Moon Over Endor

1.1.0b Patch Notes

2012-01-24T13:03:00.000Z

Here are today's patch notes:

1.1.0b Patch Notes - 1/24/2012

General

Implemented optimizations to improve performance on Republic and Imperial Fleets.

Classes and Combat

Significantly improved the delay when activating player abilities, particularly when in lower framerate situations. This allows for improved ability responsiveness in hectic combat situations.

Operations

General

Operations will no longer allow more than 16 Operations Group members to enter concurrently.

Karagga's Palace

Operations Groups will no longer be forced to reset the Operation if the group wipes when attempting to defeat G4-B3 Heavy Fabricator.
Fixed an exploit that would allow players to repeatedly loot the chest after defeating Jarg and Sorno.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that could cause graphical inconsistencies, which most often manifested as random screen "flickering."

Teaching Elephants To Do Ballet

2012-01-23T13:03:00.000Z

That was too good a title to pass up. The Old Republic is a very, very big game and creating it was a very, very big project with lots of moving part. And apparently what Greg Zeschuk said about that was that: “Coordinating it all is like teaching elephants to do ballet.” There's a bit on that, some stock yo-yo-ing that happened last week, some reviews and interviews, and some barking dogs. But all that after the break, first there's a note on the Community Blog by Jeff Hickman on the Ilum situation:

After Game Update 1.1 went live, we discovered that the Open World PvP area on Ilum was not working as our PvP design team intended. As many of you know, large groups of players began capturing the Ilum control points, then 'camping' at the enemy's base. This led to a very frustrating experience for a number of players who were unable to leave their base and fight back against their attackers. It was not a fair gameplay experience. In addition, some players on the attacking side gained more Valor points than designed for the time they spent in PvP.
The amount of Valor granted from these activities was significantly more than intended and we are now carefully investigating players who were on Ilum during this period, and present at some of these 'camping' events. I can reassure you that those who were involved and who gained an unfair advantage over other players inappropriately will be carefully reviewed and action will be taken to restore game balance. This could include Valor adjustments or account actions in accordance with the severity of the issue.
We have made the decision not to enact a mass 'rollback' of Valor points for all players in the game, or even on Ilum. This would unfairly penalize some players who may not have been present during this event. Rest assured though, anyone and everyone who is found to have exploited the situation to an unreasonable degree will be investigated and actions taken as needed. Our in-game metrics are able to give us precise details on where players were, what they were doing and what rewards they gained.
We take any sort of situation where one group of players gains an unexpected or unintended advantage over other players very seriously and will act to ensure that all players can have a fair and fun game experience.
Thanks for your patience while we worked to resolve this issue. Our team worked diligently to get a patch ready to address this and other issues, and we're already seeing the results in improved battles on Ilum. As always we welcome your feedback and will continue to improve moving forward!
Jeff Hickman,
Executive Producer – Live Services

I'm not sure if this will appease those who ran into the troubles on Ilum. And from what I understand (I don't really PvP and haven't been to Ilum yet) things still aren't quite right there. One of the biggest problems seems to be the faction imbalance where there's apparently (and not altogether surprisingly) a lot more Empire players than Republic ones. So BioWare has a lot of work ahead of them to make Ilum the PvP experience that it should be. Still, at least it sounds like they're trying.

After the list a second Community Blog post, this one by Georg Zoeller about the ability delay some people have been suffering from. Also the aforementioned laundry list of other posts.

Coming Up in STAR WARS: The Old Republic

2012-01-19T20:26:00.000Z

With Game Update 1.1 - Rise of the Rakghouls released, and patched, BioWare is keeping the pressure on regarding the future with a "Coming Up in STAR WARS: The Old Republic" video. here's the official news:

See what the future holds for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ in this brand new video which showcases some of the new game content and game systems that we will release in the coming months. In it, you will be able to take your first look at upcoming game content, including new Warzones and Flashpoints. You will also have the chance to get a sneak peek at the expanded Legacy system that’s coming to the game, UI customization, as well as new Guild features!

The video talks about the Flashpoint and how part two is coming in the future, it talks about a new PvP Warzone and ranking coming, it talks about the Legacy system showing a Miraluka with a red lightsaber (Miraluka Sith?), it talks about the guild bank and user interface customization. Showing examples of all. And they stress again that they listen to the community.

It's all looking quite good, though if "you can play the faction-restricted races on the other side now" is the main selling point for the Legacy system I'm going to be disappointed. I'll take it more as a sneak peak though. In fact I'll take everything like that. After all, it's all still very much in development I'm sure.

After the break I'll post the most recent patch notes, (hopefully) fixing the mess on Ilum and a few other things.

Become a Founding Member!

2012-01-19T10:06:00.001Z

THere is trouble on Ilum. Due to a bug Empire players (who seem to greatly outnumber Republic players on just about every server) are massively spawn-camping the Republic spawn points. Today BioWare will issue an emergency patch to fix the issue and soon these troubles too will be behind us. In the meantime we've (well, those of us high enough level to be on Ilum) have an interesting experience to relate. Years from now you can relate to your character's grandchildren "I was there when...".

And to prove it you'll be able to whip out this fancy new "Founder" title that BioWare is introducing:

We would like to thank each and every one of you for helping to make Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ one of the most successful MMO launches of all time. To show our appreciation, from now through March 19th, 2012, 12:01AM EST, we are rewarding early members of The Old Republic community with a unique Founder’s medal* and title.
So how do you earn the “Founder” title? This reward is only available to players who have completed either one of the following transactions (by March 19th, 2012, 12:01AM EST; Pacific: March 18th, 9:01PM PST; European: 4:01AM GMT, 5:01AM CET):
Billed at least once for an active Star Wars: The Old Republic subscription
OR
Redeemed a Star Wars: The Old Republic Pre-Paid Game Time Code
Once you become eligible for the title and have surpassed your 30 days of game time included with your official Game Product Registration Code, you will be notified by email. The Founder’s medal will be delivered to all your characters through in-game mail. From the in-game mail, simply right-clicking on the medal to unlock the “Founder” title to your character. This title is permanently bound to your account and will carry over to any character you make in the future. (NOTE: It may take up to 7 days for the “Founder” title to be applied).
TIP: You can choose to show the Founder’s title or any other title you’ve earned in-game by opening your character sheet and selecting a title from the character name drop down. Once applied, the title will show next to your character name on your nameplate.
If you haven’t picked up the game yet or need to purchase a Pre-Paid Game Time Code, be sure to purchase one now! To redeem your Game Time Code, visit the Code Redemption Center. Finally, to sign up for a recurring subscription, log in to www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com and visit “My Accounts > Subscription.” Star Wars: The Old Republic has three recurring subscription plans:
1 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 30 days): $14.99 per month (£8.99/€12.99)
3 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 90 days): $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
6 Month Subscription (automatically billed every 180 days): $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)
For more information about how to unlock the exclusive Founder’s Medal and title, visit the Rewards page.
*OFFER EXPIRES MARCH 19, 2012 AT 12:01AM EST; MARCH 18, 2012 AT 9:01PM PST; MARCH 19, 2012 AT 4:01AM GMT; MARCH 19, 2012 AT 5:01AM CET. GOOD ONLY FOR PURCHASES OF STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ WITH REDEMPTION OF A PURCHASED GAME TIME CODE OR BILLING OF AN ACTIVE GAME RECURRING SUBSCRIPTION WITH AN APPROVED PAYMENT METHOD. VALID WHEREVER GAME IS SOLD. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED, TAXED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. CUSTOMERS WILL ACCESS THE ITEM IN-GAME. VIRTUAL ITEM ONLY. ITEM WILL BE APPLIED TO ALL CHARACTERS UNDER USER’S ACCOUNT. PLEASE ALLOW 7 DAYS FOR NOTIFICATION OF DELIVERABLES.

I don't think that I'll be permanently sporting the title. "Founder Tricia" just doesn't sound right and I don't think that it'll really fit any of the other characters I'll be playing in the future. But even so I think that it's a nice gesture from BioWare as a "thank you" for being here from the start.

Design Notes - Game Update 1.1

2012-01-18T17:46:00.001Z

Game Update 1.1 - Rise of the Rakghouls has gone live and the servers are up. And on BioWare's Community Blog Game Director James Ohlen made a design notes post. Here is the text:

Today we are releasing our first major Game Update, Rise of the Rakghouls. Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ has had a very successful launch, but we know our work has only begun. We want you, our fans, to know that we’ll continue expanding and exploring the galaxy, ensuring it’s a place where new adventures are constantly unfolding.

Both high and low level players will discover new content and game systems waiting for them in this Game Update. Our goal is to provide something exciting for every type of player in the game: PVP players, Flashpoint fans, Guild members, space combat aces and role-players.

This first Game Update will show everyone how serious we are about expanding Star Wars: The Old Republic, and there’s much more to come. We have another major update planned for March and future content arriving throughout 2012 and 2013. We plan to release new Operations, Flashpoints, Warzones, Space Missions, single player content, vehicles, and companion characters. We’ll always be improving our existing game with additions like guild banks, PVP ranked matches and interface customization. Our Legacy system expands in March, bringing more options and a new level of depth to the existing character classes.

Our Game Updates will also include bug fixes, balance changes, performance improvements and exploit-proofing based on your feedback. We review reports from the community every day and compare them to gameplay metrics, QA bugs and our own experiences in the live game—where we’re playing right alongside you. Although we already address critical issues during our weekly updates, the major Game Updates will implement some of the most sweeping changes and fixes.

Expect a few surprises between these Game Updates, too. You never know when the Republic might strike Dromund Kaas, if a mysterious alien fleet could appear in the Core Worlds… or when the Rakghoul plague of Taris might infect the rest of the Galaxy. Changes are coming, and they’ll affect everyone.

We fully intend to support Star Wars: The Old Republic—and our players—for many years to come.

James Ohlen
Game Director

See, now you've got me curious as to what surprises between Game Updates they're going to have. Of course if I knew it wouldn't be a surprise anymore. Though considering the first update wouldn't it be appropriate to swarm the galaxy with Rakghoul?

I posted the full patch notes for update in my previous post.

Game Update 1.1 - Rise of the Rakghouls

2012-01-18T14:13:00.000Z

As I write this I think that the servers are still down (not that I can play anyway), but BioWare did post the patch notes for the update. Here is the opening description:

Game Update 1.1
Rise of the Rakghouls
A mysterious outbreak of rakghouls threatens the worlds of the Tion Hegemony, a strategically important sector of the galaxy that has remained neutral to both Republic and Imperial advances. Now Republic and Imperial forces race to the besieged world of Kaon to eliminate the threat, desperate to secure the allegiance of the Tion Hegemony for themselves…
Welcome to Game Update 1.1 of Star Wars™: The Old Republic – Rise of the Rakghouls. In this episode your high-level characters will be introduced to the Tion Hegemony, journeying to the world of Kaon for the first time in Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege. You can also expect to see new and dangerous foes inhabiting Operation: Karagga's Palace, challenging you further in various difficulty modes.
Beyond these major content additions, changes have been made throughout the game, including a number of changes to Open World PvP on the planet of Ilum. Read on for the full patch notes, and we look forward to hearing your feedback about the new content on the Forums.

Read on after the break for the full patch notes.

‘Kaon Under Siege’ Flashpoint

2012-01-16T14:09:00.001Z

I should have known that BioWare would have an official announcement for the Rise of the Rakghouls content update. As such everything in that announcement, as well as the video for the "Kaon Under Siege" Flashpoint I already posted in my previous post. But ah well; here's the news for the Flashpoint anyway:

The Tion Hegemony is in utter chaos. A mysterious outbreak of the Rakghoul plague has spread across several worlds, killing countless civilians while mutating others into Rakghouls themselves. On the planet of Kaon a small group of survivors fight against the endless waves of Rakghoul monstrosities. Now both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire have set plans in motion to rescue the survivors of Kaon, locate the source of the virus, and forge an alliance with the Tion Hegemony.
We are excited to give you this preview of ‘Kaon Under Siege,’ the new Flashpoint coming January 17 as part of the next major Game Update for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

Nothing new there, but at least now I can give this post the video label.

After the break the full Rise of the Rakghoul announcement, five screenshots from the Flashpoint exclusive to fansites and the developer quotes from last week.

Rise of the Rakghouls Coming

2012-01-13T15:30:00.000Z

Tuesday the 17^th The Old Republic is going to get its first content update and it's called Rise of the Rakghouls. And here I am, currently playing on Taris already neck-deep in rakghouls and all I can think is "they're going to rise even further? Do they want me to drown in the damn things?". But no, it's referring to the a new story-driven Flashpoint we'll be seeing. Here's the trailer for it from YouTube:

Could be interesting, though it's hard to tell from that trailer. It's not going to be the only addition though. No, as Shacknews reports there are in fact two big content additions:

Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege is a completely new and unique group combat experience located on Kaon, a planet in the Tion Hegemony, a strategically important sector of the galaxy that has remained neutral, Groups of up to four Republic or Imperial players must race to Kaon to eliminate the Rakghouls outbreak, securing the allegiance of the Tion Hegemony for their respective sides. This Flashpoint will be available for level 50 characters only and will feature Normal and Heroic modes.
Operation: Karagga’s Palace is a continuation of the game’s second launch Operation. In the Operation, teams of 8 or 16 players will face off against Karagga and the Hutt Cartel after the Hutts abandon their famous neutrality and breach agreements with both the Republic and Empire. Concerned by the threat of another combatant in the war for galactic control, both factions send teams of their most powerful heroes to confront Karagga and determine his intentions. This Operation will feature Normal, Heroic and Nightmare difficulty modes.

Those are the big additions, but there are more changes coming in the patch. MMORPG reports on DR. Greg Zeschuk's words:

“A month ago when we launched the Early Game Access program for Star Wars: The Old Republic, we promised our fans that this would just be the beginning of our journey together,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, General Manager of the BioWare Label’s MMO Business Unit and Co-Founder of BioWare. “Rise of the Rakghouls adds a lot of the things our community has been asking for – additional higher level group content, features like anti-aliasing, PvP bracketing and more. In the future, game updates will be even more substantial, as we promise to continue to not only add to The Old Republic, but to also improve and refine the experience with the full Legacy System and new Guild features.”

That full Legacy System and new Guild features (such as the guild bank) refer to the second content update that's currently slated for March. Read on after the break for various interviews with the developers (particularly James Ohlen) about Rise of the Rakghouls, the second update and beyond.

Labels Changed

2012-01-12T16:48:00.000Z

I try to tag all the posts I make on this site as appropriately as I can with labels. Hopefully that'll help make things easier to find. But at the same time I don't want too many labels either and instead have a relatively short list.

When I started the blog new labels pretty much came whenever I posted something that didn't fit in the existing labels. I tried to use labels I thought were going to be used a fair bit, but that didn't always happen. Additionally the blog was very much focused on pre-release, trying to find out what kind of game The Old Republic was going to be. With the game now being released that's all far less interesting (as we know what kind of game it is).

With a bunch of labels with very few posts and a bunch of labels that weren't as relevant anymore I decided it was time to try and do a little label cleanup (also because I finally found out how to change and remove labels with Blogger).

Read on after the break to see what changes I made and why and for a list of all current labels and what I mean by them.

Holiday Patch Notes

2012-01-12T14:41:00.001Z

Early Game Access began on the 13^th of December and the game officially launched on the 20^th of December 2011, but BioWare hasn't been sitting still since then. Throughout the Holiday period (and continuing still) BioWare has regularly published patches to the game, fixing a variety of bugs. The patest patch was today, so I thought that it might be nice to publish those patch notes. And then, for completion's sake, post every other patch notes before that as well (after the break). It is my intention to start regularly reporting the patch notes as BioWare publishes them.

At all times you can find all the patch notes (with the latest ones showing by default, but the others selectable to the right) on the official patch notes page.

1.0.2d Patch Notes 1/12/2012

Items

Fixed an exploit that allowed the removal of Armoring item modifications that were not intended to be available for removal on Artifact quality items.

Flashpoints and Operations

Flashpoints

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from resetting their active Flashpoint.

Operations

Eternity Vault

Using "Reset All Active Operations" no longer causes Soa and the Ancient Pylons to respawn even if the player is currently locked out of these encounters.

Unofficial Holiday Updates

2012-01-12T13:20:00.000Z

"Unofficial" is perhaps not the right word, more "Coming From Sources Other Than The Official Website". But that makes for a bit long title so I went with what I did, making it the next in my series of "playing catch-up with the Holidays" series.

Though I'll start with something that can be considered an official update as it was posted on The Old Republic's official YouTube channel. The following video shows a flash freeze mob in New York's Times Square held to celebrate the launch of the game:

That was quite amazing. Would've been something to just be there, going about your last-minute Christmas shopping, and then have all that happening. Though when I started watching I didn't know that it was a freeze mob and kind of expected to see some choreographed combat. This was still amazing though.

After the break I'll look at a bunch of other things posted over the Holiday weeks.

Official Holiday Updates

2012-01-10T17:02:00.000Z

For my second post in getting caught up with the news from over the holiday season (the first one listing the reviews that have been posted) I'm listing the official updates from the last couple of weeks.

It seems that BioWare pretty much stopped with the Friday updates (which is fine by me... made sense pre-release but not so much anymore now). But instead they started a blog with various developer posts and news about the game. Let me list the official updates I caught over the last few weeks, both from the official blog and their news feed:

[link] to launch press release.
[link] to welcome to SWTOR message.
[link] to thank you for playing article.
[link] to what's next article.
[link] to a sneak peek.
[link] to momentum surges article.
[link] to a word on bugs.
[link] to PvP Update.

I'm not going to quote all of them. Things like the press release and the welcome message and such I'll leave for you to read at the links above if you're interested. But, after the break, I will quote four of them which talk about the future. Additionally I've also included the developer quotes from the last few weeks (at least as far as I could get them).

Reviews

2012-01-09T16:23:00.000Z

The Old Republic has launched and has been live for a number of weeks now, nearing a month if you count Early Game Access. And in that time a lot of gaming sites have played the game and written extensive reviews about it.

Here is a list of the ones I've seen (some found on my own, others picked up from Metacritic), including the score that they gave the game (if there are multiple links for a site I only list the score they gave once):

[link] to first impressions at MMORPG.
[link] to review at Ten Ton Hammer. (88/100)
[link] to review at PC Gamer. (93/100)
[link] to review at Eurogamer. (8/10)
[link] to review at GameSpy. (4/5)
[link] to impressions at Shacknews.
[link] to review at MMORPG. (8.7/10)
[link] to review at GameSpot. (8.0/10)
[link] to video review at GameSpot.
[link] to review at IGN. (9.0/10)
[link] to video review at IGN.
[link] to review journal at IGN.
[link] to review at G4TV. (5/5)
[link] to review at Ausgamers. (9.5/10)
[link] to review at DarkZero. (9/10)
[link] to review at The A.V. Club. (B-)
[link] to review at Digital Spy. (4/5)
[link] to review at IncGamers. (8/10)
[link] to review at Cheat Code Central. (4.5/5)
[link] to review at VentureBeat. (89/100)
[link] to review at The Guardian. (4/5)

Read on after the break as I briefly pull out a couple of reviews.

