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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

October 20, 2011August 14, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Random House has a good chunk of the first chapter of Drew Karpyshyn new novel Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan up on its site. Critics haven’t been nice on the book so far but so far they have all be unofficial reviews. Any ways, here is a chance to check it our for yourself: LORD SCOURGE RAISED the hood of his cloak as he stepped off the shuttle, a shield against the wind and pelting rain. Storms were common here on Dromund Kaas; dark clouds perpetually blocked out the sun, rendering terms like day and night meaningless. The only natural illumination came from the frequent bursts of lightning arcing across the sky, but the glow from the spaceport and nearby Kaas City provided more than enough light to see where he was going. The powerful electrical storms were a physical manifestation of the dark side power that engulfed the entire…

NY Comic Con: Star Wars Guests & Events

October 3, 2011August 13, 2020 Soeren Kamper

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,…

SWTOR Patch Notes 8/16/2011

August 19, 2011August 9, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Yesterday a user over on Reddit posted SWTOR Patch Notes (with possible spoilers) for readers to enjoy. It’s pretty interesting and something you won’t see unless you’re in the beta (or have a friend inside) but it gives us some good little tidbits about the game. The post reads as follows: Welcome to Star Wars: The Old RepublicEvent 8/18: Space CombatOn Thursday at 7:00PM CDT, head to your personal starship and try out Space Combat! Watch for in-game Sever Admin messages during the event for further instructions. We’re looking forward to your Space Combat feedback on the Testing Forums! Notice: This server is now a PvP Server.Weekly Focus This week, we’re looking for specific feedback regarding: Companion roles and UI Space CombatPatch Notes 8/16/2011 General Several server and area stability improvements have been implemented. Classes and Combat Alacrity rating now properly decreases activation and channeling times. This is reflected on…

The Guild Sphere: Sentinels of the Light

August 15, 2011January 8, 2024 Soeren Kamper

European PVE guild Sentinels of the Light took some time to answer our questions this week Where did your guilds name come from? The name was originally created by myself and Myphos long before SWTOR was announced. The name was based on our love of the Sentinel class in KotOR. A guild was created on World of Warcraft for our little cohort of friends to play, mingle and socialise while tackling a few of the end game features. We eventually decided to make an addition of “of the Light” to reflect our Lightside loyalty (or good in the case of WoW). This name then followed through with the knowledge of a future Star Wars MMO. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? A European based, casual guild that is all about fun, maturity and taking our time, while still aiming to tackle the end-game content…

(Amateur) Statistical Analysis: Class/Faction Popularity by Amount of Discussion on Official Forums

August 1, 2011August 8, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Here is an interesting post we found on Reddit where an amateur statistic analysis is done based on class and faction popularity according to discussion from the official forums. A lot of people have been talking about who will play which side and which classes as well as how this will affect the balance of the game. Here are the highlights from his findings: OVERALL Republic classes are being discussed more than Sith classes. On average, the Jedi Knight is the most discussed class (though the Bounty Hunter technically has the most # of threads). The Imperial Agent is the least discussed class. AMONG REPUBLIC CLASSES: Jedi Knight is the most discussed. Smuggler is the least discussed. AMONG SITH CLASSES: Bounty Hunter is the most discussed. Imperial Agent is least discussed. Check it all out for yourself and let us know if you think he’s on the right track…

The Guild Sphere: The Crescent Rose

July 21, 2011January 8, 2024 Soeren Kamper

This week I sat down with one of the admissions officials with the The Crescent Rose, a republic RP guild guild focusing on PvE and some PvP. These guys has really thought over everything, so enjoy: Where did your guilds name come from? In every game, we spend time finding a new guild backstory to suit the lore, and we take a name that will suit that backstory. It’s more work, but it gives us a chance to look at the world, and also self-examine every so often. Here, our background writers looked at a few things: The idea that the Republic and Empire aren’t in open conflict, but in a cold war, the thought that Force classes are likely going to be very popular, concepts of secrecy, and we started playing with words and images that would fit those ideas. The word “Subrosa,” or “Under the rose,” got thrown…

Faction lore: Galactic Republic

July 3, 2011June 6, 2024 Soeren Kamper

The Republic itself was formed in 25,053 BBY when the first “Galactic Constitution” was signed on Coruscant, after the Corellian Hyperdrive connected many worlds in the Galactic Core. Whether this means that Coruscant was the original homeworld of humans or simply the most powerful world at the time is still up for debate, and there has been little said about the event other than that it occurred. The Republic was made up of several hundred thousand worlds. The Republic, led by a Supreme Chancellor, had a supposedly democratic government that was able to sustain itself for over twenty-five thousand years. It is said that its complete history would “fill a thousand libraries”. In its latest years, it was a benevolent – though ineffectual – government tied up in layers of bureaucracy. History The Human Core around which the Republic was formed Formation The Republic was born with the signing of…

