The great Bioware email snafu of last week had some SWTORnerds raging that they were tricked and teased- being made to believe they gotinto a game testing/beta when it was really just a goof-up in the email office. So what can BioWare do to make the wrong right? Well, say “sorry”of course. Which they have done, in the form of an official email. The apology email read: “OnSeptember 29th, you received two emails regarding the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Game Testing Program.These emails were sent to you by mistake. This was due to an internal error andnot the result of hacking or malware. Please be assured that no personalinformation was compromised. We are sorry for any confusion this may havecaused. Please note that receipt of these e-mails does not affect your chancesto be invited to test the game at a later date.Between now and launch, we will be conducting additional…
Stand Up To Cancer’s Star Wars Parody
It might have been around for a while now, but this video from Stand Up To Cancer is both funny and very worth, thanks to its championing of a massively important cause, in the shape of cancer awareness, so it’s still worthy of note now. Featuring the cause’s Celebrity Ambassadors – Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg and Emma Stone – along with Star Wars actor, and all round shouty bad-ass Samuel L. Jackson – the video recreates classic Star Wars scenes with a comic spin. My personal favourite moment is Bill Hader’s impression of a Taun Taun. Chillingly realistic… Stand Up To Cancer’s mission statement reads as follows, and needless to say, it is a cause that deserves attention, and as much investment as everyone can spare: Stand Up To Cancer is a new initiative created to accelerate groundbreaking…
French and German SWTOR Testing Is Now in Action
It is now official- the remaining launch locations for SWTOR are now getting in on the game testing action. As of today, the official SWTOR_FR and SWTOR_DE twitter accounts, a batch of invitations have been sent out to those users who have applied for the beta. This means if you live in these zones and applied to be considered for the beta testing phases of SWTOR, you might have gotten or will be getting your beta invite soon. According to Lars Malcharek, further invitations to EU game testing will be sent out to German and French speaking players only. He also said, “In the coming weeks we will invite more players to the testing.” This is great news for the people who are waiting and hoping to get an invite. This news also means that SWTOR is yet another step closer to finally reaching launch. While they have already said…
BioWare Founders say “We make the decisions, not EA”
Many fans are critical of BioWare when it comes to certain inadequacies that blame on Electronic Arts. But the founders have a stern message for those doubters- they are still calling the shots on the games they make. “I always chuckle because we are EA, we’re BioWare — we’re both, and we still have huge autonomy in terms of what we do,” co-founder Greg Zeschuk recently told Eurogamer. BioWare founders say they make the decisions, not parent company, EA. They appear passionate about the fact that they still have a direct hand in the games that they are creating. There are some things that have changed, however. “Way, way back, years ago, we didn’t even consider those [commercial elements], we just made stuff,” Zeschuk explains. Point well taken. Back then, the commercial elements also did not matter so much. Video games were not such big business. The market was smaller…
NY Comic Con: Star Wars Guests & Events
A few weeks ago we reported that BioWare will have two Panels At NYCC’11. Now – Thanks to theforce.net the full program of this years big event in the big apple has been revealed. Star Wars Guests Mark Hamill – do you really need an explanation? Ashley Eckstein – Ashoka Tano voice on TCW Peter Mayhew – OT and PT Chewbacca Katie Cook – SW artist Spencer Brinkerhoff – SW artist More artist, comic and entertainment guests can be viewed here and many are also noted in the event schedule below. Star Wars Events and Panels Star Wars: The Blueprints by J.W. Rinzler Date: Friday, October 14 10:45 am – 11:45 am Location: 1A03 Description: New York Times best-selling author and Lucasfilm Executive Editor J.W. Rinzler (author of The Making of Star Wars) discusses his latest book–about the unsung heroes of the Star Wars movies: the production designers, set dressers,…
A Light in the Darkness Completed
Great news Star Wars fans: The Star Wars fan film we told you about last year is now completed and available for your viewing online. This is an excellent film that I enjoyed very much. I don’t want to give away spoilers but you really need to see the full thing for yourself. I’m not the only one who was impressed. Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge 2011 – A Light in the Darkness (Part One) won two awards from Atom.com in 2011 for “Best Fan Fiction” and “Audience Choice.” Renovation Film Festival – Best Fan Film 2011 This film was created for the love of filmmaking and also for the love of Star Wars. It was a volunteer effort by cast and crew and is an excellent high quality, low budget film that faced many challenges to create but came out on top. It’s well worth your time to see…
First look at the SWTOR Collector’s Edition Store
Edit: This is just in from a beta tester Aparently the elevators take you to the VIP section: We aren’t allowed up the elevator at the moment. When you step on the elevator it boots you off immediately saying that you need a VIP card to access the elevator. No one has actually been able to go up inside of the VIP area that I’m aware of. I’m a CE owner and beta tester and I’m not allowed up there. The area around the elevators is NOT the VIP area, that is just a general social hub/cantina area in the middle of the new space station hub. Anyone is allowed in that area, just not up the elevators to the penthouse room. This video was mailed to us last night. It shows the area that will be available for people who ordered the Special edition or the collectors edition of SWTOR….