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I nicked the above image from the Internet somewhere, but I thought that it was appropriate enough. Not only is it the new year, but The Old Republic has been officially released for (almost) two weeks now. This makes 2012 pretty much the year in which we get to officially play BioWare's massive Star Wars MMO. The start of a new saga.

Since I've been away pretty much exactly since launch I haven't kept a close eye on the news. But I have been scanning headlines (and storing news messages to read when I get back) and from what I can tell everything seems to be going quite well for the game. The launch seems to have gone incredibly smoothly with the worst thing being some queues, and everywhere people seems to be much enjoying the game (again, based mainly on scanning headlines). In general I've got the feeling that The Old Republic is set to do quite well in 2012.

For now though, enjoy the New Year's celebrations. Enjoy the fireworks if you are somewhere that people light them (they don't seem to do so where I am in France). Enjoy your time with your family and enjoy the champagne, but remember to drink responsibly. And let's all work to make 2012 the best year yet.

Choose Your Side: Smuggler vs. Sith Warrior

2011-12-21T16:33:00.000Z

Right now I'm on vacation (on my parents' not-that-fast computer), yesterday I was travelling, Monday my Internet was down and the days before that I was lost in a galaxy far, far away. So I'm a little late reporting last Friday's update.

Though at this point I think most people are more interested in playing the game than in reading about it. Either way.

Anyway, just as I predicted, last Friday BioWare gave us the final "Choose Your Side" video, facing off the Smuggler against the Sith Warrior. Here is the official news:

From the moment we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which classes they feel will have the upper hand.
In the fourth and final installment of “Choose Your Side,” writers and developers discuss the ins and outs of the Smuggler and Sith Warrior classes, highlighting some of the skills and abilities that separate these classes from the rest. This time around, Senior Writer Hall Hood and Senior Game Designer William Wallace stand behind the Smuggler, while Writer Ian Ryan and PvP Designer Ben Pielstick speak for the Sith Warrior.

Personally my money is on the Sith Warrior for this. Lightsabers, use of the Force and an utter ruthlessness are probably going to be better than blasters and wisecracks. Don't get me wrong, I think Smugglers are more fun, but Han Solo did end up in that carbonite.

After the break a note regarding server queues, numerous articles and developer quotes.

“Your Saga Begins” Launch Documentary

2011-12-20T08:13:00.001Z

No, I haven't posted last Friday's update yet. I'm working on that post, but had Internet trouble yesterday and for the rest I've been kinda busy (in a galaxy far, far away). And I've got to leave to catch my plane in five minutes, so this'll have to do.

With it being launch day today I did want to post this though. In celebration of launch day BioWare released a new documentary video titled "Your Saga Begins". here is the official news:

The day has arrived! We are excited to announce that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is on store shelves. This is an exciting day for all of us at BioWare and LucasArts, and to celebrate the launch of the game we want to show you all a short video. This documentary chronicles the development of the game, with members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic development team talking about the experience creating epic stories that allow players to live out their very own Star Wars™ fantasies in a galaxy populated with thousands of other players.
Be sure to watch “Your Saga Begins” now, and then pick up your copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic to explore iconic worlds and take on epic adventures with your friends.

Dammit BioWare now I don't want to go on vacation. (Ok, not entirely true, I'm much looking forward to seeing my family again, but even so I also want to play).

After the break another short BioWare post and a link to the official press release.

Grace Period

2011-12-16T11:31:00.000Z

Originally The Old Republic's Early Game Access would end on the 19^th and if you hadn't redeemed your product key (as opposed to your pre-order key) by then you wouldn't be able to play on the 20^th (at least until you redeemed your product key). This was unusual because most MMOs with an early access program give players a few days into launch where they can play even without their product key registered (known as a "grace period"). This is to give stores a chance to ship the product to players. So people were understandably somewhat upset when The Old Republic decided not to have one.

Luckily though they've changed their minds and The Old Republic now offers two days of grace. Here is the official news:

Hello everyone,
While we've worked closely with our retailers in the launch territories to ensure copies of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ are available from our launch date of December 20th, we understand that for those who’ve pre-ordered there is a concern about getting your copy on time. We’ve heard you want a 'grace period' where you can continue to play without having to enter a final product registration code (AKA 'game code').
We've been listening, and after doing another deep review of our platform infrastructure we're taking action. Today, we're announcing a two day grace period for Star Wars: The Old Republic customers.
This means that everyone who pre-ordered and is in the Early Game Access program has two days beyond December 20th in which to enter their product registration code, which will be found inside the physical Standard and Collector's Editions of the game; for digital editions of the game from Origin.com, the registration code will have been emailed to you after December 16th. After December 22nd 12:01AM EST, you will be required to have a valid payment method and a product registration code registered to your account to continue to play. We strongly recommend that you register your product code as soon as you are able to do so (rather than waiting until the last minute) to ensure a seamless entry into the game, a smooth experience on the account website and to collect any special gifts and items you may be entitled to based on the version of the game you purchased.
We understand that for some, your copy of the game may still arrive after December 21st. Unfortunately we cannot extend the grace period any further. We suggest you contact your retailer to discuss shipping options, if this is a concern.
You may be wondering if your 30 days of game time will be affected by the grace period. The answer is no. If you redeem your product registration code during the grace period, and add a valid payment method to your account, you will begin your billing cycle from then, and you will be entitled to 30 days of game time. If you redeem your product registration code before December 20th, your billing cycle will begin on December 20th at 12:01AM EST (the official launch date and time of the game).
We know this has been an issue for some of you, and we apologize for the concerns. We're looking forward to welcoming all of you to the official launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic!

It's good news for those who want to play on the 20^th and fear that their code might arrive a day or two late. For me it's not much of a concern either way since I'm leaving on vacation starting the 20^th anyway and won't be registering my product code until I get back home a few weeks later.

While I'm at it, let me also post a press release, the official Early Access start news and news on maintenance windows during launch after the break.

Bonus Music Tracks

2011-12-13T16:11:00.000Z

BioWare announced on Facebook that in addition to the daily tracks they're giving us eight bonus tracks today:

Every day we have brought you a new musical score from STAR WARS: The Old Republic. Today we have reached an incredible milestone, we have reached 500,000 ‘likes’ right here on Facebook! As an extra reward for reaching half a million ‘likes’, we are releasing 8 additional bonus tracks of music for your listening enjoyment! Thank you again for your continued support and may the Force be with you.

You can find them and all the other tracks released so far in my original music post.

Welcome and What's Next

2011-12-13T13:45:00.003Z

With Early Game Access started, in a very real way pretty much the launch of the game, BioWare just posted two posts on the website. One to bid players welcome and the other to give an idea of what they're working on next.

Here is the welcome post:

This is a big day for us; we are launching Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, BioWare’s largest and most ambitious project to date, and we’re very proud that you’ve been able to join us. It’s an honor to be able to share this game with you.
A huge team of talented, passionate people at BioWare, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts as well as many other partners all over the world poured their hearts and souls into this game. We want to thank every single one of them for being part of the team that developed this game; it’s a monumental accomplishment.
Another group of people that we depended upon was you, the players. We had hundreds of thousands of players spend millions upon millions of hours beta testing this game. Without you we never would have been able to build it; thank you for your contribution. This game is yours just as much as it is ours.
And finally we want to emphasize that this is just the beginning of a very long journey together. The game is launched, but it’s not done; it will probably never be done as we’re committed to working on Star Wars: The Old Republic in order to keep improving it and delivering exemplary service to you, the customer. It’s going to be a great ride.
Finally, we can only think of one appropriate way to sign off on this auspicious occasion:
May the Force be With You!

Ray Muzyka & Greg Zeschuk
Co-Founders, BioWare

Personally I was thinking of "here goes nothing", but I guess "may the Force be with you" works as well.

Read on after the break for the future plans.

Early Game Access Begins

2011-12-13T13:04:00.000Z

The call has gone out, Early Game Access has begun. The first wave of emails has been sent and people have started playing.

I got an email as well, so I'll be playing as soon as I get home from work. Unfortunately with some chaos regarding the EU RP megaserver (a number of large guilds decided to split themselves off and go to another server instead) I'm undecided what server I'll play on. Bah.

Anyway, if you're in today then congratulations and have fun. And if not then hang on tight, you'll get in soon enough.

P.s. For those who don't know or don't remember; that image was originally used to tease the announcement of The Old Republic over three years ago. Seems fitting to use again now (nicked from MMORPG).

Guild Deployment Details

2011-12-12T23:45:00.001Z

Early Game Access is almost upon us and BioWare has started sending out email to guilds with their guild deployment details. BioWare also posted a short FAQ explaining how everything (related to Guild Deployment) works. Here's an excerpt:

Now that your guilds are in the game, ready to go, here’s everything you need to know about how Guild Deployment works.
How can I tell if/where my guild has been deployed?
Everyone will receive an email before Early Access with details about the status of their guild.
If your guild was successfully deployed to a server, you’ll receive a link to the website that you can follow to find out what server your guild has been placed on.
If your guild was not deployed to a server because it did not meet the qualifications for import, you will be able to create your guild manually in the game.
Server assignments through the Guild HQ system are final and cannot be changed, but you and your guild are not in any way required to play on the server where you were placed. We have pre-created assigned guilds on specific servers as a convenience to you, and these assignments may be ignored at your discretion.

Not really mentioned in the FAQ, but you can also search for guilds and on the guild page find out what server they're deployed on (which doesn't mean that they'll actually play on that server).

After the break a few more details (such as server lists collected in various places), but first I want to give a shout out to the SWTOR-RP.com community who have been in the progress of selecting a "megaserver" (well, two, one for EU and one for NA but I've only been keeping track of the EU one). They've decided that the "The Progenitor" EU RP-PvE (English) will be European roleplaying megaserver and invite all roleplayers to join them there to make as strong a roleplaying community as possible. I'll be looking to play on that server as well.

Read on after the break for a few more links.

Sith Inquisitor Character Progression

2011-12-10T01:33:00.000Z

Just a few more days and many, if not most, of us will be playing The Old Republic for realz.

But first we've got another Friday Update. On this day of Christmas my SWOTOR gave to me, the last of the class progression videos showing the Sith Inquisitor... uh... see? Yes, that'll do. As per BioWare's official news:

As you progress in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character will acquire new skills and abilities that complement their more powerful weapons and armor.
Feared across the galaxy for both their mastery of the Dark Side of the Force™ and their ability to manipulate those around them, even those within the Empire know to watch themselves when in the presence of a Sith Inquisitor. Some acolytes who complete the trials use their newfound powers to channel the Force into devastating mental and lightning attacks. Others command the Force to deceive their enemies both in conversation and on the battlefield.

Hurray for more silly hats. Seriously though, the Sith Inquisitor (at least the Assassin) is a fun class to play with some great Darkside options. They just don't have much fashion sense. Either that or I don't. Then again, if you're in command of the Dark Side of the Force then you probably don't need much fashion sense as you can just electrocute anyone who even thinks of making fun of your outfit.

Oh, and my prediction for next week: Smuggler versus Sith Warrior "Choose Your Side" video. I'm calling it.

Read on after the break for the introduction of the SWTOR Community Blog, launch events, lots of links to articles across the net, and the developer quotes. Oh, and one funny Gamebreaker video which, if you haven't seen it already, you don't want to miss. And don't forget that I've been keeping my Music of The Old Republic post updated with the daily tracks BioWare has been posting up on Facebook.

Pre-load started

2011-12-07T23:51:00.000Z

Pre-loading for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been started. If you pre-ordered the game (and registered your pre-order) then you can download the game client from your account at swtor.com and start downloading the 20GB or so of data needed for the game. Here's the news from BioWare:

Early Game Access* for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is only a few days away! Starting December 13, 2011, The Old Republic will begin emailing invitations to start your Early Game Access. Invitations will be sent throughout the Early Game Access period offering rolling access to the game in the order in which you redeemed your Pre-Order Code, so be sure to check your email inbox!
To ensure that players can get into the game as quickly as possible when their Early Game Access begins, we are now allowing everyone who has redeemed a Pre-Order Code at our Code Redemption Center to pre-load the game to their computer.
In order to download the game client before Early Game Access begins, you need have already logged into your account and redeemed your Pre-Order Code. Once you have done this, you can download the game client by clicking on “My Account” in the upper-right of the window and then click “Pre-Order.” On your Pre-Order page, click the large button that says “Download Game Client” to begin download of the game!
If you participated in our recent Beta Testing Weekend between November 25th and 28th and still have the game client installed, you will be able to patch this client instead of re-installing by simply launching your client, logging in and allowing the download to complete. If you did not participate in the November 25th – 28th Beta Weekend, first uninstall the Game Testing Client and then re-install to ensure your game client will function correctly during Early Game Access.
Learn more about how to get ready for Early Game Access!
If you haven’t pre-ordered Star Wars: The Old Republic yet, you still have time. Visit our Pre-Order Page, secure your copy of the game and redeem your Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center to pre-load the client and qualify for Early Game Access.
If you have any issues installing or patching the game client for The Old Republic, check visit the Customer Service Support section for information and assistance.
*Customers who redeem their Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center prior to launch will be able to pre-load the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Client before the official Game launch. Pre-loading the Game does not grant you access to the Game. Pre-Ordering the Game only allows you access to the Early Game Access period and your Color Crystal. Early Game Access may be up to 7 days. The length of your Early Game Access depends on the date and order in which you redeemed your Pre-Order Code. In order to continue playing the Game after the Early Game Access period, you must redeem your official Game Product Registration Code at the Code Redemption Center.

If you can spare the bandwith then I'd uninstall any old beta clients even if you've played the weekend of the 25^th, just to clean out any mess the beta might've left.

And yes, this means that BioWare extended the Early Access period by two days, starting on the 13^th now instead of the 15^th. Though it seems that we'll have to wait until next week to know how many of those days each of us can use. And there not being a grace period after Early Access is likely going to rub a few people the wrong way too (not me, since I'm leaving on vacation on launch day).

Anyway, this should give everyone a week at least to download all the data, which should be more than plenty of time.

SWTOR Beta Preview

2011-12-06T22:05:00.000Z

By this time it feels like pretty much everyone who wanted to has played The Old Republic. Even so, having playing played in beta, and trying to play as little as possible so as to avoid spoiling the story (and not being very successful at it), I thought it might be nice to share my thoughts on the game.

In the end I made a deal with myself: I allowed myself to play the origin planets (except Hutta) and not any of the other planets (except Dromund Kaas). I didn't want to play Hutta because Imperial Agent will be (one of) my (two) main characters (the other one being Jedi Consular) and I didn't want to spoil the story (any more than I already did at the London Fan Day months ago). And since all the other planets are shared I didn't want to play those either... though I allowed myself Dromund Kaas so that I could see how things were after the starter planets and get to my ship (and thus experience some space combat). Since by the time I decided on this self-imposed rule I'd already played a Consular to level 10 playing Tython again wouldn't be an issue.

As such I played every Republic class up to level 10 (and the Consular three times), both Sith classes to level 16 and a Bounty Hunter to level 20. The Bounty Hunter was a special case where I avoided all side quests (though I did do all side quests on Dromund Kaas again just to bridge the level gap some) and managed to finish the class story on two planets after Dromund Kaas. I tried to do similar with the Sith Inquisitor after Dromund Kaas, but half-way through Balmorra ran into a level 20 elite (while I was still level 16) that I couldn't defeat.

Read on after the break for my experiences in the game.

Choose Your Side: Agent vs. Consular

2011-12-04T16:51:00.000Z

First off; woot:

That means I can (finally) use the keyboard to make dialog choices without being surprised by BioWare's different interpretations. And yes, tha's optional (in fact it defaults to off right now).

Anyway, on to the Friday updates. This Friday BioWare released another "Choose Your Side" video, this time pitting my two main classes against each other: Jedi Consular versus Imperial Agent. Here's the official news:

From the moment we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which class they feel reigns supreme.
In the latest entry of our series “Choose Your Side,” members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team plead their cases for two iconic Star Wars™ classes, highlighting the many skills and abilities that set each class apart. This time around, Senior Writer Alexander Freed and Designer Ken Dilks argue in favor of the stealthy Imperial Agent, while Writer Jo Berry and Designer Jason Attard speak on behalf of the Force-wielding Jedi Consular.

I'm going to be a cop-out and say it's a draw. The Agent (particularly the sniper) seems to me to be a very preparation-based class getting the upper hand when they get to decide when-and-where, but the Consular (particularly the Sage) seems a heavily reaction-based class, healing back whatever damage the Agent might do. So it becomes a question of whether the Agent can do damage quickly enough for the Consular to react to or not.

It also seems to me that the video focuses heavily on the Sniper and Sage advanced classes, pretty much ignoring both the Shadow and Operative advanced classes (not once did it mention stealth that I recall). Then again it's probably not very interesting making a video of two invisible classes.

Read on after the break for The Old Republic peripherals, the end of the pre-launch guild program, lots of links again, and the developer quotes.

Listen to the Music of The Old Republic

2011-12-02T13:10:00.001Z

BioWare announced that every day from now until launch they'll release a music track of The Old Republic. Here's the official news with the first track (The Mandalorian Blockade):

The Collector’s Edition of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ includes seventeen original tracks, but this is just a small sampling of the breadth of music that was composed specifically for the game. As we count down the days until our December 20th launch, we want you to experience the entire original score! That’s why, starting today and continuing every day until launch, we are releasing one new musical track available for download each day on both Facebook and YouTube!
You can head over to our Facebook page right now to listen to and discuss “The Mandalorian Blockade”, the first track that we’ve released. This track is also available to download below, and all of the released tracks will be available for download from this page on December 20th. Make sure that you check back to Facebook each day to listen to the latest musical score from the game, and while you’re there remember to ‘Like’ us so that you don’t miss a single track.
Download Now:
TheMandalorianBlockade.mp3

[EDIT] Link to the file removed; find it together with the others in the list below (after the break).

The music is quite nice and suitably epic. But most importantly it sounds very Star Wars despite being clearly new music (near as I can tell at least).

I'm not going to make a post every day with new music, but I think I might collect them every Friday when posting the Friday news. Which reminds me that I should probably prepare my mp3-player for a bunch of Star Wars music to listen to over the Holidays (to stay in the mood).

Only two more weeks...

[EDIT] Contrary to what I said above I decided to just update this post instead with the new tracks. Read the lastest list after the break.

Jedi Consular Character Progression

2011-11-21T16:21:00.001Z

With the (likely) last beta weekend, and by far the biggest, slowly drawing to a close we take a look at the Jedi Consular character progression video that BioWare released last Friday. Here is the official news:

As your character grows more powerful, you will see them gain new skills and abilities to complement the superior gear they acquire.
Channeling the power of the Force to give them strength in combat and clarity in diplomacy, Jedi Consulars are respected for their leadership on the battlefield as well as their evenhanded demeanor at the negotiating table. While many devote themselves to uncovering the ancient secrets of the Jedi and use their command of the Force to defend and protect their allies, others use the Force as a means of slipping into the shadows and becoming powerful servants for the Republic.

