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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperspace Beacon: 2010 Retro!]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/culture/" rel="tag">Culture</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/" rel="tag">Hyperspace Beacon</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/12/hb-2010-retro.jpg" /></a></div>
Wow... 2010 is almost over, and <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> is not released yet. OK, I had speculated at the beginning of this year that we would not see it until 2011. But if you had asked me in October of 2008 (when the official site was launched), I would have told you that the launch was at the end of 2009. There was no way in my mind that a company would launch its website that early. Boy, was I wrong. Little did I know at the time that I would be sitting here at the end of 2010 (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010:_Odyssey_Two">the year new life was to begin on Europa</a>), <em>not </em>playing what I hoped would be my favorite game <em>ever</em>. However, this has all given me time to think back about what <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>SWTOR</em></a> has given us this year.<br />
<br />
The year 2010 was the year of <em>SWTOR</em> reveals. Some have questioned whether too much has been revealed -- or rather, hyped. We have had group <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/22/star-wars-the-old-republic-drops-a-surprise-video-documentary/">combat videos</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/04/a-favored-swg-developer-moves-to-swtor/">designers switching games</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/07/lucasarts-president-resigns-effect-on-tor-uncertain/">CEOs retiring</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/18/e3-2010-hands-on-with-the-old-republics-smuggler-class/">opinionated play-throughs</a>, and many other news items. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mTUmczVdik">Would you say we have had a plethora</a> of <em>SWTOR</em> news this year? Oh yes, we have had a plethora, El Guapo. I have my favorites and my not-so favorites. Let's explore a few of them in this little retrospective.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hyperspace Beacon: 2010 Retro!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/">Hyperspace Beacon: 2010 Retro!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19777392/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/12/28/hyperspace-beacon-2010-retro/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>2010-retrospective</category><category>best-5</category><category>BioWare</category><category>community-manager</category><category>Companions</category><category>EA</category><category>ea-louse</category><category>end-of-the-year-2010</category><category>featured</category><category>hope-trailer</category><category>jedi-sage</category><category>Jedi-wizard</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>PAX</category><category>release-date</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Smuggler</category><category>Space-on-rails</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>Stephen-Reid</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>top-5</category><category>tor</category><category>worst-5</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[BioWare names Stephen Reid the new SWTOR Community Manager]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/jumpgate-evolution/" rel="tag">Jumpgate Evolution</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/marvel-heroes/" rel="tag">Marvel Heroes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/super-hero-squad-online/" rel="tag">Super Hero Squad Online</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/11/swtor-cm.jpg" /></a></div>
A few months back -- just after <a href="http://paxsite.com">PAX</a> -- community manager <a href="http://twitter.com/ashentemper/">Sean Dahlberg</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/">stepped down from his position</a> at <a href="http://bioware.com">BioWare</a> to join <a href="http://www.utvtruegames.com/">UTV True Game</a>'s <a href="http://www.faxiononline.com/"><em>Faxion</em></a> design team. In the intermediate time, his <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> duties have been filled by community representatives like <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/member.php?u=169073">Joanne Laroche</a> and <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/member.php?u=187102">Alyson Bridge</a>. But now <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4677868">Sean's empty seat has been filled</a> by none other than <a href="http://twitter.com/rockjaw/">Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid</a>.<br />
<br />
You may know Reid as the Community Director at <a href="http://www.gazillion.com">Gazillion Entertainment</a> or maybe the Senior Community Manager at <a href="http://www.trionworlds.com">Trion World</a>. Either way, Reid's experience is well-known in the MMO world. And prior to his work in the States, British-born Reid specialized in public relations and community-related projects for <a href="http://ncsoft.com">NCsoft</a> UK. His voice has been heard on the <a href="http://yellowspandex.com/">Yellow Spandex</a> podcast as well as the <a href="http://eu.plaync.com/eu/news/podcasts/">official NCsoft Europe podcast</a> before that. It's safe to say the Force is strong with this one.<br />
<br />
Reid has been a regular reader of Massively and has been known to comment on our stories via his twitter account <a href="http://twitter.com/rockjaw/">Rockjaw</a>. We'd like to congratulate Stephen on his new position, and we look forward to hearing the latest <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">S</span>WTOR</em></a> news from him. Be sure to send him a warm welcome on the <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/member.php?u=862213"><em>SWTOR</em> forums</a>, and don't miss our interview with this new addition to the <em>SWTOR</em> team coming in the next few days.<br />
<br />
In the words of Han Solo in <a href="http://starwars.com/movies/episode-iv/">A New Hope</a>, "<em>Don't get cocky</em>" -- I mean, "<em>Here's where the fun begins!</em>"<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/">BioWare names Stephen Reid the new SWTOR Community Manager</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19710114/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/12/bioware-names-stephen-reid-the-new-swtor-community-manager/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>alyson-bridge</category><category>BioWare</category><category>bioware-ea</category><category>breaking</category><category>community-manager</category><category>ea</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>joanne-laroche</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>Stephen-Reid</category><category>stephen-rockjaw-reid</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sean Dahlberg moves on to Faxion Online development]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/fantasy/" rel="tag">Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/free-to-play/" rel="tag">Free-to-play</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.faxiononline.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/10/faxion-sean-epl-1006.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
