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Hyperspace Beacon: One step forward...
You might notice that the Hyperspace Beacon changed its face a bit. That's because I'm reporting from the Guild Summit in Austin, Texas -- BioWare's headquarters. Over 250 guilds and fan sites were invited to not only see the team's plans for Star Wars: The Old Republic but also voice their ideas for what they want from the game. Of course, a game carrying the Star Wars name appeals to a large diverse group of people, and not just because of the Star Wars IP; BioWare has created a name for itself with incredible story-driven games like Mass Effect 3, which released this morning. Among the pre-summit discussion was the question of whether and how much BioWare leans on the Star Wars IP for the success of the game. The consensus among the guild leaders I spoke to was an interesting and surprising one: Although BioWare certainly leaned on Star Wars for the story elements of the game, the lack of huge success for the most recent LucasArts games suggests that the Star Wars IP actually leaned on BioWare's reputation. When I jumped into Q&A with the guild leaders, I half-expected a bunch of over-enthusiastic fanboys. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, although they were fans, those invited to this summit were very level-headed and oftentimes critical of the game's development. Thankfully, during the course of the summit, the developers were equally willing to address these concerns.
The agonizing wait for Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch date continues [Updated]
The multi-million dollar question that's been on every Star Wars: The Old Republic fan's lips can be summed up in one word: When? While we still don't know a precise date, we may be a step or two closer to finding out today. SWTOR fansite Darth Hater combed through a recent EA Q&A session with investors to pull a few pertinent details from CFO Eric Brown. When asked about the launch date for The Old Republic, Brown replied, "We haven't given a street date yet. We won't do so for some time, possibly at our next upcoming earnings call towards the end of October." This earnings call will take place on October 25th. EA also continues to stand by its backup plan of a launch delay if SWTOR isn't ready, giving the title room to possibly slip from holiday 2011 to early 2012. Brown explained the conditions that would trigger such a slip: "We did hold out a slight possibility that it could slip to our March quarter. And the factors that would cause a slip is, for example, us not being completely satisfied with the scalability testing, and wanting to tune it for several extra weeks." [Update: SWTOR's Stephen Reid has posted on the forums urging fans not to read too much between the lines of investor calls. "We are still very much aiming to ship in the holiday 2011 window (AKA, before the end of the year)," he says.] [Update#2: The transcript was actually done by Darth Hater, which Ask a Jedi copied and pasted. The correct source is now linked.]
Hyperspace Beacon: Star Tours [updated]
If you're a regular Massively reader, you're no doubt aware of the recent tour of BioWare Austin given to fan sites. For two fun-filled days, the staff members of Star Wars: The Old Republic fan sites were flown to Texas to play what is hopefully their favorite as-yet-unreleased game. I have to admit my slight jealously because I was not able to participate in this venture (or the similar press event because of scheduling issues). I am left to live vicariously through these very lucky individuals. The first day saw primarily PvE-related events. The developers let the fans play through about the first 10 levels of SWTOR with either the Bounty Hunter or Imperial Agent class. Most players were able to progress to the Black Talon flashpoint, which is the infamous kill-the-captain/save-the-captain flashpoint. The second day was all about PvP and the Alderaan Warzone. After the break, I have gathered up an array of videos, articles, and even a couple of songs about this incredible experience. This way, I am not the only one imagining a tour of the BioWare studios; you can dream along with me.
Hyperspace Beacon: Wonderful, we are now part of the tribe!
Last week, we mentioned that multiple fan sites took a trip to BioWare to tour the Austin studio, play Star Wars: The Old Republic, and interview the developers. It is a daunting task to sift through all that information to find the golden nuggets, but I've done my best to pull the most useful (or least-covered) quotes from different developers. This is by no means an exhaustive list! If you are someone who gobbles up every last bit of SWTOR news, then none of this will be new, but for everyone else: This is for you. Before I begin, let me send my thanks to great fans of the following sites for putting this incredible information together. I cannot wait to read and hear about your PvP experiences when you release them a bit later this week: Ask A Jedi, Corellian Run Radio, Darth Hater, Fureur, Gamona, InGame, Mos Eisley Radio, SWTOR.EU, SWTOR-FR, SWTOR Life, SWTOR-UK, TOROCast, TOR-Talk, TORSyndicate, and TORWars.
Hyperspace Beacon: Community exposé
Do you have a griefing problem? I know someone who does. If you or someone you know has a griefing problem, the Hypersace Beacon is here to help. Our 12-step program will take you from griefer scum to community leader in just a few short weeks. If you need proof of how well it works, just ask some of our satisfied clients, like Zach Brown of Mos Eisley Radio. This young man has completely turned his life around. Even his allies in Battlefield 2 were griefed by his antics. "I would do my best to get them killed, setting explosives in the helicopter," he explained to us this weekend at PAX East. But now he is clean and griefing-free. Don't waste another life because of your need for attention; call us today. For Zach's whole story, send him this tweet -- #effinBobCostas -- then keep watching Mos Eisley Radio's website this week for the full story. Communities are what make MMOs as great as they are. From World of Warcraft to Star Wars Galaxies, games lose their flavor over time, but players stick around because of the friends and communities that have been built through the MMO space. The game has not even announced a release date yet, but Star Wars: The Old Republic already has one of the strongest and dedicated communities. The paragraph above is part of an inside joke that some people who attended PAX will understand, but it's these bonding moments that make a gaming community what it is. At PAX this year, SWTOR fan sites from across America gathered not only at the Boston Convention Center but also at many places in downtown Boston. Although I will not be able give you all the gory details of Zach's griefing adventures -- you'll have to get that directly from him -- if you follow after the break, I will give you some of the inside scoop about other high-profile community members and the community team of BioWare.
