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Ask Massively: Early access pre-order hooray edition
We could pretend that the important story of last week was something other than the launch of pre-orders for Star Wars: The Old Republic, but that would be a lie. I know I went straight down to pre-order my copy as soon as I was done with some work in the morning. As usual, it wasn't without controversy -- issues over staggered pre-order releases, limited quantities, and my personal favorite, the fear that it might include some sort of microtransactions in its business model. You know, like every other major subscription game on the market. Before you ask, I got the regular edition. I'm not paying three times the price for a statue. Anyway, this week's Ask Massively is pretty heavily tied into the pre-order talk, what with questions about release dates and the state of no-trial launches. As always, you can feel free to ask a question for a future installment of the column via mail to ask@massively.com, or you can just toss your question in the happy comment field below.
Star Wars Blu-ray deleted scenes revealed (video)
If you didn't make it down to Comic-Con or grab the Early Access iPad app, Star Wars fans can still get a preview of the upcoming Blu-ray set with this teaser trailer. Just under a minute long, it features shots from some of the deleted scenes that will be included when Star Wars: The Complete Saga is released on September 16th. Never saw the Tatooine Sandstorm, Rebel base Wampa attack or Endor bunker assault? Press play.
Interview with BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk details studio philosophy and more
BioWare holds a reputation in the gaming community for consistently releasing polished, high-quality games, especially when it comes to in-depth narratives. Have you ever wondered about the studio's philosophy in regard to game creation? Ever wondered what it is that drives BioWare, and moreover -- since this is Massively, after all -- how it influences the ongoing development of Star Wars: The Old Republic? In a rather lengthy interview with Gamasutra, BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk give gamers a peek behind the curtain at what really makes BioWare tick. There's a plethora of interesting information in the interview, ranging from the company's philosophy of imbuing each game with emotion -- leading to the strong narratives for which BioWare is so renowned -- to the qualities Ray and Greg think will separate The Old Republic from the elephant in the room that is World of Warcraft. The interview itself is far too lengthy to adequately summarize in the length of a news post, but one point that stands out is that, despite being an absolute powerhouse in the gaming industry, BioWare still focuses heavily on humility. Being able to admit when mistakes have been made and learning from the experience is something that many studios could certainly learn from. For the full, information-packed interview, head on over to Gamasutra.
The Old Republic expected launch window confirmed
EA's financial results report was released to the public today, and alongside the various bits of fiscal information is one important tidbit for fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic. On page 17 of the document, we find "The Packaged Goods title release schedule excludes Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is expected to launch in either Q2 FY12 or Q3 FY12," where Q2 FY12 and Q3 FY12 correspond to July through September and October through December, respectively, of this year. This is obviously excellent news for those who are anticipating The Old Republic's release, and it's aptly timed to boot, coming to light on Intergalactic Star Wars Day. Given that the last piece of information we heard regarding The Old Republic's launch was back in March, we're heartened to see that EA is still holding strong for a 2011 release. If you're the sort of person who likes numbers and financial information for some unholy reason, the document in its entirety is available for your perusal. Fan site Darth Hater has parsed the earnings call itself, noting that EA has also confirmed that SWTOR will be launched as a "Digital Service" under a subscription model.
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.
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.
LucasArts confirms recent layoffs, restates commitment to internal development
LucasArts confirmed to Joystiq this afternoon that it "recently made a minor adjustment in staffing," confirming today's report of layoffs (via George Broussard's tweet). The company issued a statement confirming redundancies, but not detailing any specifics. "LucasArts recently made a minor adjustment in staffing to help us better address the needs of the business," a LucasArts representative told us. "We remain committed to our internal studio -- and to fostering relationships with trusted external partners -- in order to deliver quality games that amaze and inspire fans." This marks the second time LucasArts has let go of staff in the latter half of 2010 -- an unknown number of developers were released back in September, mirroring actions the studio took in 2008 (just prior to the launch of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed). However, unlike what we heard of the previous round of layoffs, Broussard believes the recent cuts affected "a team working on an unannounced game." LucasArts offered no comment regarding that speculation.