For some of our readers, the idea of managing the community for <a href="http://www.swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> would be a dream job. (How well this lines up with understanding what community managers actually have to do is debatable.) <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Sean-Dahlberg/">Sean Dahlberg</a>, however, has apparently decided that he's had quite enough of that scene, so he's packed up and moved on to <a href="http://www.utvtruegames.com/">UTV True Games</a> and <a href="http://www.faxiononline.com/"><em>Faxion Online</em></a>. It's a bit of an odd move, and Dahlberg has put up <a href="http://www.seandahlberg.com/?p=1023">a short entry on his personal blog</a> explaining why he's moved on and what he's moving on to do.<br />
<br />
<em> </em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/Faxion-Online/"><em>Faxion Online</em></a> is a free-to-play game focused on the war between Heaven and Hell, with what Dahlberg describes as a sense of humor resembling that of the inimitable <em>Dungeon Keeper</em> franchise. He explains that while he enjoyed working with communities, he wanted to get back into designing fun systems for an actual game, and he felt that he could make a larger contribution by shifting focus to his current occupation of Senior Game Systems Designer for <em>Faxion</em>. For more details and a few more tidbits about what's planned for the free-to-play title, take a look <a href="http://www.seandahlberg.com/?p=1023">at his full entry</a>.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/">Sean Dahlberg moves on to Faxion Online development</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.seandahlberg.com/?p=1023>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19663422/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/sean-dahlberg-moves-on-to-faxion-online-development/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>community</category><category>community-management</category><category>faxion</category><category>faxion-online</category><category>game-system-design</category><category>industry</category><category>industry-personalities</category><category>mmo-industry</category><category>news</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>utv-true-games</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Eliot Lefebvre]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[BioWare loses its SWTOR community manager [updated]]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/real-life/" rel="tag">Real life</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://swtor.com"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/09/space-combat-screenie-01.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
Today on the <a href="http://www.torocast.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&amp;t=3160">TOROCast forum</a>, it was rumored that Community Manager Sean Dahlberg had left <a href="http://bioware.com">BioWare</a>. Members of the <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>SWTOR</em></a> community did believe it odd that he did not show up to <a href="http://www.paxsite.com">PAX</a>, which was supposed to be the biggest event of the year for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>SWTOR</em></a>. He even <a href="http://twitter.com/ashentemper/status/22996931049">tweeted to the Jedi Archive</a> on Saturday: "<em>Nope, I'm back in Austin but Brian is there! Granted, part of me wants to just drive there but I'd be late.</em>" That gave everyone the impression that he had a lot of work to do. However, today he updated his twitter page so that it no longer reflected his BioWare title nor a link to swtor.com.<br />
<br />
Although there has yet to be word from Dahlberg himself, Joanne Laroche, the Senior Community Coordinator, recently <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4170890#edit4170890">posted this on the official <em>Old Republic</em> website</a>: "<em>Sean Dahlberg has recently left BioWare. We would like to thank Sean for doing a great job building the TOR Community and we wish him well in his future endeavors!</em>" This confirms that Dahlberg has left BioWare, but it still does not answer why this has happened.<br />
<br />
Massively will keep an eye on this story and on Dahlberg's personal site for new developments. Until then, we wish the best for Sean and for the game.<br />
<br />
[Nice catch, "fo diddy" at <a href="http://torocast.com">TOROcast</a>!]<br />
<br />
<strong>Update:</strong> Sean <a href="http://www.seandahlberg.com/?p=914">posted on his personal blog</a> and wanted to let everyone know that he did not fall off the end of the earth. As for what's next for Mr. Dahlberg, he had this to say, "<em>What's in the next chapter in the life of Sean... well, that would be giving out information and we all know I don't do that. I'd say just kidding but I actually can't talk too much about that at this point. Soon[TM] but not yet.</em>"<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/">BioWare loses its SWTOR community manager [updated]</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4170890#edit4170890>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19624303/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/07/bioware-loses-its-swtor-community-manager/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>BioWare</category><category>breaking</category><category>community</category><category>community-manager</category><category>ea</category><category>ea-bioware</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>industry-news</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Space combat has been confirmed for SWTOR! [Updated]]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=173964"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/07/ships.jpg" /></a><span style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 7px;"> <script> var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Space_combat_has_been_comfirmed_for_SWTOR'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js"></script></span></div>
While at <a href="http://www.comic-con.org/">Comic-Con</a>, the fan site <a href="http://moseisleyradio.com">Mos Eisley Radio</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/moseisleyradio/status/19365631503">tweeted a rumor</a> that there will be space combat in <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>SWTOR</em></a>. Space combat has been strongly suspected since the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/15/bioware-discuss-swtor-player-ships-group-gameplay-and-pvp-at-e3/">announcement of player ships at E3</a>, but there was nothing to confirm our suspicions. According to the folks at Mos Eisley Radio, James Ohlen said that each ship will be customizable, and, of course, that the player will be able to use this ship in space combat.<br />
