SWTOR-UK

TOR Is Evolving

2012-01-23T13:41:00.000Z

One month out and we hear SWTOR is going from strength to strength.

The first bit is a free title of Founder. This title is given to those that have payed for continued subs to the game before March 19th.
I do not use titles of any kind in-game as I find them too messy, yet maybe a year or two on I may display this one as it will let other know you were there in the beginning.

Coming Up in STAR WARS: The Old Republic

This is the big news this week. The future of what to expect in the coming months with TOR. Guild banks, a PvP ranking, new content/warzones and UI customization all the things that are very important for any mmo.

And can you believe it that we are gaining such a major update so soon after launch ?

May it long continue, TOR is already my most liked MMO to-date. Sure its not perfect and yes there are more that one or two things that need addressing. But all in all all of those things do not subtract from how fun this game is to play. And at the end of the day that is why we as gamers play games.

Kaon Under Siege

2012-01-17T13:38:00.000Z

At long last the time restraints that have bogged me down over the holiday season are fading away, now I'm back. And luck would have it nothing has happened since my last post.....

Thats if you don't count launch a patch or two here and there oh and the odd nurfing of some skills... no apart from that nothing has happened o0.

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.

This we will see a very early and comprehensive patch 1.1 that brings us the Kaon Under Siege Flashpoint.

Who would of thought that only one month out from launch that we would get anything like this so soon ?
I know I was hoping for maybe 3-6 months out, getting something like this but never did I think it would be with-in just a few short weeks.

We'll this just get me stocked about about the up and coming months ahead with TOR. Now if only they would attend the faction class imbalance issue and it would be all flowers, rainbows and light-sabers for years to come.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock Let F5 Week Begin.

2011-12-12T12:50:00.000Z

Forget about F5 Friday.

This week will eclipse the repetitive bashing of F5, and bring it to a whole new level. Within 24 hours many thousands of gamers will be playing TOR for realz after a 3 year wait.

E-mails will be staggered though out the day and batches of them will be send out each and every day until all those that pre-ordered are finally in the game. Not only do we have to check first thing in the morning we also have to make sure that we did not get an e-mail throughout the day.

My CE box-set has been dispatched and will get here sometime today or tomorrow, all I need now is an e-mail letting me know the time has arrived.

Although like most I hope I get in on the 13th (as I pre-ordered early) alas my code took a week to get released so I think my hopes will be dashed.

But anyway its almost here and we can finally start to enjoy the game to the fullest.

I'll see you all in-game soon.

Its The Last Pre-TOR Friday Update

2011-12-09T22:44:00.000Z

This is the very last Friday update before SWTOR starts to admit players into the early access and this week we first have the last progression video which just happens to be the Sith Inquisitor.

So thats it we now have all the classes, with only days left till most of us get to play the game for real this came right down to the wire.
I guess everyone knew this was coming as it was the only one left, yet I was still hoping for a time line video which would of been the icing on the cake for me.

Yet who knows they maybe holding time lines back for a reason. They could be a great way to lead up to new content in the future i.e flashpoints. But what ever the reason we are still missing mass on the time line videos and it must be over a year ago the last one graced our screens.

Community News

TOR has also given us a brand-new feature on the forums on community news - a BioWare run blog of sorts. Where news can be put to the masses in a more efficient and speedy way.

This week we get 3 updates on the new format -

Welcome to the STAR Wars: The Old Republic Community Blog!

Be Part of the Launch on 12.20.2011!

Early Game Access starting December 13th; details on emails and more

Still nothing on guilds or server but we still have time.

4 days and counting....

Download TOR Now For Early Access - 13th Dec

2011-12-07T22:47:00.000Z

Thats right people early access will begin in 6 days time. BioWare have just released the latest details on the game and oh joy it starts 2 days earlier than everyone expected.

Bring it on !!!

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.

Friday Update - Beta For All

2011-11-14T13:56:00.000Z

This is the the update everyone has been hoping for. This Friday every follower of TOR has will have had an e-mail saying they will be getting a weekend beta test in the next few weeks.

Anyone that has signed up for beta testing before 11/11/2011 will at some point be getting some much needed hands on game time.
The main object is to stress test the server and give the many followers of the game a quick joy-ride.

Those that register after 11/11 are still eligible to test TOR by gaining beta keys that have been given out to some of the media site.

You can find all the details and the site giving out code here.

Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs. Trooper

This week we also see the latest video of the trooper v the inquisitor. Not many new skills (if any) that we have not already seen. But this is a good match up and with me rolling a trooper I'm liking the BFG's.

Yet there is something hypnotic about shooting lighting out of your hands that just gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. The same feeling I had from playing the bounty hunter and burning peoples faces off.
Just something that you don't get from other games.

News also hit that BioWare will be taking TOR to DreamHack in Sweden on Nov 24th - 27th. This event runs none stop from Thursday 8am until 8am on the Sunday. My kind of gaming eat sleep and game not all in that order.
Looks like the SWTOR team will be running shifts on this event, good luck with that peeps.

EU Invite Come And Gone

2011-11-11T17:18:00.000Z

General beta invite started last night for the EU followers of TOR.

General Game Testing Invites are now being sent to EU testers.

Sent Nov. 10: General Game Testing Invites
Who was invited: Testers from all European launch countries (see list here)
What was sent: General Game Testing Invites
Server locations: EU servers
Invite status: All invites have now been sent. E-mails can take some time to be sent, so please check your www.swtor.com/tester page to be sure!

And as 20 minutes ago if you have not received an invite or you do not see your status updated on the tester page your out of luck for this round.

Rockjaw Stephen Reid

All EU #SWTOR invites for this round have been sent. Thread updated as promised: bit.ly/sHqHcq

So thats it until the next invite go out. With time running out testing opportunity's are slipping away.

Update - Ensure Your Account Security

2011-11-07T21:52:00.001Z

As we prepare to launch Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, we want to ensure that your account and personal information are as secure as possible. To that end, we have begun implementing new security features within StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com that are designed to protect you. This process includes a refresh of our password security requirements. To make sure that all accounts comply with our new security measures, members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic community who created accounts on StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com on or before October 21st, 2011 will be required to reset their password in order to meet with these new standards. Those members who created an account after October 21st, 2011 will not receive an email and do not need to update their passwords.

Over the next few weeks, we will be sending out emails to everyone who created an account on or before October 21st, 2011 to notify them that their password must be reset. You do not need to take any action prior to receiving an email.

When you create your new password, ensure that it meets the following criteria: the password must be 8-16 characters long and use at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number. The more variety that you use in your password, the stronger your password will be.
Just like any other user account you have, changing your The Old Republic password on a regular basis is one of the simple measures you can take to protect your personal information. Another way to ensure a secure account is to get the official custom branded Security Authentication Key, available in the Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition is still available in limited quantities at select retailers. Watch for more information on other ways to obtain The Old Republic Security Key soon!
Your Star Wars: The Old Republic account credentials are linked to EA.com and Origin.com, so your new password will be applied across all three websites. If you have any difficulties in updating your password, please contact our Customer Service team who’ll be happy to assist you.

Friday Update Triple Blast

2011-11-07T13:54:00.001Z

This Friday we see 3 updates in on shot.

First up is the long awaited Imperial Agent character progression video.

The operative looks like the rouge assassin using stealth, stuns and plenty of DOT's to get close and personal with there enemy's.
The sniper on the other has is just that a sniper mixed with the ability's you may find on an archer in other mmo's.

Both these types of game-play I find highly enjoyable. They normally take a little longer to get used to, but once you master these classes you are a force to be reckoned with.

Early Game Access Details Revealed

The time set aside for early access will be up to 5 days a subject that has had a lot of speculation from the time the pre-orders were announced.
And no sooner what this reveal up that the new speculation was when the game would be ready to download. Well at least the forums are consistent you can find the full update here.

Revan Novel Preview

Chapter Three

Chapter Eleven

The 3rd installment this week is an exclusive look at 2 chapters on the new Revan novel which will be released on the 15th of Nov.

Guild Phase 3 Deployment

Lets not forget the 3rd stage of the guild update which happened on Thursday.
The bones of this is that four guild members have to redeem there pre-order codes and they are all ready to transfer on to a given server when the game hits find it all here.

As we edge ever closer to launch BioWare seem to be moving away from the normal Friday updates onto more pressing matters. Which is getting the players and the game ready for launch.

There are very few things about the game than need to be fleshed out. What matters now is getting ready for the 15th of Dec onward.

Today is also the start of the 2nd fan site summit. So we all look forward to hearing from Austin in the coming days and weeks. To stay up to-date on this event remember to follow the hash-tag #SWTOUR on twitter.

Friday Update - Voidstar And Warzone

2011-10-31T23:35:00.000Z

This weeks update is the PvP warzone Voidstar.

Its an assault type scenario like those found in Unreal Tournament. Two side one attacking the other defending a number of game or checkpoints if you will.

Once a checkpoint has been taken from the attacking team a everyone moves to the next checkpoint.

Now I do have to admit I live this type of game-play in UT and most are very entertaining with fast combat and ever changing objective.
Jet not all maps where that way some just down right sucked .

I've played mmo's in the past that had this very same thing. Mostly the checkpoints where castle games, walls and keeps. Get a little bit of this wrong and it can change a great game mechanic into a dead horse in seconds.

Unlike capture the flag scenarios which can run without much of a hitch assault maps can be totally screwed when just one part of the puzzle is lacking.

Its a very bold move to this type of play in TOR and I'm sure BioWare has put a lot of thought into the voidstar and how it plays.
This short clip shows us the smallest glimpse of what to expect.

I am looking forward to this I must say.

This is the 3rd installment of warzones each having a very different game-play objectives.
We now see the latest page which is dedicated to Warzones.

So now we have three types of game to appease PvP fans


Voidstar Assault


Huttball Capture the flag (with a twist)

Alderaan Capture and hold

What we are missing (and by missing it has not been revealed yet) its the 8v8 Death Match or the good old king of
the hill type PvP events. Though the king of the hill may already be in place.

What we know is that there will be open world PvP zones, these may fill in the last two types of good
where players will fight over yet unrevealed objectives. I'm guessing that these will be the king of the
hill type matches where one side fights to to hold an area while another team attack that zone.

Of all the warzones revealed so far I'll likely get sick of huttball the quickest.

This map just seems too small and has far to many points where you can get AOE punted off into
the distance. Making it a consular or inquisitor playground and a nightmare for most every other class.

It look nice and the idea behind it looks very smart but the map itself seems a little to restrictive to have
a good battle plan that does not entail AOE stuns and push-backs and chucking the ball.

Who knows I may just end up loving this the most.

The other two I can see working very well just a little concerned on the huttball punt-fest.

Still looking forward to playing them all and if the voidstar is done right I can see myself spending way too
much time lost in this zone till the early hours of every morning :)

Friday Update - OH BioWare You Tease !!!

2011-10-21T18:38:00.000+01:00

Not happy with trolling e-mails BioWare has shown off a short glimpse of my soon to be CE box goodies.

All I can think of now (and have for some time) is it wont be long before I can run rampant in TOR none stop.

But teasing aside its nice to get a quick look at the items that come with the box. Not that I will care for them for some time as I live that Star Wars dream inside the game. Only another 59 days to go - early access.

Eurogamer Expo Highlights

Well the video says it all :)

Last but not least sees the return of the Fan Friday.

Iknow I always say this but, I'm always astounded by the talent that the TOR followers have and this Fan Friday is no let down as have all the others.

Along with the fan art we got concept are and backgrounds with the ever present forum icons

You can catch up on the rest of this Fan Friday here.

Friday Update - Signs Of War Trailer And More

2011-10-15T15:50:00.000+01:00

I did not think I would enjoy anther trailer with out some punted Jawa appearing somewhere with in the video. I'm somewhat pleased to say I enjoyed this one without the need to see Blizz getting shot off into the distance.

I can only hope that this is some how linked to in-game footage for these are the type of PvP battles that everyone I'm sure would want to be part of.

Web Page Update.

The SWTOR web page has got a new lick of paint with the addition of Game Systems. This brings in a new feature that is the operations. The page looks more user friendly and has a slicker cleaner feel to it.

Other stuff.

This Fridays update gave us the news that 20-12-11 would be the new global release date for TOR for all the EU players as well as the US. We also get a small heads up for the Paris Games Week.
This happens in just a weeks time and kicks off on the 21st of Oct.

The next event is a month away and that is DREAMHACK, on Nov 24th. No other dates have been pegged for this year as yet. So these two could reap lots of information and may be your last chance to test run the game before that all important launch.

Release Date 20-12-11 For ALL

2011-10-15T15:21:00.000+01:00

At long last the TOR release date is now going global and along with the US the EU will now share in the 20-12 release date.

I'm not sure why this seemed to be a problem with many game company's in the past, and they thought it was a necessity to have a split launch.

Let this be a lesson to all game company's that you do have to come up with half truths, for reasons why you can't push a games out in every country on the same day. It has long be known by gamers and retailers alike that there is no reason that a split launch is needed.

Its taken some time for the game company's to catch up to the thinking that the rest of us have. Yet this is a positive move from BioWare to shun the norm when it come to this outdated way of thinking.

Friday Update - Choose Your Side

2011-10-10T17:15:00.000+01:00

This weeks Friday update brings us some very nice game footage of the Jedi Knight and the Bounty Hunter as they got head to head in a 1v1 battle.

Both these classes have very different fighting styles one of close range the other like to damage from afar.

Both have skills to take advantage of there chosen fight styles the Jedi can close the gap and the Bounty Hunter has stuns to gain some distance.

These are the kind of PvP matches 1v1 I like. Trying to rotate your skills to take full advantage of your strengths and trying to suppress those of you chosen target. This is a true battle that would punish you for a single wrong move and reward you greatly for getting off a stun or force leap just at the right time.

Its been a few years since I've played an mmo where your skill selection and rotation can mean the difference from winning or loosing. Many games have been a case of first hit wins and far too heavily stacked on the rock, paper, scissor design.

The way these two different classes in TOR go at it, anyone of them could win. Finding the strengths and weakness on your opponent and adapting to what they use and when, is a much better way of doing it. No longer is it a case of 1121131 and instant win and 1121321 is going to make you loose.

Now you have to think on your feet, act to what your enemy is casting then adapt and over come. Is this not something we all want ?

A game that lets us learn adapt and improvise and improve as we progress along with the game.

Well thats what I want anyway.

Also we got part 2 of the Companion Characters Update.

I'll not spout off about that here you can catch it all at SWTOR.com

Friday Update - Maps In Space

2011-10-03T23:12:00.000+01:00

The final spot in the HoloNet has been filled with a space map.

Unlike the last map update this offering is good, in fact it's darn good. It may not offer any good usable new info but on the cool factor it score 9/10.

With planet views, ships with a quick overview coupled with the stunning gfx this is a very welcome addition to the site.

If only BioWare could do this for the classes and other aspects of the HoloNet I think I would loose my freaking mind.

It's a huge step forward to making the TOR site look more like a gaming site that the fans want.

On This Day The EU Gets TOR Invites

2011-09-29T22:45:00.003+01:00

Mark it off all on your calenders you EU people, today we got word that some of the 500,000,000+ living in the EU have been sent the TOR testing invite.

Chris Collins

Today, we’re excited to announce that we are sending out a batch of invites! In particular, this initial batch marks the start of a series of invites to our larger European player base, who get the chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Testing program and provide feedback during the months up until launch.

