The NDA, or non disclosure agreement, on SWTOR is what prevents testers from talking about certain aspects of the game when they play it. These types of legal agreements are in place to protect a company’s creative licenses and for a game like SWTOR that is highly based in story, it’s to be expected. MMORPG writes in a column that they believe it just might be time to drop the NDA already. They think since beta testing is being offered to basically everyone, that it’s time to drop the NDA. They write: “Recently, BioWare concluded their largest Beta Test Weekend yet, and they’re already in the process of revving up for a final big smash of a Beta Test Weekend. If you thought this past weekend was big, well it looks like everyone who has signed up for Game Testing, as well as those who never bothered, will have a…
Leaderboard: SWTOR vs. GW2 cinematic cutscenes
Justin Olivetti from over at Massively had a few things to say about SWTOR cutscenes- a huge part of what TOR is all about. Star Wars is all about the storyline and in SWTOR, this is one of the things that we see which sets in apart from other games, namely other MMORPGs. But they are not completely alone in this as GW2 has some cutscene action of their own. Olivetti decided to explore this area of the game in a Leaderboard column for the popular gaming website, Massively. He says: “OK, you knew that sooner or later there’d be a face-off between Star Wars: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 in this column, although today’s poll might not be what you were expecting. Instead of getting into “Which game that hasn’t released is better than the other game that hasn’t released?” let us examine each title’s approach to…
SWTOR had over 1 million hours of testing last weekend
We know that last week’s SWTOR game testing weekend was massive. It was the largest beta weekend so far and quite possibly the largest beta weekend for any MMORPG in history. Just how massive it was, we had no idea. But BioWare has now revealed that over a million hours of testing went into the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic last weekend. 1 million hours!Tens of thousands of people played the game in order to test for a smooth launch coming December 20th. With only a month to go, it was the perfect time for BioWare to see if the servers would handle such a large influx of players. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to get more gamers into the SWTOR rage who may not have previously pre-ordered the game. BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka told Eurogamer about the weekend game testing event in an interview at…
Facebook Image of the Week #38
Today BioWare updated there Facebook page with a screenshot of the Eternity Vault. The flashpoints we get to play in 30 days ( if you pre ordered). As far as I understand this flashpoint should give us some more inside to what happened with the Infinite Empire – the guys that made The Star Forge. Check out the screenshot below: The Eternity Vault, a remnant of a once powerful empire, is believed to house ‘The Infernal One,’ an ancient and deadly evil that poses a risk to the entire galaxy.
SWTOR Impressions: Thoughts from an old school MMO player
We have written here before about the thoughts and impressions of veteran MMO gamers when it comes to SWTOR. In fact, we’re long time MMO players ourselves and we love to hear what others have to say as well. We stumbled across this Reddit post, a la SWTOR review, from a self-professed old school MMO player. What did he have to say about SWTOR? The poster starts with their background in MMO gaming: “My first MMO was Everquest and this was after it had been out for a while” And then some info on other games he’s tried/player: “Since then I have played DDO, STO, and Champions, as well I have tried the trial versions of most other MMO’s out there currently and while some offer a unique experience none have matched the polish and ease of teaching you how to play the game like WOW, until now.” Ok, so…
SWTOR Jumps to Number 1 on the Pre-Order Charts
SWTOR has received a lot of attention especially over the last few months but with the launch scheduled for only a few weeks away, it’s gaining even more attention. Last week, I told you how SWTOR was in the top 5 preorders. Well, just as I predicted, it’s now number 1 on the pre-order charts. That’s right, it’s at the top of the list and this jump does have a lot to do with the beta testing that took place over the weekend. After gamers had a chance to spend a little time playing the game, they seemed to be hooked right away. Most players found the game to be intriguing and a few hours of play only made them more curious as to exactly what SWTOR has to offer. Many gamers waited to get a taste of the game to see how they felt about it before placing their…
LucasFilm registers “Star Wars: Identities” domain names
“The acquisition of a new domain name has fueled speculation of what the intergalactic franchise has in store for the future,” writes IFC.com. This is actually really interesting news for fans of Star Wars. There could be something new and exciting in the horizon for the franchise. Lists of recent domain name registrations show that LucasFilm were planning a site called “Star Wars: Identities” of some sort but no one knows exactly what it’s all about. It sure is a lot of fun to try to guess what it’s all about though. Fusible reported that the company registered a number of domain names for this new title. Could it be a series? A game? A movie? Something is in the works at LucasFilm, that’s for sure. Registered names include: StarWarsIdentities.com, the typo-friendly StarWarsIdentites.com and even sw-id.com. In this article, Fusible theorized about what “Star Wars: Identities” might be. Is it…
SWTOR Beta: First Impressions from MMO Crunch
SWTOR beta first impressions are coming in and so far, most players have positive things to say about the game. With so many people who have now gotten to try it out after this past weekend, we’re going to keep seeing those SWTOR reviews, previews and impressions. Here’s what MMO Crunch had to say about first impressions of the game. Players were impressed with how smoothly it ran with no lags or crashes and with the wonderful graphics. SWTOR offers several options for customizing the characters, which is a big plus. Some of the options for characters include different hairstyles, faces, makeup and skin color. Some races even have ridges in the faces, jewelry, horns, scars and tattoos leaving a lot of room for the imagination. Players did notice that some races have more options than others do but this wasn’t a really big deal. One of the main complaints…
New beta build coming in.