<br />
Not moments later, this rumor was <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=173964">completely confirmed</a> by <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>SWTOR</em></a>'s community manager, Sean Dahlberg, on the official forum. He confesses in his announcement, "<em>While we didn't quite make the numbers [of Facebook and Twitter followers], we definitely saw how excited the community is about this and how everyone came together. After all of that, there's no way we could hold back with our special reveal at Comic-Con!</em>" So it seems the devs did not <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/cats-invade-star-wars-the-old-republic-in-this-weeks-fan-frida/">punish the fans</a> for not reaching the social media goal after all. He reveals that further details will be available in the October edition of <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/category/magazine/">PC Gamer</a>.<br />
<br />
[Thank you, <a href="http://moseisleyradio.com/">Mos Eisley Radio</a>, for keeping your ears open!]<br />
<br />
[<strong>Editor's Note</strong>: Brooks from Mos Eisley Radio just mailed us to say that all of his information is coming from <a href="http://darthhater.com/2010/07/23/darth-hater-at-sdcc/">Darth Hater's liveblog</a>, so props to Darth Hater, and thanks for letting us know, Brooks! ~Sera]<br type="_moz" /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/">Space combat has been confirmed for SWTOR! [Updated]</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:15:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=173964>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19566754/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/23/space-combat-has-been-comfirmed-for-swtor/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>BioWare</category><category>breaking</category><category>comic-con</category><category>comic-con-2010</category><category>EA</category><category>ea-bioware</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>james-ohlen</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>Mos-Eisley-Radio</category><category>OMG-pew-pew-in-space</category><category>PC-gamer</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>space-combat</category><category>space-ship</category><category>space-ships</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:15:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/" rel="tag">Hyperspace Beacon</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/07/hb-whtnmiiswtorbkolipw.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
<em>The <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/">Hyperspace Beacon</a> is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>.<br />
<br />
In a world where speculation runs rampant, it seems everyone has his own ideas of what is going to be in <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>. From <a href="http://darthhater.com/2010/05/18/lore-update-brentaal/">swoop races</a> to <a href="http://moseisleyradio.com/2010/06/08/mer-episode-19-known-associates/">appearance tabs</a>, we have heard them all, but, to be quite frank, it is very unlikely that most of these speculated items will ever make it into the final release of this highly anticipated game. Also, some of the ideas are so far removed from anything that would make sense in the game, that I have a hard time wrapping my wee-little brain around them. I won't name any here because I still want people to read the column, but if your friend's head twitches when you tell him your wicked-cool idea, then it probably will not make it in the game.<br />
<br />
In this week's column, I want to go the other direction. Sometimes producers, writers, and game designers will pitch ideas that cause uncontrollable ticks for the listeners, but, for some unknown reason, the design launches anyway. Every once in a while, I would like to turn our attention to some of these kooky concepts in series I like to call: We hope this never makes it into <em>SWTOR</em>, but, knowing our luck, it probably will -- or WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW, for short.<br />
<br />
Click "Read more" to read about the first couple of things I am praying do not find their way into the game.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/">Hyperspace Beacon: We hope this never makes it into SWTOR, but, knowing our luck, it probably will</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19552109/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/19/hyperspace-beacon-we-hope-this-never-makes-it-into-swtor-but/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>appearance-tab</category><category>awdrystra-pina</category><category>BioWare</category><category>Bioware-MMO</category><category>chris-field</category><category>Dathomir</category><category>Death-troopers</category><category>EA</category><category>ea-bioware</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>ewok</category><category>Ewok-festival-of-love</category><category>ewoks</category><category>featured</category><category>george-lucas</category><category>Gorax</category><category>gundark</category><category>humor</category><category>life-day</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>monty-python</category><category>Return-of-the-jedi</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>speculation</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-galaxies</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>SWG</category><category>swoop-races</category><category>SWTOR</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>TOR</category><category>trooper-class</category><category>Vandar</category><category>WHTNMIISWTORBKOLIPW</category><category>wookiee-life-day</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Music, audio, webcomics and more: It is super-reveal Friday for SWTOR's fans]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/events-real-world/" rel="tag">Events, real-world</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/previews/" rel="tag">Previews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swtor.com/media/webcomics/blood-of-the-empire/act2?comicpage=15"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/07/sound-friday-01.jpg" /></a></div>
With <a href="http://www.comic-con.org/">Comic*Con</a> less than a week away, <a href="http://bioware.com">BioWare</a> is passionately preparing for the stellar event. And to tease us into wanting more, the development team threw us a gigantic Fan Friday for <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>. What secrets were revealed in the newest issue of the <a href="http://www.swtor.com/media/webcomics/blood-of-the-empire">Blood of the Empire</a>? What can be divulged in a <a href="http://www.swtor.com/news/blog">Developer's Blog</a> about audio? How do we discover this secret the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic"><em>SWTOR</em></a> Community Manager wants to tell us? And music in an MMO? Is that important? The <a href="http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers">Developer's Dispatch</a> wants to show us.<br />
