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SWTOR News
8/13/10 3:19 PM -
SWTOR Nominated For Best of Gamescom, Best Online Game Awards; Gamescom, PAX Details Revealed 
by emlaeh
, posted August 13th, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Although Darth Hater is currently entrenched in Star Wars Celebration V until we turn our attention to Europe next week, Electronic Arts issued a press release today stating Star Wars: The Old Republic is nominated for both Best Online Game and Best of Gamescom awards.

The release also details the EA Press Briefing at The Palladium, Schanzenstrae 36, Gebude 197, 51063 Cologne on Tuesday at 4PM. A live stream of the press conference will be available here, and there will be a public SWTOR show floor presence throughout Gamescom.

Official DevTracker announcement about Gamescom and PAX states there will be public hands-on opportunities at both events; full schedule after the jump.
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SWTOR News
8/9/10 8:09 PM -
BioWare's Schubert on Casual Versus Hardcore 
by emlaeh
, posted August 9th, 2010 at 8:09 PM
BioWare's Lead Combat Designer, Damion Schubert, authored another insightful piece for Game Developer Magazine, and this time he focused on a hot button topic Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans debated long before the game itself was announced.

The following is a an excerpt from the August 2010 issue entitled The Casual/Hardcore Continuum:

Damion Schubert said:
Back in 1971, Nolan Bushnell of Atari said, "All the best games are easy to learn, and difficult to master," a design philosophy now treated as instinctual by nearly every designer in the industry. This describes a philosophy of smoothly escalating levels of investment. Casual to hardcore is not a binary option -- it's a sliding scale. We, as designers, want to find ways to smooth out that climb so that players increase their commitment level to our game. Good games convert casual players into hardcore ones, because these games are worth the investment.

Schubert also opines a bit about the misconception that casual doesn't necessarily mean easy difficulty. It is a good read for those who participate in these sorts of debates, so check it out if you can.
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SWTOR News
8/6/10 1:15 PM -
Friday Update: New Timeline Entry, Playable Species Reveal 
by emlaeh
, posted August 6th, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ revealed the latest Timeline record, The Mandolorian Wars, plus a few more playable species: the Sith Pureblood, the Miraluka, the Mirialan, and the Zabrak.

Adding to the Twi'lek Smuggler, Rattataki Bounty Hunter, and the Chiss Imperial Agent, the classes are paired with the new species as follows:

Sith Pureblood - Sith Warrior
Miraluka - Jedi Knight
Mirialan - Jedi Consular
Zabrak - Sith Inquisitor


When questioned about the definition of the Zabrak's horns in the image above, BioWare's Sean Dahlberg responded with something interesting regarding character creation:

Sean Dahlberg said:
While we haven't gotten into Character Creation yet (publicly), there are a variety of things you can adjust and customize for each of the species.

Dahlberg later commented a bit vaguely about playable species restrictions:

Sean Dahlberg said:
There are combinations we haven't confirmed. James recently talked on this subject at Comic-Con International, though, and announced that there will be some restrictions. For the time being, the combinations we have announced you can count on. What other combinations will there be? That's an update for another day...
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SWTOR News
7/28/10 2:51 PM -
Star Wars Celebration V Schedule Posted 
by emlaeh
, posted July 28th, 2010 at 2:51 PM
Star Wars™ Celebration V posted their preliminary schedule (viewable here), and one notable event is "The Art and Writing of Star Wars: The Old Republic™" on Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14. Star Wars Celebration V is August 12 - 15, 2010 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

8/8 UPDATE: StarWars.com posted a synapses of all the game related activities here:

For the past week, we've been spotlighting the various activities and programming at Star Wars Celebration V (August 12-15th) that may appeal to specific types of Star Wars fans. The updated event schedule shows a complete roster of attractions at the convention, but here are some things that fans of Star Wars video gaming won't want to miss.

