The first reviews of Paul S. Kemp’s upcomming book Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived is starting to show up on Amazon. It’s interesting that so many people already read the book considering the considering the release have been moved to March 22, 2011. One have to wonder if it has be planted or it is a real honest review. Anyways. Anyways. Here it is: First of all, let me say that my biggest peeve with Star Wars novels is that too many authors seem content to fill their books with ridiculous plot devices, endless battle scenes, and shallow characters. I’ve had enough of superweapons – after all, we all know the good guys defeat them. Unfortunately, I thought Sean Williams’ Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, the first in the Old Republic series, exemplifies these problems. As such, I admit I approached Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived with…
New SWTOR Video interviews from G4TV
G4TV have added two new Star wars the old republic video interview to their library. The first one is with Daniel Erickson in witch he explains the gathering, crafting, and mission components that make up crew skills. There is not much new information coming from Mr. Erickson in this interview, although he mentions some race/class combos. The Second interview is with BioWare Co-Founder Dr. Ray Muzyka. This interview is more or less the same as the one gamespot did, but have some information on Dragon age 2 also. Check em both below: Video Description: Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the largest Star Wars game ever and will feature PvP. Morgan Webb here visits with BioWare Lead Writer Daniel Erickson for a look at Gathering, Crafting, and Missions, and the Warzones these battles will take place in. Video Description: BioWare Co-Founder Dr. Ray Muzyka could have coasted along for…
Star Wars Rarities: The Muppet Show featuring Luke Skywalker
From 1980, this episode of the Muppet Show starred Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. It starts off with scheduled guest Angus the Argyle Gargoyle getting ready to go on the air. But suddenly Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO crash into the studio, in search of Chewbacca the Wookiee, who was kidnapped, and since nobody liked Angus, they replaced his guest spot with the stars of Star Wars. Luke isn’t really interested in hosting the show, so he calls in his ‘cousin’ Mark Hamill to help out. Mark does the necessary song-and-dance parts, until Luke Skywalker and the droids hijack the Swine Trek. After the Swine Trek makes a smooth landing, Luke and the Droids are captured by Derth Nader, and Chewbacca the Wookiee comes to the rescue. It’s amazing. When I watch this, I become a kid again. I can see my parents next to me on our old couch,…
Gamebreaker SWTOR Video Blog #19
Gamebreaker.tv and Gary Gannon released Episode 19 of The Repulic, the SWTOR Vlog on Gamebreaker. As usual the 2 guys are covering the recent updates on the holonet, like last week’s Crew Skills update, as well as the renaming of the formerly known Jedi Wizard to Jedi Sage. They also feature the Hands on Preview of the german magazine Gamestar, that made huge waves last week as they were critizising the game’s core features.
Massively’s 2010 Player’s Choice Awards – VOTE SWTOR!
A few days ago we asked you to vote for Star Wars: The old Republic in the annual Reader’s Choice award over at MMORPG:com. Today Massively have posted the list of nominees for their Player’s Choice Awards as well, and not surprisingly our all time favourite upcoming mmorpg SWTOR is nominated. As we approach the end of 2010 (yes, already), we look back at not only an interesting year for MMOs, but also an amazing decade for such a young genre. We’ve had our highs and lows since last year’s awards, including the now-hilarious choice of APB as Most Anticipated for 2010 by the Massively staff. This year we have a new survey format, new categories and new nominees. We also have a new title, changing it from Reader’s Choice to Player’s Choice, to reflect the fact that you don’t necessarily need to be a Massively reader to vote. This…
How Stuff Works: Lightsabers
The lightsaber (less formally, the laser sword) was more than just the distinctive weapon of the Jedi, it was a segment of the order’s history and its ultimate symbol for millennia. There could be no Jedi without a lightsaber and no lightsaber without a Jedi in the eyes of galactic denizens. Over the years, it came to be associated with gallantry and elegance otherwise lost in an age of blasters. Jedi traditionally constructed their own lightsaber as part of their training. To carry a lightsaber was an example of incredible skill and confidence, dexterity and attuning to the Force. Since its plasma blade was essentially weightless, the weapon produced a gyroscopic effect, and so it was very difficult to handle safely. Yet this made the weapon ideal for force-sensitive users who’s ability to predict the various energy pulsations through the force allowed him or her to compensate for them. They…