InstantAction dies in an instant, future of embedded gaming looks questionable
Well, that was brief. Just a few short months after InstantAction went public with its embedded browser-based gaming platform at GDC 2010, the Oregon-based startup has gone belly-up. If you missed out on what this here outfit was offering, you clearly aren't alone -- but for the historians in attendance, we'd invite you to revisit our hands-on for an overview of what was planned. Unfortunately, the company has yanked all of its Vimeo clips detailing the system's features, and its website now affirms that the service as a whole is "no longer available." We're hearing that it'll be selling the underlying Torque Game Engine (and presumably that fancy "chunking" tech that enabled games to be played in a browser with just a broadband connection), but based on the tepid response so far, we're guessing it won't fetch much. We definitely saw a bit of promise in the concept -- after all, browser-based games like Solipskier are all the rage in some circles -- but bona fide console / PC games simply don't fit that mold, or so it seems.
Kinect Star Wars not due until holiday 2011
No matter how many times you call up LucasArts and suggest in your best Jedi voice, "You will release Kinect Star Wars soon," the game apparently won't be out until holiday 2011. Kinect evangelist and creative lead Kudo Tsunoda told the BBC as much in a recent interview, calling it and an upcoming Forza project the two Kinect-enabled games he's most excited for next year. "We have a Kinect Star Wars game coming out for next holiday," Tsunoda said. "I've seen a bunch of the game and it's super compelling." Presumably he's seen more than what we saw at E3 this year, clumsily demonstrated in this video. "Another one next year is Forza," he added, alluding to vague plans to integrate Kinect into the racing franchise, before boasting that it was "the best racing game of this generation of consoles." "Those are the two games I'm most excited about," Tsunoda concluded. As far as 2011's current Kinect prospects go, those would seem like safe picks, but we're wondering if developers aren't thinking outside the box enough -- just imagine if you were to somehow combine the two concepts ... perhaps mounting light sabers on high-end race cars? Now that would be something exciting enough to get us off the couch.
Hyperspace Beacon: Beyond the scope
You only have to go as far as the official forums to see the concern over what Star Wars: The Old Republic is offering. I have a major question: Do the concerns have merit? I had an unofficial discussion with my editor, Bree Royce, about the whole idea of complaining to a large gaming company like BioWare. Although I maintain that there is far too much complaining about features that the game will never have, Bree argued that the potential players of the game should continue to complain at every opportunity. What other way can they motivate a top-tier gaming company to deliver the game they want? After some thought, I agreed, but what happens to player desires that exceed the game's scope? I would like to think that developers would re-evaluate the scope of the project if enough people complained, but in truth, that level of reconstruction is expensive. For a game that is already as expensive as SWTOR, I just don't see it happening. The few things that have been changed, like the size of the lightsaber hilts and the Wizard title, are really small things. However, things like taking space combat out of the tunnel are a bit more time-consuming, not to mention costly, and so they are less likely to be changed. But as Bree suggested to me, what other avenue do players have? What I'd like to talk about this week are a few of the top desires of the community, desires that push the scope of SWTOR. I will give the reasons I believe they are pushing the scope of the game, but I would really like to have your involvement. Why do you think these things were implemented the way they were, or why will they not be implemented? Step beyond the break to see my thoughts.
The Soapbox: Episode II - A New Hype
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect that of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Well golly, I think it's time for a bit of contrarian opinion regarding The Old Republic. I know, I know, I don't write about TOR aside from the occasional news post, but here is one of the many joys of Massively (and more specifically, the Soapbox). We all play a lot of games and have pretty strong opinions about them regardless of whether or not they're our bread and butter. So, while my day job consists of covering sword and sorcery titles for our fine website, it's hard to get away from the oncoming repulsorlift hype train that is The Old Republic. Several months back, I wrote a Daily Grind in which I basically said that all the hoopla surrounding the game was getting tiresome. Predictably, crucifixion by comments ensued, all for daring to question the supremacy of both BioWare and Star Wars. The fact that a minority opinion generated so much rancor (yeah, I went there) got me to thinking about TOR, BioWare, and the unrestrained optimism that often characterizes MMO fandom in general. On a purely personal level, my fire has gone out of the Star Wars universe, the fandom is all but extinct, a couple of posters and a model X-Wing are all that's left of my former religion. Can BioWare rekindle that fire? Do I even want it to? Make point five past the lightspeed jump for more.
