Tag Archives: The Old Republic

Damion Schubert, principal lead systems designer in SWTOR, has tried to alleviate migration fears for players who’ve yet to manually transfer their characters onto another server.

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EA CEO John Riccitiello has told CNBC “there’s a lot of power in free-to-play,” which has proved a tough model to compete with when it comes to MMOs.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic’s executive producer Rich Vogel has told Gamasutra he is no longer with the company, as reports out of Austin, Texas state Bioware has issued a round of lay-offs today. The redundancies at BioWare Austin are part of the restructuring plan announced in May, which EA said were necessary to maintain SWTOR growth. Vogel’s departure preceded the layoffs affecting BioWare Austin today.

BioWare has announced its unlimited trial for Star Wars: The Old Republic launches today with patch 1.3.2. The trial will allow players access to eight classes and the respective origin worlds as well as one PvP Flashpoint PvP – up to level 15. Players who have previously participated in the Weekend Pass Free Trials or the Friends of Star Wars: The Old Republic Trial are also eligible to join.

Analyst Michael Pachter believes subscription MMOs have peaked, stating that if BioWare couldn’t make a success out it with Star Wars: The Old Republic, “then no one can.”

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Want an incentive to switching your SWTOR character over to another server? BioWare has read your mind and is offering up a Gannifari pet if you do, and to sweeten the deal, it’s also handing out 25 Black Hole Commendations so you can buy some super special high-end kit. According to the firm, “hundreds of thousands of players have already taken advantage,” of the free character transfer service so go along with the popular kids and do the same. More information here.

SWTOR team members have explained how the tie-breaker is decided on the Voidstar PvP map, an area which by all accounts, can be a frustrating situation for many players.

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In case you forgot, BioWare’s releasing Update 1.3 – Allies for SWTOR today. The update contains the Group Finder, Ranked Warzones, Legacy Character Perks, and Adaptive Gear. Load up your game client, and start patching now.

BioWare has updated the list of SWTOR servers eligible for character transfers. Those wondering if their server has been deemed worthy, hit up the list here. BioWare will be offering free character transfers from select origin servers to pre-determined destination servers, and said servers and their corresponding destination servers “will be revealed on a regular, ongoing basis going forward.”

EA’s Frank Gibeau has said one of the ways the firm plans on attaining and retaining more players in Star Wars: The Old Republic is by offering the free trial, continuing to improve the gameplay, and by adding more content. This, he said, proves the firm plans to be in the “in the Star Wars business for a long time.”

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BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka took the stage at EA’s E3 press conference to announce Star Wars: The Old Republic will be going free-to-play up to level 15 next month.

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BioWare’s Emmanuel Lusinchi has said there are many variables and metrics when it comes to figuring out how many players an MMO such as Star Wars: The Old Republic has; therefore, when a number is provided by the company or a retailer, it’s not the full picture.

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Over on the SWTOR forums, a player going by the name Scorpienne has complied a report which features population estimates on the MMO’s servers. According to his estimates, some servers only have, on average, 344 players online at a given time.

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BioWare heads Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka have confirmed a round of layoffs for Star Wars: The Old Republic. A post on the official website confirms the layoffs but is scant on details, and only states the following alongside praise for the team: “We still have a very substantial development team working on supporting and growing the game, and we feel we are in a strong position, with your continued involvement and feedback, to continue to build Star Wars: The Old Republic as one of the most compelling and successful online experiences in the world today.” The statement goes on to say the team remains “dedicated to delivering a high quality service in SWTOR” over “the weeks, months and years to come.”

BioWare’s detailed update 1.3 for Star Wars: The Old Republic, the key feature of which being a group finder for flashpoints and operations. The update, called Allies, will also come with server transfers, more legacy options and more. IGN has more details, with a video interview featuring lead game designer Daniel Erickson below.

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BioWare said during its weekly SWTOR community Q&A it’s looking into a technical issue preventing a modifiable offhand with some classes, and that it plans on added a new augment slot to existing modifiable items. The developer also there there are currently no plans for making companions more interchangeable, and also discussed the various rates of gear acquisition in progress tracks for PvE and PvP players. You can read the full thing through here. Thanks, Massively.

BioWare has posted its weekly Community Q&A and in it, the firm teased new playable species coming to the MMO this year.

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BioWare has announced Star Wars: The Old Republic has officially launched in more European countries and the Middle East. Hit up the list here. Thanks, Talkar.

BioWare has announced the SWTOR servers, which it took down earlier this morning for emergency maintenance, should be back up by 7.00pm EST. The developer tool the game offline due to some areas of the game being “reverted to pre-Game Update 1.2 status,” and some areas were missing completely and character in these areas became unavailable. Servers were taken offline around 9.30am CST and the team is working to “rebuild assets for the live servers,” but warns it’s not a quick process – meaning the downtime could be extended. However, you’ll get a free day of game time out of it (thanks Talkar!) so that should console you a bit. Be sure to keep and eye on the official website for status updates.

BioWare has announced it will be bringing down the SWTOR servers for eight hours on April 12 in order to apply Update 1.2 – Legacy. All game servers will be offline during this period, and while eight hours is the mark, it could last a bit longer so be prepared.

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