HoloNet Links #46

A project to save the Lars Farm, a SWTOR fashion site & more after the Jump…

• Bioware announces winner of Darth Malgus statue
  

Bioware had recently held a contest for a life-size Darth Malgus statue. Earlier this week they announced the winner of this very cool prize. Huge congrats to the winner of the Sideshow Collectibles statue…sadly it was not me. However never fear, if I know Bioware they are probably planning another contest at this very moment and if not…come on Bioware do it for your fans (If you happen to have another statue you can send it to me…heck who am I kidding I would be happy with a free SWTOR sticker)

• Devs acknowledge a few bugs they are addressing

Amber Green and Joveth Gonzalez have posted this week about a few bugs spotted by the community that the Devs are working to fix. One is about a search issue with the Galactic Trade Network, another one deals with the Imperial Agent storyline quest – Star Chamber, and the other post talks about the issue of the companion, Ashara and how certain head pieces are causing her head to disappear…that would be a bit unnerving in cut-scenes let alone running around the fleet with the headless companion. For more information be sure to check the links and also take time to read the forum. Oh and if you see a bug, report it. We can help improve the game by letting the development team know of an issue.

Star Wars Community News & Events

• Corellian Run Radio’s Weekly Nav Coordinates

This week the podcast was hosted by Carla and Maer. They talked about new things coming in Patch 1.3 and they also discussed their thoughts on whether or not every patch should go to the Public Test Servers or not. Deirdre was with her family after the loss of her grandfather. We extend our thoughts and prayers to her and her entire family during this time. Our community might disagree on things about the game, but it is nice to know how we all tend to pull together and support each in times of need and sorrow.

05/04 Operation: Information – Pre-Op Checklist by Ghoztt

05/07 Guild Checkpoint featuring Skyhound Adepts by Jason Taylor

05/08 My Two Credits: Server Mergers by Maer

05/09 Episode 56: To PST or Not to PST… – podcast

• A site for your SWTOR Fashion needs
  

Many of you know Dulfy and her site dulfy.net. She has teamed up with Zoopercat from askmrrobot.com to start a whole new site. The site is called TOR-Fashion. It is going to be the place to check out how various orange Moddable armors looks like before buying or setting out to work Flashpoint etc for drops. They already have many images of several armor sets for Empire and Republic alike. The site will display any of these known Moddable orange armors sets that they can find. The creators of the site are also asking for people to submit your screenshots of your orange armor sets to add to the site’s fashion portfolio. I believe this site will be very popular, especially after Patch 1.3 hits and all the light social armors can also be medium and heavy. Be sure you head over there and checkout all the many different armor sets already posted.

Just a few examples from TOR-Fashion

• Star Wars video

This week I’m changing it up a bit, instead of a music video I have come across a video on Youtube, thanks to Chris from The Sarlacc Pit podcast and the link, about a project to save a certain farm from a galaxy far, far away. I am referring to the Owen Lars farm from the original Star Wars movie. The farm location is in the country of Tunisia. In the short clip you can see how badly the farm is looking after years of neglect. Now to the “normal” person on the street they would shake their head in disbelief at the thought of people trying to restore a movie location in the middle of a desert, but to the real believers and dreamers (like me and hopefully you too)…this is something worth saving if only to glimpse at just one sun setting low on the horizon at sunset and dreaming of far off adventures in that galaxy far, far away.

If you would like to help the project through a donation, you can visit the official save the Lars Homestead site and read more of the complete details of the project and how it all got started. You can also follow the project as it goes forward on their Facebook page.

That is it for this week’s HoloNet Links. Is there a particular link, story, video, or topic related to SWTOR you would like us to highlight? Maybe you or someone you know deserves to be highlighted in our SWTOR Community Spotlight if so please email us at corellianrun@gmail.com or you can leave your links and suggestions in the comments below, or in the Facebook group. See you all next week.

PTS Testing?