Video: Totalbiscuit – Level 14 Jedi Sentinel PVP – Huttball
At the Eurogamer Expo 2011, TotalBiscuit was able to play a game of Huttball using the Jedi Sentinel class, a heavy melee damage dealer. As always “The Angry Brit” has some awesome commentary good for a laugh. The video is filmed at 25fps, 1080i resolution, so it’s really decent footage. TotalBiscuit has commented a few times about the game, here is one of the most interesting points: There is a scaling issue, far as I can tell, due to how PvP works. At lower levels, you have too much health and not enough damage. Bioware is aware of it and they’re tweaking it, but it’s particularly frustrating with melee classes. If I’m chopping you up with a lightsabre, you should probably die. With the Trooper I can stand at range mowing fools down with area of effect sprays, grenades and such, plus I can take a beating up close and do massive…
Intergalactic Intel: Choosing a Role
What should I play? Jedi ConsularGrowing up I never knew what I wanted to be. And as a twenty-two-year-old college senior I kind of have an idea. Choosing your role in a community is very difficult. You want to be able to support yourself and live happily while still being a good person. The same thing can be said about any game with a class system. Do you want to be the guy who charges in head first? Or do you want to be the one executing enemies? Or maybe you’re better off on the side lines supporting your allies? In MMO’s we have always run the classes by something known as the Holy Trinity; tanks, healers, and DPS. Tanks: people whose goal are to take damage and keep enemies off of their allies. Healers: people who support and make sure that their allies stay alive throughout the encounter. DPS…
Darth Vader Is a Yes Man
Ever noticed how many times Darth Vader says No? Obviously it’s one more time than it used to be, thanks to George Lucas’ broken brain that inspires him to make precisely the opposite creative decisions that everyone wants him to, but even without that edited in addition, it’s a lot. Hardly the most cheerful of fellows, thanks probably to uniform chaffing, Vader has infamously made a name for himself with a fairly closed mind: it’s the Dark Side or nothing for this particular Sith. But now, thanks to the editing skills of the inimitable OneMinuteGalactica (who we love around these parts), Darth has decided to change his ways, and follow in the footsteps of British writer Danny Wallace, and rubber-faced acting talent Jim Carey by saying Yes a lot more. Okay so it’s hugely silly, but I couldn’t help but smile at it.
EA Gives Office Tour of New BioWare Facility in Ireland
Earlier this week wetold you about the new BioWare facility in Galway, Ireland. There has been anew addition to the story with an office tour of the facility. So if you’rewondering just what the new facility looks like, here’s your chance to find out. In the roughly 2 ½ minutevideo, we get a tourof the new facility. The tour begins with the hallway which features somereally awesome artwork like the Imperial Agent ship. The “art wall” serves asan inspirational schematic because right across the hall is where they hold their2-week training courses to anyone new who joins the team in Galway. There is an awesome “relaxing”game room for the creative, innovative and hard-working BioWare team. Can I geta pool table in my office please? Then we see the SWTORglobal customer contact center. Call this the customer service center battlestation. Working in a call center wouldn’t be so bad if this…
The Old Republic Preview from PCGamer
“The Old Republic is a monster. I can’t wait to play more.” That pretty much sums up the 1880+ word preview experience from PCGamer.com. These previews are the best things for those who have not been able to play the game for themselves yet. It gives us all a deeper look into SWTOR, what it is about, what others think about it and what we have to look forward to. Even when you think you’ve heard it all, along comes a new preview or review with info or perspective you didn’t know before. This is a great review because it does more than just recap the things we already know (although it does a little bit of that, too). It also tells us what makes this game different or unique from others on the market. When you’re looking to invest in a game like SWTOR, especially one with a monthly…
