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Star Wars: Old Republic - Esseles Flashpoint Trailer

VaritasDHL — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:19:00 GMT

Star Wars: Old Republic - Esseles Flashpoint Trailer

'The Esseles’ Developer Walkthrough

VaritasDHL — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:10:00 GMT

The Esseles’ Developer Walkthrough

During the week of San Diego Comic-Con, a select number of people had the opportunity to play through ‘The Esseles,’ a Flashpoint that Republic heroes will be able to experience for themselves early in their hero’s journey. In the Flashpoint, players must group together to protect a high-ranking diplomat and fend off Imperial boarding parties.

For everyone who was unable to join us in San Diego, we’ve put together a new video featuring developer commentary from Director of Production Dallas Dickinson. Check out our new Developer Walkthrough, and then secure your place in a galaxy far, far away by pre-ordering your copy of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

Join the Fight!

VaritasDHL — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:13:00 GMT

Join the Fight

We are excited to present Join the Fight, an all-new in-game trailer for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ that premiered at San Diego Comic-Con 2011.

The uneasy peace established by the Treaty of Coruscant is broken and both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire build their armies. As both sides prepare for open war, a new generation of heroes must rise up to meet the challenges of a volatile age, declaring their allegiances and fighting for what they believe in.

If you can’t join us in San Diego, be sure to check back here throughout the convention for more updates. You can also follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook to get the latest updates straight from the convention floor.

SWTOR Collectors Edition LEAK

VaritasDHL — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:11:00 GMT

Collectors Edition LEAK

Collector's edition website translated:
30-day subscription to the game
- CD Soundtrack of Star Wars The Old Republic
- Security Key (Flash Drive that protects your account from hackers)
- Galaxy Map (Map of the Universe The Old Republic)
- Journal of Dural Gnost
- Figure Darth Malgus (18 cm)
- Flare Gun (digital content, shoot fireworks over the heads of the players).
- Mouse Droid (digital content, pet chasing the player wherever you go).
- Holodancer (digital content, projects a dancer in the game)
- Holocam (digital content, allows the player to take take pictures in the game)
- Collector's Store (digital content, access to exclusive in-game store to buy weapons and other items)
- Speeder (digital content, unique vehicle, available at level 25)

front

back

SWTOR UK retail box front and back

system reqs

OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4000 or better / Intel Core2 Duo Processor 2.0 Ghz or better

RAM: At least 1.5 GB or better for XP / 2 GB or better for Windows Vista/7 / PC's using built in graphic chipsets 2 GB RAM is recommended.

Hard Drive: 8x DVD-ROM or better

Video: ATI XT800 or better / NVIDIA 7800 or better / Intel 4100 or better. 256 MB minimum video RAM, shader 3.0 or better fully compatible graphics card.

LINK

Star Wars: The Old Republic is set to release in spring 2011

VaritasDHL — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:01:00 GMT

"While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. We’ve got a lot of exciting updates and reveals planned throughout 2010, including the first-ever hands-on testing for the game. It’s not too late to sign up to be a game tester, so go to www.swtor.com/tester and sign up today. We can’t wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the official website for details."
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=109426

Studio Insider: Crafting the Class Intros

VaritasDHL — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:16:00 GMT

Studio Insider: Crafting the Class Intros

In this week’s Studio Insider, Senior Video Editor Brian Arndt takes us behind the scenes on the creation of the opening cinematics for each of the character classes. Be sure to also check out the Community Q&A, where Senior Audio Artist Scott Morton answers some of your questions relating to the audio production in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Crafting the Class Intros

Hi, my name is Brian Arndt and I'm Senior Video Editor here at BioWare. I've been a huge fan ofStar Wars™ since I was a little kid, and the one thing that I always remember in the theater was when everyone would get really quiet as a black screen appeared. Then suddenly you would see that familiar blue text: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...” There’s that moment of anticipation before you’re blown away by the giant Star Wars logo! The epic Star Wars theme music blaring throughout the theater! Then the text fills you in on the story so far and begins its slow scrolling across the screen. It still excites me every time I see it as I know THIS is Star Wars that I'm watching.

Well, we are all proudly working on a Star Wars video game, a lifelong dream of mine and probably all of the team. What does the player need to see first to know they are about to play a part in the Star Wars universe? You guessed it!

