Star Wars: The Old republic goes Free-2-Play

October 22, 2012 by

Droid and Jedi in the desert

After launching to much fanfare and with a massive budget last year, Star Wars: The Old Republic has proven that it takes more than a load of cash and a Star Wars license to sell an MMO against World of WarCraft. After poor sales and few new subscriptions in the months that followed the launch, developers Bioware have made the tough decision to go Free 2 Play.

That means that they’ll be ditching the subscription fee requirement, allowing players to continue to pay for the full experience but also allowing others to experience a large chunk of the game for free, with the hope of converting them to paying subscribers or at least have them make in-game purchases.

I played The Old Republic on and off for a month, getting most of the way through the game, and I found that the single player content is really up to Bioware’s high standards. The game is much more fun to play singleplayer than any other MMO I’ve experienced, and it’s this part of the game that will be completely free to play – every story mission for every class you can play with a free account. You can also reach the highest level in the game – 50 – without paying a dime, if you choose.

Of course, there are restrictions elsewhere, primarily in the multiplayer and cooperative elements of the game. You can only play 3 PvP games and three flashpoints (cooperative dungeons) per week. Most purple items are unavailable. You need to buy a weekly pass to access space missions (one of my favourite parts of the game!). You also can’t access the cargo hold of your ship or use more than one crew skill. There are loads more restrictions here, on almost everything in the game.

All in all, it’s a fairly limited set of restrictions that will make even doing the singleplayer content a lot harder. You’ll be able to do it, but if you’re actually wanting to spend the hours required in the game, then buying full access will definitely be worth your while. This is a really intelligent way for Bioware to allow people to try the game without risk, then only commit to a subscription when they’re ready.

You can find more information on the game and the restrictions in the F2P version here. I’d say it’s worth a look, particularly given the much lower cost of the game and the high quality of the singleplayer content. It’s not a new Knights of the Old Republic, but it’s close.

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for Mobile Fun, the UK’s leading online retailer of iPhone 5 leather cases.

Filed Under: Fun, News Tagged With: , , ,

Star Wars Stormtrooper… out of copyright?

August 1, 2011 by

Copyright law is an odd thing, and it seems it just got a bit more odd here in the UK. Take the iconic Star Wars films, for instance. These are protected under copyright until “70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author or composer dies” (reference). George Lucas is still very much with us, so it’s going to be quite some time before they enter the public domain.

But what about the costumes worn by the Stormtroopers in the same films? You would think they are protected to the same degree, but a recent ruling by the UK’s Supreme Court cast a different light on this: Stormtrooper costumes are industrial objects, not works of art, and therefore only subject to a period of fifteen years’ copyright protection. I think the decision stems from the fact that the costumes allow work to be done… admittedly it’s the work of creating a movie, but they’re still just tools of a particular industry.

The reason all this came about is that the prop designer who made the original Stormtrooper armour has been selling replicas cast from the original moulds. Lucasfilm, understandably, saw this as a violation of copyright and began legal proceedings. As copyright law is different in the US, the Supreme Court did rule that Lucasfilm’s copyright has been violated there, but not according the UK law. So, in the UK at least, Stormtrooper costumes are out of copyright and the replicas can legally be sold without Lucasfilm’s permission.

While that will most likely represent a significant loss of income for Lucasfilm, I think it brings benefits to the general consumer… you and I. Once you enter the open market, innovation and price drops soon follow. I’m not quite sure how the Stormtrooper costume can be innovated upon, but you never know.

There’s more

Some cases in point would be Frank L Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories or Lewis Carroll’s The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. All of these have entered the public domain after the requisite wait following the death of their authors, and there have been great new works based on all three stories. Tin Man reimagined what the story of Oz was all about, Sherlock on the BBC casts a modern light on the classic Holmes universe, and the there have been recent movie and television re-imaginings of Alice in Wonderland. These all add to the tapestry of material surrounding these stories.

But Stormtroopers?

OK, I’m still not sure how that will apply to Stormtrooper costumes as I’m sure the concept of the Stormtroopers will still be owned by Lucasfilm. But the point I”m trying to make is that when something passes out of copyright protection, it opens the way for people to build upon it and have fun with it. Sure, copyright is still important as it protects people’s rights to work they have carried out and the associated income, but eventually these things pass.

What do you think about this issue? Is it a good thing that the (UK) copyright has expired on Stormtrooper costumes? Will it open the floodgates for unlicensed replica props from other movies or TV shows? Should the Supreme Court have ruled that the costumes are “sculptures” and therefore still under copyright? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Post image used under creative commons. Originally by Andres Rueda.

