Nar Shaddaa: Crowning Jewel of the Underworld

Another planet reveal and, to me, a surprising one. Sure, the planet featured in KotOR 2, but I thought that with Coruscant already in the game we wouldn't get another city planet and with Hutta we already have a crime capitol. I was wrong, because today BioWare revealed that Nar Shaddaa will be in the game.

But first, comics. Today we also get the eighth issue of Blood of the Empire:

In the eighth issue of Blood of the Empire™, Teneb Kel is confronted with a strange and frightening vision of the past, the future, and of his greatest enemy. As he lies broken in the Lenico wasteland, he must seek the truth about Exal Kressh and the Emperor's goals within his mystical dream--or be utterly destroyed when he returns to reality.

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

That is not the only comic-related news though. BioWare is also reporting that the first issue of Threat of Peace is in print:

Issue One of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Threat of Peace from Dark Horse Comics is available in print!

"Threat of Peace" unveils a galaxy on the brink of destruction three hundred years after the events of Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™!

For decades, the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire have been at war-the Sith have gained control of the Outer Rim, but their efforts to penetrate the Core Worlds have so far been thwarted. Now, representatives from both sides attempt to negotiate a peace treaty-but deception by the Sith puts the Jedi in an unfortunate position…

Pick up a copy of Threat of Peace Issue 1 from your local comic store, or order online directly from Dark Horse. An alternate cover version is also available at some outlets and online.

And don’t forget to check back in August and September for Issues 2 and 3!

And then there is the new planet, Nar Shaddaa:

Circling the planet Hutta is its largest moon – Nar Shaddaa, the ultimate corrupt city. Dominated by underworld concerns and owned by the Hutts, this sprawling mass of skyscrapers is considered one of the most dangerous and exciting places in the galaxy, where anything can be had for the right price.

Access the HoloNet to learn more about Nar Shaddaa. Check out this video to see the endless city that covers the moon's landscape. Also, don’t forget to visit the media section for never-before-seen screenshots, concept art, and wallpapers showing this capital of illegal commerce.

And as usual the planet also comes with a new wallpaper:

Nar Shadaa seems like an interesting planet to (re-)visit, though I must admit that I'm not entirely sure what it offers that other planets don't already offer. Ah well, Nar Shaddaa was rather popular I think so I'm sure a lot of people will be quite happy with this.

Finally, on an unrelated note, Massively has an interview with Alexander Freed. Here's an excerpt:

Massively: Since we can't talk about space combat because it comes out in PC Gamer, let's talk about quests.

Alexander Freed: We've got four different kinds of quests. We've got our class quests, which is what we've really focused on when we've talked to the press about story. It's traditional BioWare storytelling in an MMO space. The other three types of quests that we've got are all group quests.

We've got world quests which are essentially like the side quests that you'd see in Dragon Age or Mass Effect. They can be played in a group. That is where you see our multiplayer dialogue system in action.

Then we've got our flashpoints, which are our big, discrete, self-contained, fully-intended-for-group content -- not really intended to be soloable -- showcases of combat and storytelling in a group setting.

Then we've also got our world arcs, which are essentially long, connected sets of world quests telling one complete story with recurring characters. [These arcs are] really kind of showcasing multiplayer dialogue within the open world, so you can be doing them at the same time as you are doing the class quests. They are not in a separate space like the flashpoints are.

And that's it for now.


[link] to interview with Alexander Freed at massively.