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BioWare links SWTOR and KOTOR in a new novel
Just about everyone who has played Knights of the Old Republic wants to know what happened to Revan after the game was done. After all, he was the main character for 60-plus hours of gameplay. Who wouldn't be attached? BioWare announced today that those fans will get their wishes fulfilled. Drew Karpyshyn, a principal writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and author of the Bane novels, has set his pen to another Star Wars book. This one simply titled after its primary protagonist: Revan. In an interview on the official SWTOR website, Karpyshyn gives us a tease as to how this novel will relate to the new MMORPG. I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh. The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can't say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game. Although he does not mention an exact date for the book's release, we do know that it will come later this year. This reporter hopes that it is before the release of SWTOR.
Hyperspace Beacon: More hidden messages
A little over a month ago, I mentioned there were hidden messages within the Star Wars: The Old Republic website. Site designer Alyssa Gobelle had some fun and riddled all the pages with Aurebesh phrases. This gives the site not only an interesting aesthetic but also a direct tie to the story being told. Gobelle said to The Holonet Project in an interview, "[W]e planned to add some generic Aurebesh to start. But we also wanted to add some hidden teases and notes for you guys to devour and ponder upon and play with. Give some more fuel to the speculation festivities." For those who aren't aware what Aurebesh is, I will explain briefly. Obviously, since Star Wars happens a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the language is not going to be the same as ours. The accepted history of the "language" starts in 1993 when a graphic designer for West End Games, Stephan Crane, wanted to add some extra flavor to the Star Wars Miniatures Battles Companion. So based on symbols seen in Dark Forces and monitor readouts from Return of the Jedi, he created one corresponding Aurebesh letter for every English letter. And the name Aurebesh, like the English word alphabet, is derived from the first two letters: Aurek and Besh. (Alphabet is from the Greek letters Alpha and Beta.) This week we dive into the messages hidden within the Biography pages and into a bonus screenshot that may give us some insight into a PvP mechanic. Follow me after the break to help me unravel these mysteries.
Hyperspace Beacon: PAX holo-journal
You are reading your guide to Star Wars: The Old Republic and beyond! The scoop on EA-BioWare's next great MMORPG is brought to you here in the Hyperspace Beacon. As everyone should know at this point, Penny Arcade Expo exposed players to the latest video game experiences this past weekend in Seattle, Washington. Three representative from Massively attended this extraordinary event. Contributing editors Justin Olivetti, Rubi Bayer, and I braved the cross-country travel to the "sleepless" city. Although we were there to get interviews and impressions of all MMO games, we each had our own specific games that we wanted to see in action. Justin came to see Lord of the Rings Online. Turbine was demonstrating its free-to-play model. Rubi wanted to see DDO and, of course, Guild Wars 2. In fact, we could barely tear her away from GW2's booth for more than five minutes at a time. And I had one goal in mind for the weekend: play Star Wars: The Old Republic. Follow my daily adventures in SWTOR at PAX after the break.
Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer requests your silence, meatbags
Wondering when you'd get a chance to see that meatbag-hating droid HK-47 make his return? This latest Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer delivers just that. Also, it seems KotOR's Darth Revan will make an appearance in the game. Hope he'll be happy to see us!
Statement: Snarky assassin droid steals the show in PAX TOR trailer
It was starting to feel like forever since any new information had come out of The Old Republic's well-oiled marketing machine. Happily, a new video released at PAX 2010 has temporarily quenched the drought and simultaneously provided a glimpse into ground-based combat in BioWare's upcoming Star Wars opus. The trailer is heavy on dialogue and even heavier on exposition, as BioWare shows us lengthy snippets of a conversation between a player group and an NPC officer who offers them the opportunity to poke around the former stomping grounds of the legendary Darth Revan. There's a bit of battle footage thrown into the mix as well, but the highlight of the two-minute video is undoubtedly the appearance of everyone's favorite assassin droid. Check out the footage after the cut or on the official website.
BioWare teases new holorecord entry
It's Friday, so that must mean it's time for another incremental information leak from the folks over at BioWare. Today, the official Star Wars: The Old Republic website has updated with a new Timeline holorecord focusing on the Jedi Civil War and narrated by Jedi Master Gnost-Dural (the unmistakable Lance Henriksen). The video covers some familiar ground for Knights of the Old Republic fans, as it brings us up to speed concerning the search for the Star Forge, the exploits of Darths Revan and Malak, and the introduction of fan favorite Bastila Shan. The narrative also hints at upcoming exposition regarding the legendary Mandalorian Wars, as well as Revan's mysterious vanishing act. "Though Revan was ultimately redeemed and restored peace to the galaxy, he disappeared afterward in search of a great darkness in Deep Space. Through his investigation, Master Gnost-Dural now confirms that this great darkness is the Sith Empire the Jedi Order battles today," says the press release. You can view it here, or jump directly to the video.
Hyperspace Beacon: Empires strike back
Welcome, space traveler to another addition of the Hyperspace Beacon. Gear yourself up, and you may want to take out a notepad. We are delving deep into Star Wars lore this week. This will set the stage for future additions of the Hyperspace Beacon. I hope to not only answer some of your questions but also bring more questions to mind. Sith Empires have always played a huge role in Star Wars history. In fact, with few exceptions, any time there was a major threat to the galaxy it came in the form of a Sith Empire. Sith Empires can be traced back as far as one hundred thousand years before the destruction of the first Death Star with the first Sith'ari, Adas. Adas was the first to unite the red-skinned Sith race under one banner. But these first Sith were not Force-wielders in the same vein as the Dark Jedi who followed them. Following the break I will share how the Great Sith Empires came to be, the wars that surround them, how they are tied to the Empire in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and some of my speculation on what will be revealed in the game.
