There has been a metaphor running around SWTOR forums and official twitter accounts for quite some time now. I am not sure what is the earliest mention of this metaphor, but looking at the developer tracker I would say that this is the initial post:
I’ve said before that an announcement as big as release date will be so big, it’ll come thundering towards us and we’ll all hear it long before it arrives. That train’s coming… but so far, I’d just say we’ve laid down some early track.
Train speeding down the tracks making “Choo Choo” noises is what represents the announcement of the SWTOR Release date and its eventual release. Metaphor turned SWTOR meme has only been amplified by Stephen Reid, Senior Community Manager, with him using it extensively. It has come to that point where Mr. Reid received a gift, a train conductor’s hat, to be worn when the Day comes, as described in the following tweets:
Rockjaw:
Someone sent me a hat. I won’t tell you what it is, because knowing you lot, you’ll freak out. But person who sent it? It’s here. Link (July 1. 2011.) Rockjaw:
Disclaimers: Hat does not imply anything. It is merely a hat. No train is coming (yet). Do not panic. Do not adjust your set. Link (July 1. 2011.) Rockjaw:
The hat in question was bought FOR me, not by me, and I said I would wear it (in a photo) when The Day Comes. (And it hasn’t yet.) Link (July 1. 2011.) At0mXII:
@Rockjaw So when we do see a tweet that says “Choo Choo!” and has a pic of you in the hat we should THEN get excited? 🙂 Link (July 1. 2011.) Rockjaw:
Re: previous tweet – yes, something like that. Link (July 1. 2011.)
In line with all this I have decided to alter SWTOR Life website by adding a train countdown. Our train is Imperial Hover Train racing towards the finish line that has “release date” written on it. I have made it so that the train moves closer to the finish line as each day passes. It will move only a couple of pixels per day, but in a week or so the movement should be much more apparent. I have chosen the finish line to be reached on December 31. 2011., because in line with all we know from official sources the game should be out this year and that is the last day of this year. Once we find out what is the exact release date I will modify the finish line and the train’s relative position to it in line with new information. If you think I should add something more to it (like actual number of days left or something) please leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do. I always wanted to put a countdown to release date somewhere on the site and I believe that using the train meme metaphor is a perfect way to accomplish this. All that is left is to watch that train move, painstakingly slow, each day.
San Diego Comic Con is one of those big events on the calendar of any person that loves gaming, comics and SCI-FI stuff. Intersecting with all of these categories, Star Wars The old Republic will have a big presence at the show this year. Beside having a booth on the show floor (and probably a panel like last year) there is going to be a big hands-on gaming area available at a hotel next to the convention, so a lot more people will be able to get their hands on the game without the need to queue for hours. Click here to read full news
These class progression trailers are immense fun. They are one of the few things forum trolls do not hate or fuss much about, which just goes to prove my previous sentence. There was a big squeee in SWTOR Life virtual office because 80% of staff are planning to play Bounty Hunters at launch. SWTORCrafter even managed to play the first levels of it during the Fan Site Summit, so you can check his hands on impressions to complete your overall impression of the class.
The progression trailer shows some great footage of new armor and skills. I particularly liked the last armor they show in the video. It is very “savage” looking. There’s flamethrower AOE-ing, carbonite freezing, rocket launching, jetpack flying, knife in face action all over the place in the video and I am sure you will enjoy it. I have one objection though. I know they’ve done this only to show the skills and that action is a bit staged, but I still can’t get it out of my head. There is no way in hell that anyone or anything, including Bounty Hunters, can one shot Jedi (padawan or not).
We found this video among the media SWTORCrafter shot at E3. I’ve posted it a while back on our YouTube channel and I think it is about time I put it up on the site as well. There is some nice footage here of the new UI as well as companion specific UI. There are some nice enough shots of the sexy droid companion Scorpio to be found in the video. I’ve replaced the show floor noise with some original tracks from Knights of the Old Republic. People have been complaining about all the music and trailers that were heard in the background of previous E3 videos. I hope you find this a much better solution.