My, those Jedi Sages sure do get some silly hats. Let's all be imminently thankful for the "hide helmet" option. In general find it hard to get excited by this video at all. The gameplay doesn't look very interesting (the closest it gets to interesting is the Shadow's stealth, but even that doesn't feel that exciting) and the clothing doesn't look very compelling either (large shoulderpads and all). I get that it's difficult to make a healer look that interesting (and I've no issue with robes, quite the contrary), but this video failed to make me excited for the Consular. It failed to make me feel "Yes, I want that", which is a pity. Particularly since I'm still planning to make the Jedi Sage one of my two main classes.

Anyway, with all the beta stuff going on there are a lot of articles to go through again. That and the developer quotes after the break.

Bringing Down the Hammer (on the NDA)

2011-11-18T13:12:00.001Z

The NDA has been lifted! That means that all across the world people can finally inform their significant others what they've been so secretive about all these months. And it means that you'll see a bunch of previews articles appear all across the net, that too.

But before we get to that the official Friday update, consisting of a trailer for another Flashpoint and the announcement of a new (non-fiction) book. Here's the official news on the Flashpoint video:

The ‘Hammer,’ a powerful prototype battle station developed by the Republic, was thought to have been destroyed in the war, but it has mysteriously reappeared in the possession of the expansionist Advozsec. Determined to assert their new power, the Advozsec have been using the weapon to conquer neutral worlds in the Outer Rim. Now, before the Hammer can strike again, both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire have set plans in motion to bring the station down.
We are excited to present a new preview of ‘Bringing Down the Hammer,’ just one of the many Flashpoints in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

It's one of those movies which, while decent, I doubt I'll remember a month from now. Then again, I'll be playing The Old Republic a month from now so I doubt it'll matter much anyway.

Continue reading after the break for the book news and a wave of articles come out of the NDA lifting and news on the newly announced Legacy System. That and the developer quotes of course (this week with a special guest star).

Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs. Trooper

2011-11-10T12:55:00.002Z

It's Friday, which means another BioWare update. Which I'm posting now. Before BioWare posts it. Because this is actually last week's update. Ahum. So I'm a little late... blame Skyrim.

Yes, so... last Friday BioWare posted a couple of updates. Primarily among them a "Choose Your Side" video pitting the Sith Inquisitor against the Trooper. Here's the official news:

From the moment we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which classes they feel will have the upper hand.
In the video series “Choose Your Side,” members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team plead their cases, highlighting some of the many skills and abilities that set each class apart from the rest. In the second video of the four-part series, two of the most iconic classes in the Star Wars™ universe face off as the Force-wielding Sith Inquisitor battles the stalwart Republic Trooper.

I have to say, my money's on the Inquisitor.

So that's two more "Choose Your Side" videos to go and I think we can tell with near certainty that those will be Jedi Consular vs Imperial Agent and Smuggler vs Sith Warrior. Because they're not going to do Smuggler vs Agent (as they're pretty much the same class mechanics wise and thus wouldn't make for a very interesting versus debate) and we've already had the other classes.

After the break we'll look at the other updates; news on the next (and probably final) beta testing weekend, news about TOR appearing at Dreamhack, account security issues, news from the second Fan Site Summit and a few more previews.

Imperial Agent Character Progression

2011-11-05T01:35:00.000Z

As you can see from the title of this post, this Friday BioWare released the Imperial Agent character progression video, showing a number of Imperial Agent outfits and skills. They also announced the length of Early Game Access (up to five days) and something about Revan preview chapter, but honestly who cares... Agent outfits:

As you progress in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character will gain experience, growing more powerful and discovering new skills while also acquiring more advanced gear.
Through cunning, stealth, and ruthless tactics, the Imperial Agent has no shortage of ways to complete his objectives. Even so, as the complexity and importance of his missions increase, the Agent will have to acquire new skills and equipment to help him combat the ever-growing threat to the Empire. This video shows you a sampling of the many different armors and abilities the Imperial Agent can obtain as he travels the galaxy.

I must say that I quite like the outfits, even if the Operative high level one makes her look more like a Sith with the hood up and everything. The Sniper ones are much more my speed. And I'm particularly happy that they're showing a female character for a change (after the other five progression videos we've had all had male characters).

And that leaves just the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor to get their progression videos (with only about a month-and-a-half left before the game releases).

Now, for those of you who do care about the other news as well (which, in fairness, includes me too), read on after the break for the Early Game Access details, previews from the upcoming Revan novel, previews and interviews, and the developer quotes.

Prepare for Guild Deployment

2011-11-04T10:04:00.000Z

BioWare has updated the Guild HQ to include an indication of whether a guild is ready for Phase 3: Deployment. This isn't phase 3 just yet (the game needs to launch for that), but it does help guilds get ready for it. Here is the official news:

Last month we expanded our Pre-Launch Guild Program with the implementation of Phase 2: Alignment, where guilds could designate other guilds as allies or adversaries. Now, as Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ moves ever-closer to launch, we are excited to announce that we have initiated the first part of Phase 3: Deployment!
Phase 3: Deployment will see any guild that meets the pre-designated criteria be transferred into the game for launch. Before we begin this process, though, we want to give all of you who are in guilds the opportunity to make sure your guild meets the following requirement for transfer:
Four members of the guild must have pre-ordered the game and redeemed their Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center.
(NOTE: We have removed the additional requirement for the guild leader to log in to the website and verify that their guild remains active and wants to be imported.)
To help clear up any confusion as to whether or not your guild is ready for deployment, we have now given each guild page a small status indicator. This indicator will show you the number of people in your guild who have pre-ordered the game, and will inform you whether or not your guild meets the criteria for deployment into the game.
Now is the time to make sure that your guild meets the criteria to be transferred into the game so visit the Guild HQ now! Make sure to secure your copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic by visiting our Pre-Order page, and then redeem your Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center to ensure that your guild is among the first to explore The Old Republic!
To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details and visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Additionally David Bass made a detailed post on the forum explaining the server types and PvP ruleset TOR will have. Read that after the break.

Warzones

2011-10-31T14:40:00.000Z

Last Friday BioWare gave us more information on Warzones, including a new game systems section for them and a video for the Voidstar Warzone. Here's the official news:

Warzones in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ are specific areas outside of the main character story, where players face off against each other in exciting Player-vs-Player combat. In order to give you a more detailed look at each of the different Warzones, we’ve launched a new Warzones Game Systems page! This new page will allow you to learn about each of the different Warzones, and each Warzone breakdown is accompanied by a short video displaying how the Warzone looks in the game.
Be sure to check out the Warzones Game Systems page now, and keep checking back to StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com for more information on Warzones in the coming weeks!

I can't help but zone out a bit when watching the video; we've seen so many of them by now that one more doesn't really excite. And it's hard to follow what's going on. But it does give a little bit of a sense of what the objectives are in this Warzone. And I noticed multiple lightsaber colors (had we seen purple and yellow lightsabers yet? I don't recall having seen them before). And don't forget the Game Systems page, which is quite nice as well (though I can't help but feeling that three Warzones isn't a whole lot).

Read on after the break for links to various articles (more press previews and details from Paris Games Week) and the developer quotes.

Previews and Unboxings

2011-10-24T13:23:00.000+01:00

Ooh my, it's been a busy week. Finally got my new PC and been busy setting that up. Things are flying at the speed of light now and it seems I can play most everything at maximum settings (when I told a friend the specs he called it 'somewhat overkill', which is good because that's exactly what I was going for). Finally have a chance to play Fallout New Vegas too (which crashed to blue screen on my old system). Been a lot of fun so far (playing Easy Hardcore).

But I'm sure you're not interested in that.

It's been a busy week for TOR as well. Not only are there the Friday updates (a Fan Friday, a Eurogamer Expo highlights video and details on the Collector's Editions), but a lot of previews from the press as well. Add to that a bunch of stuff from New York Comic-Con and Paris Games Week and there's a lot to go through. So let's get started.

Of the three official Friday updates the one that's probably the most interesting is the additional details on the collector's edition bonuses (including an unpacking video). Here's an excerpt from the official news, including (a link to) the video:

When we announced that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ was available for Pre-Order, we also told you about the many digital items that come as a bonus for purchasing the game. While there is a pre-order bonus for everyone who secures their copy of the game regardless of the edition pre-ordered, some of these digital items are reserved for those of you who purchase either the Digital Deluxe Edition or Collector’s Edition of the game.
To add clarity, we’ve decided to break down the digital items that you will be able to gain access to in each edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The main question I have after that is... how is the HoloCam different from the screenshot button? For the rest it seems decent enough even if I'm still kind of miffed that the CE Store (and VIP area with it) isn't included inthe Digital Deluxe Edition.

Read on after the break for the Fan Friday and Eurogamer Expo news, for a bunch of stuff from NYCC and PGW, for a lot of SWTOR previews from around the net and the developer quotes. Best to schedule a day off from work/school to be able to read all that.

Signs of War

2011-10-14T23:49:00.000+01:00

Oh my. With New York Comic-Con officially started today BioWare had a bunch of The Old Republic updates for us (I count five official news items). So we'd better get to it.

The first, biggest, news is that they have a new (ingame) trailer for us titled "Signs of War". Narrated by Satele Shan it sets the stage for the stories of the game itself, giving glimpses of the things players might encounter when playing. Here is the official news (with the video linked):

A return to war is inevitable. Two great armies mass their forces, readying themselves for the approaching battle. Meanwhile, the galaxy is rife with chaos and corruption. As the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire teeter on the brink of open warfare, a new generation takes charge; their actions will shape the future of the entire galaxy.
We are excited to present to you the latest Game trailer for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, Signs of War, which debuted at New York Comic Con.

To some degree we're getting a bit inundated with SWTOR trailers, but I still liked this one. Can't wait to play and experience those stories it's hinting at.

Read on after the break for a new Operations page, release date news (good news for those in Europe), convention news both future and past, and the developer quotes.

The Old Republic heads to NYCC 2011

2011-10-10T13:30:00.000+01:00

One update I missed last Friday (because BioWare posted it after I made my post) is that The Old Republic is heading to New York Comic Con coming weekend. Normally I'd just keep this around until the next update, but with the Meet & Greet on Wednesday and the Con coming weekend already holding it off would probably mean that I'd be too late. As such, the official news:

Each year, New York Comic Con attracts tens of thousands of fans to the Jacob K. Javits Center on Manhattan Island to take part in one of the largest pop culture conventions in the United States. This year, between October 13 – 16, BioWare and LucasArts will be in attendance to give fans the opportunity to get some hands-on time with Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
Those who come by the booth will have the opportunity to experience both the Alderaan and Huttball Warzones. New York Comic-Con attendees will also have the chance to play through some of our Origin Worlds content on the showfloor.
Star Wars: The Old Republic will also be taking center stage as part of three separate panels! Our main panel will be held on Friday, October 14th at 2:30pm EDT inside room 1A10 of the MTV Theater. Additionally, on October 14th inside the American Airlines Theater, members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic development team will be taking part in a Q&A panel moderated by MMORPG.com. Finally, at 2:45pm EDT on Sunday, October 16th, BioWare’s Principle Writer and Revan author Drew Karpyshyn will be taking part in a panel on writing novels set in the Star Wars™ universe.
If you are unable to make it to New York Comic Con, BioWare will also be hosting a Community Meet & Greet on Wednesday, October 12th at District 36. Lasting from 8:00PM EDT until 11:00PM EDT, fans will be able to get some hands-on time with the Origin Worlds content, have a drink at the open bar and hang out with members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team. Space is limited, so show up early to make sure that you can get in! Keep your eyes on our Community Forums and Events Page for more details as they become available.
To stay up to date on all the latest news coming out of New York Comic Con, be sure to check back to StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com as well as our Twitter and Facebook pages for live updates from the showfloor!

Read on after the break for a (single) developer quote post by David Bass about the Meet & Greet.

Choose Your Side: Jedi Knight vs. Bounty Hunter

2011-10-07T17:30:00.000+01:00

Friday again, so another update from BioWare on The Old Republic. This week they have a new video for us, the first in a new series, where two classes face off against each other. Not so much in the combat sense, but more in the sense that developers point out what they feel makes the class good, leaving it for the viewer to decide which class is better for them. Here's the official news:

From the moment that we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which class they feel reigns supreme.
In our new video series “Choose Your Side,” members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team plead their cases, highlighting only a few of the many skills and abilities that set their class apart from the rest. In the first video of the four-part series, two of the most iconic classes in the Star Wars™ universe stand toe-to-toe as the famed Jedi Knight squares off against the feared Bounty Hunter.

My vote? Jedi Knight, but then I'm a goody-two-shoes.

That wasn't the only update though. BioWare also has part two of William Wallace's Companion blog post. And earlier this week BioWare announced that this weekend they're having another Beta Testing Weekend. That and the developer quotes after the break.

Interactive Galaxy Map

2011-09-30T17:09:00.000+01:00

BioWare just released its Friday Update and this time it's an explorable galaxy map, showing all seventeen revealed planets. Here is the official news:

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 a new feature to the website, allowing you to explore the Galaxy Map for yourself. You’ll get to see the five major sectors of the Known Galaxy, check out profiles of the planets, and even examine interactive models of the player Starships.
Access the new Galaxy Map page through the HoloNet!

To explore the galaxy in '3D' you need the Unity Web Player installed. But it's pretty neat, giving you details on the planets when you click on them and allowing you to look at the 3D models of the six player ships. Though at the time of this writing I haven't been able to get the planet videos to play (I just get black with a play button) and from the forums it seems I'm not the only one. Courtney Woods mentions on the forums that they just take some time to load. Very nice update overall.

Read on after the break for a Eurogamer Expo interview with Chris Collins that Darth Hater held and the weekly developer quotes.

Developer Dispatch: Companion Characters

2011-09-27T14:42:00.001+01:00

It's been another busy weekend, and busy week, for The Old Republic. The biggest news of course was the release date announcement, and there's a fair bit more of that here too, but Friday BioWare also put up a blog and developer spotlight video centered around Companions. Here's the news for the video:

Even heroes need friends. Whatever epic journeys they may undertake, heroes always find they need allies to join in their adventures and help achieve their goals. This is why companions have been a traditional part of Star Wars™ since the very beginning and why they’ve been an important element in all the BioWare RPGs. Unsurprisingly, Companion Characters also play a critical role in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
In your story, they will provide colorful commentary and comic relief, and as your saga unfolds, they will become your most trusted allies. In combat, they will fight at your side, complementing your tactical expertise, and supporting you wherever you go. We are also pleased to tell you that after testing and feedback, we’ve added an additional layer of customizability for companions both in terms of their appearances and in terms of their tactics in combat.
Watch this new Developer Dispatch to hear more on the importance of Companion Characters in The Old Republic and some of the many ways in which they contribute to your hero’s journey and the overall gameplay experience.
Let us know what you think of the video in the Forums.

It's a nice video, thought I don't think it really tells us anything new (beyond some glimpses at companions we officially don't know about yet).

Read on after the break for more companion info, including a BioWare blog entry and a Q&A, various interviews, some Huttball and the developer quotes.

Release Date Announced

2011-09-24T19:56:00.000+01:00

I was there when Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk officially announced the release date for The Old Republic at Eurogamer Expo today.

The Old Republic will launch December 20 in North America and December 22 in Europe.

They also announced the pricing plan for the game. You can find all the details in the official news:

BioWare and LucasArts are pleased to announce that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ will launch on December 20, 2011 in North America and on December 22, 2011 in the European Launch Territories! The announcement was first made by BioWare co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk during their keynote address at the 2011 Eurogamer Expo in London, England. Speaking to a packed room of press and fans alike, Dr. Muzyka acknowledged the weight of the moment and the patience of the fans.
“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game. We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”
Each copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic will come with 30 days of subscription time, after which you have the option to continue playing with one of the following monthly subscription fees:
1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94)
Those who have pre-ordered the game and entered their pre-order code on StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com are eligible for Early Game Access. If you haven’t yet reserved your copy of the game, be sure to visit our Pre-Order page and secure your place in the Old Republic now!
We want to thank you for your continued passion, dedication and support. Though one part of this incredible journey is coming to an end, we are confident that you all share our excitement for this new beginning. Be sure to check back to StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com as well as our Twitter and Facebook pages for all the latest news and updates on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

There's also the press release (with pretty much the same information far as I can tell).

Unfortunately the release date comes pretty much right when my Christmas vacation starts, so I'll probably miss out on the head-start as well as the first few weeks. Ah well, start the new year with SWTOR; sounds good to me.

I also got to play a little Huttball at the Expo (we won 0-2, and I scores one of the goals). I had no idea what I was doing (and I don't think anyone else did either, so that's alright), but it was quite fun. I might write up a bit more detail later on my experience, though there isn't really that much more to tell (I honestly don't remember the details of the match itself... there was a lot of shooting and lightsaber swinging). I'll also put up the Friday update later, probably on Monday.

Wasn't expecting to hear a release date for TOR when I went to Eurogamer Expo. Quite a surprise.

PS. It seems that my website (Eilistraee.com) is having issues (I've got my host looking at them, seems like all the permissions are turned off). And since I was hosting this blog's background on my site the background won't work at the moment (and just be black instead of showing stars). I hope that they fix it soon (but unfortunately probably not during the weekend).

Guild Alignment Begins

2011-09-21T16:35:00.000+01:00

BioWare has just announced that phase two of their pre-launch guild program has begun. Now guilds can pick allies and adversaries. Here is the official news:

Back in March we initiated our Pre-Launch Guild Program, where members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community could search for already established guilds or register one of their very own through the Guild Headquarters page. We are thrilled to announce that we have begun the second phase of our Pre-Launch Guild Program!
With Phase 2: Alignment, we are introducing new features which allow guilds to set their allegiance with other guilds in The Old Republic. Now a guild leader, along with members who have the proper permissions, can select up to three guilds as either Allies or Adversaries, depending on their faction affiliation. Qualifying guilds that are marked as Allies and Adversaries of other guilds will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server.
Another feature being implemented with Phase 2 is the ability for guild leaders and members with the proper permissions to invite friends to join their guild via email. You can start recruiting new members today!
To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Good news for the pre-launch guilds. So get cracking and set your allegiances.

Studio Insider: Combat Animation

2011-09-19T13:59:00.000+01:00

Last Friday BioWare had a Studio Insider for us with a look at combat animations and a Q&A on PvP, and they had an update on their presence at Eurogamer Expo coming weekend.

The Studio Insider starts with Principal Lead Animator Mark How giving a description of the combat animations. Here's an excerpt:

Once we knew what our rules were for combat, the programmers and animators were able to create a Lightsaber clashing system that could predict the volleys of weapons fire and other attacks being thrown at the player from all directions, and have the player dynamically react to ‘block’ these attacks. Not only that, but we were able to keep this system active while players were deflecting directed attacks, engaged in melee combat or even running. Players may not even realize all the factors that are coming into play to visually represent the combat experience, but we believe it’s critical for making the player really feel fully engaged in the fight. Without these dynamics, the players would wind up locked in certain animations when they go to engage in a “Stock strike” or “Project,” and then the combat would really be failing to capture the feel of Star Wars; it would give the player the impression that they are watching the action rather than taking part in it for themselves.