As a part of the BioWare Creative Services team, we get to spend all our time in The Old Republic filming and editing gameplay walkthroughs, character progression videos, taking screenshots and even creating the Timeline video series. We work around the clock to deliver these Friday updates for the community (and even read your forum posts to see what people are looking forward to seeing and try and get them in there!). It's exciting and exhausting but a lot of fun, and the team is super passionate and proud to be doing it. So how did we end up crafting the class intro video assets for in-game, you might ask?

It began with a short discussion with Art Director Jeff Dobson where he asked if we could fit this into our (already insane) schedule. The answer was of course “We can't repel an offer of that magnitude!” Okay, it was more like “yes!” We decided to work nights, weekends, and through lunches to make it happen. With that settled, we rolled up our sleeves and set to work.

First step, research. We sat down and re-watched the opening sequences for all six movies to review how they were put together on a second-by-second basis. For most fans, the Star Warscrawl is just some scrolling yellow text that sets up the story. What you may not realize is that the format of this text has very precise guidelines, from the exact shade of yellow used in the font to the width of the margins and even down to the speed of the scroll.

We wound up using the opening crawl from The Empire Strikes Back as our template. Using text written by the writing team, we rendered out the crawl, got the color right, set the margins, and even timed out the speed. You know what wound up being the toughest part? The angle. Getting the angle at which the text floats off into space turned out to be more difficult than we anticipated. It took several iterations to get it just right.

Okay. The crawls are done. Now comes the fun part. Each movie transitions from the opening crawl to the scene where the camera pans from space to reveal a ship or a group of ships heading towards a planet. Senior Environmental Artist Clint Young started with this idea and drew up some storyboards to show how this could work. After reviewing those, we brainstormed with Clint, other artists, and Lead Cinematics Designer Paul Marino to start planning out the sequence in more detail. Since this is the first thing players will see in the game, we wanted players to know the instant they saw it that they were about to play a part in the Star Warsuniverse. Just like everything else at BioWare, quality always comes first.

Click the above image for a larger view.

To get the best quality, we couldn’t create these cinematics inside the game engine. The camera tools are too limited. But this still needed to be an “in-game” cinematic, so Associate Video Editor Brandon Miletta took the models from the game and dropped them into a CG animation rendering package. Then we started discussing what kind of scene would match what the in-game cinematics team had created on the planet's surface.

We wanted the scene for each class to have the traditional hallmarks of the Star Wars opening, but since each class in The Old Republic has a different story (and often start on a different world), the sequences were going to have to be customized. We decided to start with the Sith Warrior (and it wasn't a Sith biased approach I can assure you! I plan on playing Trooper!). The Cinematics team had already created a beautiful opening scene on Korriban showing the Warrior disembarking from a shuttle, so we knew that’s where the cinematic had to end, but where would it start? As always, when in doubt, consult the movies. Turned out that the opening scene from Return of the Jedi was very similar to what we wanted: a shuttle comes out of a Star Destroyer and heads towards the planet’s surface. Reconstructing that with our models took some time to get right. Another thing we had to take into account is that the skybox developed for Korriban depicts several Star Destroyers in orbit, so for the cinematic we added additional ships to populate the scene in space – that way when the player is on the surface and looks up they can see where they just descended from!

Now the Smuggler’s opening scene was even more complex. The story starts with the Smuggler having just ‘run’ a separatist blockade to deliver goods for Republic troops on Ord Mantell. The scene in space needed to reflect that. This was going to be more complicated than just a little shuttle ride. Brandon had to add models for Separatist and Republic ships which we took from in-game models, animate them in battle, and then have the Smuggler fly through. Since the Smuggler is also an ace pilot, it made sense to have him do some crazy space maneuvers as well—there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned “barrel roll”. Brandon had to go in and animate all this by hand, but it paid off.

After Brandon rendered out the scenes, the ball was in my court for the last steps. Taking the “rough” sequences for each of the classes, I went in and added visual effects: blaster fire, explosions, background ship battles, engine glows, and even a few lens flares for the engines. Incorporating suggestions from the art team, I also had to tweak the lighting and colors for the planets and the starfields so that everything looked just right for the final export.

