Mai Cash posted Apr 20, 12
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BioWare, Character Creation, Characters, EA, Force Reflection, role-play, RP, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR, Author: Mai Cash, LucasArts, Roleplay
In our day-to-day lives, we take inspiration from any number of things; from what we may see in complete strangers, to the actions taken by someone we see as a personal hero. This inspiration can fuel us to take on any task, no matter how great or small. Or it can allow us to tackle something creative, such as character creation in Star Wars: The Old Republic.When we embark on our role play journey in The Old Republic, we take on the task of creating something outside the realm of the game’s pre-prescribed game narrative. Whether we choose to borrow from this narrative is our prerogative as roleplayers, but the character we’ve created remains experiencing the galaxy and its adventures as we see fit to guide them.
However, before they can become the hero (or regular Joes) they are meant to become, our character must experience its origin story, or—in layman’s terms—they have to come from somewhere. To get to brass tacks, the character comes from us, and our own lives as people. No matter how much we may intend to divorce ourselves from the characters we create and play, we bring our own experiences to the roleplay table most heavily when we create characters.
Whether you are a creative maestro who is able to conjure up your intended character from scratch, or you need a bit of help from things you've read, done, seen, or heard, this Force Reflection is for you. What inspired you to create the character, or characters, you play?
Mai Cash posted Apr 13, 12
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Annakin Skywalker, BioWare, Dagobah, Dark Side Cave, Darth Vader, EA, Electronic Arts, Han Solo, Jabba the Hutt, Luke Skywalker, Padme Amidala, role-play, RP, Star Wars, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR, Yoda, Author: Mai Cash, Force Reflection, LucasArts, Star Wars The Old Republic
"That place … is strong with the dark side of the Force. In you must go.”"What’s in there?”"Only what you take with you.”- Yoda & Luke Skywalker on Dagobah, outside the Dark Side CaveAs people, we are very dissimilar to the characters we may look up to in our favorite forms of entertainment. However, we may not notice one particular dissimilarity in our comparisons. While, as people, we may be motivated by love, family, money, friends, or occupation (among other things), the characters we love (and love to hate) often have a great driving force behind their decision making.That driving force is fear.Motivation by fear can be found in several examples across entertainment mediums, and characters who are motivated by fear may be found as more compelling. Motivated by such, characters allow themselves some fun tools to play with, such as instant internal conflict and room for personal growth.In the Star Wars films, Luke Skywalker enters into the Dark Side Cave on Dagobah to face that which he most fears. What does he see? A vision of himself in the trappings of Darth Vader’s armor. Similarly, Annakin Skywalker falls in love with Padmé Amidala and does everything he can not to lose her, only in order to completely lose himself in the process. To throw aside the family ties for a moment, Han Solo—scoundrel for hire—sees an opening to escape Jabba the Hutt, and wrestles with being tied to a cause, falling in love, or otherwise losing what he sees as his freedom as a free-roaming Spacer.
Today's Force Reflection wonders, what does your character fear? Does this fear motivate them as a character and drive their personal story?
Mai Cash posted Apr 6, 12
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BioWare, Characters, Combat, EA, Force Reflection, LucasArts, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR, Author: Mai Cash
"You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” — Obi-Wan Kenobi And Obi-Wan Kenobi was right. In Star Wars, as in all entertainment, it’s almost a shame that a character’s last words are sometimes their most memorable. Then again, they wouldn’t carry quite the same weight, or longevity. As roleplayers, we often do not create characters with the intent of losing them to a dramatic death scene, but sometimes those tense combat scenes are extremely entertaining to RP. Besides, who hasn’t thought about their favorite character’s final witticism to their arch nemesis, delivered at the end of their saber, carbine, or assault cannon? Thinking, maybe, that this one last comment, this one last clever remark, will be the one that turns the tide of battle.I have news for you, we aren’t playing Monkey Island.
Conversely, your character may not be the daring dashing hero type who will die in battle. Perhaps, instead, they will pass away comfortably in their home. What will their final wishes be to their family and loved ones, should they be fortunate enough to make it that far?
