Category Archives: Legacy of the Sith

March 25, 2026 · 9:01 am

The Riddle of Stele

Two weeks ago Star Wars: The Old Republic launched game update 7.8.1, “Master’s Enigma” the next chapter of the Legacy of Sith’s main story. The expansion is building to its conclusion, and there is a lot to explore. I’d like to focus on two aspects of the latest update. The first is relatively light on spoilers, but the second section of this post will discuss the major twists in the expansion’s penultimate chapter.

Let’s start in my wheelhouse with a translation of some alien text. Inside a control center of one of the nature preserves on Darth Nul’s lost ship, the Enigma, there are two obsidian monoliths covered in symbols and text erected on opposite sides of the room. Although the inscriptions on both are identical, one is cracked and leaking red energy, the other blue.

I’ve discussed the history and origins of this runic alphabet before so I won’t go into detail here. It is enough to know that this writing is ancient even within the context of the Old Republic and was used by both the Jedi and the Sith on their artifacts, technology and monuments. This is reflected in how it appears in SWTOR and in this chapter. The way the two monuments are accented by blue and red clearly echoes both the colors of the Jedi and Sith and the holograms with which we interact during the story.

This Pictish runestone from the village of Aberlemno in Scotland dates to the second half of the first millennium AD.

This monument was called a “stele” when it was introduced into the game as a stronghold decoration. Stelae are large stone monoliths which, throughout history and across many cultures, were used as territorial markers, commemorations of battles or to publish laws or decrees. It’s within this last context that I think the pair on Darth Nul’s ship lie.

The text on both is the final line of the Jedi Code, but not the version that is most commonly cited within SWTOR and Star Wars stories. The Jedi Code has caused consternation to both Star Wars fans and characters in the lore over the years, and I’m certain Reniah/Nul are included in that company. Regardless of which version of the code you prefer, it is filled with contradictions. We all have emotions, and death is all around us.

Decorations of the Stele of the Lost Master, flanked by the Jedi Consular Meditation Pillar and the Jedi Knight Meditation Pillar.

I would describe the Jedi Code not as a set of rules, but instead as what is known in Zen Buddhism as a “Koan.” Briefly, Koans are contradictory statements or unanswerable questions. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a famous example. The point is not to make sense of the question, but to move past its contradictions into deeper insight and meditation.

Likewise, the Jedi Code does not present a logical explanation of the Force. Instead it is meant to break through a Jedi’s conceptual thinking about the Light and the Dark sides and then provoke a personal realization into the nature of the Force and the connection everyone shares with it.

Darth Nul, still causing trouble all these years later.

I can very much imagine Jedi Reniah and Darth Nul finding this explanation wholly inadequate. This is reflected in the failure of their attempts to impose balance on the biomes we explore on Nul’s ship. The solution is to simply let things be. Whether as Reniah or Nul, they are unable to accept that they cannot force the result they want.

If you forgive a tangent to the Dark Side, the Sith code is easier to follow to be sure, but even Nul is aware of its limitations and acknowledges there are multiple different paths to power.

All of this reinforces Darth Nul’s ultimate desire to destroy the structures of the Jedi and the Sith, not because, I would argue, they are inherently broken but because she refuses to understand them. My position is not that the Jedi are without fault. An entire trilogy of movies is devoted to the failures of the Jedi Order. I grant that the Sith are broken, but the motives of Darth Nul and Darth Malgus, who aims to complete Nul’s work, cannot be trusted even if you agree with their actions or goals.

Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal

Beware, dear reader, we dive next into full spoiler territory from here on out!

Darth Jadus is pleased to see us again.

The chief theme explored in The Master’s Enigma is that of betrayal. The chapter opens and concludes with the siblings Sa’har and Ri’kan. Ri’kan has given his complete loyalty to Heta Kol, a charismatic leader bent on revenge and destruction. Ri’kan has devoted his life to Heta and her cult-like clan even to the point of rejecting the love of the last of his family. It breaks Sa’har’s heart to again lose her brother. We see it’s all for nothing. Heta demands unquestioned loyalty and repays it with a knife to Ri’kan’s throat. Again and again, Heta has demonstrated that she regards her followers as tools to be used and discarded. Nothing can trump her obsessions.

Players also suffer personal betrayals both at the beginning of the chapter and, of course at the end. Each is different depending on our characters’ faction.

