Dathomir
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Hyperspace Beacon: A mystical energy field controls my destiny
I find it extremely interesting that the most poignant and memorable lines spoken in the original trilogy are not said by the primary protagonist, Luke Skywalker. Instead, the majority are spoken by Yoda or Ben Kenobi, and in this case, Han Solo quipped this line: "Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense." When I watch the first in this series of memorable films, I find it extremely fascinating how this bit of exposition was seamlessly woven into the the movie's narrative, especially given that, in the later films, exposition was set aglow with neon lights and explosive fireworks. Although an earlier scene set up what the Jedi were, this conversation between Han and Obi-Wan while the latter trained Luke really shows what the Force is: a mystical energy field that can control your actions or obey your commands. The premise was the set-up for many hokey religions and ancient weapons to be birthed in the Star Wars universe. I would like to take some time to explore the other religions born from the Force. Granted, this will not be exhaustive, but it should give you a taste of some of the possible "simple tricks and nonsense" (as Han Solo called it) that we may run into in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Star Wars Galaxies looks to the latest update and beyond
The most recent update to Star Wars Galaxies was a big one all around, adding in the Wookiee Life Day event for the holiday and new content for the Witches of Dathomir. So it's no surprise that the newest producer's letter from Teesquared focuses on several sides of the multifaceted update -- but it doesn't stop there. The letter also addresses some of what players can expect to kick off the next year, as well as notes that the Rebels have regained control of the ongoing Galactic Civil War. For starters, players can expect the long-awaited update to Officers and the Galactic Civil War 2 update, with the latter bringing space and player cities into the ongoing struggle for the galaxy. Players can also look forward to some new old structures becoming available -- according to the letter, the models have existed in the game files but haven't ever been quite finished and implemented before now. And the update promises to give characters more ways to access Rare Loot System chests that don't rely upon the more frequent method of combat. Star Wars Galaxies players should take a look at the full letter and start getting excited about the new year -- it's not so far away.
Star Wars Galaxies begins the Witch trials
The Force witches have ruled Dathomir for over 600 years, and SOE has decided to place renewed focus on these unique characters in Star Wars Galaxies with its new update simply titled The Witches of Dathomir. Limited information has been given regarding what this update entails, but we were given hints in our email interview with producer Tony Tyson. This weekend, the prologue to the update was placed on SWG's test server. Further clues to what this feature holds were given to us in forum posts by developers. The quest starts when you visit Warlord Omogg, who is looking to hire people willing to explore the wilds of Dathomir. The prologue allows the player to align either with the Nightsisters or the Singing Mountain Clan, two major opposing factions of witches. Although the rest of the story has yet to be revealed, Mikkel "Hjal" Jensen, Lead Designer for SWG, assures us in a couple of forum posts, "You'll be able to switch sides so you'll be able to do both sides of the themepark," and "both the prologue and the theme park are going to have some rewards unique to each side [faction] and some rewards that are the same for both sides [factions]." Be sure to sign up for the SWG Test Center in your Station Launcher to get a sneak peek at this highly anticipated update.
Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. In a world where speculation runs rampant, it seems everyone has his own ideas of what is going to be in Star Wars: The Old Republic. From swoop races to appearance tabs, we have heard them all, but, to be quite frank, it is very unlikely that most of these speculated items will ever make it into the final release of this highly anticipated game. Also, some of the ideas are so far removed from anything that would make sense in the game, that I have a hard time wrapping my wee-little brain around them. I won't name any here because I still want people to read the column, but if your friend's head twitches when you tell him your wicked-cool idea, then it probably will not make it in the game. In this week's column, I want to go the other direction. Sometimes producers, writers, and game designers will pitch ideas that cause uncontrollable ticks for the listeners, but, for some unknown reason, the design launches anyway. Every once in a while, I would like to turn our attention to some of these kooky concepts in series I like to call: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will -- or WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW, for short. Click "Read more" to read about the first couple of things I am praying do not find their way into the game.