Most of the article comes down to "we have an animation system", "we spend a while developing it" and "it's fairly complex" without going into detail about what system they actually have. It would've been interesting to learn exactly what they're doing to give combat a cinematic feel without giving players the sense that they're losing control of their characters. I also suspect that most players will never really notice the nuances of the animation system much (after the first few times of "hey, my guy blocked that blaster bolt with his lightsaber"), which is a pity.

After the break a quick look at the Q&A, the Eurogamer Expo news and the developer quotes.

Smuggler Character Progression

2011-09-14T21:46:00.000+01:00

I'm back from my long weekend and had a bit of catching up to do regarding SWTOR (and it didn't help that they had site maintenance today). But now that I am I can bring you last Friday's updates.

There were three updates; a character progression video for Smugglers, a blog post about... let's call it The Old Republic's expanded universe, and a PAX highlights video. Here is the official news for the progression video:

As your character progresses through the saga of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, you will see them advance as you unlock new skills and acquire or craft superior gear.
Whether running blockades to deliver vital supplies or evading Imperial patrols, the Smuggler must rely on his wit and guile just as much as the blaster at his side. As the price on his head rises and his enemies grow more dangerous, the Smuggler will have to acquire new skills and utilize more powerful weapons and armor to survive.
Get a look at some of the ways the Smuggler can progress and see just a small fraction of the weapons, armor and abilities that become available to him.
Let us know what you think of the video in the Forums.

It's a nice video, giving a decent impression of the Smuggler. But I can't help but note one thing. Though it's based on one of my favorite Indiana Jones scenes (if not executed quite so well) there's a scene that made me raise my eyebrows. I've wondered how they would balance a class such as a Smuggler to be in line with the power of a Jedi/Sith (at least in Troopers and Bounty Hunters I can see how they do it... lots of heavy weaponry). And the clip where the Smuggler one-shots a Sith shows that they didn't, not really. Because nobody should be able to score any kind of hit like that facing any kind of Force user. Yes, I know that you won't be able to one-shot like that in gameplay (ignoring level-differences), but it still seemed very odd that anyone could just do that with a blaster. It's like taking a pebble and throwing it through a fortified vault door.

It just brought back fears that they aren't handling the power balance, how Jedi/Sith are near demi-gods in the lore, properly. And that could have severe consequences for how the setting feels. How much it feels like Star Wars.

Anyway, after the break the other two updates, a few tidbits, and the developer quotes.

GamesCom 2011 Highlight Video

2011-09-04T17:20:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy few weeks for The Old Republic. This weekend is testing weekend for a lot of people (in NA) giving them a few days to ~~play~~test the game. Last weekend was PAX and the week before was GamesCom. Busy times indeed.

On Friday BioWare posted a highlights video of the latter (mostly glimpses of other people playing). Here is the official news:

We had an incredible experience at this year’s GamesCom, with Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ winning the 2011 GamesCom Award for Best Online Game as well as being a huge hit with everyone that attended! The air was electric from the excitement as fans and journalists filed through our booth to get some hands-on time with both Origin Worlds and Alderaan Warzone PvP! The reaction from the fans at the show left us feeling incredibly grateful for having such a passionate and dedicated community.
Knowing that not everyone could make it to Cologne for the show, we wanted to share our experience with all of you. Thank you for all of your continued support and enthusiasm for the game!
Check out our GamesCom Highlight Video now!

Obviously there isn't anything new in the video, but it's nice to see the crowds.

Read on after the break for a couple of interviews from PAX and the developer quotes.

Eternity Vault Developer Walkthrough

2011-08-30T15:45:00.000+01:00

Last weekend was PAX and last Friday BioWare had for us a developer walkthrough of the start of the Eternity Vault Operation (first shown at GamesCom). Here is the official news:

Throughout the week of GamesCom, those who stopped by the EA booth had the opportunity to see a live demonstration of the Eternity Vault, one of the high-level Operations in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. In it, Imperial forces are sent to investigate an ancient prison that is believed to hold a powerful and deadly threat to the Empire.
We don’t want the people who couldn’t make it to Cologne to miss out. In our new video, BioWare’s Dallas Dickinson guides you through the opening minutes of the Eternity Vault. Check it out and be sure to visit our Twitter and Facebook pages for all the latest news and updates on The Old Republic.

I must say that I didn't find the walkthrough particularly compelling. Of course, as I've said before, it's true that seeing someone play an MMO is a quite different experience from playing one yourself. But watching that video doesn't give me the sense of "I want to participate in that". Quite the opposite.

Then again I've never been too fond of raids.

Read on after the break for some stuff coming from the conventions and the developer quotes.

Warzone: Huttball

2011-08-21T20:13:00.000+01:00

Last week was GamesCom, which means again a lot of videos and interviews and all of that goodness. They showed PvP and Operations with the primary big reveal, and the Friday update, the announcement of a new Warzone: Huttball. Here's the official news (with link to a video showing the zone):

In a time of turmoil where two mighty armies ready themselves, many citizens of both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire have begun to look for an escape from the uncertainty of impending war. For many people on Nar Shaddaa this escape can be found in the gladiatorial confines of ‘The Pit,’ where two teams compete in a violent game for the amusement of Giradda the Hutt and thousands of spectators!
We are excited to reveal “Huttball,” one of the Player-vs-Player (PvP) Warzones in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Watch the video to see how the game is played and be sure to check back to SWTOR.com for the latest news and updates!

It seems like a fun concept to me as far as PvP goes. Though honestly I can't see either my Republic character or my Empire character willingly participating in that. There's a war going on so the Jedi and Sith and Troopers and Agents (I can somehow see it for Smugglers and Bounty Hunters as neither are that invested in the war) are just going to participate in a spectator sport of violence?

Don't get me wrong, it looks like fun to play. But it seems like it's showing some wide cracks in BioWare's mantra of "story, story, story". And while it's fine to have things that are just there because they're fun and are outside the story, it seems that they're still trying to justify it with story which makes me very worried for the quality of the rest of their stories. We've seen such shortcuts before (like the incredibly artificial 'moral choice' in the Esseles Flashpoint). It's starting to feel like they're having a lot of trouble keeping the whole thing together.

Anyway, in the end fun is what matters, right? Read on after the break for BioWare's PAX plans, some GamesCom stuff and the developer quotes.

TOR GamesCom 2011 Plan

2011-08-15T13:53:00.001+01:00

Last Friday was... particularly meager as far as TOR goes. Understandable perhaps with GamesCom right outside the door and them probably holding back the interesting stuff until then, but even so. All we got was a Fan Friday and a description of what they'll be showing at GamesCom (basically players get to play PvP and they're also demonstrating a little of the Eternity Vault). Here's the latter:

GamesCom is less than a week away! Taking place from August 18th through August 21st in Cologne, Germany, GamesCom is one of the world’s largest video game convention and this year BioWare and LucasArts will be in attendance to reveal new information and give gamers from all over Europe the opportunity to get some hands-on time with Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!
Attendees at this year’s GamesCom who make their way to the EA booth will be able to get hands-on play time on each of the Origin Worlds. Additionally, lucky members of the community who successfully applied through the forums will gain exclusive access to an area where they can take part in the Alderaan player-vs-player Warzone.
Throughout GamesCom we will also be running demonstrations of a small portion of the Eternity Vault, a high-level Operation or raid, on the showfloor.
You don’t have to be in Cologne to stay up-to-speed on the latest information from GamesCom. Be sure to check www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, the Community Forums, our official Twitter and our Facebook page throughout the show for all the latest news!

So yeah, not much there. Even though, read on after the link for a few wallpapers from the Fan Friday (possibly the only worthwhile content this week), a couple of articles posted on various sizes over the last week, and the developer quotes.

Read more »

Jedi Consular Records

2011-08-09T14:01:00.000+01:00

Last Friday BioWare released a class update for the last of the eight classes: the Jedi Consular. As the other seven classes before it they list a Companion for the class, point out a species that you can play, show the class' starship (though we've already seen that in the Jedi Knight update as that class gets the same ship) and, most interestingly, show a class video. Here's the official news:

There is power in wisdom, study, and diplomacy. The Jedi Consular wields that power with an even hand. Consulars study the mysteries of the Force. They use their knowledge to bring peace, but when words fail, their understanding of the Force makes them dangerous foes. Choose your Consular’s path – become the strong, silent hand of the Jedi Council as a Shadow, or immerse yourself in the mysteries of the Force as a Sage, healing and empowering your allies.
Learn more details about the Jedi Consular:
Meet Qyzen Fess, a mighty Trandoshan hunter who joins the Consular’s cause

Find out more about the mystical Mirialan, wise Force-sensitives who often become Jedi Consulars

Take a tour of the Jedi Starship, the Corellian Defender-Class Light Corvette; it’s perfect for diplomatic missions, but well-equipped for combat if negotiations go sour.

Don’t miss the new Jedi Consular class video!

In particular don't forget to check out the video. Kotaku might've called it boring (but then again Kotaku seems to be down on everything SWTOR) but personally I find it the best representation of an actual Jedi, much moreso than the Jedi Knight. Though it's really odd to see Stephen Reid as a Jedi Consular (I kid, I kid). It might not be the most action-filled video, but if that's representative of the class then that only makes me more excited to play it. Can't wait.

After the break BioWare's second update last Friday, a San Diego Comic-Con highlights video, and the developer quotes.

‘The Esseles’ Developer Walkthrough

2011-08-02T22:13:00.000+01:00

Last Friday BioWare gave us a walkthrough of the first Flashpoint that Republic players will get: The Esseles. Here is the official news:

During the week of San Diego Comic-Con, a select number of people had the opportunity to play through ‘The Esseles,’ a Flashpoint that Republic heroes will be able to experience for themselves early in their hero’s journey. In the Flashpoint, players must group together to protect a high-ranking diplomat and fend off Imperial boarding parties.
For everyone who was unable to join us in San Diego, we’ve put together a new video featuring developer commentary from Director of Production Dallas Dickinson. Check out our new Developer Walkthrough, and then secure your place in a galaxy far, far away by pre-ordering your copy of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

It's a nice walkthrough and serves as a nice counterpoint to the first Flashpoint walkthrough they released some two years ago. If I'm not mistaken that was the one the Empire side gets at about the same time.

That whole airlock thing seemed rather questionable though; a rather forced and unrealistic situation to try and jam in a moral choice. I find it hard to believe that BioWare's writers seriously couldn't come up with a better construction.

Anyway, after the break it's straight to the developer quotes. Yes, the Comic-Con links still have to wait until a later time.

Join the Fight

2011-07-27T21:56:00.000+01:00

Yes, I'm late; work has been crazy busy and I've been dead tired coming home. On top of that last weekend was Comic-Con with a lot more stuff coming out of it, but that'll all have to wait until I've had a bit of time to compile all the new links and such.

Anyway, last Friday BioWare posted a new trailer. Titled "Join the Fight" it fully consists of ingame footage and gives each of the eight classes a brief moment. Here is the official news:

We are excited to present Join the Fight, an all-new in-game trailer for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ that premiered at San Diego Comic-Con 2011.
The uneasy peace established by the Treaty of Coruscant is broken and both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire build their armies. As both sides prepare for open war, a new generation of heroes must rise up to meet the challenges of a volatile age, declaring their allegiances and fighting for what they believe in.
If you can’t join us in San Diego, be sure to check back here throughout the convention for more updates. You can also follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook to get the latest updates straight from the convention floor.

It's a nice trailer, though some of the choices for the characters seem a bit questionable to me (just what on earth is that thing the Consular is wearing on her head; guess I'm glad that they've got an option to hide helmets). Worth a look.

The developer quotes are after the break, as well as a very brief mention of some of the things that they showed during Comic-Con.

The Old Republic Now Available for Pre-Order

2011-07-21T13:32:00.000+01:00

As the title says, EA, LucasArts and BioWare have now made pre-orders for Star Wars: The Old Republic available. Here is the official news:

BioWare, LucasArts and Electronic Arts are excited to announce that they have begun taking pre-orders for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Pre-Order now to get Early Game Access and as an added bonus you’ll receive a Color Stone to change your weapon effect! Supplies are limited and the order in which you pre-order and redeem your code at The Old Republic’s Code Redemption Center is the order in which we let players in during Early Game Access - so don’t delay! Visit the Pre-Order FAQs for more details.
Three versions of the game are available for pre-order:
The Standard Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic comes with all of the essentials that you will need to get into the game, including the game software and thirty days of game time. The Standard Edition will be available in both physical copies that will be sold at most video game retailers, and a digital edition that is exclusive to Origin.com. Learn more at our Pre-Order page.
The Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic, is available exclusively through Origin.com, comes with both the game software and thirty days of game time. In addition, the Digital Deluxe Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic comes with the following digital items that your characters can use in the game:
Flare Gun: Fires flares into the air.
Training Droid: Hovers at your side for combat assistance.
HoloDancer: Project your own holographic dancer.
HoloCam: Keep visual records of in-game adventures.
STAP (Single Trooper Aerial Platform): Sleek and unique in-game vehicle.
The limited Collector’s Edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic can only be purchased physically. Packaged with thirty days of game time and all of the virtual items that are included in the Digital Deluxe Edition, the Collector’s Edition comes with a number of physical and digital collector’s items that you cannot get anywhere else:
The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural: 111 pages of notes and sketches by the revered Jedi Master from the early years of the Great Hyperspace War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Features never-before-seen artwork and all-new information.
Darth Malgus statue: The villainous Darth Malgus comes to life with this exclusive 9 in. collectible statue from Gentle Giant studios.
The Old Republic Galaxy Map: 14 x 20 in. at-a-glance look at the known galaxy.
Security Authentication Key Fob: Keep your Lightsaber and credits safe with this custom Security Authentication Key Fob for your game account.
Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD: Seventeen orchestral music tracks from The Old Republic.
Star Wars: The Old Republic game: The full Star Wars: The Old Republic game on DVD-ROM in a collectible metal case.
The following virtual in-game items are exclusive to the Collector’s Edition:
Exclusive Mouse Droid: A faithful droid to join you on your adventures.
Exclusive Collector’s Edition Store: Unique in-game store with a dynamic array of items to assist you from your humble beginnings through your journey to become a galactic legend.
Be sure to act fast and pre-order your copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic now to ensure your place in Early Game Access!

As the post says you can pre-order from the pre-order page, which also lists the following minimum system requirements at the bottom:

OS Windows XP, Vista/7
CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better · Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better
RAM Windows XP: 1.5GB · Windows Vista and Windows 7: 2GB · PCs using a built-in graphical chipset, 2GB RAM recommended.
Video ATI X1800 or better* · nVidia 7800 or better* · Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better*
DVD-ROM 8x or better
*Minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM and Shader 3.0 or better support.

More information on pre-ordering can be found in the official pre-order FAQ.

And yes, I pre-ordered (and redeemed) my Digital Deluxe version already.

Insider label

2011-07-17T14:09:00.000+01:00

A quick update on the site; I've changed the old "fan" label to "insider".

The old "fan" label I added when BioWare started to include a "Developer Corner" in their Fan Friday posts and thus making them interesting enough to report on and give a label. But the Developer Corner has since grown into "Studio Insider" and has become a separate post. In the beginning those Studio Insiders where always next to a Fan Friday, but since then that's not always been the case. And since the interesting thing is the Studio Insider anyway it made more sense to have a label for that.

The new label also covers the Developer Corner so, with two exceptions, all the previous "fan" labeled posts now have the new "insider" label (one exception is where it was a Fan Friday post on its own and another was for last year's special Fan 'Friday' during E3 where I changed the label to just "news").

Studio Insider: Crafting the Class Intros

2011-07-17T13:43:00.000+01:00

This Friday BioWare had a Studio Insider for us in which Senior Video Editor Brian Arndt tells us about creating the class into videos. Here's an excerpt from the full post:

Well, we are all proudly working on a Star Wars video game, a lifelong dream of mine and probably all of the team. What does the player need to see first to know they are about to play a part in the Star Wars universe? You guessed it!
As a part of the BioWare Creative Services team, we get to spend all our time in The Old Republic filming and editing gameplay walkthroughs, character progression videos, taking screenshots and even creating the Timeline video series. We work around the clock to deliver these Friday updates for the community (and even read your forum posts to see what people are looking forward to seeing and try and get them in there!). It's exciting and exhausting but a lot of fun, and the team is super passionate and proud to be doing it. So how did we end up crafting the class intro video assets for in-game, you might ask?

The studio insider post shows the Sith Warrior intro (which, as I understand from the post, has been modified since) and part of the work-in-progress Smuggler intro.

It's interesting. I recall that from my hands-on I noted that I was missing exactly this. So I quite enjoyed reading this insider post and can't wait to see the ones for the classes I'm intending to play (though preferably not before actually playing the game... silly as it might sound I don't want to spoil the feeling of those first few moments).

The article also includes a Community Q&A on the sound design. And BioWare also made a post about their Comic-Con presence. That, a long video interview with Daniel Erickson and the Developer Quotes after the break.

BioWare Blog: Maps, and their Making

2011-07-11T13:52:00.000+01:00

Last Friday BioWare had a blog entry for us, written by Principal Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert, about the ingame maps. Here's an excerpt from the full post:

Galactic cartography
Having good navigation is important for any game, but particularly so in any massively multiplayer game, where wanderlust is positively encouraged. For The Old Republic, we realized that we had some relatively unique problems early on.
First off, once your character leaves their Origin World, other planets tend to be significantly larger in terms of land mass than those you might find in other MMOs – sometimes five or six times as large. While this is really cool for creating canonically expansive worlds in the Star Wars™ universe like Hoth or Tatooine, it also creates interesting design considerations. As the player is only adventuring in perhaps one-sixth of the map at any given time, having one world map would result in everything he cares about at a given time being compressed into a tiny corner of the map, making that map pretty much unusable.

Read the full post to get the rest of it.

It's interesting to read how maps are created for the game and what functionality they have. I think it might take a little getting used to their icons (when I played I had no clue what icon was supposed to mean what, but that I didn't really take the time to find out) and I'm not sure I like having to hover over quest icons to see their area, but it's got a couple of other nice features such as sharing quest icons with others in the party.

There hasn't been a whole lot on SWTOR this week (probably waiting for the next round of conventions), so after the break all we've got left is the developer quotes (with only one I found worth repeating in full).

Bounty Hunter Character Progression

2011-07-04T14:08:00.000+01:00

The update that BioWare had for us on Friday was a Bounty Hunter character progression video. Here's the official news:

As your character progresses in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, you will gain experience and strength, learning new skills and earning more advanced gear.
The Bounty Hunter is feared across the galaxy for his ability to track elusive prey from the bustling metropolises of the core worlds to the further reaches of known space. As his targets become more evasive and his enemies more powerful, the Bounty Hunter will learn new skills and abilities to match the advanced weapons and armor he discovers during his travels.
Watch some of the paths along which the Bounty Hunter can progress to get a brief glimpse of the armors and abilities available as he grows in wealth and glory.

That means we've now had a progression video like this for all the armored classes (Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, Trooper and Bounty Hunter) with the four 'cloth' classes still to go.

Read on after the break for an interview GameInformer did with EA's Frank Gibeau nd the developer quotes.