I think there might be something wrong with me. For whatever reason I periodically get obsessed by the Smuggler’s “Dirty Kick” skill. You know that one stun skill that comes from the Smuggler kicking people in the nads? Yes, that one. I, personally do not fancy getting hit in the balls, nor hitting other people, so I really can’t tell what the source of this obsession is. Nevertheless, I have already created a webcomic about it and today I got this idea in my head that I just had to bring to life. Without further ado I present to you the “Ode to Smuggler” video.
Oh sweet summer, how I missed thee. And with the incessant humming of every AC unit in the neighborhood, I am reminded that we are one more season closer to a SWTOR launch. Well that, and that I’ll be paying through the nose on my next electricity bill… But as always, I digress.
Our very own MrWarlock penned a delightful piece highlighting the 10 updates he anticipated the most, and one of these got me thinking, specifically his thoughts on micro-transactions – what sorts of plans do you imagine BioWare might have cooked up for SWTOR in the MT (micro-transaction) department? Well, let’s take a look at what else has been done.
Flack from E3 is still being published and as part of it we got the Alderaan group quest video during this Friday update. This seems to be a shorter version of the video we’ve seen during live presentation at E3. For those of you that have not been following, here’s a recap of what this video actually shows. On planet Alderaan you get a chain of quests that is only doable by a group. The last quest in this chain requests of you to kill Bouris Ulgo, the usurper of the Alderaan throne. After taking care of some trash there is a final fight with Ulgo and his adds. There is a mechanic where while fighting waves of enemies you need to pick up rocket launchers standing around and destroy 4 shield generators that protect Ulgo himself. Upon doing so you finally get a chance to take down the naughty general and claim your reward. The curious thing is that it seems we will be seeing a lot of these group quest chains with special story backgrounds throughout the game, so in addition to the instance mechanic that brings people together we will have these world quest arcs to also provide content you can beat only with your friends.
On a completely unrelated note; how about that epic beard on Dallas Dickinson?
I’ve seen many a Friday update come and go while following SWTOR. So I, like you, have had to ride the roller-coaster ride BioWare gives us each and every week.
We are all waiting for different things to come to light, some solid information on something that has had been shown for the breathiest of moments.
Well, these are mine. You may notice I will not mention Raids or Quests in my top ten list as I would like to experience these things in-game.
This is my list of the holly grail of reveals in reverse order of importance for me –
Wednesday has two things in store, official screenshot released on Facebook and some community news by yours truly. The facebook screenshot is rather cool, because it has Jawas in it and everything with Jawas in it is cool in my book. These kinds of screenshots are what excites me so about this game. A possibility to have my character move among those Jawas and in that market.
Cantina Cast, SWTOR dedicated podcast, has made its dreams come true by upgrading their website with new looks. It is much better than the previous one and I really like their logo, but it could still use some web design work. However, I believe that everyone that invests their time in creating something for the community needs to be commended for what they are doing. It is, after all, more than what 99% fans are willing to do.
There is investing time in creating something for the SWTOR community and than there is Ask a Jedi. They have a new daily column on their site called “Blue Milk & Cereal“. The column discusses interesting questions and asks the community to participate through voting in a poll and leaving comments on the daily subject. So far they haven’t had a single poll I didn’t want to participate in and I left quite a few comments and thoughts as well. That is how engaging this new column is. Have I said that they post a new article every day! Let me tell you, that takes some time and dedication.
If you still need something to read, what better way to lighten up your day than read some SWTOR comics. Tor Wars has started publishing their webcomic called Fail Hunter and let me tell you, it’s a winner. They are up to page 6, but you can find all of them at this here link.
Published by Mikro under E3, video on Jun. 20. 2011.
It has been two weeks since E3 finished and still there is footage that deserves to be shown or talked about. That is what makes the Electronic Entertainment Expo so epic. Where else would you be able to come across a Space Marine from Warhammer 40000 universe and Boba Fett (and some storm troopers) taking photos together and than initiating what looks like might become the most epic fight since Obi Van and Boba had their little altercation. Watch the video for yourselves and let me know what you think happened next!