All players begin with an encounter with the leaders of their respective factions. They, for various reasons, have had enough with our characters’ independence from their control. My Imperial character is a “saboteur” so I relish every opportunity to butt heads with the Dark Council. My light side Jedi was more frustrated and annoyed by the Republic’s lack of faith. Clearly the Republic replaced General Daeruun with the openly antagonistic Admiral Rava because the ol’ tea sipping general actually gets on well with us. That said there is value in characters that everyone loves to hate. That’s something Republic leadership has lacked since Chancellor Saresh exited the stage. I look forward to being a thorn in Rava’s side in the days to come.

Darth Rivix. I can fix him.

Let’s turn to the revelation from the Sith story next. Darth Rivix has been in cahoots with Darth Jadus, very likely all along. What I like about this is that it really should not come as a shock to anyone. Indeed, the obvious untrustworthiness of Rivix is a big part of the appeal of his character, to me at least. From the moment we met, I pegged him as trouble. If you ever want to know where Darth Rivix is, just follow the trail of dead bodies and broken hearts he most definitely leaves in his wake across the galaxy.

He doesn’t even attempt to justify his betrayal. We knew he was a scorpion when we picked him up. With this sordid business of allegiances out of the way, perhaps now we can really get to know him.

For Republic players, Tau Idair’s betrayal is much sadder. I played “Master’s Enigma” as an Imperial first, and once it became clear that Tau was filling the same role in the Republic story as Rivix, I said aloud “Aw, Tau. Don’t.” But she did. From the first day we met her on Ossus, we’ve seen that Tau has suffered from survivor’s guilt. Through all of our interactions, my character and Gnost Dural have encouraged and supported Tau, but it is tragic to see her succumb to despair. This is exactly the kind of thing Jadus would gladly exploit for his own benefit. Jadus is definitely one of those chuds who views empathy as a weakness.

Tau cannot hide her guilty conscience.

But it’s not. Our characters boarded the Enigma knowing that it was a trap. Simply having irresistible bait does not make Jadus a tactical genius. He does seize control of Nul’s holocron, but it is the nature of a plot’s MacGuffin to be passed around like a hot potato. I don’t see him being able to control the holocron any better than Krovos or Sal-Deron did. At the end of this chapter we escape because of Lana’s loyalty to our characters, Arn Peralun’s empathy for Tau, and Major Anri’s stubborn defiance of orders.

As for what happens next? I certainly don’t know. At the very least, it sounds like it’ll be quite the reckoning. I can’t wait to see what will be born from the chaos that has been brewing this whole expansion.

 

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Filed under Ancient Jedi Runes, General Star Wars, General SWTOR, Legacy of the Sith

February 27, 2026 · 9:01 am

To Fly Above the Gridlock

It’s been a while since I covered the topic which gives this blog its name: Star Wars’ favorite fake space-letters: Aurebesh. For newcomers, my goal is to examine the use of alien writing in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and, when possible, both translate the words and explore their context in the game’s world. Aurebesh and other forms of writing appear across the many planets we visit in the game, and it’s fun to discover the meaning of this writing which is hidden in plain sight.

I like to describe what I do as “diegetic translations” which is a fancy way of saying that I hope I can help players interact with the holograms, monitors, posters and signs written in alien languages in the same way we can assume our characters do.

Jetpack Design Station

The first subject of this post is the monitor included as part of the decoration “Jetpack Design Station.” This decoration is a reward from the current, tenth PVP Season. The decoration is a small work table scattered with tools and parts for the jetpack mount that is the ultimate reward of the season. The station has a quite lovely art deco aesthetic, but, of course, the feature that first caught my eye was the computer monitor detailing the specs of the Outer Rim Runner Jetpack.

SWTOR has many Aurebesh readouts that have been reused and repurposed throughout the years. Given the sheer scope of the game, this is understandable, but I do appreciate that the art team included a bespoke graphic designed for this specific game asset. The extra attention to detail helps this decoration stand out, even if you can’t read exactly what it says.