Battle for Alderaan Highlights Video

2011-06-27T13:54:00.000+01:00

Originally meant to be posted during E3 week, but delayed at the last moment, this Friday BioWare posted the Battle for Alderaan videos showcasing a group quest (and not a Flashpoint as I first thought it was). Here is the official news:

Many people in attendance at this year’s E3 had the chance to slip behind closed doors and see a live demo of a previously unseen portion of Alderaan. In it, a group of players confronts a Republic war hero-turned-power hungry King who has seized the throne in a misguided bid to protect his people from an impending Sith invasion.
We wanted to share the experience with the community as well, so we put together this video to capture the highlights of the mission to bring down the would-be King of Alderaan.

It's a nice video and definitely helps gets excited about the thought of running in with a group of friends and doing this mission. Oh, and I quite like the Consular's outfit too.

The Alderaan video wasn't the only one they released this Friday though. They also released an E3 highlights video. That, some more articles from across the web and the developer quotes you'll find after the break.

The Post-Writing Polish Process

2011-06-20T22:18:00.001+01:00

This Friday BioWare had three updates for us; a Fan Friday, a look back at how SWTOR did at E3 and a BioWare blog entry on what the writers are doing now that all the writing has been done.

The latter was written by BioWare Writer Ian Ryan; here's an excerpt from the full text:

If Nar Shaddaa is the Hutt version of 1970s Las Vegas, the Promenade represents the grand extravagance of the Vegas Strip. The first incarnation of the Promenade was impressive but subtle, a far cry from the glitzy and exorbitant tastes of the Hutts. The risk of a spontaneous party breaking out was slim to none. Here’s an image of the ‘old’ Nar Shaddaa Promenade:
After reviewing this, the writing team asked the artists to kick up the Promenade's glitz and glam levels a few hundred notches. Lead Concept Artist Arnie Jorgensen responded to the challenge and the result speaks for itself:
Now that's more like it! Lights pulse at every turn, expensive boutiques line the walls and yes - that's a golden statue of a Hutt taking center stage amidst the debauched revelry. Look closely and you may find even more gems. Now it looks like the kind of place you'd go to meet friends and plan your next adventure.

I'm not sure if a plaza with a giant golden Hutt is really the place where I'd want to hang out, but it's interesting to hear the writers going through the game and pointing out places that don't fit the writing. I think that helps a lot for giving the game a level of polish needed to help it stand out above the rest.

Read on after the break for the other two updates, a bunch more links to articles coming out of E3, and the developer quotes from last week.

E3 2011 Recap

2011-06-13T14:39:00.001+01:00

Last Friday BioWare gave a quick recap of the news posts they'd made during E3 week, officially released the features video and talked about the deal with Razer to release SWTOR-branded peripherals.

The features preview video is the same one released on GameSpot last week, but regardless here it is again (with HD download available):

Over the past week, we have shown attendees at E3 and community members here some of the many ways that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ adds a new dimension to the traditional MMO experience. To sum it all up, we wanted to provide a fast and convenient way to get a preview of the many features the game has to offer.
Get a preview of the many aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic in our new Games Features video.

I actually misunderstood the video at first; I thought that it was a preview of the features that they were showing at E3 (no surprise since the first text the appears is "E3 2011 Game Features Preview"). But it has since been clarified that it's a video previewing features for the entire game, not just what they were showing at E3. Oh well.

Read on after the break for the other two updates and the developer quotes.

Tatooine Developer Walkthrough

2011-06-09T23:35:00.000+01:00

Today BioWare posted a 10-minute video showing a walkthrough of a quest on Tatooine. Playing a Sith Sorcerer (Sith Inquisitor advanced class) and being joined by an Operative (Imperial Agent advanced class) they cruise across the sands and kill sand people. Here's the official news:

Those attending this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo are getting a special opportunity to play through a new quest series on the remote world of Tatooine. Whether they chose to play alone, with a companion, or grouped with other players, they are getting a glimpse of some of the secrets lying beneath the sands on this dangerous desert planet.
For those who couldn’t attend E3 this year, we didn’t want you to miss out. BioWare Austin’s Director of Production Dallas Dickinson provides commentary in a new video just posted to the site. Watch it now, and be sure to check back again tomorrow to see more of what’s being shown at E3 for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

It's a nice video and, I think, gives a good (brief, comparatively) look at how it is to play the game. Worth watching.

I also updated my E3 2011 Links post again, though there really wasn't a lot today on the sites I watch. I know that there's a load more (which you can all find in this officially unofficial thread on the SWTOR forums where they're doing a whole lot better job than me on tracking all the links), but it's going to take me a while to sort through all that and I really don't have the time for that now. Maybe over the weekend.

Operation: Eternity Vault

2011-06-09T00:29:00.000+01:00

BioWare put a gameplay trailer up on their website today, giving us a preview of their raid content (named "Operations" in SWTOR) by showing a bit of the Eternity Vault raid. Here's the official news:

A terrible threat has been uncovered on the ice world of Belsavis; a danger so grave that it could make the conflict between the Republic and the Empire irrelevant. Groups of heroes must band together to venture into the ancient and deadly Eternity Vault—where an enemy older than both the Republic and the Empire has been contained… until now.
We’re pleased to reveal the “Eternity Vault”—a maximum level "Operation," which is our term for raids, in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Hope you like it. Be sure to check tomorrow for more news and developments coming out at E3.

It's hard to tell how the raid will be just from that, but at least it seems to take place in a fairly sprawling area (a number of different terrain types at least) with a lot of stages; turrets, big droids, and finally a powerful force user. Should be fun for those who enjoy raids.

Also note that I updated the E3 2011 links post again with links for today. After the break I'll embed a couple of the videos.

E3 2011 Links updated

2011-06-08T00:11:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post, but I updated the E3 2011 Links post with links for yesterday and today (well, added the links for yesterday yesterday).

"Return" Intro Cinematic Released

2011-06-06T22:29:00.000+01:00

Ok, so EA's E3 press conference was a bit of a bust as far as SWTOR is concerned. Greg Zeschuk came on stage and didn't say much of anything beyond "just go play our game" (meaning at the E3 showfloor later this week). And they showed teh "Choose" trailer, which is basically a mix of the three cinematic trailers.

Three cinematic trailers you might ask? Weren't there only "Deceived" (released at E3 two years ago) and "Hope" (released at E3 last year)? Yes, there were, but today they released the third, and also intro, cinematic called "Return". They just didn't show it at the E3 press conference.

Here is the official news from the SWTOR website:

For over a thousand years, the Sith were thought to be extinct after a grave defeat in an ancient war. But a select few survived, fleeing to unknown regions to escape Republic forces. In the centuries since, the Sith have prepared; rebuilding their Empire for the day they would make their return to reclaim what was once theirs and take their revenge on the Republic.
That day has arrived.
Watch the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Intro Cinematic Video to see the dramatic reappearance of the Jedi Order’s most ancient and terrible of enemies.

I watched the streaming version on BioWare's website during some boring sports section of EA's conference, but have yet to see the high res version (there's just too much E3 info on so many different games coming too fast at once). But it looks absolutely amazing.

After the break I'll embed both the new cinematic as well as the "Choice" cinematic.

E3 2011 Links

2011-06-05T15:16:00.008+01:00

E3 2011, starting Monday, is promising to bring a whole lot of information on Star Wars: The Old Republic. In an attempt to keep track of all of it this post will list all the links (to articles and videos and such) that I've come across. Read on after the break for the list.

Read more »

Lost Suns and Advanced Classes

2011-06-05T13:55:00.001+01:00

With E3 right at the door (starting Monday) BioWare gave us an overview of what we can expect from The Old Republic during the expo. And on top of that they also talk about the Lost Suns comic to be released next week and revealed a new Advanced Classes page. Here's the official news on the latter:

Today we are excited to announce the launch of a newly redesigned Advanced Classes page. Advanced Classes give your hero access to unique skills and abilities that allow you to customize your character to your own unique play style. The new page allows you to explore each of the Advanced Classes in-depth and to check out the skill-sets that become available as you reach higher levels in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
Check out the new Advanced Classes page and experiment with the ways you can develop your character, or if you’d like more perspective on the system, read the developer blog from Principal Lead Systems Designer Georg Zoeller.

The new page is quite neat, allowing you to select a class, then one of the class' advanced classes, then giving a preview of a few skills up to level 20.

There's much more though (and E3 hasn't even started yet). Read on after the break for information on the Lost Suns comic, a preview of E3 next week, some details on EA's new Origin online store, and the developer quotes from last week.

Trooper Character Progression

2011-05-31T14:18:00.000+01:00

Last Friday had a new armor progression video for us, this time showing the progression of the Trooper. Here's the official news:

As your character progresses in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, you will see them grow more powerful as they gain experience and discover new skills that will allow them to utilize new gear.
As the elite Trooper rises through the ranks of the Republic military, there are several ways he can specialize his training, and several sets of armor and weapons to match. Watch this video to get a small sampling of the many different armors and abilities that your Trooper can acquire through the course of the game.

I'm not that big a fan of the Trooper, but the armors look decently Trooper-ish enough. It's a nice video to watch.

Read on after the break for developer quotes.

Studio Insider: Combat Audio

2011-05-23T14:05:00.001+01:00

I think that BioWare is probably keeping their information releases fairly low-key for a while until E3 where they'll obviously want to try and make a big splash again. As such Friday we got a Fan Friday with Studio Insider. And they uploaded a video of the Fan Site Summit so that we can all get jealous watching other people play the game.

The Studio Insider talks about the combat sound design, giving a bit of insight into how the sounds for The Old Republic are created. here's an excerpt from the full post:

One of the first things we do when beginning audio production on combat abilities is to give each class a distinctive aural character. We’ve discovered that a great way to establish a sonic palette for each class is to come up with one or two descriptive terms that capture the essence of what we’re trying to convey, and attempt to tune every sound to those terms. The Jedi classes are very “Zen” in nature, employing a lot of yellow, white, and blue visual effects – usually softer around the edges. For these, we want to convey ideas like “smooth” and “wavelike” in our audio. Because the Sith represent a more corrupt and “edgier” side of the force, we want the sounds associated with them to be more “rough.” Smugglers are “flashy”. Agents are “refined” and “sleek”.

The Studio Insider also contains a Q&A answering some art related questions. But that, and the Fan Friday update as well as the Summit video and Developer Quotes will be after the break.

Sith Inquisitor Records

2011-05-16T14:04:00.000+01:00

Last Friday BioWare revealed more details, and a video, on the Sith Inquisitor class (so now only the Jedi Consular class is left to get the same treatment). Here is the official news:

Inquisitors, the dark geniuses of the Empire, are masters of treachery and dark Force power. Feared as much on the battlefield as they are by prisoners and political enemies, they will stop at nothing to earn themselves more power. The paths to power are many, though. Is your Inquisitor an Assassin, striking down enemies from the shadows with cunning tactics and a skilled blade? Or are you a Sorcerer, a triumph of the dark side, smoldering with ambition and uncovering dark secrets of the Force to destroy your enemies?
Find out more about these dangerous Sith:
Meet Khem Val, an ancient, deadly Dashade with an insatiable hunger
Explore the Fury-Class Imperial Interceptor, the Inquisitor’s personal starship
Witness the terrifying power of a Sith Inquisitor in the new class video

I wonder if they'll put up a similar update on the Consular before E3 this year, but since that's only a few weeks away...

Anyway, read on after the break for a couple more articles from other sites and for the developer quotes.

BioWare Blog: Introducing the Codex

2011-05-10T14:46:00.000+01:00

There are two major updates from last week. First is the Friday update with gave us a developer blog about the codex. And secondly the second embargo for the Fan Site Summit was lifted, allowing sites to write about their PvP experiences.

But first is the official update; here's an excerpt from the article:

The Datacrons Challenge
That’s not to say that some codex entries shouldn’t be challenging. Quite the opposite, we want some codex entries to be worthy challenges – but we want those challenges to be centered on exploration. Enter the datacrons. In-game datacrons will be a sub-set of the codex entries. The world builders had been kicking around the idea of these little world gizmos for a while now. These unique objects are placed throughout the world for the player to find, usually in hard to reach places. If you successfully reach one and interact with it, one of your stats will be increased -- permanently. The codex gave us a way to increase the visibility of these devices, and offer a player an easy way to track his progress finding them.

I do like the idea of the codex as I quite enjoy exploring and finding information, reading them back later. But I do wonder if the codex also tracks other things (like the Tome of Knowledge in Warhammer Online) or whether it's 'just' an information repository. I can't help but shake the feeling that the codex seems a bit... underwhelming. That said, most MMOs don't have any kind of codex at all, so it's already above that.

Read on after the break for more Fan Site Summit links, including a boatload of PvP articles, and the developer quotes.

Sith Progression, UI and more

2011-05-01T18:38:00.000+01:00

This is going to be a long one. Not only do I have two weeks of official updates to catch up on (due to being away over the Easter weekend), but last week lots of sites started posting previews out of the Fan Site Summit. And then there's a lot of developer quotes on the official forums too. So sit back and enjoy the, euhm, read.

There are three Friday updates from the past two weeks; two last Friday and one the week before. Last Friday BioWare released a Sith Warrior progression video (similar to the Jedi Knight one a while back) as well as a BioWare blog entry talking about designing the UI. And the third update revealed the coming release of a new Star Wars: The Old Republic novel. But I'll start with the video; here's the official news:

In Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character advances through the ranks, gaining experience, growing in power, and reaping the rewards of more advanced gear and skills.
Take a look at this Sith Warrior as he develops and amasses power in The Old Republic. While there are many paths to choose from, this example gives you a small glimpse of the armor and abilities a Sith Warrior can claim as he pursues his own destiny.
Join the discussion on the Forums, or leave us a comment below!

To be honest I'm not really that interested in the Sith Warrior (anymore) and none of the appearances really tickle my fancy. But I'm sure that it's nice for those who are looking forward to the class.

I'll put the rest of the official updates after the break, in part because my responses to them will probably get a tad rant-y. Also continue on after the break for the Fan Site Summit previews as well as the developer quotes.

Studio Insider: Environment Polish

2011-04-18T14:14:00.001+01:00

Last Friday was another Fan Friday with the usual Studio Insider, the latter this time giving us a look at polishing the environments and why walls are important. Here's an excerpt from the text:

As you can imagine in The Old Republic, we have a lot of walls! You can see from the images here that any wall can undergo a lot of polish. We might start off by creating a very basic wall design with a simple texture, but as development progresses, we’ll often rework the assets involved. This can be as simple as reworking a texture, by altering the diffuse map, normal map, specular map, or any combination of the three in order to help make the wall stand out or blend into an environment. Sometimes, we may rebuild the asset from the ground up. For instance, sometimes our design team may decide that an area needs to be re-worked to look more high-tech. That means we may have to re-work our flat metal walls to add more panel work and tech ‘bits’, as seen in the images above and below.

The Studio Insider also contains the Community Q&A about classes and there's the Fan Friday itself. That as well as the developer quotes and a few other bits you can find after the break.

But before we get to that a quick note. Next weekend is the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, which I'll be spending helping my parents move to France. So I'll be away this Friday and won't be back until Wednesday, so Friday's update is going to be later (and I mean even later than this one was... call today's tardiness a measure to help you get used to next week's).

Read more »

BioWare Blog: Advanced Classes Update

2011-04-10T18:27:00.000+01:00

After all the excitement of the UK Community Event, this last Friday BioWare had an update about the advanced classes for us. Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller takes us through skill trees, class roles, and changes they've made recently to the advanced classes and why. It's a fairly lengthy and interesting (I thought) blog post, but what I found particularly interesting was getting a glimpse of how they use metrics. here's a bit from the full blog post:

Here is a movement heatmap and death details for a sub area on Ord Mantell, from an earlier test. This exposed, shall we say ‘survivability issues’ for Smugglers on their class quest at early levels. That’s since been corrected!
We also use these heatmaps to understand the flow of movement through an area, optimize maps and other guidance systems and identify potential locations for special content such as datacrons or unique enemies, which are specifically designed to reward explorers that go off the beaten path.

Quite interesting stuff. Don't miss out on the rest of the blog post which includes details on recent changes to the advanced classes (Troopers and Bounty Hunters can now also fulfill healing roles, Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior has a viable single-saber damage role, Inquisitor and Consular get a tank spec, etc) and some more details on how the skill trees work.

There's more from last week though, including a surprise mid-week update with a PAX East video, more from the UK community event and the weekly developer quotes.

Read them after the break.

Ninety Minute Agent

2011-04-06T21:17:00.003+01:00

So yesterday I had the privilege of attending BioWare's UK Community Event and got a chance to play Star Wars: The Old Republic for what turned out to be close to ninety minutes.

As I noted in the previous blog I was a bit dazed during the event, in the I-can't-believe-that-I'm-playing-The-Old-Republic-OMG-that's-Daniel-Erickson-watching-over-my-shoulder sense. As such I completely forgot to take pictures (though we weren't allowed to photograph the screen anyway) and though naturally an introvert wasn't particularly communicative with the developers walking around (I completely forgot to thank them properly). As a friend told me afterwards, I make a particularly lousy reporter. Even so I'll do my best to give an accounting of my experiences.

I happen to work about a ten-minute walk away from where the event was held, so after work I casually strolled towards Piccadilly Circus and still arrived early. But I'd counted on that as it gave me some time to have some fast food for dinner. Though the fast food was a lot faster than I anticipated (and not really that tasty) so I was still ready twenty minutes early. I knew that Gamerbase was inside the HMV store, so I went into the store to browse movies to pass the time. Doing so I noticed a door leading to Gamerbase, which was closed. I expected it to open later though.

But when it was time the door stayed closed. So I waited and five minutes later still nothing. I asked one of the HMV personnel about it (they told me Gamerbase was closed until I told them I had an invitation) and they pointed me to an entrance around the corner (technically outside the store). And indeed, very obviously the entrance to SWTOR's event; I should've looked around more.

There was already a line of people waiting to get in and I joined the queue, patiently waiting as well. Only it turned out that was the queue of people who had already checked in. Once I figured that out (thanks to Mr. Stephen Reid helpfully asking if anyone else needed to check in) I approached, showed my invite and passport (no I didn't fly all the way from The Netherlands as I live in London) and joined the queue again. At 7pm sharp (we were asked to arrive 15 minutes early) they let us in, leading us through a space-y looking hallway to, surprise, Mr. Daniel Erickson at the end of the hall (the red wall in the picture). I shook his hand and, where most people turned right, I turned left to find a computer to sit behind. I didn't realize at that point that right meant Republic and left meant Empire, but that didn't matter that much to me.

Read on after the break for an account of my play experience.

Back from UK Community Event

2011-04-05T23:17:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post; I'm back from the community event and, despite being a bit dazed (and thus completely forgetting to properly thank the developers), quite enjoyed my experience playing the game. I will write up a full post detailing my experiences, but it's going to take some time. Right now sleep is more important (as I've got work again as normal tomorrow).

At the very least though I want to thank Stephen Reid, Daniel Erickson and all the other guys and girls from BioWare for setting up and running the event, and for giving us the opportunity to experience Star Wars: The Old republic first hand. I'm very glad that I managed to get an invitation. So thank you.

