On Friday, the ‘regular’ Friday update was jam packed with goodies. In all honesty, it was a better update then I expected we’d get, since E3 starts Monday.
The updates we got are:
1- The release of the “Lost Suns” Comic by Dark Horse (well, technically, it 
releases The 8th). This looks good on its own, without the TOR tie-in. The series takes place (time-wise) at the same time as TOR. The main character is a spy, who just also happens to be the Son of Grand Master Satele Shan (the Female Jedi from the “Hope” cinematic trailer).
“The galaxy is at peace, but no one believes peace can last forever. To learn the truth behind the cease-fire between the democratic Galactic Republic and the tyrannical Sith Empire, the Republic’s espionage service has sent Theron Shan – a maverick spy and son of the Grand Master of the Jedi Order – on a mission into Imperial space.”
In addition to giving us the brief synopsis of the comic, and the release information. Bioware threw in an interview with Alexander Freed, Senior Writer and Managing Editor. You can read the full interview over at the TOR fan site here.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read a comic that wasn’t web based.. but I think a trip to my local comic store may be in order on Weds.
2 – More Advanced Class information than you can shake a stick at!
There is a very in-depth interview (with some good screen captures – no UI but good character shots) over at MMORPG.com with Georg Zeller. I won’t copy/paste the whole thing..but here’s some Gunslinger (Smuggler Advanced Class) information (Gunslinger looks pretty hawt):
MMORPG.com:
The Gunslinger class for the Smuggler is easy to figure out, but what about the Scoundrel? It seems like a very gadget heavy class, what skills will players be able to use?Georg Zoeller:
Gadgets, explosives, a trusty scatter gun and an urge to avoid a fair fight whenever possible is what the Scoundrel is all about. Some examples available to the player via the skill trees:
•   Terminate, a scattergun ability that deals extreme damage to wounded enemies, usually finishing them off.
•   Shrapnel Bomb, a crude, thrown explosive device causing explosion damage and bleeding wounds to all targets.
•   Slow Release Medpack, an over-time medical pack applicable to smuggler and allies alike.
•   Decloaking Screen, a modification to the stealth field generator that projects a temporary protective screen around the Scoundrel whenever they exit stealth.
3 – If an entire interview dedicated to AC information wasn’t enough for you.. 
Bioware also updated the AC page on the TOR site. On the updated site, you can select your class (all 4 classes, both factions) and then select one of the two ACs available for that class. From there, it will show you the names of the three talent trees available for that class, and two sample skills from that tree (skills subject to change between now and release of course). My explanation doesn’t do it justice, so just peek at the Smuggler AC screenshot I’ve included in the post. Clicky for a bigger version. While I’d like to see a full blown talent calculator like Blizzard (and tons of third party sites) do for WoW.. I’m sure that’s still in the ‘coming soon’ stage, and would expect an official talent calculator and lots of third party ones once Open Beta starts (which, sadly.. still hasn’t been announced).
4 – E3 Information. Bioware has put up a page, with ‘teaser’ information about some of the stuff they’re going to be showing TOR-wise at E3. Here’s what I think are the quick highlight’s from the page:
- You can get your first glimpse of The Old Republic at E3 the day before the show officially opens at the Electronic Arts press conference. Watch the press conference on Spike TV or via live stream on EA.com, on Monday, June 6th at 12:30PM PDT (3:30PM EDT; 8:30PM GMT; 9:30PM CET).
- You may recall the dramatic cinematic trailers we’ve released at previous E3 shows. First, “Deceived†showed the dark triumph the Sith Empire achieved by sacking Coruscant and destroying the Jedi Temple. Then “Hope†took us back a few years in Old Republic history to the courageous stand made by Republic heroes in the Battle of Alderaan. These are critical points in the history of The Old Republic, but there’s another moment that we’ve yet to share. (Hint: This means they’re giving us a new Cinimatic trailer!) =)
- Eternity Vault.. our first glimpse at TOR’s endgame!
- Play time! (of course!) this time, people attending E3 will get to play Tatooine (which thus far, hasn’t been played publicly).
All in all, it looks like E3 will be chockful of TOR-goodness.. especially the way Stephen Reid has been ‘teasing’ his Twitter followers. Really makes me want to be there, but E3 is ‘industry only’ so I’ll have to settle for hitting the various gaming sites, and following #SWTOR on twitter. From the little I’ve heard about Eternity Vault so far, it looks like the raiding crowd will be happy with the end game.
5 – E3 Teaser Trailer – Originally a Gamespot exclusive. I’ll just let you view it yourself (watch it in HD..that version embedded funny, but switch the player controls and use an HD resolution):
If you weren’t excited enough for the information coming from E3 about SWTOR.. that should have done it for you. The only thing I can say we’re not going to get from BW during E3 is a release date =( They’ve said it’s a definite ‘no’ on that, but they’re still on track for release before the end of 2011.