Korriban Feels like Home?

Korriban - Yes you all know, Sith Sith Sith

When sifting through the image collection provided by BioWare I stumbled across this gem. While not showing off the games graphics.  While not impressing upon you the power of the Sith.  While not standing out to the average joe as he walks through the Internet....

It should standout to those that have played Knights of the Old Republic.  This image can provoke  memories of a great game and a great adventure.  One that has now inspired the creation of what could be the next big MMO for the game community. 

So while this image is not in game footage.  It's in game art.  It's art that inspired BioWare and it's fans.  And for those that want to play Sith it gives you a good prospective on your origin.

Dev Tracker - Quote of the Day

STAR WARS: The Old Republic - Better communication to the Community - George Zoeller

Have you had enough talk about the release date? Have you finally reached the point where you just hate to read those QQ posts about "Give us the release date!"? Are you sick and tired of loading up the forums and reading the BioWare bashing over the release date?

Well Georg Z has stepped up to the plate like so many BioWare champs before him and laid it out in clear perfect english.

Q: When do you release
A: We plan to release in 2011

Q: When do you release exactly?
A: We plan to release in 2011

Q: Surely you must have more precise plans?
A: We plan on 2011. We're not precise for [number of reasons]

Q: I think those reasons are not valid. When do you release?
A: We plan to release in 2011

George Zoeller you're my hero this week! Thank you. I am thinking about adding this to my signature.

World of Warcraft free-to-play to level 20 - Shacknews.com

World of Warcraft free-to-play to level 20 - Shacknews.com

I have to admit I did not see this coming. In fact I never thought this was coming ever not until the end of WoW as we could have known it. So now your wondering why I am linking this on a TOR site...

The answer --- Fear. I think the guys at Blizzard are very smart and have started to lay down a plan to help shield them from losing players to TOR and GW2. Even if we ignore the TOR factor it's a great move that will only add to their player base.

Thank you Shacknews for posting the information.

Jedi Sage | Fan Site

Well it looks like we have found another fan site for TOR! Jedisage looks like it was created back in April 2011.

It's focus is clearly on what some consider the most popular Republic class at launch time: the consular class. Like many this is the first class I really want to play.

Head on over and check them out. Their most recent article covers love and Jedi.

Shae Vizla Mini Bust

Shae Vizla Mini Bust

Well this is news. The infamous bounty hunter/Mandalorian for those that have read the book can be purchased. Well half of her can be purchased at Gentle Giant for only $65.

Her character is one of mystery. The only thing we really know about her is that she hates the Jedi. Which if you read the forums she is not alone.

Mos Eisley Radio | The SWTOR Podcast | MER Episode 43: The Butcher

Mos Eisley Radio | The SWTOR Podcast | MER Episode 43: The Butcher

The crew at Eisley have their latest work up. And quite frankley its very well done this week. The episode covers the usual wide array of questions and comments about the recent news released from BioWare as well as the end of SWG. I expect we will hear a great deal about the end of SWG over the next few weeks.

Eisley also has a special guest - former podcaster from Torocast.com Musco. He does a great job and provides a great deal of energy that Eisley usually does not contain.

The best part of the show for me was an verbose 15 minute review of WoW and TOR. Something that we will probably continue to hear about long after TOR is released. The TOR community needs to accept that such comparisons will always be present for as long as WoW and TOR exist.

Thanks Mos Eisley Radio.

TORWARS Strikes Again - SWTOR Forum Overview

TOR-TV: SWTOR Forum “Walkthrough” | TORWars

The dialogue is quite literally ALL created from forum posts. None of it is made up.

My sides are splitting and I generally don't laugh that hard. It's rare to find something that covers and conveys the frustrations of so many. In many ways what your about to watch should give insight into the lives of the BioWare staff and the kinds of forum posts they received.

It also shows you the kind of crazy world we live in.

Please note this is not all forum posters or even visiting players of WoW. It's easy to blame all of the antics of a few people on an entire game like WoW. Which in many ways is sad. There is still a great fan base associated to WoW just have to work hard to find it. They generally avoid the forums.

Special thanks to TORWars as always. They might just be my favorite fan site out there. It's there reckless regard for delivering news with humor that makes it a great site to visit.

Enjoy the weekend!!!

