Old Hats Love Christmas aka What to Do WIth Myself Until SW: tOR launches

Star Wars: The Old Republic finally has an official release date. On December 20, 2011 the game billed “the most heavily anticipated MMO to date” will launch.

(I pulled that line directly from EA/Bioware materials so it may not be the most objective statement, ‘most heavily anticipated’, but there does seem to be a lot of buzz around this game. And that’s not just the fangirl in me talking.)

Back in July, after only 5 days of pre-order access the game had sold 200,000 copies according to a statement released by the company. As of September 2, 2011 the American Pre Order Chart had listed SW: toR as selling approx. 30,000 games a week in America, with a little over 400,000 physical copies in total pre-ordered. Yeah, that’s right; there are approximately 30,000 physical copies of the game pre-ordered in America every week. These numbers ignore all pre-orders sold outside of America, as well as those sold to anyone in digital format.

With nigh on three months to go before the game is released anticipation can easily become frustration for some (myself included); so I’ve come up with some suggestions for folks who need their Old Republic fix sooner than later.

SW: toR has the benefit of being the long awaited successor to the very successful Knights of the Old Republic games: KotOR (Bioware/LucasArts) and KotOR 2: The Sith Lords (Obsidian/LucanArts). If you haven’t played them yet – go get them. They’re both playable on the 360 even though they were released for the original Xbox, and there are Mac and PC versions available as well. With over 60 hours of play time per game per play through, multiple classes, and different quest lines culminating in multiple endings based on your choices - you can easily kill a few weeks playing these games in your downtime. If you have played them already, play them again. Because they’re awesome, and despite taking place 300 years before SW: tOR, there are connections to be made between the franchises. It’s a good primer for those new to the Old Republic universe, and it’ll get you back into the swing of things if you’re an old hat.

 

For those who somehow don’t already know - canonically Revan is male and he follows the redemption storyline. Of course in both KotOR and KotOR II the player can choose to be either male or female and light side/dark side alignment are entirely based on player preference. But canonically Revan is a light side dude at the end of the KotOR storyline; which is only important if you want to have a seamless transition into KotOR III.

 

Ok, so there is no KotOR III and everyone knows that (right?). But it wasn’t a total all out in your face lie. KotOR III was going to be made. But then it wasn’t. The official line was something about LucasArts needing to make strategic cuts to achieve a more advantageous financial position. Blah, blah, blah – all that matters is that they cancelled it. But it was cancelled after a whole lot of art was created (including this concept art of Naresha, above) and some storyline for the project was written. If you’re interested to see what was created (and then unceremoniously set aside) for KotOR III you could always pick up a copy of the 2008 book, “Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts” which according to Wookipedia is a history of LucasArts and includes, “more than 300 pieces of concept art, character development sketches, and storyboards” from published LucasArts games as well as from those that didn’t make it to retail – including KotOR III.

While I’m interested to see where developers were heading with KotOR III before they were sent to the chopping block, I have a better outlet for my impatient fervor. By the time I finish my umpteenth playthrough of KotOR and KotOR II mid November will be here. Yes, yes, there are a few non-Star Wars games that I want to play coming out at about that time, but more importantly, November 15, 2011 is the anticipated release date for Drew Karpyshyn’s new novel entitled, “Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan” which finishes up the KotOR storyline, finally revealing the reasons behind Revan’s fall to the Dark Side and his abandonment of the Republic following his redemption at the Star Forge.

It’s not exactly KotOR III. Obviously. It’s not a videogame or even a ‘choose your own adventure’ book.  I can’t finish my Revan’s story exactly the way I wanted to do it. But I can see who or what the big bad is, what was so dangerous that Revan took on the Darth title. I can see what happens to the characters I came to love in the game series. I can get the sense of closure that I’ve been craving for more than half a decade now. And then I can let my imagination run wild. Or I can just head over to fanfiction.net sometime in late November and see what those folks came up with. They are a prolific bunch.