Hyperspace Beacon: Killer colors
The lightsaber is the most iconic tool of the Jedi in Star Wars. "This weapon is your life," Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Anakin Skywalker as the master handed back the lightsaber his student lost while chasing Zam Wessel. Without a lightsaber, the Jedi are just another group of wizards with fancy quotables. But as soon as you put the glowing laser sword in their hands, they become something more; they become the warriors whom every child has imitated in one way or another. Just what about that blade makes it special? Well, I can't tell you the reason people are intrigued by the illuminated weapon, but I can tell you that, according to lore, the crystal is the heart of the blade. In the movies, we have seen four different colored blades: red, green, blue, and purple, but other colors exist in lore. The Lead Writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Daniel Erickson, made a statement at PAX when questioned about saber crystal colors at the SWTOR presentation: "There is a broad spectrum of crystals available out in the galaxy. We have not made final plans on some of the more esoteric ones. They all have specific canonical connotations -- as to what they represent and how they came to be." Which raises the question: What are these canonical connotations? What do the colors of the crystals mean? I took a trip through Star Wars lore to uncover the answer to that question. Follow me after to break to find out more.
SDCC 2010: A SWTOR Managing Editor who doesn't solve problems by killing all the kittens
We all know that know that story is the fourth pillar for The Old Republic. We also know BioWare has the reputation for having some of the most compelling stories in the gaming industry. In fact, story is written into its mission statement: "BioWare's vision is to deliver the best story-driven games in the world." So it is no surprise at all that when the team came to Comic-Con this past weekend, it consisted of mostly writers. Massively's Dan O'Halloran nabbed the Managing Editor on SWTOR, Alexander Freed, for a conversation. Freed has scribed much of the story and dialogue for this epic MMO, as well as been the writer for the exciting adventures of Teneb Kel in The Blood of the Empire webcomic. Continue on after the break to catch Alexander Freed's insight into what the different types of quests will be available in SWTOR, what compelling choices players have to make, and what it takes to write for a project of this magnitude.
Hyperspace Beacon: Blaster at my side
Hey, kids, the name's Han Solo. I've been asked to step in here because I know a thing or two about smuggling. I know many of you are lookin' to jump into this line of work, and I'm going to tell you right now: it ain't gonna be easy. You gotta live by your guts, kids. You hav'ta be smooth, and you can't let crazy green Rodians get under your skin. In fact, if a Rodian does come lookin' for you, I suggest you shoot him first. It'll save you some trouble in the long run, but don't forget to pay for the mess. Maybe I should start with some of the greatest smugglers out there. That should help detour you from the insanity of this profession. Although none of 'em is as good as I am, Lando Calrissian, Dash Rendar, and even an old smuggler named Hylo Visz made their marks on history. Their lives were wrought with risky maneuvers, near-misses, and some damned good luck. So I guess if you think you've got what it takes, keep reading -- I'll meet you after the break. [Thank you to Lois van Baarle for letting us use her artwork for the main banner. You can see more of her work at Loish.net.]
Bioware discuss SWTOR player ships, group gameplay and PvP at E3
Fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic have been spoiled at this year's E3, with new game trailers and talks on what we can expect from the game when it launches. Earlier today, we learned the surprising fact that each player would get his own starship and got a first glimpse of what lies ahead for SWTOR's PvP. At their latest presentation, Bioware have now confirmed that space exploration will be a part of the game, using a system very similar to that used by Mass Effect's Normandy. They went on to disclose two of the classes of ship players will be able to get in the game. Players siding with the Republic can get their hands on the Corellian Vanguard light corvette while Imperial players can get the Fury Class Imperial transport. Skip past the cut to watch this awesome video of SWTOR's ship interiors and find out what's in store for PvP and group gameplay.