This week Carla is joined by Maer as they talk about BioWare’s podcast, 1.3 reveals, PTS testing and more.  The audio quality is not our normal high quality, but will return to normal as soon as Carla’s computer is replaced.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to  Deirdre and her family in her time of loss.   Her grandfather just passed away.

More Episode #56 and Comments after the jump…

FACT OR FICTION: Can you pick out the true fact? This week’s fact or fiction talks about augment tables, adaptive gear, and acquiring augment schematics in 1.3.

FROM THE NEWSNET & BEYOND: Roundup of the most important announcements and news.

1. 05/11 – Community Q&A http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-may-11th-2012 (Going to every two weeks)
2. 05/10 – Augmented Tables coming in 1.3 – (kits from crafters but for all gear)  http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4330446#edit4330446
3. 05/10 – Adaptive Gear – (From Damien Schubert in the official podcast #1)
4. 05/09 – Official Podcast #1 released http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4315086#edit4315086
5. Personal playtime

QUICK MENTIONS:

Next Patch May 15th: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4343545#edit4343545

A glance at this week’s articles on CRR:

1. Operation: Information – PreOps Checklist http://corellianrun.com/2012/05/11/operation-information-pre-op-checklist/
2. Holonet Links #45 – http://corellianrun.com/2012/05/10/holonet-links-45/
3. My Two Credits:  Top 10 Wishlist – http://corellianrun.com/2012/05/08/my-two-credits-top-10-wish-list/
4. Guild Checkpoint #43 -Demonic Sith Lords http://corellianrun.com/2012/05/07/guild-checkpoint-43/

 SITH OR JEDI:  Test of the Bad Cashier

You have just finished your grocery shopping and find a line to check out that isn’t too long.  You start to unload your groceries on the belt and had the cashier your earth-friendly bags to load the groceries in and the cashier makes this heavy exhale in disgust and takes the bags.   You smile and tried to make light chatter as you grouped my items for bagging.  Every time you would move an item she would over-react as if you interrupted her when you weren’t even close to the items she was working with.  No matter what you did to lighten the mood, she wasn’t having any of it.

Do you:

1. You pay for your groceries and tell the cashier to have a wonderful day as you leave.

2. You ignore the situation, pay for your groceries and leave.

3. You pay for your groceries, sarcastically tell the cashier to have a nice day then go find a supervisor and tell her how horrible the cashier was.

Photo-Receptor Focus on: TOR Server Mergers

By Maer

In last week’s column I posted my Top 10 Wish List.  Sitting at #1 was my wish to see Bioware merge servers.  I feel this is reaching critical proportions and they need to address this issue before they address anything else.  And sooner rather than later.  Sooner as in right away.

More after the jump…

Playing on low population servers is even worse than playing on servers where you have an hour wait in queue.  At least you know when you finally get in that there will be other people there.

I’ve heard recently that the problem is not just population, but that faction balance – or rather imbalance – is a major contributing factor.  I’d certainly be willing to concede that point.

First, let’s look at the low population issue.  I’m not sure if my server qualifies as low population, but it feels like it.  There just aren’t enough people running around sharing their accomplishments, showing off their gear and mounts and pets.  There’s very little feeling of “OMG, where did you get that?”   Even those few times I’ve heard that comment or even made it myself, I’m not running out to immediately find, farm or buy whatever it is.

I’m not feeling that drive to add stuff to my collection.  I think part of that is the lack of exciting gear, mounts, pets, but part of that is also not having enough other people to share the accomplishment.  Keep in mind I’m in a very large guild and I still feel there are times when I’m alone.  Alone is not good in an MMO.  In fact it’s scary.

The most people I’ve seen recently were when the Rakghoul event was going on.  Now that’s over, we seem to be back to a big, echoing fleet.  I miss seeing the tons of people that I used to see at all hours of the day and night.  And it’s worse on the Republic fleet.

