Gameplay Movies = Happy Times!

You asked for it you got it!!!  Good lord.... its almost as if the NDA has been lifted.

Of the movies we have found this is our favorite.  PvP Warzone footage of a trooper.   In fact this was more enjoyable then many of the pre-canned movies made.  It's also a good example to other fan sites (Yes 'Darth Hater' i mean you!) of how to do a game play movie.  The commentating never gets annoying and makes us want to fly to Austin, TX and beat down BioWare's door.  It also makes us a tad more interested in the class.

But it gets better....   The following is the Sith warrior play through of the first mission or two on his origin world of Korriban.  It shows us basic combat and abilities with some minor intro into the classes story.  With a great running Q&A.

And here is part 2 that begins to show us the plot thicken....  While some may wish to not be spoiled we could not help but watch.  Honestly it did not cover enough of the story to ruin it for anyone on release.

ENJOY!! And huge thanks to the sites able to post this information.

Facebook Wednesday With Rockjaw Bonus!

It's Wednesday.  And its the one day of the week we have to load up facebook.  CURSE YOU FACEBOOK!!  But here it is...

The Jedi Shadow stands alone after an intense battle inside an Imperial encampment.

Now the Shadow is actually one of the classes we really want to checkout.  It almost sounds like some kind of stealth ninja mage.  But don't let us try and explain it. Please take a look at BioWare's description:

A Shadow serves the Jedi Order by being a silent observer and, when action is necessary, a subtle hand. To avoid rash decisions on the part of the Council, Shadows go unseen, gathering information and quietly thwarting those who seek to threaten the Jedi order. Employing Force techniques that cloud enemy minds, Shadows slip into hostile territory,and when necessary, they strike enemies down with deadly efficiency.

Additional Jedi Consular Information

But not only did we get a facebook image.  Mr Reid himself gave us a glimpse of their upcoming PAX Prime.

PAX! Wish we could go :(

Probing the PODS: The Cantina Band

We have a new POD that requires listening.  These guys are nothing short of interesting in a sea of bland boring SWTOR pods.  None of which we will name here.... 

Moving into our short list of PODS to listen too along with Darth Hater, The Republic, and TwoTORGamers, these guys have managed to grab our interest.  It's odd - but we think it has a lot to do with their level of excitement.  It's a positive listening experience from people that you would probably drink a beer with at your local.  In addition they had Scott Johnson from FrogPants Studios. 

Why is this great!?  Well Scott has the pod process down to a WoW.  Intro, schedule, quality sound and humor.  Humor being the key for us.  They also take the view of common sense.  And by that it appears they want all the information before making a call.  The voice of reason if you will.... something "The Instance" is known for among the WoW community. 

The show is hosted by Brian Brushwood and Adam Paulauski.  They do a great job and we recommend checking them out.  We also hope Scott makes a regular appearance on the show.  For more info head over to The Cantina Band.

Once Again BioWare Clears the ORIGIN Air....

To those that for some odd reason hate competition in an industry that always needs it and only want to use one product to download games Mr. Reid has a little to say in a thread called "EA has crossed the line".

Regardless of what other games may choose to do in their integration with Origin's desktop client, here's what our situation is:

You are not required to use the Origin desktop client to download, patch or play the game client for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

This applies whether you purchase The Old Republic via Origin.com or from a retailer in boxed form. You will not be forced to install the Origin desktop client.

There are still various consumer benefits to the client itself, but it's not required for The Old Republic.


This info of course has been released a few times.  Hopefully its the last time we have to talk about this service.  It's only used as a device to download the game.  Or for those that want to play BF3 and the next COD. 

Hopefully we can move forward and Mr. Reid can comment on the Sept Beta, or plans for release, or why the smuggler is going to face own the Bounty Hunter.  Things of IMPORTANCE PEOPLE!!!

EU Beta Q&A

To our friends in Europe Mr. Reid had something to say... rather he had a lot to say! 

So without much waiting..... Mr Reid, if you would please:

ou guys and gals have been busy. As have we; Gamescom was a very big and very busy show. Now I'm back Stateside (and nine hours removed from Germany) I can answer a few questions.

