Star Wars The Old Republic

Blood of the Empire #8 is online!

2010-07-31T00:04:00.000-07:00

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire concludes Arc Two of The Broken World [HERE] this week. The eight issue of the ongoing free webcomic is continuing the crazy mystery that left everyone hanging at the end of issue seven. Will Kel find his answers in time? What is Kressh’s ultimate plan? Check out the synopsis for issue eight below:

Teneb Kel is confronted with a strange and frightening vision of the past, the future, and of his greatest enemy. As he lies broken in the Lenico wasteland, he must seek the truth about Exal Kressh and the Emperor’s goals within his mystical dream–or be utterly destroyed when he returns to reality.

As if issue seven wasn’t confusing enough! The eighth issue continues to perplex the mind. Kel continues his “vision quest” or at least we are left thinking he’s having a vision. While in his vision he learns some terrible truths. Truths that make you stop and wonder what is going on with the Sith Empire in this timeframe! Most notably the Emperor himself! Everything seems to hinge on this Sith Emperor, and what Kressh found on Lenico that changed everything for her. Will learning the same truths change everything for Kel as well? So many questions! Who is Darth Thanaton? And how does he fit into Kels vision? And what’s going on with the vision in the first place? How much of it is real? Where is Kressh REALLY at? Who is the Jedi with Kel’s Bith slave? So darn many questions and so very few answers given! But don’t worry- ‘Arc Three’ kicks off soon, and you know we’ll be here to give you the details! So stay tuned as more details are sure to come!

Haden Blackman Resigns From LucasArts

2010-07-30T09:58:00.000-07:00

Only months after LucasArts saw its President, Darrell Rodriguez, depart the company, its Executive Producer has now also left. IGN reports that Haden Blackman, executive producer and writer for The Force Unleashed series, has resigned from his LucasArts position. IGN got confirmation from LucasArts on the news and a representative assured that the development of The Force Unleashed II will not be affected.

Blackman issued a statement that included the following:

"I've had a fantastic time working with the team at Lucasfilm and am really grateful for their ongoing support."

"While the decision to leave LucasArts did not happen overnight or come easily, I really feel that now is the best time for me to move on and explore new creative challenges and I look forward to the next phase of my career."

This news is just coming out so we'll be sure to update as we learn more on the resignation as well as the fates of other projects to which Haden was attached.

Nar Shaddaa: Crowning Jewel of the Underworld

2010-07-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

This Friday’s update brings us a new playable planet: Nar Shaddaa. To me, a surprising one, as I thought there would be no more planets left, then Corellia. Nar Shaddaa also featured in KotOR 2, so it will be an interesting planet to (re-)visit, though I must admit that I'm not entirely sure what it offers that other planets don't already offer. With Coruscant already in the game we have a city planet and with Hutta we already have a crime capitol. But here it is:

Circling the planet Hutta is its largest moon – Nar Shaddaa, the ultimate corrupt city. Dominated by underworld concerns and owned by the Hutts, this sprawling mass of skyscrapers is considered one of the most dangerous and exciting places in the galaxy, where anything can be had for the right price.

Access the HoloNet to learn more about Nar Shaddaa. Check out this video to see the endless city that covers the moon's landscape. Also, don’t forget to visit the media section for never-before-seen screenshots, concept art, and wallpapers showing this capital of illegal commerce.

Besides being the apex destitute, this is neutral ground for the current war; the Republic and Empire are equally hated. The only war that matters on Nar Shaddaa is the one between the two mob-like corporate giants. On this moon of Hutta, the Hutt Cartel finds its greatest -- and possibly its only -- rival in all the galaxy: the Exchange. Where will you fit in this futuristic turf war? Maybe your place is on the side that pays the most credits. But whichever side you choose, neither can be trusted, so trust only in yourself.

It's not just business as usual on Nar Shaddaa. When planning your Star Wars vacation, be sure to stop by the literal world of entertainment.

Chewbacca riding giant squirrel, fighting Nazis

2010-07-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

Created by DeviantArt user Gamefan84, who says all that needs to be said: "Craziest request ever: Chewie riding a giant cute squirrel chasing down Nazis. He needs long flowing fur and a giant roar."

You might stop by his DeviantArt page and tell him how great this is.

May the schwartz be with you: Comic-Con 2010: Slave Leias

2010-07-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

It wouldn’t be San Diego Comic-Con without Slave Leias. Of course, this year at the annual Slave Leia photo op, the usual mayhem occurred. Who needs red carpet celebrities when you can see all the Slave Leias at the convention all in one spot?

The lovely ladies were out in full Force this year, complete with a supermodel addition of America’s Next Top Model winner and reality TV star Adrianne Curry.

(photo by Bonnie Burton)

Photo by Nicole Love.

Photo by Bonnie Burton

Via Starwars.com

Making SWTOR Not Suck – Ending the MMORPG Launch Curse

2010-07-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Every announcement made for Star Wars: The Old Republic sends the loyal fanbase into a new swarm of debate, concern, and excitement that causes popular opinion to fluctuate faster than the stock market. It isn't the little things though that will win it or lose it for BioWare's latest Star Wars game, and we have learned a few important lessons from recent MMOG flops.

