This post is really for those that forgot all about it and haven’t yet registered.

I tried the sign up before and it now works just fine. Usually these things aren’t first come first server so your chances won’t be hampered if you were to sign up this late.

Good luck getting in!

Link for those that didn’t bookmark it: http://www.swtor.com/tester

After the long wait, you can now finally sign up to the beta of one of the most hottly anticipated MMO releases.

Visit this link for all the news on the sign ups.

http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20090929_001

If – like me – you play through an RPG and want to always pick the funniest lines in any dialogue choice, look no further!  Bioware have categorically stated that you will always have the funniest dialog choices to show off your bravado and Han Solo-esque flair!  Not only funny dialog, but you will apparrently have the moves to go with it!

Check out the full story here.

TOR at GamesCom and Penny Arcade Expo
Star Wars: The Old Republic will be will be bringing the power of the Force to two more conventions this year, GamesCom (Cologne, Germany; August 19-24 ) and Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) (Seattle, Washington; September 4 – 6). During the conventions, the team we will be showcasing the first public gameplay demo

This could just be what we have seen already from the past gameplay post in playable or demo viewing form at the conventions, which would be slightly disappointing, however the same footage with a developer commentary behind it would explain and expand on a view features we saw tucked away into the preview.

As always, we will be awaiting the conventions and reporting all the news we hear and see back to you.

How appropriate, you fight like a cow!

• The Healing System – Bioware’s system is that every class will be able to spec for healing to some degree, but they hinted that there would still be some kind of a healer class; pure, hybrid or otherwise.
• Space Combat – Non-Existent at the moment.
• Character Customisation – The degree to which you can customise your character sounds pretty extensive, so that there wont be 10 people in every meeting place that looks exactly like Boba Fett… Well, not through lack of choice anyway.
• Player Bounties – Bioware touched on this subject briefly, and it seems like they’re not committing to anything, but they haven’t ruled it out either.
• Jetpacks – Yes, you heard me, jetpacks.  They will be used to perform certain combat moves such as boosting up into the air, swooping down and then blasting rockets in some unsuspecting persons face.  I’m sold.
• Light/Dark side switching? - Not hugely clear on this because Bioware just confirmed that they had previously hinted upon this.  Basically they have hinted that there might be something similar to a karma system that would allow you to switch from Dark to Light (or vice versa), depending on your actions.  Not sure how this would affect non-force classes.
• No Rat Killing – Huzzah!  Gone are the days when you have to go out and collect 12 rat testicles for the local Quest giver!  Bioware have said that every mission should immerse you into the story, and give you a sense that you are doing something heroic in the Star Wars Galaxy.
• Companions – You will have them, and they will become your party in certain instances for the storyline.  The interesting thing here is that they will work the way companions worked in Mass Effect, so that you will build a relationship with them which will be unique to you.

All very interesting stuff, I look forward to hearing what will come out of the Comic-Con over this weekend.  More to come, I’m sure!

The video snippet shows what seems to be an instanced quest with a party of 2. It starts by showing NPC interaction with a system thats VERY similar to Mass Effect dialogue where the player can select from a number of options to respond to the NPC with a dial.

Although the video is about this experience with a look into how they go about getting the voices into the game, the real juicy information is in the footage between it.

Real Gameplay moments are featured including the GUI and skill useage from what looks like the Sith class. If you look close enough you’ll notice his name is Darthevil with another player in his party.

The usual features can be seen in the UI including the Experience Bar, Mini Map, Skill bar with 5-6 skill icons listed, party frames and a chat window.
This is all followed by what looks like to be a channeled skill which the sith performs near the end of the film.

Seems that the UI captured from the World Design video was the real deal after all.

The article is well written and goes into a lot of detail regarding bits of information we haven’t seen before.

Highlights include a Sith preview, mentioning the action point system requiring you to build up points as you deal damage to perform finishing moves and the following quote.

Where are the PvP arenas? Or the large, 25+ player raids? Or auction houses? Or, hey, space-combat? Vogel raises an eyebrow. “Oh, we have all that too. We’re just going to wait a little bit to show you that.

The full article can be seen at Games Radar here and is well worth a read

The video gives a great feel for the unique art style they seen to have given the game as well as the character models and animations. I wasn’t sure when I first saw the direction they were taking with the characters art style, but I think I’m starting to grow fond of it as I see more video footage.

Again, props to xxHIMxx for this contribution.

Hey, it's me!

Bioware have officially announced the coolest of all the republic classes; the Smuggler. (Of course!)

These guys will essentially be the rogues of the Old Republic, and it seems like the general theme of this class is that they are light on their feet and second to none with a pistol.

Although the press release doesn’t mention it, it has also been rumoured that they can do the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs, which is a pretty mean feat for anyone.

To read the full story click here

Just in case you turned off the EA E3 presentation when Charm Girls Club – Pajama Party was announced (like many people accross the world), representatives from Bioware and LucasArts came out dressed like Jedis!  This was – of course – to give us a teaser of Star Wars Old Republic!

Hold on to your potatoes!

In case this wasn’t enough, they announced a few other details about the game, such as the game will be the first ‘Fully Voiced’ MMO.

Another interesting point was that each class will have it’s own unique story that will lead you on your way through the game, this will mean that ‘your game play experience will be completely different’ with each class.