In other exciting news, we’ll be making further announcements in the coming days and weeks, as we update you on Game Testing on the European service. On top of that, we’ll also be announcing details around the upcoming Beta Testing Weekends!

With the launch drawing ever-closer, we’re more excited than ever to receive your feedback on the game to help make the launch as smooth as possible.

At long last the time has arrived that we here in the EU can check our E-Mails every hour and have real hope that at sometime we may get the golden ticket from BioWare.

It's been a very long road to this point watching and hoping that we would be included in trying to make the game that we have followed for the last three years, just that little bit better.

It was not too long ago we found out we did not have localised servers here in the EU. This may have diminished your chances a little bit more of getting that invite. But now we are on an even footing with NA.

Sure the chance is still very low but now we have a very real chance. This is better news for me than that of the release date. After all we knew it was coming this year. And BioWare stayed true to there word, but they did manage to squeeze as much time out of 2011 as possible.

Gratz to all those that got in and good luck to all those still waiting.

See you in-game soon I hope :)

20.11.2011 NA 22.11.2011 EU Release date

2011-09-24T13:43:00.001+01:00

At long long last just a little over 3 years from the announcement TOR has a a release date.

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.

So that's it, cancel your plans for now your time at this time of the holiday season has been fully booked.

The sub plan is on par with that of WOW's which many thought would be the case. Glad to see BioWare just rolled out the MMO norm on this one as anything more would of turned off a heap of potential players.

Now all that's left to do is book my holidays at work and I'm set. See you all in-game soon :)

Friday Update - The BioWare Bus

2011-09-13T22:02:00.001+01:00

It's seems that lately that updates on TOR are like buses, you wait ages for one then 3 turn up at the same time. Though truth be told you only needed one of them and the other two just ain't going your way.

Well it's something new at least BioWare has left it's ground-hog-day that was GamesCon behind and moved forward.

The Smuggler Character Progression Video has to be one of the coolest around you do get the feeling that this class is going to be loads of fun to play. Being that he is going to be in way over his head for most if not all his game-play time.
It's going to be very compelling to play this class as your likely to be kept on your toes constantly trying to outwit the Sith.

The 2nd helping is that of the PAX Prime 2011 Highlights Video. Now I kind of like these vids as an added extra, I don't however like them as the only update on a Friday.
That makes me feel cheated if they end up being the only thing that happens on these all important update days.

The 3rd offering is Stepping into a Larger World: The Old Republic in Comics and Novel.

Well I guess even BioWare has to pimp the books and comic's that we have known about for so long. Nothing too interesting from my point of view but hey it's extra and lets give a little thanks that this was not an update on it's own.

This week has been a vast improvement on what we have been getting of late. Lets hope BioWare can keep it like this for a little longer, and we do not end up slipping back into some dark hole that plagued the convention weeks.

When Is It The Right Time To Talk Star Wars ?

2011-08-20T18:04:00.001+01:00

Real Fears Mount For Late EU Launch

2011-08-20T16:57:00.001+01:00

As always I spend my day scanning websites/twitter and a few vent channels for the latest news around TOR. With GamesCon running this is a minute by minute process, it just so happens this is how the whole late EU launch started.

Stephen Reid Twitter account @Rockjaw asked for some questions using the hash-tag #GabeQ.

It was here I posted a question.

@MrWarlock_ Mick Johnson
#GabeQ With the beta weekends in September will the European contingent be gaining access beta at the same time as those in the USA ?

Now I already knew how the answer would turn out, yet I still did not think I would get said answer. It's like the time BioWare would not release the Jedi as a playable class. We all knew it would be in but they just kept tight lipped about it.

Then four hours later I got my answer.

@Rockjaw Stephen Reid

Hey @MrWarlock_ EU folk will be playing in September, however large scale ramp will happen in US first, then EU close after. -S

I thought little more of this until I came across this post in the forums EU Testing - we need info!

Unlike many posts this had very little in the way of QQing and followers do have real and very valid reasons for concern. The OP just asks for some easy to answer questions.

What we know...

There have been EU folk in testing before and there are currently a small number of them still in testing.
EU folk WILL be able to test in September at some point.
EU Guild Testing will begin at the same time EU testing begins

Questions we'd like answered..

When will these testing weekends actually begin?
When will EU Testing begin?
Will EU launch be simultaneous with US?
How long will us EU folk have to wait til we can begin Testing?

With Stephen Reid being somewhat preoccupied at GamesCon it was some time later he did this reply.

Hello from the very loud GamesCom showfloor...

We know how much everyone in Europe is eager to test The Old Republic and while it's been a slow process to get to the starting line, we're really close.

Right now Game Testing is ongoing as it has been for quite a while. While some Europeans are in this program and are testing, there are more testers from other countries.

We will be adding more testers during September, including testers from Europe. This will increase the number of European testers by a considerable amount. As part of this increase, we're hoping to add a number of European Guilds.

Beta Testing Weekends in the EU will start after the US, but not much later. That's about all we can commit to right now.

Obviously, I've given you no dates or timeframes here, but as we get closer, we'll have more to say. September isn't that far away, after all.

Now this is not a dig at Mr Reid but this answers nothing. I respect the guy greatly and think he's doing a fine job being the go between from the dev's to us mere mortals. But how hard it it to answer a simple question on will we in the EU be playing TOR at the same time as cousins over the pond in the US ?

There is no grey area here it's a simple Yes or No. Ok I'm guessing many of the fans in the EU are not going to like the impending answer. Every mmo's I have played most if not all have had staggered launches.

Even when we in the EU pay more for the game and monthly subs this has been common practice for so long now. But with improved tech we have today this no longer should be considered as the norm to the old outdated rule. Without solid figures I would dare say we in the EU have equal if not more per-orders and interest that any other part of the world when it comes to TOR.

So do you think its reasonable to expect a simple answer to a simple question ?

With only 2 weeks until the first possible September Beta weekend I can see the answer coming all to late or fobbed off for something like why we cant have X in-game over Y.

Sneaky Crew Skills Update

2011-08-20T13:44:00.000+01:00

BioWare in the past have been known to make a huge fuss over the slightest and smallest detail and call it an update when it comes to TOR.

Yet they revealed the rest of the crew skills and it's slipped under the radar with not many people noticing. I say not many, but my good friend SWTORCRAFTER from SWTOR Life found this gem as he did his daily pass of the crew skills page to find they have updated the page fully.

For me I would have thought this would be a huge update on it's own. Yet nothing on the site lets you know that this update has slipped in. This is kind of strange from a site that has an update on walls.

Yet I'm glad to have this update out of the way now and we can focus on something else.

Friday Update - Huttbaal and Pax info

2011-08-20T00:27:00.000+01:00

Huttball is the latest warzone to be released by TOR. This is a basic capture-the-flag with a nice twist. Adding the passing feature with this game type opens up so many different tactical approaches it makes your head spin.
So looking forward to giving this a try and I can see it being heaps of fun.

Aslo we get info on next weeks Pax event with the almost ever present meat and great that comes along with TOR little outings you can get all you need here.

Friday's News From GamesCon

2011-08-19T23:52:00.001+01:00

Watch live streaming video from biowaretv at livestream.com

GamesCon Video Footage - Thursday

2011-08-18T22:13:00.000+01:00

The first day real did not have much in the way of Q&A though we do have a fair bit of video footage from the event check it out below.

GameCon Live

2011-08-16T14:09:00.011+01:00

Well it's almost time again for BrioWare and EA to go on the live stream.

I will like may other have my fingers crossed that we get something like that of BioWares last outing. You can follow here EA @ Gamescom 2011

For those that missed the live stream EA's YouTube channel will be posting it in full later today.

It is me or was this cut short out of fear of a wipe and was that easy mode ?

SWTOR Guild Testing Has Begun

2011-08-16T01:48:00.000+01:00

Finally guilds will will have a change to work together in TOR, and test the game in an organized manner.

David Bass has just made a post on the forums announcing that a few guilds have already invited and more are on the way Good luck to you all and be sure to test and have fun doing it.

We are very pleased to announce the start of Guild Testing for STAR WARS: The Old Republic! This program will allow guilds to be considered as a whole for inclusion in the Game Testing Program, allowing us to gather important data regarding how guilds play The Old Republic, as well as how organized groups deal with various mechanics and systems in the game. The program is already underway, as we’ve invited the first wave of guilds into testing, however we’ll be adding more over the coming weeks alongside the general Game Testing invites.

How do I sign my guild up for Guild Testing?

All you need to do in order to have your guild considered for Guild Testing is to have an active guild with at least 10 members registered in our Guild Headquarters. We also recommend creating a recruitment thread on our forums, but please make sure you are following the Recruitment Guidelines we’ve set forward. Guilds that spam recruitment messages after multiple warnings, for example, will not be considered for Guild Testing.

How are guilds selected for Guild Testing?

In general, guild testing is done randomly from all eligible guilds (that is, those with at least 10 registered members in the Guild Headquarters). Throughout the program, we will be looking to let in both large and small guilds, so as long as your guild meets the minimum requirement, you have an equal chance of being invited to testing. In addition, we may, at our discretion, choose a few select guilds that are active and helpful in the community, since we could use that sort of helpfulness in-game and on the Testing Forums. Note that this will be done in rare circumstances, in order to reward our dedicated community members. Please do not contact any BioWare staff requesting access to Guild Testing, or else your guild may be removed from consideration.

How do I know if my guild has been selected for Guild Testing?

Guild leaders will be contacted directly with detailed instructions when their guild gets selected for testing. It'll be their job to pass the appropriate information to the rest of their guild in order for everyone to be sent testing invites.

What is involved in Guild Testing?

Guild Testing works the same way as Game Testing does, however by being invited as a guild, you gain the advantage of being in the same testing group and being on the same server, allowing for more coordination amongst the guild for testing group content. You’ll still be a part of the general Game Testing population as well, and will have access to the general testing forums as everyone else does.

Are European guilds eligible for Guild Testing?

European Guild Testing will begin at the same time the European Testing Program begins in the near future.

If you have any other questions about the program, feel free to post in this thread or email us at guilds@swtor.com. Again, please do not contact us asking for Guild Testing consideration or your guild may not be considered for testing.

Friday Update - Fan Friday

2011-08-13T21:46:00.001+01:00

Fan Fridays are some of the more unpopular update that come along, and this time round is one if not the weakest Fan Friday updateI can remember.

With the time frame before the beta weekends in September this should be a time of great worry. Because this should be the time we get some good solid information on what TOR has to offer as we progress through the game.

This being said we have to look at the weeks ahead, we are getting GamesCon this coming week August 18 – 21 and the following week we get Pax 26 – 28

I am really hoping that we get a massive influx of not new info but info that we can finally put to bed stuff like crafting or skill trees.

The next event being smack in the middle of game testing weekends in September 22-25. We should get what we have been longing for in the way of info.

Now back to the Fan Friday.

Like I was saying this has to be the weakest update I have come across in the years I've followed TOR. Yet on a very big bright side it did contain the best fan art I've seen before.

Of course I'm talking about this

And we had some nice follow ups in the next 2 pics.

The fan site spotlight goes to the first none English site Fan Site Chimaera

We have some screens and new forums icons the best being this-

Great Update

Lets hope soon you and I have a good reason to use it.

Friday Update - The Jedi Consular And Comic-con 2011 Highlights

2011-08-07T19:01:00.000+01:00

It's been a very long road up till this point, but now we have all the class videos up and running with the latest installment of the Jedi Consular.

Now with time running out with the September beta weekends. We may start to gain some real useful info about TOR with the exception of armor progression and Fan Fridays.

We have a vast amount of unfinished skills we need to know about the game.

But when will the NDA drop ?

BioWare have already said that many people have been in testing your guess would be as good as mine I would not say more that 6K from the first test to now have entered the game.
With the so called mass invite going out would September be the time that BW will relax on the NDA.

TOR has had some of the tightest control on leaks yet they still get out, and that is only with a few thousand testing at any given time. I'm not sure even BW could plug all the leaks if they still intend to hold everyone to the NDA after the September deadline comes around.

One thing is sure though. That the next 4-8 weeks is going to be very interesting and I'm hoping for a steady flow of game info. I wouldn't like to see the week before Beta's a ton of info just come flooding out. Yet this may well happen as so many things about TOR are still in flux and changging almost on a daily basis.

Along with this update we got a Comic-Con Highlights Video.

Not a great deal on game footage from the video, yet we did have the flashpoint update before.
It would of been nice to see some PvP to go along with this. Sure its not as good as playing yourself but it may give you some idea how the game is working.

And I really like TOR's PvP system. I know a heap has been said about story and rightly so, for it outshines every other mmo that has come and gone imo.

Yet the PvP is just fun and none of this 2-3 shot kills that have had many a kid whining in other games.

Well I have high hopes for the coming weeks lets how the BioWare team can start to finish TOR's projects and nail them down in-game. So us the masses can really start to see TOR as it will be when we get in.

TOR Coming September

2011-07-27T12:44:00.000+01:00

Well almost.

Many of the TOR faithful will at last get there hands on the game by the way of weekend testing.

I loved to way rift did this weekend stuff. It was highly successful for the game and I'm sure TOR will try to emulate this too. Rift by this method had the smoothest launch of any mmo I have played, with every weekend being the same as launch day all over again. The more traditional way mmo's do open beta is hit and miss. Yet this weekend thing works really well, you can fix bugs tweak at will from 1 stage to the next without interrupting the flow of the game.

How quick the team reacts to bugs is very telling in these early stages and this will be a huge eyeopener to what is about to transpire when the game goes live.

But before then we still have a vast amount of info to swot up on, info that has yet to be revealed and/or finalized by BioWare, the NDA also may need to be dropped before the September open beta window begins. Even if BioWare do not relax the NDA on the current game testers September will bring a ton of info from those that will get the invites.

Crafting - We are still lacking much of the crafting skills that will appear in TOR. BioWare sure looks like they have worked and re-worked the crafting skills to death. They have said for quite some time now that crafting skills will be coming soon. Yet they still have not appeared.
This tells me they had to re-think remake and totally revamp most if not all the crafting TOR had in-place. Now this has to be good for the game, as they are trying to bring the best system to fit in with the Star Wars IP. But we still need this before a mass of new testers bounces on the game.

Legacy System And Race Ability's - I mentioned this in my blog on SWTOR-Life as my top anticipated reveals that would come from TOR.
The legacy system was confirmed to still be in the game at Comic Con, as well as pushing race ability's to be ready for launch.
Alone the legacy system can change the way many will play the game, depending on how it's implemented. BioWare gave a small hint about unlocking different race's. Now this is nothing huge but most of the game that use legacy do give the player that re-rolls a few benefits. What this would mean for TOR could mean anything, and if the races ability's do make launch this would change the face of the game.
You may start a class just to re-roll a better different class that has a bonus stat or race ability that can only be unlocked from you re-rolling. This will be a must have 2-3 months in if you intend to be competitive at the highest level.

Skill Tree's - Well good news on this topic as BioWare do intend to release these. This will let you go and plan your class before you play.

Of-course there are many more guild structures, customization, class races and so on. If everything goes as it should we will be in for a very interesting few weeks before the September deadline looms ever closer.

But as I wish the weeks ahead away, like many this latest round of reveals has me as hyped as ever and glued to every snip of info that will come from BioWare and SWTOR,.

