A long sneak peek from the beta has just been published. A lot of the video is normal questing with some strange breaks where the player stands still for awhile and you see in the chat box that the Ambiance is turning On and Off multiple times. Animations and graphics look great. Running (which if I remember was previously reported to be clunky?) looks good and the combat is smooth. Some polish needed for some of the quest conversations. Animations and set pieces don’t line up sometimes and it defiantly breaks the immersion. I assume this will be addressed and corrected so don’t hold it against BW.
Sith Inquisitor Class Details Released
Yesterdays update to the Star Wars: The Old Republic site is the full reveal of the Sith Inquisitor class. Sith are not shy about their conquest for power and few pursue that goal as aggressively as the Sith Inquisitor. In this week’s update from BioWare, the Sith Inquisitor shows the limitless power that the Force can offer to those who aggressively pursue it. Check out this week’s new video and update to learn more about the Sith Inquisitor, their ships and the sleeping monster and devourer of Jedi known as Khem Val. Inquisitors, the dark geniuses of the Empire, are masters of treachery and dark Force power. Feared as much on the battlefield as they are by prisoners and political enemies, they will stop at nothing to earn themselves more power. The paths to power are many, though. Is your Inquisitor an Assassin, striking down enemies from the shadows with…
New Facebook Image
BioWare reached an incredible milestone today, as the facebook page for Star Wars: The old Republic reached 300.000 likes. This is very impressing since the game is not even out yet. To celebrate and to show their appreciation, BioWare have posted a new screenshot of a Sith Assassin preparing himself for a fight by readying his double-bladed Lightsaber.
The Guild Sphere: A quick overview
Today on The Guild Sphere, I thought it would be great to do a small over view of all of the guilds we have featured so far. And after putting everything together began to notice we have featured a rather large range of guilds, from PvP-centric Sith, to RP Republic, and I would like to take the time to thank them all again for taking the time to answer my questions. The Republic Knights who say ni The Knights Who Say Ni has been around for a 4 years now; KWSNi is a multi-game guild which includes plenty of experienced gamers. We’re on a mission to recruit new members and play The Old Republic with style. Browncoats “Tell you, we get a mechanic, get her up and runnin’ again, hire a good pilot, maybe a cook. Live like real people. Small crew, them as feel the need to be free,…
Facebook Image Of The Week #12
We have reached the middle day of the week and BioWare have shared another SWTOR ingame screenshot. This time the description goes like this: The Empire has eyes everywhere – secret surveillance stations show up in the most unlikely places. If your not already doing so, you can follow SWTOR on Facebook here. Also please remember to follow our own little page here.
The Next 12 Months is Super Important to EA
The next 12 months will prove to be very important to Electronic Arts (EA). While they had many things to be happy about in their recent company earnings call, they will also be held accountable over the next year to many predictions and investments. Gamasutra reports that the next 12 months could make or break EA. There are a lot of things working in the favor of EA but it’s too soon to start celebrating victories. While their revenues and earnings per share were higher than expected, and they reported a shift to a more aggressive stance at several fronts, there is still room for things to go wrong over the next fiscal year. CEO John Riccitiello said, “We’re shifting to offense and running plays no other company can,” which is a big promise they have to hope they can hold up to. They are going in…
New Comic – Star Wars: The Old Republic The Lost Suns
Dark Horse Comics has a new Star Wars: The Old Republic comic, The Lost Suns, coming out June 8, 2011. Alexander Freed plugged it on the SWTOR forums recently: (If you’re curious, you can get a peak inside the SIS in the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns comic, which features a Republic spy as its lead. The SIS isn’t the focus of the story, but it has a role to play. Here ends my plug. ) Alexander Freed, senior writer of SWTOR, is the comic writer as well so we can expect good things from The Lost Sons. Dark Horse says the story, ““…intertwines with the narrative of the game, revealing secrets players will find nowhere else.” That’s exciting news for SWTOR fans and just Star Wars fans in general. Freed explains in his forum posts about the Strategic Information Service (SIS): In SWTOR, the…
Could a Mass Effect MMO top The Old Republic?