Birth and Evolution of the Lightsaber

June 30, 2011August 6, 2020 Soeren Kamper

We previously brought you a story about how lightsabers work but when it comes to filmmaking history, you probably have no idea how far the light saber has really evolved. It’s really interesting to look at the birth of the lightsaber and how it evolved into what we know it as today. In this article by Rianne Hill Soriana, we see an explanation of the lightsaber concept: “According to filmmaker George Lucas, “Star Wars” had influences from early pirate, adventure, and romantic films of the 1940s. With its basic premise centering on a romantic fantasy, it was inspired by the great romantic traditions in the mythology of “King Arthur” and the adventurous spirit of “Robin Hood.”” She goes on to describe the look of the lightsaber itself and how this look was pulled off in film technology, even many years ago, helping to create the legend that is Star Wars…

Know your lore: Uthar Wynn

June 5, 2011August 4, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Uthar Wynn was a Sith Master and the leader of the Sith Academy on Korriban during the Jedi Civil War. His Sith Apprentice was Yuthura Ban. Uthar Wynn was created as a villain for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Wynn was voiced by veteran voice actor Tom Kane. Wynn later received an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, which was released in 2008. There are multiple choices for the player to make in Knights of the Old Republic regarding Uthar Wynn’s fate. Revan could side with Ban and kill Wynn. Once completed, Ban would turn on Revan. After her defeat, Ban would plead for mercy and Revan would spare her life and allow her to assume the position of the Academy Headmaster. A second choice involves Revan not allying with either Wynn or Ban; both Wynn and Ban attack him and are killed. A third option has…

SWTOR Releases a New Advanced Classes Page

June 5, 2011August 4, 2020 Soeren Kamper

If you’ve been wondering about the Advanced Classes in SWTOR and what they will be like, you don’t have to wonder any more. Just after the interview with MMORPG.com about Advanced Classes, SWTOR.com releases the news today of their new Advanced Classes page. This redesigned page gives you more information about Advanced Classes and the unique skills and abilities that your character will have that allow you to customize your character to your very own unique playstyle. You can use this new page to learn more about each of the Advanced Classes more in-depth than ever before to help you make a decision about which you want to play. You can use this new page to find out about the different skill sets that will be available to your class as you level up in SWTOR. Choose from: Sith Warrior Bounty Hunter Sith Inquisitor Imperial Agent Jedi Knight Trooper Jedi…

BioWare’s Zoeller: In-Depth Advanced Classes Reveal

June 5, 2011August 4, 2020 Soeren Kamper

For fans wanting to know more about advanced classes in SWTOR, Bioware’s Gerog Zoeller is giving more details in an interview with MMORPG.com. This is exciting news as the interview contains exclusive, in-depth coverage and reveals of the advanced classes that has not been previously revealed. In the interview, MMORPG.com asks Zoeller the following questions: How will players get to the advanced classes system? Once unlocked, how much customization will players find within the advanced class they choose? The Sith Warrior can become the Juggernaut or the Marauder, can you give us some examples of skills that make up these two advanced classes? The Bounty Hunter has a similar design with the Mercenary and Powertech, can you tell us about skills that define the offense and defense of these two specializations? The Jedi Knight offers players the Sentinel and Guardian, what are the main differences when playing these classes? What…

Know your lore: Dustil Onasi

May 29, 2011January 10, 2024 Soeren Kamper

Dustil Onasi was a member of the Onasi family, and son of the war veteran Carth Onasi who served the Galactic Republic Navy during the Mandalorian Wars, Jedi Civil War and aftermath at the Battle of Telos IV. Dustil was born on Telos IV and raised mostly by his mother due to his father being of the soldiery. During the bombardment and destruction of Telos IV’s surface during the Jedi Civil War, his mother was killed and Dustil was assumed dead, but in fact he survived and gained dislike for the Galactic Republic and his father for their inability to save Telos IV. He, as a Force-sensitive, trained in the Dreshdae colony of Korriban at the Sith Academy to become a Dark Jedi. However, he was discovered by his father and Revan and convinced to return to the light. He also convinced several of his friends to turn from the…