Pre-Order Code Delays

2011-07-23T13:03:00.000+01:00

I like many from the UK have encountered the problem of getting the pre-order early and not receiving the codes to get early access to the game. Although there is little info on how early you will gain beta access, on when you redeem your code in time scale.

Mine will arrive on the 28th July over 1 week after I did my pre-order. Now I'm not alone here many others from the UK have see this same thing.

We had 3 outlets to buy the game. Origin, Amazon and Game which just happens to be the only UK based retailer to have pre-orders available.

Many other countries are finding real had just to get the CE or any pre-orders what so ever outside Origin and Amazon which both have seen there supply sell out very quickly.

Well my fellow UK followers and others from the rest of the world I like you will have to be pushed to the back of the queue.

Now I'm not saying this is BioWares fault, but they should of only let retailers sell the game if they were willing and able to release the codes the instant they placed your order.

But why should we settle for being pushed to the back of a growing list when we have placed the pre-order in a quick and timely manner. It the fault of the retailers that should be held accountable.

I hope Bioware looks into this matter and finds a good remedy for all party's concerned. Many followers have placed pre-orders close to the announcement and not a week or 2 later when they get the darn codes entered.

Pre-orders Away

2011-07-21T11:44:00.000+01:00

Great news for the followers of TOR. Today we get to get our pre-orders the game we have followed for so long, well some of us me being away on holiday i'll have to wait till I return to the UK.

My only hope is that there will be some slots left for the head-start. But for everyone else it's a good day to follow TOR :P

Most of you would have had your e-mail through already but for those that have not you can find the pre-order essentials here.

I'll be counting down the days till I get home and can at long last get my pre-order in and be in the happy place than many other TOR followers are now in.

Friday Update - SWTOR Intro

2011-07-16T21:05:00.001+01:00

Now although this has very little info on the game itself. As far a fluff updates go (none game mechanics) this is by far the best "fluff" to come out of BioWare.

The first time I watched this short video I thought it was a little short, then I cast my mind back to SWG and the length the intro there was. Any shorter I would of been up in arms and if it went a little longer you tend to get sick of it real quick.

I thought it was great the first time through in SWG yet the next 2 times seeing the darn thing it really got on my nerves.

Another plus side is that by the looks of it every class will have its very own intro, who else other than BioWare would go to those lengths. Sure other mmo's do a race intro mostly of a flyover of the starting town but nothing like this. This just stands as a testament of the thought that BioWare has placed in creating a story based mmo where you the player matters.

This weeks update you can find here we also get a community Q&A also on the same page, and a little more info on Comic Con.

Friday Update - Map Stuff

2011-07-13T00:17:00.000+01:00

It's been a few weeks since we had real new info after the wake of E3. A Fan Friday another look at what was on display at E3 the next week, then an updated video of the bounty hunter we had way back.

All in all I've been a little uninspired going over the same information again so I passed on the whole thing. Now we get maps.

Now I will not say this map update was the greatest thing that has come from a Fridays update, but if you ever wanted to know what BioWare means by polish. Well here is your answer.

Let put this in a little prospective. Imagine going to a wedding and instead of a 3 tear cake the happy couple have a 100 foot wide cake 3 storeys high, then on top they have lookalikes to take the place of the plastic figures that would normally represent them.

Well that is what BioWare mean by game polish.

These maps are way over the top and so much more info than you would want or need. If the intention is having the nicest looking over the top MMO map around they win hands down.

But for me I like my maps simple.

What I need in a map is way-points, vendor locations/towns/trainers and simple things like mail and the AH. When I grab a mission I take around 15-20 seconds to plan my route then head off. I will open the map on the way to check I'm going in the right direction which take 1-2 seconds.

Even the act of checking the map can be passed on with a simple on screen way-point indicator. This much clutter on my world map will only lead to confusion. Which I found in my play time in Austin. There just seems to much clutter when you need to pinpoint a vendor or a way-point. Also the lack of plotting your route resulted in checking the map time and time again.

This is something that should be in at release, this would save a heap of time and simplify all that map clutter when you just want to get to your next quest area.

I'm not sure how many times in Austin I went the wrong way without the use of some sort of on screen indicator. The map sure looks nice and all but we had a good saying in the British Army "K-I-S-S" which means "Keep It Simple Stupid"

This should also apply here with the maps.

The more simple a system is the easier is it to use. Putting things in that don't enhance the core function which in this case is just getting from A-B and seeing vendor locations and the like becomes redundant.

I'm all for polish. But polish just for the sake of it seems a little wasteful.

If I have the option at release I would reduce this to a simple wire frame just for ease of use. I do not need to see every rock/chair or fallen tree that litters the planets I just need to see where I'm going to next and how to get there.

It's also about time for another Fan Friday to show its head again. So I'm pinning my hopes on Comic Con for at least something that will spark my interest with new never seen before information about the game.

Until next time, MrWarlock signing off.

Friday Update - Fan Friday & Polish

2011-06-19T14:16:00.000+01:00

Dev Blog - The Post-Writing Polish Process

I think everyone that is following SWTOR knows BioWare are trying to make this game one if not the most polished mmo's on the day of release.
This dev blog gives a small insight on how committed the BioWare are in bringing that polish. From the screens below we get to see the changing face of the game, from the input the writers give to the rest of the development team.

We have two different planets Nar Shaddaa and Corellia. The writers also let you in on what inspired these planets. It's an interesting read and the before and after screens are a huge testament on how important this process is.

Nar Shaddaa

Before

Nar Shaddaa

After

Corellia

Before

Corellia

After

Fan Friday's Update

Fan Site Spotlight

This month its the turn of Ask A Jedi this is a great site that I have follow for what seems an age. They do a great job over there and are always on the ball when it come to TOR news. Congratz guys you have deserved it.

Community Creations

There is another great amount of fan art that we tend not to pay too much attention to as we should. I've said it time and time again that we have a wealth of talent looming in the forums that follow SWTOR.

Micah_Vale

skinryder

CuriousOne

And not to forget the other Fan Friday stuff that comes along with it.

Coronet city concept art

Polls

Forum Icons

I think we all expected a Fan Friday just after E3, but at-least its not 3 screens of walls and how they progressed.

This dev blog is a little brighter than a most of the stuff we have had to put up with along the long road following TOR.

SWTOR Companions Walk through E3

2011-06-09T15:17:00.000+01:00

Also found another interview with none other than Daniel Erickson this time with GamerLiveTV.

E3 Day 2 News

2011-06-09T14:20:00.001+01:00

GameTrailers Interview With Daniel Erickson

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Star Wars: The Old Republic - E3 2011: Fluid Raids Interview, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

G4's Interview With Daniel Erickson

Video streaming by Ustream

And more news from TORWars BioWare Booth Babes.

(WARNING) Do not let the title fool you, there is a booth I must admit. Yet the babes part is not for the faint of heart, viewer discretion is advised.

E3 Interviews And TOR Game-Play

2011-06-09T00:52:00.001+01:00

Fan sites and media have been swarming the SWTOR booth here are a select few from the E3 floor.

SWTOR-Life from the E3 floor.

TORWars Also on the E3 floor.

SWTOR-Life again this time with Daniel Erickson.

GameSpot also with Daniel Erickson.

And again TORWars are on top of things with not 1 but 2 game-play videos already uploaded.

Sith Marauder Gameplay

Imperial Agent Gameplay

I'm sure there is more out there and also sure we will see a lot more to come. I'll keep an eye out and post when they become available.

BioWare Pulse ep2 + Eternity Vault

2011-06-08T20:35:00.000+01:00

Frank Gibeau EA President Frank Interview with GameTrailer

2011-06-08T20:21:00.000+01:00

Here Frank Gibeau talks about games in that EA have in development and of course SWTOR is high on the list.

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Electronic Arts - E3 2011: Frank Gibeau Interview (Stream) HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Daniel Erickson Alderaan Content With GameSpot

2011-06-08T16:01:00.000+01:00

Daniel Erickson has an interview with GameSpot on the first day (real) of E3. You can catch the 15 minute video below.

Bring on day 2.

E3 TOR Raids

2011-06-08T01:49:00.000+01:00

Daniel Erickson E3 Live Stream Play

2011-06-08T01:07:00.000+01:00

Daniel Erickson runs us through some of the game-play on Tatooine. Player mounts new Jawa companion UI all on show.

With a live Q + A this was a great event in its own right. If you happened to miss it you can review the video again below.

With more live feeds for day 2 and 3 this was a great start to E3 :)

Watch live streaming video from electronicarts at livestream.com

E3 Begins

2011-06-07T14:08:00.000+01:00

Though this may be the first official day of E3 news as always started the day before.

The big one of course is that Minecraft will be coming to the X-Box who would of thought ?

Also we have the new trailer Return.

These things just get better every time. I really hope these guys make a movie to go along with the game as these are just brilliant, and I could watch hours of content and would gladly pay for the privilege.

Origin Also has a nice mash up oh all 3 trailers and is exclusive to there site. You can expect to see a fair few exclusive items coming from here as EA push this new platform forward. So if you have not done so already add this site to the many you already follow.

Machinima have an interview with Daneil Erickson

We also get a heap load of screen shots to feast on.

Don't forget to head over to Darth Hater how has done another great job of dissecting them as only they know how.

As we head into the first real day of E3 we already have a wealth on info spilling out of this years event, we can only hope this continues for the next 3 days.

And in other news "Dev's are in fire" ?

A sobering thought to say the least. Lets hope no dev's were hurt in the fire, and lets not ask the question why the fire was there or where it came from.

Friday Up - The Pre-E3 Band Wagon

2011-06-04T19:31:00.005+01:00

GameSpot has got hold of another exclusive video before E3, and a very nice interview with Daniel Erickson.

Pre-E3 Trailer

You can head over to GameSpot here to check the rest of the article out.

That was part 1 of 5 on this Fridays update. Though the next 2 parts were released early that being the comic and EA's new Origin service that will be the only place you will be to obtain SWTOR on digital download.

Part 2 of 5 Origin

Here is a post by StephenReid

Hey everyone – well, apparently once again the online world trumps newsprint, as a story that was supposed to pop tomorrow popped up tonight! Let me give you a couple of notes on Origin.

First off: Origin is a fantastic new digital initiative from EA, and we're pleased to confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be available exclusively for digital download from Origin.

However, even though you'll only be able to buy and download The Old Republic digitally via Origin, you will still be able to buy a retail, boxed copy of the game from your favorite retailer (and that includes online retailers who’ll ship the box to you). BioWare and EA know the value many gamers place on a cool boxed product... and we’re producing a cool boxed product. (Or maybe I should say 'boxed products'. )

Second: it's easy to hear an announcement like this and assume it means that we're about to drop another bombshell or two, especially with E3 around the corner. The reality is, this sort of pre-show announcement is pretty standard PR work, so that the story can 'breathe' a bit before E3 news obliterates everything else.

While I will say we have some super-cool stuff coming out of E3 – some of which you’re actually going to see before E3 starts – I don't want you to jump to conclusions just yet. Instead I'd suggest you just strap in and enjoy the ride. We know every single one of you wants to know when The Old Republic is going to launch, and I assure you, when we are ready to give you a date we'll broadcast it loud and clear.

As I'm sure you know, we’re 100% committed to making Star Wars: The Old Republic the best quality game (and service) it can be, as you'd expect from a BioWare MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe.

I've said before that an announcement as big as release date will be so big, it'll come thundering towards us and we'll all hear it long before it arrives. That train's coming... but so far, I'd just say we've laid down some early track.

You have questions, no doubt, and all of them will be answered in time. For now, sit back and enjoy E3 next

I'm not ecstatic about this myself though I can't see the big deal about it. I would much prefer it be available on steam or something like that. A service that is dedicated to things of this type.
I can see the benefit of EA making there own service as this will generate a larger initial income when TOR is released.

Yet I fail to see much if any benefit to the many TOR followers in placing it on its own away from the well successful and highly stable platforms we already have in place.. This is all about making money and not about what the costumers want.

Part 3 of 5 The Lost Sun's Comic

This kind of got revealed a day or two ago and was incorporated into the Friday update somehow. Though this time we did get a little more info and a couple of pages from the comic.

I'm not much of a comic guy but I do like the art in this one, not to the point I would buy it but it's nice all the same.
You can find the rest of this update here.

Part 4 of 5

New Advance Class Page

Oh hell yeh. This is more than just a new coat of paint. Its a lot easier and straight forward to follow and find what you are looking for. For me BW should carry this to every other page on the website.
The advance class page can be found here its a big improvement on what was in play before.

And last but not least - Part 5 of 5 !!!!

The Old Republic At E3

New screen shots, the run down on what to expect from E3 and a whole host of site bringing live feeds from E3 itself.

I'm sure the caption of this first screen has the guy saying "go ahead pull this finger"

You can find this update here.

This is silly amounts of info just before E3 this being normally a time of little info and mass speculation. Hope this is just the tip of the iceberg, and we get a great deal more once E3 is under way in just a few days time.

Bring It On!!!

This Weeks News Round Up 2nd June

2011-06-02T23:33:00.001+01:00

Yay at long last a screen shot with things in it. Don't get me wrong I'm not a hater of tables and chairs or anything. I just don't see any interest in them that's all. (please note no tables and chairs were harmed in the making of this post)

Well here we are again yet another week closer to E3.

The SWTOR Forums are still going over the same things that have been QQ'ed over countless times. We are now longing for new info to burst onto the scene.

As such good news is sparse to say the least, yet there is still a few fun nuggets out there to wind away a few moments in anticipation before E3 hits in few days.

SWTOR-Station - Before I get to the better news I have noticed a site that seems to be going none active. Myself I love new sites and do what I can to give them a shout out and sent some traffic there way. I know first hand it takes some time to get the word out when you first start you can loose hope if no one takes an interest no matter how good your content may be. So seeing a long running site going the other way is a sad thing indeed.
I hope this is not the end as this used to be one of the site I would go to daily.

E3 Meet And Greet - Details are now in about the meet and great event at E3 you can find all the relevant data here.

TOROZ has posted some nice Star Wars parodies, the top ten in there opinion. Yet they failed to find a spot the one I would say should take the top spot. So in good faction I'll post it here and you can give them the nod that they forgot this little one and tell them MrWarlock sent you lol.

Corellian Run Radio has found some entertain art from across the webs.
Star Wars Goes Corporate and Patron Saints Of The Empire

A new comic is coming out next week also The Lost Suns for all you comic buffs out there you can find the link here.

Well that's all I guess another quiet week just before E3 lets how this time next week I have heaps more to spark your interests.

Friday Update - Does My Gun Look Big In This ?

2011-05-31T16:25:00.001+01:00

The trooper progression video hits and with only 1 more update until E3 arrives.

This is huge so close to the largest gaming convention on the planet looming near. This video is so telling, when in Austin I asked about stealth and stealth detection.

The answer I was given was that stealth detection was not in the game "yet". Which I found quite strange to say the least. But this clearly shows the trooper vanguard having a stealth detection ability which must have only been implemented soon after the fan site summit.

So what we are seeing here in the way of skills is really bang up to date. Two months ago this skill was not even in the game, and it goes to show how quick BioWare are progressing with the game it really is coming along in leaps and bounds.

And all you peeps out there with your sights set on the trooper, BACK OFF. I seen it first and I called commando long before the trooper was even announced as a playable class.

This Fridays update has me so hyped for E3 now. If we get this so close what else can we expect from the event itself ?

