Fan-Friday
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SWTOR offers community Q&A, celebratory weekend discount
BioWare has often stated that fans are central Star Wars: The Old Republic's development. Decisions ranging from the weapon design to ranked warzones have been influenced by direct feedback from fans. So this week, the SWTOR community team has shifted its focus back on the fans by highlighting some of the extraordinary players of the game in the triumphant return of Fan Friday, which highlights (among others) the image above by Spartanash and others that display player characters in powerful poses and ornate outfits. The community team says that player Iwipe is an "incredible asset" to the community because of her helpful community guides. Specifically, her 1.2 Dailies and PvE Gear Guide, Hardmode Flashpoint Loot List, and Rakghoul Outbreak Guide top the list of her most impressive pieces. When asked why she writes these guides, she explained, "Forums are a great source of information but it takes time to dig through and find relevant info so I started writing guides and such to help the community out." The team has also posted this week's Community Q&A, which covers purple lightsaber crystals, guild mail, mentoring systems, cross-server legacy implementation, and more. And if that weren't enough, EA has put the whole game on sale for the weekend for just $34.44.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Smuggler and Sith Warrior fight it out
We know you're all busy, Star Wars: The Old Republic fans, but try to pry your eyes away from the shiny new game for just a minute because it's time for the final Choose Your Side video. This time, the match-up is between the wily, conniving Smuggler and the vicious, rage-driven Sith Warrior. So who will emerge the victor and who will be left eating the pavement? That's ultimately for you to decide, but if you'd like a little bit of help formulating your argument, just give the video a look and see what the game's developers have to say. All you have to do is click on past the cut.
SWTOR dev diary steps beyond story
Star Wars: The Old Republic separates itself from other MMORPGs by introducing the element of -- say it with me -- story. But how deep exactly is this wormhole? BioWare Writer Ian Ryan explains to us in the latest developer diary that a TOR writer's work is not done once the last word is penned. "Armed with [our] knowledge, we set out to provide feedback on each planet's art as it relates to story," Ryan reveals. The writers log into the game and play the levels they created story for. It is a collaborative effort. The writers attempt to give the environmental artist a clear picture of what best sets the scene for the stories they have created. In the gallery below, we have some before-and-after renders of the Promenade on Nar Shaddaa and the Blastfield Shipyards on Corellia. Both of these areas received major overhauls after the writers witnessed the first incarnation of the environments. Following the before-and-after pictures is a new piece of concept art of Corellia released for the fans. Lastly, we have featured some new pieces of art created by the SWTOR fans Micah_Vale, CuriousOne, and SkinRuder77. Enjoy. %Gallery-114430%
A smattering of topics from Star Wars: The Old Republic
Fridays mean new updates for fans eagerly waiting on Star Wars: The Old Republic, and while last week saw the kickoff of PAX East and a hands-on demo (which we played), this Friday sees discussion on a wide range of different aspects. For starters, the latest Fan Friday feature has been posted, showing off new concept art and a fansite spotlight as well as a few new Sith avatars for forumgoers. A new developer diary is also available, which discusses cinematic animations, one of the major selling points for the game. Certainly the motion capture helps, but as the diary notes, it's not quite as simple as suiting up some capture actors and getting their raw data. Even for a simple scene, there's some fairly elaborate work necessary to make the animation and overall environment feel convincing. The end of the entry is devoted to several community questions regarding flashpoints, fresh in everyone's mind after the aforementioned demo at PAX East. If you're curious about how loot will be balanced in a dungeon with multiple storyline options, take a look at the full entry to get a clearer picture of how the system will be implemented in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
SWTOR's Rich Vogel shares the spotlight with Mos Eisley Radio in this week's update
Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday is usually packed with a Corellian freighter full of information. Today, we have two freighters full. On the community side, Mos Eisley Radio answers some questions about running a SWTOR fansite. On the game side, concept artist Diego Almazan discusses designing the feel for the Sith Temple, and Executive Producer Rich Vogel answers questions from fans. Mos Eisley Radio has been mentioned quite a bit on this site as well as the official SWTOR website. This fansite's focus is a news-and-opinion podcast hosted by Brooks Guthrie and Zach Brown -- even this Massively reporter has appeared on the show. When asked what makes Mos Eisley Radio unique, the hosts replied, "We do our best to avoid bogging down in the tiny details of each update, and instead use the news coming from BioWare as a basis for larger discussions about The Old Republic." Check out the whole conversation on Fan Friday news page. Also, Diego Almazan gives us a peek backstage. He explains the details and thought process behind creating a tomb that also serves as a temple. "I wanted to keep in mind that this temple is as much an ancient prison for the dead as it is a tomb or necropolis," Almazan said the in the Studio Insider. Is this a clue that there may be something trying to get out? Lastly, Rich Vogel answers fan questions like, "Will Consulars be pigeonholed into one role?" Vogel was not shy when he answered, "Consulars, like our other classes, will have more than one viable role to play. One of our goals is to provide players multiple options within their classes." As if it was in question, Vogel also confirmed that we will indeed be able to jump in The Old Republic.
