In the past month, we have seen an exodus of SWTOR staff from Bioware Austin, much like one we saw a couple years back. Of these were Courtney Woods from the community team and Hillary “Pokket” Nicole, the Community Coordinator. While specifics were not released, we are given the impression their contracts just ended and Bioware was not interested in renewing them. As a female gamer and someone who has worked within the industry for a number of years, it’s great to see other females taking a leadership role so I am sad to see them go. That said, it has many asking the question “Are there any females left out there at Bioware Austin?” and of course, there are. It would seem that SWTOR is getting rid of their community team once again (remember when this happened last time?) and the fact that Courtney and Hillary are female was…
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Veteran BioWare Writer Moves to Secret New Project
Mr. David Gaider, veteran KOTOR writer, has announced he is making a major change. A few days ago, he announced on Twitter that he is leaving Dragon Age and the team so that he can work on a secret game from BioWare. While it’s hard to leave Dragon Age behind, 10 years is a long time to work on any one project. I decided it was time for something new. — David Gaider (@davidgaider) March 3, 2015 Mr. Gaider worked on many different BioWare games including, Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars the old Repubublic. He also worked on Dragoan age Origins, Dragon Age II, and Dragon Age: Inquisition , as well as older games like Neverwinter Nights. Because he stated that he cannot discuss the new game this suggests to us that it’s an unannounced title. BioWare is currently working on a new IP and this could a project…
BioWare Co-Founder Greg Zeschuk Gets Back Into Games
After Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founder, retired from BioWare in 2012, he made a web series based on beer called The Beer Diaries. He has now decided to get back into the gaming world, but the return may not be what everyone was expecting. GamesIndustry International reported that Zeschuk has joined the Vancouver based Biba Ventures. This startup is working on making mobile augmented reality apps that will work with playground equipment. Biba announced their deal with a playground equipment company, PlayPower, and they are to construct a collection of Biba supported playgrounds. Mr. Zeschuk will be serving as chairman for Biba. “Biba’s mobile games designed for outdoor play are just a breath of fresh air,” Zeschuk said. “PlayPower and Biba are creating a new category, an inventive way to blend our new media habits with the health benefits and joy of active outdoor play. I am inspired by the category…
SWTOR 3.1 Flashpoint GUIDE: COMMANDER MOKAN – HM Battle of Rishi Bonus Boss
This is Vulkk’s Video Guide on the Bonus Boss in Battel of Rishi Hard Mode Flashpoint. In this relatively short fight we have quite a few mechanics, which are all simple, yet very deadly if not performed 100% correctly. Commander Mokan is one of the best boss encounters inside a Flashpoint Bioware have designed since the first and original version of Lost Island in early 2012. If you have different tactics or suggestions for players, who have not yet done this, share them in the comments below. The boss is not something unseen, but is a fresh and interesting encounter compared to all the other tank and spank opponents. It can be done in many different class combinations and is one of the few very well designed and balanced fights. It may not have an awesome 100% loot drop, but is worth doing just for the achievement and the good feeling…
SWTOR Producer’s Road Map 2015
SWTOR’s Senior Producer Bruce Maclean has released the teams Producer’s Road Map for 2015. If you ahve been following our blog, there ain’t much new info, as most of this stuff, as it is basically just a write down of the letter that was read at the last Cantina Event with no new details or teasers. Most of the community that is concerned about future content probably already knew all this but I guess this makes it “official”… Producer’s Road Map 2015 Hi everyone! For many, the start of the year is a time for setting goals and planning for the future. This is something we have been focused on here at BioWare Austin. 2014 was an amazing year for the team. We delivered two expansions, an overhaul to the class system, and regular story updates through Flashpoints. I’m proud of what the team has accomplished, and we would not…
SWTOR: Patch 3.1.1 Jedi Sentinel and Sith Marauder Changes Analytical Video Preview
In this video Vulkk introduces the upcoming changes for Jedi Sentinel and Sith Marauder with Patch 3.1.1, which was recently released on PTS. He shares his opinion and analysis on the impact of these changes. There is a new Utility added and one was removed, a couple abilities were altered. Whether this fix is good for the class and in what situations will Sentinels and Marauders feel stronger and more viable? If you are interested to hear Vulkk’s opinion, the video is attached down below. Don’t forget toshare your own expectations! Quick reminder of the Sentinel / Marauder patch notes for 3.1.1: Sentinel Just Pursuit has been redesigned: Leg Slash immobilizes the target for 3 seconds. This immobilizing effect cannot be applied to the same target more than once every 10 seconds. Removed the Stagger Skillful Utility. New Skillful Utility: Reining Reach. Reining Reach increases the range of Leg Slash to 10 meters and…
SWTOR: Complete KEYBINDING Guide and UI Tips
Keyboard keybinding is very personal and every player should edit and adjust their abilities to their own taste. With that said, in the linked video Vulkk shows us his personal bindings for both keyboard and mouse as well as various tips, tricks and reasons why certain skills should be located in certain spots and what is the logic behind each and every bound ability. The video examples the Jedi Sentinel keybinds, but the guide is made to be valid for all advanced classes. The ideal system is when all keybinds are the same or very similar for all of our alts, which makes remembering key press combinations a lot easier and saves us time.