Jetpack Design Station decoration

The Outer Rim Runner Jetpack is clearly inspired by the jetpack worn by the Rocketeer, a comic book character created by writer/artist Dave Stevens in the early 1980s. The Rocketeer was created as a throwback to the pulp heroes of the 1930s including Doc Savage, the Shadow and Commander Cody. The Rocketeer is probably most well known from the cult-favorite 1991 movie of the same name, but it looks to me like SWTOR’s jetpack is directly inspired by the single exhaust version of the rocket seen in Steven’s comics, not the one used on the big screen.

The Rocketeer by Dave Stevens, 1982.

There isn’t too much to translate here, and I imagine anyone could venture a reasonable guess to what the text reads. I confess, however, that I did take a moment to wonder why a jetpack would need armored plating and spoilers, but then I remembered the most infamous jetpack malfunction in Star Wars history.

Boba Fett! Where?

So rest assured, that you are significantly less likely to ricochet off the hull of a crimelord’s sail barge into the maw of the great Pit of Carkoon while jetting around the galaxy using this PVP reward. Still, you might want to double check the warranty.

7.8.1 Livestream

As I wrote this post, SWTOR hosted a livestream focused on both the next update and a discussion of what to expect in the months ahead. Rather than comment on every announcement, I’d like to focus on two points that stood out for me.

In December, the announcement from the producer letter that garnered the most attention was their plan to launch of 8.0 as part of the game’s 15th anniversary. However, during this week’s presentation Keith Kanneg and Eric Musco made sure to emphasize that before talk of the game’s next era begins, the developers aim to spend the first half of this year focused on bringing Legacy of the Sith to a proper conclusion and an epic finale worth remembering. I think this is a good decision. There is still plenty of story ahead of us, and I’m eager to see where how it ends.

Sure Anri is cool, but her name isn’t a portmanteau of “River Styx”.

Secondly, the team revealed the details of the upcoming Galactic Season. I won’t lie, when I first learned that the next two seasons would feature rewards drawn from the first four Galactic Seasons, I was disappointed. I fully completed and collected all the loot from all of those seasons the first time around. But here’s the thing, it’s not all about me. It’s been five years since the first Galactic Season, and the fact of the matter is that there are plenty of players who missed out on the earlier seasons. Limited time seasons and battle passes are deliberately designed to exploit players’ fear of missing out on rewards, I’ve never liked  it when rewards, especially cosmetic ones, become unavailable. Maybe you heard that Altuur is the best companion, or you could use a pink blaster to complete your fit, or you’re certain the GAME Jacket will make you cool like Fonzie. Discovering that you can no longer earn those rewards isn’t a great feeling for new or returning players.

As for me, I won’t say no to more Cartel Coins, and I was pleased to learn that bronze, silver and gold Cartel Packs from the rewards tracks are being refreshed with some new additions. In truth, those packs have long since gone stale for me, and it became a rare event to get anything interesting at all from them.

I am glad that players will get another chance at Season Rewards that are new to them. I’ve been clear from the start that I don’t consider “Galactic Seasons” to be “content.” I don’t mean that as an insult. SWTOR’s most prominent feature is its story, and we’re getting three major story updates in a row in the lead up to the Legacy of the Sith’s finale. I will take that any day of the week.

Galactic Season objectives are something to do in between those updates, and MMOs need that too. I’ve played the game’s heroics, daily areas and flashpoints countless times, so I appreciate that Seasons provide a framework to keep me and my friends and guild-mates busy with something different while also handing out some rewards. And if this frees up the developers to have more time to prepare 8.0, so much the better.

The Mandalorian and Grogu and Hugo and Apollo Creed

Finally, let’s take a quick look at some Aurebesh that showed up in the brand new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu. The writing seen in both examples is meant to serve as tributes to other film-makers. The first screenshot shows Din Djarin speaking with an Ardennian food truck chef. The alien is voiced by Martin Scorsese, one of film’s most famous and important directors. Indeed, the food truck (and presumably its proprietor) is named “Hugo.” This is likely a reference to Scorsese’s 2011 movie of the same name, which in itself is a was made to honor to the earliest days of motion pictures. However, there are references within references here. Jon Favreau who directed The Mandalorian and Grogu also wrote, directed and starred in the movie Chef in which his character, a disgraced famous chef, rediscovers his love of cooking by operating a small food truck.

The next screenshot features two aurebesh words which are clearly a tribute to the late Carl Weathers. I don’t know the context for this sign within the movie, but this is clearly a reference to Weathers who was beloved both for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies and his work on The Mandalorian Disney+ show where he portrayed Greef Karga and directed two episodes.