SWTOR devs answer your questions and release a preview for Deceived
It's Friday again. That means the community team at BioWare has been working frantically all week to give you a tidbit of Star Wars: The Old Republic that will leave you satisfied yet still aching for more. With the release of Jedi and Tython impressions earlier this week, it was going to be hard to top the plethora of information streaming from that event. However, the team has come very close. We start with the monthly Friday update in which developers answer player questions: Studio Insider. On top of the behind the scenes article about building Coruscant by World Designer Eric Young, Director of Production Dallas Dickinson answered 10 fan questions. The questions that stood out to this reporter were the PvP related questions, and the interesting one was a question about leveling with just PvP. Dickinson stated, "We're big fans of multiple gameplay paths -- we don't want to force you to do one thing to advance. That means you'll level up whether you're playing PvE or PvP." The teaser of information doesn't stop there. The Official Star Wars website released chapter two of Deceived, the novel by Paul S. Kemp, to the public. This portion of the book leads the reader through Darth Malgus' attack on the Jedi Temple as seen in the SWTOR trailer. If the book intrigues you, Massively was able to review an advanced copy of the book, and chapter one is also available for your personal review. It's an exciting SWTOR weekend!
Creating concepts for The Old Republic
Well, it's Friday again, and that, of course, means more news from Star Wars: The Old Republic. For those who are like this reporter and like to know the intricate details of how games are made, you are in luck. Once a month, BioWare gives us a glimpse of what it takes to produce a multi-million dollar MMO. This issue of the Studio Insider links us up with Concept Artist Diego Almazan and the creation of the Flesh Raider. "When starting a concept, it's important to get as much information as possible to help make the creature or object fit best in its place in the game," Almazan explains in the article. As with any piece of art, the Flesh Raider concept starts with rough sketches then to more fleshed out (pun intended) renders. Unlike concept art from just a few years ago, these concepts are digitally painted and without armor or other clothing so that these can be added in the next step. Colors and clothing can easily adjusted to fit the developer's vision. The article also highlights some questions about gameplay from SWTOR forum members answered by Lead Writer Daniel Erickson. Don't miss the full article on the official site and be sure to catch the latest SWTOR news here at Massively.
SWTOR finds a companion for the Jedi knight
In SWTOR's Deceived trailer, there was an odd shot of the Jedi leader giving a signal to an astromech droid. Per usual, the writers at BioWare do not put anything into their trailers without a specific reason. This past Friday, that little droid was revealed to be a companion for the Jedi knight class, named T7-O1 (tee seven - oh one). This little bot calls back to both T3-M4 of Knights of the Old Republic and, of course, R2-D2 of the Star Wars movies. In fact, his attitude is very similar to R2-D2's. According to the companion page on SWTOR's official site, he considers his owners to be more like partners and less like masters. T7-O1 was activated over two centuries before the Treaty of Coruscant and has yet to be memory-wiped in that whole time. He remembers every organic he has ever worked with, from the petty smugglers, to Senator Oodora of Manaan, to Captain Nico Okarr, and to Jedi Master Ven Zallow, whom we witnessed being killed by Darth Malgus in the previously mentioned trailer. For your Jedi knight character, you can expect this droid to be an invaluable source of information. His surveillance, cartography, and data-slicing skills are unmatched. BioWare has not revealed where your Jedi knight will meet T7-O1, just like every other companion mentioned for this game, but rest assured, he's waiting for you somewhere in that galaxy far, far away.