Stay tuned for my full report of my hands-on with the game.

April Fools: Shyriiwook Localization

2011-04-03T14:40:00.000+01:00

Friday was April Fools day and BioWare took the opportunity as well to have a little fun. As such they announced that they're localizing the entire game in Shyriiwook, the language of the Wookiees (i.e. lots of grunts and growls). With it they have a couple of short videos demonstrating the localization in action, and a screenshot of the new, localized, user interface. Here's the latter from the official news post:

Finally, to fully immerse yourself in the Wookiee mindset, we’ve developed a plush new version of the user interface that should keep that warm, fuzzy feeling alive even when you’re in the depths of the ice caves on Hoth.

Check out the full post for the videos.

I just love the expression on the guy's face at the end of the "romantic moment" clip.

Read on after the break for a couple of other (not SWTOR-related) April Fools jokes from across the net and the usual Developer Quotes.

UK Community Event

2011-03-31T14:18:00.000+01:00

Two days ago SWTOR Community Manager Stephen Reid twittered that a special, London specific, announcement was coming. A bit later this was revealed to be a surprise community event in London next week (full post on the official forums):

On Tuesday, April 5th at gamerbase, inside HMV at the Trocadero (near Piccadilly Circus, London - here's a Google Map) we'll be doing a ONE NIGHT ONLY community event where a limited number of Forum members will be able to play Star Wars: The Old Republic!
Entrance is free, but INVITES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED on a first-come, first-serve basis.

While such events are very cool, I normally wouldn't separately report them like this (and instead catch them in the developer quotes post or reporting on any general events news posts from BioWare). This one is different though, because it seems I've managed to get myself invited. Earlier today I got this PM from Stephen Reid on the official forums:

You're attending the 7pm gamerbase session

THIS IS NOT YOUR OFFICIAL INVITE - just a notification to ease the pain of waiting.
Your official invite will arrive in your email tomorrow (Thursday).
I'll see you in London.

So it seems that next Tuesday I'll get a chance to play Star Wars: The Old Republic for an hour. And of course afterwards (either immediately or in the days after, depending on how fast I can type) I'll post a report here (assuming that's allowed, which I'm fairly certain that it will be).

I work fairly close to the Trocadero too (cycling past it every day on my way home), so is easy to find. Can't wait.

Jedi Knight Character Progression

2011-03-26T13:01:00.000Z

Bah, Mozilla officially released Firefox 4 (which I installed yesterday), but there's definitely some kinks to work out still. Ctrl-tab doesn't work properly and sometimes I get open tab spaces when it think a tab is still open, but it really isn't (though that might be one of my add-ons messing with things).

Anyway, got a relatively short Friday update for you today. It seems that all the PAX East stuff has been done and most of the developers seem to be cooling their typing fingers in buckets of ice as there's definitely far less dev posts this week (or rather, they're probably all back to work full steam).

For the Friday update itself they've got a new video for us, showing the Jedi Knight character progression. In two minutes the video shows an Obi-Wan Kenobi wannabe Jedi Knight at six stages of progression; starting as a padawan with a training blade, on to becoming a full knight and getting his first lightsaber. And then two stages for each of the two advanced classes. Here's the official news:

As you progress in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character grows more powerful, gains experience, discovers new skills, and acquires more advanced gear.
In this video, you’ll get a sneak peek at how the Jedi Knight can evolve in The Old Republic. This is just a small sampling of the armors and skills available, but we hope this gives you a taste of how the Jedi Knight will look as he develops through the course of the game.
Leave a comment below, or let us know what you think in the Forums!

It's a nice video, particularly if you're interested in playing a Knight. Personally I'll wait for the Consular and Agent videos. I do like the look of those armors though (the sentinel more so than the Guardian). And the character graphics don't get on my nerves as much as they used to; maybe I'm getting used to it.

Read on after the break for the developer quotes.

Fan Friday and PAX East 2011 Roundup

2011-03-21T23:09:00.001Z

I so told myself that I would do the update post before the end of the weekend this time, in part because I knew that there was a lot more to report than usual and I knew that I wouldn't have time to do it all during my usual lunch-break at work (due to work being crazy busy these days too). But a well, here we are. Blame Dragon Age 2.

The official update this Friday wasn't that big; a Fan Friday with Studio Insider, but last week there was also a load of PAX East reports from various game website. In fact I still haven't sorted them out (lucky me my friends decided to postpone tonight's Lord of the Rings Online session until after the next update hits the EU servers, hopefully tomorrow). And there's a metric ton of developer posts, unsurprisingly mostly revolving around PAX East. So that's been keeping me busy writing this post.

But let's get to it. As I said Friday was a Fan Friday and Studio Insider day. The Fan Friday has the usual fan art and a couple of new forum avatars, as well as the following new pieces of concept art:

The Studio Insider on the other hand sees World Designer Jesse Sky explaining how they go about making the animations for the ingame cinematics. here's an excerpt:

To start off, the Animators get together with the Cinematic Designers to figure out what actions need to be recorded by the actors at the motion capture studio (you know, that place where people wear skin-tight suits with ping pong balls all over them). For this particular scene, we needed the player character to Force Push some guards away and slay a couple of Hutts. Each human’s action, from the player character thrusting his hand forward to the guards getting knocked to the ground, is then captured individually. You can’t exactly throw a human actor into a Jabba suit and expect to get a good result, so in this case the Hutts were animated by hand.
There are some crucial differences between motion captured animation and animating by hand. Motion capture is exactly what it sounds like: the actor's motion is captured using the suit and is translated into data that we can use to make our characters move. As a result, the animations we get are very natural and realistic. To animate something by hand means the animator will pose the character like they would an action figure. Essentially, we create a series of poses with a little help from the computer to smooth out the movement between poses.

Don't forget that you can click two of the images in the Studio Insider post to get a brief video on the animation in action (though I personally also would've liked to see the/a final result, which they didn't include).

The Studio Insider also includes a brief Q&A about Flashpoints, which we'll briefly look at after the break. There you'll also find links to lots of PAX East reports and a load of developer posts.

Beware Beta Scams

2011-03-21T21:12:00.000Z

BioWare posted the following message on their forums, which I thought would be good to repost here front-and-center:

It has come to our attention that there are multiple individuals and sites claiming to sell testing accounts, “beta keys,” or other offers of access to our Game Testing Program. All of these offers are false. BioWare is not issuing invites to Game Testing via any method other than those we outline here on SWTOR.com.
We must caution you that these offers are often scams designed to steal your money, credit card information, or identity. While we understand that you are eager to participate in Game Testing, your security is extremely important, and attempting to participate in these offers could put you in very real danger.
Furthermore, the sale of accounts with access to the Game Testing Program is strictly prohibited by the Game Testing Agreement. We closely monitor the activities of all accounts involved in the Game Testing Program, and are quick to notice accounts that change hands. In the event that an account in the Game Testing Program does change ownership, we immediately take action to the fullest extent possible, including permanently banning the account from the Service.
You may also encounter e-mail scams that indicate you have been invited to the Game Testing Program. If you are invited to the real Game Testing Program, you will receive an e-mail with instructions from no-reply@bioware.swtor.com. Any other e-mail address claiming to offer an invitation is likely to be a scam. If you receive an e-mail and are in doubt or are concerned about its validity, please forward your concerns to bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. If you do receive a genuine testing invitation from us, you will also be able to view the invitation and testing information at www.swtor.com/tester.
If you discover a scam pretending to offer access to the Game Testing Program, please forward all relevant information to us at bwacommunitysupport@bioware.com. Your security and the security of your fellow community members is important to us, and we appreciate your help.

It always surprises me that people apparently fall for scams like those the post warns about. But apparently people do or I wouldn't be getting that constant stream of WoW "please give us your account information" emails (and I don't even play WoW). Always be extra careful checking what site an email is actually sending you to; scam sites can be very good as pretending that they're the real site, but there will always be some anomaly in the url they're sending you to (try and spot the mistake in "www.starwarstheoldrepubIic.com"; hint, it's more obvious in a different font).

Also, despite the message above saying that you should check that the email is from "no-reply@bioware.swtor.com", be aware that it's really easy for scammers to fake where they're sending emails from and appear as if they're sending email from just that address (it's called "spoofing"; in fact, I'm amazed that BioWare would even suggest that as a way to check the authenticity of emails). The only sure way is to manually enter the address for their tester website as the message above suggests.

Always be careful with your passwords and your personal details (unless your name is Gabe Newell and you're giving everyone your login details to prove how secure your new Steam Guard feature is). And make sure that you've got unique passwords for everything (instead of one password that you use for everything because when that one gets out all your accounts are suddenly at risk).

And on a different note; I'm still working on the Friday update post.

PAX East 2011

2011-03-14T15:46:00.000Z

This weekend was PAX East and BioWare was present showing off The Old Republic. As told last week people had a chance to either play through any of the class' starting areas or play through a mid-level four-character Republic Flashpoint.

For the people at home BioWare had not one, but two movies; a new trailer created with in-game footage and a developer walkthrough of the Flashpoint they showed at PAX. Let's start with the former, as per the official news:

We are pleased to present Fate of the Galaxy, a brand new trailer for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fresh from PAX East 2011.
Tension between the Republic and the Empire is running high. The uneasy truce established by the Treaty of Coruscant is quickly tearing apart at the seams, and a return to all-out war has begun in all but official terms. A new generation of heroes, both light and dark, emerges to face the difficulties of these chaotic times, and fight for the fate of the galaxy in this most desperate age.
This trailer, created using in-game footage, is the first update you’ll see from PAX East this year. Even if you can’t join us on the show floor, please check back here tomorrow for more updates. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook to get more live updates from the show floor!
We hope that you enjoy Fate of the Galaxy now!

In the second video the developers play through the Flashpoint, at least the portion shown at PAX, to give the people at home a taste of what it's like. Here is the official news:

Visitors to this year’s PAX East in Boston, MA are lucky enough to get to play through Taral V, a mid-level Republic Flashpoint. In the gameplay demo, a strike team assaults an Imperial compound on Taral V in an effort to recover an ancient navigational computer the Republic desperately needs. Their success depends on teamwork and skill – will they prevail?
Don’t worry if you can’t join us this year at the show – we’ve put together an in-game walkthrough of Taral V that takes you through the demo with developer commentary. Enjoy this in-depth look at the gameplay of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

That second movie came as quite a surprise; while I was expecting something like that I wasn't expecting it until next Friday at least (and certainly not on a Saturday). But it's quite nice to see a playthrough that wasn't taken with shakey-cam.

Read on after the break for a lot of stuff from Darth Hater, a few links from a week ago, and the weekly developer quotes.

Pre-Launch Guild Program

2011-03-09T18:44:00.002Z

Ooh, a mid-week update.

Today BiOWare launches the new Guild Headquarters for Star Wars: The Old Republic where people can register their guilds and look for guilds to join. Here is the official news:

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the new Guild Headquarters (HQ) as well as the Pre-Launch Guild Program. Many members of the community have already been organizing guilds on the forums, and we’re now happy to provide the tools to officially register and reserve your guild’s name. In this new section of the website, you can search for an existing guild to join or you can create a new guild and begin recruiting members. When Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ launches, you may be able to import your guild directly into the game, subject to availability and meeting certain criteria*.
Every guild gets its own guild mini-site on www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, complete with information about the guild, its recruitment status, and its own public and private forums. Create or join a guild now and you’ll have the opportunity to have your own space to socialize and organize before the game launches. Every guild is automatically entered into the searchable guild database, which makes it easy for players to find their ideal guild. Get your guild together early and get ready for The Old Republic!
To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.
*Conditions and restrictions apply. See Guilds FAQ for full details.

Interesting stuff. I'm sure that the various guilds will love it.

[EDIT] Just been reading the FAQ and had a few additional thoughts.

The FAQ talks about placing guilds automatically on servers (and during phase 2 you can align your guild with allies and adversaries). This is actually quite clever as it should help BioWare spread out the initial population by ensuring that large guilds don't all end up on the same server.

And considering that there are RP guilds it seems logical to assume that there will be RP servers as well (which is good news that I don't recall having been confirmed yet).

The only question I have is whether players will also be automatically allocated to servers, but I doubt it. This seems purely a measure to ensure spreading out population by putting large guilds on different servers.

Another interesting thing to note is that for a guild to be automatically transferred to the game like this at least four members in the guild need to have pre-ordered the game. Though I can understand it as a measure to ensure that there are going to be enough people in the guild, it's also a clever trick to increase the number of pre-orders. I can see that guilds that want to ensure that they're in the game might ask more of their members to pre-order just in case something goes wrong with a few of them.

It's an interesting thing. But I'm not in a guild, so maybe I'm misjudging how guilds will react to this. I think that they'll generally like it, but I can see how there might be concern about the auto-placement.

Bounty Hunter Report

2011-03-07T14:26:00.001Z

Lately I seem to have the habit of posting the Friday update on Monday. But ah well, better late than never.

Last Friday gave us three update; an update for PAX East, an update on the soon to be released SWTOR novel "Deceived", and a class update on the Bounty Hunter giving up their advanced classes, their ship, and more.

So let's get started with the latter. Here is the official post:

Get on the wrong side of the wrong people, and you’ll find yourself pursued by a Bounty Hunter, the most dangerous professionals in the galaxy. Bounty Hunters do what it takes to cash in on their marks, utilizing the best in weapons and defensive technology to bring in the target – dead or alive. The technology your Bounty Hunter uses is up to you; choose to specialize in prototype shield and heavy armor technology to become an unstoppable Powertech, or spend those hard-earned credits on the most destructive arsenal available as a Mercenary.
There’s much more to the Bounty Hunter, and we’ve compiled all the details for you:
Meet Mako, an orphaned computer slicing prodigy from Nar Shaddaa who can join your Bounty Hunter as a companion.
Discover more about the Rattataki, a species with a violent history perfectly suited for Bounty Hunting.
Tracking marks through the galaxy requires the perfect ship. The Kuat Drive Yards D5-Mantis Patrol Craft satisfies all the Bounty Hunters’s needs – speed, efficiency, and unstoppable firepower.
Check out the new Bounty Hunter class video to see a Bounty Hunter in action, and hope that you’re never on the receiving end of this dangerous professional.

The Bounty Hunter never really interested me personally, but it's nice information for those who do like the class. And don't forget to check out the new class trailer in either case.

Read on after the break for the PAX East update, a trailer for the Deceived novel (yes, a trailer for a book), more on the Bounty Hunter in an interview on IGN and the weekly developer quotes.

GDC 2011: The Travails of Localizing SWTOR

2011-03-02T14:05:00.000Z

GDC 2011 is in full swing with game developers from across the industry coming together to share knowledge and experience. BioWare is at the conference as well and, as Gamasutra reports, had some experience to share (during the "Game Localization Summit") regarding their work localizing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here's an excerpt:

"Localization is essential. Are we still talking about this?" asked Walton.
"The chart on costs of making a game are going up and worldwide competition is increasing... At a hypercompetitive rate." Meanwhile, "the most expensive games are where we're seeing a down trend in the market," he said. "In the end, if we don't make money with games, people won't give us more money to make more games."
BioWare mandates a simultaneous ship for localized products despite the huge amounts of text and dialogue in its titles (Dragon Age Origins had 1 million words; Mass Effect 2 400,000.)
In the case of localization, which allows developers to reach wider audiences with their work, "for once the business people and game making people are in alignment," said Walton.

The article goes on to talk about how important BioWare feels that localization is and how they go about it (in general terms). At the end it reveals that doing good localization can be quite expensive (they're talking about a seven-figure number per localization for SWTOR).

Meanwhile Darth Hater is reporting that EA's CEO John Riccitiello spoke about SWTOR at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference. Here's an excerpt:

We're building a product with BioWare in Austin... and if you don't have a history, BioWare is probably the only developer in the world that is an even-tier to Blizzard in terms of RPGs. The history of BioWare shows they can go toe to toe. They've beat them many times when they go toe to toe in the market place. They've shipped multiple 90-rated products for EA in the short time they've been a part of Electronic Arts.
We're starting with one of the two great developers of RPG's. We're starting with a Star Wars fiction and we're investing what it takes to make a truly great product. Now the challenge of course is, how will that do in the marketplace? We think there's some possibility for challenging WoW for market leadership but that's really not in our calculations.

In general it sounds sensible; make a good product and you should do well. DOn't worry about beating the current market leader. As long as they're confident that they can make a good profit (and to me the numbers seem reasonable enough) all is well.

[link] to localization article at Gamasutra.
[link] to Morgan Stanley quote at Darth Hater.

BioWare Blog: Living the Life of a Live Producer

2011-02-28T13:58:00.001Z

Last Friday BioWare added a blog entry to their site where Live Producer Blaine Christine looks at what's involved in being a live producer. In his article he includes some quotes from the people included in the game testing program. Here's an excerpt from the article:

What sort of feedback, you say? Rather than bore you with details of the bugs that were found and the fixes that were made, we guessed that you’d rather hear about what The Old Republic is like to play, right? So we asked our Game Testers to share a few of their thoughts with you. Please note, their names have been changed to protect their NDA compliance!

“The questing experience in TOR was amazing! The voiceovers and cinematics actually make me wonder how I ever survived the 'grind' without them.” – GP

“As one of those people who didn't really care about story in an MMO, after playing TOR I can't imagine playing another MMO unless it has as much focus on story as TOR does.” - PA

“I've been waiting years and years and years for an MMORPG experience like this. The combat is incredible and never gets old. The grind is gone. I am so happy the grind is gone (so, so very happy). The stories are fantastic, well written, well acted, well animated, incredibly immersive, and the inclusion of choice takes it into territory that other MMOs have only dreamed of. Lastly, this game makes you feel like a bad***. The entire time. And I love that.” – JA

Though I'm sure that these quotes were picked because they were overwhelmingly positive (and, in one case, funny though in fairness I don't think that they've tested long enough yet to know whether there is a new definition of pain and suffering over a thousand years) and it would be interesting to hear how representative these views truly are, it's still nice to hear (and in the end the only thing that will really satisfy people like myself is playing it ourselves and thus making our own opinions).

Read on after the break for the developer quotes.

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Studio Insider – Sith Temple

2011-02-21T14:36:00.001Z

I was sick over the weekend. Though not sick enough to be unable to write blog entries (pretty much just a cold and a headache), I decided to be selfish and postpone writing the blog entry. The Friday update wasn't that meaty anyway, so you've not been missing out on much.

That's because Friday gave us another Fan Friday with Studio Insider. Altogether very information-light. So I'll just skip straight ahead to the Studio Insider (I'll look at the rest a bit more after).

In the Studio Insider Concept Artist Diego Almazan takes us step-by-step through how he created concept art for a "Sith Temple". Here's an excerpt:

After touching up the details a bit more, I added other patterns on the floor and overhang. I also adjusted the overall color to simplify the process as I continued, and to provide a more readable version for the environment team once the piece is complete.

You can see the rest of the process and the final result at the original page.

Read on after the break for the Community Q&A, the Fan Friday update and developer quotes.