We will make a dozen characters before settling down with a favorite one or two so if there isn’t variety in early content, compulsive altoholics will be clawing off their faces after playing through the same twenty levels every single time they start a new character. Save us the gore and plastic reconstruction bills and just give us something new to do while we are trying to make up our fickle minds.

What features will BioWare have to nail in order to win player support? Ten Ton Hammer have a few good ideas of where they should start.

Read them here

Interview with Alexander Freed - Questing and choices

2010-07-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

Massively brings an interesting interview with Managing Editor on Star Wars: The old republic, Alexander Freed. The interview is mainly about what the different types of quests will be available in SWTOR, what compelling choices players have to make, and what it takes to write for a project of this magnitude.

Here us a snip:

We've got four different kinds of quests. We've got our class quests, which is what we've really focused on when we've talked to the press about story. It's traditional BioWare storytelling in an MMO space. The other three types of quests that we've got are all group quests.

We've got world quests which are essentially like the side quests that you'd see in Dragon Age or Mass Effect. They can be played in a group. That is where you see our multiplayer dialogue system in action.

Then we've got our flashpoints, which are our big, discrete, self-contained, fully-intended-for-group content -- not really intended to be soloable -- showcases of combat and storytelling in a group setting.

Then we've also got our world arcs, which are essentially long, connected sets of world quests telling one complete story with recurring characters. [These arcs are] really kind of showcasing multiplayer dialogue within the open world, so you can be doing them at the same time as you are doing the class quests. They are not in a separate space like the flashpoints are

Read the full interview at massively

Family Guy ROTJ Spoof Gets A Title

2010-07-26T02:39:00.000-07:00

The Hollywood Reporter Live Feed reports on the following Star Wars-related information coming out of the San Diego Comic-Con Family Guy Panel

- December's spoof of Return of the Jedi has been given the title "It's a Trap!"

- Due to the expense, this looks to be the last Star Wars parody from Family Guy

- The creators of Family Guy are not looking to do any more full-out movie parodies, except for possibly Indiana Jones.

Visit HollywoodReporter.com for more non-Star Wars related details on the upcoming Family Guy season. "It's a Trap!" will debut on DVD and Blu-Ray on December 21, 2010.

First Look At Family Guy ROTJ Spoof
TV Guide provides our first look at the promo artwork for Family Guy's next venture into the GFFA, a spoof of Return of the Jedi.

See below for some cliff notes of additional details from the TV Guide article:
Guest voices will include: Adam West, Carrie Fisher, Rush Limbaugh, Patrick Stewart, and Michael Dorn. (Limbaugh will portray the Sarlaac Pit monster)

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein and Seth Green will be attending the SDCC panel

Sean Williams Interview

2010-07-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Author Sean Williams talks about "Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance", his other books ("The Force Unleashed, New Jedi Order: Force Heretic")and blogging! at Comic-Con in 2010.

Remember to check out our Fatal Alliance Review

The Guild - Talking with Krom

2010-07-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Last week I asked for people to write me about their guild experience, and it didn’t really matter if you were a leader, officer or simply a member – all we’d like to know was your experience in mmo’s.

Luckily I encountered Krom, who was so friendly to share some of his thoughts and experiences through several mmo’s and over several years. He was also so kind as to answer some of my questions. What you read below is uncut. You can visit Krom’s guild here: www.crimsonnova.net

And now, on to the interview!

Hello.

I go by the name of Krom in most of the games I’ve played. I got into guild leadership in 2001 as a third tiered officer in a Diablo 2 clan. Eventually, I became one of the tier one officers in that guild, KLS, and remained so until I left d2 for SWG at its launch.

In SWG I joined a long established guild called GP, or Glaston Pirates. Like KLS, GP had a long history in several games and was made up of generally very good people. However, the SWG branch hit troubles and I was called on to take up leadership. I lead the guild and the Role Play city of Vagabond’s Rest for several years thereafter until the NGE was released by Sony and killed SWG for me and most of the GP folks of that day. GP still exists on Starsider in SWG, by the way.

I returned to KLS after NGE, this time in WoW. Over the past 4 years or so, I’ve had varying ranks of leadership in KLS, form minor officer to Guild Leader (we call it Consul in the KLS). I stepped down from leadership about a year and a half ago to begin focus on the SW:ToR
guild.

The Old Republic guild is made up mainly of those I’ve gamed with over the years, some from 2001 in the D2 days, others from WoW, many from SWG. We’ve only recently begun to recruit people from outside of our core group. Recruiting is going well so far.

That’s enough of my general history and credentials. Now to your questions:

What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild?
-In general, our guild is run by committee. I know this sounds strange to some of the rank crazed guilds out there, but we’ve all been friends for a long time; a decade in some cases. To have a “boss” would be uncomfortable. We have a group of three leaders whose responsibility it is to organize the website and events and to moderate discussions, etc. We also make the formal proposals of ideas for discussion etc, though any member may present those ideas to us. We have two mottos in our guild (GP and CN): 1. Crew is family. 2. One man, one vote. This can be messy and time consuming, for sure, but we have happier and longer standing membership because every man is important and valued.

