August 31st, 2011 by Vera Cannon

Fans of SWTOR now have a slight glimpse of joy as Frank Gibeau as now they know that the release of this huge MMO will be tied closely with the Beta. With 2 million people signed up for the beta and even though pre-order sales have shot through EA’s pre-order records, there is still a lot that can go wrong in an MMO launch. If you recall previous MMOs in the past like WOW and other MMOs, their launch caused a massive server problem trying to uphold the millions of players.

“We’re driving towards a date, but… [we] …want to make sure that these services can last a decade… It is definitely tied to the beta test feedback that’s ongoing and so far, so good. We feel good about the date that we’re heading towards but you’re right, you could have a Crazy Ivan show up in the September/October beta test and be like, ‘wow, I’ve got to fix that’.”

“The other thing is, the technology of standing these things up and then getting all the server farms to work together, talk to one another, store character records… it’s extraordinarily complex and so we want a very stable experience.”

“We don’t want to happen to us what happened to WoW and a couple of other services where in the first week there were queues trying to get on to the servers, the entire service crashed — we don’t want that to happen. So we need to nail and make sure that it’s up 24/7 and [that] it’s high quality.”

In summary, the rumors heard a few months ago through EA’s marketing distribution has led us to believe that we are in the plans for something very big and that Bioware is not in a hurry to get there. All in all, game release will depend mainly on Beta testers on their feedback, so if you are one of them, feel free to share your stories here so we can get an indication if the game might be on time or pushed back.

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August 29th, 2011 by Marcus

Bioware, creator of the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO (SWTOR) reveals from PAX Prime officially the beta test weekend would start on Sept 2nd – assumed from previous announcements. Access to beta weekend events are not only based on whether or not you pre-ordered the game, but rather for everyone. So there’s an equal chance for you or me to get in.

Sign up today from their official SWTOR website and good luck. If your in, congratulations and give a shout out of joy here.

August 28th, 2011 by Vera Cannon

This article provides a preliminary guide for SWTOR, more advanced content such as related gameplay strategies could be found in this SWTOR Complete Guides Bundle.

Focusing on the latest developer walkthrough for SWTOR, today we’ll focus on the Eternity Vault – a high-level Operation or raid, for a total of 8 players.

“A prison discovered buried in the ice on Belsavis is thought to house an ancient and deadly evil that could threaten the galaxy. To counter this threat, General Threnoldt dispatches Imperial forces to investigate the prison and confront the dangers within,” reads BioWare’s description of the video.

A short summary of the story reveals Belsavis landing in escape pods to regroup with other members of the Imperial to battle a small army of droids. In this skirmish, the video will reveal the many different roles that SWTOR classes can perform in battle. Similar to other MMOs, SWTOR has tank, healers, and DPS characters ready to step up and use their skills to advance in battle. Success and victory in this Operation depends on the ability of the team to work cohesively to get through the giant mech waiting to arrive.

*If there are no delays to SWTOR release date, you just might be able to play the SWTOR Eternity Vault later this year.

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August 28th, 2011 by Vera Cannon

Here’s an overview of SWTOR PvP Warzone. For more information and gameplay recommendations, check out this SWTOR Complete Guides Bundle.

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™!

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August 23rd, 2011 by Marcus

Best Buy Co.Inc reveals online sales for SWTOR pre-order are its best-selling product. This week, SWTOR Collector’s Edition ranked as the No.1 product sold on Bestbuy.com

SWTOR Collectors Edition which sells at $149.95 includes the Gentle Giant Darth Malgus statue, collectible metal case, The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, SWTOR galaxy map, Music of Star Wars: The Old Republic CD, Collector’s Edition box and seven digital items.

In other related news, Microsoft Corp. this holiday will also sell a limited edition Xbox 360 Limited Edition Star Wars Kinect Bundle.

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August 22nd, 2011 by Vera Cannon

This article provides a preliminary guide for SWTOR Crew Skills, more advanced content such as related gameplay strategies could be found in this SWTOR Guide.

Bioware has finally updated complete details for companion crafting abilities or the official term known as “Crew Skills”

The updated list of Crew Skills now include:

SWTOR Gathering Skills:
- Archeology – Bioanalysis – Scavenging – Slicing

SWTOR Missions Skills
- Diplomacy – Investigation – Treasure Hunter – Underworld Trading

Described on the official SWTOR site:

“The Crew Skills system allows you to take advantage of everything the galaxy has to offer without getting in the way of your adventure! You’ll assign your crew of companions to gather resources, craft useful and valuable items, and even to undertake their own missions, bringing you and the rest of the crew a variety of benefits and rewards.”

More information at the official site.

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August 18th, 2011 by Vera Cannon

A SWTOR rep at Gamescon revealed plans that EA would limit the game supply right at launch date. The purpose of this move is not a marketing move to create an illusion of the game being more popular that it already is. If you rewind back in the past, I think Nintendo was accused of using this strategy with the Wii. Anyhow, the rep at Gamescom says this move is made to avoid server instability, something that all MMOs face during the launch of the game where there are just to many players for the server to handle. This will seem to be the case considering the SWTOR pre-order numbers. The rep also goes to say that it plans to limit copies both at retail and digitally. Apparently no figure as to the maximum number was given but the rep did mention that once the number is reached, digital sales will be the first to be cut off while EA will try to increase its server capacity before allowing more players in the game.

EA is able to limit or pause digital sales is due to the fact that all digital SWTOR copes will be available exclusively through its own Origin shop, therefore making the process relatively simple.

The rep says that game publishers are willing to do this as they are more interested in players having a great and smooth experience rather than sell the game to as many people as possible.

Relating to the statement above, EA’s Frank Gibeau talked about increasing its server capacity to allow millions of players if needed, he described his plan as an “aggressive plan”.