Even when something is “final” at BioWare, it’s often not—not if it can be improved. Once we dropped the opening cinematics into the game, we opened a thread on the Game Testing forums to get feedback and suggestions. While the feedback was really positive overall, the testers had some interesting suggestions. Taking this feedback to heart, we went back to some of the scenes to add extra ships and to incorporate other tidbits. To illustrate, for the Sith Warrior intro, several people pointed out that the Star Destroyers in the background looked a little too static. So we animated and rendered out some new Star Destroyer models from the game. Some feedback we got was that the scene wasn't busy enough so Brandon inserted squadrons of Sith fighters, adding a new layer to the scene as a whole, and to drive it to be the highest quality we could.

Developing the text crawls and intro scenes for each of the classes was a blast for us. We so often create videos and trailers to show off all the awesome work our colleagues have developed in the game, so it was very cool for us to use those same skills to contribute something to the in-game experience as well. Like everyone else here, it's amazing to just come into work every day and do what we do. We hope that you’ll enjoy the experience as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.

Look forward to seeing you all soon in a galaxy far, far away.

Community Q&A

The Star Wars: The Old Republic community is eager for new information, and we want to answer as many of your questions as possible. Next month’s Q&A will focus on questions regarding player versus player combat (PVP) in The Old Republic. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask via our Forums or on Facebook. Make sure to get your questions to us no later than July 22nd if you want to be considered for the next Community Q&A.

Today, Senior Audio Artist Scott Morton answers a few of your questions about sound design in The Old Republic.

Q: Will the NPCs have monologues or dialogues with each other that players can hear while walking nearby? – mmZero

A: Yes, they will. As in other BioWare games, ambient conversation is a part of the world and will help the player tune into the general goings-on of his or her surrounding area. Companions will sometimes voice their thoughts and opinions as well, as you travel the different worlds in The Old Republic

Q: Are the voices used in the class videos just a storyteller or is that the voice of the actual character in-game? - Verico

A: When a player class is speaking a line or narrating in the class videos, you’re hearing the voice of the actual actor who will be filling that role. We’ve worked closely with LucasArts to cast voice actors that are able to capture the essence of each class, and help players identify with their characters on a deeper level.

Q: Are we able to switch the different sounds louder and quieter as we please? For example, turning off sounds of voices while the background music is still on? – Blumilein

A: Yes. Players will be able to set their own audio levels when it comes to voice, music, ambience, and sound effects. Being able to customize your mix and your experience is important.

Q: How many voice actors voiced this game? – DigitalMaster

A: We are working with a very large number of voice actors… possibly more than any other game made so far. Recent counts put the number at over nine hundred actors across all three languages, and that number is still growing.

Q: What percentage of the in-game music is original for The Old Republic and what percentage has already been used elsewhere (movies, other games, etc.)? – Nahte

A: We’ve written a huge amount of original music for the game. There are over six hours of original score that have been produced specifically for The Old Republic, plus an additional hour and a half of brand new cantina music. In addition to the original score, you’ll also hear the scores for both Knights of the Old Republic I and Knights of the Old Republic II. Lastly, the game just wouldn’t be complete without John Williams’ material from the Star Wars films.

Q: Will special ability sounds change as you upgrade your weapons, or will they stay consistent throughout the leveling process? For instance, the Trooper’s ability that launches a grenade - you get this fairly early on with your basic equipment, but will it sound the same at end-game with an epic rifle? – Noobinator

A: Certain abilities will have fixed, signature sounds while others will dynamically change based on the weapons you have equipped. When you loot a new Lightsaber or blaster, you’ll notice that it almost always makes different sounds than the one you were previously using. We’re really happy about how weapon sounds can blend with your abilities to make your combat sound unique. Rare weapons are even more special – you may find a rare weapon that also has a rare and more powerful set of sounds associated with it.

Q: Does The Old Republic use any of Ben Burrt's original sound effects from the films? – MorgonKara

A: We’re definitely tapping into some of Ben Burtt’s classic material and integrating it into the game in different ways, sometimes as a layering approach and sometimes processing it to make something new. You’ll definitely hear some of his original material from the films too (it wouldn’t be Star Wars without it)!