How serious do you play and/or run the guild?
-We take the guild very seriously as a rule. However, we’re not always so serious. I think we’re a fun and loose bunch of people to game with. As for what’s important to us, that’s a complex question. We are a roleplay guild, so that’s of value to us by nature. We don’t fixate on it though. If a member isn’t interested in RP, that’s fine so long as they don’t screw it up for those who enjoy it. We will, however, sometimes put off the game play things for a good roleplay opportunity. Everything has it’s place. As for raiding, I think we’re interested in doing that in SWTOR. We don’t know what endgame will be yet, so we haven’t really discussed it. However, our goals for recruiting are based on the notions we have of the numbers we’ll need to raid based on what it looks like in other games. We’ll adjust our goals as we get more details. We’re never going to be a hardcore raiding guild, for sure, but we intend to see every bit of content Bioware hands us.

Age Requirement:
-None. We do tend to invite adults since we’re all adults, many of us with families of our own. We insist on maturity rather than age limits. Some of our finest members came to us as teenagers. I’d feel like a heel if I started keeping folks that age out now.
Website?
-We have a very nice, simple website designed by Zason. He’s a professional designer and has done very very nice work on the budget I gave him (zero dollars, btw). We pay for the domain and hosting. Everything else is made up of free stuff. I like it all things considered.
-We plan and discuss everything on the forums: recruiting, guild direction, the faction discussion, role play, etc. We use vent for complex game stuff and to socialize, but the forums are where the game plans are drawn up.

Other Games?
-Officially, we aren’t playing as a guild anywhere else now. We have been multi-game in the past, however. Our most recent venture was in AoC. Most of the team found it to be lacking, so we folded our tents. Many members of CN are currently in KLS in WoW currently, though there is no official connection between the two guilds.

Raid Planning:
-A raid leader will be selected. This person’s job is to organize the raid, research the encounters and direct the actions of the raid during the fight. We’ve used several loot distribution models in the past, ranging from free rolling, DKP, loot councils, etc. We’ve even had times when the raid leader gave loot to the person he found most in need of the items. We haven’t discussed loot distribution or raiding much at all though, since we have no idea what the system will look like.

Guild systems in MMOs:
-I found the guild systems in SWG to be horrid. You had to go to the guild hall to access your guild roster and the process to select new leaders, remove people from guild, even invite people to guild was cumbersome. The AoC system was better, but not customizable enough. We like to be able to name each rank ourselves. WoW’s system is functional, but nothing special.

I’d like to see a guild hall of some kind in ToR. I’d also like to see guild achievements and some kind of benefit for being a member of a guild for long times in order to encourage loyalty. I don’t have many concrete ideas on what these things could be, though.

Why do I run a guild?
-It certainly isn’t a power thing. I have no real power in our guild. If I left today, they’d carry on without me and hardly miss a beat. That’s the nice thing about having good people: they perceiver.

In my mind, leadership is a burden. Your job is to see to it that everyone else has a good experience, sometimes at the expense of your own. If you always select people who feel the same way, you will always have a leader who is there to serve the community, not there to have the community serve you. That’s how you survive as a guild for 10 years or more. Also, we rotate leadership. It wears you down. In a year or so, I’m sure another guild member will take on the lead position for a while and carry the burden. Eventually, it’ll be my turn again.

I’m motivated to do this because I want a quality game experience myself. The surest way to see that you have a guild that you will enjoy is to organize the right kind of people for you into a guild that everyone can enjoy. If we didn’t do it ourselves, we’d be forced to try to find it elsewhere. I also do this to help keep our community of friends and gamers together. If our group didn’t go into SWTOR together, we’d end up scattered around the galaxy all alone.

I'd really like to thank Krom for taking his time to write all of this down, and taking my questions into serious consideration. I wish all of his guildies all the best of luck when sw:tor launches!

Got any questions? Any thoughts or ideas you want to share with the readers? Or do you have something you'd like me to look into - send me mail, nothing's too crazy or weird for me to look into!

Mail : MigIdiot.dk@gmail.com

"Beyond Solo" BioWare tells tales of Star Wars: The Old Republic's storyline

2010-07-24T00:22:00.000-07:00

Fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic managed to shut out a good chunk of media who had hoped to get into the Star Wars: The Old Republic panel today at San Diego Comic Con 2010 proving once again that Comic Con is definitely a fan driven event. The downside is that finding solid early media coverage is a little scarce but those of us who couldn't attend the event will take what we can get!

Gamespot has a small breakdown of what the panel covered. Questing, open worlds and, of course, storylines were the topic.

Quests aren't limited to players' individual stories, however. The team discussed the concept of world arcs, which take place on a more inclusive scale and involve players joining up to complete a prolonged mission. The BioWare trio offered an example of the Battle of Hoth from the Empire Strikes Back film as one example of a world arc, where there are numerous conflicts and several principal characters to engage with.

