Press Release STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ LAUNCHES FREE-TO-PLAY OPTION TODAY

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STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ LAUNCHES

FREE-TO-PLAY OPTION TODAY

Award-Winning MMO from BioWare and LucasArts also adds New Content

AUSTIN, Texas – Nov 15, 2012 – BioWare™, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), and LucasArts announced today that the new, Free-to-Play option for the critically-acclaimed, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: The Old Republic is now live. Players can experience the complete storylines of all eight, iconic Star Wars™ classes, all the way to level 50 for free. This new option complements the existing subscription offering, providing players with maximum flexibility in how they choose to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic.



“We want to give our players the freedom to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic when and how they want,” said Matthew Bromberg, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “There has never been a better time to start playing with us.”

Also today, BioWare released Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activated, which adds new areas to explore, a new Companion character and more, including:

Get ready for an action-packed adventure to earn control of one of the galaxy’s most deadly Assassins, HK-51. Submerged beneath the icy surface of Belsavis lies a derelict ship and if you are brave enough to venture through the wreckage, you will embark on a mission that ultimately rewards you with a powerful new, yet familiar, ally: the ruthless Assassin Droid, HK-51.
Explore Section X, a previously untouched area of the prison world of Belsavis. The Dread Masters’ servants are searching for a powerful and ancient weapon. Fly to Section X and secure the target of their search to be richly rewarded.
Travel to Denova to take on Operation: Explosive Conflict – now with a Nightmare Mode! Teams who complete in this new mode can earn the final pieces of the Dread Guard gear set and a brand new mount that will be sure to cause tank envy!

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a story-driven, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a Free-to-Play option from BioWare and LucasArts. Set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies, players team up with friends online to fight in heroic battles, explore a galaxy of vibrant planets and experience visceral Star Wars combat, all set to a sweeping musical score. Players are asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent.

For more information on the different ways players can now experience Star Wars: The Old Republic, including the Free-to-Play option, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE or http://Origin.com. As always, be sure to check StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com for latest updates and follow us on Twitter®, Facebook®, and YouTube®.

For new screen shots of Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activate – click here.

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER ACCESS AND LICENSE AGREEMENT ('EUALA'), PERSISTENT INTERNET CONNECTION, AND ACCOUNT REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO PLAY. MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER. ACCOUNT IS NON-TRANSFERABLE ONCE USED. PAID SUBSCRIPTION, VALID AND ACCEPTED PAYMENT METHOD OR PAID GAME TIME CARD (IF AVAILABLE) REQUIRED TO ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION GAMEPLAY. PAYMENT METHOD AGE RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. SWTOR ONLINE SERVICE MAY BE DISCONTINUED. SEE EUALA FOR DETAILS. AGREEMENT TO SHARE ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD. ('LUCASFILM') IS REQUIRED TO ACCESS GAMEPLAY. GAME INTENDED FOR PLAY ONLY WITHIN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE AND CERTAIN OTHER TERRITORIES. USE OF CARTEL COINS SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SERVICES AGREEMENT. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE AVAILABLE ATWWW.SWTOR.COM. ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO PLAY THE GAME APPLY AT ALL TIMES. THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF SUBSCRIPTION ARE INCLUDED IN THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT. SUBSCRIPTIONS MAY BE CANCELLED AT ANY TIME. SEE WWW.SWTOR.COM FOR DETAILS.

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About LucasArts

Founded in 1982 by filmmaker George Lucas, LucasArts is a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment. With development facilities in San Francisco and Singapore, LucasArts leverages the global skills, technology and resources of the Lucasfilm family of companies -- including visual effects leader Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound -- in addition to strategic partnerships with best-in-class external partners, to further the boundaries of game development. LucasArts is dedicated to delivering deeply immersive, visually spectacular and engaging experiences that inspire and amaze generations.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has more than 250 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. BioWare and Mass Effect are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Battlefield is a trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.