<br />
All of these and other important questions will be answered if you click the little "Read more" button below.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Music, audio, webcomics and more: It is super-reveal Friday for SWTOR's fans</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/">Music, audio, webcomics and more: It is super-reveal Friday for SWTOR's fans</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19557289/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/16/music-audio-webcomics-and-more-it-is-super-reveal-friday-for/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>audio</category><category>BioWare</category><category>blood-of-the-empire</category><category>developer-blog</category><category>developer-dispatch</category><category>EA</category><category>ea-bioware</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>exal-kressh</category><category>facebook</category><category>forums</category><category>Jesse-Harlin</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>Maggot</category><category>music</category><category>orion-kellogg</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>secrets</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-mmo</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>teneb-kel</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>twitter</category><category>webcomic</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The official, official SWTOR game testing announcement]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/betas/" rel="tag">Betas</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20100709_002"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/07/torlogo-testing.jpg"  alt="" /></a></div>
You've heard <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/23/rumor-swtor-closed-beta-happening-this-weekend/">the rumors</a>, you've seen <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=3284310#edit3284310">the forum posts</a>, but now <a href="http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20100709_002">it's official</a>. <a href="http://swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> has started game testing. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>SWTOR</em></a>'s Community Manager Sean Dahlberg made the announcement for this week's <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=3471039#edit3471039">Fan Friday feature</a>. Dahlberg expressed the developer's purpose in game testing in <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=3471046#post3471046">a post made on the official <em>SWTOR</em> forums</a>: "<em>Being able to have the community help us test </em>The Old Republic<em> is very important and valuable to the development process. The Game Testing Program allows community members to give us quality feedback so we can make adjustments and have a highly effective service and entertaining experience when we do launch.</em>"<br />
<br />
The announcement briefly explains that testing phases will be conducted, in small focused groups from North America, then later expanding to other areas. Sorry, Aussies and Euros, you will have to wait. If you are selected, an email will come to the address you entered in your <a href="http://www.swtor.com/user/account">swtor.com profile</a>. Although we have not heard it from an official source, we have been told by others who are currently testing that just because you were chosen to be a part of one testing group does not mean you will be a part of the next testing group. So jump on that email as soon as you get it.<br />
<br />
If for some silly reason you have yet to sign up for testing, hop over to <a href="http://www.swtor.com/tester">swtor.com now</a> and do it right away!<br />
<br />
[Minor Update: Bioware is calling these sessions Game Testing not beta testing. We have updated the article to reflect that.]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/">The official, official SWTOR game testing announcement</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20100709_002>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19548633/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/07/09/the-official-official-swtor-beta-testing-announcement/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>beta</category><category>beta-testing</category><category>BioWare</category><category>closed-beta</category><category>EA</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>swtor-beta</category><category>swtor-fan-friday</category><category>testing</category><category>why-am-I-not-in-beta</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR hype in hyperspace]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/" rel="tag">Hyperspace Beacon</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/06/hb-hype.jpg" /></a></div>
<em>The <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/">Hyperspace Beacon</a> is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>.<br />
<br />
In a world where MMOs are now commonplace, it seems as though he who has the hippest hype wins. <a href="http://e3expo.com">E3</a> was all about convincing the media that your game or toy was the latest and greatest thing to hit the electronics industry since <em>Pac-man</em>. The media, being the attention-fiends they are, ate it all up. Even Massively wasn't exempt from basking in the spoils of temporary celebrity. I mean, really, did we do a featured news story on <a href="http://www.gaiaonline.com/"><em>Gaia</em></a>? Yes -- one. But we did no less than ten articles featuring <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/">SWTOR</a> </em>coming out of E3. According to some, we're now "Massively: Your daily news about <em>SWTOR</em> and some of these other games over here."<br />
<br />
