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- Space Combat May Be On Rails [Updated]
- Playable Species Revealed for Jedi and Sith Classes, New Timeline
- Watch the Beyond Solo Panel at Comic-Con
- Space Combat Confirmed in The Old Republic
- Fan Friday: Community Creations, Developer Corner, Events, and More

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Space Combat May Be On Rails [Updated]

#rumor

By Jeff on August 9th, 2010 | Comment

Update: There has been some clarification on the official forums, and the issue of PC Action has been released with translation.

Quote from SeanDahlberg (Source)

There is an article about by the PC Action magazine that gives more details about Space Combat. There is a translation for this posted by a few users but I ask that everyone keep the discussion of the topic to this thread. Keeping the conversation within a (single) thread is easier for the team to look at consolidated constructive criticism and feedback instead of having to search all over and reading numerous short threads.

While discussing this, as always, be courteous to your fellow community members.

UPDATE [1]: To clarify, Space Combat is not a Turret Shooter (this is probably obvious after seeing the screenshot but some people were mentioning it in the other thread).

Here’s an overview of the article, paraphrased from SWTOR-Station.com:

Space combat is reminiscent of Rebel Assault – a tunnel shooter
Missions will be short
Sample mission was to destroy 20 fighters and the enemy capital ship
There is always something going on in the missions – no free flying around space
There will be escort missions
There will only be single player space combat at launch
These are optional missions
There are 6 ship types. The Jedi and Sith classes will share a ship, while the other classes get unique ship types.

Original post:

For those of you excited by the prospect of space combat in The Old Republic, don’t get your hopes up yet. It is being rumored that the combat will be on rails, which means players will not be able to directly control their ship and it will be more of a guided experience. Many were expecting space combat to be akin to what was featured in the Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed expansion, but that level of depth may not be present as this rumor makes it sound like a minigame. Keep in mind that this information is not yet verified though. It is according to German website Online Welten that claim to have an inside scoop on information to be published in an upcoming issue of PC Action magazine. Either way, we should find out the truth soon.

Source, via Massively

Playable Species Revealed for Jedi and Sith Classes, New Timeline

#classes

By Jeff on August 6th, 2010 | Comment

New Playable Species

Quote from SeanDahlberg (Source)

So far we’ve only dropped hints about the range of playable species in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. You may have heard about the Chiss Imperial Agent or the Twi’lek Smuggler, but we can tell you now that all classes will include optional non-human species.

Learn More!

The new species were announced for specific classes. The Sith Pureblood, the original Sith race descended from Naga Sadow and Marka Ragnos, will be playable by Sith Warriors. Miraluka, the same species as Visas from KotOR II: The Sith Lords, can play as Jedi Knights. Mirialans can become Jedi Consulars. Lastly, Zabrak, the same species as Darth Maul, can be playable by Sith Inquisitors.

The official site notes that the list of playable species is not complete, and they look to expand upon the list in the coming months. It does seem, however, that species will be class-specific.

Timeline: The Mandalorian Wars

Quote from SeanDahlberg (Source)

The Mandalorian Wars included some of the bloodiest battles in the Republic’s history. Mandalore the Ultimate’s relentless campaign to goad the Jedi into open conflict cost the lives of millions. Though the entrance of a Jedi splinter faction into the war is perceived as the factor that turned the tide against the Mandalorians, the perseverance of Republic soldiers and pilots like Carth Onasi cannot be underestimated. Jedi Master Gnost-Dural’s historical investigation analyzes the conflict with the perspective of modern events, highlighting the implications for the war against the Sith Empire.

BTC 311 – Too often, the Mandalorian Wars are characterized solely as a prelude to the Jedi Civil War, but the events surrounding the conflict itself bear close examination. When Mandalore the Ultimate called together the clans and began augmenting his armies further with Neo-Crusaders, his intention was to pull the Jedi Order into open conflict. As is the tradition in their culture, the Mandalorians sought to establish themselves as the most powerful faction in the galaxy by defeating the faction they considered to be their greatest rivals. Though the Jedi Council resisted the Mandalorian challenge, the splinter group led by Revan and Malak eventually joined the fray and won the war. Though there has never been a hint that the Sith were involved in the Mandalorian Wars, new analysis from Jedi Master Gnost-Dural suggests that the influence of the dark side was involved. The bittersweet victory in the Mandalorian Wars took a toll on the Republic for which the price is still being paid to this day…

Watch the latest Timeline holorecord, The Mandalorian Wars narrated by actor Lance Henriksen.