The Five People You Meet In A Bioware Game
BioWare is known for their huge open-world games with to-die-for graphics, unique characters, and long stories. The bottom line is that you go on missions, long journeys, boss fights, and then you are able to return to your spaceship, castle, or camp to talk to your recruits and friends you made along the way. Keeping this in mind, here are the top five characters that best stand for what BioWare is and shows off their games the best. Bastila Bastila is a beautiful Jedi that and she makes video game relationships seem quite real, plucking your emotional heartstrings along the way. She is the perfect example of how video games can make you feel like you’re actually falling in love. I’m not here to state that Bastila was a particularly unique character. She was, and is, some moonlit, sultry-toned lady Jedi existing solely to pluck the heartstrings of young men slowly…
BioWare’s Shadow Realms In Flux, Possibly Rebooted
Last year BioWare Austin had a surprise announcement about Shadow Realms but there is word that it may have some large changes, possibly being completely rebooted. The Austin branch of BioWare is famously known for making Star Wars: The Old Republic had originally announced the news of Shadow Realms to be an online 4 vs. 1 action style role playing game and it was to be released in the beginning of 2015. However, this is all changing. There are two different industry sources that are stating they heard Shadow Realms would be cancelled but another third source that is familiar with news about BioWare Austin, states that the game became overhauled in the later part of October. Now the latest plans for Shadow Realms is that it’s to be released in 2017 for the Xbox One, PC, and PS4. Shadow Realms, last year’s surprise announcement from BioWare Austin, is going…
From BioWare to Indie Van Game Jam
The “Indie Van Game Jam” was supposed to drive around the country, making games and interviewing developers. Their kickstarter project didn’t make enough money, but they decided to do it anyway, Kotaku explains. These three guys used to work for Bioware- Zeb, Chad and Diego. They met on the staff of SWTOR and like many of the people I met when visiting BioWare Austin, they were part of big layoffs/quits that came after the game’s released. The friends came together on a new project and they travel the country working on games. So what is the Indie Van Game Jam? Here’s an explanation in their own words: “We travel in a van, make games, and ask independent developers how they make theirs. Think Man Vs. Food meets Indie Game: The Movie.”” Yea, sounds pretty cool, right? I want to be doing something similar with my life now that you mention it. Ok,…
SWTOR Segment from EA GamesCom Press Conference
We have an interesting update today on SWTOR from EA’s GamesCom Press Conference. The SWTOR segment touched on a few things we have not gotten updated on in some time, such as the player count. They also touch on some things that are coming soon in SWTOR (things we all known about already but that might serve to bring in some newer or returning players). From EA’s GamesCom Press Conference: The results have been remarkable. Every month, more than a million players are logging in, playing with their friends, and embarking on their own personal Star Warstm Saga. So basically, EA took almost two minutes out of their press conference today to mention SWTOR. You can see the video for yourself at IGN, but the highlights are: recap of the last 18 months reminder that it’s gone free to play updated content Galactic Starfighter new guild rewards new PvP warzones new Flashpoints and…
Bioware Austin is Hiring
SWTOR Community Manager Eric Musco also shared it on the SWTOR forums. Their web team is looking for a Front End Web Developer to work on SWTOR in the Austin studio. They say they are looking for someone who is passionate about SWTOR and wanting to work on some cool new things. The job listing says you’d be working on “the customer-facing web applications and the web site” for SWTOR.
