There’s a new Star Wars game on its way and we’re not talking about SWTOR! *gasp* Fleet Commander challenges you to forget everything you ever knew about Star Wars games and discover a completely new approach. This game, developed by Arthur Nishimoto, a student at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has a lot to offer that big gaming companies can learn from. The game was initially designed in 2009 as a space strategy game. It was simple but of good quality and then evolved into a multiplayer project available for TacTile touch-screen display. Since it is not a commercial product, it could use Star Wars ships and even sound effects. Kotaku says, “It’s the best Star Wars game we’ve seen in a long time.” There is a 2010 version of the game available for you to see on YouTube. It looks pretty darn good…
The Guild Sphere: Indignation
A week ago I had a chance to talk to some of the leadership of Indignation, some serious hardcore PvP Republicans. Check it out below. Where did your guilds name come from? Is there a better guild name than Indignation? I didn’t think so, either. Think of us as the resistance. Our name comes from our love of justice. But be warned, even justice can get carried away! Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? We’re a slightly new PvP loving group of mature individuals who have come together to form a powerful community. We all have different strengths, and we aim to use each member’s talents to maximize our gaming potential. We want to have fun as we find the center between competitive, social, organized, and simple. How did your guild come about? As I was trolling the forums…. (Just kidding), I was with…
Facebook Image of The Week #20
Another Wednesday another Facebook screen shot from BioWare. Once again we get to see the waist landscape of Tatooine: “Traveling trader camps dot the barren landscapes of Tatooine, offering essential supplies to those who dare to brave the blazing deserts.”
Ex WoW Healer on Healing TOR
I play a healer as my main in WoW. This isn’t a girl-stereotypical thing. Actually, WoW is the only MMORPG where I play healer. I play medic a lot in TF2 but healing in an FPS is totally different. Anyway, since SWTOR is basically the game that is supposed to be my WoW-replacement, you can bet my excitement to find this post by an ex-WoW healer who talks about healing in TOR. The intro says: “I’ve played up to level 19 as a SS (Sith Sorc) and up to 12 as an IO (Imperial Operative). I have not tried Merc yet, which is the only other healing class I haven’t played.” So it sounds like this person had pretty good experience as far as the classes they played. Here you will find a complete, 1500-word post that describes healing in TOR from the perspective of the two classes this reviewer…
Drew Karpyshyn Signing and a Free Revan Mask: SDCC 2011
There’s some more good news coming in from the people at Star Wars Books. If you were already pumped up about San Diego Comic-Con, then you will be happy to hear that Drew Karpyshyn will be there for book signings at the Del Ray Booth as well as at the BioWare Base at the Hilton. I really wish I still lived in San Diego so I could attend. How cool would it be to add this to my collection with my signed comic from Alexander Freed? If you’re going to be at Comic-Con, here’s the info: Drew Karpyshyn, popular author of the STAR WARS: DARTH BANE trilogy of novels, the upcoming novel STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC: REVAN, and the novels based on Bioware’s hit video game MASS EFFECT will be signing books and REVAN masks. Free Revan masks and paperback copies of STAR WARS: DARTH BANE: PATH OF DESTRUCTION…
Knights of the Old Republic: Shadows of Corruption
Here at SWTORStrategies, we love fan-made movies, and today we can share a particularly fine Star Wars related offering from ridiculously talented young film-maker Seaich, who has made a Knights of the Old Republic film called Shadows of Corruption and blown my space boots off in the process. The guy’s younger than 20. How can this be fair? I’m pushing 30 and I’ve never so much as made a cartoon. Not that I’m particularly bothered – it’s far more appealing to hide behind a computer screen and sarcastically comment on other people’s work instead. Anyway, here’s the film: And here’s the official synopsis from the film-maker himself: 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…
Species of Starwars: Sullustan