However, given that SW:TOR presents an environment where players' individual choices matter to the way they experience the universe, grouping with others could be problematic. This is mostly the case because each player in a group will be able to interact with non-player characters who serve as quest pieces, and choices aren't always made on an individual basis.

BioWare felt that experiencing quests in this way creates interesting dynamics, and it wants to expose people to what it is like to try to cooperate and interact with others. However, the team also noted that they didn't want to punish players for grouping with people they didn't necessarily know. Therefore, even if the group decides to pursue a course that isn't what a player would have chosen individually, the player won't be knocked for it.

Visit Gamespot to read their full SWTOR panel coverage. But it's probably better to just look at a 50-minute video of the panel itself:

BioWare Announces Space Combat for SWTOR

2010-07-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

A big question among SWTOR fans has been, will the game feature in space combat? That question has been answered at this year's San Diego Comic Con with a very big "YES!"

First, thank you to all of you who participated in our Comic-Con Reveal mission! While we didn't quite make the numbers, we definitely saw how excited the community is about this and how everyone came together. After all of that, there's no way we could hold back with our special reveal at Comic-Con!

If you’ve been following the news coming out of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ panel at Comic-Con International, you’ve heard the announcement that we will indeed have Space Combat as part of the TOR experience! But what does that mean? Space combat is an alternative gameplay experience to the primary game of storytelling, questing, and ground-based combat. In space combat, you fly your personal ship to various “hot spots” on your galaxy map. From there, you will blast your way through asteroid fields, enemy fighters, frigates, destroyers, and a variety of other obstacles that will evoke memories of some of the great Star Wars™ space battles.

To learn more, pick up the October 2010 edition of PC Gamer which hits newsstands starting August 17th for screenshots and an exclusive interview or check back with us in the weeks to come.

Check out the cover of PC Gamer's October edition here:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/07/23/st...led-in-pcg-us/

While it sounds as if space combat will more enhance the gaming experience it doesn't quite give the impression that it will be a primary feature. Is this what SWTOR fans were looking for? Let us know what you think regarding the in space combat announcemen

The Old Republic Fan Friday Returns

2010-07-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday feature made its return to SWTOR.com today!

Community Creations
- a reminder to submit your fan-made artwork through the TOR forums for possible future Fan Friday features

Fan Art
- TOR community member Tang has the spotlight shown on his concept art scrapbook
- Community member Vitellius created a 4 minute 3D animation video of Darth Rasp infiltrating a Republic base
- One more commuity member featured; Oxyjin displays what he hopes his character will look like

Developer Corner
- Get to know that Cathar species

Events
- Upcoming events for The Old Republic include Celebration V, Germany's GamesCon, and the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX).

Wallpapers
- "Hope" cinematic trailer wallpapers are now available

Fan Site Kit
- The fan site kit has received its first update

Avatars
- New avatars are available with characters featured in the Galactic Timeline, including Master Gnost-Dural, Hylo Visz and Darth Revan

Poll
- As always, new TOR polls are featured and added regulary

Click here to check it all out!

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Fatal Alliance Review

2010-07-22T08:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you waiting for the dirt, you can finally find out what Sean Williams’s Fatal Alliance is like. Beware, spoilers follow!

A smuggler, an agent and a Mandalorian walk into a bar. Wait a second, that’s not a joke; that’s a scene from Fatal Alliance! When all eight classes from Star Wars: The Old Republic find themselves in the same place, at the same time, faced with the same threat to the civilized galaxy, each class has a chance to let their class features shine. But is the story any good?

Is it possible for a novel to do what it must to showcase all eight playable classes and still maintain that Star Wars vibe?

I turned to leave. Darth Chratis had learned his lesson about me- he would not challenge me again. I saw a young woman, obviously another Sith, running past me with fire in her eyes and hatred in her heart, and I sidestepped to allow her to pass- she clearly had something important to do, and this was a time of build up to war, after all.

A few meters farther down the corridor, I saw Corax. He seemed to be doing well, having survived his own encounters with Fatal Alliance.

“Corax,” I called to him. “So I guess you planned all this. Not trying to kill me after all, then?”

Corax hesitated for a second. “Well, um, the important thing is that you’re here, and safe. Yes. That’s the important thing.”

I shook my head in negative response. “The devil is in the details.”

Corax nodded his understanding, and then looked at something past me. “It looks like your Sith friend is dead.”

That was a shock. I had been sure that every member of the Dramatis Personae would be completely safe. But there was maiming, death, brushes with the Dark Side, and several other reasons to fear for the characters. The novel maintained its video game quality, but it was that of a challenging game, one that pushed the players, and the player that expected the least amount to challenge him fell to an unexpected cause: PVP Combat- or rather, the advance of a story that he existed to catalyze. So yes, in response to the above question, this does have all the makings of a Star Wars novel, and yes, it retains everything it takes to advertise Star Wars: The Old Republic. Seriously, a semi-likeable lower level player using the story arc to aid her in demolishing an unlikeable high level player in a classic Star Wars archetype? Nobody’s going to complain, right?

