((The RP XP with MJ #5))

Jedi Master Kendris stood in the cockpit of the Regail and watched the maintenance droids buzz back and forth outside. The smuggler was late and so were the troopers assigned to watch over her.

Kendris felt a stir behind him and slightly raised his chin. Most of his attention was beyond the canopy of the ship, directed to the movements of the two dark Force users in the port city, but he was always mindful of his Padawan. “Tarik?”

“Master,” Tarik began before stopping to clear his throat. He was almost a full head shorter than Kendris but as solidly built as any Zabrak, the tattooed lines on his face merging to divide it into quadrants separating his eyes, mouth and prominent nose. The crown of horns on his head were small, still juvenile, but sharp to match is guile. “Master, I’m worried about Yulel.”

Kendris blinked and continued to stare through the canopy. “Are you?”

“Yes, master. I know you said I should embrace peace even when troubled, that it would help to center me.”

“You recite my teachings well, Tarik, but fail to apply them.” Tarik couldn’t see it, but Kendris was smiling behind his trimmed beard.

The Padawan bowed. “I know, master, and I am sorry. I sense–“

“You sense the dark side,” Kendris nodded forward, “Out there.”

Tarik nodded.

“Patience, Tarik. The Sith are looking for us, not for a Twi’lek spice runner.”

Tarik jumped on his response too quickly and was just as quick to cut himself off. “But Yulel isn’t a spice runner! She’s…not… sir.”

Kendris turned, his hands clasped over his chest. “I’ll discuss your emotional control later, my young Padawan. For now, head back and inform Sarge and Red that we’ll be leaving without our medical supplies for the Nazzri.”

Tarik’s eyes grew wide and he hesitated. Was this a test? If it was, he was sure he was about to fail it, but he couldn’t turn away from Yulel–from anyone in need. “But Master Kendris, she’s in–“

“Trouble. I know.” Kendris turned back to the canopy. He said, “Do as I have instructed. I will take Seven and bring back our friend… I have a surprise for the Sith.”

Tarik smiled slightly, then he quickly brushed it aside as he turned to inform the others as he had been instructed.

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Have you just about dried up and blown away from the lack of information released on crew skills in Star Wars the Old Republic MMO?

I feel your pain and that is why I come to you today to preach the word and let you know to have faith, information is coming!

Monday the 19th TORWARS one of my favorite fansites focusing around SWTOR released an interview they had with my hero on the SWTOR developer team, Lead System Designer Damion Schubert.

In this interview Damion had some nice nuggets of information for us such as this when asked about what system he can’t wait to see players mess with,

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Tonight via the @SWTOR account on twitter I was made aware that Bioware is advertising a sneak peek at the Friday update, a Developer Dispatch having to do with companions.

It is a great one in my opinion, over seven minutes of some of the developers talking about companions and the mechanics revolving around them.  Such people as James Ohlen, Daniel Erickson, Georg Zhoeller, and more make this one of my favorite dev dispatches to date.

It is an interview done by Gamespot, very well done and full of information indeed.  It talks about customization options, companions with levels and the ability to level them, and many more goodies.  If you haven’t seen it yet I highly recommend going to see it or you could just wait till tomorrow……..

I thought not, well, here it is.  😉

Not long ago, the developers at BioWare hinted at the fact that pursuing romance options in The Old Republic will result in the player receiving dark side points. Almost immediately afterwards a debate broke out on the forums between those who didn’t agree with that decision and those who attempted to defend the developers’ choice on the matter. Those who argued against it pointed to well known Jedi relationships, such as the one between Revan and Bastilla, as proof that Jedi can be in a relationship without succumbing to the dark side. The opposing faction was quick to respond with the classic example of Anakin and Padme as evidence of how the relationship of a Jedi can be a huge determining factor of that Jedi falling into darkness. Today we will take a look at the history of the “no relationships” rule within the Jedi in an attempt to make sense of BioWare’s decision on this matter. Continue Reading »

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Original article

Overlord, as posted by Stephen Reid

 
Eurogamer Expo is the biggest gaming convention in the UK. The Expo features playable versions of the most anticipated games for this Christmas and beyond. Star Wars: The Old Republic will have its representatives there, as well as hands-on stations for people to play the game. Several EU guilds are present and I believe a few fansites as well and we’ll try and cover the news coming in from all those sources. We have also added Twiter feeds in the right sidebar of the site so you can follow the latest tweets coming in from the show floor. Remember, the official un-official twitter tag is #EuroTOR.
 
The first information coming in from the show say that the lines are not too big and that people are excited to get their hands on the game for the first time. For the first images from the show floor you can check out this Photobucket page updated by Guild leader of Kajidic. We’ll update this post as new information becomes available.

It was reported two days ago, by various fansites, that Star Wars: The Old Republic received Teen rating from ESRB. This means ESRB believes that the title is suitable for ages 13 and older. Upon review they found the title contains Blood and Gore (combat with lightsabers – what can you do), Mild Language, Sexual Themes( companion lovin’ FTW), Violence (I think this relates to the Sith Warrior – he feels to be so violent). Getting an ESRB rating also means that release is in sight, because for ESRB to give a rating, the product they are reviewing must be very close to the final, release version.
 
I am reporting on this because for the first time now I have seen the ESRB rating on SWTOR advertisements that have popped up all over the net today (in line with the Eurogamer Expo). I’ve included the screenshot of one of those ads above, but you can see it for yourself here, here or here.
 

Today on the subject of phase 2 for guilds we got an announcement that the phase 2 for guilds is starting today.

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.

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Every time the CFO of Electronic Arts, Mr. Eric Brown, has one of his financial conferences with the investors community managers at Bioware get a headache. This is because Mr. Brown always talks about the hottest topic on the block, and that is release date and beta details. This was the case yesterday as well. As you all know the release window (for now) is Holiday 2011. The running joke in the community is that we would at least like to know of a date when they will tell us what the release date will be (release date of a release date – is that a dateception?). In that regard Eric Brown said:

In terms of timing, again, we haven’t given a street date yet. We won’t do so for some time, possibly at our next upcoming earnings call towards the end of October.

Click here to read the rest of statements as well as Stephen Reid’s reactions

Many people will have noticed that the updates around TOR have been some what hit and miss over that last few months. But really what else can BioWare reveal without giving away those all important story spoilers.

Well we ain’t seen the Timelines updated for an age, and there is a few loose ends with class progression and armor updates to be had. Yet these are fluff items that normally do not give us any real info on what the game has to offer.

Sure we can speculate as to what those videos hold but normally there is nothing ground breaking in the way of reveals that come from such videos.

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((The RP XP with MJ #4))

Veetha waited obediently for her master’s order. The Rattataki stayed in the shadows of the U’naril overpass watching as the Republic Troopers ran after the orange Twi’lek girl. Veetha pulled her black cloak tight around her shoulders. The white tattooed skin of her face glowed ghostly in the dim light beneath the hood.

Once the streets quieted and the blaster fire in the distant alleys subsided, Veetha lifted the comlink to her black lips and spoke. “Master, the Twi’lek has not returned.”

The comlink’s tiny speaker crackled. “Verify her presence, Veetha. I want to know if she’s been captured, killed or doubled back. I am in route to your position.”

“Yes, my lord, but–” Veetha bit her tongue as a droid hummed by pushing a hovercart. “But what if she doubles back? I should remain at the overpass to–“

“Find her! And do not question me again!”

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