It’s official. BioWare will be taking down the servers on Tuesday to upload Game update 2.4. Personally I’m pretty shocked that a major game update is only scheduled to have 4 hours downtime. What’s also impressive is that these estimates are almost always accurate. There have been a few exceptions, but Bioware has been pretty great with the patching process. No patch notes yet, but remember to check back later. We will post them as soon as they become available. Here is the official post by AmberGreen: AmberGreen Scheduled Maintenance: October 1st, 2013 | 09.28.2013, 10:06 PM On October 1st, all game servers, SWTOR.com and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.4 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday October 1st, 2013 Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) – 7AM PDT (2PM UTC) Duration: 4 hours During maintenance, all updates and additional information…
News
Lucasfilm Will Start Using Video Game Engine for Post Production Video
Video game engines have come a long way over the years. They’ve come so far that movie producers are wanting to use them to completely replace post production techniques. If you’ve see any popular video game trailer, you can see why this technology could be used in movies. Many video games today have such high quality that you can see the pores in a character’s skin.
Star Wars Episode VII Rumors
Here we are with some more Star Wars VII rumors and the first good point to bring up is that the number of these rumors that are actually proven to be true are few and far between. However, since all we are doing is waiting for the movies to release anyway, what harm is there in following along with some potential rumors? First up we have a tidbit from Cinema Blend that Saoirse Ronan might be coming on for a “mystery role” in the film: Virtually none of the rumors about Star Wars: Episode VII have been confirmed, but a few have been repeated so many times they’re starting to feel more true, like buzz that the original cast will return or that a teenage girl will be among the main new characters. It’s that second rumor that seems most interesting on the heels of a new rumor from Latino…
Free to Play Isn’t Play for Free
Many industry experts said that SWTOR could be setting the stage for a new F2P model for MMORPGs. Other said it would be the last subscription-based MMORPG and that they expect future games of the same caliber to be based around F2P models. That hasn’t exactly happened yet. While there are more free to play MMORPGs than ever before, there are still games coming out with subs, at least for now. And this brings up a great conversation about free to play MMOs. While a game may be labeled “free to play”, this doesn’t make it play for free. You still may end up needing to pay for certain features or items you want in the game. And you might have to pay for features that subscribing members don’t have to pay for. The upside is that you only have to pay for the features you want and you can…
Cool New Star Wars Game: iOS Card Battling Game
There’s a new Star Wars game on the way and this one sounds pretty interesting for those who like card battling games. Konami just announced a brand new Star Wars-centric card battling game called Star Wars: Force Collection for iOS. “It will have more than 230 heroes, villains, and vehicles from all six episodes” which will be used to build decks to complete quests, participate in “massive battle events,” and more. They said there will even be a light and dark side system. Details are still vague at this time but there is a bullet list with some details on the game’s website. It will be interesting to see how this game will develop over time. iPhone users have been asking for a new Star Wars game for some time now. What do you think- does this sound like a game you would want to try or will you leave…
Star Wars Insider Features 10th KOTOR Anniversary
The newest issue of the Star Wars Insider has an article on the 10th anniversary of Knights of the Old Republic and the Star Wars and SWTOR community is buzzing about it this week. It’s actually a really good read and as always, it’s great to see some of our favorite games getting recognition that they deserve. Unless you purchase the digital download, there is no online copy of the article but someone did post some screenshots to an imgur album so you can read it and see the images so big thanks for that! If you look closely at the images, diehard KOTOR fans will notice a slight discrepancy with one of them. It’s on the last page- can you spot what it is? So in honor of this story and recognition of the anniversary of KOTOR, shout out in the comments and let us know what you love…
THE DREAD WAR and interview with Baron Deathmark
