When I think back throughout my long history of Star Wars gaming, no experience was more amazing than the first time I sat down and played X-Wing. This game was followed up by TIE Fighter, a game which I played even more than X-Wing, and to a lesser extent I also enjoyed X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Then there was X-Wing: Alliance, but the less said about that game the better. The point is, ever since TIE Fighter, I’ve been waiting for another Star Wars flight sim game to come along and blow me away. The inclusion of space combat is always the number one thing on my wishlist every time a new Star Wars video game is announced. So I was obviously excited when space missions were announced for The Old Republic. It was the number one thing I wanted to try out and eventually I got into the beta and was able to try my hand at space combat. And now that the NDA is down, I can finally share my experience with the rest of you.

I knew going into this that I wasn’t getting the free-flying X-Wing-style space combat that I really wanted. No, those hopes were quickly dashed by the words, “rail shooter.” For those unaware, rail shooters are those where your ship follows a predetermined path (as if it was riding on a set of rails) and you really only have control over targeting and firing your weapons. Despite my disappointment, I have been so starved for Star Wars based space combat that I didn’t really care.

When you first get your spaceship, there are three missions available to you. These three missions are fairly easy to complete and and are intended as training and introduction to the whole space mission mechanic. However, they are so easy that I found them to be somewhat boring, particularly the escort mission. Eventually, you do unlock missions with a higher difficulty and things do improve from there. The ability to upgrade your ship is also a welcome addition and really helps complete those higher level missions. And as a rule I enjoy whenever MMOs add “twitchy” elements to their gameplay.

The environments look really beautiful as well. Even if you play with your graphics on the lowest settings, it’s really something to see. And buzzing along the surface of an Imperial cruiser blasting away at its shield generators and turbolaser turrets is pretty damned awesome. Completing space missions give very nice experience awards and can be a really good way to level up.

Sadly, this enjoyment can quickly turn to tedium. Thanks to the rail shooter style of gameplay, every time you play the space mission it’s exactly the same as the last. The replay value of these missions is essentially zero. Still, they do offer a nice diversion from questing and another for people to level their characters up. And as long as you play each mission only once, you’ll never notice the repetitiveness. So, no, I didn’t really get what I wanted out of the space combat in SWTOR, but it at least gives me some way to pass the time while I wait for Lucasarts to release X-Wing 2.

Another PAX has come and gone, but we are still here! MER dings at 50 with Josh “Mr. Crayon Eater” returning to the show to share, along with Zach, some thoughts, impressions, and contagion fears after the con. Evan asks them about TOR news, some Warzone and Operation questions, and then we hear about EVERYTHING else they got to play, including more League of Legends and some cool new contenders like Firefall.

Feel free to discuss this podcast on our forums as well.

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz.

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Discussion Topics
- Penny Arcade Expo
- Huttball Live
- Return to Alderaan Warzone
- Bioware Interviews
- Non-TOR Games and News

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Last month we traveled to Austin, Texas to participate in #SWTOUR at Bioware’s studio. During this time we were able to catch up with Damion Schubert and have a chat with him. In this episode we hit on companion characters, crafting and much more.
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Recently Bioware invited several fansites to participate in day dedicated to playing SWTOR. If you have been hearing about #SWTOUR…..well….this was that event. During this time we were able to get several of the fansites together to record an episode of MER. Also because we lacked the audio equipment needed to record this podcast the audio levels are a little weird at times. We apologize in advance. We still think you will love it. Join in on the discussion in our forums.

Joining us in this episode is the following guests.
Kathy and Carla from Corellian Run Radio
Dover and Sado from Darth Hater
Vall and Lord Hammer from TOR Syndicate
Tom and Tim of Tor-Talk
Musco of Torocast
Stephen of FUREUR

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz.

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Discussion Topics
- Bounty Hunter and Agent story and mechanics
-The Black Talon Flashpoint
- Companion Characters

In this this week’s episode of Mos Eisley Radio we are joined by Stephen Reid (Senior Online Community Manager) and David Bass (Senior Community Coordinator) to discuss the ins and outs of planning a massive conference presence like PAX East. From booth design to queuing to why Bioware probably wouldn’t announce a release date at PAX, Stephen and David share some great insight into the community team.

Also, the time has come that I (Brooks) can announce this will be my last show with Mos Eisley Radio. Many of you know that I’ve been on the job search recently, and through a fantastic series of events, I’m joining Bioware as an audio editor on the creative services team. The best thing though? Mos Eisley Radio and Open Bounty aren’t going anywhere! Zach has some great plans in place to continue to bring the community top notch discussions about SWTOR. I’ve spelled out many more details and thanks on the show and on my “goodbye thread”.

Of course, we really want to hear your thoughts on the PAX East discussions, and there’s no better place to do that than on our FORUMS!

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz.

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Discussion Topics
- The Taral V playthrough
- Booth design and Queues
- Is PAX the place to announce a release date?
- Top PAX East Moments
- Brooks’ Departure from MER, and new job at Bioware

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In the last of our interviews from PAX East, Stephen Reid chats with us about his role as the Senior Online Community Manager, and what guilds and fansites can expect from Bioware over the next couple of months.

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On this week’s episode of Open Bounty, we speak with Hall Hood about the experience of writing a class story for Star Wars The Old Republic.

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At PAX East 2011 we caught up with Daniel Erickson from Bioware and discussed a few things related to the game. The majority of our conversation revolves around class story and how it will impact your gameplay experience.