Star Wars: The Old Republic not planned for fiscal year 2011
If you're eagerly awaiting the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, even with the release window of April 2011 being thrown around, you could be forgiven for holding out hope that the game might get a slightly earlier release. (If you're sick of hearing about it, you might be hoping for an early release too, just so everyone will shut up.) But your hopes will not be borne out, it seems -- and the game might even come a bit later than we'd expected. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, has stated again that the game is not expected to ship during fiscal year '11. Although he didn't reference Star Wars: The Old Republic by name, Riccitiello referred to a new MMO currently under development -- and CFO Eric Brown later referred specifically to the game as not being part of the '11 fiscal year forecast. The period under discussion ends on March 31st, 2011, which means that we can still look for the game early next year, but it's not getting pushed any faster. Still, it's only a year away, and that year could go quickly. [ via Joystiq ]
Star Wars: the Old Republic expands Blood of the Empire
If there's one difficult task that Star Wars: The Old Republic has set for itself -- well, it's set several, but if there's one difficult lore task it would be transforming the Sith into a sympathetic and likable player faction. After all, they've got years and years and years of fiction painting them as unrelentingly evil bastards, while BioWare wants them to be heroic in their own way. It's no surprise, then, that the most recent installment of Blood of the Empire continues to show both the brutality of the Sith as well as their more compassionate side. Expanding the focus from the young Teneb Kal from the first issue, this installment shows us what happens to Sith who decide to strike out on their own -- successfully or not. It also gives a look into some of the morality of the Sith, where attempts to seize power are expected, but failure to do so means you overstepped your bounds. With a closer look inside Dromund Kaas at the heart of the empire, the latest installment should be of interest to every Star Wars: The Old Republic lore scholar.
InstantAction goes live with browser-based gaming model
Remember InstantAction? You know, that startup that debuted at GDC in an effort to take on OnLive and catch the world ablaze with browser-based embedded gaming? If you've forgotten the dirty-dirty on this here company, be sure and give our prior hands-on a look; once you're up to speed, you may be interested in knowing that the company's first weekend in business (in the consumer's eye, anyway) is this one you're living in right now. The new "direct-to-consumer online video game distribution service" has gone live with LucasArts' The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, enabling gamers to embed full titles into blogs, Facebook profiles and pretty much any other site that'll handle an HTML embed string. The magic involves a delicate mix of in-browser, thin-client, and progressive downloading technologies, and while this title may not float your boat, the concept could be gold for indie developers looking to reach directly to potential clients. Head on past the break for the full release, not to mention a play-by-play of how to try this thing out.
Environmental effects and new comics for Star Wars: The Old Republic
The big announcement out of Star Wars: The Old Republic came ahead of time this week, with the release of a surprise video documentary detailing combat. On the other hand, the game isn't only about combat. Having completed the Threat of Peace storyline in comic form, the site has launched a new comic to continue exploring the game's lore in more personal terms. Blood of the Empire has gone live, taking the exact opposite approach to the prior comic by focusing on a young Sith during the conquest of Republic worlds for the growing empire. True to form, the comic presents the Sith in the most straightforward fashion possible, leaving plenty of room for the moral ambiguity that classically defines BioWare's games. If that doesn't quite grab your fancy, the team's fan roundup has gone live, along with new concept art and a short trailer for the game. The former shows off some of the technology designs at work, while the latter highlights environmental effects from sparking generators to rippling water. It's a somewhat more contemplative look at Star Wars: The Old Republic compared to non-stop lightsabers and laser blasts, and it might prove a welcome contrast after the earlier announcements
Star Wars: The Old Republic drops a surprise video documentary
It seemed like just another day for the legion of fans rabidly awaiting more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, or more specifically another Thursday. After all, the site updates with content on such a regular schedule on Fridays that you could set your watch by it, assuming that your watch only measures what day it is. But we were surprised by the tease that the game would be posting an update via its social media sites on Twitter and Facebook. Lo and behold, it's a new developer video on one of the most central activities in the game: combat. Currently exclusive to Gametrailers, the movie highlights the speed and fluidity of the game's combat animations as well as the overall design philosophy. One of the points the developers choose to point out is that most MMO combat is focused on several players versus a single boss enemy, which feels much less heroic and epic than a lone warrior struggling against unbeatable odds. Mobility, style, and more than a few interesting powers are on display in the six-minute video, which should give Star Wars: The Old Republic fans plenty to look forward to. [ Thanks to Tziena for the tip! ]