BioWare posted a new update regarding the upcoming game update 2.4. The release date for this upcoming patch is still not yet available, but the infomation on what to expect is starting to come in. The new patch will feature new death match arenas, a new mission areas, and new level 55 Operations. In the first operation named The Dread Fortress, we get to fight one of the Dread Masters in person. In the other operation named The Dread Palace, the epic story of the Dread Masters’ saga concludes. The news update also includes news about the upcoming arenas, including a funny interview with Baron Deathmark – the commentator on the new arenas. The guy actually posting in the thread with a swanky animated avatar even. The read the full story here and the interview with Mr. Deathmark here GATHER YOUR ALLIES FOR NEW OPERATIONS, STORY MISSIONS, AND WARZONE ARENAS CONFRONT THE DREAD MASTERS AND COMPETE IN THE WARZONE…
Majestic Planets of SWTOR- Cool Art
There are few things I love more than fan art. Here we have art made around the 20 planets that currently exist in SWTOR. And we just might see it grow when there are more planets added! It’s really a cool concept and I love how he chose to implement it. From LordXidiin on Deviant Art, we have the Majestic Planets of SWTOR. Here is the description telling us more about this design: Inspired by a similar League of Legends montage of the champion profile pictures: kamekpwns.deviantart.com/art/L…, I present to you the cavalcade of planets in Star Wars The Old Republic. These are the worlds of our lives in TOR. From left to right, the 20 planets are: Balmorra, Hutta, Corellia, Coruscant, Quesh, Tython, CZ-198, Ord Mantell, Belsavis, Dromund Kaas Oricon, Nar Shaddaa, Makeb, Tatooine, Korriban, Ilum, Taris, Voss, Alderaan, Hoth “Go then, there are other worlds than these…” “”You must…
Germany Cantina Tour Thumbdrive Assets
The latest Cantina Tour just happened in Germany and like the others, they gave out some awesome thumbdrive assets once again. The great thing about following these events is that we seen things at one event that might not have been revealed at another so it’s an extra little sneak peek into what is coming up soon.
Oricon on PTS
Lots of good stuff still to come in the Summer of SWTOR. For example, Oricon is now on the PTS. This means we all get to see a touch of what this new area is going to be like. This will be an actual zone, with quests and new story. This is a welcome surprise for many players who may have been growing a little bored with the current game content. Fresh content is always a good thing, right? Oricon is where you confront the Dread Masters at the end of the planet story/weekly. The two operations “Dread Fortress” and “Dread Palace” are based here. In the first operation, you kill Dread Master Brontes. Second operation, you kill the other four Dread Masters and Dread Council. It’s supposed to be coming with 2.4, probably in October but we don’t know for sure exactly when this game update will launch. Here…
Republic CZ-198 Jump Guide
Are you looking for instructions on how to do the new daily area CZ-198? Well, ask and you shall receive! I never cease to be amazed by how awesome SWTOR players and fans are. Here we have an excellent guide on imgur that walks us through this area. The game has several platforming puzzles where you do get a reward and then others like this that are just for fun. But for many players, the reward is just completing it.
THE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL SWTOR PLAYER SURVEY
Do you want the opportunity to share how you really feel about SWTOR, the classes and the storyline? Would you like to see stats on what real players think of the game versus the stats that BioWare gives out? Well, now is your chance! From the post on Reddit: PLEASE UPVOTE FOR VISIBILITY, SELF POSTS YIELD NO KARMA, RESULTS MUST BE THOROUGH FOR IT TO BE A PROPER SURVEY https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-h14ZOP1vEPO-3G-SNqnCNm1T521qaTShAUB-AcM_fQ/viewform PLEASE FILL OUT ALL QUESTIONS, AND WHEN SPEAKING OF SPEC E.G. DARKNESS OR MADNESS, USE EMPIRE VERSION, SO NO RESULTS ARE DUPLICATES. Results will be posted next sunday. This survey is set up via Google Docs so it’s really easy to complete and submit the questions. You can take your time and answer at your own pace but be sure to get it in before the deadline if you want it to count torward the results that will be read…
BioWare Writer Quits Due to Death Threats to Family: Exaggeration
UK website Metro wrote a controversial post yesterday titled BioWare writer quits after death threats to family. If all the facts within the article were true, it would be pretty astonishing news. Unfortunately, while true, it was more of an exaggeration with some facts withheld. But before we go into this, let me say that I believe the fact that people are so willing to accept the story at face value says a lot about the gaming industry today and the state of people on the internet. Trolls and bullies run rampant and the gaming world is no exception. It’s up to those of us who have been a part of this culture for a long time, and who truly love and care for it, to push out the bullies and trolls and show them they are not welcome on our playground.