BioWare Austin working on “several unannounced projects”
According to a job listing posted by BioWare Austin this week, we now know that the company is working on several new unannounced projects. This is pretty interesting news, since BioWare Austin was born to make SWTOR. Original the staff were brought together in 2006 explicitly to make that game, and since its release five years later they’ve done nothing else but run its operations, reconfigure its systems for free-to-play, and develop its expansions… Or so we thought… According the the new job listing, BioWare’s call for a Senior Software Engineer. The job listing says: BioWare Austin is home to the critically acclaimed and award winning Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ MMO. After the hugely successful addition of its Free 2 Play option and the highly praised launch of space PVP with the Galactic Starfighter expansion, the Austin team continues driving forward with SW:TOR and is also hard at work on…
Mass Effect 4 Next Release From Bioware?
Since the recent release of photos depicting the Mass Effect development team as a part of the annual N7 Day Celebrations, gamers haven’t stopped talking about the upcoming game. The game itself is still in the development stage and there isn’t very much definitive information about it yet, but that hasn’t stopped these photos from sparking excitement and speculation all over the internet. People are analyzing and attempting to enhance the photos in order to learn more information, pouring over the tweets that accompanied the photos for hidden clues, and are searching through any information they can find in order to create an accurate picture of what is to come. But the fact is, there’s just not a lot of confirmed information at this point. Little can be seen in the shots that were tweeted; they were shots that were meant to tease, meant to make people speculate. And they…
BioWare Austin is Looking for Local Testers
One thing I love about living in/near Austin is the opportunities like this that come up. Once again, as happens often from time to time, Bioware has put out an ad that they are looking for local testers. I’ve also seen these ads before in comic shops, in the paper, on their website and of course, online job boards. I’ve yet to do one of them because I have a full time job of my own but I have some friends who have done it and it can be a lot of fun if you love the game.
Bioware has Delivered Nearly Everything from May 2012 Survey
Some of you might remember that back in May 2012, there was a rumor about a survey going around. You can actually see one of the old threads about it here on the official forums that has now been revived. The reason being that while it was called a fake, Bioware has now delivered nearly everything that was in that survey over a year ago. Let’s take a look. Possible Expansion? From Swtor Survey Star Wars: The Old Republic: Makeb Mission introduces an explosive new conflict threatening the future of the galaxy. The Hutt Empire has risen from the underworld to challenge the Republic and Sith Empire for control of the galaxy, unleashing never-before-seen droids and monstrous battle stations to serve as powerful weapons of destruction. As a player, you will be forced to take a side in this sudden uprising by The Hutt Empire. Is this a manifestation of…
200% XP Weekends
BioWare have news today were they introduce upcoming double XP Weekends. You heard that right, 2x XP weekends … and they will stack with all current in game XP buffs. For nowt, there are four sets of Double XP weekends planed: March 15, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to March 18, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT March 22, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to March 25, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT March 29, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to April 1, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT April 5, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM to April 8, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT This could mean that we’ll see Rise of the Hutt Cartel drop for early access the week of April 8th already! Now back to the double XP weekends. Eric Musco posted in the official forums how double experience will work with…
BioWare Co-founder Ray Muzyka Seeking a Quieter Life
We know that Ray Muzyka, BioWare co-found and one of the “doctors” left BioWare back in September, along with Greg Zeschuk. Both said they were leaving to pursue other passions but we really didn’t have a lot of information at the time about where they were going or what they were doing. Muzyka told the Edmonton Journal that he was seeking a job that would allow him more time at home with his family and less travel. A parent myself, I can fully understand this. It really can take a toll on you and the family when you’re constantly traveling. “I was in the air probably 250 to 280 days the last couple of years,” Muzyka said. “”That was part of the reason why, after five years spent running the division of a public company, I just knew I needed to seek a new beginning and try and do something…
BioWare Doctors to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at GDC
GDC 2013 is coming up soon and word has it the BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk are getting a very special recognition- the lifetime achievement award. Personally, I’m happy to see them be recognized since the docs have really contributed a great deal to the gaming world, including SWTOR. BioWare founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk have been responsible for the formation of one of the top RPG studios in the world. That creation has led to some truly fantastic games such as Knights of the Old Republic, the Mass Effect series, Baldur’s Gate, the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, and many more. Suffice to say, BioWare has crafted some of the greatest RPGs in gaming history, and at this year’s Game Developer’s Choice Awards at GDC, the founding doctors will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to the art and…
Stat Scaling for 2.0- Are Your Stats Lower on the PTS?