LucasArts, the LucasArts logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © 2012 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The Many Looks of Ensign Raina Temple

Complete Guide to Ensign Raina Temple Customizations

Like most end game companions, Ensign Raina Temple's customization's are not found in low level zones but I have found them all and taken screenshots and tails to make it a breeze for you to choose the look you like most. If you wait until you have reached level 50 to purchase her customizations you will find that you have already got used to the way she looks by default. This guide will give you an idea about her personality and show you where to purchase the options so you can go get the one you want as soon as she joins you at around level 40. Even though her customizations are found in the level 50 zone, you are able to safely get there with no risk

Ensign Raina Temple is the 4th Imperial Agent Companion and I have found her to be my companion of choice at level 50 on my Operative. She uses the same gear as my agent so it's easy to deck her out. She is also easy on the eyes and she doesn't have an annoying voice.

Georgia Van Cuylenburg the voice of  Ensign Raina Temple

Her accent sounds a bit like my wife's and looking her up on IMDB I found out Georgia Van Cuylenburg is an Aussie with a British BBC accent (my wife is an Aussie who spent a lot of time in the UK!). Georgia is a rare talent who, at her young age, is a successful and credited comedian, TV host, actor and voice-over artist. Through her production company "I am Spartacus Entertainment", she is also a credited writer and producer.

Temple is 1 of 3 female companions that Imperial Agents get and no doubt the most sane of the 3. She never wants to kill you and seems to look up to you.

I like her personality and she seemed to like the choices I made in the game. She's a typically patriotic example of the rank-and-file Imperial military -a true believer in Imperial superiority and duty. No matter how easygoing or empathetic she may be at times, the needs of her nation have to come first.

Ensign Raina Temple has 8 looks including the default look. Her voice seems to suite the default look well  and I think she looks real nice in any of the Imperial officers' uniforms as seen in the first image in this post. But if you like the bikini look, you're in luck as she also looks hot in the the full slave girl outfit.    

Customizations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are all for sale on Ilum from the Supply Officer Mikaen. At 20k each she is not a cheap girl!

To get Customization 8 you need to go to the Security Key Vendor on the orbital station above Ilum. 

Don't forget to check out similar posts:

Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Elara Dorne
The Many Looks of Kira Carsen
The Many Looks of Vette
The Many Looks of Mako
The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.

SWTOR Free-to-Play is Coming on November 15th

"Today we are excited to announce that the global launch date of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Free-to-Play option will be November 15, 2012. This release will be simultaneous across all of the territories and countries The Old Republic™ is available.

If you’re a paying Subscriber at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15th, you will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on your Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins!

Additionally, we are extending the Rewards Program! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at 11:59pm CST will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to November 15, 2012. For more information on all of the rewards you could potentially receive, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE."

• Free to Play and Update 1.5 go live on Thursday, 11/15/2012. (No details on the maintenance period were given.)
• The cheapest package for Cartel Coins: $4.99 for 450 Coins. (90 Cartel Coins per dollar.)
• The most expensive package for Cartel Coins: $39.99 for 5500 Coins. (137 Cartel Coins per dollar.)
• Several additional packages will be available in between those two prices. The more expensive the package, the better value the player receives.
• Subscribers on the one month plan will receive 500 CC per month. * Players on the 3 month or 6 month plans will receive more per month. (Exact numbers were not given but will be available next week.)
• Former subscribers automatically receive "Preferred" status.
• New F2P players receive "Preferred" status upon buying anything from the SWTOR store. The $5 CC package and the security key fob being the cheapest items that will grant Preferred status.
• buy.swtor.com will be the site for purchasing Cartel Coins and other items.
• Services such as character renames and appearance changes being purchased with CC are possibilities for the future.
• Most items bought on the Cartel Market, including content unlocks, can be traded or sold on the GTN by design.
• Physical Cartel Coin packs will be available from retail stores. They'll make a great stocking stuffer!
• The plan is to update the Cartel Market with new items every month or so.
• Players will be able to purchase additional character slots with Cartel Coins shortly after F2P launches.
• Limited time or seasonal Cartel Market items are something they're considering but can't commit to at this time.
• There are currently no plans to adjust the monthly cost for subscribers.
• There are currently no plans to sell subscription time (ala Plex system in EVE) via the Cartel Market.
• Character transfers to the PTS are something they are currently working on and will be available in the near future.