SWTOR Developer Update: Warzone Arenas
There was a BIG update from the SWTOR developer blog today. It’s all about PvP- and we’re excited to share this with you today. Here are the highlights: Arena PvP play is coming with deathmatch-style gameplay, where the only objective is to defeat the enemy players first. The setup will feature 4v4 where the best out of three rounds wins. Three Arenas currently exist: Corellia, Tatooine, and an Orbital Station There will be a deterrent for those who try to stalemate a match in the form of a poison gas cloud. Ranked Arenas will feature both a Solo and Group queue in Game Update 2.4. They’re getting rid of 8v8 Warzone The target testing date for PTS is August 16th so those on the test realms won’t have to wait long to see it. And while all of this is pretty exciting, here’s the real highlight of the update: But…
SWTOR Community Cantina Chicago Details Emerge
IIt’s another SWTOR Community Cantina and we are finding details from the new thumb drive and exclusive info being released to those who were present. Lucky for us, the fansites and news sites who are there are releasing some exciting sneak peeks of what we can see to come soon in SWTOR. I really love that Bioware continues to hold these Community Cantinas and get the community and fans involved. TORWars has some great details from the Chicago Community Cantina and exclusive thumb drive assets. Their gal at the event, Jean, shared some pics from the thumbnail which you can see over on their site and also some info about a new Operation or Flashpoint with all the palace concepts, bad guys and it appears, a new boss. And what about a new mount? That’s something that gets players pretty excited. Well, it sounds like we’re getting one of those,…
Facebook Connect is Now Live!
BioWare have now added a Facbook connect service, that make it possible to spam your friends with all your awesome in-game accomplishments. If you don’t want to keep your mmo life and real life as separate as possible that is. I guess it works well with the new Friends of SWTOR Program though. Check out the announcement below. Remember also to check out our own facebook page to follow our daily updates. Facebook Connect is Now Live! Now, reaching out and connecting with Facebook friends from your Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ account is faster than the Rakghoul Plague can spread! Connecting to your Facebook account is easy: Log in to your account Visit your My Account page Click on the Facebook Connect link in the left-hand navigation bar and within seconds you’re connected! You can share your awesome in-game accomplishments and invite friends to join you on your saga! Get ready for more…
SWTOR Companion Guide: Treek
We are super excited about the new SWTOR companion, Treek. We’ve written about her here before and we’re super excited to tell you now how you can get her for yourself! This cute little female Ewok is the companion that everyone wants and lucky for us, BioWare has given us several ways to obtain her. In this blog post from staff, we learn of the different ways to get Treek companion: Our first new Companion Character since HK-51, Treek, arrives with Game Update 2.3: Titans of Industry. This mysterious alien mercenary is available for all character classes, and can be earned in-game or purchased directly from the Cartel Market. To help clarify these different options, here is an explanation of the different means to acquire Treek. All methods begin with acquiring Treek for a single character: From the Cartel Market: The first step to gaining Treek is to purchase the…
Some SWTOR Players Not Happy about Ewok on Cartel Market
Recently BioWare revealed to us that Treek, the new Ewok companion from Game Update 2.3, will be coming to the Cartel Market in August. But as the word spread, it sounds like some players are not as thrilled with the news as BioWare may have thought. Just Push Start tells us about how some SWTOR players are not happy with BioWare’s decision to put the Ewok on the Cartel Market: When the Ewok companion was originally revealed on the Public Test Server, many found out that one of the ways to get the new companion is by having the legacy level of 40 and be able to pay one million credits. A lot of people were pleased to that decision as it gave players motivation to play and level their legacy level up to get the cute companion. However, when the news broke out that Treek will be making its…
Relics of the Gree Achievement Guide
Relics of the Gree event is back and Dulfy, in her typical awesomeness, took some time to put together an achievement guide so rather than write my own, I decided to bring you hers since she beat me to the punch and it’s already thorough. With the return of the event, there are also some newly added achievements.