I know some serious minded fans poo-poo these sort of things, whether you call them Easter Eggs or self-indulgent inside jokes, but references to inspirational works go all the way back to the very first Star Wars film. In Episode IV alone, George Lucas quotes two Akira Kurusawa movies, Yojimbo and Hidden Fortress, and even Lucas’ own THX-1138.

This sort of thing does not bother me. It’s only natural that artists pay tribute to those who inspired them. Will The Mandalorian and Grogu be the greatest movie ever, on par with Good Fellas or Seven Samurai? Perhaps not, but it shouldn’t have to be.

The teaser trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu debuted last year shortly after the conclusion of the previous live-action Star Wars production. After watching it, I joked to friends that the tag line for the movie should’ve been “Hey, Star Wars Fans! Did you love Andor? You’re gonna hate this!” I was being sarcastic, of course, but I have very different expectations of this new movie.  I loved Andor, but was it fun? Not really. From the very beginning Star Wars was filled with silly aliens, spaceships and whiz-bang action, and I’m okay if the first movie in years returns to those roots.

Star Wars doesn’t have to be just for jaded old school fans, it can be for kids too. And, look, kids love Baby Yoda. When he first appeared back in 2019, it felt like it was the first time since at least the lead-up to the release of The Phantom Menace that Star Wars had such a large impact on popular culture. It’s only natural that Grogu be the focus on the franchise’s return to the big screen.

So I hope eight olds love this the way I loved the first Star Wars movie. They deserve it more than I do.

 

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Filed under Aurebesh to English, Galactic Seasons, General Star Wars, Legacy of the Sith

January 21, 2026 · 9:01 am

The Stormy Present: Five Predictions for 2026

After taking a break last year, I’ve decided to have another go at my semi-yearly tradition of predicting what we might see this year in Star Wars: The Old Republic. To newcomers, please don’t assume I have any special insight or knowledge. I’m not a developer, just a fan. There is a very good reason I categorize these posts as “Dumb Top Fives”. Without further ado, here are five things that might, or might not, happen in SWTOR in 2026!

1 – Expansion Hype

In his end of year producer’s letter Keith Kanneg spoke the number that Broadsword had avoided the past couple years: 8.0. Ted from the State of the Old Republic Podcast pointed out that Keith wrote about the game entering a new “era” rather than “expansion”. I’m reluctant to dive deep into speculation between the differences between era and expansion, because I can’t imagine Broadsword intends to reinvent the wheel. The things I associate with an expansion such as a level increase, a fresh gearing cycle, rebalanced classes and new abilities, are all things I think SWTOR could use.

This is hardly a bold prediction, so let’s see if I can spice this up. Since the current expansion is Legacy of the Sith, I wonder if the next era will have a Jedi flavored theme. “Children of the Jedi” was the first notion that sprung to mind, but then I remembered that was also the title of an old Star Wars novel, so it won’t be that. My second take “Fate of the Jedi” is definitely out as well given other recent news. But I do think “Jedi” will be in the expansion title. “Destiny of the Jedi” maybe? Surely that’s been used already? It must be tough to come up with a cool and unique title for a new Star Wars project. I’ve got to think that everyone in the game’s development chain from Broadsword to EA to Lucasfilm puts in their opinions on the matter. 

More mundanely, it’s fair to wonder if the expansion will actually debut at the end of the year. It’s no secret that Legacy of the Sith did not have the smoothest launch even with an extra three months in the oven. I have to believe Broadsword does not want a repeat of that, and I do hope its launch does coincide with the game’s 15th anniversary. SWTOR has been subject to so many predictions of its demise over the years and has weathered so many storms, only to be steadily chugging along all these years later. I hope the team get to celebrate the milestone with a bold new Era for the game. I sometimes play with kids who were born after SWTOR launched, and it is so satisfying to share the game with a new generation of fans.

2 – New and Improved

Expansions typically come with new game systems and revisions to old ones, and I expect nothing different for 8.0. There are existing systems that could use some updating and one major new feature I could see Broadsword adding.