So with all this hippity-hype everywhere, pouring from all the latest sites popping up and just longing to be the your best source of <em>SWTOR</em> news, how do you determine which is the best? What do you read? What do you ignore? Which is rumor? Which is truth? Who is that masked man? And did you find the Sith Inquisitor in the midriff top as cute as I did? I know, right?! The answers to these questions aren't easy. Sometimes you need a guide to help you through the hype, a hype(rspace) beacon, if you will. This Beacon is here help you calculate the jump. So strap yourself in, kid. It's going to be a bumpy ride.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR hype in hyperspace</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/">Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR hype in hyperspace</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19532211/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/28/hyperspace-beacon-swtor-hype-in-hyperspace/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>BioWare</category><category>daniel-erickson</category><category>darth-hater</category><category>DarthHater</category><category>deborah-shin</category><category>EA</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>expectations</category><category>hope-trailer</category><category>hype</category><category>hype-machine</category><category>hyperspace-beacon</category><category>Knights-of-the-Old-Republic</category><category>mass-effect</category><category>Mos-Eisley-Radio</category><category>Podcasts</category><category>Red-Bull</category><category>rich-vogel</category><category>RockStar</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-galaxies</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>TOROcast</category><category>twitter</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperspace Beacon: E3 -- extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/" rel="tag">Hyperspace Beacon</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/06/hb-e3-1276469011.jpg" /><br />
</a></div>
<em>The <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/">Hyperspace Beacon</a> is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>.<br />
<br />
We have been teased, taunted, and tantalized this week before the <a href="http://www.e3expo.com/">Electronic Entertainment Expo</a>, so much so <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>SWTOR</em></a> fans don't know topsy from turvy. In this Hyperspace Beacon, released just hours before <a href="http://www.ea.com/">Electronic Arts</a>' <a href="http://www.ea.com/1/e3">press conference</a> at the Expo, I will hopefully give you the lowdown on the latest news and perhaps help you appreciate the magnitude of the startling reveals. On the surface they may seem like hyped-up teases with very little to latch on to, but I believe they have exposed quite a bit.<br />
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As Massively reporters packed their bags to head to Los Angeles, <a href="http://www.bioware.com">Bioware</a> did not stop tossing tidbits at its diligent disciples. First, we were treated with a <a href="http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6265070/star-wars-the-old-republic-exclusive-hands-on-bounty-hunter-trooper-imperial-agent-smuggler-sith-inquisitor-and-sith-warrior">hands-on walkthrough from Gamespot</a> detailing the beginning quest for most of the starting classes. Twi'leks and chiss were cited as playable species in this revealing report. Also, <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gametrailers-tv/95?ch=1&amp;sd=1">Gametrailers.com</a> probed the path behind producing an exciting E3 trailer. Besides touring <a href="http://www.blur.com/">Blur</a> studios, the interview taunted us with a brief look into this year's animated short story.<br />
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Continue on after the break to find more insight into the extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition that is this year's E3.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hyperspace Beacon: E3 -- extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/">Hyperspace Beacon: E3 -- extravagant extraterrestrial exhibition</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19513880/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/hyperspace-beacon-e3-extravagant-extraterrestrial-exhibition/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>alderaan</category><category>Aurebesh</category><category>BioWare</category><category>blood-of-the-empire</category><category>Blur</category><category>blur-studio</category><category>blur-studios</category><category>chiss</category><category>coruscant</category><category>daniel-erickson</category><category>darth-malgus</category><category>e3</category><category>EA</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>gamespot</category><category>GameTrailers-TV</category><category>gametrailers.com</category><category>havoc-squad</category><category>kel-dor</category><category>miraluka</category><category>old-republic</category><category>pauldron</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>sith-empire</category><category>Spike-TV</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>thrawn</category><category>threat-of-peace</category><category>togruta</category><category>trailer</category><category>trooper-class</category><category>twilek</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hyperspace Beacon: Community guide to SWTOR]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/guides/" rel="tag">Guides</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon/" rel="tag">Hyperspace Beacon</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/hyperspace-beacon"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/05/hb-starmap-to-swtor.jpg" /></a></div>
<em> The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game of </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a><em>.</em><br />
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Welcome, Massively readers! You, too, must be itching like a freshly shaved Wookiee for the latest news about the greatest thing to hit the MMO world since <a href="http://sethf.com/gore/">Al Gore invented the internet:</a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>. This game hopes to be the pinnacle of modern storytelling and gameplay. Of course, you can count on me -- along with the rest of the Massively team -- to be on the lookout for the latest news and producer propaganda. But the Hyperspace Beacon will take you <em>beyond</em> the hype and hoopla and delve deeper into the story behind the story, the people behind the production, and the meaning behind the mechanics. (Is that enough alliteration for you?) So if you're ready, angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the jump to lightspeed.<br />
