SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 16, 2010 (SOE Press Release) - LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) announced today the release of Threat of the Conqueror, the latest expansion in the successful Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game. Players can aid the Alliance Renegade Squadron as they gather intelligence and locate the Empire's modified Star Destroyer - dubbed the Conqueror - which holds within itself the ability to destroy entire planets, or they can take the side of the Empire's elite storm commandos as they work to crush the Rebels and ensure the maiden voyage of the Empire's newest deadly weapon. No matter what side they choose, ten new story scenarios will pull them into the fight in this pivotal battle between good and evil. This new set also brings the ability to boost gamers' light or dark side deck with all-new special-forces themed cards, as well as all-new Bith and Duros avatar race cards.

The Threat of the Conqueror adds more than 200 new playable cards, including 30 new loot cards, to the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, bringing the total number of cards in the game to more than 1,800. The new playable cards will feature unique keyword abilities that:

• Grant “Intel” labeled units additional bonus powers when they come into play, allowing for more tactical options within a round
• Enable stacking “Reinforcement” bonuses which adds the ability to play additional reinforcement units as the length of gameplay increases

In addition, this expansion introduces new cards to the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, including:

• Player-Created Art Cards – The Star Wars Galaxies Galactic Civil War Photo Contest winners are unveiled. One Rebel-themed winner, one Imperial-themed winner and one neutral-themed winner have had their submitted screenshots turned into art cards in Threat of the Conqueror.
• New Loot Cards – More than 30 new special-forces themed loot cards will be available, including the AT-PT Walker Vehicle, the Vehicle Garage and the imposing Republic Gunship Vehicle Collectible Item.

The Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game marks the first-ever Star Wars trading card game offered exclusively online. Available to both current and former Star Wars Galaxies subscribers, the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game provides players with an entirely new gameplay experience by combining the challenge of a trading card game with the adventures and community of a massively multiplayer online game. Players can build their own virtual decks to fight in story mode, and participate in epic one-on-one matches, cooperative heroic encounters and official tournaments.

In addition, all Star Wars Galaxies subscribers with current, valid, paid accounts in good standing are automatically eligible to receive five digital trading card booster packs each month included with their paid Star Wars Galaxies subscription at no additional cost, providing a quick and easy way for them to build their decks.

Anyone wishing to try the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game can do so at no charge through a downloadable trial that includes limited access to a tutorial and practice games with a provided virtual starter card deck.

The Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game may be also be accessed from inside Star Wars Galaxies and is available to trial players as part of the Star Wars Galaxies 14-day trial. This trial, offered at no charge for up to two consecutive weeks, also includes all the content of the base game, Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided and its first expansion, Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed. Available by download from www.StarWarsGalaxies.com, the 14-day trial gives players a chance to become a part of the Star Wars galaxy, and meet and fight with or against their favorite Star Wars characters as they explore this massive online universe filled with thousands of other Star Wars fans.

More information about the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game and its seventh release, The Threat of the Conqueror, along with the game’s trial can be found at www.StarWarsGalaxies.com/tradingcardgame.

The sounds of celebrating Ewoks fill the air! Join them once again in Tyrena on Corellia, Kaadara on Naboo and the Southern Ewok Village on Endor and earn some sweet new rewards while munching on Camby Berries and celebrating around the Chocolate Fountains. Players can complete special activities to earn Chak Hearts, and trade them in for exclusive new Ewok Festival of Love rewards such as:

• A new Ewok Festival of Love painting
• A new bouquet of flowers
• A wearable halo
• Three new sets of wearable wings in pink, blue and gold
• Three new badges. Earn the new titles Ambassador of the Festival of Love, Follower of Kyoopid or The Love Broker

The Ewok Festival of Love is happening now! Spread the love and join in the fun until the celebration ends on March 2, 2010.

Help Save Vital Cities from Falling Into Enemy Hands

*tap, tap*

This thing on?

Just wanted to give anyone interested in Star Wars Galaxies a heads up that Steam is currently selling Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventure for 50% off through November 26th.

That logs the game and its expansions in at $9.99.

More info over at Steam's site.

It's time for the SWG June Producer's Notes.