May the schwartz be with you: Slave Leia is bringing sexy back
Back in april we did a post about Slave Leia Charity Car Wash. The Post did really well on DIGG and was featured in DiggNation. It also gave us a huge amount of complaints from some of readers though. Angry nerds telling us that the Slave Leia’s costume is overexposed, Portraying Slave Leia demeans her character, Most Slave Leia models aren’t portraying Slave Leia, Slave Leia is about attention, not cosplay and bla bla bla. Well… Here at swtorstrategies, we like slave Leia. We even admit to have dirty fantasies about her. So in honor of that we bring you 25 damn hot sexy slave Leia drawing. [Edit: The US government asked us to remove 10 pictures, or we would be prosecuted for rape in Sweden] By J. Scott Campbell By Lu ? By Alexis P. Millan By Gelatomettista By J. Scott Campbell By Laurie B By Jessasketch by *jasinmartin By Scott Zmbelli By mainasha
Daniel Erickson & Gabe Amatangelo Interview by Game Revolution
Game Revolution Posted an interview with Daniel Erickson and Gabe Amatangelo the other day. The interview don’t bring anything new to the table, but it is still worth a watch – at least you get to check out this chick Alex and Mr. Erickson’s very benevolent arm resting behind her ( Hope you got her home safe buddy). Some small notes: Purple items mentioned (in regards to Treasure Hunting crits). “No crafting in PvP”. PvP is: “players fighting other players” (groundbreaking!) Philosophy to always be able to progress your character being described as “Multi-path playing” (through PvP, PvE, Space Combat etc).
Know your Lore: Atris
Atris was a female Jedi Master and Jedi historian who sat on the Jedi High Council during both the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War. She viewed the Jedi Order as a symbol of light, justice, and perfection. All this changed, however, when the Jedi Exile defied the council and participated in the Mandalorian Wars alongside Revan and Malak. Having one whom she cared about defy everything she believed in shook Atris to her very core. During the First Jedi Purge, Atris arranged a Jedi conclave on Katarr in the hope of drawing out the Sith. The plan failed, and many Jedi died. She went into seclusion, surrounding herself with those who could not feel the Force. Influenced by Sith holocrons she had been collecting, Atris gradually fell to the dark side. She was eventually confronted by the Jedi Exile, and after a heated lightsaber duel, Atris was defeated. The…
Remember to vote for Star Wars: The Old Republic!
As the end of 2010 quickly approaches, it’s time for the annual Reader’s Choice awards over at MMORPG.com. Currently they are asking for your input as to what game(s) currently in development that you are most looking forward to playing. Check out the nominees and then cast your vote for Most 2010 Awards: Most Anticipated: It’s that time of year again, as the holidays approach and our thoughts turn to snow and peace and love and what’s that other thing… right, gifts. Hey, it’s tradition and tradition is important. Speaking of tradition, it’s time to kick off the voting for the annual MMORPG.com reader’s choice awards. You know the drill, we give you a bunch of nominees in our specially selected categories and you vote and in the name of good fun, argue about your choices until a winner is declared in early 2011. This year, our categories are: Game…
Friday Update: Closer Look at Crew Skills
Game Systems Designer Patrick Malott talks about the Crew Skill system and reveals another crafting skill (though the systems page hasn’t been updated yet): Armstech. Here’s the blog: Introduction I’m Patrick Malott. I’ve worked as a Game Systems Designer on various titles over the years, but what we’re working on here at BioWare Austin is my dream project: Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. In my current role, designing and building out the Crew Skills system is one of the biggest projects I’m involved in. As a passionate multiplayer online gamer myself, I know that crafting is a critical part of the experience for many of you, and I’m dedicated to making sure you enjoy the way it works in The Old Republic. In this blog, I want to shed some light on the design decisions we’re making with Crew Skills… and I might just drop a few new specifics on the Armstech crafting…
Friday Update: Goodbye old Wizard… Hello Sage
The Jedi Wizard has officially been renamed. Here’s the official news: A few weeks ago, we asked the community to help us rename the Jedi Wizard advanced class. Thousands of votes and many posts full of lively debate later, the polls have closed, and we have a clear winner! Without further ado: The new name for the Jedi Wizard is… Jedi Sage! Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting process. Your feedback is always important to us, so please join us on the forums and let us know what you think about the game. – The Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team For anyone who’s been following the official poll(s) (even if just looking at them once since they were posted) it shouldn’t come as a surprise that “Jedi Sage” came out the winner. Even so I’m glad that we’re rid of the “Wizard” name and will enjoy playing…
