SWTORFace In SWTOR, Will The Force Influence You?

We've all seen the video demonstrations from Star Wars The Old Republic where the developers have talked about Light side and Dark side options in the SWTOR. When you set up a character, remember that you don't choose Light or Dark side at the same time that you choose the class, faction, race and look. You choose to act Light or Dark as you make decisions. A character is not simply either Light or Dark.

So in SWTOR will you choose the Light or Dark side for the sole purpose of achieving certain levels in Light or Dark that then open up your access to certain weapons and equipment (according to the developers)? Or will your decision be based on morals and the type of character you want to play? Would you, for example, take out a camp of children in order to get Dark reputation that might earn you an uber cloak?!

Read on

In SWTOR, Will The Force Influence You?

We've all seen the video demonstrations from Star Wars The Old Republic where the developers have talked about Light side and Dark side options in the SWTOR. When you set up a character, remember that you don't choose Light or Dark side at the same time that you choose the class, faction, race and look. You choose to act Light or Dark as you make decisions. A character is not simply either Light or Dark.

So in SWTOR will you choose the Light or Dark side for the sole purpose of achieving certain levels in Light or Dark that then open up your access to certain weapons and equipment (according to the developers)? Or will your decision be based on morals and the type of character you want to play? Would you, for example, take out a camp of children in order to get Dark reputation that might earn you an uber cloak?!

The SWTOR developers have also said that if you build up enough Dark Alignment your character can actually change appearance if you choose to enable that option.

From what they've shown so far in the videos, my concern is that your decisions are highlighted as either light or dark. So if you're having  conversation with an ingame character you might be given three possible responses to choose from. Sometimes they are actually tagged as either Light or Dark as we have seen in the Flashpoint videos. I just wonder if this takes away some of the fun of it. Not all decisions can be as obviously Dark as slaying children. In Dragon Age, when attempting to build reputation with your companions, you have to guess what they may or may not like. Having the Light and Dark decision outlined makes it less realistic (and yes I know it's just a game, but it's role-playing isn't it!?).

What do you think? Are the highlighted selections just there for players who want to space-skip through conversations maybe?

TOR Hangout 8 - SWTOR Beta Weekend Withdrawals Video

I jumped in TOR Hangout this week and had lots of fun trying not to break NDA's!!!

TOR Hangout is a weekly round table discussion held on Google+ We use the G+ Hangout feature to get together and talk about Star Wars The Old Republic. TOR Hangout is also streamed live each week on Twitch.tv for those who cant fit into the hangout.

THIS WEEKS SHOW NOTES:

News
-Beta test signup pre 11/11? Your in!!! For a future beta test weekend (in the next few weeks). FAQ states "we're expecting this future weekend to be the last Beta Testing Weekend."

-Stress test Beta keys hitting gaming sites

David Bass says

"Just a reminder that if you were a registered member of our website on or before November 11th, 2011, you will be invited to the future weekend test. Regardless of whether you received an email last week or not, please do not take beta keys off of any external websites if you are already a registered member of our site. Let's leave them for the more needy, please."

STAR WARS: The Old Republic - Choose Your Side: Trooper vs. Sith Inquisitor

If you are not heads down Bum up in Beta then check this out.. Back to SWTOR for me!!

From the moment we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which classes they feel will have the upper hand.

In the video series "Choose Your Side," members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team plead their cases, highlighting some of the many skills and abilities that set each class apart from the rest. In the second video of the four-part series, two of the most iconic classes in the Star Wars™ universe face off as the Force-wielding Sith Inquisitor battles the stalwart Republic Trooper.

SWTOR BETA for Everyone!

Big news this weekend, anyone who has signed up for SWTOR BETA Pre 11.11.11 WILL Get in to Beta! not only that but Bioware will be giving away lots of Beta keys through selected fan sites.

** UPDATE!**
Gold Post:
When we started our Beta Testing Weekends, we told you that each weekend would include more testers than the last. We’re excited to announce that later this month we will be conducting our largest Beta Testing Weekend yet, specifically designed to help us stress test our servers in preparation for the launch of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

How can you take part in this coming Beta Test Weekend? Well, for starters we are happy to announce that anyone who has signed up for our Game Testing Program prior to today, November 11th, will get invited! Invites will be sent in the coming weeks.