Filed Under: Art and Design, Media Tagged With: , ,

Star wars Galaxies due to go offline

June 29, 2011 by

Star Wars Galaxies, Sony’s massively multiplayer online game set in the Star Wars universe is due to close down on December 15th this year.

It was by no means the first massively multiplayer game – prior to playing galaxies I enjoyed several text-based MUDs, the cyberpunk inspired Neocron and a spell (pun intended) in the fantasy game Everquest – but when it was announced the combination of Star Wars’ popularity and the opportunity to take part in the Galactic Rebellion with other players had a definite appeal.

Players could visit several locations from the movies, and interact with characters like Jabba the Hutt, Han Solo, and even Darth Vader himself. Your actions affected which side of the rebellion you were on which, in turn, affected whether Storm Trooper patrols would attack on sight, or if Rebel recruiters would offer you missions. I have to admit I was very much on the side of the Empire.

Once Galaxies goes offline the next Star Wars MMO will be The Old Republic, set three thousand years before the rise of Darth Vader. The downside? There’s no release date for The Old Republic yet. A look at the website, however, shows plenty of promise.

Despite not having played SWG for about six years, I’m a little sad to see it going offline. Were/are you an SWG player? If so, what are your memories of the game? Or do you play other MMOs? Are you Warcraft crazy? Neocron nuts? Something altogether different? Share your tales of online gaming in the comments.

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: , ,

More Star Wars: Steampunk Style

September 20, 2010 by

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… OK, it was 2008 and on this blog… I brought the excellent work of Sillof to your attention. Well, Sillof recently got in touch with me to say he’s just finished work on the second series of his Star Wars 1942 figures.

These take the familiar characters and concepts of the Star Wars universe and re-imagine them as characters from the Second World War.

I’m not going to blether on too long – if you want to find out more check out my original post and, most importantly, check out Sillof’s site. Click on “Series 2″ to see his latest work.

Filed Under: Art and Design Tagged With: ,

Friday Fun: An a capella tribute to John Williams

November 21, 2008 by

This week’s Friday Fun isn’t a game, but if you can play sound wherever you are you’ll enjoy it. Thanks to Dan for pointing this out to me.

A fantastic take on Star Wars and various John Williams themes. And what a talent!! Now let’s see someone do a similar project over the weekend :)

Edit: turns out the voices are actually a group called moosebutter, who are fantastic themselves. Check them out while you’re at it.

Filed Under: Media Tagged With: , , ,

Feel the Force with your own lightsaber

November 10, 2008 by
Star wars me

Creative Commons License photo credit: magic_quote

I don’t know if it’s the iconic status of Star Wars or just because they’re cool, but lightsabers seem to hold a special place in the minds of children (both in terms of their age and even the overgrown variety). Give someone a coloured stick, or even a light-tube, and there’s a good chance they’ll swing it making a swooshing sound… even if only in private!

You have no doubt seen the toy lightsabers available in shops with the flick-out blade and light-up action, but what if you want something a little more “authentic”? Something you could really battle the Sith with? One option is the Handmade Custom Saber offered by ThinkGeek. This comes in two hilt styles and three blade colours, allowing you to choose the combination you want. The great thing is that the polycarbonate blades are tough enough to withstand “moderate fencing”. That’s a bit of a step forward from the Argon tube I once had that didn’t even survive the post! The custom sabers cost $139.99 for the hilt, and another $139.99 for a blade. ThinkGeek also point out that these particular sabers do not make a noise, so you’ll have to do that yourself.

So what if you don’t want to make the noise yourself and, perhaps more importantly, aren’t really up for paying $260 for a toy (albeit a very cool one). Firebox stock the Force FX Lightsaber: a replica of the film sabers (though it looks like they only have Darth Vader’s one in stock at the moment). These have digitally recorded sound effects, and accelerometers give the correct sound as you swing for your enemy. One of the sensors is even designed to pick up blade impacts, meaning careful duelling is possible with these as well. And you won’t have to argue about whether a move was a “hit” or not, as you’ll hear it! The Force FX Lightsaber costs £59.95 or $94.30 (at time of writing).

Right, so all that’s great and you can pick up a pretty good lightsaber without spending too much cash. But you know what would be great? A custom-designed saber… every Jedi had their own design. The story goes that each Jedi built their own saber, so each was unique. If you’re serious about geeking-out on Star Wars you’re going to need your own design too. Let me introduce JQ Lightsabers, a UK company specialising in replica and custom sabers. Many of their designs use polycarbonate blades, making them tough enough to whack your friends with (can you tell I think being able to use your lightsaber is important?) but it’s the hilts that really take the breath away. Their apprentice sabers are a simple chrome handle that will get you up and running for a mere £46, unless you want a double-saber in which case you’d pay £79. They also produce replica movie sabers (£210 and £230 for the ones currently on offer) and shadow sabers; shorter sabers for “two-handed combat” or “suitable for juniors” (would those be younglings? The icing on the cake, though, is their custom-built section. A combination of parts, light-up switches, machined sections etc. allows you to have that unique design you will need to convince your friends you are a true jedi. The path to enlightenment doesn’t come cheap though: custom sabers start at £165 and the price will vary depending on what you want done.