Watch the Beyond Solo Panel at Comic-Con

#beyondsolo

By Jeff on July 25th, 2010 | Comment

The Old Republic’s panel at Comic-con this year, “Beyond Solo”, has been put online, and you can view it below.

Space Combat Confirmed in The Old Republic

#announcement

By Jeff on July 23rd, 2010 | Comment

Even though SW:TOR social networks did not reach the desired numbers, BioWare still had their special reveal today at Comic-con, and that reveal was space combat, something many people had been hoping for.

Quote from SeanDahlberg (Source)

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.

Update: added PC Gamer cover

Fan Friday: Community Creations, Developer Corner, Events, and More

#developercorner

By Jeff on July 23rd, 2010 | Comment

There is a lot of new media shared with us this week, both from fans and developers.

Community Creations

Community member Tanq is developing a new comic and has shared some of the initial art. Check it out below:

Community member Vitellius has made a CG video showing a Sith infiltrating a Republic base.

Another community member, Oxyjin, has made a painting of what he wants his character to look like. Check it below:

Developer Corner

Events

Quote from BioWare Staff (Source)

Yesterday marked the start of San Diego Comic Con 2010. Get connected with Star Wars: The Old Republic at several booths as well as the “Beyond Solo” panel taking place today at 1PM PST. Check the Events page for more information.

Curious to know what events The Old Republic might be attending? We’re excited to announce that you’ll get your chance to see The Old Republic at this year’s Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, FL from August 12th to the 15th, GamesCom in Cologne, Germany from August 18th to the 22nd, as well as the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle, WA from September 3rd to the 5th. As we get closer to these shows we’ll be updating the Events page with more information.

There were also new wallpapers released, new avatars, and an update to the fansite kit. Check it all out at the official site!

Fatal Alliance Released in Hardcover Today

#fatalalliance

By Jeff on July 21st, 2010 | Comment

The new novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sean Williams, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, was released today. The book is available in hardcover from Amazon.

Are you going to get the book? Let us know your thoughts!

Bevy of Updates to the Official Site Today

#audio

By Jeff on July 16th, 2010 | Comment

This week’s main updates focus on the sound and music of the game. First, Audio Producer Orion Kellogg (that is an awesome first name) discusses the sound of the game in his first developer blog. He goes into detail about the voicing for both humans and aliens, sound effects, and music.

In addition, we are given a new developer dispatch: Music of the Old Republic, which shows us what goes into creating original music for the game and weaving that into familiar Star Wars tracks.

The last site update this week is Blood of the Empire issue 7. Check it out here.

Lastly, we are teased with a future update. As you may know, The Old Republic will have a panel at Comic-con called “Beyond Solo“. Well the team would like to make an additional announcement during that time, but for them to do that, there needs to be 200,000 “Likes” on the SWTOR Facebook page, and 30,000 followers on Twitter. So if you utilize either of these social networks and haven’t already liked/followed SWTOR, get on it if you want to hear about this additional announcement. As an aside, if the goal isn’t reached, I would guess that we’ll hear about it soon after Comic-con anyway.

Game Testing for TOR Has Begun!

#beta

By Jeff on July 9th, 2010 | 2 Comments

BioWare has announced on the official site that testing for Star Wars: The Old Republic is now underway. If you are one of the lucky members who has been selected, you should have been notified via email and will be able to enter the game and start playing. Currently, game testers will only be selected from North America, but it will be opened up for other regions later. And if you were not selected this time, don’t despair, as there will be multiple waves of invites. If you are not yet registered on the official site, get to it, as that is the only way to opt-in for testing. You can read more at swtor.com.

The Old Republic “Hope” Cinematic Trailer

#cinematic

By Jeff on June 14th, 2010 | Comment

Today LucasArts and BioWare unveiled the second cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, titled “Hope”. Check it out below: Read more »

GameSpot Hands On With The Old Republic

#classes

By Jeff on June 12th, 2010 | Comment

GameSpot has an exclusive pre-E3 hands on preview of The Old Republic where they got to play as 6 out of the 8 playable classes and gave their thoughts on each of them. The article also confirms the first playable alien race, Twi’lek. I suggest you head on over to GameSpot to check out the preview as it is quite lengthy and worth the read.