For those of you who’ve given thought to the macabre event of a character’s final moments, this Force Reflection is for you. What would be your character’s last words?
Mai Cash posted Apr 5, 12
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BioWare, Chatbox, EA, Electronic Arts, Game Update 1.2, LucasArts, Michael Voigt, Minimap, Quickslots, role-play, Roleplay, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR, UI, UI Customization, Author: Mai Cash
Your interactions with Star Wars The Old Republic may change with Game Update 1.2, with the incoming User Interface (UI) changes. BioWare developer Michael Voigt recently discussed these changes in a video, detailing out the particulars of how the experience in your game may change…or not!How the UI may change is completely player driven. If you enjoy the current UI as it stands, you have the option to continue operating with the current UI without lifting a finger. For those who wish for a bit more customizability with their UI, there are several options. With some easy clicks of the mouse, you can either choose a pre-programmed UI (which may be reminiscent of previous games), or you can be more creative with your customization.Enter the UI Layout Editor. Using this tool, you’ll discover that all of the UI elements are changeable by size, position, or other options specific to the UI element. Quickslots, for example, can be resized in terms being larger or smaller, and can gain greater or fewer slots depending on the player’s need. Additionally, the elements of the UI are not set in stone where they are placed; you can move them to wherever you wish your quickslots, minimap, or chatbox to be on your screen for your own convenience of play. When you have your UI as you like it, it can be saved to your hard drive to upload to other characters, as well as to share with friends as an .XML file. The UI can easily be edited and re-saved, so nothing is set in stone if you find your UI to be inconvenient. To learn more about UI Customization and the other elements coming in Game Update 1.2, visit the Official Star Wars The Old Republic website. Otherwise, you can view the video below.
Mai Cash posted Apr 1, 12
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Armor Sets, Author: Mai Cash, BioWare, Community Q&A, Crafting, Daniel Erickson, EA, Game Update 1.2, Humans, Legacy System, LucasArts, Operations, PVP, Q&A, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR, Community, Electronic Arts, Legacy, Star Wars
Questions surrounding the Legacy system are one focus of this week’s Community Q&A. BioWare Developers spent an especially long time answering several questions. So many, in fact, that the Community Q&A will be split between two sessions. The future Game Update 1.2’s big news surrounds not only the Legacy system, but also changes coming to armor sets, crafting, and reverse engineering.In terms of Legacy unlocks for your Level 50 characters, each character a player unlocks at Level 50 will earn themselves a specific ability they can use in a "Heroic Moment." According to Daniel Erickson, if you have a Level 50 Jedi Guardian and a Level 50 Scoundrel, "Your Guardian unlock Legacy Force Sweep and your Scoundrel would unlock Legacy Dirty Kick.” These abilities would be available to all other characters on your chosen server. Additionally, those who have chosen to play Human as a race will not be hampered in their Legacy benefits. Those players will receive a Presence bonus to "all and future characters.”There has been some outcry regarding the appearance of the armor set rewards one receives in Operations and PvP combat, some saying that it does not fit within the Star Wars aesthetic. The BioWare Developers have heard these complaints and are not ignoring them; the changes to the armor will not be seen in the immediate future. Daniel Erickson says about the comments,"Creating armor is a part of our game with long lead times so it will take a set or two before players see a strong shift in direction, but we’re already working on stuff we love and we think our players will too.” Item crafting also receives a rather large overhaul, with reverse engineering becoming more powerful as well as all crafting items becoming Bind on Equip to encourage a better in-game economic market. Additionally, all Operations materials will also become Bind on Equip in Game Update 1.2 as well. This is all part of the idea to encourage the desirability of crafters and their items (beyond the already crafter-only available Augment slots), as well as to help increase the health of server economies.To read more about crafting, changes to PVP Armor, and more, check out the full Community Q&A, and read the Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes on the Official SW:TOR website.