Q: Will the Mos Eisley cantina music be in the game? – ChavekToth

A: Peter McConnell, Jared Emerson-Johnson, and Steve Kirk have written an hour and a half of brand new cantina music for The Old Republic. The goal was to expand off of the existing material we’ve all heard and try to fill out the rest of the set list. If you were to hang out in the Mos Eisley Cantina, what would the remainder of Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes’ concert have sounded like? What does a longer set sound like from The Max Rebo Band? What kind of music might you hear in an Imperial cantina? It all grew out of the cantina music in the original films. But, keep your ears open for those few classic tunes, too; I’m sure they’ll turn up somewhere!

Q: Is there any dynamic use of sound or music? Maybe on certain boss mobs, when your health gets lower (or the group's total health), or when you come upon a certain viewpoint? - Unknown

A: Our music system is dynamic and very responsive to gameplay situations. We’re also doing some cool things with some of the combat sound to make movement, foley and weapons more varied and alive.

Q: Do bad guys (Darth Malgus, etc.) get their own cool theme songs? - ZeroGravTrooper

A: The music of Star Wars is definitely rooted in the tradition of representing characters with themes, and the music in The Old Republic is no different. The approach we’ve taken, however, varies slightly in that classes and locations have themes within The Old Republic, rather than trying to score every single specific character. As such, a Jedi would have a different musical experience than a Smuggler because they each have their own unique class themes woven throughout their stories. They also begin on different origin worlds which in turn have their own themes and unique music.

Q: How is the music “playlist” handled? For example, when traveling from one location to another, how does the music fade or change at the end of every song? - Altheran

A: Our music system is adaptive and is designed to respond based on what you’re doing and where you’re going. If you’re entering a cinematic conversation, the music will smoothly adjust and follow the dramatic events of that scene. If you’re exploring the world, music will highlight points of interest, and shift into a more ambient role when necessary. The music will also respond appropriately based on what sort of choices you make and actions you take in a conversation. Our goal with music is to always support the situation you’re in without compromising overall musical flow and integrity.

Thanks for joining us for this Studio Insider! We hope you enjoyed the inside look at the opening class cinematics from Brian Arndt, as well as the Q&A with Scott Morton. We know you have a lot of questions, so we’ve opened a new Community Q&A thread relating to PVP in The Old Republic.

Dark Horse Comics: To publish The Old Republic Comic Series

VaritasDHL — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:24:00 GMT

ALL NEW STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC COMIC SERIES TO BE PUBLISHED EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Threat of Peace Set to Debut in February at www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com
Dark Horse has joined forces with LucasArts and BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), to create a new comic series, published entirely online, to introduce both the gaming and comics worlds to the upcoming massively multiplayer online game Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Debuting this month, Star Wars: The Old Republic - Threat of Peace will feature action-packed, character-driven episodes written by BioWare’s Rob Chestney and published by Dark Horse. The stories will span the three decades from the pivotal signing of the Treaty of Coruscant to critical events at the beginning of the game.

War between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire has gripped the galaxy for generations, but the sacking of Coruscant and a subsequent peace treaty are changing everything. As the Republic scrambles to re-establish order, the Sith Empire moves quickly to consolidate power within its new dominion. Behind closed doors, however, individual Sith Lords engage in a quiet but deadly power struggle, and discord breaks out among the Jedi as they wrestle with the moral implications of the new galactic balance. During these chaotic days, the stories of several critical characters interweave as they pursue their passions, stand up for their convictions and ultimately lead the galaxy back to the brink of a catastrophic conflict.

“The Old Republic time frame is ripe for creating epic, galaxy-spanning storylines with provocative moral themes,” says Rob Chestney. “Not only will readers get a preview of the game, they’ll also meet some of the game’s most compelling characters.”

“The comic offers a unique perspective on an era in the Star Wars™ galaxy unseen outside the game,” explains Dark Horse series editor Dave Marshall. “It will be an integral companion to the online experience, and a compelling adventure on its own, accessible to every Star Wars fan.”

This new ongoing series begins in February, featuring story by Rob Chestney and art by Alex Sanchez. Sanchez is an artist who has done work on comics such as Marvel Age Hulk, X-Men, and various Dark Horse comics. New issues of Star Wars: The Old Republic - Threat of Peacewill appear every other Friday exclusively on www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com.

http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/Previews/18-035?page=0

DHL Begins a new Chapter!

VaritasDHL — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:06:00 GMT

The Dark Horselords continue their journey as they prepare to being a new Chapter in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Join Us on this epic adventure into a new frontier.