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BioWare releases new TOR inhabitants entries
It may be the biggest shopping day of the year, but that hasn't stopped BioWare from coming through with its traditional Friday update for The Old Republic. Today's calibrated leak focuses on some new inhabitants made available in the Holonet database: the terentatek, the vine cat, the Sith pureblood, the M3-M1 med droid and the S3-F5 probe droid. Staying true to our fanboy training, we jumped right to the Sith pureblood page and found out that this humanoid is a descendant of the original Sith species and features a long history of involvement with the dark side of the Force. The rate of Force sensitivity among purebloods is near 100 percent, and these individuals exhibit many of the visual characteristics of the original Sith race. Check out the Holonet inhabitants page for more info.
SWTOR's Ilum a crystal-clear win for the Sith
While Hoth may take the spotlight whenever someone wants to interview a winter-bound planet in the Star Wars universe, the scrappy planet of Ilum is out to make a name for itself. Star Wars: The Old Republic's 16th announced planet is a remote ball of ice that just so happens to be a major source of lightsaber crystals. Ilum used to be owned by the Republic, but the Sith have since made great headway in conquering the planet and hogging all of those saber-licious crystals all to themselves. BioWare's also hinted at a mystery that goes well beyond a mere resource grab. Although we hate to invoke Hoth in comparison, if you liked the Rebel's base in The Empire Strikes Back, then you're going to feel right at home in Ilum's ice-and-crystal outposts. You can read up on Ilum at TOR's Holonet, and watch the quick flyby video after the jump.
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.
Hasbro working on The Old Republic action figures for 2012
If you're anything like the other billion Star Wars fans in the world, then you most likely harbor a deep-rooted affection for the action figures (NOT dolls!) that became synonymous with the film experience. Ever since Kenner started the toy line in 1977 (and Hasbro after that), kids and grownups alike have decorated their bedrooms, offices and private sanctuaries with hard plastic likenesses of Luke, Leia and Chewie. Star Wars action figures have not been confined to just the movies; sets such as Evolutions, Clone Wars, and Shadows of the Empire have all received their own lines. To have action figures made meant that you had "arrived" in Star Wars fame, which is why The Old Republic fans should rejoice to know that their as-of-yet unreleased MMO will become immortalized in Hasbro's lineup. TTH reports that Hasbro's Derryl DePriest confirmed TOR action figures are in the works for the 2012 roster. DePriest said on ForceCast.net, "We're going to have to work in some of those great characters." Just which TOR characters will be made into dolls, er, ACTION FIGURES is anyone's guess at the moment, but there are already several possibilities in the characters we know from the cinematic trailers and the Holonet.
BioWare confirms Jedi Advanced Classes
Tweet var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/BioWare_confirms_Jedi_Advanced_Classes_for_SWTOR'; For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. So says sage Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope (of course he conveniently leaves out the fact that the Order also kidnaps babies for indoctrination, but hey no one's perfect!). Following on from the guardian of peace and justice motif, BioWare has released the first bits of information on Advanced Classes for Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jedi Knight characters, confirming rumors that have been circulating for the past week. Advanced Jedi Knights come in two flavors -- Guardians and Sentinels, with the former seemingly filling the traditional tank role and the latter using dual lightsabers to pump out the damage. Interestingly, the Sentinel Holonet description mentions "control and focus are the hallmarks" of the class. Could that be a nod to crowd control abilities as well? Be sure to check out the official SWTOR website for the updated Jedi Knight Holonet entry as well as a brief video showing the class in action, found just after the jump.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's hidden messages
"Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future," were Yoda's words from The Empire Strikes Back, but contrary to the Jedi Master's belief, most of the time there are clues to what our future holds. Like the smell right before a rain storm, or little ticks of involuntary action that give away when someone is bluffing in poker, or that face your mother used to give you which said you were in trouble, clues to what the future holds are everywhere. Star Wars: The Old Republic is no exception. Clues to what the game holds are hidden all over its website. Alyssa Gobelle is the web designer for SWTOR. She has done a beautiful job of constructing a site that is entertaining as well as interesting to look at. Although the busy lettering, Aurebesh, entices the eyes, it also gives away secrets to the game. In April, Gobelle was interviewed by the Holonet Project fan site, where she revealed that the messages are totally intentional: "When they first brought me on, our first major task was to design the HoloNet. We wanted the HoloNet's voice to be as much 'within the lore of the game' as possible so we 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." Continue after the break to find out what some of these "hidden teases" are. Perhaps you can help me figure out what the rest of them mean.
BioWare adds SWTOR holonet biographies
Fridays are traditionally a day for BioWare to let slip a little bit more info about their upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. Today is no different, as the official web site has been updated with a brand new Holonet feature called Biographies. The new section is arranged by faction, and to kick things off, BioWare has tidbits on Grand Moff Kilran ('the Butcher of Coruscant'), Nemro the Hutt, and Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan. As is also tradition around the official site, there are a few blank spaces left visible to whet our collective appetites for future updates. Check out the news release as well as the bio page proper.
BioWare details new TOR planet, web comic
BioWare has released preliminary details on another planetary play field from their upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. Belsavis plays host to an ominous Republic prison facility, apparently used to process all manner of Sith, Mandalorians, and troublesome aliens of various species. Check out Belsavis' HoloNet entry, don't forget to watch the video, oh and there's also the media section featuring screens, wallpapers, and lore. BioWare has also partnered up with Lucasarts and Dark Horse Comics to bring you Blood of the Empire, a new web comic by senior writer Alexander Freed. The title, set prior to the Treaty of Coruscant, promises to shed some light on the machinations of the Emperor's inner circle as well as inform portions of The Old Republic's extensive back story. Check out a preview panel from the forthcoming comic.
HoloNet centralizes Star Wars: The Old Republic information
Do you sometimes wish there was a centralized hub of information regarding BioWare's upcoming fully-voiced MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic? We wish for these and many other things from BioWare in general. Thankfully, our wishes seem to have been answered in party with the HoloNet, a one-stop shop for your official information requirements.The HoloNet is a web version of an actual in-game feature that doles out details on classes, planets, factions, and even gives a timeline of Old Republic History.Will this be the only in-game feature to cross over to the web? And how much are the two versions of the HoloNet connected, if at all? These are all very good questions, but unfortunately ones that do not currently have answers. We'll just hide those away until Star Wars: The Old Republic interviews makes become available, which will hopefully be sooner than we all expect.