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In this extremely special episode of Mos Eisley Radio, we manage to wrangle as many fansites as possible into our hotel room to discuss the goings on at this year’s PAX East in Boston. Joined by Darth Hater, TOROCast, AskAJedi, Corellian Run Radio, and TOR Syndicate, we share impressions of the weekend … everything from the booth layout, to Taral V, to antics at the fansite meet and greet! We of course want to offer a huge thanks for everyone making time in their already busy schedules to join us. As always, we want to hear your thoughts by joining the discussion of this episode on the FORUMS!

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz and Cornbeast.

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Fansites Present:
- Pete and Dover from Darth Hater
- Samm and Musco from TOROCast
- Bill (Lethality) from AskAJedi
- Kathy and Roxanne from Corellian Run Radio
- LordHammer and Vall from TOR Syndicate

As we post this update, we are quite literally headed out the door, bound for Boston. We’re incredibly looking forward to getting our first hands-on with SWTOR, and much more so, meeting the developers and fans! On this week’s show, the ladies of Corellian Run Radio join us to discuss the Bounty Hunter class update, as well as everything the community would ever need to know about PAX East. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts by joining the discussion of this episode on the FORUMS!

We want to offer a big thanks to StarWarsFan421, Niczo Obisk from TIG, Seth Glenn, Republic Killer, Nathaniel Wolfolk, Paydirt76, balpho1, Kevin Martin, Masaimune, and Lance Baumgard for taking the time to leave us reviews on iTunes.

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

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News From the Galactic Republic
3/4 – Bounty Hunter Update
- Class Video
- New Companion: Mako the Slicer
- D5 Matis Ship
- No player bounties at launch
- Bounty Hunter to have healing spec

PAX East Update
- SWTOR will be shown at BOOTH 912, which on the PAX Map is part of EA’s booth
- Community Fantina – 7PM Friday night at the Times Irish Bar in downtown Boston
- SWTOR Meet and Greet – 6PM in the Westin Boston Waterfront (the connected hotel)
- VERY IMPORTANT: M&G is by invitation only. Must pick up an invitation from Booth 912 on Friday or Saturday
- 45 minutes of play time with the Republic Flashpoint, Taral V
- All homeworlds, including Tython, will be playable

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Space Combat has been one of the most divisive features so far announced for Star Wars The Old Republic. While many fans desire to see space included in the game, some have reservations about the “tunnel-shooter” style that will be present at launch. On this week’s Open Bounty we take a look at what space combat means for Star Wars, as well as the importance of player ships beyond battle.

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PAX East is just around the corner! This week we take a look at the state of the community, and attempt to find the source of all the negative posts on the comments and forums. We also discuss Bioware’s plans for PAX East, and how the lack of a main stage show changes our expectations for the conference. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts by joining the discussion of this episode on the FORUMS!

We want to offer a big thanks to Darth Skirata and Ted Childers for taking the time to leave us reviews on iTunes.

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

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News From the Galactic Republic
2/18 – Fan Friday and Studio Insider
- Fan Site Spotlight
- New fan art, concept art
- Discussion topic: Growing amount of negative comments on the Friday updates

PAX East Update
2/18 – New info on PAX East
- Community Meet and Greet on Saturday
- Huge emphasis on the expo floor: “Booth stage” with presentations running all weekend
- Still more specific announcements to come
- Discussion topic: Thoughts on not having a big stage show (i.e. How would they handle a big reveal, if they even plan on having one at all)
- Discussion topic: Epic trailers. Do they serve a purpose beyond building hype?

PvP is a staple of the MMO genre. When you’re not taking on epic bosses in a dungeon, you’re probably going toe to toe with other players in a battleground. In this episode of Open Bounty, we take a look at what PvP means for Star Wars, and what challenges Bioware has to face in order to make flashpoints an exciting experience that keeps players coming back.

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Flashpoints! Release rumors! The past two weeks have SWTOR have been packed to the brim with news of game mechanics and speculation about the release of The Old Republic. We sit down and discuss the video for Taral V, as well as both of the blogs featuring world designer Jesse Sky. We also dive into the release rumor fiasco that crept up shortly after episode 30, and try and figure out if any of it matters at all. The show finishes up with comment from listener Matt Gregory about support roles. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts by joining the discussion of this episode on the FORUMS!

We want to offer a big thanks to Alan, Toxix89, Blackferne, Galindran, Kyle Kramek, The Fish76, NBFDLunitik, and TBills for taking the time to leave us reviews on iTunes.

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

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News From the Galactic Republic
Flashpoint Update
- Brand new Game Systems page
- Taral V Video
- Developer Blog with World Designer Jesse Sky
- Jesse Sky’s Gamespot Interview

Stories From the Outer Rim
September Release Rumor
- Brean, Murray, Carret, & Co. downgrade EA from “buy” to “hold”, pending an announcement about SWTOR. Tell their investors EA stock will be best around launch, which they “predict” to be Q4CY2011 at best.
- MCV “unnamed source”
- Summary of what we know from Larry Everett of Massively

Community Discussion
Support Classes
- Audio comment from Matt Gregory in defense of support classes

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Hey everyone! Last week we launched the first part of a new series on how we create the show, called “Podcasting in Basic”. The response so far has been great, and I’m looking forward to developing that series over the coming weeks and months.

Today, we’re even MORE jazzed to show you the pilot episode of the video project we have been developing over the past couple of months. The series is called “Open Bounty” and will feature the two of us, and possibly other guests, discussing various topics related to The Old Republic. This is more than your average video podcast, however, and we’re looking to YOU to help us shape the direction of the show. We’ve been carefully listening to the community’s call for more video content, and we expect Open Bounty to set a standard for SWTOR. Watch below.

In this pilot episode we take a close look at the Trooper and how this heavily armed class will fit into The Old Republic.