Sullustans were a species of small humanoids from Sullust. As skilled pilots and navigators, Sullustans, also known as Bomewrights, were common sights for spacers and at busy spaceports. Biology and appearance Standing 1 to 1.5 meters tall, Sullustans live in vast subterranean caverns beneath the surface of their homeworld. Sullust is a volcanic planet, with a harsh atmosphere. The underground caverns teem with small life-forms that the Sullustans hunt for sources of food and clothing. The few predators that wander the planet’s surface rarely venture underground. Sullustans speak a chattering language and are known throughout the galaxy as capable pilots and navigators. Sullustans have perfect direction sense and memory, allowing them to remember the paths they have traveled, and maps they may have seen. This sense is a necessity in the labyrinthine caves of Sullust. The people of Sullust have achieved a high-level of technology, and their underground cities are…
Star Wars Galaxies closure blamed on SWTOR
Would anyone really be surprised to hear that SWTOR shut down Star Wars Galaxies? I mean it’s been the obvious choice for why SWG announced its December shutdown recently. It doesn’t make sense to have two Star Wars MMOs competing with one another. But SWG fans proposed the idea could work and requested SWG be kept alive. Their requests were denied. Now, the reason for the closure of SWG has been officially explained. CEO of Sony Online Entertainment John Smedley spilled the beans with The Escapist on why they are closing the game. “That’s the problem with licenses: they end,” Smedley said. When the game was first launched in 2001, the license was secured for five years, and had to be renegotiated multiple times over the years. “It was time to turn it off. We have a contractual relationship that’s ending in 2012,” Smedley added. He goes on to discuss…
Special Comic-Con SWTOR Playtime [UPDATE]
If you’re going to Comic-Con or just live near the area, this could be your chance to try SWTOR for yourself. This could be your chance to play the first #SWTOR Imperial/Republic Flashpoints even if you don’t have any tickets. David Bass posted on the official SWTOR forums today with details about the opportunity. They will have extended play sessions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at the Hilton for a select group of players. The announcement says “We’ve got a limited number of sessions each night to allow for selected fans to play through the first hour of either the Esseles or Black Talon flashpoints.” How cool is that? Bass explained how it will work: On Tuesday, July 12th, we’ll make a post on the forums with instructions for how to RSVP. You’ll have exactly 24 hours from that post-time to follow the instructions and email us if you’d…
The Guild Sphere: Army of Light
A new week and a new guild. This time Teran from Army of Light took the time to answer a few question about his guild Army of Light . Enjoy! Where did your guilds name come from? As I (Teran) understand, the name Army of Light derives straight from the Star Wars lore. The Army of Light was a military branch of the Republic consisting of troopers and many jedi, who not so much rebelled but went against the council’s orders, who wanted to fight. The back story of the guild comes down to jedi joining the Republic’s Army of Light because they refused to follow the Order’s current leader. This is why we chose ‘Army of Light’ as our name. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? AoL is a well established guild with dedicated and very creative members. We are an ever growing guild…
SWTOR Beta Testers MAY be getting Buddy Keys to invite friends to Beta
Do you have a friend in the SWTOR beta? It’s possible the “friends and family” beta mode may be expanding to friends of friends and family. According to a Tweet by @Kruczinski, beta testers were getting a number of beta keys to share with friends starting today. Of course, Stephen Reid (@Rockjaw) set him straight real quick with a reminder that “any information within Game Testing is under NDA” so he most certainly should not have been Tweeting about it. Anthony then replied to Reid with: “@Rockjaw Unfortunately, I haven’t been invited to any of the Game Testing phases which means I can’t really break any NDA can I?” Some question the authority of his leak since his previous tweet included a racial slur and the latter tweet admitted he was not part of Game testing, therefore, may not actually have any solid information regarding buddy keys or TOR at…
Georg Zoeller to speak about SWTOR at GDC
