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Hyperspace Beacon: Holocron Files -- Chiss
For some players, deciding which species to play in Star Wars: The Old Republic comes down to which skin tone is the coolest. Wasn't it said when the species were first announced that the choices were human with blue skin, human with green skin, bald human, human with head tails, and human with horns? Although hyperbolic, the sentiment contains an element of truth, especially when judged by aesthetics alone. Then again, no one complains in fantasy games when you have a choice between human, short human, and human with pointy ears. Elves and dwarves are viewed through the lens of pre-existing culture and folk-lore. The Holocron Files are designed to lay the cultural foundation for some of SWTOR's species. From the horned Zabrak to the red-skinned Sith Pureblood, each Star Wars species has a rich history and backstory. Thankfully, BioWare kept that in mind when considering which species you could play. In honor of my newest character, it's only fitting that we discuss the Chiss this week.
Hyperspace Beacon: Human High Culture
BioWare games are notorious for interweaving allegories on racism in their plotlines. If you take Mass Effect, for example, Navigator Pressly was a human who had major issues with aliens -- especially Turians. Inversely, the Citadel Council was definitely prejudiced against humans because the human species was rather new to Citadel space and rising to power too quickly by the Council's standards. These undertones help give the Mass Effect story depth and real-world relevance. Although it's not an overt plot point in the Star Wars series of movies, speciesism does sometimes play a heavy hand in the Expanded Universe. In the Galactic Empire, this is known as Human High Culture. In the high political offices of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine, humans were regarded as superior to other species of the galaxy. Humans were, after all, most numerous, and they also did not originate from a single planet like most species. But the roots of the Human High Culture date back further than the events in Star Wars: The Old Republic. They may date all the way back to the first Dark Jedi to rule over the Sith people on Korriban. With this idea of Human High Culture in mind, I would like to talk about the species available to the SWTOR Imperial classes. In the May edition of PC Gamer UK, an over-ambitious reporter incorrectly announced a list of species and class combinations. What I would like to do today is make my own list based on what I know of Star Wars lore and announced species in the game. Continue after the break as I compile the list.
Spy the SWTOR Imperial Agent!
When BioWare gives out so much information about one class, where do you start? We now have confirmation of the Sniper DPS sub-class and the support/healing Operative class for the Imperial Agent. Also, we know more about the Chiss' origins, the Agent's starship, and the Agent class' combat role in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Chiss hail from the the unknown regions of galactic space, and their advanced Ascendancy evolved independently from the Republic and the Sith Empire. Despite having a grand army these blue-skinned humanoids prefer to handle war through negotiation and espionage. So when the Sith Empire brought its fleet to conquer Chiss Space, instead of being met by brute force as in other systems, the Empire was met by diplomatic messages. These negotiations allowed for the Chiss to become the only true ally of the Sith Empire. As with any spy for the Empire, the Agent needs the most advanced starship one can find. In this case, we are talking about the X70B-Phantom-class Prototype. The superior technology of this starship prevents it from being mass-produced, so it is only given to the best operatives. The shape and haul keep the craft off most radars, and the navigation system will not be seen on any other ship for the next couple of decades. Generally, the training for an Imperial Agent will go one of two ways. Secrecy and stealth are the weapons of the Agent, and much like its Republic counterpart, the Smuggler Scoundrel, the Operative can specialize in medical technology as well. However, unlike the Smuggler Gunslinger DPS class, the Sniper's advantage is the distance and precision of rifles instead of the Gunslinger's rapid-fire dual short-ranged pistols. Be sure to check out the gallery of concept art and screenshots below, and don't miss the Agent's teaser video after the break. %Gallery-106262%
Hyperspace Beacon: Forced species
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. This week I was excited about the new species introduced to Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the lore-lover in me is still extremely elated despite what some of the commenters said on the announcement article. However, I've had time to think about a few things, and the seed of internal conflict sowed itself in my fanboy psyche. It did not break me, but I do question some of the decisions BioWare has made regarding species-to-class choices. I do not like to draw attention to negative posts because I believe arguments can be made without berating other people and defiling the English language. But one of the posts in the recent space-combat-on-rails article reflected some of the fans' sentiment towards the game when the poster said this about BioWare's developers: "They have their formula and every new game is just fresh paint." Although I don't think it is exactly that simple, there is a bit of truth in that statement. But that does not, by any means, destine this game for failure (right, Final Fantasy?). BioWare does have a formula, but when it sticks to this formula, it usually produces something very successful. BioWare's mantra is "story." The company has chanted this from the first day SWTOR was announced, yet for me something still seems a bit amiss. Upon examining past BioWare games, I am not quite sure the reasons for tying species to a specific class actually make sense -- at least not for the reasons the company offers. Perhaps when you follow me through the rest of this article you can help me resolve this inner conflict.
Hyperspace Beacon: The bald and the blue
As some of you may be aware, I love the whole idea of roleplaying and storytelling in an MMO setting. Also -- which should be more than evident -- I am a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise. As a roleplayer, I always like the idea of being able to do whatever I want in an MMO -- truly creating my own story. I like it when a developer gives me the blocks, and I stack them the way I want to. I build my castle the way I envision it. So you can imagine when I heard there were class restrictions on races in Star Wars: The Old Republic, I said (and I quote), "LOLOMGWTGDairyQueen-LOLOMGBBtheQ!™" I thought it was a really, really bad idea. How was I going to make my pink, cybernetic, Nightsister Wookiee? Then I realized that particular Wookiee would totally be unimmersing, which is exactly what I despise about a good chunk of MMOs. So after dealing with my temporary bout with insanity, I realized immersion was more important than my desire to play with blocks, but I still wanted to make these characters the best they could be. Now it was time to find out as much as I could about the species I will be able to play. Follow me after the break to see what I found. ™ LOLOMGWTGDairyQueen-LOLOMGBBtheQ! is the trademarked (not really) catch phrase of Morte of the Oxhorn Brand Machimina
Hyperspace Beacon: E3 -- extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game Star Wars: The Old Republic. We have been teased, taunted, and tantalized this week before the Electronic Entertainment Expo, so much so SWTOR fans don't know topsy from turvy. In this Hyperspace Beacon, released just hours before Electronic Arts' press conference at the Expo, I will hopefully give you the lowdown on the latest news and perhaps help you appreciate the magnitude of the startling reveals. On the surface they may seem like hyped-up teases with very little to latch on to, but I believe they have exposed quite a bit. As Massively reporters packed their bags to head to Los Angeles, Bioware did not stop tossing tidbits at its diligent disciples. First, we were treated with a hands-on walkthrough from Gamespot detailing the beginning quest for most of the starting classes. Twi'leks and chiss were cited as playable species in this revealing report. Also, Gametrailers.com probed the path behind producing an exciting E3 trailer. Besides touring Blur studios, the interview taunted us with a brief look into this year's animated short story. Continue on after the break to find more insight into the extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition that is this year's E3.
