Blood of the Empire, Issue #4

The fourth issue of Blood of the Empire is the only update we get this Friday, likely in preparation for the flood of information that's probably come during E3 (in little over a week). Here's the official news on the comic:

In the fourth issue of Blood of the Empire™, Teneb Kel begins his quest to find the Emperor's apprentice and learn the reason she betrayed her master. But a war-torn galaxy isn't always friendly toward Sith, and without a squad of Imperial soldiers to back him up, Teneb must rely on his wits and his lightsaber for protection. Also: what role does the Republic play in Exal Kressh's machinations?

Check out the latest issue of Blood of the Empire now!

There is some speculation that teh jedi master at the start of this issue might be a hint to Miraluka (made popular by Visas Marr in Knights of the Old Republic 2) as a player species. At the very least Sean Dahlberg seems to confirm that there are some details in the comics that directly relate to the game:

While we can understand some people may be frustrated, I want to say the vast majority of people will forgive us after E3 2010.

Also, there is information about the game in the comics (both in TOP and BotE) - in response to a comment above. While there isn't a plethora of meta-gaming details in there, there are some story elements you will run across when you play the game and some other morsels of info that some day you'll go "oooooooh" when you see it in-game.

Of course, he doesn't actually confirm that seeing an NPC of one species means players can play that species too; if anything he's mostly talking about story threads finding their way into the game.

Sean also indicated that we should be getting more great things during E3:

Hey everyone, we're quickly approaching E3 Expo 2010! In fact, we have just about a week and a half until we're there! We have some great things we'll be sharing with you throughout the week and the team is working to make sure that everyone has a great experience (those who are attending E3 and those who will be following us here from the web that couldn't be there).

In other news it seems that one of Star Wars Galaxies' developers, and apparently a fan-beloved one, has moved on to join the The Old Republic development team. As Massively reports:

Massively has learned some exciting news for Star Wars: The Old Republic and sad news for Star Wars Galaxies. According to his Linked-In profile, the fan-beloved developer, Matt Boudreaux, landed a new job at Bioware's Austin studios working on SWTOR. Boudreaux, known as AdeptStrain on the SOE forums, implemented some of the most ground-breaking additions to the aging game Star Wars Galaxies, such as new Jedi and melee animations, the Appearance Tab, and the Chronicles System. His role on the SWG team was solidified by his role in creating some of the best instances like Hoth and Death Troopers.

His wit and easygoing demeanor gained AdeptStrain quick rapport among fans. Roleplayers, in particular, have a vested interest in his work because of the added character customization given by the Appearance Tab. Some players are even considering moving to SWTOR just because AdeptStrain is now a part of the team. A loss for SWG truly is a gain for SWTOR.

Based on their job postings, it does not seem that SOE are looking for a replacement, but when they do, he or she will have big shoes to fill. We at Massively congratulate Matt on his new position and wish him well.

Matt has also since made a couple of posts on the forums (post 1, post 2, post 3):

Hi guys and girls,

If you played SWG in the last two years or so, you know me as AdeptStrain. For everyone else, nice to meet you!

I'm insanely excited to be working here at BioWare. The magnitude of talent here is quite staggering and I hope to contribute in any way I can to make TOR an amazing experience for all. While SWG will always have a special place in my heart, I'm very excited to put all my energies into TOR and help to try and create something really amazing.

I can't wait to start having some interesting conversations. Till then, I'll be diligently working on my various tasks.

- Matt

Post two:

Thanks for all the <3 guys. To answer a few quick questions, my job title is programmer. My current tasks are... my current tasks.

Replying to questions about his ingame allegiance and class:

I honestly have no idea. I normally like being on the good side of things, but I also tend to find the light side a bit whiny for my tastes (seriously, watch Luke in A New Hope). As for class, I personally think the Trooper class is pretty awesome.

The best of luck to Matt in his new job and congratulations to both him and BioWare on the new partnership.