I enjoy decorating Strongholds in SWTOR. Just last week, two hours vanished while I was decorating the barn of the new Dantooine stronghold. I wasn’t wearing any gear, never entered combat, nor collected any rewards, but it was time well spent. It should not shock you, therefore, that I have been following with great interest the addition of player housing to World of Warcraft with its upcoming expansion Midnight. WOW’s implementation of housing is darn impressive. It’s probably the most elaborate and customizable decorating system since Wildstar.

It is not my position that SWTOR should abandon its hook and layout system. I honestly like that hooks act as guide rails that prevent me from going too far down any rabbit holes. SWTOR’s decorating system hasn’t seen any significant updates since its launch, and some changes could give players more freedom to decorate. At the very least, I’d like a better interface for sorting and organizing my collection of decorations. I have so many now that I sometimes forget what’s there. When it comes to actually decorating, I think there should be fewer restrictions on placing decorations; frankly I’d argue any decoration should be placeable on any size hook. Going further, I’d also like to have the ability to scale many if not all decorations and the addition of a Z-axis slider would be neat as well. SWTOR and WOW have a long history of swiping ideas from each other, and I hope that SWTOR pinches a dash or two from Warcraft’s housing.

That said, I don’t know if decorating is a priority for the developers. One system that I think is certain to be updated for 8.0 is crafting. Crafting has been almost completely untouched since the launch of Onslaught in 2019. Onslaught crafting is, as far as I’m concerned, the worst version of crafting in the game’s history. These days, crafting in SWTOR is all about endlessly and tediously making components which are assembled into gear that is largely irrelevant. MMO-RPG Crafting is a tough nut to crack, no doubt about it.  I don’t know if there is actually a way to make crafting fun, but I have always found satisfaction in making my own stuff in MMOs, whether it was bags in World of Warcraft or dyes in SWTOR.

My hope for 8.0 is that the component system will be streamlined and require less babysitting of companions and that there will be interesting things for every profession to make. During the successful update to SWTOR’s auction house, the Galactic Trade Network, there was discussion of adding work orders to the GTN. It would be cool to see that happen. I can craft a lot of recipes that can no longer be discovered, but I have no idea which of that stuff is in demand so I don’t bother with any of it. It would be cool to dust off those old schematics for folks who actually want them and make a few credits for my trouble.

But let’s be honest, crafting and decorating updates may not be the kind of features that would attract attention from both long time players and casual Star Wars fans. I suspect Broadsword has something flashy up their sleeve for 8.0, but what could it be?

First off, it won’t be a new class. The logistics of adding and retrofitting an entirely new class to the game feels like something that is beyond the scope of what SWTOR can or wants to do. That said, Legacy of the Sith’s big feature was the separation of Combat Styles from the Class or Origin stories, and that does suggest other possibilities.

It is possible SWTOR could add one or two new Combat Styles to the game. I can think of one style that is thematically appropriate and has a long history in SWTOR: the melee Tech weapon wielder. Tech based companions such as Qyzen Fess, Bowdaar, Vector Hylus and Torian Cadera have all used assorted Vibro-Swords, Techblade and Techstaves. More recently within SWTOR’s story we’ve seen Mandalorians including Shae Vizla, Heta Kol and Ri’kan wielding melee weapons. And non-Force users have taken up staves, spears and swords in live action on The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

I understand this comes with a whole host of challenges. Which weapons would actually be usable by a new style? Tech and Vibro blades certainly, but what about staves? What about dual wielding? What about lightsabers? And there are the thorny questions of class balance. And let’s not forget seemingly mundane issues like updating the UI to accommodate new styles. Nevertheless, the ability for Tech classes to have the option to fight with melee weapons feels like a legitimate “class fantasy” worth adding to the game.

But what about the Jedi and Sith? Should Force users get a new style as well to balance the scales? As I have thought about this question, nothing really springs to mind. Perhaps an unarmed style that employs the Star Wars version of Kung Fu, Teras Kasi? Or how about this: In Jedi: Survivor, Cal Kestis carries a blaster; perhaps a Jedi Gunslinger could be a thing? What do you think?

The ability to add and swap combat styles has been a great addition to SWTOR, so I don’t think I’m bold in predicting that adding at least one new style would be a natural addition to the game,

3 – How does Legacy of the Sith end?

Before the next Era of SWTOR can start, this one has to end. What do I think will happen this year in the game’s main story?