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Hyperspace beacons are unmanned outposts in space which freighters and other starships use to traverse the reaches of the known galaxy in Star Wars. Just like one of those buoys in the black, this first installment will guide your <em>Internet</em>-class cruiser past the space debris to what I believe to be some of the best places to find the <em>SWTOR</em> information currently available for your consumption. Okay, Chewie, punch it.<p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hyperspace Beacon: Community guide to SWTOR</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/">Hyperspace Beacon: Community guide to SWTOR</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 17 May 2010 11:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19477483/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/05/17/hyperspace-beacon-community-guide-to-swtor/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>alyssa-gobelle</category><category>BioWare</category><category>community-links</category><category>damion-schubert</category><category>darth-hater</category><category>deborah-shin</category><category>developers-blog</category><category>donna-prior</category><category>Drew-Karpyshyn</category><category>EA</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>featured</category><category>guide</category><category>hyperspace-beacon</category><category>knowledge-base</category><category>lucas-arts-mmo</category><category>LucasArts</category><category>roast-gornt</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>Star-Wars</category><category>star-wars-mmo</category><category>star-wars-mmorpg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>star-wars-tor</category><category>stephanie-bayer</category><category>swtor</category><category>swtor-station</category><category>the-old-republic</category><category>twitter</category><category>wookieepedia</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Larry Everett]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 17 May 2010 11:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[SWTOR testing portal discovered, confirmed by BioWare]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/03/w236tg53674t.jpg" /></a></div>
No other community is perhaps more enthusiastic about their upcoming MMO than the one surrounding <a href="http://www.swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>. Recently, they found what appeared to be a testing portal for the game and <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/24/bioware-countdown-breeds-speculation-on-star-wars-the-old-repub/">coupled with the countdown clocks</a> on every other <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/BioWare/">BioWare</a> site (except for <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic's</em></a> site) the discovery created a fervor of speculation and discussion on the official forums -- mostly surrounding whether or not beta was near.<br />
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Shortly after these events, <a href="http://darthhater.com/2010/03/25/game-testing-portal-confirmed/"><em>SWTOR</em> community manager Sean Dahlberg confirmed</a> that yes, <a href="https://launch.swtor.com/?x=hKSlSw3gPkVAkPCU9QHPv83uY*x3b7NggtAXYuJF*zCrIAwLwqVBre3-dHtoYgXz">this page is in fact a</a> "Game Testing Portal". While we don't have even the slightest clue as to what this means, it may be a good time to update your hardware scan for the game's beta application. As for us? We'll be keeping our eyes locked on the game and perhaps we'll even stalk BioWare staff at <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/PAX-East/">PAX East</a> like an <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/06/star-wars-the-old-republic-reveals-its-newest-class/">Imperial Agent</a> ready to strike.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/">SWTOR testing portal discovered, confirmed by BioWare</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19415941/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/26/swtor-testing-portal-discovered-confirmed-by-bioware/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>beta</category><category>bioware</category><category>bioware-mmo</category><category>bioware-mmorpg</category><category>bioware-star-wars</category><category>bioware-swtor</category><category>darth-hater</category><category>ea</category><category>electronic-arts</category><category>lucas-arts</category><category>lucas-arts-mmo</category><category>lucas-arts-mmorpg</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-game</category><category>star-wars-mmo</category><category>star-wars-mmorpg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>star-wars-tor</category><category>starwars</category><category>starwars-the-old-republic</category><category>sw-tor</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Kyle Horner]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bioware confirms 2011 SWTOR release]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.swtor.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2010/01/swtor-rb-112.jpg" alt="" /></a></div>
<span style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 7px;"> <script> var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Bioware_confirms_2011_SWTOR_release_Massively'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js"></script></span>Yesterday we talked about a rumor that had been floating around thanks to Electronic Arts CEO <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/John-Riccitiello/">John Riccitiello</a>, who had mentioned the <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/11/star-wars-the-old-republic-rumored-for-spring-in-2011/">spring 2011 launch of an unnamed MMO</a> on a recent conference call. Of course, the <a href="http://www.swtor.com/"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> rumor mill sprang into action, with good cause as it turns out. <br />
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<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/sean-dahlberg">Sean Dahlberg</a> of <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/bioware">Bioware</a> <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=109426">confirmed the rumor</a> on the official <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> forums earlier today: <em>While we have not announced a specific date, we can confirm that we are targeting a spring 2011 release for Star Wars[TM]: The Old Republic[TM]. We've got a lot of exciting updates and reveals planned throughout 2010, including the first-ever hands-on testing for the game. It's not too late to sign up to be a game tester, so go to </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/tester" target="_blank"><em>www.swtor.com/tester</em></a><em> and sign up today. We can't wait to share more about the game with you as we progress through the year, so make sure you stay tuned to the </em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/" target="_blank"><em>official website</em></a><em> for details.</em><br />