Fan Friday and 2011 Event Appearances

May 21, 2011June 3, 2024 Soeren Kamper

It’s Friday once again and that means that it’s time for another BioWare update for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This week brings a trio of updates starting with a new video from the recent Fan Site Summit held at BioWare’s Austin, TX studio in April. The video reflects on the event and what attendees thought of their hands on time with SWTOR. It’s nice to see BioWare developing a nice, cozy, friendly relationship with the people that will be objectively reviewing their product. Part two of this week’s update is a new Fan Friday feature, which highlights some of the SWTOR fan art from the community and a new Fan Site Spotlight featuring SWTOR Life with a brief Q&A with Serge “Mikto” Stanarevic about the site. The Fan Friday update also confirmed the 2011 events that BioWare and LucasArts will be showing off SWTOR at. Fans can look forward…

Know your Lore: Noab Hulis

May 15, 2011July 31, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Noab Hulis was a Jedi Master prior to the Great Sith War. He was the father of Krynda Hulis, later known as Krynda Draay, and her two sisters, as well as the husband of a Human female. Noab Hulis was first mentioned in the Tales of the Jedi Companion, published in 1996 and written by George R. Strayton. Twelve years later, the character made his first appearance, in flashbacks of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series issue Vindication, Part 2. He was also rendered for the first time, by Bong Dazo. In the issue, Hulis is shown to cover his useless Miralukan eyes, whereas in the Tales of the Jedi Companion, he is said to leave them exposed. Biography Noab Hulis was a male Miraluka who served the Jedi Order. In time, he sired two daughters, both of whom entered the Jedi Order, and then a…

The Guild Sphere: Jen’Jidai

April 28, 2011July 30, 2020 Soeren Kamper

This week I sat down with some of the members and leadership of Jen’Jidai” a hardcore RP guild covering PvP and PvE Where did your guilds name come from? Jen’jidai is Sithanese for “Dark Jedi” Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? Jen’Jidai (Meaning Dark Jedi in ancient Sithanese) is a Sith based RP/PvP-PvE guild for the MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. This guild is a chapter of the multi-gaming network; Legend-Gaming. How did your guild come about? Due to the lack in choice of great MMORPG’s around the time of the MMO Darkfall’s inception, we were looking for the next big game. We then soon stumbled onto SW:ToR. What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP? All three. What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild? Jen’jidai is a community first and foremost. With that…

Know your Lore: Arca Jeth

April 25, 2011July 29, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Arca Jeth was an Arkanian male who was a Jedi Master and Watchman of the Onderon system during the time of the Old Republic. He was known to have been one of the wisest Jedi of the Old Republic era, and trained Barrison Draay, Haazen, Ulic Qel-Droma, his brother Cay Qel-Droma, and the Twi’lek Tott Doneeta in the ways of the Force. He was also one of the first known Jedi to use the ability of battle meditation. In 4,050 BBY Master Jeth was part of a Jedi/Republic task force which was sent to the Hapes Cluster to eliminate the threat of the Lorell Raiders, who had been preying on Republic shipping lanes for decades. Following the defeat of the Lorell Raiders, Jeth took part in the Hyabb-Twith Campaign and helped drive the Nelori Marauders from the Hyabb-Twith Corridor. He served the Galactic Republic on Coruscant during the Great Droid…

SWTOR Art by Darth Destructor

April 4, 2011July 29, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Following up on our exploration of amazing SWTOR art, we came acrosses Darth Destructor; Or Mateusz wich is his real name. Mateusz is a 18 year old guy from the Polish town Golub-Dobrzyń near Toruń. Check out his awesome work below, and remember to drop by his Devaiantart profile for more cool work Sith Emperor “”The Emperor survived the ancient Sith Empire’s defeat during the Great Hyperspace War, and fled into the Unknown Regions with his most trusted Sith Lords. Here, he began rebuilding the Empire, vowing to return and defeat the Republic.Using dark rituals, the Emperor prolonged his life and his undisputed rule.In the time after the Mandalorian Wars eminent Jedi Knights Revan and Malak traveled into the unknown regions in search of the Star Forge which lead them into contact with the Sith Emperor. He supposedly corrupted them and gave them a mission to return to the Republic and serve…

PC Gamers prints two new screenshots

March 28, 2011July 29, 2020 Soeren Kamper

The latest issue of PC Gamer has a 4 page writeup on Star Wars: The old republic. The article takes up and angle on how the game will change the MMORPG genre for ever – some for good and some for the bad. The article also shows 2 new screenshots I don’t believe have been published before. – First one is a screeny of what appears to be an Imperial Agent dual-weilding some sort of daggers and sneaking up on a Cathar (NPC?) from behind. – The second one is a group of 3 Republic characters… a human Smuggler Gunslinger, a human Trooper and a Mirialan Jedi Knight. The Trooper has no helmet on, is huge, and carrying a huge weapon. In front of a Republic base on… maybe Belsavis? There is nothing new revealed in the article apart from the new screens – well maby a dual-weilding melee Imperial…