Could a Mass Effect MMO beat out TOR when it comes to profits? In a recent investor’s note, Mike Hickey predicted that a hypothetical Mass Effect MMO could make more money for Electronic Arts than Star Wars: The Old Republic will. But is this really shocking news? First, the ME franchise has done really well for EA and there is a historical weakness surrounding Star Wars games, which is part of what Hickey made his predictions based on. This is due in part to the fact that royalties have to be paid on all Lucas Arts titles and themes. Hickey said, “Looking forward, we believe BioWare could develop an MMO based on their highly successful Mass Effect franchise, which should have a considerably better (relative Star Wars MMO) margin profile, given the dilutive nature of the LucasArts royalty.” But of course, there is more that goes into making a great…
The Guild Sphere: It’s A Trap
This week I sat down with another Sith guild, It’s A Trap, a PvE focused guild with some added PvP for some extra fun. Where did your guilds name come from? My love of Admiral Ackbar Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? We are a casual but progressive guild who hope to have fun and enjoy all the Star Wars Universe has to offer. How did your guild come about? Formed it as soon as we could to start recruiting What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP? PvE, some PvP if there is interest. What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild? We have a few officers, and a very strict no drama policy How serious do you play and/or run the guild? Casual, but plan to spend a lot of time in-game Do you…
Star Wars Vs. The Royal Wedding
Two huge events happened in the world a couple of weeks back: first off, and most importantly, LucasFilm announced the details of the forthcoming Star Wars complete saga blu-ray release to predictable fanfare (and the even more predictable dissent from some circles). And then there was the piffling matter of the wedding of the UK’s own monarch in waiting Prince William to his commoner beloved Kate Middleton. At one point, as the celebrations neared, and the hysteria that spread across the world reached a crescendo, you couldn’t get moved for garish merchandise, swaths of Union Jacks and all manner of useless tat with the faces of the future King and his bride plastered all over it. So it was only a matter of time until someone brought together the Royal Wedding, and the most famous cross-cultural works of art, like Star Wars for instance. See that? Full circle, almost effortlessly……
Know Your Lore: Tott Doneeta
Tott Doneeta, also known as Tottdon’eeta, was a Twi’lek Jedi Knight who was an apprentice to Master Arca Jeth, together with his Jedi brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, on Arkania. He assisted in ending the crisis on Iziz and fought in the Great Sith War. He was a competent pilot, and learned to fly one of the Beast Rider’s war beasts. Doneeta was present at both the Jedi Convocation on Exis Station and the Convocation at Mount Meru. Tott Doneeta was also present when his Jedi brother Ulic fell to the Dark Side, and the subsequent action of Nomi Sunrider’s robbing Ulic of the Force. Later, he saved Vima Sunrider by grappling onto her escape pod as it drifted towards a star, due to his delayed arrival at the latter Convocation. Later in life, he attempted to help Cathar Jedi Sylvar free herself from her anger; however, he realized he…
Star Wars: The Old Republic Introduces the Codex
This week BioWare’s Principal Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert introduced the Codex. If you’ve played some of BioWare’s other projects like Dragon Age or Mass Effect, you’re probably familiar with the Codex system, which allows players to discover key bits of lore throughout the game by exploring or accomplishing different tasks. This story can help enhance the lore of the world or offer additional narrative to a player’s chosen profession. This feature isn’t just about being another way to deliver story to the player. As Lead Systems Designer, I’m mostly concerned about bringing the fun. Delivering story and context isn’t enough for me – I also want to be sure that we add new activities for players to do and goals for him to achieve. In particular, we saw the codex as a way to reward exploration Here are some more of the highlights: The team had two design goals:…