A new beta build is coming in this Thursday. This time testers have to download 20GB to keep on playing. The good thing is characters from the last phase of testing will not be wiped and will carry over to the new build. Hello testers! We are preparing to deploy a new build of the game! This Thursday, 11/17, at 7:00AM CST (13:00 London, 14:00 Paris/Berlin), we will bring the servers down for maintenance. Then, at 10:00AM CST (16:00 London, 17:00 Paris/Berlin), the servers will become available again with a 20GB patch, which will contain the new build. You do not need to uninstall your previous game installation, but we do recommend uninstalling in order to save space on your hard drive and to assist with any necessary troubleshooting. Good news: characters from the last phase of testing will not be wiped and will carry over to the new build!…
Star Wars Books Interviews Drew Karpyshyn
As we celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan today, Star Wars Books, has released an interview with author Drew Karpyshyn. In the interview, Drew Karpyshyn Talks about every thing from his work on the Mass Effect series, new Darth Bane stories plus goodies about the new SWTOR Book we talked about a few weeks ago. Can you reveal anything about next TOR novel you’re writing, currently set for a Fall 2012 release? I can’t really say anything right now, other than that it will take place after the events of the game. One of the criticisms of The Old Republic, based on the cinematic trailers we’ve seen, is that the technology is too similar to that of the Original Trilogy. What do you think about that? Should the technology used 4,000 years before A New Hope be extremely primitive compared to what we see in Episode…
Random gameplay videos and screenshots
The internet has been surging with new beta gameplay footage since this weekends beta session. Here is a compilation of the best material found on Reddit. Check it out: The Smuggler, world’s greatest actor! How to properly play the Jedi Consular. Bounty Hunter Healing PVP Huttball Lots of beta screenshots in 1920×1080 resolution More screenshots:
Get a SWTOR Beta Key Guaranteed
Would you like to be one of the first players to experience SWTOR? Now’s your chance because EA and CVG have teamed up and they’re offering Star War fans 13,000 SWTOR beta keys, guaranteed! With that many keys being offered, you have a great chance of taking part in the test BioWare and the Publishers of SWTOR have planned. The stress-testing weekend will take place very soon and if you receive one of the keys, you can be part of all the action. Collecting a beta key is easy but first, you need to be registered for the testing program. Once you’re registered, simply visit one of the sites offering beta keys such as Massively or Computer and Video Games.com. If you’re not already registered, you can take care of this technicality at either of these sites and then you can claim your key. Be sure to redeem it by…
May the schwartz be with you: AC/DC vs Star Wars: A New Hope
We’re kinda surprised no one ever thought to put a montage of Episode IV: A New Hope‘s coolest scenes to an AC/DC song, seeing as how most of the Aussie rockers’ songs are about shooting, or thrilling, or both — and man, remember how Lucas used to do that?? Props to Kalleanka on Youtube for putting together this clever little sequence of events which sum up the first Star Wars movie to AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’, especially since it could have been something really lame like a montage of Darth Vader scenes to “Back in Black.”
The Guild Sphere: Space Blasters
It’s Monday and a new guild has taken some time to answer our questions. This time the republic guild Space Blasters are in focus. Space Blasters will be based out of the EST timezone. However, they accept applications from all regions and countries, so check them out! Where did your guilds name come from? Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with futuristic pistols or ray-guns. It’s a drug reference (woah!) Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? We are a hardcore PvE and PvP organization focused on competitiveprogression and accomplishment. Although focused on our goals, we pride ourselves on a sense of humor and awareness that other guilds often lack. MMO’s are serious business – but that doesn’t mean players need to sign their lives away to some fascist organization in order to succeed. How did your guild come about? Myself and a few of the officers started the guild…
Stuff learned from this weeks beta
Here is some hints, tips, and settings that I found doing this weekends beta. If you are using ATI, update your drivers. I think it’s 11.10 right now. You don’t want 11.8. You’ll probably spend about 3-5 hours on your starter planet which takes you to level 10, or very close to 10. At around level 8-9 you’ll get your first companion. Once you finish off the planet you’ll go to your space station hub. As soon as you walk on to the hub, if you are level 10 you will immediately see a quest giver who will tell you to choose your advanced class (AC). You will then go over to your trainer and make your choice. If you’re not level 10 you may wish to remain on your starting planet until you are. At this level you’re ready for your first Flashpoint as well. Make sure to do…
Star Wars: The Old Republic engages buyers
What is all the hype of SWTOR all about anyway? We already know that there are a select group of Star Wars fans who have been waiting forever for this game and there will be some SWG crossovers (those who are not blacklisting it) but still, that leaves a massive interest in the game. Where is it coming from? A story on UK’s Gaming Entertainment explains how SWTOR engages buyers, which is one reason they believe it is so popular. A snippet: We are under no illusion that sales will be that of MW3, but we have been surprised at just how much attention SWTOR is having on gamers. According to this source The Old Republic has now made it to the number one position for pre-orders, which is said to be more than 180,000 more than its closest rival. So what are their reasons for why SWTOR is getting…
Sith Juggernaut Action
Here are two videos showing some Sith Juggernaut Action. In the first video, the player wanderes around Tatooine, and also play some Voidstar PVP. The second video shows some duels and some more Voidstar action. Check them out below, and remember to view them in at least 720p if you want to read the on screen text.