Still one Friday to go, not hoping for much this coming Friday. Anything we get will be a bonus I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that E3 will bring a whole host of goody's our way.

This Weeks News Round Up 27th May

2011-05-27T16:03:00.000+01:00

Well I'm almost back on track with the little outage BlogSpot had last week. So by next week I should be back to where I was on the right times.
Oh and not to forget I recently found MineCraft which kind of sucked a fair few days from my life.

Site news This Week

ToroCast is been shining once again, Samm got a team together and put out Episode 102 last week and 103 this week. Even without the ever present Musco, Kimi and Fo it still remains a highly enjoyable PodCast.

TOR-TALK has a new face on TORqued VodCast Matt Hozak. You can catch all the latest and read up all about Matt here.

Corellian Run Radio Posted a nice video with George Lucas. Something about a new ride of all things.

My Stuff

I've kind of forgot to post links to my articles on SWTOR-Life for a bit so I'll link them now when I remember. In reverse order.

Server Types Pro's And Con's.

Protection Against Spoilers.

I'm Still Not Sold On Crew Skills.

Oh and I got to take part in Galactic Undergroud on Bootleg Radio. Have I mentioned how much I love this show ?
If you have not done so already go check it out, it has an endless circuit running none stop and very, very entertaining, Oh and I will not excuse my accent though in my own defence I did indulge in a few beers before hand :)

Kind of another quiet week all in all. If you have news that you would like to be shown here be it from a Fan Site or Guild hook me up in Twitter MrWarlock_ I'm always on the lookout and would love to give you a shout out here.

Friday Update - SWTOR-Life style !!!

2011-05-24T16:12:00.003+01:00

First off I will give a huge shout out to my counter parts over at SWTOR-Life who got the latest fan site spot light.
The site has really taken off since we all started pulling together, and its a great honour to be placed in the spotlight. We still hope to go from strength to strength and with Serge and SWTORCRAFTER at the helm we can do just that. Everyone over there are such great guys and I'm glad to be working with them all. You can get the rest of the story here.

Also in that link you'll find all the normal suspects Avatars, Icons and fan art. I don't know why but I love this little number from the nick_of_time.

Also we got a short video from the Fan Site Summit which we attended. And I will say now no matter the hate I get from it, but its way better playing than it is watching :)

And we got another Studio Insider - Combat Audio.

Here we get a small taste of the high audio quality that you will come to expect in TOR. In my articles from the Fan Site Summit event I did try to relay how good the sound was in the play through. What we get here is the smallest of snips from in-game footage.

Now this goes on all the time, and it really is something to behold. You know when a team puts so much effort into what we as gamers consider small and insignificant parts of the game. We know the rest is going to be so much better that what we have so far been settling for in past mmo's.

I know Fan Fridays are everyone idea of a great update. With this being so close to E3 the biggest gaming convention on the planet, I for one am pleasantly surprised.

I know many are hoping for a release date from E3 not sure if we will get that at the sage the game is now in. I would still be over the moon if BioWare announced a date in the near future what real closed Beta would be taken place.
That or a small drop on the NDA that has so far surrounded the game testing program.

With news TOR will hit something this year, E3 remains the strongest platform to get information out that many of its avid followers have been waiting for.
I still expect something big from E3 though I am not hoping for that all important release date to be announced.

Friday Update & News Round Up

2011-05-14T12:34:00.003+01:00

With Blog Spot being down for a few days, I missed my weekly news from around the web. But now I'm back and with it being after Fridays update I'll start from there.

The Sith Inquisitor Records

The quality of videos coming from SWTOR have been getting getter and better. You sometimes forget this is all in-game footage.

This one just goes to show that the Sith are sneaky and evil. Well what else would you expect from BioWare ?

This Weeks News Round Up

Not one but two screen shots this week, 1st from the weekly and the next comes after Facebook gained 300K likes :)

Sad News At ToroCast

ToroCast this week had some sad news. One of the longest running sites and PodCasts around, already finding there feet after loosing Fo from the site the week before. Now have also seen the departure of Musco and Kimi. Two big players when it comes to the PodCast and site side of things.

This has left Samm to recruit new staff members, I not sure I would wish this type of thing on anyone to try to replace 3 highly prominent figures such as these.

I would like to wish everyone best of luck, and for Samm I just hope he comes through this with all his facilitates intact. Good luck ToroCast your going to need it !

Massively's Larry Everett aka @Shaddoe over on Twitter. Has published the easiest to follow run-down of the Fan Site Summit. Those wishing to cover everything that came from the event should check this one out.

StarWarsWorld A new fan site database is starting up. Something you should all keep an eye, data base site will become a must to have when TOR hits this year.

Bootleg Radio Darn I love this. This is strictly an adults only radio show (well the latest one is for sure) it comes with IRC chat and grabs guests on for an hour to come on and chat. This show starts at midnight GMT and I find myself staying tuned in till 4am such is the entertainment value. Also point to note this is a radio station not a PodCast. This will be the 3rd week in regards to SWTOR and they are looking for more players to run a show of there very own. If you have not done so already check this sucker out.

TwoTORGamers have there 2nd VodCast out this week. This one is quickly growing on me, it has for me rate among the highest quality VodCasts around.

Last but not least

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says

Check the rest of the story out here.

Friday Update - The Codex

2011-05-09T09:44:00.001+01:00

There is only so much lore some can take but the codex system seems the best way to bring this type of thing to the masses. A great many games have had similar story background features like this, but I'm sure nothing to the extent of being 120K words long.

Star Wars Wiki is going to be getting a massive influx of new information like never before. Star Wars nerds from across the world will have a staggering amount of new data to dive into. Maybe they will even serve to settle old arguments that have yet to be answered.

I like these type of things though I would not go as far to say that I would read them all. They are darn good at settling little disagreements when they arise. Not having to leave the game to look up the lore does have the added bonus of keeping you playing.

And the best thing about them is you do not have to use it. They are in place for anyone that wants more info on the game. This will also leaves your normal mmo gamer types well alone, and still give those that want to know everything about Star Wars, copious amounts of Intel that will keep them happy for years to come.

You can catch this weeks update here.

SWTOUR Part 4 PVP Q&A

2011-05-05T19:49:00.001+01:00

It was a great pleasure to sit down with the guy that has most likely got the biggest amount of flame retardant suits on per-order over at BioWare Austin.

Story aside this guy was well and truly in the hot seat.

It was none other that Gabe Amatangelo. Even in this short meeting I came away with the feeling that PvP is in good hands. Half picked and half voluntarily appointed to this post, that many would just crumble at the scale of what is about to come.

Normally when you look over Dev interviews. You get the sense that they will only give you a small insight into what questions you have asked. The nifty footwork they have acquired in the time spent in Austin, at manoeuvring out of the way of those somewhat awkward questions. Would have Fred Astaire green with envy.

Well this time it seemed different.

I was quite taken back by the openness of it all. So much so I did not even get through half the questions I had planned. Though I have to admit this was all a breath of fresh-air.

I was shown to the most sparsely decorated room in the whole of BioWare Austin. Maybe just stripped clean for are own sake (prying eyes and all) or just to keep us focused on the task in hand. What ever the reason I was glad not to have the temptation to look at more classy art works that littered every part of that epic building.

I thought I would start out easy but it soon became apparent that Gabe was more than willing to talk about almost everything PvP

Now off to the Q and A

Q- At which level will players be able to enter Warzones ?
A- Each player can enter Warezones at level 10 no matter what server type/faction or class.

That morning Serge From Swtor-Life told me of this little thing called Guard and pressed me to ask about it. So be it.
Q- So I hear (lying trough my teeth) there is a new guard ability. Would you like to explain how this works ?
A- Sure. It's an ability that all tank classes have at there disposal. You pick a player and cast guard on them. This is an instant cast skill with no cool down. The cast range is 30m but only becomes effective when you and your target player is within 15m. You as the tank take 50% of the damage you targeted ally receives. You and others see it as a buff and its clear to everyone that player is guarded. You can at any time cast this on anyone else in your group. But no more than 1 player may be Guarded at a time.

Q- Is there other areas out side of Warzones that will be contested over by players that are none instanced ?
A - Yes and with regards to PvE servers. There will be zones in place around some of the worlds that will instantly flag you for PvP. Regardless if you have already flagged yourself or not.

This will come as a very welcome surprise to those in limbo of picking a server type. Now knowing that PvE Servers have PvP zones will give some that PvP fix, and still get to access the content without getting ganked all the time. This is a win, win for PvE servers if you ask me.

Q- At which level can a player on a PvE Server flag themselves for PvP.
A - A player can flag themselves at level 1. Though they will not come into contact with the opposite faction for some time. There is no restrictions for self flagging in place.

Q- Will any of the AC's have a skill to detect stealth ?
A- No. There is no skill in place "yet" that will allow you to detect stealth.

Q- So no stealth detection what so ever ?
A- Not at this time. Though you could got around and use your AOE ability's and get lucky, this would force players out of stealth.
(well at least some players already play like this)

Q- Will players get access to PvP titles ?
A- Yes you will be able to use titles that you have gained from PvP.

Q- Can guilds war against same faction guilds ?
A- No, there is no plans to have same faction guilds to war each other.

Q- Is there any restrictions where are where you duel another player ?
A- Well you can't duel in a Warzone for instance. Flashpoints and quest hubs are also out when your in dialogue. Other than that there is no other restrictions in place.

Q- Will you be able to spot a player who have PvP gear on ?
A- Yes you will. They will stand out and you will quickly learn who is geared for PvP just by looking at them.

Q- What benefits does PvP gear have over PvE gear, for those that want to PvP. ?
A- Well we want to make those who are trying PvP for the first time not to be overwhelmed by fully geared PvP players. As such the benefits you will gain for a full set of PvP gear is around 10%.
This will will players trying PvP for the first time, not to to feel to underpowered and still give those those geared right, an advantage.

Q- With crafting. Can a player decide if an item they are making will gain a bonus for PvP or PvE. ?
A- Although some items will have stats that will lend themselves to PvP. There is no plans in letting the player decide to make PvP gear over PvE gear.

Q- With the new info on the AC's what will make the DPS specs, of say the trooper different from one another other. ?
A- Well your AC choice will determine what armor and weapons a player has. The tank spec Vanguard for instance will have the heavy armors. The healing commando will obtain the larger weapons and forfeit the best armor sets.

So tanks will have best armors for that class and healing will get the best weapons. This does not say which is best suited for PvP. But you may also take as a given that the healing side of the AC's you pick will have greater DPS when you are in a raid setting.

This interview was way too short to get the all of questions that I took from the forums and twitter answered. At one point Gabe even started sketching out the AC arc's of the trooper to get his point across. So if I missed something you wanted asked, well time did not allow me to get through them all. I did try to consolidate as may questions as I could to get most of the content covered.

Sitting down with Gabe and talking all things PvP was just brilliant. Event though just moments before I had to be forced pushed away from the BH I was playing at the time.

Only one question did not get answered in those 15 min's. And that was can you roll on both factions on a PvP server.
Hope we get an answer to this questions soon as it is highly important. Or it could of been just a case of it being overlooked as Gabe, put all on the line in explaining what he had planned for TOR's PvP system.

This Weeks News Round Up 5th May

2011-05-05T17:02:00.002+01:00

It been a week dominated by the SWTOUR event. Some great information has come to light from all sites that the call to visit BioWare Austin.

Darth Hater
TOROCast
Mos Eisley Radio
Corellian Run Radio
Ask A Jedi
TOR-Talk
TORWars
TORSyndicate
Gamona
InGame
SWTOR.EU
Fureur
SWTOR Life
SWTOR-FR

If you have not done so already, as if :P Go and see what each has to offer.

Of course this is not the only news to hit this week. Here is a few you may have missed.

With May the 4th behind us for another year. It would not be right not to show some love for Star Wars day.

The most Epic Dev post to ever grace the SWTOR forums, by the way of GeorgZoeller. I will not cut/paste it all here but be sure you check this out here, and its all true :)

The 1st Yufmelt Podcast is out. You can tune in here. I've not had a chance to check this 1 out yet but head over and show them some support.

Also another 1st from redrancor this time its a VodCast.This one I quite liked, I do hope is going to be a weekly update.

The 4th also seen the EA Q4 Earnings Call. As always Darth Hater had this event covered really well.

What I will say is a bit of good news came to light in regards to the TOR release date. BioWare and EA are pushing for a Q3 release (July -September 2011) It may fall after this date but they have a clear goal of bringing the release sooner than most would of hoped for.

And last but not least. You may want to check this site out Pazaak Cantina Online. A nice little time waster for all those waiting on the the game.

Happy Star Wars Day

2011-05-04T14:30:00.002+01:00

SWTOUR SWAG Winners,

2011-05-02T23:16:00.000+01:00

SWTOR novel Deceived
Sith Hat (head size) and shirt (XL)

WombPuncher - novel Deceived
romdjoll - Hat & Shirt

msg in Twitter MrWarlock_ with a postal address and I'll mail them tomorrow. Gratz to you both

Screen Shot From SWTOUR & Friday Update

2011-05-01T14:15:00.000+01:00

We got a sneak-peak at this weeks update of the Sith Warrior Progression Video, at the SWTOUR. This being the 1st collaboration from Brooks and Brandon. I can say the boys did good :)

The other part of this weeks Friday update. Came with a Dev Blog - Working On The User Interface.

It is kind of nice to see how the game has progressed along the way. To what BioWare have now in the latest build.

I understand that this weeks update has been well and truly, overshadowed from the mass of news coming from the SWTOUR weekend.

Both normally would get great attention, this has be thwarted by the Fan Site Summit News that also hit this week.Which is a shame as both these have a wealth of information.

SWTOUR Part 3 Points To Note

2011-04-30T17:17:00.008+01:00

As a one of the few SWTOR fan sites that had the privilege of getting two fun packed days to play the game at the 1st Fan Site Summit.
You may come to the conclusion that our reviews do not count, being those of BioWare fans.

So it may come as a surprise to most but in my case at least, this could not be further from the truth.
Sure I want this game to become the best it can be and even before my hands on time, I was in the mind set that I was going to play the game come what may.

But I have been in countless open and closed beta events and one thing is clear. Nothing is going to improve if all you do is praise the game you are testing.

The only games I can remember playing BioWare related were Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, both I found uninteresting. So I can not in away be counted on any fan-boy list that you could dream up. My interest in TOR just stems from this being an mmo and a Star Wars IP.
With all it's faults SWG left an effect on me, that needed to be filled by the next Star Wars mmo. I did not care which team took on the mammoth task I would still take an active interest in the project.

If SWTOR had been a single-player game I would not have the slightest bit of interest in it. Such is my mindset of staying in what I consider the better end of the spectrum that is mmo's.

As such I tried to stay objective when I hit BioWare Austin. And maybe, just maybe, I could be in a position to address some concerns that I, and many others where having about the game.

Bug Finding

Trying to experience as much of the game as I could over the weekend. Would rarely bring to light any or all problematic areas that would needed some attention. Unless you are in full blown testing and have an extended time playing, there is very little chance you are going to come up with something that has not been fixed or is in the process of being fixed.

Though I did get stuck in the world a couple of times and truth be told. One was of my own doing, trying to enter a red quest gate-way. Which is set aside for a another class quest line. The other was encountered clambering up part of the landscape.
With a quick /stuck chat command released me from the predicament I now fond myself in. You will come across these type of things is any mmo. Constant patching, testing and play time these things are easily addressed.

