lucasarts-layoffs posts

While BioWare is busy with their AAA MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, Sony Online is prepping a new free-to-play MMO in the Star Wars universe that's based on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series. Today Sony Online and LucasArts announced their plans for Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.

Due out this fall, the game is similar to Sony Online's debut free-to-play MMO Free Realms in that it is designed specifically for younger players as well as families. The title will boast a number of mini-games, achievements, lots of customization and even a collectible card game played within the MMO. While the title can be played online for free players can choose to opt for a monthly subscription (no pricing yet) along with micro-transactions via Sony Online's Station Cash system. You can check out the first screenshots from the game below and the game's official web site is now online.

Is it good to have a companion in your travels? BioWare hopes the answer is "Yes" for players of their long awaited MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. Today the game's official web site posted up word that the game will give your player character an NPC companion. It could be an alien. It could be a droid. In fact as you play the game more and more companions might show up.

Like Chewbacca was a faithful friend to Han Solo, your player companion could become your best bud in the game. However Bioware states that your companion could have some hidden agendas and might even turn into an enemy. Each player class will have their own unique set of companions, each of which will open up a unique set of quests and adventures.

One of the last PC exclusive games published by LucasArts was the RTS title Star Wars: Empire at War. Today that 2006 title is finally available via download from Steam. The game, the first developed by Las Vegas-based Petroglyph, is now available in its Gold Edition which contains both the main game and its expansion pack, Forces of Corruption.

The title combined both space battles and land skirmishes along with a Galactic Conquest mode that allowed the player to capture and control planets for money, resources and special bonuses that can be used in the game's RTS battles.

This month is the 30th anniversary of the release of perhaps the best of the six Star Wars movies, The Empire Strikes Back. So it's perhaps not a coincidence that the newest planet reveal for the upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is set on one of that film's major locations, the ice world of Hoth.

Yes, players in BioWare's upcoming game will be able to explore Hoth in a time period thousands of years before the Rebellion fights the Empire's AT-AT units. According to the game's official web site, the Hoth system was also the location of a massive space battle between Republic and Imperial forces and as a result the planet has become a starship graveyard. In the game's current timeline the planet is now filled with technology that both Republic and Empire forces want to claim for themselves.

You thought that BioWare was done with revealing the player classes in their upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic didn't you? Nope. Not by a long shot. Eurogamer has announced that all eight player classes will each have access to two specialised Advanced Classes. Each class will have their own special skills, with access to different kinds of weapons and items.

So far only one of the player classes has had its Advanced Classes revealed. Players who pick the Sith Warrior will have a choice of picking between the Juggernaut (tough and takes a lot of damage) and the Marauder (who deals a lot of damages). Naturally you can expect even more Advanced Classes reveals in the coming months.

Several months ago, we reported that there will be at least two prose novels coming out based on BioWare's upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. We already reported that the first will be titled Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams. Now we have details on the second novel, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived by Paul Kemp.

Due out in December, the novel centers on Darth Malgus, the Sith Lord who was the main bad guy in the game's CGI trailer that was released at E3 last June.So what makes this proto-Darth Vader tick? The novel will supposedly give you the chance to learn how Darth Malgus does what he does (but what he does isn't very nice).

It took a bit longer than we though but this week the official web site for Star Wars: The Old Republic has launched the first online "issue" for Blood of the Empire, the second comic book series based on the upcoming BioWare MMO. As with the first online comic, Threat of Peace, this series is produced by Dark Horse Comics.

The comic centers on a Sith apprentice named Teneb Kel who is being sent on a secret mission by his masters. We suspect that things won't go as planned for him. As we reported before Dark Horse will launch a monthly printed comic based on Star Wars The Old Republic. It begins in July reprinting the first online comic storyline Threat of Peace.

Last November we reported that Dark Horse Comics was going to collect all of the online "issues" of the web comic Star Wars The Old Republic: Threat of Peace into one trade paperback for release in late April. Well, it looks like those plans have changed somewhat. Dark Horse has now removed their previous listing for a trade paperback collection of the web comic (based of course on the upcoming Bioware MMO game).

However, Dark Horse has just announced plans for a monthly Star Wars: The OId Republic comic book to begin in July. The first storyline is titled Threat of Peace so we assume that the monthly comic will begin by reprinting the online web series. In the meantime we are still waiting for the start of Blood of the Empire, the second web comic storyline that was announced a month ago.

While the folks at BioWare gave us the impression that all of the player character classes were revealed for their upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic they gave us a little surprise on this April Fools Day. The game's official web site has revealed details on the Sarlacc Enforcer. You may remember the character from his big appearance in the movie Return of the Jedi.

The web site has details on the Sarlacc character (we didn't know they were telepathic, for one thing) but it might be a bit tricky to play him (or her or it) in the game when it launches. It's supposed to be so patient that it could wait a thousand years to take out its enemies. We don't think many players will be latching onto the Sarlacc . . .in fact we don't think any of them will.

The fallout from last week's GDC 2010 is still being felt as some embargos are being lifted on some hands-on previews that were handled during the show. The big one is the first real hands-on previews for Star Wars: The Old Republic and naturally our sister site Massively got a chance to get BioWare's upcoming debut MMO out.

The preview, conducted at LucasArts' San Fransisco compound, let the press control a member of the game's Trooper class in some PV3 missions. Massively liked what they played, saying, "This is a BioWare game on a LucasArts property, so you just know it's going to be done right, and from what I've seen so far, it is done right." With the title still at least a year away from coming out, that's certainly encouraging.