SWTOR in the top five best selling pre orders
EA Inc.’s Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition for the PC held in the top five best-selling pre-order products at Best Buy Co. Inc.’s online division this week due to high demand, reports Punch Jump, but then that’s not really a surprise to us here at all. This week it ranked #5 for best-selling pre-orders but I’m willing to bet the closer we get to the December 20 launch, the higher it will climb up that pre-order list. In fact, due to the massive beta testing weekend they just launched, I’m willing to bet a lot more people who have not pre-ordered yet will jump on the bandwagon to do so now that they get to check the game out for themselves. SWTOR is popular but it’s also not cheap. For some gamers, they need to try it themselves before they fork out that kind of cash on a…
Intergalctic Intel: Sith Warrior
Intergalactic Intel: Sith Warrior My brother had an unusual sense of pride that should have been mine.“They loved it.” “They hated it.” We were both right.“What because some people don’t understand that the defintion of stealth doesn’t mean going invisible? Would they prefer you used the word…surreptitiousness?”“You just looked that up on thesaurus.com!” “Don’t let it get to you. You have 6 more classes to do.”“5.” I corrected him. “Sith Warrior comes out this week.” Welcome back to Intergalactic Intel. As always remember to take this with a truck load of salt, as this is still beta and much can change from now till release. Also remember these reviews are from levels 1-16, so the classes aren’t fully fleshed out as a whole yet. Without further ado, The Sith Warrior. Story: As the Sith Warrior you start on the Sith Home planet of Korriban. Home to the Sith Academy, a…
Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs Trooper
as if beta for everyone wasn’t enough of a news update this Friday, BioWare also gave us a new instalment of the “choose your side” series. IN this one, the Republic Trooper takes on the Sith Inquisitor. As last time, ome of the games developers give their two cents on which class they believe will come out on top. In the new video series “Choose Your Side,” members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team plead their cases, highlighting some of the many skills and abilities that set each class apart from the rest. In the second video of the four-part series, two of the most iconic classes in the Star Wars™ universe face off as the Force-wielding Sith Inquisitor ambushes the stalwart Republic Troope
Beta Weekend for Everyone! What?
Notifications were zooming in to me from friends, family, Tweeters and more that they have all received notifications for SWTOR beta weekend THIS weekend. No one seemed to know what was going on. Was it real? Was it another mistake? Then SWTOR/BioWare posted this on their news page: When we started our Beta Testing Weekends, we told you that each weekend would include more testers than the last. We’re excited to announce that later this month we will be conducting our largest Beta Testing Weekend yet, specifically designed to help us stress test our servers in preparation for the launch of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. How can you take part in this coming Beta Test Weekend? Well, for starters we are happy to announce that anyone who has signed up for our Game Testing Program prior to today, November 11th, will get invited! Invites will be sent in the…
More Beta video impressions
Yesterday MightyMonkeysGaming was host of so many cool beta videos that was so cool. But Yesterday All my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay…Or are they? Were MightyMonkeysGaming chickened out, Mobility-Gaming E-Sports takes over. So today I have the honor of sending over a new bunch of beta videos. Enjoy!
The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
For the super SWTOR fans, there is a new book coming out that you’re going to want to add to your wishlist. The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic is set for publication for November 16, 2011. It’s set on Amazon at $26.40 with a retail price of $40 so buying early at the lower price might save you money. About the Author: Frank Parisi is an editor at Lucasfilm, Ltd. He was the co-author of The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, editor of Star Wars Insider magazine, project editor of The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and has contributed numerous articles to GamePro and ALARM magazines. Daniel Erickson is writing director for BioWare’s Austin, Texas studio. He began his gaming career as an intern with Next Generation magazine and is currently lead writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Book…
SWTOR Strategies Google+ Page
Are you on Google+? Looking for a new way to follow us and get your favorite SWTOR strategies, news and updates in one place? We know how important it is to get what you want where you want it and some people just aren’t into Twitter and Facebook. Now that Google+ is offering businesses pages (similar to fanpages on Facebook), we have created one as one more way to bring you great SWTOR and Star Wars related news and updates. So head on over to SWTOR Strategies on Google + and show us some love, share us and tell your friends.