Fans of LucasArts video gaming will want to acquaint themselves with room W315AB, the LucasArts Free Play Area. Here, a variety of LucasArts games in a variety of formats will be available for play. This room is opened from 10 am - 9 pm, Thursday through Saturday, and 10 am - 5 pm on Sunday.

Be sure to visit the LucasArts booth on the Celebration Experience exhibit floor, booth #1539
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SWTOR News
7/15/10 7:38 AM -
Exclusive Blood of The Empire Preview 
by emlaeh
, posted July 15th, 2010 at 7:38 AM
The second surprise for our anniversary week is an exclusive preview from an upcoming issue of the Star Wars:™ The Old Republic™ Blood of The Empire™ comic.

If you want to avoid a spoiler, don't click the link below. Instead, convince a friend to partake in the Star Wars: The Old Republic Comic-Con social network challenge or finalize your answers for Darth Hater's Threat of Peace™ contest.

However, if you want to help us figure out why the Hater community received this particular Blood of The Empire panel for our anniversary week (or what it might hint at for the game), then feel free to do what we all do best: speculate in comments.
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SWTOR News
7/9/10 12:36 PM -
Friday Update: Game Testing Starts, Comic-Con Kick Off & Upcoming Conventions 
by emlaeh
, posted July 9th, 2010 at 12:36 PM
Sean Dahlberg, Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Manager, officially announced the start of game testing today:

Game Testing for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ is underway! Those selected to test will gain access to the game and be able to provide valuable feedback to help us tune particular areas of gameplay and begin the process of balancing and tweaking our content.

Game Testing is an on-going process being rolled out in several phases. These phases began with smaller, more focused tests with community members from North America, and later will expand to other territories. Users selected for the test program will be notified via email with more information on accessing the Game Testing Portal. If you've not been chosen yet, you may be selected in the next wave!

If you haven't signed up already, its definitely not too late! If you're not already a member of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community, click here to become one today! Be sure to check the box to indicate you are interested in becoming a tester. If you're already a member, go to the Game Testing Portal to begin the sign up process. Note that you must be at least 18 years of age to accept the Game Tester Agreement.

Please keep in mind that there are no guarantees that you will be selected once you have completed the sign-up process. For more information about testing Star Wars: The Old Republic, take time to read the Game Testing FAQ.

Were looking forward to your help in making Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ a success!
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SWTOR News
7/6/10 10:21 PM -
More Comic Con and Celebration V Details From Drew Karpyshyn 
by emlaeh
, posted July 6th, 2010 at 10:21 PM
BioWare and Star Wars: The Old Republic writer Drew Karpyshyn updated his blog with details about his ComicCon and Celebration V appearances:

However, the wait is worth it, because I have an update on my appearances at Comic Con in San Diego. I will be speaking on a BioWare/LucasArts panel on Friday from 1-2 pm. I'm also going to be signing books at the Random House booth from 4-5 pm on Friday. (We're trying to get some advance copies of Mass Effect: Retribution, but it's not a sure thing yet.)

Head over to his blog to read more.
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SWTOR News
7/2/10 3:17 PM -
Friday Update: E3 Multiplayer Demo 
by emlaeh
, posted July 2nd, 2010 at 3:17 PM
This week's friday update is the E3 Multiplayer Game Play Demo:

Sean Dahlberg said:
During E3 we gave live demos of multiplayer game play in The Old Republic™ for the press. Now we want to share the demo with the community! This demo shows how a diverse group of players use their abilities to complement one another in battle.

Commander Narlock readies his troops for an Imperial assault. As he does, all four Republic classes; a Jedi Consular, Jedi Knight, Smuggler, and Trooper join together to assist in fighting off the attack. Watch as each player does his or her part to take on the enemies, and beat the Imperial Troopers and Imperial Breach Droids.

See how group combat will be a thrilling part of The Old Republic in this Multiplayer Game Play Demo.

The downloadable and localized versions will be available next week.

Sean Dahlberg gives further insight about the video:

Sean Dahlberg said:
This is indeed another take of what happened during E3. In here you have Brian Arndt as the Smuggler, Rob Chestney as the Trooper, Cory as the Jedi Knight, and I played the Jedi Consular.