Add in some comic reading (both SW: tOR and KOTOR), a bit of forum surfing, guild preparation and some beta weekends (PLEASE Bioware. I NEED this!) and that should bring everyone nicely into December in a mostly stable state of mind. Some holiday prep, baking and shopping and wrapping and what not and there will be just enough time to rest up for the inevitable marathon of gaming granted by an early access pre-order code.   

For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan, check out this interview with the author:

http://www.swtor.com/news/news-article/20110422   

The Old Republic: Speculation the First: Holocrons

I (like 1.5 million other folks apparently) signed up to beta Star Wars: The Old Republic about a year ago. But I am impatient. And obsessive. And in my obsessive impatience I may or may not have signed up four or five times since then just in case it didn’t work the first time, or in case they didn’t get my registration. Just in case they didn’t understand how much I wanted it….

My partner also signed up for beta and he got an invite to test all long weekend. So in obsessive behavior typical of me, I checked my email every thirty seconds for a few days willing my invite to materialize. It didn’t. The weekend has come and gone and my invitation never showed up. Apparently my love of Bioware is unreciprocated.  Or at least a little unbalanced.

In any case before I was informed of my partner’s great luck I had decided to do something SWTOR related to help alleviate the building tension caused by my impatience for the game release. And since someone somewhere had once mentioned the possibility that holocrons hidden around the worlds would contain mystical secrets (stat bonuses and the like) I decided to start there. Here then, is a speculative list of holocrons in SWTOR compiled by an obsessive Bioware fangirl who just happens to have a replica lightsaber on her fireplace mantle. Here goes:

Dark Side:

Most of the following Sith holocrons would have been on Korriban originally but following the Jedi Civil War many Sith Artifacts were sought out and destroyed. And remember that according to KOTOR 2, Jedi Master Atris collected several Sith holocrons and brought them to her Academy on Telos. So I guess there could be random holocrons scattered throughout a (hopefully) reconstructed Telos.

1.       The Dark Holocron was recovered from Naga Sadow’s fleet after his defeat at the Battle of Koros Major while retreating to Yavin 4. Many accounts suggest that it is the first Sith holocron to be captured by the Jedi – so, you know, canonically relevant. It was kept in the Holocron Chamber of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

2.       Adas’s Holocron was created by a King of Korriban during the reign of the Sith (species). Adas was a master of Sith magic and united several warring nations into an empire under his rule. King Adas was aided in the creation of his holocron by Rakata from the Infinite Empire (c. 27,700 BBY) before killing them for plotting against his people. His holocron was lost during the Great Hyperspace War on Ashas Ree where Freedon Nadd found it and used its knowledge to conquer Onderon. Following the defeat of the Onderon Naddists the Jedi stored the holocron on the planet Kodai.

3.       The Telos IV Holocron was crafted by the Sith sometime before the Golden Age and was traditionally held by Sith Lords. Each owner generally added their knowledge to the Holocron and as a result, several notable Star Wars universe characters including Ajunta Pall, Naga Sadow, Darth Bane, Darth Revan and Darth Sidious have made contributions. Not only notable because of its prominence in Lore, several quest related characters from KOTOR/KOTOR II had a hand in this holocron’s maintenance and it would make sense to include it in SWTOR.

4.       Revan’s Holocron was constructed during the Jedi Civil War in order to pass on what he believed to be information vital to fully developing Dark Side talents. Following Revan’s redemption after the Jedi Civil War, the holocron was left hidden in the Temple of the Ancients on Rakata Prime. Again, no idea if, where or how you would find it in game.

5.       Darth Nihilus’s Holocron has little history attached to it and there is nothing particularly notable about this holocron except that it was created by one of the villains of KOTOR II. No idea where it might be though.

6.       Darth Andeddu’s Holocron was found by Freedon Nadd on Korriban shortly after he fell to the dark side. His tomb was originally on Onderon but Arca Jeth moved it to a nearby moon, Dxun to prevent the dark energies from effecting the population of Onderon. Exar Kun and Revan both breeched the tomb on Dxun so the holocrons could be anywhere now.