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Timeline 12: The Great Hyperspace War

2011-02-11T22:34:00.000Z

oh boy, this is going to be a big one (as in lots of text). We've got interviews, videos, lots and lots of developer quotes and a brand new timeline. So trap in and hold on to your wookiees.

Today's Friday update is another entry by Jedi Master Gnost-Dural as he looks at the Great Hyperspace War and where it all went wrong. Here is the official news:

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 struggle between rivals Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow. The explorers’ arrival marked the first contact between the Republic and the Sith Empire, and it created at an opportunity to end the power struggle. Naga Sadow seized the moment and rallied the Sith for a pre-emptive strike against the Republic under his leadership. The ensuing series of battles saw the Republic nearly destroyed, but Naga Sadow’s machinations ultimately backfired, and the Republic drove the Sith back to Korriban. The Supreme Chancellor then directed Republic forces to ensure the Sith never returned… by annihilating their civilization entirely—a move which would ultimately come back to haunt the Republic centuries later…

Watch the latest Timeline holorecord, The Great Hyperspace War , narrated by actor Lance Henriksen.

You can also download a high resolution version of this video.

I quite like this update. It tells some of a period I'm not all that familiar with (in fact we'll continue to have that as we go further and further back in history), dealing with a major event that probably most everyone in the galaxy would know about by now (and thus helpful in roleplaying) and keeping plenty of mystery in place for the game itself. And it shows the Republic as capable of not only making big mistakes, but also being aware of this (or at least the Jedi are aware of it as per Gnost-Dural's observations).

Read on after the break for the full transcript of the timeline update, an interview concerning crew skills, an update on the HeroEngine and a couple of bits from the Dice Summit. And a whole load of developer quotes from the forums.

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BioWare Blog: Building Flashpoints

2011-02-04T17:27:00.000Z

More Flashpoint in today's Friday update as World Designer Jesse Sky talks about creating them in a BioWare Blog entry. Here's an excerpt:

What is a Flashpoint?
A Flashpoint is a galactic crisis, something so threatening that even the most stalwart heroes must bring allies. The Death Star was a Flashpoint. Luke and Obi-wan spent a few minutes LFG in the Mos Eisley Cantina where they enlisted the aid of Han Solo and Chewbacca. Together, they infiltrated a moon-sized battle station to rescue Princess Leia. Things didn't go quite as they expected; difficult choices were made along the way. That's a Flashpoint in a nutshell.

In game terms, a Flashpoint is a challenging, cooperative mission that takes place entirely within an instance, which only your group can enter. While adventuring, you’ll be alerted to a crisis developing somewhere in the galaxy. That’s when you know it’s time to contact some friends and buckle up for an epic battle.

Later in the blog Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller oins in as well as he talks about combat in Flashpoints. Here's an excerpt from his bit:

Flashpoints also feature some of the toughest combat challenges in the game. Flashpoints in The Old Republic will require a full group of players to succeed.

Numbers alone won’t be enough either - with a cast of adversaries among the most memorable and powerful in the game and scenarios that often leave the party with impossible choices, players are expected to show superior coordination and skill in order to overcome the challenges ahead.

You can read the entire blog entry at the official site.

I like how Jesse compares Flashpoints to, basically, the first Star Wars movie and he certainly does make them sound fun and interesting, bits of compelling story one wouldn't want to miss. However, that quite from Georg above pours a few buckets of cold water on the whole idea and remind me why I'll probably never see much of them. Not only do I tend to play solo more often than not, but it sounds that pickup-groups aren't going to be coordinated enough for them and the friends that I do have who might go through them with me probably aren't coordinated enough either (we tend to have quite a bit of trouble with LotRO's instances and skirmishes... even several levels below our level). I just hope that they'll have more... casual Flashpoints as well.

Or maybe a difficulty setting for Flashpoints is an idea? In the end I'm not interested in 'challenge', but I am interested in story.

Anyway, read on after the break for a quick report on EA's Earnings Conference Call where they talk a bit about The Old Republic as well, as well as developer quotes from the last week.

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Flashpoint Update: Taral V

2011-01-31T14:15:00.000Z

When playing MMOs I often find myself playing solo more often than not, so last Friday's official update showcasing a new Flashpoint (i.e. group dungeon) wasn't that interesting to me. Still, it's nice to see some of the story-based content that they're including and that the group content contains just as much story as well. Here is the official news:

Some missions are too dangerous for just one hero. In Flashpoints, players team up with others to confront monumental challenges at pivotal moments in the game story. Fight deadly foes, make decisions that determine the outcome of the story, and get some of the best rewards in the galaxy as you and your allies experience Flashpoints.

The new Flashpoints Game Systems page features more detailed information about Flashpoints along with an exclusive video look at Taral V, a never-before-seen Flashpoint from the game. Get ready for great multiplayer action in Flashpoints in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

To save you some time looking up the video at the official site, here it is from YouTube:

I find it funny how they keep referring to "the Jedi prisoner" instead of referring to the individual by name. Sounds very awkward and, to me, smacks of some big identity reveal for said Jedi waiting to happen.

Next to the video there's also a new Game Systems page with some details on a few Flashpoints, showcasing Taral V and givign this description regarding Flashpoints in general:

Taral V is just one of several unique Flashpoints in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Every Flashpoint takes a group of Imperial or Republic players through its own self-contained adventure, culminating in one of several outcomes based on player choices. You won’t have to miss out on any of the story, though – Flashpoints exist in specially instanced parts of the galaxy and can be repeated as often as you’d like. Flashpoints feature enemies that require skill and cooperation to defeat, and are much more challenging than single-player missions, but they offer valuable loot and rewards. Gather up your allies and get ready for explosive multiplayer action in Flashpoints!

What I find most interesting here is that in the examples they list there seems to be a clear interplay between Republic and Empire. The low-level Republic Flashpoint is about a Republic transport being attacked by Imperials... and the low-level Imperial Flashpoint is about imperials attacking a Republic transport. Could this be players seeing two sides of the same conflict? Seems very likely. The mid-game ones, including Taral V, is similar with the Empire one being about tracking down an escaped prisoner (could that be "the Jedi prisoner"?). And then the last one is just one Flashpoint that both can play. I wonder whether it's pretty much the same for each or whether they approach the same Flashpoint from different directions. They promised no repeated content between sides, so it's a little confusing to see something listed that looks like repeated content.

Anyway, that's the official update. Read after the break for a Q&A at GameSpot on Flashpoints as well as developer quotes from the last week.

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Rumor: The Old Republic launching in September

2011-01-26T17:39:00.000Z

As far as rumors go there isn't a lot of meat to this one. So it's good to remember that this is a rumor and likely to be false. This isn't an official release date announcement by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, website MCV is claiming that they have "development sources" saying that Star Wars: The Old Republic will release in September. Here it is in their own words:

BioWare's MMO will arrive later than some had expected, sources tell MCV

Long-awaited MMO Star Wars: Old Republic will be released worldwide this September, development sources have told MCV.

The date is later than many had predicted, with EA CEO John Riccitiello himself suggesting a year ago that a spring 2011 release was likely.

And that's really the entirety of the rumor; the rest of their article looks back at some other 'recent' news (such as EA Louse). It doesn't specify what their 'development sources' are or whether those would be sources that would know such a thing (it could be developers of a completely different company making a completely different game making an educated guess based on publicly available information as those are, technically, 'development sources' as well; heck I probably would've guessed September or October too).

After the break I'll look at two issues pointed out in the comments and handle some news noting that investors are being pessimistic towards SWTOR.

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Quesh: Dangerous Investment

2011-01-21T17:27:00.000Z

Here we have a planet that BioWare could blow up.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Today is Friday and that means nearly weekend. But it also means another update from BioWare on their MMO. This time the update is the reveal of a new planet: Quesh. Here is the official news:

In a distant corner of Hutt Space, the poisonous planet Quesh orbited untouched for centuries, until the surprising discovery of rare adrenal chemicals drew the Galactic Republic to further explore this dangerous world. Unable to process the chemicals into adrenals, however, the Republic was forced to turn to the Hutts for help.

Recently, the Sith Empire learned of this secret and lucrative operation, and swiftly came to steal the prize. The battle over this toxic treasure may be one of the most brutal ground conflicts the galaxy has ever seen, but the winner will gain access to powerful adrenals and a source of extreme wealth.

Access the HoloNet to learn more about Quesh. Check out this video to visit the poisonous world, and don’t forget to visit the media section for never-before-seen screenshots, concept art, and wallpapers showcasing the planet.

The planet looks and sounds like a Hutt holiday resort, and from the description that's not entirely wrong. Well, except that none of the Hutts involved are really happy with the whole thing, but that's probably just a Hutt thing.

But what caught my attention most was that when looking the planet up on Wookieepedia, it drew a blank. "Perhaps the archives are incomplete" it enthusiastically suggests next to a picture of a perturbed Obi-wan. Lost a planet have you, indeed. (note that while writing this post someone added the page so there are a few details in it now).

What's more likely though is that the planet didn't exist yet until BioWare invented it for their game. But that also means that BioWare can do whatever they want with it, including blowing it up. After all it's not going to break any continuity to blow up a planet that none of the other material refers to (as it didn't exist in the universe until now).

That's not to say that they will blow it up (or do anything drastic like that). But it almost seems too good an opportunity to miss and I recall one of the developers remarking something about wanting to do such. There might be other planets that BioWare invented (or for which they otherwise can get clearance), but I think that so far Quesh is the first planet we know of in The Old Republic that's created purely for the game (Voss already existed and is known to exist in the New Republic era).

Oh, and before I forget, here's the new wallpaper for the planet (the screenshots and concept art are all on the planet's HoloNet page):

That's it for the official update, but read on after the break for developer quotes from the last week, a quiz to test your SWTOR knowledge, a video with a glimpse of space combat, and a few more fun bits not directly related to the game from over the Holidays that I forgot last week.

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Jedi Immersion and Starship Creation

2011-01-14T17:55:00.001Z

Bah. I had managed to finish reading through all the articles from over the holiday season and was well underway writing a post with all of them, including an enthusiastic "and just before the Friday update too", when I suddenly spot the Friday update in my RSS reader. And I had a funny image and everything, see:

No, that picture doesn't have anything to do with the rest of this post, but one doesn't need an excuse to post pictures of Darth Vader playing ice hockey against Master Chief.

Ah well, I'll just rewrite the bit before the break, insert the Friday Update, and we should be good to go. Luckily for me the Friday Update this day doesn't seem to be a very meaty one (though nice regardless).

That's because today is a Fan Friday. That means fan arts from the community (love that twi'lek dancer), fan fiction, new smilies and avatars for the forums, and in this case also an announcement that they'll be at PAX East beginning of March. Another nice thing though is that they're revealing some concept art of Dromund Kaas, Tatooine, and Belsavis:

You can get all the details at the official news post.

But these days with every Fan Friday they also include a Studio Insider post, a little behind-the-scenes look at what's going on with development, as well as a community Q&A. This time they give us an insider look at the creation of my favorite The Old Republic starship, the Imperial Agent's X-70B Phantom. Senior Concept Artist Ryan Dening and Senior Environment Artist Christopher Reeves talk us through the design and building of a starship. Here's an excerpt from the interior design:

The first step for the interior was to take the top view and design a floor plan. This was dream fulfillment for me because usually the interior and exterior designs of ships for games don't have to line up, or there is no interior at all. It was really fun to figure out where to put everything. For the first time, we were making these ships exist in real space and giving the players the experience of owning their own Starship. From the top down view, I sketched the room volumes over the exterior concept.

Now that I had my layout, I needed a style. I wanted to capture the exterior feel - sleek and advanced - but the writing for the agent required a living space where he/she could entertain important guests and charm possible lovers. Once again, rough sketches were done and reviewed.

Charm possible lovers? Ooh, I'm liking that. And as I said, this starship is definitely my favorite, sleek and stylish. With this and with all the good information on the Jedi Consular (see below the break) I'm becoming more and more certain that I'll play them both. Which is good, as it gives me one on each side (Republic and Empire).

The Studio Insider is closed off with a number of community questions and (developer) answers. Here's one such:

Q: Will there be specific quests and/or chains within the class quests for Advanced Classes? (asked by ROFLBATLECOPTER)

Advanced Classes do not have a direct impact on quests or storyline. They obviously have a huge impact on your character’s progression and abilities in addition to the weapons and armor you are allowed to use. Rest assured that, this being a BioWare game, there will be plenty of opportunities to make significant and impactful decisions throughout the course of each Class story. So much so that I suspect many of you will want to play individual classes more than once.

Read the rest of the questions as well as the entire description on the starship creation at the official Studio Insider post.

So far for the official Friday Update today. After the break I'll be handling a whole lot of articles from over the holiday period so that I'm officially caught up again. This includes preview articles of journalists having extended (some six hours or so) play experience with the game, a number of interviews, and a lot of developer quotes from the last week or so. So continue on after the break to read them all.

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2011

2011-01-10T14:45:00.001Z

2011. The year that Star Wars: The Old Republic (is said to) launch.

Over two years we've followed this game and by the time it does it will be (at least) two-and-a-half. But the time is definitely getting closer. Will it be worth the wait? We can only hope.

I've been back from vacation for nearly a week now, but am still in the progress of catching up with all the news (both general game news and SWTOR-specific), so it'll take a bit before I've updated this blog to be up-to-date with everything. It seems that over the last few weeks a number of game sites published their hands-on experience with the game and I'll post it all here... once I've had a chance to read it all.

Next to reading news I've been busy with a number of other things as well; catching up on my tv shows, catching up with my friends in Lord of the Rings Online, enjoying my gifts (I got the last two campaigns for Guild Wars; Factions and Nightfall, as well as book 13 of The Wheel of Time series) and I got invited to the Rift beta last weekend (it's pretty much as I expected: very solidly put together, very standard MMO design I've seen a dozen times before, Rifts quickly lose their appeal to me and even become frustrating as they interfere with the rest of the game). But I promise I'll catch up.

For now, let me just post the news from the official website from the last few weeks (i.e. the Friday updates). Articles from other sites I'll hopefully be able to post later this week.

Though I usually try to put the official news before the break, since there's a fair bit of it now read after the break for a Deceived excerpt, a Fan Friday with Studio Insider, more information on the Trooper, a developer blog post on cinematic design, and new Holonet biographies.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-14T23:52:00.000Z

A bit early, but that's because I'm off on vacation tomorrow morning and won't be back until January. So here's a Yoda Claus to celebrate:

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year. And remember, 2011 is the year that should see Star Wars: The Old Republic's release (along with a number of other big MMOs). Either way, it's promising to be a good MMO year. Maybe it'll make up for the rather lousy MMO year that 2010 was (pretty much the only good thing, in my book, was the large number of MMOs switching to a 'Freemium' model).

And see you all after the Fireworks; I'll do my best to catch up on all the SWTOR news when I'm back.

Timeline 11: Rebirth of the Sith Empire

2010-12-13T13:54:00.001Z

Last Friday BioWare had a new Timeline update for us, talking about the rebirth of the Empire. Here is the official news:

In the years following the Great Hyperspace War, the Sith exiles on Dromund Kaas faced a daunting future on a harsh world. The guidance of the Emperor and the Sith Lords were critical, but Republic Intelligence has stolen historical records that indicate the resilience and determination of the early Imperial Military were no less crucial to the Empire’s reconstruction. Master Gnost-Dural has identified one Imperial Military Leader in particular whose story exemplifies the strength that runs throughout every level of Imperial Society.

BTC 1251 – Following the destruction of their ancient civilization on Korriban, the Sith exiles sought to rebuild their Empire amid the jungles of Dromund Kaas. The man who eventually earned the distinction of the being the Empire’s first new Grand Moff, Odile Vaiken, emerged as a critical figure in these dark years. While the Emperor and the Sith Dark Council were preoccupied with long-term strategies, Vaiken recruited non-Force users to form the new Imperial Military. This nascent but efficient army courageously battled the powerful native creatures on Dromund Kaas to carve out the space for a secure civilization. In later years, as the new Sith Empire grew in size and strength, Vaiken went on to establish the foundation for the modern Imperial navy and set the standards for constructing a fleet that would one day emerge from exile and crush the Republic. For common Imperial citizens, Vaiken became a model for their highest aspirations, proving that even non-Force users would play a vital role in restoring the Sith Empire to prominence and power.

Watch the latest Timeline holorecord, Rebirth of the Sith Empire, narrated by actor Lance Henriksen.

You can also download a high resolution version of this video.

Read on after the break for a full transcript of the timeline, as well as a couple of other updates (including a video interview).

Read more »

BioWare Blog: Closer Look at Crew Skills

2010-12-03T16:48:00.001Z

It's been a while since we've had a Developer Blog entry from BioWare (two months if I'm not mistaken). That's a pity as I always tend to enjoy them, and today's blog entry is no different.

First though is some expected, but still good, news: The Jedi Wizard has officially been renamed. Here's the official news:

A few weeks ago, we asked the community to help us rename the Jedi Wizard advanced class. Thousands of votes and many posts full of lively debate later, the polls have closed, and we have a clear winner! Without further ado:

The new name for the Jedi Wizard is… Jedi Sage!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the voting process. Your feedback is always important to us, so please join us on the forums and let us know what you think about the game.

- The Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team

For anyone who's been following the official poll(s) (even if just looking at them once since they were posted) it shouldn't come as a surprise that "Jedi Sage" came out the winner. Even so I'm glad that we're rid of the "Wizard" name and will enjoy playing a Sage. Particularly since it'll give the feeling that it's a class that came out of the community, making it a little special.

The other update today is the blog entry as mentioned. In it Game Systems Designer Patrick Malott talks about the Crew Skill system and reveals another crafting skill (though the systems page hasn't been updated yet): Armstech. Here's an excerpt from the blog:

Though companions are vital to The Old Republic and the Crew Skills system, we do know that some players want to be the primary crafter for all their crafted items, or for particularly special pieces of equipment. It’s worth noting that players will definitely need to be directly involved in the process when learning rare schematics, and that Lightsabers aren’t acquired or assembled via the Crew Skills system. We’ll have more details on this later.

To be honest that quote makes me quite happy and now I feel free, so to speak, to be more excited about the Crew Skill system (which I maintain isn't a crafting system but a time management system). Though I don't expect player crafting on a level that you get in other MMOs I'm fine with that. At least it sounds like there'll definitely be something for players to do there. Maybe some kind of upgrading system akin to Knights of the Old Republic as I've speculated before; at least let lightsabers be the player's own (I'm fine with the Crew Skill system crafting crystals and such to be used in lightsabers).

And overall the Crew Skill system sounds quite good and an interesting diversion from the rest of the game, unique (as far as I'm aware) among MMOs. I do have some concerns about letting crafting/gathering continue when the player is offline (and I'm saying that as someone who doesn't expect to be a hardcore 'crafter'), but that's a minor thing. Right now I can see myself selecting one main companion to always take with me while I let the rest slave away on my ship to make cool stuff for me.

And that's as far as the updates today go. But I do have a developer quote, a video interview with Dr. Ray Muzyka and some release date news... after the break.