State of the Game with Jeff Hickman

Hello everyone,

This is the first of many regular “State-of-the-Game” postings to you, the players. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and finally have the opportunity to get it started. I’m hoping to use these postings as a direct way to address some of the top unresolved issues that most concern our community. I won’t get to everything all at once, but I’ll try to hit some of the big ones, and talk about these topics as openly as I can. It’s my hope that you’ll respond with more comments, questions and concerns. As you do, I will then take these and either roll them into my next update, or have the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community team answer them directly as we usually do. Sound good? OK!

Before we begin, let me introduce myself for those of you who do not know me. My name is Jeff Hickman and I am the Executive Producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. I have been working on the team for about 2 years now and was responsible for most of the Live Services and ultimately the launching of our award-winning game. Twelve years ago, I joined the industry as the Director of CS for Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) with Mythic Entertainment. In the years since then, I have engaged in just about every role you can imagine on an MMO team (except art, because I suck at art). In the early days at Mythic, I helped design several expansions for DAoC, produced and ran their daily operations and in 2005 was given the opportunity to become Executive Producer for that beloved game. Between then and now, I built, launched and operated Warhammer Online and I was also Executive Producer for Ultima Online. I’ve devoted my life to MMOs and the people that play them, and have some cool tattoos to prove it:

When we decided to go Free-to-Play earlier this year, we had weeks of discussion with everyone on the team about where we thought the game was going, what we thought was going right and what was going wrong. We uncovered a lot of issues, but three things really stood out:

1. Our game is awesome. People love it and want to play it.

2. The subscription requirement was driving away huge numbers of people who do not want to commit to paying monthly.

3. The frequency of our Game Updates was way too slow. People were leaving because we were not releasing new content fast enough to keep up with the pace at which it was being consumed.

You are now seeing the results of these conversations. Free-to-Play goes live this Fall, and we are dedicated to getting Game Updates out to you every 6 weeks or so. Though each of these efforts is incredibly challenging for the team, they have accepted that challenge and have tackled them head on!

But we know there is more we can do, more you want us to do. So today, I thought it might be more useful to dive into some more granular and “hot” topics.

Topic #1: Staff: Why are some developers leaving The Old Republic™? How will the game be affected?

Answer: People leave for a lot of reasons. Some have worked on the project for 6+ years and are simply tired and want to go work on something else. Others may not agree with the direction that the game is heading – Free-to-Play is not for everyone and requires a big shift in thinking and culture within the studio. Still others do not have the right skills for the roles that we have as the studio evolves and changes. When any single person leaves, whether we make the decision or they do, it is difficult, but the studio and game live on and thrive as we change, actually thrive because we change. The core of what makes the game and studio great are still here; quality in our game and in our workplace, people that are passionate about both, a camaraderie with each other that helps us support one another, and key people like James Ohlen (who was at BioWare from the very start) who continue to help us carry the banner of BioWare and who are dedicated to help evolve and improve Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Topic #2: Bugs: How does testing work? Why do bugs get through? Why did Game Update 1.4 have so many of them? What are we doing to improve the process?

Answer: MMOs are undoubtedly one of the most complex games on Earth. We employ hundreds of QA professionals to ensure that our game is high quality, but sometimes bugs get through. We test every step of the way as we develop the game or change to the game. We have many, many development environments that work in a sequence to push updates from initial construction, to code and content integration, to internal end-to-end testing, to player facing testing on Public Test Servers and then on to the Live servers. Sometimes (like in Game Update 1.4) we make changes that have unintended (and undiscovered) consequences on completely different parts of the game (the performance issues that showed up in the update are a great example of this). These unintended changes happen more often than you would think (or we would like), though we usually catch them before they go live. We have recently put new measures in place both on the development teams and in QA, as well on Public Test Server (where we should find many of these types of issues), to catch things like this in the future. I am not saying it will not happen again – bugs will always happen – but we will strive to give you the best, high quality, bug-free experience that we can. As a side note, we finally got a lock on the last of the major issues from Game Update 1.4 and appreciate your patience with that one.

