Posted by Lethality | 19 Comments

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!

 

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Posted by Shockum | 22 Comments

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!

 

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Posted by Shockum | 31 Comments

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!

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Posted by ReDDoT | 21 Comments

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!

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Posted by Cormeister | 1 Comment

Wild Space: Release Date(!) And Developer Interviews

It’s a big galaxy our there, and Wild Space can be a dangerous place. Worry not, explorer – each week we’ll navigate you safely through the lost hyperspace routes of the Deep Core and track down the great articles and entertainment from around the SW:TOR fan community, all in less than 12 parsecs, of course!

It’s been a long time coming but we finally have an official release date for Star Wars: The Old Republic. December 20, 2011 cannot get here fast enough! To start us off on Wild Space, here are a couple of release date articles and features from a few fansites that you may have heard of before.

– Darth Hater has an article with a bunch of information about the release date. It includes an interview with Stephen Reid, highlights of the actual announcement from the BioWare doctors, and an audio/media gallery of the whole thing. I highly recommend the interview with Stephen Reid about SW:TOR’s release, Early Game access, and the ongoing beta.

– TORWars has a short phone interview with Stephen Reid that they transcribed on their website, a breakdown of the SW:TOR pricing model, and a video of the BioWare doctors making the announcement.

It’s tough to contain my personal excitement since I have been looking forward to this game for a long time (as I’m sure a lot of you have). I have been wanting to play a sci-fi MMO for some time and it looks like my wish is finally going to come true on December 20th. Congrats to BioWare on this amazing milestone!

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