It’s not just the fleets either.  The planets don’t seem to have many people on them, especially the poor Republic side.

That brings us to the second contributing factor – the ratio of Empire to Republic.  On our server, the Republic presence is extremely low, which makes leveling characters on that side pretty lonely.  I didn’t try for long, but I did give it a go.

I’m willing to bet our server is not the only one experiencing this imbalance, either.  But are there enough heavy Republic servers to merge with the heavy Empire servers?

I’ve heard several opinions recently that the number of Empire players far exceeds that of the Republic players.  There’s no hard data from Bioware that I know of, other than the percentages released at the guild summit regarding class breakdowns.   Well, we pretty much figured out that Inquisitors were the faves and Smugglers were not.

If the Empire really does far exceed the Republic, what can Bioware do to fix that?  Some feel that the problem stems from the storylines on the Republic side.  I don’t know about that since I haven’t rushed out to level any Republic characters.  In fact, my highest is around Level 10.

I’d like to hear from those of you who play Republic, who have also played Empire.  Are the storylines less engaging on the Republic side?  If that’s not the issue, what do you think is the reason for the faction imbalance?  And what can be done to fix the situation?

I’m no expert, so I certainly don’t pretend to know what can be done.  However, I do know that something needs to happen.  Too many of my friends are defecting to other games and I’d really like to see Bioware do something to entice them back.  Legacy didn’t accomplish that.  I’m hoping that server mergers will bring the player numbers back up to feeling like an MMO again.  That won’t bring my friends back, but it might stop more from leaving.

That’s my two credits this week.  What’s yours?

Ready…set…discuss…

Highlighted Guild

• Skyhound Adepts – Galactic Republic

Many of us know the phrase, “strength in numbers,” but is the strength actually the numbers or the type of people that make the numbers? This week’s guild has a definite strength and they are a close knit group, but it is not from their numbers. The Skyhound Adepts is a smaller guild and might not even be one people would notice. I have to say that in the short time I have been in their forums, emailed, and replied to members the more I understood that their “strength in numbers” comes from the quality of the people that make up those numbers.

More on the Skyhound Adepts, their beginning & plans for the future after the Jump…

• Guild Q&A

How did Skyhound Adepts get its start as a guild in SWTOR? Is this the only game Skyhound Adepts are associated with as a guild?

-Before the release of the game, my friends and I decided to get into beta; we fell in love with the game and decided that we would make a guild.  Trying to think of a ‘Snazzy’ name for the guild, it kind of just came to me. So the Skyhound Adepts were born!

-This is the first guild with this name, though most of us are in the Redmage Bandaids in WoW, and plan on making a Skyhound Adepts guild in the upcoming game ‘Secret World.’ Got the beta and plan on reserving the name as soon as possible, to preserve it from copycats.

What is the type and name of the server that the guild Skyhound Adepts is located?

-We play on Krayiss Obelisk, a PVE server, though we compete in a lot of PVP. Unfortunately, the server was much more active at release, and has since fallen to ‘low’ status

Skyhound Adepts is a really a small close-knit group of gamers. How does the guild plan to keep this close-knit feeling as the guild grows?

-We have a Forum on our website for the community of the guild, and recruit on many levels to ensure everyone has someone to play with.  We also make it a point to plan times to run through flashpoints with each other, and do the endgame Ops as well.  Recently, a guild bank was set up, where people who have proven that they intend to stay with the guild have the ability to trade items such as high-level orange gear, and schematics.  We also are saving money to help new players pay for the annoying speeder training.

What has been one of the guild’s biggest achievements in SWTOR so far?

-Near the beginning of the game’s life, when most ‘high level’ characters were 20-30, the guild filled an entire ops group for PVP, and on the Alderaan Warzone, managed somehow to hold ALL three turrets, and keep them the entire game. It was pretty triumphant.

Has the guild started running Operations? If so which ones and what difficulty levels?

