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……..
Back in my day we didn’t get no stinking Dark Side points just for falling in love!
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 »
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.
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.
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.
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.
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–“
There are some alien species within the Star Wars universe that anyone can recognize. You could show a picture of a Twi’lek, Wookiee, or Rodian to just about any random person on the street and they will be able to tell you that have seen them before, even if they can’t tell you their name. Yet there exists, in The Old Republic, several species that even some of more dedicated fans may have little to no prior knowledge of. Today we are going to take a look that the history behind one of those species, the Sith Pureblood. You will never see a Pureblood in the movies, and they don’t show up in very many of the games or stories in the expanded universe. Despite this, they are, in my opinion anyway, one of the most interesting species in TOR as their history is tied to the very beginnings of the Sith faction.
Today in the land of yellow posts came a very important statement from Stephen Reid about the potential for scams in gaining beta testing access to SWTOR, and the truth behind it. I want to highlight this bit of information because I want to make sure all the community is aware of the possible risk involved with such a scam.