Don’t be Banned from Game Testing- Know the Rules of Beta
As more people are getting into game testing now and game testing is open to European players as well, we will hear about more people in game testing. While it is a violation to screen capture or talk about certain aspects of the game, there will probably be friends who talk and share certain pieces of info. But you better be careful about what you share and how. If you get in, you may find yourself so excited, you want to shout it to the rooftops. Be aware, however, that while you can tell the world you are game testing, you cannot tell them about what you are doing in testing or reveal things about the game itself. The SWTOR beta/game testing is the most strict I have ever even heard of and I have beta’d TONS of games over the years. You can’t use Vent, you must be 18…
Friday Update: Galaxy Map
This weeks update brings us a new updates to the SWTOR Holonet — Galaxy Maps. Now you have the chance to explore the five regions of known space in a standard or 3d view. There you can find information on all notable planets as well as a video for each. Here are the 17 planets and six starships you can learn about in the new Galaxy Map: Coreward Worlds: Alderaan, Corellia, Coruscant, Ord Mantell, Balmorra, Tython Seat of the Empire: Dromund Kaas, Korriban, Taris Hutt Space: Hutta, Nar Shaddaa, Quesh, Voss Distant Outer Rim: Belsavis, Hoth, Tatooine Unknown Regions: Illum Starships: XS Freighter, Defender, BT-7 Thunderclap, X70-B Phantom, D5-Mantis, FURY Official Devtracker Post: The Star Wars™ galaxy is massive and you will be able to visit numerous worlds during your travels in the The Old Republic™. To give you an early taste of what the experience will be, we’ve added…
SWTOR Game Tester Experience Email
“This is not the email you are looking for. Move along…” Feel like you were just a victim of Jedi mind tricks? If you got the very confusing email asking you if you enjoyed your tester experience in SWTOR and if you would like to fill out a survey to share your opinions- don’t panic! First, you are not alone. Second, you are not invited to the beta with this email. Sorry to burst your bubble… When the email came in to me last night, my cell phone, Facebook and email blew up with friends asking me if I got it, too and if I knew what it was about. (When did I become the authority on such matters?) So I headed straight over to Twitter and asked Stephen Reid (that’s his job, right?) but he was in flight coming home to Austin so it took a little while for…
Star Wars: Revan Novel Spoilers- an Unofficial Review
We found an interesting write-up about the Revan novel that contains spoilers of the storyline for SWTOR and the novel. In a post on Spacebattles.com, user “Sparris” posts, “After getting and reading an uncorrected proof of this story, pretty sure most people will think it sucks.” He goes on to give about 600 words or so of a summary of the novel that portrays it in a less-than-interesting light. However, we also have to keep in mind that this is one person’s opinion and a rough summary at that and we don’t actually see any more than a pic of the alleged cover of the proof of the novel. SPOILERS INCOMING: The poster says: There are three main characters throughout: Revan, the Exile (now named Meetra Surik,) and a Sith Lord in the Emperor’s service named Darth Scourge. Ok, fair enough. What’s next? Revan’s story is pretty simple. His dreams…
Blizzard Revealing Project Titan Next Month? – Gloves are off!
Update: In a comment to IGN, a Blizzard representative stated that its ‘unannounced MMO’ will not be talked about at this year’s BlizzCon The rumor mill is out and it looks like the long awaited “casual MMO” from Blizzard code named Titan may be revealed next month at BlizzCon 2011. Pressures from the release date announcement of SWTOR and the delay of Diablo 3 may have led Blizzard to push up the release of news about their new secret project. At least one analyst believes the news might be coming sooner than we thought. “If they are holding any juicy details, it’s going to be announced at BlizzCon,” M2 Research senior analyst Billy Pidgeon said. “”The big news is probably going to be a Diablo 3 date and a possible new announcement about one or more new properties.”” Previous reports have revealed rumors about this potential project. They tell us…
EU Beta has Begun!