So, if you’re after that genuine lightsaber feel there are plenty of options depending on your budget and requirements. Question is, which would you pick?

This post contains affiliate links: if you purchase the FX lightsaber from Firebox we will receive commission on your order

Filed Under: Media, Tech Tagged With: , ,

Star Wars: Steampunk Style

September 10, 2008 by

I was very tempted to write something about the Large Hadron Collider today, but I figured everyone will be doing that! Suffice to say, you can check whether the world has ended here.

Instead, I thought I’d bring you a bit more Steampunk and show you just what a difference changing the style can make to a well known story. So here’s Star Wars, steampunk style:

Sillof builds custom figures, some looking very much like the person depicted (his Doctor and MacGyver are pretty much right on the mark), but his re-imagined figures are something to behold. I’m going to shut up now and just show you some of his work, along with a few images of the original item too…

C3PO and R2D2

The ever-present droids:

Steampunk C3PO Steampunk R2D2 R2D2 and C3PO

Images by Sillof and DevanJedi

Imperial Stormtrooper

Steampunk Imperial Stormtrooper Imperial Stormtrooper

Images by Sillof and Snekse

Darth Vader

How could we not include Darth Vader?

Steampunk Darth Vader Darth Vader

Images by Sillof and Snekse

See how there’s a difference between “normal” sci-fi and steampunk? It’s only my personal opinion, but I think the steampunk versions look great and kind of tap into my love of both sci-fi and history… especially Vader’s “Kaiser Wilhelm” style helmet.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Sillof’s Star Wars work, check out Steampunk SW, Steampunk Empire Strikes Back, SW 1942, and SW Re-visioned. Or drop into any of the other excellent sections available on his site.

(And a big thanks to Sillof for allowing me to show his images here)

Filed Under: Art and Design, Media Tagged With: , ,

The Force Unleashed: Demo Out Now

August 23, 2008 by

I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time! I’m a sucker for Star Wars, and this looks amazing: The Force Unleashed is the story of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and fills in some of the gap between Episodes III and IV of the Star Wars saga.

If you’re an xbox360 or PS3 owner you can get your hands on the demo of The Force Unleashed by visiting the Xbox Live Marketplace or Playstation Network.

Having played the demo through, I have to say that the game looks very good: it is visually rich, and the Stormtroopers and Rebel Troops all behave pretty intelligently. There’s a real feeling of scale in the demo level too, set in a Tie Fighter factory. If I had one complaint, though, I would say that you don’t really get a sense of the power of the Force… I was expecting to be blown away by the force powers, but I just wasn’t. Mind you (and this is a big mitigating factor), this is only a demo of the first level so I would imagine the force powers will only get bigger and more impressive as you progress through the game. Compared to early levels of, say Jedi Knight II, this looks like it’s going to be much more fun! Looks like a definite purchase when it comes out next month.

Go, download the demo. And if you can’t, here’s a video to whet your apetite:


Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: , ,

May the LHC be with you…

May 21, 2008 by

I was going to go with “The ability to collide atoms is insignificant next to the power of the Force” but thought it might be a tad long. Anyways, I found this via Angry Zen Master, basically its a petition surrounding the Large Hadron Collider at CERN… and its not an anti-LHC petition:

…No doubt the Directorate of CERN will have prepared something similar to match this historic event.

However, we the undersigned feel something simple will suffice. Upon activating the LHC for the test, we advocate the opening words be “Commence Primary Ignition!”, a call back to the 1977 movie “Star Wars” when the villains destroyed the planet Alderaan with their Death Star.

… <snip>

Further, in the event that the sum total of human knowledge painstakingly amassed over course of history is wrong and the scientific illiterates are correct and this experiment does result in “opening a gate to hell”, “blowing up the planet”, “creating a stargate to another dimension”, or “granting the antichrist newfound powers” etc etc etc then this deliberate link to the destruction of a planet will allow the scientists to claim they knew this would happen and they meant to kill us all the entire time. …

I don’t know about you but I laughed out loud when I read that… however I would like an addendum, if we survive its ignition I want one to utter the immortal words, “Where’s the Kaboom? There was supposed to be an earth shattering kaboom!” :)

Anyway, HERE is the petition if you feel so inclined.

Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: , , , , ,