“We’re pretty relaxed about what we’re going to be able to achieve there. We’ll be able to scale up and light up new severs on a fairly quick basis. We’ve got a plan to do that over the months following ship, and we’ve got a lot of capacity built into that,” says Frank.

He went as far as to say that it would only take half a million subscribers for SWTOR to be profitable.
“And anything north of a million, as we approach a million and a half or two, starts to look like a great investment, and justifies the entire purchase price… of BioWare in a very positive way,“ he said.

According to many statements, it seems reassuring to know that EA is going to ensure a great gaming experience and hopefully will not face any problems at launch. Bioware is aiming to have the game out this year, but still no release date has been mentioned yet. If worst comes to worst and the game is not released this year, it should be out in early 2012. Those who have already made a SWTOR pre-order will get to play ahead of time.

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August 16th, 2011 by Lavi Lee

BioWare announced on 15th August that Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Guild Testing program is started and the first wave of guilds are invited to try out the system already. Any guild that has at least 10 guild members is welcome to register the Guild Testing program. Note that the size of your guild doesn’t matter. Whether you are small or big, your guild might get a chance. Make sure you register your guild at the Guild Headquaters and please go ahead and get yourself acquaintance with the Recruitment Guidelines. Trust me. You don’t want to break their rules.

David Bass also emphasized in the forum that “Please do not contact any BioWare staff requesting access to Guild Testing, or else your guild may be removed from consideration.”
Have I told you how strict they are?

Guild testing

August 10th, 2011 by Vera Cannon

As some of you might have already known, and unluckily for some countries, Star Wars: The Old Republic will not be launching worldwide this year, but BioWare has revealed some news that should thrill some gamers outside of the launch territories.

“SWTOR WILL BE REGION-FREE”

BioWare new MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic still has not set a release date yet but has been revealed and confirmed that the title will not be launched at the same time in all countries. BioWare has also set a no IP or Region lock for players outside of the launch territories meaning those who want to import the MMO Swtor game can do so without worrying that the game will be unplayable. Though gameplay experience may vary due to latency issues.

Community Manager Stephen Reid also explained that the decision to launch the title at different times may sound somewhat unfair to gamers but everything has been done with good reasoning.

“BioWare and LucasArts are completely focused on building an exceptional game and an exceptional game service to go with it. Unfortunately, to achieve the goal of an exceptional game service certain territories could not be serviced at launch. This decision was undertaken with a quality player experience as the primary goal.”

If your thinking about getting the game first, go here for SWTOR Pre-Order.

Star Wars the Old Republic, SWTOR

August 8th, 2011 by Jack Matthews

As SWTOR release date is slowly coming and hoepfully just round the corner, let’s have a look at Star Wars: The Old Republic pre-order numbers which have become quite interesting. Thanks to VGChartz and their data regarding pre-orders of Americas Preorders Chart, 6 August 2011.

Here are America’s pre-order numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic in the week of August 6, 2011.

Rank: #9
Title: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Platform: PC
Weeks Until Release: N/A
Change from Last Week: 97,322
Total: 234,403

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August 7th, 2011 by Vera Cannon

This article is a good starting point to learn about Jedi Consular. Check out this SWTOR Jedi Consular Guide for more advanced details, insights and gameplay tactics.

This new Jedi Consular trailer says it all. Learn about the true power of wisdom and how the Jedi Consular studies and wields its power for its many uses. Understand how they have come about using their knowledge of the Force to bring peace to the world, but if trampled upon and peace cannot be reached, the Force makes them quite a dangerous foe.

This new trailer gives great details to those who want to you just what you’ll be expecting if you choose the Jedi Consular and walk down the path of either the Shadow (silent hand of the Jedi Council) or dive deep into the mysteries of the Force as a Sage and help heal and power your allies.

More information about the Jedi Consular

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August 3rd, 2011 by Vera Cannon

For all Star Wars: the Old Republic fans, the director of The Old Republic has said that “it would be terrible if something went wrong just as the game was getting going.”

Bioware after so much work and expectation from gamers want a smooth, bug-free, problem free game. That is the main reason that the studio hasn’t announced a release date yet. Game director James Ohlen says that BioWare is keeping the SWTOR release date on a down low in order to give the game itself time to make sure it lives up to all the hype and expectation for this Star Wars MMO.

He also said it would be a shame if some devastating catastrophe with the game server’s went down after breaking EA pre-order records. Some developers who have been working on the game since 2006 would be pretty disappointed too if something went wrong.

swtor beta, swtor release date

August 1st, 2011 by Marcus

Proving its worth as one of the most popular MMO’s yet to be released, Star Wars: the Old Republic has broken EA’s all time most pre-ordered game. EA’s Frank Gibeau even goes so far as to say the game is doing much better than they expected and also points out that is beats out all other greatly anticipated titles by many miles.

“It’s the largest number we’ve done at EA in comparison to other titles. The next closest title is Battlefield 3, and it was up significantly from there”

SWTOR pre-order details were available last week in 3 different versions.

Standard edition – $60
Digital edition – $80 (only available in EA’s Origin service)
Collector’s edition – $150

With this pre-order comes not only the game, but grants customers early access to the game and a ‘color stone’, known to be able to change the color of your lightsaber and blaster bolts. When pre-ordering the digital deluxe version, you will granted access to certain in-game items such as the training driod and a small speeder. Last but not least the Collector’s edition which holds true SWTOR treasure. Available for this edition will be real-world goodies (statuette & music CD) as well as loads of in-game bonuses.

With all this SWTOR pre-order hype, Bioware still has no official release date of the mega hit Star Wars: the Old Republic MMORPG. We will try to keep you up to date as possible with the latest news and the very important SWTOR release date.

More information can be found at the officialStar War: the Old Republic website

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