The main enemies, though, are revealed in the middle of Part One. The droids, nicknamed “hexes” by several characters and never referred to by a proper name, are introduced to us as a trio of mindless automatons who exist only to kill. We discover that they are fighting to get back to their home, then that they are the government back home, then that they are likely to attempt to destroy every living thing in the galaxy, then that they’re doing it to protect the full grown adult equivalent of a fetus, and then that the fetus is a deus ex machina who can control them, but only if the plot calls for it, and can transfer her power to the girl she’s cloned from, and the droids actually carry the ghost of… well, it’s getting a bit hokey here.

Part One is all about the individual stories. Our Imperial (Double) Agent is assigned to act as Envoy for the Republic, and a Jedi, Sith, and dishonored former RC Commando who have all fought against the mysterious Mandalorian Dao Stryver in his search for a vessel that the Hutts are selling to the highest bidder all come looking for it. It shouldn’t be a surprise for many gamers or Star Wars fans that nobody plans to pay for this- seriously, when was the last time you barged into someone’s house and paid for the loot you found by destroying the crib?

The battle scenes here are some of the most elaborate in the book, and for good reason. What Empire fan never wished for that battle between Luke and Boba Fett? How about a three-way battle between Luke, Fett and Vader? You don’t quite get that here, of course, but it’s close enough, and close enough to wet the pants appetite of anybody interested in enacting their own similar battle in The Old Republic.

After crashing everybody’s plans and turning a private brawl into a palace-wide free-for-all, the droids (which may or may not have come to evolve into the predecessors of one Vuffi Raa) begin screaming that they do not recognize anybody present’s authority. Despite the fact that it is becoming painfully obvious that these droids have less programmed lines than a Buzz Lightyear Piggy Bank, Ax is particularly peeved by this (possibly because she seems to be number one on their Target List), going into Kaiyo Ken mode and asking them “Whose Authority do you recognize?” just as repetitively.

They don’t answer, of course, but it is a nice bit of foreshadowing for what happens later on. The battle concludes after some God Mode Force Shields on Ax’s part, but the fight that everyone came for- the origin of the ship, and hence the mysterious hex droids- goes on. The characters struggle, and we learn that Eldon Ax was not God Moding, but actually using game mechanics. In typical fashion (though written believably, and with a lampshade hanging), every faction does the impossible and traces the droids back to their home: a star system in an almost impossible location.

Once there, the Republic division attempts to negotiate with the columnists, unaware that the droids are all that remains. When the droids use up all of their lines and attack, someone on board points out that their actions can only be Madness!

Dao Stryver exposits the horrifying truth: Hex droids build one another at a fast enough rate that in twenty years, they could wipe out all life in the galaxy (as long as you throw in some hyperbole and questionable math, but the general concept and threat still stands). What does it take to face this deadly threat? A name drop!

Actually, Fatal Alliance does remarkably well in that, despite several (verging between “just enough” and “too many”) discussions about the alliance between Empire and Republic being doomed from the start, I don’t believe the word “Fatal” is used once in the text of the novel. You certainly get the point that this operation is what the book is titled for, and it comes just shy of beating you over the head with it.

As the operation to defeat the Hex droids in one decisive battle gets under way, things get a bit more hectic. The party is separate again, and in multiple theaters. It feels like Sean Williams is going out of his way here to give as diverse a battle as possible, which is a Star Wars staple dating back to Jedi that many feel have been missing from recent works, and the action rate accelerates to something similar to the climaxes of the prequel novels, making it a little confusing if you are not paying close attention. This is also where we get our temptation story, Larin’s wrap-up, and our deux de machina. The story closes itself off pretty well, and the third part of the book is dedicated to giving us five separate epilogues, each one well done and wrapping up that character’s plot in a way that makes a sequel unnecessary, but nonetheless very welcome.

Corax steepled his fingers. “You were supposed to see it to that the package killed the Sith Reviewer.”

He pressed a button his desk, and the Jedi in front of him fell to the floor, screaming in agony. “Instead, he is now here, able to aid his Empire against the Republic.”

Obi John stared back, and Corax continued, a humorless grin on his face. “Never mind that. He may prevent the Republic from winning this day, but we will ensure that its true servants survive to win in the future.

Now that I’ve gotten past the linear story, there are a few tangential things that bothered me. The first, and one that I anticipate sharing with certain readers (such as MrNomAnor) is the way Tasaa Bareesh has a non-Hutt name and her species is never actually named. It’s as though Williams was given a Hutt, knows it’s a horrible name for a Hutt, and just refers to her tangentially as though she is a Hutt so that readers can’t tell.

The next complaint, though, is the author’s fault entirely. Because when you get an author that’s received the type of hate regarding characters that Sean Williams has in the past two years, you should not need to throw down the book, groan, and swear up and down that he’s better than that. This book proves that Sean Williams is a talented author, yet he can’t help but write stupid! It’s plots like this- plots like “the first time I laid eyes on her, I fell in love because she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, even though a major point of her character is the way she punishes people like me without a second thought”- that make character interactions drop to an abysmal level. Think Death Star, but with less convincing role players. After coming off the recent release of Allies and its character focus, this is particularly jarring.