Cats invade Star Wars: The Old Republic in this week's Fan Friday
The community of Star Wars: The Old Republic did not quite make the Twitter and Facebook goals, so the developers decided to punish us by announcing another species that we will not be able to play. (Just kidding, it wasn't punishment.) In addition to spotlighting fan art and video, this week's Fan Friday column mentions Cathar as being another species players of SWTOR will bump into on their travels across the galaxy. The feline species from the planet bearing the same name was first mentioned by name in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith, but gamers are probably more familiar with it from the other BioWare game, Knights of the Old Republic. Although the devs did not say where or how the players will run into this highly anticipated species, fans are hoping for a Cathar companion character. As mentioned above, the social media goal was not reached. Even so, the community team did give the fans some gifts. The Fan Site Kit has been updated with more digital goodies. New avatars, screenshots, and biographical images can now grace your SWTOR fan site. Not to mention, the team has included six new desktop wallpaper images straight from the exciting "Hope" trailer. Be sure to check out all of this and the amazing new fan art on the official SWTOR site.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's 'heady' sneak peek at character customization
As you can see from the image above, this week's Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday brings us a peek at some of the customization options for character heads. There's also another work-in-progress video, this time of the Force Lightning powers as used by the Sith Inquisitor. The game continues to look better at a very consistent rate. So much so, that we wouldn't be too surprised if BioWare has some really exciting stuff to show off at E3 2010. Moving back into the now, this week's fan art highlight is by community member Hazaz who's got some really great stuff that we think is worth checking out. However, this "Short History of the Sith for Newbies" guide on the official forums is a recommended read for any Star Wars fan, regardless of their interest in the game. But tread carefully or you may lose your entire weekend -- or a few hours, depending on your reading speed -- to the uncaring black depths that is Star Wars lore.
Star Wars: The Old Republic fansite kit now available
Some exciting stuff is happening for the Star Wars: The Old Republic community, or at least for anyone interested in running a fansite dedicated to the game. BioWare has released a pretty awesome fansite kit as a part of the newest Fan Friday and it's packed with all sorts of useful goodies like high-res concept art and game logos. We can't wait to see what some of the more creatively inclined members of the community will do with it. In other fan-related stuff, BioWare's released a new video short of a mini-gun animation that's pretty great. There's also some really, really cool fan art by forum user StandAlone. You can see one example of his awesome skills above, but we urge you to take a look at a couple other works, too.
SWTOR fan friday introduces 'Developer Corner' feature
Fan art and fan fiction are in full effect in this week's Fan Friday for Star Wars: The Old Republic. However, BioWare's added something new to the mix this week -- the Developer Corner. Before getting to that, we'd like to briefly mention that the above preview of scars for our potential characters is superb. We especially appreciate the wide range of options, some of which show of the ability of the game's graphics engine to render subtle details. The new Developer Corner segment offers the briefest peek at in-progress game elements that are intended to be interesting and completely new. It may not always be a video, but as it happens we lucked out. This week features a short video clip that's void of sound yet full of grandiose level design strokes. Focus is on the Imperial military base of Sobrikill Valley on the planet of Balmorra, where the Republic is raining down laser bombs like nobody's business. Thankfully, the Imperials have setup a large force field overhead, which creates some significant visual oomph. We can only imagine what it must look like from the ground level!
Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday introduces MS Paint and CYOA
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Fan Friday is back with another week's worth of fan-tastic goodness. Given the enduring legacy of the Star Wars franchise (and we're not just talking films and games here), it's no surprise that Lucas' creation is still one of the pinnacles of sci fi.But back to The Old Republic. As part of the latest Fan Friday segment on the official site, this week's showcase of what the community has been up to is actually quite revealing. There's a Choose Your Own Adventure and a really interesting tutorial showing how to create your own artwork using (of all things) MS Paint that really shows what this much derided freebie program is capable of. Finally there's a new official poll and a peek at some Trooper avatars.
The Old Republic introduces new Fan Fridays
It's always an amazing thing when a newly-announced MMO has such a strong fanbase before the game even enters beta. To honor the die-hards of Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare's community team has just announced the all new Fan Fridays. This is an opportunity for BioWare to publicly commend those players who shine in the forums or otherwise create notable content for the community.In this very first installment of Fan Friday, they spotlight three members: JensenBakura, Standalone and caine. Check out the complete news article at TOR's community page for more information on these players' contributions, and how you can be mentioned in a future article.