For people who haven’t signed up for our Game Testing Program, you can also get into the Beta Stress Test Weekend through a series of promotions. Be sure to check out the following websites for your chance to grab a Beta Test Weekend Code:

Keep your eyes on these sites for your chance to get a Beta Test Weekend Code, as well as how to redeem the code and get into the Beta Test Weekend. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to get the latest news about Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Have question you must?
Read FAQ's you will!

Does this announcement mean I can play Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend?

No it does not, unless you have a previous testing invite - either to this weekend or to general Game Testing. The Beta Testing Weekend we are referring to will happen in the next few weeks.

When will the Beta Testing Weekend start?

It will happen in the next few weeks. We'll have an announcement on the exact timing closer to the weekend's start.

Will this be the final Beta Testing Weekend?

Currently, we expect it to be.

Will I be able to download the game client in advance of the weekend?

Yes, we will be sending out invites to download the game client in advance of the weekend.

I have previously tested Star Wars: The Old Republic. Will I get invited to the upcoming Beta Testing Weekend?

Yes, you will. Every person that is signed up and opted in for Game Testing before November 11th will be invited to this Beta Testing Weekend.

What if I do not live in a launch country for Star Wars: The Old Republic?

As long as you are signed up and opted in for testing, you will be invited to test.

What if I have not signed up, or opted in for testing by November 11th?

We are partnering with a number of games media sites worldwide to give away Beta Test Weekend Codes. They are listed in this article. If you receive a code from any of these sites, you will need to sign up on StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com to redeem that code. Further instructions are listed in the post directly below this one.

Should I try and get a key from a media partner, just in case?

If you were already signed up for testing before November 11th, you do not need an additional key. By taking a key, you'll deny someone else a chance to test the game - so please do not apply for a key you will not need!

If you have further questions, please ask them in this thread and we'll try to answer them.


For North America:
IGN
Curse.com
Massively
MMORPG
Ten Ton Hammer
ZAM

For United Kingdom:
CVG
Nowgamer
PC Gamer
Videogamer

For Nordic Regions (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden):
Daily Rush
FZ.se
Gamereactor
Spill.no

For Germany:
Buffed
GameStar
Onlinewelten.com

For France:
Gamekult
JeuxOnline
JeuxVideo
JeuxVideo.fr
Millenium

From SWTOR.com

Steam Hacked Seriously Hacked

Keep an eye on your credit cards on Steam, keep a close eye on your transactions.

From the Steam forums:

Dear Steam Users and Steam Forum Users:

Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums.

We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums. This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. We do not have evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information were taken by the intruders, or that the protection on credit card numbers or passwords was cracked. We are still investigating.

We don’t have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely.

While we only know of a few forum accounts that have been compromised, all forum users will be required to change their passwords the next time they login. If you have used your Steam forum password on other accounts you should change those passwords as well.

We do not know of any compromised Steam accounts, so we are not planning to force a change of Steam account passwords (which are separate from forum passwords). However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change that as well, especially if it is the same as your Steam forum account password.

We will reopen the forums as soon as we can.

I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Gabe.

SWTOR Fansite TORWars Q&A

Site name: TORWARS
URL: http://torwars.com
Name: Jeff Hollis
Started: October of 2010
Type: News and opinions, blog, media, Podcast

SWTOR Face: In your words, how would you describe your site? Do you have a particular focus or interest?

TORWARS: We're a SWTOR news site, and we cover every aspect of the game. Not only do we update the site multiple times every day, we also tend to take a very tongue-in-cheek approach to everything. SWTOR is fun, and we think the news about it should be too!

SWTOR Face: How many people work on your blog/site (including writers, editors, webmaster, etc)?
TORWARS: We currently have a staff of seven. (This does not include our Twi'lek dancing girls.)



SWTOR Face: When did you start blogging (about any topic)?
TORWARS: David and Jeff, the co-founders, have been writing on the web for more than ten years. For some of this writing, they actually managed to get paid (much to the amazement of everyone!)

SWTOR Face: When did you start blogging about SWTOR?
TORWARS: They started TORWars a little more than a year before the game launched.

SWTOR Face: What, if any, MMOs have you played?
TORWARS: If you can name an MMO, someone on our staff has played it. This includes big MMOs, small MMOs, old MMOs, and MMOs most sane people have never heard of.

SWTOR Face: Are you attracted to SWTOR because of the gaming experience, Star Wars, or both?
TORWARS: Primarily because it's a BioWare game, and we're big fans of their games. Also, we're huuuuuuuuge MMO fanbois and fangurls, and so this is a very natural fit.