This was something shown during E3 on G4 but we wanted to give you a version that had no cuts from start to finish, where you got to hear the VO, and saw the same setup tackled in a slightly different way.

Working Dissection after the jump.

Last Updated: July 3 @ 1:22 PM EST
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SWTOR News
6/30/10 2:10 PM -
E3: General Information Learned 
by emlaeh
, posted June 30th, 2010 at 2:10 PM
We are back from over an hour and a half playing 6 of the 8 classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic, not including Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular. All official videos are posted on our YouTube channel. Although we will have more specific information about the classes shortly, we first wanted to give you a heads-up on some of our findings after the jump.

Updated: June 30 @ 5:40 PM EST
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SWTOR News
6/24/10 1:26 PM -
Official BioWare Stance On Game Testing Leaks 
by emlaeh
, posted June 24th, 2010 at 1:26 PM
Sean Dahlberg, Star Wars: The Old Republic™ Community Manager, posted a clarification of the Game Testing Agreement this morning:

We have seen many questions about the Game Testing Agreement and we want to clarify a few things.

1. Per the Game Testing Agreement, a user can state there is a Game Testing Program.
2. Per the Game Testing Agreement, when someone is selected for testing, they can disclose the fact that they are a member of the Game Testing Program.

That is the extent of it and anything else would be a violation of the Game Testing Agreement. Users that are found to post or even repost confidential materials will be permanently removed from the Game Testing Program and subject to discipline up to and including permanent removal from the service. This is not limited to screenshots of the game but taking "screen grabs" or sharing of confidential documentation and materials.

If you have any questions pertaining to this, ask them here.

We are intrigued regarding the use of the term "permanent removal from the service" language after stating removal from the Game Testing Program itself; this may indicate that BioWare and LucasArts are taking steps to permanently ban violators from subscribing to the retail version of the game.

Further clarifications after the jump.
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SWTOR News
6/23/10 6:32 PM -
Deceived Author Posts Excerpt From Upcoming Novel 
by emlaeh
, posted June 23rd, 2010 at 6:32 PM
Paul S. Kemp, author of Star Wars: The Old Republic™ novel Deceived, posted the following on his personal blog today:

I've received an affirmative from Del Ray, LucasArts, BioWare to post an excerpt from my forthcoming Star Wars novel, Deceived. As you know, the novel ties-in to the forthcoming MMORPG, The Old Republic, from Lucasarts/Bioware.

The excerpt features in prose a scene you'll recognize from the first cinematic trailer. Here, you get a sense of Malgus as a man. Note, this has not been copyedited and copyright belongs to the holder, all rights reserved, blah blah.

I hope you enjoy.
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SWTOR News
6/23/10 2:31 PM -
Rumor: Game Testing To Start Soon? 
by emlaeh
, posted June 23rd, 2010 at 2:31 PM
We noticed today that Sean Dahlberg of BioWare posted the following in a thread discussing Star Wars: The Old Republic™ game testing that wasn't locked, as per usual protocol, and used different language:

Hey everyone,

Thanks for the information and it's definitely interesting that people are posting about our Game Testing Program. We don't have anything official to say at this moment but if you have any questions, please check out the Game Testing Program FAQ.

We can confirm the image in the thread is similar to the launcher graphic we saw at E3, which gives some strength to the rumor in addition to the "yellow text post and no lock" response.

Update: Sean added more (Hat tip to Tyvarion) on the subject, reminding people what potential testers are allowed to say:

The Game Testing Agreement that was agreed upon (when signing up for game testing) states:

PERMITTED DISCLOSURES
1. The fact that there is a Game Program.
2. The fact that you are a member of the Game Program.

Outside of that, it is a violation of the agreement to do anything more such as posting images or screen captures of anything related to Game Testing that is private and confidential and not already publicly revealed by The Old Republic team.
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