If you’ve logged into the PTS recently, you probably have already seen that the scaling is different from what is live in the game. Stats are usually around 50-70% of the character sheet value in live. Everyone on the PTS was aware that BioWare would be changing the scaling formula but we didn’t know exactly what that would be. Now with 2.0, you can tell what these changes are going to look like. One user on the forum has taken the time to work from the old formula and try to build new co-efficients that will govern the stat scaling (yes, lots of math involved but it’s really interesting.) Here are some of his breakdowns: Defensive Defense Rating – Now scales roughly 118% slower Shield Rating – Now scales roughly 50% slower Absorb Rating – Now scales roughly 127% slower Armor – Now scales 2.5% slower, but remains on a linear progression HP – Buffed…
BioWare are hiring playtesters for Rise of the Hutt Cartel!
Are you living in the Austin area? BioWare Austin is hiring temporary playtesters for the “Rise of the Hutt Cartel” digital expansion coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Current and former players of all experience levels are encouraged to apply. SKILLS/REQUIREMENTS Must be 18 years of age or older Must not have previous professional game development experience Strong verbal communication skills Comfortable giving objective feedback (positive and negative) in a group setting Passion for SWTOR or other massively-multiplayer online games Available to work weekends
SWTOR’s Life Day Holiday Event Angers Gamers
SWTOR gamers were hyped up and ready for Life Day. Unfortunately, many were disappointed at what was offered in lieu of an event. BioWare said, “The stuff we are doing for Life Day are absolutely amazing … I am super excited about it. You guys are going to die when you see it.” So you can just imagine the reaction from the fans when the ‘big events’ fell, well… flat. As one player said “I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a Wookiee Life Day customization for Bowdaar.” It makes sense- it’s Wookiee Life Day- why not even allow players to equip their Life Day items on Bowdaar. Why not have anything in the area to show respect for the date like NPCs in the area in Life Day robes? There wasn’t really any role-playing of it at all. It was pretty disappointing all around and seemed to serve no…
BioWare LiveStream Q&A Event on Tomorrow
BioWare will be holding their second LiveStream Q&A tomorrow November 29 at 3PM CST. Here they will be taking questions about the upcoming Game Update 1.6. It looks like the event will be on for about 30 minutes, so make sure to ask your questions soon if you want the to have a chance to answer. Check out the details below: 11.27.2012 LiveStream Event #2 BioWare and LucasArts are excited to announce the next LiveStream Q&A Event. Below is all the information you need in order to watch and participate in the LiveStream Event. Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ – LiveStream 11/29/2012 3:00pm to 3:30pm CST The second LiveStream Event will discuss Game Update 1.6: The Ancient Hypergate and the recently launched Free-to-Play option. Game Update 1.6 brings an exciting player-versus-player Warzone and new Heroic Space Missions. If you’d like to participate in this LiveStream Q&A Event, you can ask questions on the LiveStream Channel during…
Community Cantina Tour – Austin, TX
BioWare is continuing there road trip, and this time the event bus hit’s Austin Texas. Below are the Austin information. We’re happy to announce that the next stop in the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Cantina Tour will be happening on Friday, November 16th here in Austin, home of the game’s development team! This is your chance to join the community for a development team Q&A as well as complimentary drinks*, food, and giveaways including highly coveted codes for an in-game Tauntaun Fawn! If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and hang out with us! Venue: Mister Tramps Date: Friday, November 16th, 2012 Time: 7-10PM CST Address: 8565 Research Blvd Austin, TX 78758 We look forward to seeing you there! -The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Team * THIS IS AN ADULT EVENT AND ALL ATTENDEES MUST BE OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE TO PARTICIPATE. PLEASE…