There was only one point in the eight or so hours of play time, that I came close to anything that would be considered a graphical glitch. This was in the hutt palace. A short corridor a perfect place to find this type of thing.
This was more of a shimmer effect on the floor. I had already passed the very point five times already. I only noticed it when I tried to look under the floor I was now standing on. In normal game-play you could in all essence, never notice it unless like me, you set a out goal to uncover such things.

Game GFX

As for the rest of the games GFX. No amount of screen shot's could of prepared me for what I was now seeing. The build we played was the same as the one used at Pax East.
Everything down to the smallest detail was stunning.

I often found myself standing just looking at textures and the scenery that littered this world.
Normally I find little to no interest in game GFX, heck I played Ultima Online for years. The biggest GFX shy mmo to grace my PC.

Yet you can sense the time and effort BioWare have placed in the game. There is a planet or moon above Hutta, that I spent way too long watching.
Many things you may not noticed just every now and then. You pause, and think. Darn did they get that right.
As it stands now even before any new builds come into play. This is by far the best over GFX I have encountered in any mmo to date.

Run/walk animations a thing that holds a concern, with many of the TOR followers. Well I can say as I played it was a none issue. I guess I did not spend time watching myself skip across the world. As you do tend to focus on that you are running into.
I can't say anything stood out as being off putting to the rest of the game. I would like to see what other sites thought about it. On the day none of the sites even mentioned the subject. Take that as you will.

The buffs you had on your Avatar were kind of on the small side. It was hard to see what they were and where they were placed at the bottom of the screen, did not help this matter.

The mini map was also smaller than what I would of liked. And pacing it on the bottom of the screen I found myself constantly check it, and running into the agro range of mobs.
I tend to always scan the horizon when moving around an mmo, and having the mini map at the top of the screen you can find points of interest more easily.
I totally missed a Holocron on my mini map as the placement was so out of whack. That time I got stuck was running up to this.
The icon although it showed up passed me by, and it was only the little explorer inside of me that uncovered it.

The full overhead map had everything you could ever want from a game. It faded well as you moved along, and still you did not loose sight of where you were heading.

Sound And Music

Like many of an mmo gamer out there I tend to crank the music right down or totally off. It's not like we need the darn thing after all. I also spend a lot of time in vent when I'm actively playing in an mmo. So music gets the boot real fast when I'm playing.

I'm glad to say that most of my time I was blissfully unaware of the overpowering music, that we have come to expect from other games. It's there in the background but not to the point it takes your attention away from what is happening around you.

The cut scenes as you would expect ramp up the music, and it imposes itself on you. Not in a bad way as it does help to place you in the setting. That with the voice over is very pleasing, and at no time did I feel that I would come to a point that I would need to turn the feature off.

Also within the Hutt Palace there is a cantina band playing. The music gets loader as you get close, and it fades away when you pass.
It does not just sneak up on you like many in the gene.

The NPC's in the world are having conversations, and those are just the ones you can't interact with, which is a really nice touch.

Weapons and environmental sounds are in-keeping with the rest of the game. All top notch stuff here, and like the GFX you may not notice them all. But by there absence it would only subtract from the overall effect.

The attention to detail that BioWare have placed in every nook and cranny, goes way and above what you want and need.

I can't wait to be let loose on the more open worlds that the game has to offer. This being a starter world and is dedicated to getting players used to there class and all that it holds. And as such it does tend to be very quest orientated in its approach.

Even with the massive scale of these starter worlds every where you go has mobs that will gladly take you out giving half a chance. So finding a place to get some downtime and just enjoy the world you now inhabit. Are conspicuous by there absence. I don't see this being a problem later in game but it would of been nice to see it for myself.

SWTOUR Part 2 Combat & Gameplay

2011-04-29T18:02:00.007+01:00

This segment, will not be filled with weapon and armor stats, as these are in constant flux, and as such, they change on almost a daily basis.

What I will try to do, is give you an insight of how the combat feels, and plays out. For the next few moments, I would like to place you in my shoes and I hope I can relay the feeling that I had at that time, with this very extended hands on time with TOR.

At level one, you have two main combat ability's. One of a single target attack, and the other is an AOE ability.
You also have an out of combat heal, which also lowered the heat you generated by using the Bounty Hunters weapons. This was a channelled ability, around 10 seconds to fully heal and get rid of that heat that you built up.
Another skill was in place to dispel heat, that you could use in combat. Though this did not fully remove all heat you gained, it did give you around 25% reduction. This would allow you at this level to gain another AOE. This was an instant cast, and had around 1 min cool down.

You also get a Recall button, this would take you to one of the many bind points in the world, this was on a 30 min timer.

None of these skills are far removed from the many other mmo's that I have played before. The names may have changed, but in all essence, they did what you would expect from any other game in the gene. They just felt right for the class that I was now playing, in this case the BH.

The key set up was also like other mmo's. Though at this early stage, the lack of an in-game macro system, my primary source spamming skills, was absent. No key binding that I could find, to change from the normal number keys, that assigned skills to the main skill bar.
The queue system for skills, was also missing from the build we played. So you have to wait for a skill to finish on the global cool down, to activate you next skill.

As you would expect, I spent the early levels, bashing out a steady rhythm on my keys, that Mozart would of been proud of.

The first ten minutes, felt a little off. This may be due to the fact that, that I've spent my days, up until this point in another mmo. Or it could boil down to that the zoom out function, just did not cut it. But after not too long, it felt like I've played this game for weeks.

Now I started my game play, like every other mmo, I have played in the past. One target at a time.
But it soon became evident, that this was getting me nowhere fast.
You have to remember that, SWTOR was designed for you to take on 3 or 4 mob's at the same time, and the sooner you adapt to this fact. The faster you progress, and your enjoyment of the game increases tenfold.

Most everything from the early levels comes in groups of 3 or 4. The best way I found on the day, was to take my AOE, the wrist rocket, pepper each of the mobs in turn.
The AOE on the BH, did good damage to the targeted mob, then around 20-25% of that damage was spread to the others that where in close proximity.
This kind of tactic worked out perfectly for groups that stayed together. By the time you got off 3 AOE's, you could take each out with your main single target shot, in 1 flurry.

But as you get a short way in, and you getting used to ploughing trough, wave after wave of mob's. They change up a gear.

One of the most channelling aspects of the game come when you have ranged mobs, mixed with a melee. Now I did my normal thing up to this point, start the combat with an AOE. Then low and behold, 1 mob runs at me with a melee weapon, another stays at range. The 3rd now runs and takes cover.
My tactics to this point, became null and void. I still gave each mob an AOE, but this only took half the HP from there bars.

So now I'm running and gunning. Bringing this melee class with me to the ranged class, 3 AOE's, heat bar was now full. Then 2-3 single target shots per target, is was what it took to take these suckers out.
Using your normal single target skill, diminishes heat, this gave me just enough to cast another AOE, on the 3rd mob that had just taken cover.
One click on my instant cast heat remove ability, gained me again another AOE. By far the highest damage skill I had at the time. Then one final single shot to take out the last target.

This was the first time I came really close to death. The channelled heal and heat skill, was now a must use, after each and every encounter.
I would of like this skill at this point to be instant cast, but playing this world solo, you have to expect to progress slower, than those that grouped at this stage. So it is what it is.

As far as I know, and the classes I played in the event. Every level you gain, you earned a new skill and/or an upgrade to an already existing skill. So do expect to take many a trip to your class trainer.
You will also find these have a very similar look and feel to other mmo's.

agro range set up for the many mobs. Trying to take on 6 at a time at this stage, in solo play. Will always end up with you dying is so many nasty ways.

Upon death, you re-spawn at a point that is close to you. You do not loose gear, and as far as I could tell you did not take a hit on your exp that you have gained.
What it did was, take you out of the action, on what ever quest you happen to be on, you gain around 50% of you HP back. Which you better heal before starting back, as this will get you back to the very place you just came from. You do re-gen HP over time, and your heat, in this case does slowly drop. But nothing in the way that could be considered effective in normal game-play terms.

Getting back to your quest point, brought on a whole set of new challenges. Unlike most games you can't take a path, that would allow you to missed whole host of mobs.
They little every part of the map, and criss-cross every road you happen to stumble across.

This is where the taxi system is now a great help. For you can be shoot past a great host of nastiness that stands between you and your target area. To unlock these points is simple. An icon on you mini map shows each taxi way-point, right clicking on the npc (droids in this case) this unlocks this location for later use.

The size of the starter world is a thing to behold. These are some of the smallest world you can encounter, so we were told. But these places are massive compared to others that I have played, in other games.
This starter area, in Rift terms, is about the same size as two normal game zones.
I expressed this to Stephen Reid, who calmly said these are tiny to those on other planets you will find.

I was level 3, when I came across my 1st Vendor/Trainer area.
This is were I found the Flame Thrower ability. At this low noob stage, it's not really effective, as far as your DPS goes. Never the less, it was sure fun to use. I'm not sure why, but there is something about, flames and npc's, and the connection to faces, that gives me that warm fuzzy feeling.
I hear later on, that the flame thrower skill have a full tree dedicated to its use. Though at this level, it was more a case of me saying, "Yeah I Know, I'm A Bad-Ass" and little more.

This area also has a small number of crafting benches, not the kind would would expect from say the crew skill would be using. They are more attuned to socketing some kind of upgrade, as far as I could see each item had one available socket to be filled.
I distinctly remember something about colour crystals, when I plugged into one dedicated to my weapons.

The more skills you unlock, the better the combat feels. You find it quite easy to start getting into a rotation going. With the mobs grouped to together or other wise.

At no point did I feel that the classes I played over the weekend were all powerful. Just the opposite in fact. Almost every encounter, finished with me using the channelled heal skill.
I guess when you play in a group, you could get a nice run going, and only feel the need to heal up, after a wave of 3-4 such encounters.

I would like to say the combat is ground braking, but it is no such thing. It does however feel right for the IP, and you do get a sense, that great things are just around the corner.
It's a very hard thing to try to predict, how combat and a class feels in these most tender of moments at lower levels.
What I can say, is this, as an mmo, will have you in combat more that anything else you have played to-date. It takes you to a sweet spot, that falls between mmo, and shooter.

This is were the cut scenes are a welcome brake in you quest lines. You tend to have a more forward thinking approach, to the way you enter a combat situation. You are forever checking what is around you, and where a group of mobs that are close by, to see if they could come into combat rage with you. Picking you moment to strike, or hold off till the added danger has moved on, is an important step to staying alive.

As for the auto facing, its really no big deal. You can not shoot anything that's behind you, I tried, and it does not work. I just pulled 6 mobs, and I knew if I didn't bolt fast, I would be deaded real soon. I tried to weave my way along, hoping I could take 1 or 2 targets out before my incoming death took place. Apart from an odd shot, that I had to take a quarter turn to achieve, I only managed to shoot a couple of times.

And Darn do these this follow you. I ran off for what seemed an age. Trying my best not to pull more agro along the way, yet to no avail. By the time they were breathing down my neck, I have around 12 mobs all gun happy for my blood.
I hid behind a large tree, hoping they would forget about me, but being combat locked I did not have the use of my out of combat heal. So I kind of tried to make a brake for it, on 10% HP. Well I will say this did not end well for me, and again I was kissing dirt.

Somewhere around level 7-8, I gain my first and only companion on this run, Mako.
Not need for any panic buttons on these. There is atm a very simple control system in place, than many a player will instantly recognise.

Passive mode, Combat or Aggressive mode. You can also turn heals on of off. I guess there is a little improvement in DPS when no heals are in use, but at this point its negligible.
The heals used come in the way of H.O.T.S, they do make you feel a little more powerful, but truth be told at this level, they will only prolong death not defeat it.

She has as her disposal a single target ranged shot, and a stun effect, with I think was an AOE. This skill triggered randomly, so I did not notice its effect greatly.
The added DPS though is very welcome, and now I would get through these quest chains a little faster. Even though my opponents had also upped there game.

After around 20 min's or so, I kind of forgot she was there. She skipped in and out of view, such was the extent of the zoom function I mentioned earlier. I did notice you could take a lot of damage though. The damage output was by no means great, but anything that kept added damage from me, was also welcome, as by now, every fight I had a real chance of dying.

I also got an hour on the Trooper, my intended main when TOR hits. It felt somewhat the same in combat as the BH does. The same 2 kind of skills at level 1.
I did not make great headway on this class. But as far as the story goes, its way off that of the bad-ass BH.

Two classes, with a totally different conduct code, is quite compelling to play. One set on self glory the other a shinning example, to his team.

Not that the Trooper got everything his own way, early on in the game, there is a very evident, confrontation brewing, between you, the best of the best. And a somewhat stuck up officer, that does not like you, and would like nothing more than see you fail, and send you off packing.

Such was my dislike to this one NPC, I started to think of nothing more than, me and him in a room and no way out. Maybe this would, for a short time at least, shut this failed, combat shy, office roaming pain in the neck up. And he was not even human!
Oh I can feel a nerd rage coming on.

But like I said, from what I got to play of them both, you can see why they are intended mirrors of each other. The Flame Thrower was replaced with a Stock Strike. The same single target attack and one AOE. Different name maybe, but in all essence the same skills.

What makes both these classes compelling to play, is not the skills. It's the story. Both are coming from a totally different prospective, and the place then end up, are worlds apart. So you do over look what they have in common, to that of what sets them apart.

The story is so woven into everything, it hard to see where the combat ends and the story starts. I would say that group play would be more rewarding, and a vastly quicker way to get levels are you progress though the game.
But you can just do as I did on this weekend, and solo your way along. Quite happy that you are doing things they way you want to. Then you have no one to blame but yourself.

All in all, the combat is what I expected it to be. Quick, steady and lots of it. You are not going to have the feeling, at least on those classes I played, to feel all powerful. You'll die LOTS.
Passing the story element's in this game, would only detract from what BioWare have placed before you.

But if you did, in that mad rush to get to end-game, it will still an enjoyable playing experience.

It's better than most I've played, and on par with the best. But for those looking for the next big leap forward in combat mechanics, you'll need to wait a little longer, because TOR's combat ain't it.

Random Pic's From SWTOUR

2011-04-29T01:06:00.000+01:00

SWTOUR Part 1 - Story

2011-04-28T21:27:00.001+01:00

Like I have said in a resent post, I will bring you the good parts along with the bad.

I will start with the items that did not live up with the rest of the game. I just want to get them out of the way and then we can move on to the bulk, and more interesting parts of the weekend.

The not so good points

1) The UI
The way the UI is set up just feels alien, nothing seems to be in the right place.

For a start the chat box sits at the top left, I can't remember seeing anyone using the chat, as this place would normally be where I would place my Avatar. No one in there right mind would place it there.

The mini map was stuck in the bottom right, and your target windows are just above you skill bar, the skill bar itself was in the right place.

I'm not saying to UI looked bad or anything, it did fit the rest of the game, just things were in the totally wrong place. With a custom UI this small problem will just fade away.

2) Zoom out funtion
I know this may be a little picky, but when playing mmo's you do tend zoom out to a point where you can see mobs and other players around you. The thing I noticed in TOR is that the feature only goes around half the way as I would normally play.

It gave you a feeling of not knowing what was around you, and you could easily be blind sided from the rear and from the sides. Your field of view was around 60% of what you would expect from an mmo.