GigasFist posted Mar 4, 12
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Alignment, BioWare, Friends List, GTN, Ships, Author: GigasFist, Community Q&A, EA, Electronic Arts, Game Update 1.2, Guild Summit, LucasArts, Neutral, Q&A, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR
This week’s Community Q&A is shorter than what we are used to seeing, but the upcoming Guild Summit is promising lots of new information and new ideas. Even if it is shorter, there are still plenty of good questions being answered by Damion Schubert and the BioWare team. GU (Game Update) 1.2 is still a hot topic and they are taking every chance they can to plug the different tweaks and additions that will be found in it. Like last week, a question about ships arose. While it may act as our home base for movement around the galaxy, it still lacks a few things, like a mail box and a GTN. Apparently these features are going to be added "as soon as Game Update 1.2” through the Legacy System. Damion Schubert posted for us to "Watch for more information about Legacy unlocks coming in Game Update 1.2 - we should be dropping that Real Soon Now.” For now, we can only wait to see if the mysterious Legacy System will actually pan out, or be a bust as many see it currently. No doubt we have all done it, checked the name one hundred times, and contacted friends of friends… But that person still does not exist when they are offline when trying to be added to your friends list. Being called a ‘bug’ and ‘somewhat sporadic,’ this annoying flaw is apparently in the pipe to being fixed for 1.2. Though this Reporter finds it hard to believe such a bug would elude the developers for so long. Here’s to hoping it gets fixed soon. Some of us just aren’t red or blue on that little scale, or we just make varying decisions that never mount up to being light or dark. Maybe we just want our alignment to reflect our character’s alignment. The only problem is that there are no relics or items for neutral characters. Though it is ‘in the pipe’ like so many other projects, no ETA is given for the release of information on neutral items. Still no chat bubbles or playable Wookies. Someday my readers, someday. The Q&A in its entirety can be read here.
Norri posted Dec 9, 11
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BioWare, Empire, Force Reflection, Galactic Republic, Hoth, Imperial Intelligence, LucasArts, Ord Mantell, Republic Themed Week, Author: Norri, EA, Electronic Arts, Knights of The Old Republic, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, TOR
In The Old Republic, many of the choices presented to Republic players are those pertaining to doing your job to the letter or skimping on it for the sake of a greater good. From refusing to shoot a defenseless and dirty Imperial to letting an enemy mastermind go to disarm a bomb threatening to kill a Senator, every BioWare game with a government and her agents has involved tough moral choices involving the concept of sacrifice for immediate benefit. From the war-ravaged hillsides of Ord Mantell to the frozen plains of Hoth, many choices will be presented to your character during each adventure, often dealing with giving bad people mercy or good people the sharp end of a knife. Every world and every commanding officer will have their own views on what is right, wrong, and an acceptable loss. Will your character be flexible, holding the callous viewpoints of an Imperial Intelligence agent, or will they be stubborn and hold by their viewpoints under threat of death or detriment to the mission at large? What factors will decide the lengths your character will go to in performing their duty? Will pressure from command, associates, or companions influence the boundaries you've put forward? Tell us in the comments!
Norri posted Dec 2, 11
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BioWare, EA, Electronic Arts, Force Reflection, Freedon Nadd, Jawa Juice, LucasArts, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Rule of Two, Sith, Sith Themed Week, Star Wars, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Old Republic, ToR, Author: Norri
There is no contest to the Sith's dominance of the common people; several class storylines deal heavily on the concept of a person unwillingly serving a stronger, more intelligent master. It's a part of life and most Sith take full advantage of those underneath them without a second thought. Unlike the Jedi, the Sith are fully allowed to take slaves and non-force sensitive groupies and push them to do their dirty work. Whether it's testing a trap in an ancient Sith tomb or fetching a mug of Jawa juice, the big, bad Sith that we've been exposed to since the beginning of Star Wars have had underlings for any purpose their master desires. In The Old Republic, players take the role of a Sith before the famous Rule of Two, leaving the doors open to take on as many underlings or apprentices as possible, much like the notorious Freedon Nadd. This raises the question: who serves your Sith character? Are they slaves, family, friends, or employees? An in-character apprentice you're going to train in real-time? Will your Sith care about their fate or will they express the love of the dark side and see them only as tools? Let us know in the comments.
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