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While it may not be quite as soon as many fans were hoping for, the extra time gives <a href="http://www.bioware.com/">Bioware</a> a chance to add all those final touches and roll out a nicely put-together game for 2011.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/">Bioware confirms 2011 SWTOR release</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=109426>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19313852/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/bioware-confirms-2011-swtor-release/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>BioWare</category><category>EA</category><category>Electronic-Arts</category><category>John-riccitiello</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Rubi Bayer]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Final SWTOR classes revealed: Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/classes/" rel="tag">Classes</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/11/sithinquisitorat225.jpg" alt="" />Fans of <a href="http://www.massively.como/tag/bioware">BioWare</a>'s much-anticipated MMO <a href="http://www.swtor.com"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a> received some good news today with a reveal of the game's final two classes: the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor. The Jedi Consular is a support class specialized in healing, but with ranged offensive capabilities as well. The Sith Inquisitor, not surprisingly, is primarily a damage dealer. It seems the first word of the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor classes came from a <a href="http://www.starwarsmmo.net/news/pc-games-magazine-reveals-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/">fan translation at Star Wars MMO.net</a> of the German magazine "PC Games". <br />
<br />
The classes were confirmed earlier today by <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic"><em>SWTOR</em></a> Community Manager Sean Dahlberg <a href="http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=91932">who wrote</a>: <em>"Fans of</em> Star Wars: The Old Republic <em>will be in for a treat this week! Several magazines in North America and Europe will have articles that not only talk about</em> The Old Republic <em>but also reveal our final two classes: the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor!" </em><p><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Final SWTOR classes revealed: Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/">Final SWTOR classes revealed: Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=91932>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/19251481/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/23/final-swtor-classes-revealed-jedi-consular-and-sith-inquisitor/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bioware</category><category>breaking</category><category>classes</category><category>darth-hater</category><category>jedi-consular</category><category>new-titles</category><category>sci-fi</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>sith-inquisitor</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Egan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[BioWare CM on community management then and now]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/news-items/" rel="tag">News items</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div align="center"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/03/swtor-comm.jpg" /><br /></div>
If the community is on board with your game and/or message, they will help propel your game toward success. That success can be temporary, however, because if they're not on board, they may turn on you quickly and sharply. Word of mouth travels fast, especially on the Internet and <a href="http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/962/962770p1.html">the primary job of the community management team</a> is to keep that voice with you, not against you.<br /><br />How do they do this? <a href="http://www.bioware.com/">BioWare Austin</a> Community Manager, <a href="http://massively.com/tag/sean-dahlberg">Sean Dahlberg</a> gives us <a href="http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/962/962770p1.html">some insight</a> after ten years in the field. The <em><a href="http://www.swtor.com/">SW:TOR</a></em> CM explains that in the past, community management mostly entailed administrating game forums and passing developer messages along to the players. Because the job wasn't taken as seriously as it is today, CMs were often the last to know about major game changes or the rationale behind them, which made the job very difficult.<br /><br />While the job is still difficult today, community managers are now informed of major changes in advance and actually given a voice with upper management. They are essentially the liaison between fans, consumers, developers, and the publisher. They also <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/13/the-many-faces-of-community-management/">facilitate communication, help retain customers, and even gain new ones</a>. Sean says the field of community management is still in its infancy and that he's interested to see where it will go from here.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/">BioWare CM on community management then and now</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/962/962770p1.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1494950/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/bioware-cm-on-community-management-then-and-now/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bioware</category><category>community-management</category><category>ign</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brooke Pilley]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Defining the design process for Star Wars: The Old Republic]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/game-mechanics/" rel="tag">Game mechanics</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2009/02/tythonforestheader.jpg" /></a><br /></div>
Every Friday like clockwork the fine folks at <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/bioware">BioWare</a> Austin offer up a new tidbit to sink our teeth into. Last week was kind of a blowout, with <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/31/the-old-republic-video-details-tython-shows-off-unexpected-foot/">the enormous video of Tython and how it was made</a>. If you haven't had a chance to check out the best look we've had to date at <em><a href="http://www.swtor.com">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></em>, you owe it to yourself to do so. This week's offering was quite a bit more focused, <a href="http://swtor.com/news/bwblog/20090206_001">delving into the design process used by the team</a> to create a piece of the gameworld. Dallas Dickinson, Senior Content Designer for the game, walks us through the numerous steps required to get even one planet prepped for play.<br /><br />Beginning with the all-important research phase, the designers and developers iterate endlessly on the dialogue, writing, area layout, and art of a planet. What's striking is the sheer amount of interdependency and coordination required for something of this scale. Get a sense of that scale by <a href="http://swtor.com/news/bwblog/20090206_001">reading through Dickinson's entry</a> and mulling through the <a href="http://swtor.com/media/wallpapers/tython-forest">enormous amount of content the developers</a> released last week to accompany the Tython video.<br /><br />Plus! <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/sean-dahlberg">Sean Dahlberg</a> drops in near the end of the comments on the post to let us know something is coming. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for a special announcement!