There is character development, though, despite that one particular point remaining stupid throughout. We get an example of what might have happened in an equivalent situation to Starkiller and Juno’s last interaction in The Force Unleashed and Eldon Ax, despite her Animorphs-esque name, gets quite a wealth of development. Personally, I felt the two leading women were the most interesting characters, and they both got some decent development, though Ax probably walked away with the most changes (both internal and external).

The character development and the action are by far the best parts of this novel. Each main character, including two that remain mostly in the shadows, is fleshed out, with a full back story that is revealed in a relevant manner and leaves room for growth after the novel. Some questions are raised in the process, but none that ruin the ability of a reader to enjoy what is revealed in here and now. Fatal Alliance does what it is required to do for the sake of Star Wars: The Old Republic without losing its inherent Star Wars qualities. There’s nothing perfect about it, but nobody read the blurb expecting this tie-in to be the next Mindor or Rule of Two- it’s just not focused enough for it. Settle for a good Star Wars book, and read it.

Oh, not enough spoilers for you? The DP is a lie.

I had cleared the hurdle and emerged a hero of the Sith forces. It was now time to go home. Yet I felt a… mistrust in the air. It didn’t take me long to discern its origin. Holos depicting me as a thief of starships- the very act that I was likely to be forced into to return to my own time- littered the spaceport. Security rushed me, and I ignited my lightsaber. I dispatched one, two, three Sith soldiers before I felt a sniper taking a bead on me.

I pulled back my arm, and hurled my saber into the sniper’s chest. I maintained my grip in the Force on it, but after I felt the sniper wink out of existence, so too did my saber. Try as I might, I could not regain the connection.

Unwilling to make unnecessary risks without my weapon, I leaped up and over the squad that was even now rushing to take me to justice. I saw Obi John and Corax at the edge of the crowd, and ran to join them…

Star Wars: The old republic - Fatal Alliance synopsis

2010-07-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

BioWare and LucasArts--creators of the hugely popular Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game--have combined their storytelling talents and cutting-edge technology for an innovative new massively multiplayer online role-playing game that allows players to create their own personal Star Wars adventure 3,500 years before the rise of Darth Vader. Now #1 New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams brings the world of the game to life in his latest novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance.

Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that's drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic's elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic's envoy is not what he seems, the Empire's delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing, and terrified that he can't, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.

None of these guests--invited or uninvited--have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead, they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.

Here’s a look at the synopsis:

Tassaa Bareesh, a matriarch in the Hutt crime cartel, is holding an auction that’s drawing attention from across the galaxy. Representatives of both the Republic and the Sith Empire are present, along with a Jedi Padawan sent to investigate, a disenfranchised trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian with a private agenda. But the Republic’s envoy is not what he seems, the Empire’s delegate is a ruthless Sith apprentice, the Jedi Padawan is determined to do the right thing and terrified that he can’t, the trooper hopes to redeem her reputation, and the Mandalorian is somehow managing to keep one step ahead of everyone.

None of these guests—invited or uninvited—have any intention of participating in the auction. Instead they plan to steal the prize, which is locked inside an impregnable vault: two burned chunks of an exploded star cruiser, one of which may hold the key to the wealth of an entire world.

But the truth about the treasure is dangerous and deadly. And in the end, Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, must do something they’ve never done before, something that all the agents of good and evil could never make them do: join together to stop a powerful threat that could destroy the galaxy…

If you are interested in a dissectio of the book you can find one at Darth Hater

May the schwartz be with you: Steve Jobs Lightsaber Battle in Antennagate!

2010-07-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

Apple founder Steve Jobs has been busy defending the iPhone 4, which has been mired in problems since before its launch. The latest scandal to crop up, dubbed “Antennagate,” is so-named because the phone’s antenna gets poor reception if the phone is held the wrong way.

Check out this awesome animation from NMANews explain Antennagate, while showing an epic lightsaber battle between Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Jobs also has some rather impressive Force lightning skills.

Translated:

Apple's founder Jobs helped the company reach billions in revenue - thanks to the iPod & the iPhone's success. (lightsabre scene) Apple seems to be even bigger than Microsoft right now, and Jobs is becoming a leader in cutting edge technology. But some say, the bigger Jobs gets, the more evil he becomes. (Force field appears) When Gizmondo got a hold of the iPhone 4 model, Jobs ordered the police to search Jason Chen's residence, forcing him to return the model.

Recently there have been reports of worker mistreatment in an Apple factory. Some people feel that Apple's treatment towards their workers is too cruel. (people falling off of buildings. A lot of consumers are complaining of the fact that iPhone requires a contract with At&t, and decides to sue Apple over the matter. The newest problem is with the new iPhone's reception and dropped calls. But Jobs say that the problem resides not within Apple, but instead with the consumer's hands, and says if the hand wasn't touching the antenna, the problem would not persist. However after Consumer Report slams the iPhone in a review, Jobs holds a press conference to explain the recent problem. He admits that there is a problem with reception; however the said problem can be found in the other smartphones as well. If everyone is still unhappy about it, Apple will release covers for the antenna to mitigate the problem.