May the schwartz be with you: More Star Wars Pin-ups
Back in April we gave you the pleasure of the Empire Pin-ups. Since then we have discovered another artist : Morten Moeslund ( A Dane like me 🙂 ) who have made a serie of Star wars Pin-ups that makes me want to visit a galaxy far far away with some laser condoms… Bastila Shan Deena Shan Fem Trooper Imperia Officer Jaina Solo Jan Ors Juno Eclipse Unknown Jedi Mara Jade Mara Jade Mira from Kotorll Padmé Amidala Unknown Sith TieFighter Pilot X-Wing Pilot
Activision Blizzard CEO Not Worried About The Old Republic Competing with WoW
Due to the commitment that the fanbase of World of Warcraft shows Kotick isn’t overly worried about the kind of impact that Bioware’s Star Wars: The old republic will have on those playing WOW. Kotick said: “””I can’t say that we’re hugely concerned about that… the audience for World of Warcraft is a pretty committed group of players.”” As of Blizzard’s latest numbers, WoW boasts over 12 million players. The release of the third expansion, Cataclysm, to the 6 year old MMO next week is expected to draw many old players back to resubscribe, as well as many new players who might want to finally see Azeroth for themselves. WoW may see a huge bump in subscription numbers, possible to 13 or even 14 million. The track record for previous WoW-killers like Age of Conan and Warhammer Online would support Kotick’s faith in his flagship MMO property. Wow subscribers aren’t…
Gamespot interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka
Gamespot had the chance to do an interview with BioWare’s Ray Muzyka at this years EA Winter Showcase. The interview is mostly about how the game is shaping up, but there is an interesting part about the recent announcement on EA being named the sole publisher of the game. Aparently this haven’t changed the development process of the game, and with EA focusing on worldwide publishing, Lucasarts can concentrate on adding ideas to the game and help out with the marketing end of it.
Wednesday Review: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 2: Flashpoint
As Zayne Carrick and his allies continue their run from the Jedi and Republic pursuing them, things take a turn for the worse as they happen to find themselves on a planet being attacked by Mandalorians – and to make things worse, Jarael is captured by the brutal warriors, taken to a nightmarish experimenting facility. Zayne knows he must save the Arkanian woman, but the task will be far from easy, as he will have to venture into the very territory of the Mandalorians to find her. Knights of the Old Republic Volume 2: Flashpoint does a great job of both flowing well with the last volume and being a different enough story that it doesn’t feel like we’re just following strictly the story of Zayne – Padawan fugitive. We’re seeing the development of other characters and storylines, too – even the antagonists such as Lucian Draay. He gets a…
GameStar Magazine – skeptical about SWTOR – Stephen Reid Addresses
German Fansite We Don’t Serve Droids Took the time to do a translation of German GameStar Magazine Latest Star Wars the old republic article (GameStar XL (01/2011) and GameStar MMO Magazin (Dez 2010)) You can read the full transcript here The first article written by Petra Schmitz is the more skeptical one. They are actually two articles grouped in one big preview about SWTOR. In the first part she predicts that SWTOR will have big financial difficulties, because of the big money invested, and the needed number of players over certain time just to return the investment – the whole thing looks impossible to achieve. But I’m not worried about that part. The most important second part of the interview had some good and bad news about the game Quests According to them the story is great, the dialogs too due to the voice-over and the cinematic experience. Although they…
The Old Republic Release Date Update
Star Wars: The Old Republic won’t be arriving until sometime in EA’s 2012 fiscal year according to a recent report from Gamasutra. According to the report, EA CFO Eric Brown went on the record for the first time about the targeted release timeframe for SWTOR at the Credit Suisse 2010 Technology Conference. The initial targeted release was set to be spring of 2011 according to a post made in January by former SWTOR CM Sean “Ashen Temper” Dahlberg. EA’s 2012 fiscal year starts in April of 2011: “While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.” Spring of 2011 does fall within EA‘s 2012 fiscal year, if at only the beginning of it. As always, we’ll keep you updated as we hear more.
Gamebreaker SWTOR Video Blog #18
In the latest Gamebreaker episode, Gary Gannon and Jay Hegard are dissecting SWTOR’s latest Inhabitant Update and Damion Schubert’s responses to the World Chat and the Survey.