<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/">Defining the design process for Star Wars: The Old Republic</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://swtor.com/news/bwblog/20090206_001>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1453121/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/07/defining-the-design-process-for-star-wars-the-old-republic/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bioware</category><category>design</category><category>lucasarts</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>the-old-republic</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Zenke]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Limited Edition Podcast interviews SWTOR's Sean Dahlberg]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/podcasts/" rel="tag">Podcasts</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/opinion/" rel="tag">Opinion</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/star-wars-the-old-republic-concept-art/1111077/"><img hspace="4" border="1" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/ca_20081021_jedihallway_full-sms-1108.jpg"  alt="" /></a><br /></div>
After the official announcement was made from <a href="http://www.bioware.com/">BioWare</a> confirming their new Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, Community Manager Sean Dahlberg suddenly became a very busy man. Appearing in <a href="http://www.allakhazam.com/sdetail.html?story=15999">a recent web interview</a>, Dahlberg has been keeping us informed on how the game is progressing so far, but we believe this is the first time his voice has been heard on a podcast discussing his new role at BioWare.<br /><br />Over at the <a href="http://www.yellowspandex.com/?p=247">Limited Edition Podcast</a>, Dahlberg talks a bit more about his current role and how he got here. You may also remember the Limited Edition Podcast as the one with former <a href="http://www.rgtr.com"><em>Tabula Rasa</em></a> podcast hosts John and Matt from <a href="http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=13&amp;ep=31">TabulaCast</a>, plus former <a href="http://www.plaync.com">NCsoft</a> EU community guru Stephen "Rockjaw" Reid. They've covered a video version of the <a href="http://www.cityofheroes.com"><em>City of Heroes</em></a> <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/07/fan-video-spotlights-coh-character-creation/">character creation process</a> (which may be especially helpful to thousands of <em>Tabula Rasa</em> players in a few months) and more on everything comic book related. Check out <a href="http://www.virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=27&amp;ep=6">Episode 6</a> for the 35-minute Sean Dahlberg interview.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/">Limited Edition Podcast interviews SWTOR's Sean Dahlberg</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://virginworlds.com/podcast.php?show=27&amp;ep=6>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1380285/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/23/limited-edition-podcast-interviews-swtors-sean-dahlberg/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bioware</category><category>interview</category><category>limited-edition-podcast</category><category>podcast</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>swtor</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Republic interview with Community Manager Sean Dahlberg]]></title><link>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/</guid><comments>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/sci-fi/" rel="tag">Sci-fi</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/lore/" rel="tag">Lore</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/mmo-industry/" rel="tag">MMO industry</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/new-titles/" rel="tag">New titles</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/pvp/" rel="tag">PvP</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/category/star-wars-the-old-republic/" rel="tag">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/photos/star-wars-the-old-republic-1/1111063/"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2008/11/ss_20081021_platformlightsaberduel_full-sms-1108.jpg" /></a><br /></div>
In <a href="http://www.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=15999">a recent interview with Allakhazam</a>, <a href="http://www.bioware.com/">BioWare</a>'s Sean Dahlberg discusses their newest MMO project, <a href="http://www.swtor.com/"><em>Star Wars: The Old Republic</em></a>. As Community Manager for the project, Dahlberg was able to give some great insight into the game's storyline and direction, or at least as much as he could say for now.<br /><br />One particularly interesting part of this interview is the discussion on PvP. As Allakhazam points out, the Republic and Sith Empire are not exactly friendly towards each other, so <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/22/how-will-factions-and-pvp-work-in-star-wars-the-old-republic/">PvP would be an obvious game feature</a>. Dahlberg explains that PvP is definitely part of the game, yet points out that <em><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/swtor">TOR</a></em> <em>"is not looking to be the jack-of-all-trades game. Instead, we are going to focus on what we do best and make sure the game and all its elements are fun and entertaining."</em> He goes on to explain away what may have sounded like a suggestion that the game will be PvP-heavy by saying, <em>"</em>TOR<em> will offer fun and rewarding gameplay no matter what your play style is. If you're not a PvPer at heart, there are definitely other things within the game to do." </em><br /><br />Sounds very promising, and we're excited to hear more about the game, and relay it all to you, when more news becomes available.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ffffcc;border:1px solid #ffff99;clear:both;"><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com"><img src="http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif" alt="Massively" style="float:left;padding:0 5px 5px 0;" /></a><a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/">Star Wars: The Old Republic interview with Community Manager Sean Dahlberg</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com">Massively</a> on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.<br style="clear:both;"></p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.allakhazam.com/story.html?story=15999>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/forward/1378467/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-interview-with-community-manager-sea/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bioware</category><category>community-manager</category><category>lore</category><category>pvp</category><category>sean-dahlberg</category><category>star-wars-the-old-republic</category><category>storyline</category><category>swtor</category><category>tor</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Shawn Schuster]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
