Nov 16, 2011

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Blue Milk & Cereal: Will You Take Time Off For The Launch Of TOR?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

It’s hard to believe that the official launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic is just over 30 days from now. Heck, if you count Early Game Access, it’s less than 30!

However, this specific timeframe for launch – so close to the Christmas holiday – has spurred some discussion. While some lucky workers and students have built-in time off around then, they’re also conflicted with the possible family and social time that usually comes with the season. But for the most part, especially since Early Game Access will probably start on December 15th, most players will still be up to their eyeballs in real-world stuff like school or work.

So that brings us to today’s question! Will you be taking time off from your real-world responsibilities, wether work, school, family or something else, to play TOR from the minute you’re able to? Let us know!

Will you take time off from school/work/other to play TOR at launch?

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Sep 30, 2011

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Blue Milk & Cereal: What Are Your Launch Day Plans Or Traditions?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

Launch day for an MMO is special. It’s always an exciting time for both the player and the company that created the game. It’s when the fun finally gets rolling for players, but also when the work truly begins for the company.

For those of us who have experienced the joys (and sometimes frustrations) that come with the launch of an MMO, we sometimes also have traditions for this jubilant day. Stocking up on food, changing our sleeping schedule, or just clearing a few days off from school or work so we can put full attention on the game, as much as possible. Maybe it’s a midnight launch and you decide to play through the night, not stopping until you reach a designated level!

For me, I try to keep it rather simple. I’ll stock up on Mountain Dew and some food. I’ve always had a routine of at least playing through the first night then falling asleep later in the day.

This is another one that’s tough to fit into a poll, even though we’ll give it a whirl! So tell us about YOUR launch day plans or traditions in the comments below!

What are your launch day plans? Check all that apply!

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Sep 28, 2011

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Blue Milk & Cereal: How Will You Spend Free Time Until Launch?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We’re rounding the corner into the home stretch. There are so many cliches and one-liners that you can use… let’s just say Star Wars: The Old Republic is nearly ours!

Indeed, December 20-22 isn’t that far away. But how are you going to spend your free time until that day of jubilance?

There are so many gaming options out there, either right now or on their way. You’ve got games on the horizon like Skyrim, or you might be picking a side between Call of Duty or Battlefield 3. Perhaps you’re in the recently launched Diablo III beta. Or heck, for that matter maybe you’re one of the lucky few in the coveted Star Wars: The Old Republic beta!

But there are other options as well. Maybe you’re working on getting a new computer together for The Old Republic. Maybe your job, or school, have your full attention now. Perhaps you just need a break from gaming!

For me, I’m spending more time with my Xbox 360 now that my calendar is a little clearer. Games like Madden ’12, and FIFA ’12 are currently in rotation in my console. Soon enough, I’ll be adding Battlefield 3 to the mix.

But what about you? What is occupying your time until the 20th or 22nd of December? Be sure to vote, and comment below!

How will you spend your free time until TOR launches?

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Sep 28, 2011

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Stephen Reid Clarifies – No Staggered Launch [UPDATED]

While the official Star Wars: The Old Republic community forums were down this morning for scheduled maintenance, BioWare Senior Community Manager Stephen Reid took to Twitter to clear up some erroneous information that appeared on gaming site Shacknews yesterday.

The article reported that BioWare intends to “stagger the release” of the game when it is launched:

BioWare’s long-awaited MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic finally has a solid release date of December 20, but you won’t necessarily get in on that day. The developer has talked about staggering the release, even of online orders, to assure the servers don’t get overcrowded.

However that isn’t correct, as Stephen Reid pointed out earlier today on Twitter. Only the Early Game Access period will have staged entry, and it’s dependent upon when you entered your pre-order code:

@Rockjaw – Anyone who pre-orders will get Early Game Access. We are not staggering access after the release date(s).

@Rockjaw – How much Early Game Access you get will vary – we cannot let in everyone on Day 1 – and that is based on when you redeem pre-order code.

So rest assured that from the launch date forward, there won’t be any sort of staged entry.

To make it clear, if you have a Star Wars: The Old Republic game code in-hand on launch day, you’ll be playing the game. But to assure that, BioWare recommends pre-ordering now since if they reach their internal sales cap number, they’ll discontinue selling the game on Origin.com until they’re ready for more players.

Mr. Reid stated he will be providing further clarification later today when the forums are back online, so if there’s still any confusion, don’t panic! We’ll provide updates in this post as we get them.

[UPDATE] Stephen Reid, as promised, has provided additional clarification on the official SWTOR.com forums:

Shacknews apparently got confused, and they’re confusing you, so allow me to clarify. Nothing has actually changed since we announced pre-order access in July.

Click through for the full read!

Stephen Reid and his adoring fans.

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Sep 26, 2011

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Blue Milk & Cereal: How Long Should Early Game Access Last?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

What a weekend! A release date announcement on Saturday – something we are all extremely surprised and happy to hear. With the new week, as we slowly get over the pleasant shock from this announcement – we start to analyze the date even further and perhaps the biggest thing that concerns most of the fans who pre-ordered TOR, or those who are on the verge of pre-ordering it – how long will the early access last?

As of today, we know the following information from the official TOR pre-order FAQ:

When does Early Game Access end?

Early Game Access will end on the day that Star Wars: The Old Republic is officially released. For North America, this will be December 20, 2011 while it will be December 22, 2011 for European Launch Territories.

When does Early Game Access begin?

Early Game Access will begin prior to the official release of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Precise dates will be revealed at a later time.

Early access should give BioWare the much-needed gradual population growth and spread out the strain on the servers and customer service, with waves of players, as opposed to the whole number crushing them on one single date, rendering the game unplayable as we saw with many MMO previous launches. Early access is also a token of appreciation thrown towards the fans who support TOR & BioWare the most, so it will reward the players who want to be able to advance the fastest.

But at the same time – early access shouldn’t be very long, as it would create a split in the community based on level, skill and create some in-game economy imbalance. It is going to be very interesting to see how BioWare works around these potential issues.

So while we wait for the official word from BioWare – let’s hear what you think about the duration of the early access. Should it last a week? A few days? A much longer term? Let us know by answering the poll below!

How long should Early Game Access last?

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