Out this week: Williams’ Fatal Alliance

2010-07-19T23:15:00.001-07:00

In stores today is the first novel tie-in to The Old Republic MMO, Sean Williams’ Fatal Alliance.

Meanwhile, comic fans and younglings can head out Wednesday for The Will of Darth Vader, an Adventures trade written by Invasion’s Tom Taylor.

The Guild - Star Wars Fun

2010-07-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Okay, last week I promised that I'd look into some more guild related stuff, but as it so happens, I'm one of those special breeds called "lazy", and as such, I didn't really get it done in time. So I'll postpone it untill next week.

I did, however, find time to post a few funny movies I've enjoyed several times, and I hope you will as well.
Some of them you might already know, but I think most of these are worth more than one view!

Luke getting yelled at by Vader

Vader being a smartass

What if Obi Wan had used force run?

Vader feels blue

Dramatic star wars chipmunk

If you find yourself holding on to some information you'd like to spread around, or if you simply have to get something off your chest - don't hesitate, send me that e-mail right away! All subjects concering star wars wether it's swtor or the movies... I'm sure we're a lot of people out here who'll find it amusing or interesting.

Mail adress : Migidiot.dk@gmail.com

I'll see you next week! Regards Peter.

More making of the Music for Star Wars: The Old Republic

2010-07-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

GameSpot brings an extra dose of yesterdays goodies, as they go behind the scenes at Skywalker Sound.

The website interviews, the 5 full-time composer who work on the music for Star Wars: The Old Republic, about the challenges and the excitement of not only writing their own pieces for the game, but also how they had to look at the music John Williams composed 30 years ago without copying his music and style.

We have some really, really talented people working on this project. I think it’s going to sound spectacular. – Will Roget, Composer

Check ut the full movie below, or watch it at Gamespot (Video also available in HD)

Update:

One sharp-eyed fan, Chronium, in the official swtor forums caught the title of the sheet music in Gamespot’s video documentary about the music of TOR. At the top it clearly says, “Corellia Intro.”

Could this mean that Han Solo’s home planet will be one that we players can explore?

Star Wars: The Old Republic - This is War

2010-07-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

SolotheHawk has made a pretty impressive mashup of the two Star Wars: The old republic trailers and 30 seconds to Mars tune This is War. Definitely worth a watch.

I know I'm going to be busy playing this when it comes out Spring 2011.

I know I listed the music and the programs used in the credits, but I figured I'd list them here too.

Music: This is War - 30 seconds to Mars
Programs: Windows Movie Maker 2.6 | Adobe After Effects
(After Effects was used strictly for making the credits and wasn't used in the actual editing of the video)

This is a fan-made video and in no way do I own any of the material used in it. Nor am I affiliated with any of the owners. Star Wars: The Old Republic is owned and developed by Bioware and published by LucasArts.

Friday Update: Music & Sounds of The Old Republic

2010-07-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

This friday update gives us an incredible Developer Dispatch about the making of music for Star Wars: The old republic. The movie also shows lot's of new in game footage that I can imagine we will see tons of dissection of over the next few weeks.

The emotional experience of Star Wars™ comes to life in new music created exclusively for The Old Republic™. From soft melodies that ring in the forest of Alderaan to the magnificent booming of a battle scene on Ord Mantell, a talented team of composers, musicians and developers came together to create a magical score for the game.

Watch Developer Dispatch: Music of The Old Republic to see what goes into weaving the familiar Star Wars riffs with a new original score. And learn how music impacts the thrilling moments in video games as well as movies.

You can watch the whole movie below:

Sticking with today’s official Friday community update on the music & sound of Star Wars: The Old Republic, GameSpot has posted an 8 minute piece containing commentary and music filmed at the legendary Skywalker Sound in Northern California.

You can check it out here

The second new content continues this focus on the audio in The Old Republic with a developer blog by Orion Kellogg, Audio Producer for LucasArts. Here is a snip:

When you consider the legacy of Star Wars™, what you hear has indeed moved and excited its fans: the orchestral score, the Cantina music, Chewie’s roar, and the pew-pew of a blaster rifle instantly take us to a galaxy far, far away. Developing sound for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ requires that we bring together the talents of dialogue writers, cinematic designers, voice-over actors, musicians, engineers, and production teams at both LucasArts and BioWare. It’s our job to create an audio experience that enhances the emotional experience of the game and reaches the quality level expected of the Star Wars franchise. As fans and as game makers, we’re excited and privileged to breathe life into every planet, every weapon, and every creature that beeps, squawks, or just plain talks…and it’s not as easy as it, er, sounds.

Blood of the Empire #7 is now live

2010-07-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we reported about the German version of Blood of the Empire #7. Now the official version in English is live.