Topic #3: Oceanic populations. Are we doing anything about them?

Answer: We are very aware of the concerns with the population levels on the Oceanic servers. The problem is pretty complex, as the solutions we have either split the populations further (like allowing Oceanic players to move to North American servers), or would force players to go to server types (PvP or RP, etc…) that they do not want to be on. Our current plan is to wait for Free-to-Play to launch and see what the influx of new players does to the populations of these servers. We will give it a little time and if we do not see significant improvement, then we will move ahead with the solution that offers the best playing experience for the Oceanic community.

OK, that is it for now. Please keep your comments and questions coming and I will try to answer the biggest, unresolved questions in these “State-of-the-Game” posts. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to be involved with such an amazing game like Star Wars: The Old Republic. I will do everything in my power to take care of the game, and help guide it to a great future.


Jeff Hickman
Executive Producer
Original

I don't know that this tells us a lot of stuff we didn't know but it is all in the one place now right?

Video Guide to Voiced Emotes on the PTS

I have put together this video guide showing off all the voiced slash commands (like /cheer, /chuckle, etc) that are on the public test server and coming to live in patch 1.5.
It's not complete yet - at this stage there are a lot of the voiced commands that have filler sound files. A note that pops up telling you what the sound is and a note that "actor to improvise". So before all of these slash commands are put on the live server there will be more new sound files to come!

the /commands are:

/apologize

/Bye

/cheer

/chuckle

/congrats

/Farewell

/followme

/giggle

/Goodbye

/goodjob

/Hello

/Hi

 /Introduce

/kiss

/laugh

/no

/nod

/sorry

/thanks

/woot

/yes

Enjoy the video ...

A Closer Look at the Crime Lord's Cartel and Black Market Packs

Players on the test Server received 2400 Cartel Coins today to test new goodies and I decided to use the coins to compare loot in the two different Cartel Packs (the Crime Lord's Cartel and the Black Market). 

I'm still really impressed with the randomness of the loot in these packs. Out of the nine packs I opened today, I received only one duplicate item and if I include the four other packs I purchased yesterday, I have received a total of 3 duplicate items over 13 packs-1 mount and 2 transparent chess pieces. 

But which of the two packs is better value for money and which has the better loot? Let's break down ...

Crime Lord's Cartel Pack

The Crime Lord's Cartel packs cost 360 Cartel Coins. You get two special items and three non-special items (like XP boosts, hand crafting mats, etc.) The Crime Lord's pack also has the chance of a super-rare item. Out of the four packs I opened I got two chest pieces (one in an upper body kit containing a chest piece and gloves), one mount, one pet, one relic, one crystal, one emote and one banner. Details are in the screenshot compilation below.

Black Market Pack

Out of the five Black Market Packs I bought I got two chest pieces, one pet, a lightsaber, and a banner. Details are in the compiled screenshot below.

So which type of  pack is best?

So although the Black Market Packs are exactly half the cost, making them seem like great value for the total items you get, the chance for rare items is reduced. I have not seen any mounts drop from the Black Market Packs yet, whilst I've already got a total of four mounts out of the seven Crime Lord's Cartel Packs I have opened over the last couple of days. Having said that, I did get some cool stuff from the The Black Market packs like the Tythonian Force Master lightsaber and the Bastilia's Sash relic. If you can afford it, the Crime Lord's Cartel packs are better, but if I only had the coins for a Black Market Pack I wouldn't not buy one, especially when you're just starting to buy them. Down the track, once you've collected most of the cool items you will find it hard to get what you want from a Black Market pack, especially mounts, crystals or seemingly hard to get drops.