May the schwartz be with you: Lando is the man!
As we’ve probably said in the past we get sent a lot of videos here at swtorstrategies. Many of them are, shall we say, not worthy of sharing with you. Some, however, demand attention and need to be shared. Blackstar Warrior is one of those. This morning I noticed a headline which spoke of a Lando Calrissian-centered blaxploitation film, “Blackstar Warrior.”” Of course I clicked. How could I not? The trailer I discovered there — which apparently screened at San Diego Comic-Con back this summer — stars Leonard Roberts in the role made famous by Billy Dee Williams. I immediately recognized Roberts’ smirk from “Heroes” (he was phase-shifter D.L.), but some might also know him from an arc he had on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I recognize the Han Solo actor, but I can’t recall his name. Lando Calrissian is the baddest mother in space in this blaxploitation-style trailer for…
Playable Species of SW:TOR – Zabrak
Zabraks were a humanoid species born with vestigal horns native to Iridonia. They were born with vestigal horns and well-developed mental willpower. The species was divided into a number of different races, each exhibiting different horn patterns. Zabrak were also fond of intricate facial tattoos designed to reflect their individual personalities. The Zabrak were one of the earliest spacefaring species in the Galaxy. Their homeworld of Iridonia was a frighteningly harsh planet, which led many Zabrak to settle on other worlds, including Talus and Corellia. The Zabrak also maintained eight colonies throughout the Mid Rim region of space, and most Zabrak identified themselves by their colony first and foremost. Most Zabrak spoke both their native tongue Zabraki and Galactic Basic. Agen Kolar spoke in a “gentle Zabrak baritone,” suggesting that that vocal trait was common among the Zabraks. Physiology Zabrak resembled Humans to some degree, but had a number of…
How Stuff Works: Mass Shadow Generator
The Mass Shadow Generator was a superweapon used in the Battle of Malachor V. It was created by the Zabrak tech specialist Bao-Dur, under orders from the Jedi Knight Revan, in the year 3,960 BBY. The weapon was the centerpiece of a trap with which Revan hoped to bring about a conclusive end to the Mandalorian Wars. Overseeing the device’s use was a Jedi General (later known as the Jedi Exile). Revan lured the Mandalorians to Malachor and a massive fleet battle ensued in orbit. During the fighting, his loyal general commanded Bao-Dur to activate the secret weapon with a single, silent nod. Moments later, a significant portion of both fleets were suddenly drawn from orbit into a vast gravity vortex that was powerful enough to crush the countless ships into the planet’s crust and fracture Malachor V to its very core. In 3,951 BBY, the The Mass Shadow Generator was activated…
Know your Lore: Bao-Dur
Bao-Dur was a Zabrak cyborg from Iridonia who served under the Jedi Exile during the Mandalorian Wars. He was a skilled inventor and was responsible for the design and construction of the Mass Shadow Generator. Years after the war he helped the Exile in stopping the echo in the Force caused by the Mass Shadow Generator. Wherever he went he was accompanied by a small, spherical remote which he built as a child. Biography During the war Bao-Dur was a technician who fought under the Jedi Exile; years after the conflict was over he still referred to the Exile as “General.” Bao-Dur was the inventor of many new weapons, shields and other accessories. One of these included a new mechanical arm able to replace the one he lost in the Battle of Malachor V. This new cybernetic appendage was incredibly strong, and made Bao-Dur a formidable opponent in a fight….
Friday Update: New Inhabitants on the HoloNet
BioWare added five new entries to the “Inhabitants” section of the HoloNet; two creatures, a humanoid species, and two droids. Here is the official news: Details on five new galactic inhabitants are now available on the HoloNet! Read up on the dangerous Terentatek and Vine Cat – you don’t want to go up against these creatures unprepared. Also, find information on the legacy of the red-skinned Sith Pureblood, descendants of the original Sith species. And don’t forget about the droids! You’ll find data about the M3-M1 Medical Droid and the S3-F5 Inclement Condition Probe. The galaxy is full of fascinating occupants, so make sure to check the Inhabitants holorecords frequently for new updates! Because it might be a bit tricky to find the new entries among the ones that were already there, let me list the links to the new entries here: Terentatek Vine Cat Sith Pureblood M3-M1 Medical…