And that is all I could muster for the down sides.
Yeh I know right.
I kind of feel that I have let myself down in some way. As I wanted to get you a long list of good v bad points.
It's not like I didn't try to find more bad points from the weekend, but frankly, the game is so good as it is I could not find anything else that needed some attention.

These are an easy fix, and the only reason I bring them up is to show you my time spent in Austin was not just on finding the good points. But I did not expect to find only 2, from the many hours of, hands on game time, over the full weekend.

Now on to the good stuff - Part 1 Story.

Before I knew which class I was going to pick, I had already decided to play the evil path, on ether the Bounty Hunter or the Imperial Agent.
Being the only one who runs this site, the dev's did not help in my decision as they presented me with both classes, that I could get so much needed time on.

After seeing the classes on screen, the option was crystal clear. I was now looking in the eye, a Zabrak BH male, if you cast your mind back to Episode I - The phantom Menace then just add a Mohawk. Well that's what I was now looking straight at.

So my plan to take the dark path, could of had no better catalyst than that of what I was now presented with.

Now before I get into the bones of this first report, let me give you where I as a gamer am coming from.I play mmo's and have a vast knowledge of this gene.
I tend not to play single player games, and my last RPG was well over 10 years ago. Just to be clear, I kind of liked the implementation of story in the game, but have no pool to pull from to how it would effect the game.
I was at this point, well story would be nice but what will I, the mmo-gamer get from it.

I have time in over 20 such mmo's, and not once have I ready a line of text. I find an NPC with a quest icon, click, accept quest, then move to that point on the map and blitz everything in that area.

Now we all have seen the start of the BH on Hutta. with the Developer Gameplay Walkthrough.
As in true fashion I also started my story here.The GFX and voice over are way better than those seen in this video.
My options are 1- Dark side, 2- The ever fun cocky reply and 3 - was set for light side options.

Now you may skip the dialogue with the space-bar, but you will miss so much of what the game is all about. Everything within these quest have meaning, the acting, music and the setting just takes you into to the the role, in this case the BH.

The plot starts out as you would expect, gaining access to the great hunt. There are no big surprises early on, and now evil me, had no problem showing this rabble I was there for self glory, and darn anyone who stood in my way.

As you would expect these interactions give you quests, and at first you are fully aware that the normal mmo question system is in place. At this point and a little way on, my thoughts were, your going to have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me into this story thing.

Sure it was a nice change, to have some sort of direction in game, and the cut scenes do bring you to a very nice place. Where you have context for your actions. But at these early stages, it was no more nice than a distraction that a quest was incoming.

Moving on a level or two, I thought that I was not going to get any attachment to the story in any great way. I kept to my plan, kill everyone, bribe them if I can, and being the bad-ass was an enjoyable experience, that I was expecting it to be from the off.

Well just as I thought I had this story thing pegged, things changed in an instant.

I was now around level 5, and one hour into the game. I have just come from a cut scene, and had another quest to prove myself for the Great Hunt.

Now as I set out to take out yet another thorn in the side of my employer, something happened that I totally did not expect could be possible.
I really thought my hard-core mmo gaming years, would have prepared me for what was about to aspire. I had just entered the quest dialogue of my intended target, when the story flipped.

The music changed, the tone switched, and as I was ready to knock off another helpless foe.
The story just then smacked me down. This target of mine, was not who they were painted out to be. In fact, this target was an all round good egg, a shinning beacon of hope, if you will.

For the first time in my gaming existence, I cared.
I had a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach. If I killed this NPC, this bunch of pixels that I just set eyes on, I could never forgive myself. It was real, and I didn't see it coming.
My thoughts went straight to those BioWare writers. How dare they make me do this, I thought. Hey I'm dark sided, and you expect me to kill this person, who is really trying to make the best of a bad situation.

How could they get me into a spot like this. I know what I was going to do just 30 seconds ago, but now, if I continue along the road I had set for myself. I could honestly say, I would of walked away from the game, just to compose myself.
So powerful was this moment, my normal morels took over. This was my first light side point I gained.

And you know what ?
I felt really good about myself. You known the kind of feeling you get, when you give help to someone that really needs it. That's what I was now getting.
I knew I would have to come up with something later on in the quest chain, to account for my actions. But at this moment, I knew I did the right thing.

Now I'm not sure if it was before, or after this point, that the quest system, just faded away. I was now taking on the role of a dark side BH, working for credits, but I knew when the time is right, he can make a difference.

If I take anything about this weekend away, and could share the feeling I had at the time. That would be it.
This small moment in time, showed me how story is not just a better way to go, but the only way to go from here on in. Nothing in my past gaming history, has had such an effect on me, with a roller-coaster of a ride, TOR made me go through in this short run.

If this is just a small hint of the way the full game is panning out. Mark my words, this game will take you on the ride of your life.

Start to plan your leaving speech to your guild, in what ever game you are now playing. SWTOR is here and and the future of gaming has Blasters.

SWTOUR Intro And Swag!

2011-04-28T18:31:00.001+01:00

Ok I know I'm kind of late getting a leap on the embargo, with a long travel of around 24hours, and work today, time has slipped by.

I will be doing this in 3 parts -

Part 1 Story (without any spoilers)
Part 2 Combat
Part 3 Every thing else not covered

Part 1, I'll be working on this right after this post, it should take around 2 hours or more, so no need to F5 before this time.
Parts 2 will hit tomorrow, and maybe part 3, if I can get both up in time. I have a lot to cover as you may expect, and I know you are already neck deep in info already. I hope you are enjoying what the sites have put out already, you just have a short time before I get everything ready here.

SWAG !

I have 2 items up for grabs -

SWTOR novel Deceived
Sith Hat (head size) and shirt (XL)

Winners

WombPuncher novel Deceived
romdjoll Hat & Shirt

msg in Twitter MrWarlock_ with a postal address and I'll mail them tomorrow. Gratz to you both

Stay tuned I'll get to work on part 1 now.

So What To Expect From Me On SWTOUR

2011-04-28T02:26:00.003+01:00

We'll as I thought, SWTOUR has increased the activity on this site, by quite a sum, for all those new comers, first off welcome to my little part of the inter-webs.

I guess by now, you all have a great thirst for information from this event, and it is coming in due time. I am here not to give you an early peak of anything, just what to expect from this site, and of me.

Now I have never been the kind of person to do a run on down stats, and pick every parsec of information that can be found. There are 14 other site's that where there on that day, that can do this job way better than I can.

If there is info out there, I tend to send you over to those sites that have made them available. What I have done in the past, and will continue to do again, is to convey how I feel about the game, and I will try to do this weekend justice, and continue to do, what I do best. That being said, I hope to bring to light what other site's may have overlooked.

I have tried to approach this weekend with a very open mind. Though being a fan site for some time now, my enthusiasm may have gotten the better of me.
I will bring you the not so goods along with, what I consider the shinning beacons of light, that I found with my time in Austin.

After a momentous weekend, its time to get down to the business end of things.

I only hope the faith BioWare and the fans have placed in me can be re-paid, and I can do both justice in the coming weeks.

Meeting The Sites At SWTOUR

2011-04-27T18:22:00.003+01:00

It's a very strange thing indeed, when you meet your peeps, that you have been following for so long. Every other voice is instantly recognised, without ever setting eyes on them.

I'm not sure why, if it was a case of jet-lag, pure excitement or just a case of being so over whelmed by the event. But from that Sunday night on, I turned from my normal self into a gibbering wreck.

After all, sites like Darth Hater, MER, and ToroCast, is the sole reason this site started up in the first place. This was my place to keep all the great info these sites gave us over time. To meet them, and the many others that I now follow, was as memorable as the SWTOUR event its self.

For the first time, I had people around me that had the same passion that I have about a game called TOR. It's a very nice thing indeed, when you can let that little nerd out of its box, and share it with these great people face to face.

One thing is clear, that each and every site, has a different way of following the game. We share are passion in totally different way also. It was a moment that I will never forget.

As for David Bass and Stephen Reid, they made us feel so welcome, and meeting others from the BioWare team, was the icing on an already mammoth cake. Not sure if it was the lure of fee food, that made them turn out in there masses, or something else. But all I can say is, thank you all, for making our time in Austin, something that will stay with me for a life time.

This Weeks News Round Up April 21st

2011-04-21T14:56:00.000+01:00

This week has been dominated by the up and coming Fan Site Summit, but this was not the only new to hit this week. Again I'll point out things that you may have missed.
There's a couple of new sites, videos and a great comic. Enjoy :)

Facebook Picture Of The Week

This first video is taken from TheGUNNShop and is a stark reminder of why Gold Sellers are a real bad for SWTOR and mmo's on the whole.

Rebecca Black + Star Wars Friday Parody 'Primeday'

We knew it wouldn't be long before someone, took this nasty song and somewhat improved it.

New Site On The Block
It's always nice finding new sites that are covering Star Wars and SWTOR.
These are the gems I uncovered this week.

The Cantina Cast - This is an up and coming PodCast - still in the early stages, but one to lookout for in the future.
The Jedi Gambit - This one is not SWTOR related, it is however a great example of a Star Wars fan generated comic. It has to been seem.

News From Other Fan Sites
Well not a great deal really, as most have be consumed by the up and coming fan site event with BioWare. Yet I did find this -

TORWARS - The 2^nd Annual Canadian Videogame Awards.

That it, another week of news you may have missed. Hope you found something you like. Until next time.

SWTOR Autumn 2011 Release Maybe ?

2011-04-21T08:37:00.001+01:00

Over at swtorstrategies, they have found some new info from PC Gamer, head over there and the latest news.

Fan Site Summit Q&A

2011-04-20T09:29:00.004+01:00

Although there will be group Q&A with the SWTOR Dev's, I'll have 15 mins worth quality of time with Gabe Amatangolo. The subject I'll get to cover is none other than PvP. WOOT.

Now that we know the spec's that the advanced classes will now take, it now your chance to get the answerers that have been nagging away at you.

I'm open for questions from the fans for Gabe, lets try get questions that have not been covered, and hopefully get some good insight to how the PvP system is being developed.

Quick Fan Site Summit Update

2011-04-18T17:59:00.002+01:00

Now that all the site's have revealed themselves here is a run down of who is attending, just incase you missed some.

Darth Hater
TOROCast
Mos Eisley Radio
Corellian Run Radio
Ask A Jedi
TOR-Talk
TORWars
TORSyndicate
Gamona
InGame
SWTOR.EU
Fureur
SWTOR Life
SWTOR-FR

As you may have already seen, the fan sites will be an opportunity to get a Q&A sections with some of the dev's, at the Fan Site Summit, at BioWare Austin.

Although I can not say as yet, which dev's, I will have time to sit down with, I will at least throw the gates open early, and ask you which questions you wish to ask.

There are some questions, that will not be answered, but more on this soon. But for now, it's you chance to get your say. You can comment here, PM me on the SWTOR Forum tag- MrWarlock or msg in Twitter MrWarlock_

Over the next day or two, I will get conformation on who I'll get to see, and which subject's I will be covering at the event. I know many of you are eager for as much information as you can get, on the up and coming event.

I wish I could share more, but for those eager few, look up the Tag #SWTOUR on Twitter, for info as it comes in.

With your help, I hope to gain as much information as possible, so get your questions in. And look out for more throughout the weeks ahead.

Fan Site Summit

2011-04-18T00:09:00.001+01:00

I just happen to be one of the lucky few, that got the golden ticket, to visit BioWare Austin.
I will fly out this Saturday, be sure to come back for more updates throughout the week.

We'll be getting the same content at resent UK and US press events, but this time its going to be from an MMO gamers point of view.

There will be Q&A with some of the Dev's, again stay tuned, more info coming soon.

I would like to thank the SWTOR team for this great opportunity, and I look forward to sharing all the news with you all.

Oh before I forget, I'll definitely try to hunt down those rivers of chocolate, we have all come to dream about :)

Friday Update - Fan Friday & More...

2011-04-17T14:35:00.001+01:00

If your going to have a Fan Friday, this is the way to do it.

Normally we get the great fan art, and a little info on something else. Also the Q&A sections have mostly covered information we have already had a number of times. I know there are new people joining the the forums all the time, so may need to know some of the things that have come and gone in the past.
Though most if not all of the info covered in Q&A, can be found quite easily by doing a quick search.
This time we got some real info, that has, to my knowledge, not been covered before.

Corellian Run Radio Won this months Fan Site Spotlight place. I've followed and listened since before the first PodCast, and can say it could not happen to a nicer group of people.
Gratz to the girls, and long may it continue.

Fan Art

This time we get art from - Ardenyr, Mezzidriel and KazeKat respectively. The last pic, was taken before finished, such was the desire to publish it, can't wait to see the final product.

Forum Icons

These have to be the best so far -

Avatars

New Fan Site Kit

It's been talked about for some time now, but at long last it has arrived, pick you Fan Site Kit up Here.

2 more Polls grace the forums also -

Studio Insider: Environment Polish

This little picture made my day. Not that it is of epic proportions or anything. The fact that I liked the first plain grey one, and would be more than happy to see this in-game. They have turned it into a work of art, all on it's own.

It all goes to show, how other MMO's in the past, will let you settle for and enjoy environment art as it is, that BioWare, will polish the hell out of.I know a lot of this stuff will be missed, or not noticed as we run through the many worlds.

But with polish like this, it can only heighten the playing experience, in letting you be part of that Star Wars world.

The Studio Insider and the Q&A can be found here.

As we all wait for more info on TOR. This Fridays update will at the very least, tide us over for yet another long week, until the next update.

This Weeks News Round Up

2011-04-14T16:31:00.000+01:00

I'd like to start a weekly review of the past weeks more interesting news, and fun stuff that I have seen.

I will not be posting the complete run down of the events here, for those that are interested in any of them, I will link to the relevant sites. I'm sure most of would have seen some, if not all of these, this is more of a recap and for those that, unlike me, hunt down each and every post when it comes to SWTOR.
Nor will report on the regular PodCasts, and coverage of the Friday updates, form all the fan sites I follow. This will be filled with things that may have missed, stuff that may have slipped through the net, and are unrelated to the Fridays updates.

So lets get to it.

This week would not be complete if I did not add this little girl, turning to the Darkside. So cute :)

Facebook image of the week

Corellian run Radio - Have a Pax East interview with James Ohlen.
TorWars - Have this little telling article - BioWare Docs Talk SWTOR Open Beta Confirmation ?
SWTOR Hispano - Alerted us to this little just gem via Twitter, the Aurebesh Translator, not sure if they made this or just linked to the site. But its darn good all the same.
Darth Hater - DH is taking on more staff, for those that have always wanted to be part of a large fan site, should skip over there to see what its all about.

And on a bonus level, I can also use the space to link to my latest articles over at Swtor-Life :)
Well, you would do the same LOL

The Jedi Consular Class Song
TORs Swiss Amy Knife Class System

Well that's all for this week, I hope you found something new in all this, if so my job is done.

Friday Update - Advance Class Trees

2011-04-09T23:39:00.000+01:00

This week we get the Dev Blog update from Georg Zoeller here. As of this moment, these are the avdanced classes (AC) as they stand now, although this is subject to change. I can see many a fan, already planning there advanced skill trees ready for launch.

I would like to say that this blog, answers all the question we have on the AC's, but sadly it does not.
Yeh there is a complete list of every class here, even though this may change, with testing feed back and all. It does not tell us wich class is better suited to wich role.

