hard to miss. Carleton’s Goodsell Observatory gets turned into R2-D2 by an unknown group of enterprising students — complete with sound effects. All the “decorations” appear to have been draped or taped onto the dome; there was no defacing with spray paint, etc.
How a big budget can change the game for everyone
BioWare gets even more funding for what may very well turn out to be the most expensive game ever made. How can this change the industry forever? Electronic Arts, a company that’s been around since almost forever has just stated that they’re going to be putting even more financial backing behind BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic. Eric Brown, the chief fiancial officer, stated that the game is “the largest R&D project EA has ever undertaken in terms of dollars that we expect to spend bringing the title to market.” What’s the actual price tag then? That detail remains unknown. What is known is that EA isn’t poor. For this reason it is unlikely we’ll see the game launched in the incomplete state so many MMOGs suffer from. That point alone is reason enough to believe the game will be a strong contender for a top spot in today’s Western…
BioWare adds Irish customer service center
Electronic Arts has announced plans to open a European customer service and operations center for its BioWare studio, to be based in Galway, Ireland. The new facility will provide BioWare with greater proximity to European players. This investment is being supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. The Prime Minister of Ireland, Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD, said, “EA is the global leader in interactive entertainment and a very important addition to the thriving games industry in Ireland.” Here’s the press release from EA. It also includes a link to apply for a position if you feel the need. Congratulations to Bioware and Galway: EA TO OPEN CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER IN GALWAY, IRELAND Irish Government Welcomes Investment By Leading Interactive Entertainment Company Geneva, Switzerland, May 26, 2010 — Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced plans to open a European customer service and operations center for its BioWare™ studio, to be based…
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures
Back in march we reported that Star Wars: The old republic wasn’t the only Star Wars mmorpg in development. Today Sony Online Entertainment announced new MMO universe, this one adopting the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars setting. It’s fully a browser-based experience, allowing players to choose to be either a Jedi, Padawan or a Clone Trooper and along-side their favorite heroes such as Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts are developing Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, a free-to-play virtual world based on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series airing on Cartoon Network, set to launch online and in retail stores this fall. While LucasArts published SOE’s last MMO based on the George Lucas franchise, Star Wars Galaxies, the San Diego-headquartered studio is both developing and publishing this title. The companies hope to introduce the Jedi, Padawan and Clone Troopers saga to a new generation of…
Know your lore: Naga Sadow
Naga Sadow was a male Sith Lord, and renowned dark side magician during the days of the first Sith Empire. Sadow had ancestors among both humans and the Sith species of the planet Ziost. He rose to prominence in the final days of the Sith Golden Age, when Marka Ragnos, the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, passed away, leaving the mantle of Dark Lord vacant. During Ragnos’ funeral, Sadow engaged in a duel with rival Sith Lord Ludo Kressh for Ragnos’ title, only to have their contest ended by the spectre of the deceased Dark Lord himself. After a brief admonition, the ghost departed while issuing a warning to both Sadow and Kressh, stating that the fate of the Sith Empire hung on the balance of their decision on how to proceed with leadership of the Sith people. However, the unexpected arrival of two Hyperspace-traveling siblings on Korriban, Gav…
May the schwartz be with you: Ewok Karaoke
Forget singing hits from Journey, Madonna and Lady Gaga. What fans really want is to sing the Ewok celebration song! Here is an excerpt from the newly remastered “Return of the Jedi.” Side note: Wookies aren’t that good at karaoke. They tend to drive everyone else out of the bar.
Playable Species of SW:TOR – Twi’lek
Fridays Star Wars the old republic ( back in 2010) update gave us an insight to the first companion – the Twi’lek Vette. Therefor we will continue our Species of Starwars column with an inside to this colorful species. Twi’leks (pronounced /’twilɛk/) were an omnivorous humanoid species originating from the planet Ryloth. They tended to eat cultivated molds, fungi, and rycrit meat. Their distinctive features included colorful skin, which varied in pigment from individual to individual, and a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grew from the base of their skulls. The tentacles, called “brain-tails,” “lekku,” “tchun-tchin,” or “head-tails” are advanced organs used for communication and cognitive functions. Twi’leks possessed a fairly standard humanoid vocal structure and were capable of learning most alien languages; however, they usually preferred their native language of Ryl, which incorporated subtle movement of the lekku. When they wished, they could even communicate in complete secrecy…
R2-D2 Builders at Maker Faire
Every year robot builders, inventors, MythBusters and craftsters gather for a giant celebration of science geekery called Maker Faire. And you can’t have a robot gathering without our friends the Bay Area R2 Builders Group showing up to inspire Star Wars fans of all ages to make their own astromech sidekick. The astromechs were out in full force spinning, whirring and beeping at the crowd that constantly followed the R2 units or came to visit them in the robot area of the fair. Even amongst the other iconic robots from Lost in Space and The Forbidden Planet, and the impressive Tesla Coils, the R2 Builders were the real stars of the fair. Every time I follow around R2 and his makers around Comic-Con, WonderCon, Celebration, and Maker Faire, I love to see kids pose with, hug, kiss, pet and even have full conversations with R2-D2. He might just be the…