BioWare’s Georg Zoeller will speak at the Game Developers Conference 2011 about SWTOR. His 60-minute lecture is advertised for a still-determined day and time at GDC but you can bet that TOR fans are excited to hear what he has to say and we’ll be sure to bring you all the juicy info as soon as we have it as well. GDC website says “The talk will show a selection of interesting 2D and 3D visualizations, discuss lessons learned and provide information on how to get started with the topic on your own project.” And: Idea Takeaway: Attendees will learn how BioWare leverages spatial analysis on user generated playtest data to contextualize and better understand user feedback and behavior and how this can be used to rapidly iterate and improve game content. Intended Audience: Attendees should be familiar with the topic of metrics and telemetry in online games. Familiarity with…
Friday Update: Maps
In this weeks friday update Damion Schubert writes a Developer Blog update on Maps. The official forums are in total rage over this update, so if you’re interested in the drama check that out. The article is actually pretty decent, and outlines how much we as players rely on the map. What most players are looking for on their map are missions. We want to ensure players can find all of the cool stuff that our worldbuilders put into the world, so every mission has one or more icons on the map that show you where to go. Moving your mouse over an icon shows you which mission is satisfied in that area, your progress in that mission, and a rough area where mission objectives can be found. FTWBroadcasting also made an awesome video about the update, check it out below:
SWTOR at Comic Con
“It is your destiny to join us!” Comic Con full schedules (first day) are up and people are excited! All the action begins on Thursday, July 21st and there is a SWTOR panel on offer at the event. On the 21st inside the convention at 3:30 pm, Bioware developers will be available to talk about the game (possibly answer questions) and to “debut new gameplay footage.” They’re promising us some surprises and exclusive reveals. Don’t get your hopes up on a release date yet but we are excited to see what new things they are going to reveal at Comic Con. You can bet we’re going to keep you covered here on all (if any) of the breaking SWTOR news to come out of Comic Con. If you’re attending, drop us a line and let us know your favorite parts! And if you’re a big Star Wars fan, there is…
Georg Zoeller Q&A raises some concern about the DPS balancing act among ACs
Interesting conversation was happening in the SWTOR forums today as Georg Zoeller addresses what he said might be a “resurrection of an old topic”. He talks about DPS in relation to classes and the class balance. Zoeller says you might a small amount more damage from a class that does not wear heavy armor but it really isn’t that simple at all because there are so many different variables that go into play when discussing DPS in the game. Zoeller says: “Different DPS specs have different amounts of CC, utility, etc. and that will reflect in their maximum DPS output. There’s consideration about damage being applied over time, ‘bursty’ or ‘not bursty’ damage, critical damage, damage tied to other effects like snares, the fact that damage can interrupt Warzone objectives, damage potential that can be purged or neutralized, the cost of energy/heat/Force/focus to create that damage, the ability to deal…
“…and they told me it’s coming out at Christmas” says SWTOR voice actor Paul Darrow
In an interview with Shadowlocked.com, voice actor Paul Darrow may have leaked information about the release of SWTOR. But don’t start blocking off your schedule for long gaming sessions just yet because I’m not so certain this guy knows much more than the script they handed him to read. In fact, I’m quite certain you (yes, you reading this right now) know more about TOR than this guy. He couldn’t even remember the name of the game: “Actually I’ve just done another one for Lucas, about a month ago. Now what are they calling it…?” Moving along… next Darrow says, “Anyway, I’m a Sith, and they told me it’s coming out at Christmas. I was just doing some tops and tails, because I had recorded it about a year ago. I’m your guide – a Sith warrior.” So there you have it. While Darrow is the first NPC voice heard…
The Lost Suns Comic Part 2 Preview
Newsarama has a 6-page preview of “The Lost Suns” Comic Part 2. I’m not sure when it will be available in retail, but you can check out the preview here. If you haven’t already done so, check out our review of the first comic here, and check out Lisa’s meet with author Alexander Freed here.
Facebook Image of The Week #19
Once again we are late with BioWares Facebook image. Not sure why I didn’t catch it this time, but here it is: The neon glow of Nar Shaddaa’s endless cityscape does little to blind travelers to the rampant crime and constant danger that lurks around every corner.