Some cool stuff from packs

To give you an idea of what some of the cooler items are, here are some screenshots. The Menace Emote pictured above makes you glow red while you hold your hand out and gesture for someone to come closer to you.

You can't be taken as a serious crime Lord without a monkey-lizard. Just make sure he stays clear of R2 units as they like to shock them.

The Tythonian Force-Master's lightsaber adds a cool glow effect to the bottom of your lightsaber blade as you can see in the above screenshot. This smokey-glow effect works with any color crystal, including the pink/purple pictured here. Is it just me, or is my character getting ready for a madi-gras? Shirt off: check. Pink glow-stick: check.

The two new relics can be seen in action here. Although the Tulak Hord Force apparition seems to just stand there and not attack, the Bastila's Sash apparition heals you with no problems at all and as you can see, both are able to proc at the same time. 

200k Credit Cap For Freepers! Will it Force the Price of Items?

Free to play players (Freepers) will have a credit cap of 200k. Any extra credits made go into an Escrow account that you can see in your inventory. Once the credits have gone into that Escrow account the only way to get them back is to subscribe! If you earn 300K, for example, you can spend 200 of it but 100 of it will be stuck in escrow forever and the only way to retrieve it is to subscribe. It doesn't matter if you spend 200 of your 300, the 100 that was over the cap doesn't then become available; it stays in escrow. Free to play players are going to have to be careful when they are approaching the 200k cap. 

What will this mean for the Galactic Trade Market?  

Free to play players, using Cartel Coins to purchase Black Market Packs for example, are not going to want to sell items for over 200k. Subscribers will have a bigger audience for things like mats, if their prices are under 200k. Will we see an influx of items priced between 150-199k? Will we also see epic items that freepers can't equip priced really cheap to avoid the freepers hitting their  credit cap? I was actually quite surprised to see such a low credit cap for freepers.

Do you think 200k is a high enough cap? I'd personally like to see it closer to the 500k mark. Keep in mind that freepers can move credits to other characters if they have unlocked their mail box.

Cartel Market Tour

Patch 1.5 introduces Free to Play for Star Wars The Old Republic and a big part of the Free to Play system is the Cartel Market. When you first log into the game after patch 1.5 hits the servers, you will get this welcome message:

Although the game will be Free to Play there will be lots of features and benefits that only the paid subscribers will get and these will be flaunted to the Free to Play players, enticing them to join the fold. The features include unlimited access to warzones, operations and flashpoints, as well as unlimited access to end game purple gear.

Free to Play players will use the Cartel Market to pay for weekly passes to things like flashpoints or operations. Subscriber players earn 500 Cartel Coins per month, just for being a subscriber and they can then use these credits in the Cartel Market to purchase all sorts of neat upgrades and trinkets. 

Bioware use the 'Featured' and 'Newly Added' tabs in the Cartel Market to make players aware of the latest and greatest items available.

Most players on the test server seem to be purchasing the Packs. You can purchase either a Crime Lords Cartel Pack or a Black Market Cartel Pack. In the two screenshots below I have joined two screenshots together in each in order to show you the full list of what is in each Pack.

The Black Market Pack is the cheaper of the two. The prices are listed near the bottom right.

After you purchase your Cartel Items you need to Claim them so that they will then appear in your inventory. You can purchase things in the Cartel Market using on character and then logout and log back in with a different character, and claim the items with that different character. Your Cartel Coin value is shared across all your characters on your account. You can only claim your Cartel Market purchases for one character although you can change what character is using them. On the test server they are bound to a character for five days and then they can be changed to another character. Bioware have already stated that this binding is prevent the use of the Cartel Market for quick credit transfers, but the five day time frame on the test server is not set in stone yet.

When you open your Crime Lord Pack an animation appears ingame to assure that all the players around you see you have new goodies! I was able to purchase three Crime Lord Packs and this is what I got from them:

The first pack gave me a Probe Droid pet and a metallic purple mount, along with a minor social boost and some crafting mats.

The second pack provided two new mounts, both different, a space mission experience boost and some crafting mats.