-We have not run Ops as a guild, though a few members have already, there are plans in the future to run as a guild once we level some new recruits.

Does the guild enjoy the PVP Warzones? Is there one in particular the guild enjoys the best?

-Most of the guild loves PVP matches, and always make sure to complete the daily mission. The favorite of the group seems to be Alderaan’s map, and the group groan is Huttball.

The guild LOVES warzones, even the people not specced for warzones play them. – Corthewin

I LOVE the PVP, especially with the Adepts, as they are all a bunch of jokers, jokers with skill! – Dachshund

As guild leader, what has been some of the biggest challenges running a guild? Are there some tools Bioware could add in-game to help you and the officers run and grow the guild?

-I’d say the biggest challenge was to recruit members and motivate them to work together, some people just join guilds and ask for items or hardly talk. I also had to work to get the funds for the guild bank, though I received a wonderful donation by Neda, a new member at the last minute.

-The Officers have addressed a few ideas, and the two biggest ideas we have is “automatic donation” to the guild bank(a percent of all money loot is deposited in the bank for the guild to share), and guild perks, like a separate experience bar for the guild, and as the guild levels up, small perks are added.

I noticed the guild is organizing to get its guild bank. How has this process been working out for the Skyhound Adepts as a small sized guild?

-As a small guild, the money total was difficult at first, then Daschund donated, and Neda practically PAID for the bank, and we now have it set up, thank you two very much!

What is the class, advance class and level of your main character? As the guild leader what has been your favorite in-game feature or game mechanic in SWTOR? What is your opinion on the Legacy System so far?

-My main character is Anna’lis, a level 43 Republic Commando.  I had to take a break from her and start a few alt characters to help the new members to level and quest.  One of my favorite things is the dialogue. I like the ability to shape my character in more than just item looks and stats.  Other than that, doing PVP, flashpoints, and ops as a guild has been pretty fun.

-The Legacy System is pretty interesting, though we are looking more forward to the XP bonuses to be released soon for legacy.  Adding a name to your legacy is also fun, as other players can see you and know “hey that’s one of so-and-so’s characters!”  The family tree is somewhat lacking, as we would like to have multiple lines, like have someone an ally to more than one character.

Ispen, a guild officer, weighs in with her favorite game mechanic in the quote below.

One of my favorite things is the dialogue options. I love having light/dark side choices. The more evil choices you make, the more dastardly your character starts to look. Ispen’s looking pretty evil.

Rani, a guild member, tells us their favorite game mechanic in SWTOR.

I love the “storying.” I love the good/bad choices. I love the fact you don’t have to be 100% good or 100% bad. I guess I’d change how quiet everyone is with each other. Of all the times I’ve been logged on, I’ve only ever seen general chat once.

Neda, a guild officer, lets us know one thing he wishes would be allowed in PVP.

I love the new rocket boots most of all, but wish they would last longer and be usable in PVP.

I can’t blame him…isn’t everything better with “Rocket Boots!”

Is Skyhound Adepts currently recruiting? What classes/advance classes does the guild need?

-Yes, we are currently recruiting and welcome new members, both Empire and Republic.  We are recruiting along many levels and classes, and all are welcome. Our hopes is to create a strong community that helps each other out.

Along the lines of recruiting, is Skyhound Adepts trying to start a Sith chapter of your guild? Is this to help your members with their Legacy benefits?

-We do have a sister guild called <Hellhound Adepts> recently set up.  It’s a little of both, we want to help with the Legacy system, and also some people like Sith, some people like Jedi, we decided to have a guild that liked both.

How can potential recruits or those looking to find more information about the Skyhound Adepts contact you all?

They can visit our website, or contact one of our guild officers, Anna’lis, Corthewin, Ispen, or Neda for the Republic side, and Skarro, Cortano, Telbeler, or Zombie on the Empire side.

Guilds should not be judged by their size…because it is the strength of character and willingness for members to help each other that is the measure of a successful, productive and enjoyable guild.

