Over at Random House.com they have released the cover art and short synopsis of the authors plus, have given a sale date for us in the United States, thanks to Matthias I have recently learned that the German version is already for sale on sites such as Amazon.com.

The book “The Complete Vader”  is written by Ryder Windham and Peter Vilmur and is a book about the cultural impact Darth Vader has had on our society.  I for one look forward to reading this as the Anakin/Vader story is my favorite plot line of the whole Star Wars universe!

Synopsis

Star Wars: The Complete Vader is the definitive book on the history, myth, and cultural impact of Darth Vader. From his early development in the first Star Wars film by George Lucas, to the new legends created in comics, videogames, and novels, to his ongoing appearances on everything from television commercials to bedspreads, Vader presents a complete view in all his incarnations as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Going beyond the films to cover his further adventures in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the book combines new insight with exclusive interviews and photographs from the Lucasfilm Archives. Interactive reproductions of rare memorabilia fire the imagination, while pages packed with never-seen-before images explore the world’s endless fascination with the notorious Darth Vader.

It will be a hardback, have 192 pages and goes on sale for $60.00 on October the 18th in the USA.

Don’t forget to get yours, I know I will be getting mine.

🙂

Tags: darth vader, gamescom, random house, star wars the old republic mmo, swtor

As part of this Friday Update we get a surprising new feature. It is a video showing progression of a class from the very beginning with some early combat, through advanced class branching and finally we realize that the character is capable of awe inspiring feats as it reaches its full potential. The honor to be featured this way goes to the Jedi Knight (according to some sources the most popular class among game testers). It was very fun to see how the Jedi Knight goes from practice sword to light saber and how armor looks better and better as the character gains more experience. Also, I must say I am amazed by how epic both advanced classes feel and look with their final armors. You can check out the official Friday update page here or watch the video bellow:

Tags: armor, friday update, jedi knight

SWTOR Life is proud to present another addition to the site that we hope all Old Republic fans will appreciate. It is a page that will keep track of all the posts Bioware developers and staff are making on the official forums. There is a version of this found on the official site (link), but we weren’t satisfied with the features it has, nor the functionality. We present you a version that has instant search (it’s more of a filter applied to all posts) of all dev posts integrated so you can search for posts only by one of the developers or a keyword. You can also sort all the dev posts by the person that posted, forum it was posted in or date. We plan on adding more features to the page, like adding Twitter posts to the mix, and we hope to bring them very soon. It is still in a sort of a beta state so please report any problems you might have with it.

Tags: developer, forum, search, sort, tracker

All of us have played single player games at some point, and in games produced by BioWare, we all know how choice matters to your overall playing experience.

This is all well and good in that single player game, but how does this effect us in the MMO space. Not having to think past the end boss in these games, is something we’ll be very weary of in the MMO world. After this end boss (1-max in an mmo), some will say, that the real game begins.

Lets say that you know a little about TOR, and that you have not just clicked on a random page on the interwebs. You will all know that SWTOR will have story driving it forward. This is the major difference along with the Voice Over (VO) that sets TOR above all those other games out there.

Now, I am not going to suggest that story is a bad thing, and I’ll say right now, that “I, MrWarlock, do say that TOR will be the best playing experience from start to max level” and you can quote me on that.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Back in the day, when I was a new MMO’er and starting fresh in Everquest, Role Playing was something I had only associated to those D&D games.

The ones that made kids go nuts and do things not associated to being normal. In EQ, I played a Wood Elf Druid and had a few guildmates who introduced me to the world of MMO RP as it was then. Not much, as most you had a first and last name and generally just talked (typed) how you wanted to play your character as. They weren’t the hardcore who always were in character, but they did their best.

I had one guildie who played a Dark Elf Necromancer and she loved to RP with try to RP with me. She was basically my introduction into this world. Although I was really bad at it, she never got mad and always made the attempt. Now, I have never really seen much support for RP in a MMO. Even Warcraft, which I see as taken RP a step back from what players had, as they have never implemented the first and last name system in place that most players were use to. Now in WoW, you have to use an add-on to get the most out of an attempt to RP.