More SWTOR fan art by Patrick Lamber

March 22, 2011June 28, 2024 Soeren Kamper

Last month we posted some of the the amazing artwork of Patrick Lamber. This was very well received throughout the SWTOR community, but some people did complain about leaving out some of his more erotic art. This time we won’t do that, so if you don’t believe you should be watching this, please move along. Remember to check out Patrick Lambert’s deviantart profile or his personal website for more amazing drawings, were he is creating every class of SW:TOR. Veronica is a human Bounty Hunter, while Zira is a Twi’lek Sith. They met as enemies several years ago, and fought for hours, in the most difficult fight of their lives. They soon realized however that they both had similar goals, and were much better teaming up. They’ve been together ever since, pillaging ships, causing terror across the galaxy, being vicious and cruel. Whether it’s in bed or on the battle field, they are nearly unstoppable. Today, the two evil girls work…

Know your Lore: Lonna Vash

February 27, 2011July 28, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Lonna Vash was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. She was one of the Masters who banished the Jedi Exile from the Jedi Order. Lonna Vash’s role was bigger in the original vision of the developers, Obsidian Entertainment, but like many other incomplete things it had to be cut because of the forced premature release of the game. She was planned to be found by the player on M4-78, a planet populated by droids, where she came searching for the Exile with her Padawan, Kaah Ohtok. The corresponding conversation the Exile has with Vash was even recorded and put in the game file, but, like the incomplete planet, was never used in the actual game. However, as Vash was a Council member shown in an important cut scene, the developers placed her dead body on also-incomplete Korriban to…

Daniel Erickson on Marriage in SWTOR

February 24, 2011July 25, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Daniel Erickson has posted a rather lengthy comment about Marriage in Star Wars: The Old republic. Basically he confirms it’s possible to be married in SWTOR, which is kind of a dilemma as the Jedi order has sticked rules about this. “Easy to give the official answer. But first let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Cultures change over time. They move one way then another, values shift, influxes of new peoples or discoveries change what is considered normal, etc. So if we’re strictly talking about TOR then arguments based on things that happened thousands of years earlier or later aren’t really applicable except to compare and contrast. Our views on modern marriage are not those of ancient Rome, and I doubt in 3,000 years they will be the same. So let’s talk about where Jedi and Sith during the time period of The Old Republic. For the…

The Great Hyperspace War

February 11, 2011July 26, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Over the millennia, the Galactic Republic has faced no greater threat to its existence than the brutal invasion instigated by Sith Lord Naga Sadow. It was a time in history when the original Sith Empire had reached the height of its power, and the Republic was poorly prepared for a conflict of such magnitude. Master Gnost-Dural looks back at the Great Hyperspace War and identifies the controversial decision that drove the Sith into exile and set the stage for the Empire’s campaign of vengeance against the Republic. BTC 1347 – When two hyperspace explorers stumbled onto the remote world of Korriban, they never could have guessed the chain of events they were setting into motion. Over the previous centuries, the Sith Empire had grown in size and strength, and Korriban was the very heart of its dominion. The reigning Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos, had just died, sparking a brutal power…

Know your lore: Tulak Hord

January 30, 2011July 28, 2020 Soeren Kamper

Tulak Hord was a Dark Lord of the Sith that ruled sometime during the early Sith Empire, after the use of lightsabers became prevalent. Hord wore a claustrophobic black mask, making him a fear-inspiring sight. There is some disagreement as to when precisely Tulak Hord lived. Kreia seems to imply he was an ancient Dark Lord from the first Sith Empire, yet she also calls him a lightsaber master, and it is widely believed by fans that the Sith did not use such weapons until they re-established contact with the Jedi and the Republic after the Great Hyperspace War. It is unknown how Hord died, but his power was so considerable that a burial chamber was built in his honor in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. In later years, both Revan and the Jedi Exile visited his tomb, though the entrance was blocked and the tomb looted…

How Stuff Works: The Star Forge

December 29, 2010July 24, 2020 Soeren Kamper

The Star Forge was a dark side artifact that was created by the Infinite Empire of the Rakata in 30,000 BBY, five thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Republic. A giant automated shipyard, the Star Forge drew energy, heat, and matter from a nearby star which, when combined with the power of the dark side, was capable of creating an endless supply of ships, droids, and other war material. It was constructed through the use of slaves from many subject worlds including, but not necessarily limited to, Corellia, Coruscant, Dantooine, Drall, Duro, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Selonia, Sleheyron, Tatooine, and Ziost. It fed on the Force, drawing particularly from the cruel Rakata, corrupting it into an artifact of the dark side, and often times its user as well, which is why Darth Revan limited his contact with the Star Forge, lest it control him as it did the Rakata….