STAR WARS: The Old Republic - E3 2011 Highlight Video

STAR WARS: The Old Republic - E3 2011 Highlight Video

Woah!! what is this!!!! Hot off the press a double Friday update from the guys at BioWare (and gals). This is great!!!!

Basically a short movie showing off some of the major highlights from E3. The crazy lines, the crowd reactions, and 100% gleeful comments, from the fan base that was able to attend.

Overall it looked like an amazing experience for SWTOR fans. And a great update on a Friday to appease some of the upset fans from this afternoon.

Smooth move BioWare.... Smooth.

E3 2011 – New In-Game Screen Shots | Ask A Jedi

Ask a Jedi has posted a series of new screen shots from the E3 convention.

They give you a better idea of the speeder. Which I know has upset a few people in the community. A segaway of sorts. My view is one of .... Meh. I am sure we will get versions similar to the movies later on. For now I could care less and can't wait to get to that level range and try one.

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Alderaan Encounter

A militaristic Republic war hero has seized the throne in a misguided attempt to protect the people of Alderaan. Watch as Republic players confront the powerful and well-protected ‘King Ulgo’, in this Highlights Video.

A standard fair from the crew at BioWare this Friday. Something I felt was going to be on show earlier in the week. It made sense as this appeared towards the end of E3 and may not have received the full attention of the SWTOR community.

However if one reads the standard array of responses posted you would have thought BioWare had done a great injustice. But that sadly is the norm these days.

You would love to make people understand that more time spent on a Friday update is time taken away from testing, polishing, and in general, working on finishing the product.

Penny Arcade loves SWTOR

Thats right Gabe at PA has been living in Bioware's new Star Wars universe for the last month or so. And well ... He loves it.

Some of the outstanding comments from his short write up include a stronger connection to his character then any other mmo he had played. In addition the look and feel of the game was very much Star Wars despite being set 4000 years in the past.

You can read the entire post here.

R2-D2 the Drink Server & Projectionist | TORWars

TorWars does it again. I love these guys as they always manage to find some odd, interesting, and humors news about Star Wars.

In this case its an amazing R2-D2 music playing, movie projecting, moving all over your house player. It's insane. And research should be done stat on the cost of one of these units.

Thanks TORWars!

E3 2011 – Daniel Erickson Video Interview | Ask A Jedi

E3 2011 – Daniel Erickson Video Interview | Ask A Jedi

Askajedi.com have done an amazing interview with everyone's favorite BioWare writer - Daniel Erickson. Basically its a great overview of the information presented at E3.

There is a good section on operations and their size. First example contains 8 people. The larger scale operation is still being worked out.

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Trailers

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Game Features

This was of course posted sometime ago. I have probably watched it 10 times now just looking for something new and interesting. The combination of voice work, music, and scenes, is very well done from a marketing standpoint.

If you have yet to see a list of all the major features in the game this is a quick sample to give you an idea.

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Trailers

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Trailers

There are two versions of this impressive overview. This being the shorter of the two versions which does a great job of providing information for those with only 12 minutes in their day to spare. There is of course a very interesting and longer version with more information from Daniel Erickson.

I would recommend viewing both as you get to see two classes from the Empire in full effect. My initial take on the overview was of course all positive. Basically it seems to play very similar to another MMO with that Star Wars feel. The addition of the companion to the game adds a whole new level for me as an MMO gamer.

There is a great deal of potential here to mix and match classes and companions. It's going to be interesting to see how people take on this new MMO challenge.

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Developer Blogs

Star Wars: The Old Republic | Developer Blogs

In the latest Friday update from the crew at BIOWARE we learn about the post writing process. While many might find this boring or lack the release date the mass feel they need. It does contain an interesting insight into how to be successful as a game studio.

By this I mean... Don't stop working on something long after you have finished it.

A long time ago.....

I felt the need to chart my adventures through TOR. Or at least when TOR goes live. So going forward I plan on talking up TOR and about the things I learn from TOR

If you need my background on why to follow - Like everyone I fell in love with Star Wars. I fell in love (for the first two months) of Star Wars Galaxies. And I consider to this day that Knights of the Old Republic (the first game, not that awful follow-up) is the best game I have ever played. Mostly due to its amazing story.