Read more »

New Inhabitants on the HoloNet

2010-11-26T14:40:00.000Z

BioWare added five new entries to the "Inhabitants" section of the HoloNet; two creatures, a humanoid species, and two droids. Here is the official news:

Details on five new galactic inhabitants are now available on the HoloNet! Read up on the dangerous Terentatek and Vine Cat – you don’t want to go up against these creatures unprepared. Also, find information on the legacy of the red-skinned Sith Pureblood, descendants of the original Sith species. And don’t forget about the droids! You’ll find data about the M3-M1 Medical Droid and the S3-F5 Inclement Condition Probe.

The galaxy is full of fascinating occupants, so make sure to check the Inhabitants holorecords frequently for new updates!

Because it might be a bit tricky to find the new entries among the ones that were already there, let me list the links to the new entries here:

That's it for the official update, but read on after the break for developer quotes from the last week, some details on a survey that's been sent around, a link to an interview with the new community manager and some humor from Eurogamer.

Read more »

Studio Insider - Flesh Raiders

2010-11-22T14:06:00.001Z

And again I'm a few days late. It's starting to become a habit. In part that's because this Friday was pretty much just a Fan Friday and I don't find those to be that interesting (still good to have them, but I'm allowed to not find them interesting).

The other part of it is that last week my NCsoft (i.e. Guild Wars) account got "permanently blocked". Apparently some unauthorized person accessed my account and NCsoft decided to block it to prevent "further damage". Which, in turn, had me fretting for a few days what damage might be done while I was trying to sort things out and get access to my account again. (Turns out no damage whatsoever from what I can tell). Anyway.

So, Fan Friday. It seems that they decided to split the "Developer Corner" out of the Fan Friday and give it its own thing, called "Studio Insider". Though I think I'll continue to list those under "fan" still for now (after all I pretty much added that label purely for the developer corner section).

The Fan Friday has the usual with community images, fan fiction, and Halloween costumes (ok, so that's not that usual). They also add a bunch of new wallpapers from the Timeline videos:

There's also a bunch of new Star Wars smilies, really making me think "way too much". Pretty soon people will be able to make posts entirely in pictograms and still make sense. I'm sure we can already pretty much tell the entire Star Wars saga in "C3PO talks to the Ewoks"-style (just replacing sounds with images).

There's also a bunch of new forum avatars based on characters in the Biography section of the HoloNet. Which, in my opinion, is missing the whole point of avatars a little bit as aren't they supposed to represent the player? In the same way that we know we won't be able to play General Garza it doesn't make sense to use the character as a forum avatar. But then, what do I know... people'll do whatever.

As usual the more interesting part of the Fan Friday is the ex-Developer Corner, now-Studio Insider where this time they have a step-by-step breakdown of the concept art generation for the Flesh Raiders. Here's an excerpt:

At this point I was not exactly sure how far we wanted to stray from the original design, so in terms of the head and protrusions on the body I threw out some different ideas on what could be done. I tried not to spend too much time on the base, but wanted to give enough detail so there was a clear idea of what I have in mind. I even threw in a crazy wacky one to see if the team wanted something completely that deviated from the current Flesh Raider model.

Of course they go for the crazy one! I have not added any armor yet, so naturally this model has the most striking silhouette.

But the breakdown wasn't all. They also added a short Q&A. Continue reading after the break for a sample answer from the Q&A as well as a number of developer quotes and some help for those of you with children.

Read more »

Crew Skills Revealed

2010-11-15T14:30:00.000Z

Ok, so I'm a couple of days late, but last Friday BioWare revealed the Crew Skills crafting system. There's also a new Community Manager (news near the bottom of this post). Crafting without doing any of the knitting yourself. Here's the official news:

The galaxy is full of resources and opportunities for your character to benefit and profit. The Crew Skills system allows you to gather those valuable resources, craft a wide range of useful items, and send your crew out on their own missions to retrieve rewards. With Crew Skills, you’ll be able to do all these things while your character stays in the action or even if you have to log off!

Crew Skills are a unique approach to a crafting system, built to suit the tastes of a broad range of players and to maximize your time spent adventuring and experiencing your character’s story while still earning useful benefits. Put your companions to work and get the most out of the galaxy’s myriad opportunities!

Learn more details about the inner workings of the Crew Skills Game System on the new Crew Skills System page.

The page also includes a video explaining Crew Skills.

In essence this is how it works.

You've got three "Crew Skill" slots. In these slots you put gathering skills, crafting skills and mission skills. As many of the three slots as you want can be gathering or missions kills, but only one can be a crafting skill (which is really limiting particularly considering that there seem to be more different crafting skills than any other type). Gathering skills lets you gather resources, crafting skills lets your crew make items from those resources and mission skills lets them go out and do 'unique' things offscreen (like diplomatic relations or finding valuable items).

For both crafting skills and missions skills it's basically just "you tell a companion NPC to do something and they go off and do it". Gathering skills have that too (you can tell a companions to go off and gather stuff), but with gathering you can also tell companions to harvest things you run into while playing. Or you can do the harvesting yourself (I really like that; that you have the choice to do it yourself if you want to).

Skills apparently still advance even while you're offline and when you tell a companion to dedicate a certain time (that you choose) to a certain skill they'll be unavailable for that time (so if you need a companion in 30 minutes, don't send them on a 23 hour mission). Since all this continues offline it seems smart to make sure all your companions have something to do until the next time you log in.

For more, including a couple of interviews, some developer quotes explaining a bit more about the system, my own views on the system and the announcement of the new Community Manager, read on after the break.

Read more »

EA publishing TOR solo

2010-11-11T16:59:00.000Z

Just like Han EA is going Solo (with its trusty BioWarian wookiee to keep the engines running). Where originally was supposed to be done together with LucasArts it seems that the two have struck a deal for EA to take everything on.

Here's the news from GameSpot:

When Star Wars: The Old Republic launches next year, it will have only one publisher. At an event this evening, Electronic Arts announced it will be the sole distributor of the massively multiplayer role-playing game, due out in 2011 after sometime after the first quarter of the year. The game is being developed by EA's role-playing game studio, BioWare, at its Austin, Texas facility.

The MMORPG had been set to be co-published by both EA and LucasArts, the game arm of Lucasfilm, which created the Star Wars franchise. Lucasfilm will remain involved in the project as a "a key partner, collaborating on design and marketing, and as a licensor of the property." Speaking with GameSpot, BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka said LucasArts would also remain involved in development of the game, as it is "part of the same organization as Lucasfilm."

The financial terms of today's deal were not disclosed, but the rationale was. According to EA, the deal was done "so that all publishing, marketing and distribution responsibilities can be centralized for efficiency."

It makes a lot of sense to me for just one of the two to do all the publishing. Things can get messy otherwise. And as far as publishing goes at least EA is definitely a powerhouse (and they've even got some experience publishing MMOs). In general, though as players we shouldn't really notice this sounds like good news to me overall.

From that link I also noticed a video interview I hadn't seen before (must've missed it somehow) about PvP:

Nothing really new there I think.

[link] to news at GameSpot.
[link] to PvP video interview at GameSpot.

Warzone Video

2010-11-05T16:36:00.001Z

Warzones, crafting and (voting for) a new name for the Jedi Wizard. That's what BioWare has for us today.

This week was EA's annual winter showcase in London, during which they revealed details on warzones in The Old Republic as well as details on crafting. With the warzones BioWare released a new video showing some PvP; here is the official news:

Officially a neutral world, Alderaan has become the focus of Republic and Imperial political maneuvering. Even as conflict between Alderaan’s noble houses threatens to turn into civil war, Republic and Imperial forces engage in a secret battle that could decide the planet’s fate. High in the mountains, both sides fight for control of Alderaan’s massive planetary defense cannon—a weapon powerful enough to devastate an enemy’s fleet and ensure domination over the planet’s skies.

The battle on Alderaan is our first detailed look at organized team Player vs Player (PvP) in The Old Republic™. To secure the planetary defense cannon, players must deplete the enemy transport ship’s shields, driving their forces to retreat or be annihilated. Players must work together to control the defense system’s artillery units if they are to protect their fleet and emerge victorious.

We’ll be offering more insight into how Warzones work in the near future, but for now, we hope this video will give you a good sense of the Warzone experience in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Also, be sure to check the screenshot section to see how this battle is heating up.

I can't say that it interests me much, but that's because I don't find PvP to be interesting in the least. And while I find the video near sleep-inducing, I get that it's mostly the use of abilities and reacting to an ever changing situation that makes PvP exciting (and the video looks rather staged to me).

But if you want to know more about the warzones, as well as know what BioWare revealed about crafting, then Darth Hater has those details for you. Here's an excerpt from the latter:

The developers also presented an overview of The Old Republic's crafting system. BioWare announced they will use a Crew Skill crafting system, very similar to the one we speculated on in a recent podcast. Using their ship as a base of operations, players will be able to send their companions on crafting tasks, and particular companions excelling at specific duties.

This Crew Skill system will be divided into three majors groups: Gathering, Crafting, and Missions. We were given two examples for each major group: Gathering will be comprised of jobs like Bio Analysis and Slicing, Crafting includes Artificer and Bio Chem, and lastly Missions will involve activities such as Diplomacy and Treasure Hunting.

Next to all that BioWare is showing that it's listening to the community. After the massive outcry over the "Jedi Wizard" advanced class name they've now selected three names (plus "Jedi Wizard") for the community to vote on, saying that the winning choice will be the final name ingame. And to help people decide they're giving use a breakdown of the general Jedi Wizard skill branches:

Earlier this year, we announced the Advanced Classes System which allows you to customize your character according to your play style. We also revealed the advanced classes for the Jedi Consular: Jedi Shadow and the Jedi Wizard. Since then, we’ve been working on a new name for the ‘Jedi Wizard’ Advanced Class and have come up with three new possibilities.

Now we want to open it up to you, the fans. There's been some great feedback on class names in the past, so we're offering you the chance to help us make the final decision!

The chart below presents a high-level overview for the Jedi Consular’s advanced classes:

Telekenetics: Ranged Damage using Force attacks, such as ‘Telekenetic Blast’ which does high damage in an ‘area-of-effect’
Balance: Overall survivability and utility, with abilities that enhance both melee and Force attacks
Seer: Healing and buffs using the Force, with abilities like Serenity to boost Force regeneration and reduce damage taken
There are four names to choose from: Jedi Sage, Jedi Seer, and Jedi Adept – along with the option to keep it Jedi Wizard. This poll will determine the final title that appears in game. We’ll be tallying the results from the English, French, and German communities to determine the winner. Voting ends at 5:00PM CST on Thursday, December 2nd so vote now!

We look forward to hearing from you!

- The Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team

As of this posting "Jedi Sage" has more than half the votes in all three (language) polls, so it's looking very likely that that'll be the winner. Personally I just voted the most popular option in an "anything but 'Wizard'" vote, but I'm quite happy with Jedi Sage.

Finally, on a different note, Eurogamer has an interview up with Doctors Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk from BioWare. They talk about a number of things, including Dragon Age 2 and that EA Louse business from a while back. But regarding Star Wars: The Old Republic what's interesting is that they're asked about a release date and oddly no longer seem to want to commit to a spring 2011 release date:

Eurogamer: When will Star Wars: The Old Republic be out?

Ray Muzyka: Next year.

Eurogamer: Can you at least say whether it'll be the first half or the second half of the year?

Ray Muzyka: No. We're just saying 2011.

That is quite different from what they've been saying in the past where they've always stated "spring 2011". Signs of the release having slipped perhaps?

Anyway, go and vote to make sure to crush the "Jedi Wizard" name as completely as possible. And happy Guy Fawkes day.

[link] to warzones and crafting article at Darth Hater.
[link] to interview with Ray and Greg at Eurogamer.

Imperial Agent Intel

2010-10-29T21:54:00.000+01:00

It seems that there is a leak somewhere in Imperial Intelligence, as today a whole lot of classified information on the Imperial Agent has been made public. (Okay, so it was really just BioWare doing their usual Friday update, but I thought that sounded more interesting). We got information on their Advanced Classes, on one of their companions, on one of the alien species they can be, on their spaceship and even a gameplay video. Here is the official news:

The Imperial Agent class delivers an experience unlike any other in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, and this week, we’re excited to share new details that highlight what makes the Agent so unique.

Learn about the Agent’s Advanced Classes and the combat tactics they rely on. Specialize as a Sniper and leverage distance and concealment to get an edge on your enemies, or master stealth, surprise, and combat medicine to become a versatile and deadly Operative.

In addition, check out the following updates for more intel on the Imperial Agent class:
If you’re looking for a companion with attitude, visit the Biographies section to read about the Agent’s dangerously charming Rattataki companion, Kaliyo.
Aliens are incredibly rare among the ranks of Imperial Intelligence, but if that sounds like your kind of character, be sure to inspect the new Chiss Inhabitants page for information on this enigmatic species.
The Imperial Agent’s sleek starship is one of the most unique models in the galaxy. Check out the X-70B Phantom-Class Prototype in the starships section to get a tour.
Last but not least, watch the new class gameplay video to get a look at the Agent in action!

I must say that I'm really liking the sound of the Imperial Agent class. It's definitely going to be my class if I play Empire. In fact, I'm considering switching my main to it (though the lure of the lightsaber is strong). I mean, I just love the sleek design of that ship, just look at it:

Additionally I've got some character design for an Imperial Agent that's more evolved at the moment than what I've got for my Jedi, so who knows. Maybe I'll just have two main characters and alternate between them. But yeah, quite enjoyed today's update.

Oh, and George Zoeller had a quite note on the forums about the Agent's healing ability compared to the Smuggler's:

Agents and smugglers are equally capable on the healing front.

And that's it. Have a happy Halloween.

Fan Friday and Biographies

2010-10-25T10:02:00.001+01:00

Last Friday BioWare made another "Fan Friday" post and updated the HoloNet with three more Biographies.

The Fan Friday consist of the usual fan art, polls, new smilies and avatars for the forums and a few new wallpapers:

But as usual the most interesting bit is the Developer Corner where this time Senior Concept Artist Ryan Dening talks us through making a piece of concept art of Kaas City:

The purpose of this concept was to revisit Kaas City. A lot of the work had been done earlier on, and we felt there were things we could do to make it so much cooler.

We already had a view of the city since it had been built in-game, but we wanted to integrate it into the surrounding landscape better and give the Imperial city its own architectural style. Also, we wanted to establish a stronger mood and define the Citadel better (main central building). I started with screenshots from the game to make sure I wasn't moving anything important and to make sure I captured the player’s view.

For inspiration I looked to the sketches of Coruscant by Ralph McQuarrie. Some of them have a dark gothic feel and I wanted to portray that in the Sith Empire's capital city. Clint Young had done an earlier concept of the Citadel, and I wanted to re-incorporate some elements from his design. Our style for the Empire is very angular so I felt that should be reflected in their architecture, as well.

I went into the game and took screenshots of the view I wanted to capture looking out towards the Citadel.

I kept the front platform and the building to the left as I knew they were going to stay. I added in some perspective guides to help me keep everything in-line, and then I loosely blocked in some shapes and colors to get the overall composition.

In order to refine the shapes and designs, I began building up forms with highlights and shadows. I cut in some details for the foreground building on the left from an existing concept Clint had done, and started adding some finer details like windows for scale.

The finished concept. I filled out the lighting and continued to refine details. From here, individual elements can be broken out in more detail for the environment artists to build.

Get the entire Fan Friday update in the official post.

The second update this Friday was the addition of three new character to the HoloNet's Biographies section adding a renegade ex-Republic General, a disillusioned Republic diplomat, and a mysterious Imperial Spymaster. Here is the official news:

Meet more of the compelling characters you’ll interact with in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. New additions have been added to the Biographies section of the HoloNet!

This update includes profiles of some of the most enigmatic characters in The Old Republic Era: the renegade ex-Republic General, Bouris Ulgo; the disillusioned Republic diplomat, Diab Duin; and the mysterious Imperial Spymaster known only as “Keeper”.

If you haven’t visited the Biographies section in awhile, you’ll notice that a few companion characters have been added as well. There are still more to come, so check back regularly.

For those somewhat disappointed with the update Director of Marketing, Leo Olebe, made a post on the official forums:

Hi Folks!

I'm fairly sure that I'm the last person that you want to hear from, but I wanted to chime in and say that we love your enthusiasm for the game and ongoing support. I know that it can be frustrating when we don't reveal new, specific game system information. Remember, the story and lore of the game is very important, thus the steady stream of content that is focused on learning more about the galaxy that you will adventure in. As we've always said, when things are at a quality level where we are ready to reveal them, we will. We never want to promise something that we aren't ready to commit to.

I can tell you that we have some game system stuff coming up that I think you'll like. Yes that's a tease, but never fear - we "hear" you and want to provide you with lots of great info to chew on.

Leo

Can't wait to hear what game system stuff they've got coming up. Though I like reading about the backstory of the game as well.

Moon Over Endor

1.1.0b Patch Notes

1.1.0b Patch Notes - 1/24/2012

General

Classes and Combat

Operations

General

Karagga's Palace

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Teaching Elephants To Do Ballet

Coming Up in STAR WARS: The Old Republic

Become a Founding Member!

Design Notes - Game Update 1.1

Game Update 1.1 - Rise of the Rakghouls

Game Update 1.1Rise of the Rakghouls

‘Kaon Under Siege’ Flashpoint

Rise of the Rakghouls Coming

Labels Changed

Holiday Patch Notes

1.0.2d Patch Notes 1/12/2012

Items

Flashpoints and Operations

Flashpoints

Operations

Unofficial Holiday Updates

Official Holiday Updates

Reviews

Happy New Year 2012!

Choose Your Side: Smuggler vs. Sith Warrior

“Your Saga Begins” Launch Documentary

Grace Period

Bonus Music Tracks

Welcome and What's Next

Early Game Access Begins

Guild Deployment Details

Sith Inquisitor Character Progression

Pre-load started

SWTOR Beta Preview

Choose Your Side: Agent vs. Consular

Listen to the Music of The Old Republic

Jedi Consular Character Progression

Bringing Down the Hammer (on the NDA)

Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs. Trooper

Imperial Agent Character Progression

Prepare for Guild Deployment

Warzones

Previews and Unboxings

Signs of War

The Old Republic heads to NYCC 2011

Choose Your Side: Jedi Knight vs. Bounty Hunter

Interactive Galaxy Map

Developer Dispatch: Companion Characters

Release Date Announced

Guild Alignment Begins

Studio Insider: Combat Animation

Smuggler Character Progression

GamesCom 2011 Highlight Video

Eternity Vault Developer Walkthrough

Warzone: Huttball

TOR GamesCom 2011 Plan

Jedi Consular Records

‘The Esseles’ Developer Walkthrough

Join the Fight

The Old Republic Now Available for Pre-Order

Insider label

Studio Insider: Crafting the Class Intros

BioWare Blog: Maps, and their Making

Galactic cartography

Bounty Hunter Character Progression

Battle for Alderaan Highlights Video

The Post-Writing Polish Process

E3 2011 Recap

Tatooine Developer Walkthrough

Operation: Eternity Vault

E3 2011 Links updated

"Return" Intro Cinematic Released

E3 2011 Links

Lost Suns and Advanced Classes

Trooper Character Progression

Studio Insider: Combat Audio

Game Update 1.1
Rise of the Rakghouls