Greetings Forum Fiends,

Each month I find myself writing the Producer Note going, “didn’t I just do one of these?” Time flies when trying to bust out thrilling new updates for our player base.

I hope everybody has had the opportunity to jump into at least one of the new battlefields released in Update 10. We’re really proud of these new battlefields and I’m proud of the team for how much hard work they poured into this amazing update. Particular call outs need to be made to Hanse, Loche, and Teesquared for all their extra dedication to this release. We hope that all these new battlefields provide an excellent supplement to the open-world PvP that you’ve enjoyed for years now. I’m personally fond to the capture-the-flag-ish Data Runner battlefield but I’ve always been a big CTF fan since the original Unreal Tournament about a decade ago.

Since my last note we’ve been joined by Draakull, our new Community Relations Manager. Filling Valara’s position has been a long process but I believe that Draakull has an excellent perspective on community and will bring a lot of great stuff to you folks over the coming months. To properly assist Draakull in adjusting to his new position we’ll be promptly hazing, er… throwing him in the deep end at Fan Faire in less than a month. Welcome aboard, Draakull!

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dotanuki. That’s all nice but what about the NEW STUFF?”

Up next is Update 11: Empire Day. As mentioned in my last note, we’re bringing back the Empire Day event from last year and bringing it up to the standards set by our past three events by adding a slew of new rewards and interactive content. Here is a quick overview of some of the things you can expect in our next update…

Ceremonies

The ceremonies are back in the same locations as last year; Imperials will be gathering in Theed while Rebels will be assembling in Coronet. The ceremonies themselves have been flushed out with more troops and enhancements and now occur approximately every 15 minutes as opposed to the hourly ceremonies held last year. Vader/Leia will yet again be calling loyal players out of the crowd and presenting them with a brand new badge/title for 2009. Instead of just calling one person out of the crowd, as they did last year, they will be calling three players out at each ceremony. These chosen players must bow before the presenters to receive their reward.

Propaganda

In an effort to draw citizens over to their respective sides, both the Empire and Rebellion need help displaying propaganda posters around Theed and Coronet. Players will be able to help their faction by posting propaganda on unmarked kiosks throughout the cities. Players who do this while flagged as Special Forces will receive an additional token bonus for their deeds each time they participate.

Anti-Propaganda

With both factions vying for attention, neither side can simply hope their posters do the job, they must also tear down the posters put up by the opposing faction. Players can help their faction by tearing down the rival propaganda posted around Theed and Coronet. Again, players who participate while flagged as Special Forces will receive an additional token bonus for their contribution each time they participate.

Entertainer and Crafter-Specific Missions

Both Entertainers and Crafters will have missions specifically designed for them so that they may add their own unique talents to this year’s Empire Day. Entertainers will need to go perform for specific groups of soldiers in six different cantinas across the galaxy while crafters will be asked to contribute to their faction’s cause by raiding certain shuttle crash sites for materials and creating needed items.

Rewards

Several new rewards will be added to the event this year. One item that was alluded to in my last note is the first eight-passenger vehicle available through regular in-game means. This was requested by Cigaran way back in November of last year and it’s been on my list of things to get in the game since that time. After much debate as to what speeder to add, Loche decided to go with the Tantive IV speeder that can already be seen in-game. Players will be able to obtain the one already in-game via Empire Day tokens. They can then deconstruct it, if they so desire, and have an Engineering Trader craft them an improved version with an alternate texture (see below).

Other rewards include and X-wing Pilot Greeter, a TIE Fighter Pilot Greeter (each with custom VO), and Rebel / Imperial house signs.

“Okay Dotanuki, are you willing to tell us what’s coming after Update 11 or are you going to save that for Fan Faire?”

Sure, what the heck. Engineering Traders will be pleased to hear that they will be the primary focus of Update 12. As has been mentioned in the past, this will be the last update to focus primarily on one specific profession. Details are very minimal right now but I can say that we’re looking into your top issues as well as looking into giving you some new droids to craft. Loche and I have wanted to get some new droids out to you guys for a while. The magnaguard has been of particular interest to us. If everything goes as planned, you’ll be receiving some droids that you may not expect, used in some new and inventive ways. The team has come up with really neat functionality for some of the droids. Hopefully we don’t hit any hiccups (fingers crossed).