In the seventh issue of Blood of the Empire™, Teneb Kel finds himself beaten and bloodied in the aftermath of the Lenico colony's destruction. Trapped on a strange planet, he must draw upon the ancient Sith arts in order to ensure his survival--and to learn the secrets he needs to resume his vendetta against Exal Kressh.

Check out the latest issue of Blood of the Empire now!

The starwars.com Forums Get A Facelift

2010-07-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Who better to tell you about the changes to the SW.com Forums then StarWars.com...

"Fans who like to talk about everything Star Wars on our forums might noticed the brand-new redesign and features. If you haven't been to the new Star Wars Forums, now's a good time to start.

The Forums are broken down into categories of interest such as the Movies, the Expanded Universe, Video Games, Roleplaying Games, Fan Activities and Events, and more. Collectors will enjoy our new extensive section dedicated to everything from vintage and modern toys, as well as other collectibles.

Fans can chat to their hearts content about The Clone Wars in the new Star Wars on Television section. Don't feel like talking about Star Wars? Have fun sharing comments in The Cantina section about everything from your favorite sports team to the TV shows you can't stop raving about.

Customize your forums experience with the following options and features: Time Zone, threads per forum, messages per thread, and message sort order. Leave your own mark at the end of your posts with your own message signature. You can also now watch threads, forums, categories, and users; and receive notifications via email
. Avatars and user profiles are now available to all users which was previously only available to Hyperspace members.

Save drafts of messages for later. Autosave is also active to keep your messages safe. Your saved drafts of unposted messaged can be accessed via control panel, plus there's now WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing of posts for fans using Internet Explorer
and Firefox browsers, which means you don't need to know any complicated coding to post your messages in bold, italics and more. Markup syntax no longer uses a custom solution; it uses standard Wiki-style syntax.

We now have user tagging of posts and tag cloud presentation of tags. This is a fun way to browse the forums based on keywords alone. Just click on the keyword and see where it takes you. You can also now search forums based on keywords.

Forgot where you left off last in the forums? You can now view the history of your recently visited threads.

Abuse reporting is now built into message threads. Every message has a "report abuse" link. Of course, we continue to have a stellar group of moderators who keep our forums organized, civilized and running smoothing. If you feel as though something is amiss on the forums, you can always post on the Forums Feedback section.

Get started chatting with other fans now, Star Wars Forums."

Do you really need a reminder that SW:TOR have some pretty nifty forums too?

Bioware: thoughts on game development

2010-07-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

BioWare is a company that’s known for its big titles, like Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age. The one thing all these have in common is their size; in terms of length, depth, and scope, BioWare adventures and RPGs are all epic. But BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk says the company is currently working on a small-scale MMO and is looking at titles for non-console platforms.

Dr. Greg Zeschuk was on stage at this year’s Develop Conference in Brighton yesterday, providing wisdom culled from over 15 years in the development trenches at the top-tier developer. Over the course of the keynote, Zeschuk warned against new developers aiming to create blockbusters, stating "Striving to do triple-A console development right now is the wrong goal for most developers." Zeschuk also spoke of the drastic changes that come with success, noting that BioWare has had a tough time adapting to being a part of EA after the publisher bought them out, stating ""It probably took us a year to learn how to interact. Three years later we’re still getting used to some of it."

One lesson BioWare has for the publishing side is for the big companies to acknowledge the difficulty of developers to work through crunch periods noting that BioWare has struggled with the end-of-development cycle rush and stating "The most fundamental thing you can do is trust the responsibility of a group and allow them to make their own decisions."

Zeschuk also told Eurogamer that "The future isn't necessarily on console," BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk tells Eurogamer. "That's the past. It's going to be a strong thing going forward, but the future is in all of these new businesses that are starting up."

Businesses like...? "We want to expand because, you look at what kids are playing on. Kids are playing on iPhones and iPads. The 3DS looks pretty amazing. All these platform options, we want to be touching on all those".

“Really, it’s about online. We’re obviously working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, a big MMO. But we’re working on smaller MMO-type games across the group – things all over the space,” says Zeschuk.

Below is BBC's interview with Dr. Greg Zeschuk:

BioWare working on "small scale MMO" [Eurogamer]

UK Develop conference

Special Reveal at Comic-Con.. If you hack your friends Facebook account.

2010-07-14T12:45:00.001-07:00

Sean Dahlberg posted an announcement on the official Star Wars: The old republic forums: If we can help Bioware get 200.000 followers on Facebook and 30.000 followers on Twitter, we get cookies.

Comic-Con International is almost upon us! You already know about the “Beyond Solo” panel being held on Friday, but we have something extra we want to announce during it. You’re going to work for this one, though. If we get at least 200,000 “Likes” on our Facebook page and 30,000 Followers on our Twitter page by Friday, July 23rd, 2010, we will bring you this cool reveal!

So there you have it. Get your friends, family, inmates, drug dealers, parole officers and random people you meet on the street to join the Star Wars: The old republic Facebook page and twitter account. And while you are at it. Get them join ours also :)