7.       Dathka Graush's Holocron was created by a Sith Lord of the same name who was skilled in the use of Sith Alchemy and ruled most of Korriban approximately 7000 BBY. He was entombed there and his holocron, sword and amulet remain at his side.

8.       Freedon Nadd's Holocron was created by Freedon Nadd, Dark Lord of the Sith and first king of Onderon sometime after he conquered the Onderonians, this holocron was in Nadd’s tomb for some time but it may have found its way off of Dxun after Exar Kun and Revan breached the tomb’s defenses. According to canon however, it stayed in a locked room inside the tomb until Darth Bane removed it in 1000 BBY.  

9.       Tulak Hord's Holocron was a Sith holocron that Dark Lord Tulak Hord created to pass on his technique of lightsaber combat. In KOTOR there is a quest line that involves seeking out the holocron in order to advance Revan’s infiltration of the Sith Academy.  Whether this quest is completed or not shouldn’t change the fact that this holocron would end up in the hands of the Academy’s headmaster and kept somewhere prominent in the Sith Academy on Korriban.

10.    XoXaan's Holocron was created by the Sith Lord XoXaan. XoXaan was one of the Dark Jedi exiled from the Republic after their defeat in the Hundred-Year Darkness. Her holocron was lost in the Tombs of Korriban.

Light Side:

There seemed to be significantly less Light Side Holocrons of note. This doesn’t concern me as many of the Sith holocrons would have been taken by the Jedi during the Sith Artifact purge or possibly created by redeemed Sith turned Jedi – so they would be accessible to Republic players. Many if not most Jedi holocrons were housed in the Temple on Coruscant. Prior to the sacking of Coruscant the local temple had a ‘Holocron Chamber’ in one of the towers – specifically the Tower of First Knowledge - where ancient holocrons protecting coveted secrets were housed and studied. There are also many possibilities for unknown/previously unheard of holocrons on Tython, the original, ancient seat of the council. Some known holocrons would have been abandoned on Tython when the first Jedi Council left the planet.

1.       Arca Jeth’s Holocron was created by Ood Bnar and passed down Jedi to Jedi until it came into the possession of Arca Jeth. This holocron was lost on Arkania and not recovered until the New Republic era. The web comics released in anticipation of the release of SWTOR involve Jeth and his apprentices so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to find this holocron included - somewhere.

2.       Sar Agorn’s Holocron is one of the older holocrons in the galaxy. Sar Agorn was an early sentient non-humanoid Jedi Master whose personality was preserved in his holocron so that his knowledge and understanding of Jedi traditions and history could be passed on.  One of the only surviving artifacts of this era, Sar Agorn’s holocron contained much information about the earliest Jedi on Tython, which is the starting planet in SWTOR if you play a Jedi.

3.       The Tedryn Holocron is also known as Vodo-Siosk Baas’s Holocron or the Jedi Holocron. Little is known about this object other than the fact that it was created over 4000 years before the Battle of Yevin by the Jedi Master Tedryn. It is known that the histories of Freedon Nadd, Exar Kun, Ulic-Qel Droma and Naga Sadow are included on the holocron as well as information about the Great Hyperspace War. Vodo-Siosk Baas held the holocron around 3997 BBY and he spent most of his time between Ossus and Dantooine, which as far as I know aren’t playable environments in SWTOR as things stand – but you never know.

4.       The Great Holocron contains one of the most extensive collections of Force related instruction in the known universe.  Amidst this incredible amount of information are lessons from numerous Masters throughout Galactic history including Sar Argorn, Arca Jeth, Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda as well as Vima Sunrider’s tale of Ulic-Qel Droma’s redemption and Deesra Luur Jada’s observations of Revan.

So that’s it. Like I said, far more Dark Side holocrons of note for the time period. And this list could be all sound and fury. I write this with no actual, confirmed or in any way official information from the devs. I don’t know if these specific holocrons are going to be included.  I don’t even know if stat boosting holocrons are in the final version of the game. This is all speculation folks.But at a minimum it was a nice foray into the long and convoluted history of the Star Wars Universe. Hopefully it will be the first of several SWTOR posts between now and launch.