You may not get all the answers to your questions here, but we will hopefully be able to answer all of them in time. Thanks to Shingara for gathering together a bunch so I can answer concisely.

I will say that the one big question you probably all have ("When do Beta Testing Weekends actually start?") won't be answered for a little while, but we're working on that.

Stephen has of course elaborates in his wall of yellow.  Not the wall of crazy we so often hear from BioWare, but a wall of yellow text!  Honestly head over to the EU Beta thread for a ton of great information.  We have a few friends on the other side of the pond and we can only hope this helps. 

Fan Friday is Fan Foozball!

Well we did not see this coming at all.  Huttball.  It's a faction mixed warzone on the planet of Nar Shaddaa.  But before we dive into Huttball - Dallas Dickinson is finally looking ok!  Healthy and happy.  No more bags under his eyes or the look of a man with the weight of the LucasArts and EA sitting on his shoulders.  So Kudos to Mr. Dickinson!

A new event has captured the hearts and minds of the citizens on the Smuggler’s Moon of Nar Shaddaa. Known as “Huttball,” two teams clash for the amusement of the masses and to win favor with the famed Giradda the Hutt in this new video that highlights just one of the Player-vs-Player (PvP) Warzones in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

This offers a lot of promise as a fresh approach to MMO battlegrounds.  We also hope that we will see other ideas very different than the standard fair found in todays MMO battlegrounds. Kudos to Daniel Erickson and his brain child:

Hey Folks,
Totally fair question. I wrote Huttball personally and gave it my big stamp of approval. Huttball came from a request by the pvp team to have a mode that could mix sides in the event of unbalanced factions. So it's not Empire vs Republic playing insane death sports, it's anyone who wants to win some prizes and flex their muscles going to Nar Shaddaa, gambling center of the galaxy, and blowing off some steam. Story is important but so are alternate, setting-appropriate activities that give some depth and variety to the world and the gameplay experience. There is a crazy Hutt that likes running huge arena events for his amusement. Your choice if that's the way your Bounty Hunter enjoys spending his downtime.

Hope that helps,Daniel Erickson

Kiting SUCKS! - The Life of A Smuggler

We wanted to cover some quick interesting points about the Smuggler in a little bit longer then normal post.  First off.... Don't KITE!

• Try kiting a Sith Warrior, who can force charge up to 30 meters and can throw their Lightsaber.
• Try kiting a Sith Inquisitor, who has powerful control effects and the ability to enter Force Speed for a few seconds, with greatly increased movement rate.
• Try kiting a Bounty Hunter, who may have the ability to use their jetpack to catch up to you or use a grappling hook as well as good range with their blaster rifle.
• Try kiting Imperial Agents why may have a sniper rifle with long range equal or better than your own.

It just does not seem to be the best option.  In fact it does not sound like an option for any of the classes:

There's certainly the option to make use of environment/line of sight and advanced players will find that for example Warriors can be made miserable by a Smuggler dodging around in their dead zone (out of melee range, not yet in Force Charge range), hitting hard with the scatter gun (15m range) - but kiting overall in our game isn't simple due to the wide range of utility all classes have.

I have to admit - this sounds amazing.  I have never liked the concept in WoW being stuck unable to have full movement while looking at another class that is picking me off. 

So why would you want to play a Smuggler?  Come on you get that classic Wookie Side-Kick!  Or we let Georg Zoeller handle this one for us:

• A Smuggler can be a Medic, healing and supporting his allies.
• A Smuggler can be a marksman, entrenched in cover and decimating the enemy with devastating single target attacks.
• A Smuggler can be an explosives specialist, leaving craters and blown up Imperial squads in his wake.
• A Smuggler can be a stealthy mid range scrapper, approaching enemies unseen and hitting them hard with his scatter gun.
• A Smugger can be a daring risk taker, running and gunning into close range and finishing enemies with a few good kicks into places where it hurts.
• A Smuggler can be a Smuggler, delivering his group behind enemy lines unseen.

Well that's a damn good summary for us.