So with Swtor, I have already noticed a few things that most RP players might like. Names, for a start, I have noticed are able to be hyphenated with special characters. This brings an element to naming your character for the specific RP feel or bond you want your in-game avatar to share with yourself. Also, from what I understand, the first and last name convention is back. Good times for all the RP’ers out there.

The other aspect I see is the whole choice system. So this basically opens the door up for Role Playing in Swtor. You want to play the Dark Side? You got it. You want to play the Sith Warrior trying to make amends for past actions so you start to choose the “good” choices in conversations with NPCs. Are you wanting to play a Jedi that is skirting the line on falling into the Dark Side of the Force?  To do this, you start choosing some of the darker responses. Swtor really opens up some of the aspects of the Role Play in MMO”RP”G.

The thing that really makes this nice as a Role Player is that, no matter what type of Role Player you are, you can make your choices in-game, Flashpoints and wherever even while grouped, and the only thing that matters is your choice. If you chose the dark side choice in the conversation but a player who went towards the light side wins the roll for the response, your choice still counts for you. So while you might not get to see your part play out, you know that it counted for how you want to play you character, and as a Role-player, it’s your choices that matter for your character the most.

Paul S. Kemp’s new novel Deceived hit the store shelves today!  Delving into the story of the rise of Darth Malgus.  This is a story that to me, seems like it would be totally epic and I can not wait to dive right in!

From the official swtor site we get this description:

Over 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader, another Sith Lord’s name commanded fear and respect across the galaxy: Darth Malgus. The mysterious Sith Lord orchestrated the destruction of a prominent Jedi Temple, setting the stage for the tenuous peace of the Treaty of Coruscant.

In Deceived, you’ll learn the story of Darth Malgus and his rise to power. Delve into the dark secrets and history that shaped one of the most powerful Sith Lords the Old Republic would ever know…

Deceived is a novel set in the Old Republic and written by Paul S. Kemp with the cooperation and creative consultation of BioWare and LucasArts. You can preview the first chapter on our site, and view the second and third chapters on starwars.com!

The book will be available at retailers in the US on March 22nd, but you can pre-order your copy right now at the following online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powell’s, IndieBound, Titan Books (UK), and other retailers.

The book will be available in Germany (Panini) Spring 2011 and in France (Fleuve Noir) Winter 2011.

Get yours today!

Tags: paul s. kemp, star wars, star wars the old republic mmo, swtor

The Old Republic is a strange beast. It has more than 1 million registered forum accounts, more than 260.000 Facebook Likes and more than 25000 registered guilds and the game hasn’t even entered closed beta stage. There’s another oddity we are now seeing. There is a scam going around offering game testing access for money. Scam, for a game that is not out yet. That must be some kind of first.

All jokes aside, I can understand being eager to play the game, but giving money for something that you are not sure even exists should be a big no-no for everyone. If you receive an offer or and email telling you you can purchase access to the game testing program, know that your credit card info can be stolen, you can receive a non-legitimate game testing account and rest assured that even if the aforementioned plights do not strike Bioware will notice the account is now being played from another IP, town, state or country and will ban you for life. Let me spell that our for you F O R    L I F E. You don’t want that, now do you?

Here’s the official word on recognizing and avoiding this scam:

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 at bioware DOT 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 AT bioware DOT com. Your security and the security of your fellow community members is important to us, and we appreciate your help.

Tags: alert, beta, game testing, scam

It was as I had foreseen,  for some unknown reason the power of the darkside has failed me.

As soon as the second game began I had to watch as my trusty sidekick Jango Fett (my son) has met his match.  On the third turn he was lining up his star craft to make a run at the GO and the prize money, unfortunately for him he rolled too big.  Back to the same Millennium Falcon hovering over Echo Base on Hoth  he has hit 3 times already!  With only 50 credits, and all of his properties mortgaged he is down for the count.