PTS Character Copy Available Again
Are you on the SWTOR public test realms yet? Did you transfer over any of your existing characters in order to see how they will change with the new content? PTS character copies were available again, as Amber Green explained on the forums. Amber Green, SWTOR Live Services Specialist posted to the official forums: Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce that you can now copy your Live Server characters over to the Public Test Server for Game Update 2.3 testing! To copy your character, please visit the following page: https://account.swtor.com/user/account/transfer/pts Our developers are looking forward to hearing your feedback about the new Bounty Contract Week Event, as well what you have to say about the Alderaan Civil War speeder change and Czerka Flashpoints and Daily Area. Please don’t forget to use the in-game /bug to report any issues that you encounter while testing. Have fun out there, and thanks for…
Drew Karpyshyn’s Revan as a Fan Film – Kickstarter Campaign
Project Revan is the combined efforts of a group of serious and talented young adults, creating the (unofficial) Star Wars independent film based off the book, Star Wars – The Old Republic: Revan by Drew Karpyshyn.
We have a really exciting Kickstarter campaign to share with you. Project Revan is a fan film based on the science fiction novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan by Drew Karpyshyn. This is produced by diehard fans of Revan. It’s a live adaptation and you can help make it happen and even be a part of it if you wish to donate to their campaign. You can see videos and full details on the campaign itself of the project and also how you can be involved.
SWTOR Datamining the Lastest 2.3PTS Build
Are you curious about what’s coming in 2.3 and how the game will change? What new additions will there be? Tauntaun mounts are coming and what else? As always with a datamine, we can only speculate about what this info means and what it will mean for the game. There may also be spoilers. So with that in mind, let’s look at what’s new. swtor_miner brings us another great datamine update on Reddit about 2.3 PTS So, I got a little free time, and I was going to reveal that they finally added the CZR-9001 weapons. But, it looks like someone beat me to the punch. First off they renamed the Redfur Tauntaun Mount, and they’ve added a second Tauntaun Mount: Mountain Tauntaun – Unlocks the Mountain Tauntaun creature mount. Movement speed increases based on the rank of your Speeder Piloting skill. The Mountain Tauntaun is a reptomammal indigenous to icy…
New SWTOR Arenas Coming Soon
In addition to the new Tauntaun mount that was revealed for SWTOR, Bioware also tells us we will be getting three new PvP arenas when Game Update 2.4 launches on October 1st. The three arenas will be found at Makeb, Tatooine and the new Space Garage. We don’t know a whole lot about them at this time but we do have some great pictures to serve as an example of what’s coming soon. At their San Diego Cantina Tour event they released some great screenshots of the new arenas (and Tauntaun mounts) so we all know what we have to look forward to. Just Push Start has shared some great images. Dulfy also shared some images and info from her flash drive. Alex Modny, Assistant Designer for SWTOR came in the forums to explain a little more about these new PVP arena zones: In such a small, intimate area, LoS…
Angry Birds Star Wars 2
Attention Angry Birds Star Wars fans: something new and awesome is coming in September! New stories, new levels, and new characters in Angry Birds Star Wars 2. Also introducing TELEPODS! You can get it September 19th. It will feature “over 30 playable characters.” But the biggest addition is something completely new- the TELEPODS. Apparently you can buy these little figures from the store and then choose which ones you want to play your game with and it will allow you to boost that in-life toy into the game. Engadget.com explains how it works: What is surprising is that the newest Angry Birds entry has a physical twist that we’ve yet to see from the brand: something called “telepods.” The Hasbro-created toy is a physical representation of an in-game character, and Rovio Entertainment’s VP of marketing Philip Hickey tells us it works by using a mobile phone or tablet’s built-in camera to read the…