I don’t know! I have been predicting Malgus’ imminent demise since Onslaught, and yet he’s still going strong. There is a part of me that feels like if I keep at it, eventually I’ll be right, but I figure it is best to save that sort of stubbornness for my quixotic campaign to one day adopt a Porg in SWTOR.

Since the end of the Fallen Empire saga, SWTOR has been focused on questions of identity. What does it mean to be a Jedi or Sith? What does loyalty to the Empire, the Republic or Mandalore mean? Malgus going rogue from the Sith demonstrates this, as does the entirety of Heta Kol’s Mandalorian civil war. Even our characters have gotten in on the action with the saboteur options available to players tired of their original faction.

As characters like Malgus and Heta Kol and Shae Vizla try to make sense of who they are and who they want to be, we’ve seen with each the dangers of extremism, and that is already clear in our introduction to Darth Nul. Their egos and myopia are making bad situations worse. At first I thought Emperor Vitiate corrupted Nul, but I’m starting to wonder if her drive and ambitions were there all along, and that’s what drew the two of them together.

Darth Nul is the character whose identity has been most in question throughout Legacy of the Sith. After my first playthrough of Galactic Threads, I feared that Nul’s actual role in the story would be small, but after listening to the extremely entertaining conversation between SWTOR’s Narrative Director, Ashley Ruhl and Lead Writer Caitlin Sullivan Kelly and Nuls voice actor Samatha Béart, I think my fears might be unfounded. Béart teased that there is more to come from Darth Nul. I suspect that Nul’s return to the galactic stage would be a strong note upon which to end this Era of SWTOR.

The game’s cast of supporting characters are not only questioning who they are, but without exception seem also to have given no thought to what comes after. Heta Kol wants to make Mandalore great again, but for what? What will be left of the Mandalorians if she has her way? Shae Vizla has broken faith with our characters for what? Her alliance with Malgus can only end in betrayal; even she must realize that. Why would our characters or Jekiah and Rass Ordo or any Mandalorian trust her ever again?

As for Darth Nul, like Malgus, she does not seem to care about either the Jedi or the Sith. Her ambition seems to be her sole driving motivation. If the Jedi wouldn’t let her complete her work, she was happy to turn to the Sith. I think Darth Nul might be the perfect name for her. She’s not a Jedi, not a Sith. She’s nothing, and I fear that might be worse.

4 – No Fate?

I try to give myself one gimme on each round of predictions, and I can confidently say Fate  of the Old Republic is not going to affect Star War: The Old Republic this year, or even next. How could it? Fate of the Old Republic made quite a splash with its announcement trailer late last year, but the studio behind it is barely seven months old and the game is years from even a release date. When or if it comes out, will there be any crossover of characters or story or any cross-promotion? Perhaps, but that is a long way off. Maybe we’ll be celebrating SWTOR’s 20th anniversary as FOTOR launches.

There are many unanswered questions around Fate of the Old Republic with regards to its story and setting. I’ve seen speculation around whether Fate could be canon, so that would make connecting it to the “obviously Legends” SWTOR impossible. I know this is important to some fans, but I can’t help but roll my eyes. When fans and creators focus too much on continuity and canon, Star Wars just feels so much smaller to me. I just watched the third season of Star Wars: Visions and I love it. Throughout its three seasons, the show has featured diverse creators and studios telling a wide variety of stories in their own individual styles and interpretations. It’s been amazing to watch the show stretch and redefine what Star Wars can be.

The season ends with two episodes, The Bird of Paradise and Black. Both stories could not be more different, The Bird of Paradise is a beautiful meditation on finding connection to the Force through loss and maturity, Black is a wildly surreal and jazzy improvisation on the chaos and destruction that punctuates the Star Wars movies. Questions about what is real in The Bird of Paradise and what actually happens in Black feel reductive and akin to missing the point these episodes want to make.

What does it mean if FOTOR is canon and SWTOR is Legends? I don’t know and I don’t care. I hope the creators of both games feel the same.

5 – FOPOTOR

When I shared my last installment of Pets of the Old Republic last month, several people asked about the pets I had missed. When thinking about which pets to cover, I did “over-book” the list and called audibles here and there, so there were many pets who could’ve and perhaps should’ve been included. It is likely that I will revisit POTOR later this year with a few more favorites, both old and new. Of course, the one thing that SWTOR could add to the game to guarantee my return would, of course, be a Porg pet. Porgs have been a running joke on each of my prediction lists and I’ve almost given up ever having a Porg pet in SWTOR, but I keep hearing that rebellions are built on hope, so I’ll keep at it. Maybe this will be the year!