I tried to explain to him that the darkside was a fickle master, but he would have none of it.  He was convinced that there was a plot against us by the rebel scum.  4 turns later I am starting to believe him.  As I carefully work my way around the board I am starting to sense that the makings of a final blow are about to be dealt to me and my minions.

Through the giggling and the whispering, Han had somehow convinced Luke to trade him two yellow ones for one green one.  Conveniently that gave Luke possession of Endor and all of the green ones, while just around the corner Han had somehow gained access to my death star and has control of all the yellows and the Cloud City and the reds now!

As I line up my fury to make a run through the Endor region, I roll the dice and feel the power of the force from my *daughter Luke, beckon me to come to the surface in the Endor Forest to settle this once and for all.  I have finally realized that it’s a trap, and that the dark side has failed me.  To the Endor Forest to make my last stand Vader goes.

High fives all around between the girls, (Mom was secretly watching from the kitchen and had to get one as well.  It was evident at this point that there were plans against us!)  My master plot was for me and Jango to secretly team up to overthrow the Rebel scum.  How dare they have a master plan to counteract my master plan!

When Mom joined in on the high fives Darth Vader and Jango Fett caught each others eyes and at that moment, we both realized who was really in control of the plans.  Luke and Han were just pawns in *her elaborate scheme to see us fall.  This is most disturbing, I will have to contact my master and tell him of this new disturbance in the force.

As I make my escape I give one last moment to a snarky comment directed at her to let her know I am onto her and known her game, she replies with, “I got your force power right here you geek”

Oh noes,  it burns, she got me.  🙂

Tags: games, humor, star wars, star wars monopoly, swtor

Fan Art by Redding

I don’t think anyone was expecting for this Friday update to outshine what we got in the past two updates that were leading up to, and covering PAX East info flood. It comes as no surprise then that we get a Fan Friday Update this week with TorWars.com having the spotlight on them through a Fan Site Q&A session. As Fan Fridays tend to provide, we also get some really cool fan art including the image above from forum user Redding. You can check out new Concept Art and official forum avatars if you read the official article here.

In addition to Fan Friday we get a Studio Insider article describing how cinematic in-game cut-scenes are made. To walk us through the inside work of the process we have Animator Andrew Lauretta. He describes how rough motion captured data is refined and tweaked and then how computer generated actors are added into the scene to give us what Bioware games are best known for – memorable cinematics.

Best for last is the community Q&A on flashpoints. World Designer Jesse Sky answers some of the questions posted in the official forums in the flashpoints Q&A thread. There are several interesting bits about companions and general flashpoint mechanic (and -wow- how Story comes into play). You can post questions about Classes in the new Q&A thread for this month.

Tags: community Q&A, fan art, Fan Friday, fansite, Q&A

I am a fan of Headstarts. Depending on the popularity of the game, launch is always a hectic time. Headstarts tend to “help” in that you start by getting some of those people who want to play your game in earlier than the general population. of course, Headstarts can sort of tend to not help, in the case of Rift, where almost everyone pre-ordered and got in early, which mad the Headstart a pain, just like a normal launch day.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a different approach to a headstart, if Swtor has one. First I wouldn’t mind seeing the Headstart broken down by pre-order, Collectors and normal. Normal pre-orders would get a headstart, but not as long as the Collectors. Collectors would get, say 3 extra days prior, to login and play the game. This way you have those, like myself, that are really dedicated to playing the game a chance to get in prior to the general population that just pre-orders to get in early.

Now, sure, this is about getting into the game before the mad rush, but it is also about a fun start to what is probably going to be the MMO a large population of the MMO world is waiting for. Launch day is rarely fun, in any MMO. I think a break down in headstart invitations might help alleviate the congestion that seems to plague the initial launch of almost every game that comes out. So what are your thoughts on how a headstart should be handled?