“Great news! Now what about [insert request name here]?”

All details beyond Update 12 will be revealed at Fan Faire. Actually, I’m finishing up the Fan Faire presentations now and they pretty much reveal the bulk of what we have planned for the remainder of the year; including a couple of major announcements. While I’m sure the cat will leave the bag long before my July Producer Note, I will be happy to answer questions about all that is revealed at Fan Faire at that time.

Finally, in case anybody missed it, we have revealed that the Fan Faire exclusive item this year is the Dianoga Dumpster.

This item functions exactly like the Deluxe Sarlacc Trash Can and is available exclusively to those players who register for Fan Faire. Another in-game item available exclusively to Fan Faire attendees is a miniature escape pod house decoration. This item will only be awarded to players who participate in our LIVE Quest on Saturday, June 27th.

I’m really excited about Fan Faire. We have a bunch of great information to share. I hope everybody is very pleasantly surprised by what we have to reveal.

See you there,

-Dotanuki

SOE has posted the patch notes for Game Update 10 which went live in Star Wars Galaxies today.

Highlights

• Introducing Battlefields to Star Wars Galaxies: There are four new PvP regions added to the game. Each is a battlefield complete with its own objectives. To play on one of the battlefields you simply need to use the /battlefield slash command.
• New Rename Command: A /rename command has been added to allow you to rename your character. A character must be at least 90 days old before he/she can be renamed. There is a 90 days wait before the character can be renamed again. Run the /rename command and follow the on screen instructions.
• Community Requests: Introducing "Shared No-Trade"! This new feature allows for a no-trade item to be shared with other characters of the same account. Many no-trade items have already been converted to this new feature.

Read more here.

The Rise of Draakull

Greetings Star Wars Galaxies Community!

Before I go any further I want to thank Zatozia for all of her work in our community. Without her help I know many would feel lost, including me. So why am I writing this post and who is Draakull anyway? Well I am pleased and honored to be the new Community Relations Manager for Star Wars Galaxies. Now before the old-timers start to quiz me on how strong does someone have to be to tear the ears off a Gundar, I will admit now that my knowledge is not as deep as many of you but that's ok.

In my experience, the community is strongest when the leaders are able to both listen and speak. I am not here to tell you how to enjoy your time in SWG; I am here to help you improve upon your experience though. The only way I can do this is through great communication with you and a lot of hard work from me. I am excited to be a part of this family. Star Wars has been a part of my life in some aspect or another since 1977 when my Dad took me and my sister to see the movie (the first release) at the old Americana Theater here in Austin. I remember going to the movies as a kid and arguing with my neighborhood pals about who was better; Luke or Darth Vader. I had all the cool toys and back when toys were made of metal and paint. J

I won't try to prove my SWG knowledge with you but I will share a personal story on why community, and now this community, is so very important to me. Several years ago I went through the hardest time in my life. The details aren't important, suffice to say that with everything that happened, I was feeling a bit lost and needed something to focus on to get me through it.

I found myself one late evening buying a game, doesn't matter which game, at a local store. Soon after I found myself playing online, looking up fan sites, and really enjoying the people I met through the game. I was having the hardest time connecting with people in "the real world" at that time but I was able to connect with new friends through the game. I originally bought the game to just pass some time but found myself looking forward to the people more and more each day. So a few of the people I met online decided to just start a group of our own and "hang out". I learned everything I could about and for the game we played but not to be just an expert at that game. I wanted the community to enjoy their time with us and was willing to do what ever it took for that to happen.

What started out one late night as a way to pass time became my passion. Several of us went through hard times in our group but we rallied around each other. From something simple as celebrating birthdays to sending flowers and money to one of our members who lost her husband; we stuck together. It was then that I realized that we were more than fans; we were family. So here I am, many years later, privileged to call SWG my home. I pledge to you my dedication and loyalty to making our time together as memorable as can be. I value and trust your skills and experience and look forward to growing along side you all.