I can see the 4 man flashpoints being some what flexible, i.e multiple types of AC's may heal and/or tank. This does not go to say a Jedi Consular, would be viable as a tank in an end-game Raid.

I see this class range diversity already in Rift. There are 3 tanks, Warrior, Rouge and the Cleric. All of these classes, are just as good as the next, in lower end content.
Now take these classes, to a world boss, or elite end-game raid. Then it is clearly evident that only the warrior is up to the task. This may also be the case in TOR, though time will tell.

Of course this goes for DPS and healers, yet in a larger Raid setting, of say 20+ players. Every type of spec is viable, and most importanly can be a must have to have a chance to finish the content.

Not a bad Friday update all in all, and I can see why there is not more indepth infomation on AC's.

BioWare again has answered a few questions we have on TOR, and left us with just more questions, that will remain unanswered for a little longer. Such is life :)

Catch My lastest Article

2011-04-06T21:03:00.000+01:00

You can catch up on my latest offering over at Swtor-Life, my post is here -

SWTOR’s Mini Games And Titles

Hope you enjoy it :)

UK Event Round UP

2011-04-06T14:11:00.000+01:00

Here we are again at the end of another event. This 1 was a little different to others before, in that, this was a last minute extra.

Not sure how the BioWare team pulled this 1 off, from so short a noticed, but by the sounds of things almost all comments are again very positive. You can find all the run downs over on the SWTOR forums here.

From what looked like an impossible task, the TOR team pulled out all the stops to get the fans in the UK some much needed game time. For all those that got the invite congrats to you all, I wish I could of been there also.
Things like this just go to show how BioWare sees and respects the multitude of follows, and long may it continue.

Pax East - Get Your Nurd ON!!!

2011-04-05T17:57:00.000+01:00

This is the effect a few short moments of game time has on people.

Who knows what events will take place, once TOR has a release date, Nurds Rejoice, for this, this is are time.

Another Fan Joins The SWTOR Team

2011-04-04T15:45:00.000+01:00

Brooks Guthrie is now a BioWare and SWTOR employee, he has been taken on as an audio editor, to work on up and coming TOR videos.

As a TOR fan myself, I'm over the moon that another avid fan has got hold of his dream job.

Brooks is 1 of the hosts on Mos Eisley Radio, along with Zach. MER was the 1st site to be featured in SWTOR's Fan Site Spotlight, and well deserved it was.

He will join Brandon Miletta who moved in from TOROCast, and it just goes to show, good things happen to good people.

Well nice 1 Brooks, bet its going to be nice going to work everyday when your doing that dream job :)

April 2nd Grats If You Made It !!!

2011-04-02T13:17:00.003+01:00

Yes I'm still alive, after The International Troll-day (TIT for short) I'd like to take the time out to congratulate all those TIT's out there that made it through, what was again another hectic day.

As these pictures show, it was touch and go there for a short time.

And for those wondering, yes I was Rick-Rolled again. You would think by now I would know better, but sadly not. Hence this is a huge reason why the Jedi will not be my 1st class, me being weak of the minded sort and all.

Though fear not, I did take my revenge on, no other than SWTORCRAFTER and if I do say so myself, it was a small glimpse of brilliance on my part. I chuckled for so long afterwards it hurt.

I was going to do a summary of the days events, but luckily those clever peeps over at torlegends have done a fine job already. So instead of hunting down TIT day items I'll shoot you over to there site.
You'll find all the days events here and enjoy :)

SWTOR Comes To The UK

2011-03-29T21:48:00.001+01:00

Thats right SWTOR is featuring in London very soon.

It's an invite only and on a 1st come basis, so this 1 your going to have to hurry to get that all important ticket.

You can find everything you need right over at swtor.com
Good luck to everyone that enters, for some this will be the 1st possible chance to get a hands on with TOR.

swtor-life Partnership

2011-03-27T14:10:00.001+01:00

Many of you would have noticed the lack articles I have posted of late.

But fear not, I have not forgotten about them, and I am still continuing to give my thoughts, concerns and hopes for TOR on swtor-life.
I will continue to bring you my thoughts on the Friday updates each and every week here, but most of my articles will be posted on swtor-life's website.

If you have not done so already, add this site to your list of many.

We did this to better serve the TOR fans, and we are now going from strength to strength. We also hope we continue to bring you all a better service in the future. When you get there check out the NEW search-able Dev tacker, just the latest innovation to come to the site.

Hope to see you there soon.

Friday Update - Jedi Armer L33TNess

2011-03-27T13:49:00.000+01:00

As far as this little video is concerned, this has to be the finest armer progression ever.

The Guardian just screams TANK, as for the Sentinel, and the last armer in particular, you can just tell its a DPS spec.
Take away the light sabers and you can easily recognize the ever common Rouge DPS class, from many an MMO.

All this, and still keeping true to that Star Wars feel is outstanding.
The GFX look like they have taken another great leap forward also, from those shown at Pax East.
This may just be a small fact of how those Pax videos were taken, but what I see here, I can say I am well and truly impressed.

I'm also glad they stayed away from the over-the-top armer sets. There is nothing worse in my eyes than going over-board on armer, and weapons. There is really no need for 3 foot spikes sticking out of you helm and chest pieces.

Nice armer, good solid game play and the Jedi. What more do you need from a Friday update ?

Friday Fan Stuff Bazzar

2011-03-20T13:16:00.000Z

I'm not a great fan of Friday updates per-say. But after Pax, it was always on the cards.

Though this weeks helping of that Fan Friday, blew me away.

Forum user, and TOR fan redding is an outstanding artist, and has shared quite a fair amount of pic's in his post.
This guy has such good art, he could have his very own Fan Friday spot.

Fan Site Spotlight
This week we focus on TORWars
They have a very nice, and alway up-to-date site. There PodCast is fairly amusing also. If you have not done so already, head over there sub to the Pod and add there site.

And we get the ever present Studio Insider with an in-depth look at creating animations for use in in-game cinematics!

Did anyone notice the silly had brigade, forum avatars ?

This bunch would not look out of place in a Montey Python sketch. This is the perfect example at having the DON'T SHOW HELM option, in game.

Friday/Pax Update Trailer: Fate of the Galaxy

2011-03-11T16:23:00.000Z

Got to love those video's stay tuned for more from Pax East :)

Relax Its Almost Pax

2011-03-09T22:33:00.001Z

With Pax East just around the corner, many of the TOR faithful will be checking for any and all info surrounding the game.

But what do we expect or need to know if this game is coming out in a few months.

Well I'm not concerned about end-game raids, I know they will be there, and sure they will be fun to run. Though I don't want to know everything about them. This part of the game does not need to be fully fleshed out.

Now what would I like to see if TOR will release soon.

First off, if indeed TOR will be released in spring, the crafting system with the rest of the skills need to be shown. Also a list of each playable race and for which class you can roll them on. Light and Dark side points need to be explained, in how they affect your class and which if any beneficial skills each will unlock.

Class trees also need to be revealed, a few weeks back BW announced that there was 3 healing viable classes per faction. Has anyone known an MMO to have 75% of the playable classes be-able to take on a healing role ?

If any of these points is skipped, do not expect TOR to come in the spring, as these are a must. Not getting the fleshed out info on any of these, means the game is can not come in the spring.

Anyone remember a while back when someone over at BW mentioned the Legacy System ?

The Legacy System, does vary greatly from each and every MMO that uses them.
It could be as little as giving the player the same name or last name, also a common aspect is to unlock a new avatar that can only be unlocked when your class is reborn.

Mostly this system give you some extra stats. or talent from the class that just re-rolled. If this is true, them expect everyone to rethink there starting class.
If you are unfamiliar with a legacy system, stay a trooper may have high def or high dps, depending on which adv class you choose.
Well a legacy System, could allow you to take 1 of those traits over on another class.

Heavy armored Healer anyone ?
Or High dps Tank ?

Ok it does not have to be as dramatic as that, but normally you gain a buff on your re-rolled class. This makes you new class significantly better that, and a must have for anyone that wants to be and do the highest level content in an MMO, PvP and PvE.

Guilds - Almost no info has been revealed about guilds and there structures. There is a mass of ready made and high profile guilds, have already set up and are ready to roll. Revealing the in's and out's about these would help those guilds get well and truly set up.

On a big plus side BW released today the Pre-Launch Guild Program
This looks like a great tool to have at your disposal in the promo of your guild, if you are looking for a guild or indeed a guild leader go over and check this little sucker out ... no GO now !!!

Of course there are many more things would would like to know, but these points for me are a must have before the game hits. Missing any would just mean a longer wait.

Oh almost forgot, anyone thinking about the biggest thing we hope Pax brings to the table...... Yeh thats right we have big hopes that a release date will be given. Sure if your going to dream, dream big, its the only way.

But I would gladly settle for a full closed beta stage date, even if I did not get the chance to play open beta, it will be a massive indication that a release was not to far off.
After all, anyone who follows TOR, wants to know when the game will be released.

Well what ever we get, lets hope it sparks are interest even more, if thats even possible.

To all of those going to Pax, have a great time, I'm really not jealous.... Hope you have a great time, I'll be hanging on in here in the UK, like many, looking for all the info when it his the inter-webs. Peace :)

Bounty - Pax Update

2011-03-08T13:51:00.000Z

Well it's the final Friday before Pax, and no surprise that the Bounty Hunter video was present, as it was revealed on Thursday.

What is a surprise though, that this is the last update before PAX, and a mighty chunk, before what will be another info overload again at the event.
I really was not expecting much this week, but heck this Friday did bring some nice goods.

On a small note, there has been some nerd rage that the bounty hunter is unimpressive and predictable.

NEWS FLASH - This is BW and they make good story's, they are all about putting You The Player in the a given roll. How else should the Bounty Hunter Feel I ask you.
It's not like this guy is about giving you a warning shot, then if he hits you send you flowers.

As well as the Bounty Hunter video, we get the 1st look at the Bounty Hunter ship and companion information.

For everything Bounty hunter check Here.

For all things Pax check Here.

Friday Update:- Chocolate Rivers Comfirmed!!!

2011-02-28T13:27:00.001Z

Developer Blog
This time its Blaine Christine up, talking about his day to day life in BW.
I'm not going to cover it all here, just shoot yourself over to the SWTOR site and check it out.

Normally I would be up in arms right now, what with a Fan Friday and a Dev blog in quick succession, but the way I see it, the less we get now, the more will be revealed at Pax.

Next week, we may have something a little better, but really I'm not holding my breath for anything on a grander scale. I'm hoping for more of the same on Friday, lets just keep all the good stuff for Pax again, and have the info overload.

Its all worth it in the end, having a few quiet weeks before the show hits.

Fans Are Doing It For Themselves

2011-02-23T15:53:00.002Z

Ok so I kind of skipped the Friday update, as the Q & A section was, well limp. All of these answers I knew already. I guess some now peeps coming to the fold may not have known these type of things, but the latest bout of Dev posts did more than these pointless Q & A sections.

With Pax coming up, I'm not overly surprised at the weakness of it. Though my take is, why have it at all, if the Dev's are just going over old info, that any 4th grade kid could find in a few moments ?

As for the Studio Insider, give me a break.
You'll be hard pushed in find a more uninteresting topic than some passage in 1 of many temples, why not replace that with some landscape. I know I may be a little hard, and sure it will indeed set the mood.
But a passage ?
Really ?
Is thats the best they could drum up ?

Darth Warme

Yet with these low points, we got a short glimpse of brilliance from the fans (YaY) Did you all notice that a fan made lightsaber hilts the right size huh did you ( :

Just poking some fun at lightsabers and all, but there has been way too much nerd rage over these things, way back where they were 1st seen. People need to know, that games in development are always blocky dusty old relics that will vastly improve over time.

But yeh another great showing from TOR fans again.

Also Logan has been at it again, and produced 2 more video. the first being that over comparing TOR GFX to those of other games, and another fun 1, that looks at the walk/run within game.

WARNING - If you happen to suffer from light sensitive epilepsy, skip the 1st 20 seconds of the the 1st offering :)

We normally, get something good after a Fan Friday, though I for 1 am not expecting to much in the next 2 weeks. If we do I'll be more than happy, but I know, like always, BW will be holding so well placed cards to reveal at Pax East again this year.

So bring it on....... I really need to stop wishing my life away :P

Re-Spec Or Not To Re-Spec

2011-02-15T15:31:00.002Z

Many like me have had a few thoughts on if an adv re-spec should make it in game.
And as always those folks over at BW have also been pondering on this thought also.

GeorgZoeller General Discussion -> Should we be able to respec Advanced Class choice? (Part 3)

Plenty of interesting discussion here.

A few things from our point of view:
Your Advanced Class choice very much defines how your character plays from the moment you choose it. Their impact is more akin to that of a different class in other MMOs than that of a different 'spec'. A Sith Sorcerer is very, very different from a Sith Assassin.
As mentioned before, the ability to respec your skills is definitely in the game. At this point, it costs credits but has no other requirements or limitations. The exact cost will be fine tuned, probably until ship, in conjunction with the rest of the economy - so giving precise numbers at this point isn't helpful.
We haven't made up our mind yet about the availability of an Advanced Class respec. We are evaluating all options (no Advanced Class respec, fixed cost respec, respec cost increasing with level, etc.).
A lot of thought currently goes into the consequences of Advanced Class respec - if we allow it, it will require players to relearn their entire approach to combat (which they learned over many many hours before) and replace the majority of their equipment, so it's not a thing we would want the player to do lightly, or just out of curiosity.
Ultimately, testing will tell us what we'll go with for launch, but even then - MMOs change, new content is added, player preferences emerge and change, so this is likely one of those topics we will be frequently discussing even after launch to ensure the design matches the expectations of our players and does not introduce unwelcome side effects.

With all this said - thank you very much for your continued feedback and thoughts on the topic. We are actively reading and discussing the topic frequently.

There are pros and cons for both sides of the fence. Not only do you have to get used to a totally different play style. You also have to change your weapons and armer.

I totally agree with the re-spec option within your adv class, as 1 missed placed skill early on in the game can soon become very redundant. This may stop you gaining a skill later on in higher levels, with can lead to you having an almost worthless class, if you want to compete on a competitive level. (min/maxer stuff)

Now on a small downside to not having re-spec for adv classes.
I am what you would call a alt-a-holic, which is a basic term for, playing the hell out of each and every class there is to play. Which in itself is not a bad thing, as TOR will give me a hole new game each and every time a play a new class.

This however may be a very limiting factor for me, depending on how many class slots we have available when the game hits.
Now I know I will play on the Republic side, and will play every class. Trooper DPS and Tank appeal to me greatly, as do both the Jedi Consular adv classes. This will take up 4 avatar places, thats before I even look at Jedi Knight and the smuggler.
With the norm being of 8 avatar slots available, if this is what makes the final game, I will not have the amount of slots I would like. Though it wouldn't be the 1st time I've deleted a max char or 2, just to try another class, it does leave a bitter taste in your mouth afterwards. This is really the only down side of not having an adv re-spec I can truly think of.

Now not having them does have a greater amount of UPS that is does DOWNS.

1st thing that springs to mind is that, we all know some classes are easy to play than another, Tanks, DPS and Healers all have a vastly different leveling process.
The wizard type classes do tend to have a vastly harder leveling game ahead of them. Being squishy at the start, is balanced out later with having the highest DPS rates among all the classes. This make them, in later levels highly sort after in Raids, and they are very competitive in PVP also.

