Luke Skywalker
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Lego launches an Ultimate version of Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder
If you were looking for an insanely-detailed version of Luke's hot-rod, today is your lucky day.
'LEGO Star Wars Battles' is a competitive strategy game for mobile
The upcoming LEGO Star Wars Battles is a real-time competitive jam for mobile. While most LEGO games are tied to a specific platform and based on adventures, this title breaks the mold. Anyone with iOS or Android will be able to battle, in real-time, as Luke Skywalker, Rey, Darth Vader and other familiar characters.
We're not getting Luke Skywalker's prosthetics any time soon
In 1937, robot hobbyist "Bill" Griffith P. Taylor of Toronto invented the world's first industrial robot. It was a crude machine, dubbed the Robot Gargantua (PDF, Pg 172) by its creator. The crane-like device was powered by a single electric motor and controlled via punched paper tape, which threw a series of switches controlling each of the machine's five axes of movement. Still, it could stack wooden blocks in preprogrammed patterns, an accomplishment that Meccano Magazine, an English monthly hobby magazine from the era, hailed as "a Wells-ian vision of 'Things to Come' in which human labor will not be necessary in building up the creations of architects and engineers."
The Soapbox: The Uncle Owen paradox
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. This week, the venerable Star Wars Galaxies celebrates its eighth year of existence. I was there in the beginning -- before the beginning, in fact. I did what a lot of you early SWG players probably did: I had a guild and a guild city, multiple accounts, a booming business as a chef, and a character who could entertain and fight. Even then, we realized how different SWG was from its immediate predecessors like EverQuest and Dark Age of Camelot. We'd returned to the earlier age of Ultima Online, of persistent worlds (as the term was used back then). It was more a world than a game, and in it we could roleplay whatever we liked, to a point. Nowadays, we'd call it a sandbox. Old-school MMO gamers know well that the sandbox is under attack. Some will blame it on EverQuest, some on World of Warcraft, some on the free-to-play phenomenon. Among the Massively commenters, there's a large contingent of gamers who consider SWG's own NGE to be the beginning of the end of the classic sandbox. I can't say they're wrong when it comes to the philosophy governing new MMOs, but the sandbox isn't dead yet.
Hyperspace Beacon: Return of the Jedi
"For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, before the dark times, before the Empire," Obi-wan Kenobi explained to a young Luke Skywalker and the audience for the first time in Star Wars: A New Hope. This started the never-ending quest of finding out what exactly it means to master the seemingly limitless power of the Force. On that life-transforming statement, we begin in this week's Hyperspace Beacon. The Jedi Knight places Star Wars beyond every other science fiction story in world. The mix of science and mysticism takes us to a place that challenges not only our mind but our spiritual beliefs as well. The Jedi Order asks us to, "unlearn what you have learned," and to, "do or do not. There is no try." Then, as if to defy greater logic, they brandish a sword made completely of light. Let us take a few moments to rediscover these lightsaber-wielding wizards, find out a little of how they came to be, examine what differences arose over the thousands of years they existed, and investigate what you can expect from the Jedi in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Star Wars Galaxies Update 12 patch notes released
While attention might be shifting towards Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars: Galaxies is still going strong and SOE yesterday released an extensive set of patch notes for Update 12, focusing primarily on Engineering Traders. These include an obscene number of new droids for you to play with. Some are now craftable by Engineers, there are droids for battle and some (but not all) even have decals, allowing you to change how your mechanical companions will look. On top of this, Engineers will now be able to craft cybernetic parts including hands, arms, legs and torsos. To commemorate this addition, every player will get an odd little gift when they log on: a holographic display depicting the cybernetic arm of everybody's favourite Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Weird but also kind of cool. The update will also contain new quest content for level 50 characters, two new vehicles and various bug fixes. For a full list, we suggest you head on over to the official site and check out the patch notes for yourselves.
Custom-made Luke Skywalker USB drive is impressive. Most impressive.
In response to an Engadget Japan post entitled "Cruel Star Wars USB drives," one incredibly talented reader went ahead and one-upped the entire collection with a custom made Empire Strikes Back Luke Skywalker drive. All you need to know is that the USB input is accessed by severing his hand. Search your feelings, you know this to be awesome. [Via Engadget Japan]
The Digital Continuum: Sci-fi geeks need to experience Jumpgate Evolution
Spring is right around the corner and with it comes warmer weather, rain showers, blossoming fauna and Jumpgate Evolution. As much as I'd love to think there are thousands of you out there that know all about the game, I get the feeling that in actuality the number is significantly lower. Granted, real-time action space shooter MMOs aren't exactly a mass market genre, so it's probably a fair shake overall.But what's really worrying me is that even those who should be excited for Jumpgate Evolution are seemingly unaware of it's forthcoming release. This won't do, and so I present to you the essentials of why a sci-fi fan should give this game some serious consideration for their 2009 MMO budget.
Luke Skywalker's lightsaber heading into space
According to recent news out of NASA, the next time the Discovery crew take their ship into orbit, the "force" will be with them -- because they're taking Luke Skywalker's lightsaber along for the ride. That's right, for the film's 30th anniversary, the original lightsaber prop from the first Star Wars film is taking a ride into actual space... but that's not all. Apparently, Chewbacca will be on hand to pass the saber to officials from the Houston Space Center, and then together with Jango and Boba Fett, he will help push a plane back on the tarmac (for reasons unknown to us). But wait, there's more. When the Discovery lands in Houston returns after its space travels, the crew will be greeted by a group of Stormtroopers and other "Star Wars notables," including the much-loved R2-D2, who will then deliver the lightsaber to a waiting line of Hummers. Afterwards, there will be a party at the Mos Eisley Cantina, where Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes will play a set of their greatest hits.[Via Slashdot]
LEGO Star Wars II sells more than 1 million units in a week
Okay, the above headline may be a bit misleading. Yes, LEGO Star Wars II did sell more than one million units worldwide in its first week of release, but those numbers include the eight current-gen consoles the game was published for. Still, that's no number to ignore.The game, which was released Sept. 12, is now the best-selling family game of the year."There's definitely something for everyone in LEGO Star Wars II, and the sales and reviews so far are proving it," said Jim Ward, president of LucasArts. "This is the type of fun, accessible game everyone in the family can enjoy. It appeals to so much more than just the traditional gaming audience."Thankfully, LEGO Star Wars II, isn't a crappy licensed game that has sold on its name alone, like a few recent games I will not name. The game has averaged about an 84-percent rating on Gamerankings, which I'm happy to say is much higher than the DS' 60-percent rating.[Via FCS Publishing]