That’s it for this week’s Guild Checkpoint. I want to thank all the members of Skyhound Adepts for all their help and welcoming me into their website/forums. I also want to especially thank the GM Anna’lis/Mediaflare for all his work and time helping with this article. If you are looking for a guild that enjoys having fun, is growing to include Operations in their guild events and even creating a sister guild on the Empire side, you should get in touch with the officers and apply today.

Does your guild have a close-knit vibe? Or maybe your guild is huge into Warzones or Operations? Whatever your guild is into or does for fun in SWTOR, let us tell the community about your guild and what it is all about. All you need to do is email me at jason@corellianrun.com along with your guild’s website address and we will see if we can get your guild highlighted on Guild Checkpoint at Corellian Run Radio.

By Ghoztt

This week I’d like to talk about your role as a member of an operation group and how to make sure you’re never caught flat-footed for an ops run.  This may sound like an article for ‘hard core’ ops groups, but I feel even casual groups will find some useful advice.  At the very least, it will save some frustration on the part of the ops leader.

L2P (Learn to Play)!

An operation doesn’t begin at the listed start time of your guild calendar, it begins much earlier.  Knowing your class abilities and function in an operation is paramount.  I’m not saying to use a cookie cutter spec and rotation but you need to know how your abilities work.  Fortunately, you will gain most of this knowledge while you level.  The rest of the fine tuning will come as you play at max level and find out what rotation and priority work for you.  Don’t forget about the extra utility powers your class may have.  If you’re a tank and can spec into an ability to get more dps then go for it!  If you’re a healer and have extra talent points to debuff the boss then why not?  If you’re a dps who can spec into some self or group heals then don’t let anyone stop you.  I’m of the belief that there is no ‘right’ way to play, just so long as you get enjoyment out of doing what you do best and it gets the job done.  Plus, the more useful you are, the more of a chance you’ll have a spot in an operation.

Show up! Dont be late!

You should strive to be online and ready to go about 10 to 15 minutes before the operation starts to allow the group to be formed ahead of time.  This does not mean being online and in pvp or a flashpoint.  It means online, getting ready and waiting outside the operation you are attending that day.  I don’t know how many times we have been forming for an operation where we had to wait for one or two people to ‘finish up’.  I realize that it is not an efficient use of your time to sit around but the reason you signed up that day was to do an ops so that should take precedence over anything else.  If you are being brought in as an alternate then, of course, this does not apply.  This brings me to the next point about showing up for the operation you signed up for.  If you signed up verbally or on a calendar, then you should feel obligated to make an appearance.  You leave 7 to 15 other people looking for someone to replace you if you don’t show up.  RL happens, but if you know you’re going to be late or unable to make it, then let someone know.  Trade numbers with a guild leader or operations lead.  Post on your guild forum.  Send a telegram.  Smoke signals.  Something!

Be prepared!

Preparation goes beyond just showing up to an operation.  It means making sure your gear is repaired, having the right stims and med packs, and knowing the encounters you are about to face.  How many times has the operation group had to wait while one or two people have to leave to repair then an hour later find out that someone else has to repair?  How many times has the group had to wait because someone ran out of stims or med packs?  How much time have you wasted while the operation leader had to explain the mechanics of a boss to one or two members who were there for the first time?  I’m willing to wager that the time lost adds up to an hour, maybe more, in a single night.  Couldn’t that hour been better spent with more attempts on the boss?

Overall, try to keep the interruptions to a minimum to ensure a smooth ops night.  Have your meals before or after (or during between pulls) and make sure you visit the bathroom ahead of time.  Ensure you have a ready supply of drinks and snacks to minimize any possible downtime.  What it really comes down to is this:  Once you sit down for an operation, don’t expect to go anywhere anytime soon.  

Got more useful tips?  Please post them below! (Thanks Thross!)

Ready check done? Pulling in 3… 2… 1…