Now I for 1, would feel kind of cheated, if the other adv class to a wizard, had a much easier time in leveling than I did. And when they reached the level cap they can just switch over and become the mighty wizard.

Also anyone that has left an MMO, then returned at a later date, finds it very hard to deal with all the skills they have at there disposal. Sure there was a time that you did not think about them, and the skills were somehow an extension of yourself. This type of class know how, comes in the way of countless hours spent at lower levels, learning your most basic attacks. Then later on combining those with your higher level skills, to make you a devastating foe in any situation.

Even if you have been off the MMO for a few weeks, you can find yourself so out of your depth, its like someone slipped something in your drink and switched out your keyboard to something that resembles a kind of tropical fruit.
I know, its happened to me a few times, and the only real way around it is to make a lower level class same type, to get used to the controls again.

This will happen also if BW do bring in the adv re-spec, into TOR. There is nothing to replace those early levels in getting to know your class. And this far out ways the downside of not have ample amounts of slots to play all the classes more than once.

Even if I have to delete a class to try another, or even miss out on some of the content TOR will place before me. Not having adv class re-specs in game, is really the only way to go.

Whats With The Shakles BioWare ?

2011-02-13T14:38:00.000Z

There is a story doing the circuit, in and around SWTOR related fan sites atm. Where BW have sent out a number of E-Mails to fan sites that have D/L the TOR fan site kit.

This story seems to have come from TOROZ, if you are unfamiliar with the story, do take the time to head over there and see whats, what.

I hope you took the time to read this article, though I did not get such an E-Mail I'm not sure how I feel about this. Should I be happy not to get it, or a little disappointed not to be considered worthy of being classed as a legit fan site.

Sure web fame is not important to me, but there are a few that come here, so I'm doing something right :)

I like many, see TOR as the best thing that has happened to the MMO world since the days of Ultima Online. And as such we follow every bit of news no matter how small.
Sure not all the info is well received, but the bigger picture is looking good.

But I can not see a good side to taking the few fan sites, that depend on an income, off the official fan site list. I'm sure this blog will never be in a position to get anything close to an exclusive from BW, like many of the bigger sites.
But some sites do depend on the income that comes in, and this little bit of info will hamper there efforts to greater extent, in bringing a high quality service that they now provide.

All this mean little to nothing to this blog, but I do feel sympathy for the other fan sites that this effect's. Lets hope BW come to a happy medium, as this will only hurt the fans and followers of TOR.

Getting Fit For TOR

2011-02-12T13:50:00.002Z

The time is almost here, that this spring target window is upon us.

So you may want to get yourself fine tuned just in case TOR release announced date is quickly followed by the games release.

Well good the thing is that TOR will not be hear before April. So you have a window up until then to get yourself and your PC in top working order.
I don't want to dive into getting your PC ready, as other site have done this to a greater extent i.e Darth Hater and ToroCast.
Without knowing the min spec for TOR its hard to say what system will work well. Only thing I would say is, if you got a low end spec PC like 5 years ago, you may wish to hunt down some upgrades to play this game.

What I would like to focus on is you, as a player, getting into the right mind frame to get you up and running, and ready for TOR.

If you are currently engaged in an MMO, this post will have little value to you. It will however give some insight to those that are just considering TOR as there 1st MMO.

If TOR is going to be your 1st MMO, you really need to know how this type of game plays. There are things that you want to find out before you enter the MMO world.
You may or may not know what class you want to play, and you will need to see how these play with other players.

Your going to have to at some point, team with others around you. Though in most cases other players are very helpful to the new player (NooB), many are not, and some will not tolerate you within there group.
Knowing how your chosen class should conduct themselves within this world is very important. No matter what play style you have chosen, you will want at least a basic knowledge of how they work with others.

Even if you do not know which class you will end up playing. Some MMO game time under your belt, will home your skills and help you choosing a class when TOR finally hits.

Also being a NooB in an MMO world, is a very overwhelming experience indeed. Many of us have forgotten how disorientating MMO's can be. Not only do you need a basic understanding of your class. You are also hammered with everything the MMO space has set up.

Just knowing how to understand your fellow players around you, goes along way. Remember the 1st time you heard the word LOL, and thought WTF ?
Well multiply this by a factor of 20 and you get an understanding of what you as a player are going to come across. Even the basic key movements can catch you out.
Learning what key does what, will help you to enjoy the game so much more.

We as MMO vets take these type of things in are stride, when your still trying to get used to using W,A,S,D to move around we are already leaving the starter worlds.

If this is you 1st MMO you are considering, it is a very good idea to get hold of the many free MMO that litter the interwebs. This will give you much needed knowledge, so that when you enter the game you can enjoy the game for what it is, and not get bogged down with watching your keyboard to see what to do next.

When you get into 1 of these free MMO, learn a little about the in-game marco systems. Things like /cast ... /wait... even /dance, can greatly enhance your game time.

Don't be put off by asking questions, there are more than enough players that are willing to help you. Joining a guild will give you great 1st hand knowledge, by people who have your best interests at heart.
Join in party's if your having trouble getting a quest done, its also a great way of of making new friends.

Simple things like knowing how the mini map works, can save you countless hours running round like a headless chicken, trying to find your next objective with in the game. Even more simple things like knowing how to switch to a new weapon or armer part you have just looted, will enhances game play to no end.

Its just like learning to drive, when you get your 1st lesson, you are bogged down with a multitude of different things going through your head. Which gear am I in, did I cancel that last turn signal, did I bring the cat in why is that car following me ??? and so on and so forth.

The same holds true for gaming in the MMO world. You need to home your skills, to feel relaxed before you can enjoy the world around you.
Not only will MMO game time give you much needed insight into what to expect, it will also home your skills, and make you more competitive, this will in turn get you sort after in gaining a group and a nice guild.

So what are you waiting for, get yourself out there and mix...

Friday Update -Timeline - The Great Hyperspace War

2011-02-11T18:31:00.000Z

This Friday brings us a new timeline video.

It seems ages since the last timeline, and these are always well received.

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.

GameSpots - SWTOR Interview - Doctoring the Story

2011-02-11T13:42:00.003Z

The thing I like about this video, is the pure passion they have for TOR. Not much info, but it still gets you stocked for the game :)

TOR News Shorts 11 Feb

2011-02-11T00:51:00.003Z

Its really nice to start this weeks news shorts, on a good and positive note.

Of course I'm referring to the long awaited return of The Galactic Holofeed
Well known in among avid TOR postcast followers as having the longest (in time) pods around.
It just warms the cockles to see them back, with now co-hosts and show format.
Welcome back peeps.

Now to the Dev Tracker -

I'll start with what I consider the most epic post :)
GeorgZoeller

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt_Latency
I'm petty sure you can solo all of them.

They have plans for you to be able to make choice if you are alone and then if you have a group. So you can do them by yourself.

I think then changed based on whether you are along or in a group.

I'm pretty sure you can't solo them all...

That's because I have a looping video of Darth Vader explaining the price of failure as a screensaver along with the words: "Failure ... a player in the Game Testing Program soloing a Flashpoint".

We might or might not ease that definition for the introductory Flashpoint - that's certainly possible if testing tells us it is needed - but once you're past the opening period of the game, Flashpoints sit squarely in full group difficulty territory.

Don't worry - there's plenty of exciting content for the solo player, too.

Well all I can think of is that screen saver :) and BW's brain washing knack seems to be doing wonders.

The next 2 are also from GeorgZoeller

General Discussion -; Game is Heavily instanced

For the average planet, I'd say that 85+% of space is located in open, non phased areas.

That's average of course. Origin planets, with their focus on introducing the player to the story and their character, generally have a higher density of phased space, while vast open planets like Hoth or Tatooine have less in relation to their huge size.

And -

General Discussion -> Preventing of one side Dominating

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silvers

If I pay for the game I should be able to play what I want.

I agree with that statement.

Well not to cut and paste too much, as all the info you can find over on the SWTOR forums. It has been yet another Dev packed week, and a few good bits of info has come again.

Long may it continue...

Sand Box V Theme Park

2011-02-10T14:45:00.006Z

This will be my 3rd attempt this week, to write something.

I've been having some kind of writers block, ok I'm no writer, as many who freak-went this blog well and truly know :)
It was more of trying to stay on topic, so lets hope this time I don't jump around to much.

Well lets get started.

Theme Park MMO's -
These MMO's focus on leading you from quest to quest. WOW is a great example of this, it takes the player from 1 quest to the next. The outlay is somewhat rigid, in that your just along from the ride. Hence the name Theme Park.
They do try to make the game play flow in a curtain way, and in most parts this is normally a very enjoyable process. All the the content within the game is made for you, and you as a player have very few tools at you disposal to bring in new game play elements.

Sand Box -
This is the polar opposite to the Theme Park type of MMO. Though you may have some quests, they do tend to be more space out. SWG is a prime example of this type of Sand Box game.
These tend to give the player a greater amount of freedom within the world. They do let you create your own content, and in most cases encourage this to a great extent. They will give you tools to use in-game to make your own quests, and tend to have a more open world feel.

So what has this to do with TOR you may ask ?

Well for 1, TOR has been described as a Theme Park MMO, with Sand Box elements.

While both types have there good points, they equally have bad points. Theme Parks while good at getting the player from 1 point to another, have very little in the way for you as a player to find something new.
A new elite mob for example, or a hidden quest, by the time you reach max level there is very little else for the player to find. Which forces you to follow the ride with raids.
Theme parks on the other hand, let you go out into the wild and find yourself lost within the world, with little structure around you. Which can be pleasant, but they tend to leave you wondering what to do next.

I am hoping that TOR has a good mix of both. I'm not sure how many games have tried this in the past, but nothing really stuck out much other that the latest updates that plagued SWG.

What I would like to see is, the Theme Park, which takes you the player along from the ride, with that open world feel. Sure I want to have the best of both, and get rid of all the stuff that many hated about both those game types.
For me the larger worlds would be, 1 part Theme Park and 2 parts Sand Box.

This would give the players a chance to level and get loot, that will take them to the max level. And then they can do all that raid stuff is they so wish.
I would also like to be to leave the Theme Park at any point, and find some hidden gems within the world. Finding an undiscovered cove that has some elite mob, that is away from the traffic of those many questers. Some where I can sit/chill and chat, with a nice back drop, at any point when I wish to get away from the daily grind.
To find a hidden quest, that opens up a hole new and totally unnecessary quest chain, that lets you dive deeper in the world that you are playing.

These types of things, are all important to me. I do not want to be held by the hand all of the time. Then trust on the the next ride within the chain.
Just give me the chance to just get out of that rat race and do what ever I feel like, even if that means lying on my back in an open field and watching the stars go by. Nothing can replace these things once you have experienced them in an MMO. They may sound trivial to some, but just for a few moments you can escape, and just enjoy being is this fantasy world, without the need to kill someone or something, raid or what ever else you find in every Theme Park.

Also give me the opportunity to deck out my ship, and a possible crafting skill that I can make things to place there-in, wouldn't go a miss.

Most everyone likes a good theme park ride, but too much leaves you feeling sick, and you can always use a timeout, just to watch the world go by.

This is the type of world I hope TOR brings to the table, something that can cater to both sides of the fence.

Loguns - SWTOR Combat Animations Compilation

2011-02-08T15:09:00.001Z

For those that have a YouTube account, I would suggest you head over to Loguns account and sub.

I've followed him for some time now, and have to say he always brings out very nice videos. This latest offering, shows us just how many skills we have seen so far.
Which kind of took me back a bit, as I had no idea just how many we have seen over the years. They do tend to get lost within the mix of the constant update.

I've played many games, and on the hole TOR just has some of the sweetest combat I've ever come across.
So with out further ado heres the video enjoy.

Friday Update- Dev Snooze Point.

2011-02-07T21:36:00.000Z

Now I'm not going to lie here, I kind of skimmed over this Dev Blog. But like the cat above could not get to the end.

Which is kind of strange for me, as normally I like these Dev Blogs. It should of read, Story, FlashPoint,Story and more Story, dungeon, multi-player with Story.

Kind of unimpressed by the hole thing, though I understand why with Pax just around the corner. So keep bring the snooze, till we can (fingers crossed) get some real info.

Oh yeh find the full thing here.

EA Q3 2011 Roundup

2011-02-01T23:46:00.000Z

Because I'm not the most attentive person in the world, I did not take everything down, as I know someone would do that anyway.

So a Big UPS to Ask A Jedi for doing all the hard work :)

The following is a round up of what went down :-

[5:01pm] – John Riccitiello – continue to concentrate on fewer, bigger, better games
[5:04pm] – Focus on digital – growth 39% year over year
[5:05pm] – Announce a $600 million share buyback
Note: there is no mention of TOR or FY12 in any of the released documentation.
[5:19pm] – TOR will ship in Calendar 2011, after Fiscal 2011 – in Fiscal 2012
[5:20pm] – Will not share more detail until next quarter. They
Note: So basically, nothing has changed but we’ve got no new information. The release is still on track for FY12, CY 11. The window is a little bigger than most TOR fans may want to hear though :)
[5:22pm] – Just ran through a list of releases, which didn’t include TOR
Note: They seem to be keeping specific TOR info close to the chest for competitive reasons.
Note: So, look for TOR release info when they talk about Q4 earnings, sometime in May.
[5:28pm] – Q&A Starting, we are queued up for one.
[5:34pm] – Question About TOR business model
[5:35pm] – “Another north of a million is a substantially profitable business”
[5:36pm] – “Don’t refer to gamer blogs for guidance” (re: EA Louse $300 million budget crap.)
[5:38pm] – “Game is looking very good – beta scale testing over the coming months”
[5:49pm] – Mike Hickey from Janco just asked a question… non TOR-related.
[5:52pm] – Piper Jaffray – Asked “How big is the opportunity for Star Wars, in terms of # of users?”
[5:53pm] – EA Comments on their “chief competitor” having 12 million subscriptions, but doesn’t have to challenge the market leader. But also have no intention to remain a “distant” #2
[5:56pm] – “The market will be receptive to light sabers vs. swords.”
[6:00pm] – Q&A and Call is wrapping up.

Biggest thing I got from all this in respect to TOR, is that game testing seems to be getting filled out some what in the next few months. Not sure how many more will get a taste, or how many there is testing atm. But anything that give us a little hope is alway good :)

Sadly no clear cut release date has come in, though on the bright side, TOR could still ship in the spring.
Lets hope PaxEast sheds more light on this subject, as every follower is itching to get there hands on this game.

TOR's Latest News Snips

2011-02-01T09:59:00.002Z

First off a massive Gratz to Brandon Miletta, who has secured a place on the BW team working on SWTOR.
As an avid fan of the game, this will be a dream job for him. I would like to wish him the best of luck.

Sadly this also means that TOROCast will loose him as a 1 of the team, but I'm sure they are as stocked as anyone, that 1 of there own has made good :)

EA has this little thing on today, the Electronic Arts Q3 2011 Earnings Conference Call.

We may get a little more info on the expected release date on TOR. Well maybe not an exact date, most likely which quarter TOR is heading for.

LeveL Cap 50

We may have had a strong feeling that the lvl cap would indeed be lvl 50, but for the 1st time it has been conformed.

DamionSchubert

As of this moment, max level is 50. This is unlikely to change before we ship, but you know, the usual qualifiers apply.