Alderaan News Holopics: Issue #1
Merry Christmas everyone! Earlier this week Star Wars: The Old Republic officially launched and so today we are beginning a new weekly feature. Each issue of Alderaan News Holopics will feature a collection of screenshots with small captions and blurbs that highlight different aspects of The Old Republic. For this first issue the screenshots have all been provided by the staff here at StarWarsMMO.net, but the hope for the future is that you fans will provide all the content we need moving forward. We’ll detail the ways in which you can submit screenshots at the end of each issue.
In this first issue of Alderaan News Holopics, you’ll get a look at the cockpit of the Bounty Hunter’s D-5 Mantis. A shot of the Voss people and their homeworld shows off what BioWare can do when given the freedom and you’ll see a snap of a familiar inhabitant of the Tatooine Dune Sea.
Read more»
Preview of Upcoming Content from James Ohlen
If you are already wondering what the first batch of post-launch content for The Old Republic will be, James Ohlen has an answer for you. While not diving into specific details, he has revealed that as soon as next month, there will be a new Flashpoint as well as an addition to one of the current operations. Included in his post was a teaser image of one of the new bosses. Check out the post from the community blog below.
A lot of people have been asking for more information on our future plans. What are we going to provide for players in terms of features and content? While we’ve given some information on what features we’re working on, we haven’t given much detail about content. We’ve said that we’ll be providing new Flashpoints, Operations and Warzones. Now we’d like to give some more details on what they are.
Next month we’re going to be releasing a new Flashpoint and an expanded Operation. The new Flashpoint involves a plague that could have significant repercussions across the galaxy. It takes place on a brand new world and involves some pretty epic battles. I can’t go into much detail, but be prepared for something different. The expanded Operation takes the existing Karagga’s palace scenario and more than triples it in size. It includes three new boss monsters and some pretty epic set pieces. You won’t believe the last boss, so we’ve provided an image as a tease.
We plan to continue releasing Flashpoints, Operations, Warzones and new game systems on a regular cadence. This patch coming early next year is only a taste of what is to come. Stay tuned for more announcements!
SWTOR Launch Event Galleries
There were launch parties held for The Old Republic on Monday night in North America, with official BioWare presence in Times Square, New York and at the Austin, Texas Best Buy. Check out how the game’s launch was celebrated in the gallery below, posted on the official SWTOR Facebook page.
Update: Added Freeze Mob video above. Read more»
SWTOR Launch Documentary: Your Saga Begins
With yesterday’s launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, a day many have been waiting for for years and surely a day long remembered, BioWare and LucasArts have put together a video celebrating the event. Members of the developer team reminisce on the development cycle and how the idea of a Star Wars MMO set in the Old Republic era came to be. If you can peel yourself away from playing for 10 minutes, check out the video below. The developer team deserves some great recognition for putting out such an epic experience.
Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ has launched! This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone at BioWare and LucasArts, and to celebrate this event we invite you all to watch this launch documentary, “Your Saga Begins.” Watch as members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic development team discuss the many facets of building the game, from bringing life to the epic stories for each class, to hand-crafting the numerous iconic worlds that you can explore!
SWTOR Confirmed for Oceanic territories
When Star Wars: The Old Republic was announced, many Oceanic fans were a little bummed or downright upset that the game wasn’t headed to their territory at launch. While they still have to wait longer than North America or Europe, The Old Republic has been confirmed for an Oceanic release in 2012. The game is currently targeting a March 1st release date in Australia and New Zealand, though that could change. The dev team is also working on a solution for players who have already imported the game to switch to their local servers.
We can confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be launching in Australia and New Zealand in the spring of 2012.
Right now we are targeting March 1st, but that could change as our number one priority is making sure that customers have a great service to play on.
For those of you who may have already imported the game, we will be investigating solutions to allow you to continue to play on a local server once they come online in March.
EDIT: As pointed out, southern hemisphere seasons are reversed! When we say ‘Spring’ you can substitute ‘Q1/Q2 2012′. Apologies for that.
Trooper Log #1: First assignment with Havoc Squad on Ord Mantell
Welcome to the first official entry of my Trooper Log. This series will be posted simultaneously and in full on both my personal blog, Twilight Lynk, and StarWarsMMO.net. Enjoy!
This log entry takes us into the begins of the Trooper class story on a planet ravaged by civil war, Ord Mantell, as Lynk takes his first assignment with the legendary Havoc Squad, an elite group of Troopers dedicated to the protection of the Republic.
Warning: This entry contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Old Republic for the Trooper class. Don’t come to me complaining that I’ve ruined it all for you since you have been warned well in advance.
Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition Unboxing Video + Gallery
With Amazon shipping their copies of The Old Republic early, we got out hands on the Collector’s Edition before the game’s official release date and have put together a video and image gallery of the contents. The box includes the game in a special steel book case, the Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, Collector’s Edition Soundtrack, Galaxy Map poster, security authenticator, and of course the Darth Malgus statue by Gentle Giant. Unfortunately our video is cut off midway through as the device ran out of storage space, but we’re hoping the number of images in the gallery will make up for what we didn’t get to show off in the video. Check it all out below.
See the gallery after the jump. Read more»
Friday Update: Choose Your Side: Smuggler vs. Sith Warrior
The last Friday Update before the official launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic brings us the last of the Choose Your Side video features; this time we see the savvy Smuggler going toe to toe with the fearsome Sith Warrior. The debate between the two classes rages on for the developers at BioWare, check out the video below and decide for yourself which class comes out on top.
Choose Your Side: Smuggler vs. Sith Warrior
In the fourth and final installment of “Choose Your Side,” writers and developers discuss the ins and outs of the Smuggler and Sith Warrior classes, highlighting some of the skills and abilities that separate these classes from the rest. This time around, Senior Writer Hall Hood and Senior Game Designer William Wallace stand behind the Smuggler, while Writer Ian Ryan and PvP Designer Ben Pielstick speak for the Sith Warrior. (Community Blog)
BioWare grants Early Access players 48 hour grace period
After much hoopla, a grace period has been given to players in early access for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Initially, no grace period was planned, resulting in a huge player backlash. Without a grace period, this means players would have to wait to physically obtain their game box for SWTOR before being able to continue playing. A few hours without The Old Republic? The horror. Nevertheless, players felt very strongly about this issue, and after the BioWare doctors came out and said they would look into the possibility of a grace period, they have now delivered on that possibility, granting all early access players a 48 hour window to redeem their product registration codes. Read their announcement below.
Hello everyone,
While we’ve worked closely with our retailers in the launch territories to ensure copies of Star Wars: The Old Republic are available from our launch date of December 20th, we understand that for those of you who’ve pre-ordered, there may be a concern about getting your copy on time. We’ve heard you want a ‘grace period’ where you can continue to play without having to enter a final product registration code (AKA ‘game code’).
We’ve been listening, and after doing another deep review of our platform infrastructure, we’re taking action. Today, we’re announcing a two day grace period for Star Wars: The Old Republic customers.
This means that everyone who pre-ordered and is in the Early Game Access program has forty-eight hours from launch in which to enter their product registration code, which will be found inside the physical Standard and Collector’s Editions of the game; for digital editions of the game from Origin.com, the registration code will have been emailed to you after December 16th and will arrive before December 19th at 11:59PM EST. After December 22nd 12:01AM EST, you will be required to have a valid payment method and a product registration code registered to your account to continue to play. We strongly recommend that you register your product code as soon as you are able to do so (rather than waiting until the last minute) to ensure a seamless entry into the game, a smooth experience on the account website and to collect any special gifts and items you may be entitled to based on the version of the game you purchased.
We understand that for some, your copy of the game may still arrive on or after December 22nd. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the grace period any further. We suggest you contact your retailer to discuss shipping options, if this is a concern.
You may be wondering if your 30 days of game time (included with your purchase of the game) will be affected by the grace period. The answer is no. If you redeem your product registration code during the grace period, and add a valid payment method to your account, you will begin your billing cycle from then, and you will be entitled to 30 days of game time. If you redeem your product registration code before December 20th, your billing cycle will begin on December 20th at 12:01AM EST (the official launch date and time of the game).
We know this has been an issue for some of you, and we apologize for the concerns. We’re looking forward to welcoming all of you to the official launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic!
Thanks,
Ray and Greg
James Ohlen on the future of SWTOR
With many of you probably in Early Game Access already, and many more invites to come, it’s never too early to be thinking about what is on the horizon for The Old Republic. While not providing solid details, Game Director James Ohlen has given us a taste of some of the features we can expect in future patches. What is the number one feature you’re looking forward to being implemented in TOR? Let us know in the comments.
Welcome to Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. It’s been many years in the making and the team is very proud of what we’ve achieved. Since we’re an online game we are going to continue building on the game for years to come. You can count on us to diligently expand the game and service to surprise and delight you. We’re going to not only respond to your feedback, but also hopefully exceed your expectations on how Star Wars: The Old Republic will evolve over time.
Many of you helped make the game what it is today by participating in our testing programs. You’ve watched the game grow over the past year and have been very vocal about things you’d like to see in the game in the future.
A team is never finished building a massively multiplayer game, so we’d like to take this opportunity to reveal a little information on what the team is working on for patches coming in the near future. Our priorities have been, and will continue to be, based off of the feedback we receive from our players. Read more»