As with any family though I will need to lean on some of you for your insight, creativity, passion, and humor to be the best Community Relations Manager I can be. Together we can continue to improve upon the fun and life-long friendships that can be found here. Our quest is important because there may be another Draakull wondering the web right now looking for a way to pass some time, an escape, and maybe even a place to call home.

Best Regards,

Draakull-
Community Relations Manager

Official SOE Podcast #63 is now live, stop by the podcast's official site to listen in on the latest from SOE. Episode #63 features an interview with Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, the new Producer for EverQuest II, hear the introduction to the summer's podramedy, the Grumpy Old Gamer talks about his upcoming trip to Fan Faire, and they have the top 10 games you won't see at E3 this year.

Here's a bit of a roundup on what's happening in the virtual worlds!

• Warhammer Online 1.3 PTS Phase I is Over
  
• Blizzard Entertainment Shop Talk: Under Development
  
• Age of Conan Anniversary of the King's Crowning (Today)
  
• Wizard101 Gets New World Called Grizzleheim
  
• Mir2 The Legend Continues Update + Interview
  
• Anarchy Online Game Director's Friday Update
  
• Champions Online Spandex in the City Article
  
• EVE Online Apocrypha 1.2.3 Deployment Tuesday, 26th May 2009
  
• New Senior Producer For EverQuest 2
  
• EQ2 Bonus EXP Weekend - Crafting and Combat
  
• EverQuest Double EXP Weekend
  
• Pirates of the Burning Sea Podcast - Episode 3
  
• Lord of the Rings Online - One Kinship To Rule Them All Contest
  
• Lord of the Rings Online - Feature Article: Fellowship Quests
  
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Threat of Peace #7
  
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Fan Friday
  
• First APB Screenshot Released
  
• Aussies Getting Aion This Summer
  
• The Latest Star Trek Online Screenshots
  
• Earth Eternal Heads To Beta
  
• CrimeCraft Launch Date and Beta Announced
  
• Warrior Epic Launches
  
• Fallen Earth Media
  
• New Alganon Interview
  
• Vanguard Halls of Pantheon Update Goes Live

The folks at Star Wars Galaxies have announced that they are holding a Galactic Call to Arms Fan Art Contest as part of the 6th anniversary celebration for their game.

In celebration of the Star Wars Galaxies™ 6-Year Anniversary, we’re hosting the “Galactic Call to Arms Fan Art” Contest!

If you're a budding artist, this is your chance to leave a mark on the galaxy by showing off your skills while creating an in-game painting. Create custom art depicting a scene in the game or base your entry around an in-game screenshot.

Read more here.

Jaskell from Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies writes this developer journal looking at housing updates in the game's Update 9.

Hey gang, this is Jaskell checking in with a behind-the-scenes look at some of the excellent new features coming with Game Update 9.

Being a Star Wars Galaxies home owner myself, I was excited to be assigned the task of adding new structures to Game Update 9. I had heard that the art team was going to add structures with windows as well as exterior color customization and was impressed that they were taking on such a bold task since these are both exciting new features never attempted before in Star Wars Galaxies. As you might imagine, taking large, multi-room structures and cutting holes in the geometry, then attaching a palette where one never existed, presented a few challenges. Ultimately the art team was able to overcome these challenges and successfully created eight windowed houses with exterior color customization, two of which were completely new structures.

Read Game Update 9 Journal - Housing Updates

Skip over to SWG Players where you can snag a look at their latest Galactic Showcase. This one is called "Galaxy Crunch Arcade", and for good reason! It's like a video game haven right inside a video game!

Official SOE Podcast #62 is live and ready to serve your podcasting needs! In this latest episode of the show they interview Candace Ivy, the Brand Manager for Free Realms. They also introduce a new Hamster (err), stump Brenlo and more. You can listen to the show here.

Make haste to Voodoo Extreme to check out the first screenshots and trailer from from LucasArts' newly announced Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes.

Those crazy SOE cats working on Star Wars Galaxies give us a behind the scenes look at the making of Game Update 10. It's a tough gig but somebody has to do it! Of course, the article would be nothing without those super-cool pictures! Nice office view in that second shot. The giant bug would have to go though.