Star Wars: The Old Republic development cost Could Exceed $80 Million
According to Wedbush Securities analyst – Michael Pachter, the development costs of Star Wars: The Old Republic, could exceed $80 million, especially if you factor in all the marketing and distribution costs. “The contribution from the Star Wars MMO is significant. Under the terms of its deal with LucasArts, EA is required to pay a royalty, but was required to front all of the development, marketing and distribution costs, as well as the costs of building out servers for the game. We estimate that LucasArts’ share is 33% of revenues, AFTER EA recoups its investment in game development. Given that the game was in development for over four years, with an estimated 200 full-time developers working on it, we estimate that EA’s investment exceeds $80 million,” EA has mentioned that it doesn’t need a whole lot of subscribes to make all that profit back and by having about 500,000 subscribers…
SWTOUR PvP Impressions
The SWTOUR PvP news broke yesterday and there are so many great, exciting stories that it’s hard to know where to begin. Here’s a recap of the top breaking stories that came out today about the PvP experience from SWTOUR. Mos Eisley Radio New article posted by Evan Lewis on the site. He discusses his PvP experience while at SWTOUR. Evan says himself, “As I have stated many times over, I am NOT a PvP kinda guy. At least, I wasn’t.” His write-up gives a good comparison of PvP in World of Warcraft and SW:TOR. He goes on to say: “Now, while I can’t comment on the world-PvP aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic, I can certainly say that the organized PvP portions, the Warzones, are such an improvement over what has been featured in previous games that I am now a PvP fan.” MMORPG.com Star Wars: The Old…
The Guild Sphere: The Sons of Light
This week I sat down with one of the admissions officials with the Sons of Light, a republic RP guild guild focusing on PvE and some PvP Where did your guilds name come from? Our former leader, who has since left, chose the name for our guild back in July of 2010 when the Sons of Light was first formed. Our name reflects our dedication to what is true, righteous and honorable. Our motto “Dum Vita Est Spes Est” meaning “While there is Life there is Hope” is a constant remainder of the principles we will uphold in game play. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? The Sons of Light is a heavily community-based Republic guild that holds our individuals above everything else. We are continuously forming new outlets for our members to exercise their talents and leadership abilities as we wait for the…
Hundar Presents Old Republic’s Daniel Ericson
And a great new format for YouTube videos/interviews… Here is an awesome video interview with Daniel Erickson from Hundar. In this format, you can choose the questions and you can skip right to the answers you want to see the most. The video covers a variety of topics, including: TOR Dev Team A Love Letter to Star Wars Dragon Age? Party Comp Class Rivalries Release Date? Good vs Evil Player Choices Working with EA BioWare in Austin Class Balance The Dark Side Kill Your Companions KOTOR Answers Some highlights from the video interview include: You don’t have to have played KOTOR to understand TOR but there will be unanswered questions for previous KOTOR players that are answered in TOR, bringing some closure to the story and tying it all in neatly for the timeline. All of the questions about all of the major characters of KOTOR will be covered but…
Free comic book day is coming
Free Comic Book Day is a single day that happens each year on the first Saturday of May. On this day, participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores! How cool is that! You should check with your local comic book shop for their participation and rules. Free Comic Book Day in L.A. with have Geoff Johns, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola, Steve Niles signings The Core in Cedar Falls is celebrating their 10th year of the event. Owner Mike Blanchard will donate $400 worth of graphic novels to the school best represented at his shop Saturday. The Bay City Times -On free comic day, Cashman’s Comics will have 100 Green Lantern HeroClix game pieces to give away. What is your area comic book store doing? There’s also a Free Comic Book Day app available…
How Much Storyline will SWTOR Have?