It’s official- Europe now has beta testing for SWTOR! And it’s about time, right? In a post on the official SWTOR forums, Chris Collins The New Guy, European Community Manager announced: “Today, we’re excited to announce that we are sending out a batch of invites! In particular, this initial batch marks the start of a series of invites to our larger European player base, who get the chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Testing program and provide feedback during the months up until launch. In other exciting news, we’ll be making further announcements in the coming days and weeks, as we update you on Game Testing on the European service. On top of that, we’ll also be announcing details around the upcoming Beta Testing Weekends! With the launch drawing ever-closer, we’re more excited than ever to receive your feedback on the game to help make the…
Latest Beta Patch notes
Since we are so damn close to the release of SWTOR we thought it was only reasonable to start posting patch updates so people could start getting an idea how far the game has come. These updates are only a few days old and was released september 27, and we are really down to small tweaks now. Of course there is still bugs, and there will be for years after the game is out, but BioWare is really doing a good job killing all the game breakers. Nice to see boys! General Players may now toggle their Away From Keyboard status with the /afk command Classes and Combat General Fixed an issue that caused players to continue along their movement path after being affected by any immobilizing ability. Bounty Hunter Shoulder Slam now has no cooldown and its effect on Strong enemies has been significantly reduced. Jedi Consular Tumult now has no cooldown and its…
Returning To Jedi: The Best Ever Fan Edit?
There are a nuumber of great Fan Edits available for the Star Wars films – the most famous of which is probably The Phantom Edit which righted the many wrongs of George Lucas’ first prequel film (chiefly by removing Jar Jar Binks influence), but by far the best, in terms of the effect the edit has on the viewing experience of the original film has to be Jambedavdar’s Returning To Jedi. The edit is effectively a ‘commentary documentary’, combining existing behind the scenes footage with a newly created audio commentary and text facts, and despite not having all of the details released as part of the Complete Saga blu-ray release (yet) it still stands as one of the most in-depth and informative companion pieces to the entire Star Wars universe. And the good news for all Star Wars fans is that Returning To Jedi is now available in its entirety…
Hands-on Preview: Star Wars: The Old Republic
In this article, Leo Stiles of Joe.ie tell us about his hands-on preview of SWTOR. Now that more and more players are getting access to the game, we are hearing a lot of different reviews and previews but it never hurts to get another opinion on the game. From the moment Leo chose his class as a Bounty Hunter, he got treated to a wonderful cut scene displaying some graphics he can only describe as “remarkable”. If the cartoon style graphics have you on the fence then you should really see them in action as everything flows perfectly together. According to Leo, the questing is so well done you won’t feel like your simply “gathering” materials or “counting kills” because they are minor parts to the larger story. Fulfilling the quests in the game are so in depth to the story line that they are entertaining and not a level…
Star Wars: The Old Republic Sales Predicted To Hit 3 Million In Year 1
Now that we know a release date for SWTOR, we see more and more people talking about just how popular this game will be. Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz predicts that the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic will sell 3 million units in its first year. The numbers expected in the first year are at an incredible million with the following year bringing in about million. These numbers are astounding as before the release date the projected sales were considerably lower. The new numbers are based off of the projected pricing plan for the game. Star Wars: the Old Republic will be released in the US on Dec 20, 2011 and in the UK on Dec 22, 2011. The announcement of the release date brought many unseen Star Wars fans rushing to the stores to quickly preorder their copy of the game. This is what increased the number…
Star Wars: The Old Republic Will Feature Achievements at Launch
Many MMOs that we have come to love feature achievements andStar Wars: The Old Republic will notbe any different. However, the type of achievements will be a little differentfrom what you may be used to, at least at first. These are not your typical WoW-typeachievements. At this time, Daniel Erickson, the lead writer of Biowarestated that “achievements” would appear in SWTOR when it launches. However, theones that appear with the launch will be detailed achievements for doing heroicthings such as fighting the bosses on each planet. Just what kind of achievements are we going to see on ship? Erickson explains to DarthHaterat Eurogamer Expo: They’renot going to be the achievements, the crazy achievements that you have to placeeverywhere, that are like, “Hey if you drink 6 beers and fart in acantina,” those are not going the achievements to go in. Version 1 of theachievement system which go in, which is…
Stephen Reid Clarifies Misunderstanding of Shack News Article
With the news of an official release date for SWTOR out there, one huge milestone is now passed. Now we have many new questions erupting as players want to know exactly when they are going to get their own chance to play. A misunderstanding had many players worrying they would not get to play due to possible staggered releases. User Darhan posts in the official forums: It seems that not only are they preparing for stable servers by keeping pre-order numbers limited, but even for those of us who have pre-ordered: our access to the game may not be granted as fast as we had hoped. In the article, they discuss slowly granting access to the game over an undisclosed period of time to the point that some folks may barely recieve any early access to the game, if any at all. Of course, this is all for the sake…