The mounts are all multi-speed mounts, meaning that you can use them with speeder piloting rank 1, through to rank 3, and the mount scales with your skill level.

The third pack I opened gave me an Imperial banner and an orange torso item. This orange torso item is an invisible top that acts the same way as any other armor/chest piece does, but allows the player to be bare-chested if they are male. When equipped on a female character, the default bra is still visible.

The Black Market Pack provided me with one less purple item and one less crafting mat, compared with the Crime Lord Cartel Pack.

I received a relic item in the Black Market Pack that is a level 50 equipped healing trinket. In the screenshot below you can see the trinket in action.

The Force Apparition appears to heal you. This happened in the first 10 seconds of combat whenever the 2 minute cooldown was up. So although the stats look cool on this relic, I am really not too sure how useful it will be.

If you're not into the random-rolled packs, the COSMETIC tab has a variety of mounts and pets available.

The UNLOCKS tab is where most Free to Play players will get the things they need to experience more parts of the game. If you see an exclamation mark next to Buy Now, it means that your account already has that item unlocked, and you shouldn't waste your Cartel Coins on it. UNLOCKS like Section X and bank Tabs are provided with subscriptions. The UNLOCKS tab also provides the ability to unlock specific species without having to level to level 50 first. Certain UNLOCKS are applied account-wide (across all your characters).

There are five tabs of armor and weapons. At this stage there is only one melee weapon - a Gammorean guard axe. There's also only one variation of a color crystal listed - orange/yellow. There are a full range of armor looks available for your character and this includes unique Sith looks for Republic players and unique Republic looks for Sith players. All the armor, from what I can tell, is simply recolored items for equipment that is already in the game - nothing brand new. The armor levels range from level 15 to level 43. So there is no end game armor there, it's all strictly cosmetic and not game-breaking. All the armor is adaptive, allowing any player to equip any look they choose, so long as they meet the minimum level requirement.

In CONSUMABLES you'll find a variety of XP boosts, valor boosts, and other consumable items which will speed up levelling. These items are valuable for both Free to Play players and subscribers.

I'm not too sure if I like so many items being strictly random access via the Cartel Packs. I guess we're all going to end up with 5 or 6 mounts we never use, or we'll be able to sell the items on the Galactic Trade Market for inagme credits. I didn't experience any duplicate items in all the packs I bought, but I'm sure that it will happen for some unlucky players unless Bioware have the randomness well planned.

Some items, especially the XP boosts, are a bit expensive for subscribers who already pay a monthly fee. For a full paying subscriber I would expect to be able to get the necessary XP boosts automatically without having to spend extra money. The Cartel Market has potential, I just hope that Bioware don't get greedy to the extent where subscriber players are needing to buy boosts on top of their monthly subscription, just to fully enjoy the game.

Character Preview Update in Patch 1.5

Along with the launch of the Cartel Market, coming out in Patch 1.5, Bioware have introduced some new features to the character preview screen. The first change is the ability to turn your weapon on and off. Using the center button highlighted in the image below will enable your character preview interface to equip or unequip a weapon. (Note: There seems to be a brightness issue with the preview screens that are on the test server at the moment. I'm sure this will be fixed before Patch 1.5 is released.)

Using your mouse wheel while your preview screen is open will zoom in and out on your character, giving you a high res look at all your equipment.

If you're fussy like me, the look of your lightsaber hilt is important, and so this new feature will be a pleasant distraction of your first visit to SWTOR once the patch comes out (in the next couple of weeks).

Apat from being able to preview weapons that you're not able to use normally, you can also preview color crystal effects on lightsabers even when you don't own them. Hit Control and then right click on a crystal to preview how it looks in your hot little hand. Note: You will have to have a lightsaber equipped, or be previewing a lightsaber hilt to experiment with crystal colors.

You can also preview your companion's customizations and weapon options, up close and personal with a rotate feature, which is a massive upgrade to the current preview screen.

I adjusted the brightness in this screenshot to show you the detail you can see when you zoom in.