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.
Fan Site Summit 2: Roundup
We know how anxious you are to stop reading about this game and finally get to play. We’re with you on that one and as we grow closer to the SWTOR launch date, we’re trying to keep you occupied with any cool info and tidbits we can find on the game. This means updating you on the fansite summit and other good happenings, even if we’re not able to attend them all ourselves. Here’s some more great stuff from the Fan Site Summit (part 2). TORWars is especially chatty about the Fan Site Summit and have a lot to say about their experiences, including some great photos and some audios from the event. It’s their exclusive content so you’ll have to head over there to check it out. Be sure to tell us what you think! Photo Gallery: Deep Inside BioWare Austin – Part One Photo Gallery: Deep Inside BioWare…
Smuggler hands-on from MMOSite
The Smuggler class in Star Wars: The Old Republic is a classic piece of Star Wars lore but what we see in SWTOR is an interesting take on the Smuggler class story. It will be different from the archetype you’re used to and BioWare has some fun things in store. If you want to learn more about the Smuggler, short of being able to play it yourself in game testing, then check out the hands-on from a site that’s been able to play and share (within the NDA, of course). MMOSite.com has a great hands-on SWTOR review of their experience with the Smuggler. If you were trying to make up your mind about whether or not to play a Smuggler, check out this SWTOR preview: Here is a snippet: “Things start to get exciting by level 10 after the “tutorial” aspect of the game comes to an end and players…
Star Wars The Old Republic: Main Theme
With only 5 weeks to go, we can finally play you the main theme song from Star Wars: the old republic. I’m not totally sure if this is considered a leak or not, as it is so many places on the net right now. I also believe it has been used in some of BioWares own video documentaries. If you are really into the whole music thing as I am, I recoment you to check out the documentary “Music of Star Wars the old Republic. We have embedded it in the bottom of this post. Check it out!
Goofy grrl is At it Again with Another Video
This time she says “TOR will suck” and she’s opting not to play. I know that some of you may be completely broken-hearted at this news but I assure you, there will be plenty of similar lonely souls looking to grace the game of SWTOR. If you don’t remember GoofyGrrl, here’s a reminder from her Goodbye SWG video. So now she’s back with a brand new video telling us how she doesn’t want to play TOR and why. She says her desire to not play SWTOR has nothing to do with the game “killing” her beloved Star Wars Galaxies but that she has her own totally unrelated, legitimate reasons for why she is not interested in SWTOR. She’s been really busy lately and she invites us to “like if we agree and if we don’t, that’s fine” because we have our opinion and she has hers (even if hers sounds…
EU Beta Invites Are Sent
Have you been meticulously refreshing your email inbox today hoping for a beta invite for SWTOR? If you haven’t gotten one yet and you already checked your spam folder, then unfortunately, you probably didn’t get in right now. Great news for European players though! European game invites have been sent out in a batch for a selection of players to start testing SWTOR. North American players got another batch of weekend test emails but for some lucky Europeans, it’s more than a weekend test and an actual game testing invite. Access to the general beta test means you get to see what the game is all about before it is released to the general public in December. Game testing characters do not carry over into the live game and there is no guarantee on how long you will get to test but it’s sure exciting news if you did get…
Smuggler Walkthru Video
Awall from TGN has put together a Smuggler Edition in his “Ultimate Walkthru Series””. In the video he cover all of the confirmed facts about the smuggler class in 25+ minutes. This includes all of the pics, videos, gameplay, story, abilities, companion, starship, scoundrel, gunslinger, trailers, etc. Personally I think this is one of his best episode yet. So check it out below:
The Guild Sphere: Lost Tribe of Sith
It’s Thursday and time for a new guild interview. This time the Sith PVP guild, Lost Tribe of Sith, Took the the time to answer our question. The guild is in the EST Timezone and is still accepting members. Check it out below. Where did your guilds name come from? Actually, it is from a piece of official Star Wars lore. I was reading about the Lost Tribe of Sith that crashed on a planet in wild space and decided to rebuild a new civilization. So I found it interesting, and the perfect way to Role Play what we wanted to do. We wanted a new system of rules and ranks, but wanted it to fit into TOR Lore without making it seem like we made our own tribe from nothing in a day. So we are using the time before launch to make our lore and explain how our tribe connects with…