You Control the Story in the Next Generation of Video Games
A story on NPR yesterday talks about the next generation of video games where story is of the utmost importance and gamers get to take the reins. This isn’t really a new concept, especially to game companies like BioWare who have been doing this already for decades, however, it’s nice to see mainstream media bringing attention to the matter. Like most media pieces written by non-gamers, this article had some flaws, but nevertheless it was an informative piece that brings attention to the fact that games are just child’s play. There is a serious market for good games and video game developers know this which is why companies like BioWare are putting out great story-based games like the highly anticipated SWTOR. Speaking of TOR and BioWare, the article makes a reference to it: “Daniel Erickson, the lead writer of the “Star Wars” game, said the amount of…
The Guild Sphere: Section Umbra
It’s Thursday which means time to have a chat with a new Guild. This time we had the pleasure to speak to a fellow Scandinavian about his role playing guild Section Umbra. Enjoy! Where did your guilds name come from? Our name is the core of our guild to be honest. We are a sub element of the Republic Intelligence, a special Section. And to name a special section which primary will gather intelligence and the likes, shadow usually have something to do with it. So, Section Umbra it became. Umbra is defined as many things, but a very short description would be “The darkest part of shadow.” Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? Section Umbra is an guild based on the Galactic Republic Intelligence, our HQ will be found at Coruscant. The section was created for recruiting special units to serve the republic and their missions are various, though…
SWG Shutdown Recap Video
FTW Broadcasting compiled a pretty cool recap video about the SWG shutdown and several of our articles are featured in the lineup. It’s a full 10 minutes recapping the issue of Star Wars closing down from the initial date the news was released through the petition, Sony shutting down the petitions and the eventual class action suit along with some comedy and parody and of course, the Goofygirl video that we brought you ourselves. The video is a great way to catch yourself up on the full story about Star Wars Galaxies that has the community in an uproar. When it comes to the gaming community a as a whole, the population seems pretty split. Some people agree with the reactions regarding the shutdown and feel like SWG players are entitled to something more for a game they purchased and have invested so much into. On the other side of…
SWTOR Beta Rant- Problems and Concerns from A Beta Tester
CaptainRAVE had a few things to say about SWTOR over on the Overclockers UK Forums. He has some positive things to say to start off with: “I’m currently really enjoying SWTOR, the advanced classes, companion characters and storylines breathe new life into an aging genre” Alright! That’s what we want to hear. However, this statement of praise is not much different than what other beta testers are saying about the game. But just give him time because CaptainRAVE then goes on to give us a full-on rant about his experience in TOR beta. He begins, “Bioware are falling down on some key MMO aspects among other things. Here are my complaints and possible fixes.” This is the intro to a nearly 2,000-word post of gripes and complaints about SWTOR. We don’t fault him because he uses decent grammar and nifty subheadings to make it easier to follow each of his…
Blizzard lights a fire under Bioware with D3 beta?
Diablo fans might be in for some interesting news. Apparently, they recently sent out some invitations to press and fansties for a July 27th visit to try out their latest Diablo 3 beta build. The lucky few selected will be able to try out the beta early and no visit to Blizzard headquarters is complete without checking out some cool stuff that no one else gets to see. They will also get to see the functionality of Battle.net 2.0, sit in on a developer Q&A and get information about the new features in Diablo 3. It’s a Diablo fan’s dream come true! Could Blizzard’s timing be just what is needed to light a fire under BioWare’s behind to push SWTOR to stay on schedule for a release before the close of 2011? The anticipated MMORPG of the year, Star Wars: The Old Republic is already set to be the major…
New Game Mod Brings Star Wars and Call of Duty Together
Are you a Star Wars fan who’s into Call of Duty? This might be some of the coolest news you have ever read. German modding outfit, Black Monkeys have created an awesome Star Wars-themed mod for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. After 2 ½ years of development, the team is now ready to bring you Galactic Warfare a Star Wars-themed ‘mod’ for Call of Duty: Modern warfare. In fact, this is as good a reason as any to give Call of Duty a try if you have previously been on the fence about playing it. This awesome mod is a total conversion of all the environments, weapons and even the characters. It’s all re-skinned to fit the theme and story of the Star Wars universe. You can choose the Imperial Forces and become a trooper or be a solider of the Rebel Alliance. There are seven great maps to deathmatch…