SWTOR Face: What is your most memorable experience in gaming?
TORWARS: Personally, I'm really looking forward to hooking up with a hot Wookiee princess in SWTOR. That will indeed be memorable.

SWTOR Face: What was your first Star Wars experience?
TORWARS: The founders (who are extremely old) both saw Star Wars in the theater in 1977. We then collected Star Wars toys, played a lot of X-Wing, read a lot of Star Wars comics, and generally refused to grow up, even to this very day.

SWTOR Face: Republic or Empire?
TORWARS: Empire. Evil is funner. More funner. Funnerer. Whatever!

SWTOR Face: What excites you most about SWTOR?
TORWARS: We've heard that slave bikinis are in the game. Making a fat male Jedi, and then running around in a slave bikini is pure comedy gold.

SWTOR Beta Testing Weekend EU testers Invites sent!

Gold Post!

General Game Testing Invites are now being sent to EU testers.

Sent Nov. 10: General Game Testing Invites
Who was invited: Testers from all European launch countries
What was sent: General Game Testing Invites
Server locations: EU servers
Invite status: Invites will continue to be sent during today. E-mails can take some time to be sent, so please check your www.swtor.com/tester page to be sure!

Did you get a golden ticket?

following countries:
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

SWTOR Fansite Q&A The Niquisition

Site name: The Niquisition
URL: http://theniquisition.com/
Guild Website: N/A
Twitter: @The_Niquisition
Name: Niq Fenstermacher
Started: April 8, 2011
Type: Fan site, Blog, Video: Informational Blog,

SWTOR Face: In your words, how would you describe your site? Do you have a particular focus or interest?
Niq: The Niquisition is a personal blog about my experiences healing in TOR as a Corruption Sorcerer. It's also a "resource" site because, when I'm not ranting about class nerfs or raging about wiping at 1%, I'll be sharing some theorycrafting information as well as other helpful tips/tricks on healing in TOR. I'll be progressing through end-game hard-core so content and tips will be current and "advanced"

SWTOR Face: How many people work on your blog/site (including writers, editors, webmaster, etc)?
Niq: For now, just me. There are some ideas for guest posts in the future, but nothing I could implement until post-launch.

SWTOR Face: When did you start blogging (about any topic)?
Niq: October 31, 2010 is when my first blog post went up on my, now retired, resto druid WoW blog called The Grove. So it's been just over a year now!

SWTOR Face: When did you start blogging about SWTOR?
Niq: April 2011

SWTOR Face: What, if any, MMOs have you played?
Niq: WoW was pretty much my life, my love, and my lady for the past 6+ years. Thought, I dabbled in RIFT and EQ *briefly*

SWTOR Face: Are you attracted to SWTOR because of the gaming experience, Star Wars, or both?
Niq: Both. I've been into Star Wars for as long as I can remember. I didn't see the original trilogy in theaters, sadly, but I did see them before the "changes" and will always remember them as they were.

SWTOR Face: What is your most memorable experience in gaming?
Niq: My first guild, The Returners of Durotan-US. Oh the memories...

SWTOR Face: What was your first Star Wars experience?
Niq: After watching the movies, my older brother and I went to the backyard to have a lightsaber fight with sticks... I lost.

SWTOR Face: Republic or Empire?
Niq: My motivations are my own, but the Empire's resources better serve my needs.

SWTOR Face: What excites you most about SWTOR?
Niq: Lightsabers!!!! And evil healing *cackle*

I'm really looking forward to seeing this site flourish in the community.

SWTOR Beta Testing Weekend 3 Invites sent!

Gold Post!

Sent Nov. 8: Beta Testing Weekend #3 Invites
Who was invited: Testers from North America
What was sent: Beta Weekend #3 Invites
Server locations: US East Coast
Invite status: We are currently in the process of sending these invites, and will continue throughout this evening.

One of the reasons for this weekend's Beta Testing Weekend is to specifically stress test servers in our East Coast data center. To help achieve this aim, we're inviting North American players (USA and Canada), who'll be playing in a similar timezone to each other, to help max out the server capacity.

We're absolutely aware of how anxious Europeans are to test The Old Republic, and we're going to be inviting many more Europeans to testing ASAP. I'm not going to suggest a timeframe, but we'll let you know as soon as invites are sent. The next batch of invites for Europeans will be to general Game Testing, which will persist beyond a weekend.