Here’s an interesting topic for SWTOR fans, especially those who also played KOTOR. Daniel Erickson speaks out on the forums about the length of the chapters for the classes of SWTOR. This was mentioned briefly in the interviews from the fan site summit and left many of us confused about what it actually meant. First, you have to understand what BioWare mean when they talk about “length” of the game, as this can be defined in different ways. Erickson says, “The whole critical path of the game is the length. The walking, the combat, the travel on your ship, world quests, everything you’d have to do to come out the other end the right level. When we say the story of Chapter 1 is X long we do not mean if you somehow took all the conversations and ran them together.” He goes on to clarify: “So all the content…
Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012
Interesting news for Mass Effect fans today. BioWare says that Mass Effect 3 will need to wait a little longer to be ready for release. While it was a much anticipated release for fourth-quarter, they have now announced that it will be bumped up to the first three months of 2012 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. So no ME3 for Christmas guys, sorry. Could this delay have anything to do with the push of SWTOR MMO and the attempts and expectations to get it out before the end of 2011? It’s quite possible as it’s apparent that BioWare is putting most of their eggs in the Star Wars basket. However, another thing to remember is that pushing up the release date on Mass Effect 3 will put it right in the same timeline as the release of Mass Effect 2 in January 2010, bringing the 3rd installment…
SWTOR Beta testing to hit Europe
According to a report by fansite, ToRWars.com, SWTOR beta testing will soon be on its way to Europe. They report getting an email with the headline: “Prepare for European game testing!” Well, that’s about as simple as it gets, right? The email goes on to clarify: Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will soon begin a new round of game testing in Europe. Want to be a part of BioWare’s most anticipated game ever? Sign up at swtor.com/tester. So there you go. If you’re reading this from Europe, it’s time to go sign up for the beta. Remember that you need to be 18 years of age and you have to accept the Game Testing agreement. You also have to complete the Game Testing registration process. If you haven’t yet signed up for beta testing and you live in Europe, now would be a good time to do so. No word…
No Addons for SWTOR at launch
It’s been asked before, back when we were discussing the SWTOR UI and now it’s been officially stated by BioWare, there will be no addons for SWTOR at launch. Georg Zoeller popped into the forums to clear up confusion on the matter, stating: “What we’ve said is, regarding the question ‘Will there be addons at launch’ is “no, not at launch”. This statement indicates nothing more than that there will not be addons at launch. Nothing more, nothing less.” So there you have it, the official word on addons at launch. So as a gamer, this brings up some interesting questions for me. I wonder what features that could be potential addons will make it into the initial launch of the game. As a long time WoW player (since beta), I saw many addons eventually become implemented into the UI itself. Scrolling combat text was an early one and quest…
Electronic Arts Q4 Earnings Live Blog
Electronic Arts Q4 Earnings Live Blog. At 2:00PM PDT (5:00PM EDT) today, Electronics Arts gave their quarterly call for investors to report results. I joined the call as a member of the media and got the inside scoop on what’s happening with EA. There was a lot of great info in this call so I’m bringing you the highlights right here. First, they reaffirmed that Star Wars: The Old Republic will ship in CY 2011. Additionally: Star Wars: The Old Republic will be launched as a Digital Service. Subscription revenue expected to rise with the launch of SWTOR. SWTOR was mentioned as a Subscription based MMO Over 1 million testers (signed up) Server infrastructure for Star Wars: The Old Republic is a significant FY12 cost investment. There was also an interesting Q&A involving SWTOR: Question: On the beta test for SWTOR, how long can a test like that last before…
Facebook Image Of The Week #11
BioWare released a new screenshot on their Facebook page for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This time it reads: After a catastrophic systems failure on Tatooine, these Imperial troops must find another way to transport their prisoners securely off-world. May the Fourth be with you!
Snark Wars: The Most Sarcastic Star Wars Animation Ever
This being May the Fourth, it was always going to be a big day for Star Wars, and as well as that great big announcement that threatened to break the entire internet earlier on today, some new stuff did indeed appear. One of my favourites, which I literally stumbled across on YouTube, is this sarcasm heavy, snarky MS Paint animation that offers a heavily abridged, but actually very funny version of Star Wars VI: A New Hope. Watch below, I think you’ll agree that the sarcasm is strong in this one. Congratulations MechOrangeStudios, you’ve just passed Sarcasm 101.