Fight the Empire

I had a very hard time writing this post. These days it’s scary to think about the future. As I look at what is happening in the world, in my country and in my neighborhood, what I see doesn’t inspire faith in the year to come. They want us to be afraid, but I believe there is value and resistance in little things like creating art, finding community and sharing joy even in stories about space wizards. Seeing people write and talk about the things that makes them happy inspires me and reminds me to do the same. Josh Johnson’s advice feels spot on: “As much as you can do, you do it and you make a better world. That’s the way forward.” So I will do what I can, here on this blog, in the voting booth, on the streets of the town I call home.

 

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Filed under Dumb Top Five, General Star Wars, General SWTOR, Legacy of the Sith

November 23, 2025 · 9:01 am

Welcome to the Rock

It is probably an understatement to say that it has been a tumultuous few years for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Between Covid forcing major changes in how the developers work on the game, the behind the scenes chaos at Bioware, SWTOR’s move to Broadsword two years ago, and the year-long voice actors’ strike I suspect things have often felt unsettled for the fine folks who make the game.

This large boulder can be found in a place of honor on Dantooine.

Despite it all, the devs have clearly worked to put the game on a regular schedule of updates so that players can reliably predict what to expect at least in the near term. I won’t say that every step has landed on firm ground, but the team has done a good job pivoting when they had to and keeping the game moving forward. We’re seeing their hard work pay off. Last week’s developer livestream was chock full of news about not only the next update in December but also the year to come.

Road Maps? Where We’re Going We Do Need Road Maps

My biggest takeaway from the stream is that Keith Kanneg came very close to announcing that SWTOR will get an expansion next year. Even if that was not an official announcement, he said that December’s Producer Letter will include a 2026 road map for SWTOR. I cannot remember the last time SWTOR had a long term road map, and I think it speaks volumes to the team’s confidence in the release cadence they’ve established and stuck to the past several years. I certainly hope there will be a surprise or two in this road map, but we can also look at the last few years of releases and come away with a general idea for what to expect in the months ahead.

Dantooine, We’re On Dantooine

I won’t comment on everything that came up in the livestream, but I do want to touch on a few other topics. I am most happy that we’ll be able to continue the story after more than a year’s delay. The last installment ended on a cliffhanger, and it will be fun to discover where the action goes next. I imagine it will be a bit like catching up with old friends, and I’m eager to see how everyone is doing.

The major gameplay feature included in the next update is an entire zone on the planet Dantooine full of Dynamic Encounters. I have been quite impressed with Dynamic Encounters. I enjoy taking my characters out into the world and having adventures with them, and the Encounters strike a good balance with different types of gameplay and the option to run as few or as many as I want. Unlike Daily Areas where I feel committed to finishing every quest in the zone once I start, I like that I can hop into and out of Encounters as the spirit moves me.

Unlike previous Encounters, these new ones have a new and unique zone dedicated to them. I poked around on the PTS, and the new areas are breathtaking. If you are a collector, an explorer or a completionist, it seems like there will be plenty for you to do there. The most prominent reward for players who engage with the Encounters on Dantooine is a massive stronghold, with huge fields, a sprawling ranch house, caves and natural environments to make your own. If you crave a Stronghold full of wide open spaces, this will be the one for you.

I say this every time I get to visit a new location in the game, but my favorite part of each SWTOR update is getting to explore another unseen corner of the Star Wars universe. The majority of my time on the PTS was spent trailblazing off the paths, climbing trees and finding spots to admire the landscapes.

Always read the plaque.

With very big thanks to Illeva and Swtorista, I was able to find a hidden nook with some surprise Aurebesh for me to translate. I had intended to wait until this update went live to officially translate this, but Eric Musco forced me to change my plans. Musco played the Dantooine Encounters on Twitch on Friday, and he mentioned how much he loved the giant boulder he was lugging around on his brand new speeder, only to learn that the boulder itself can both be found somewhere on Dantooine and also has a name! Since the cat is out of the bag, I feel okay sharing my translation a little early.

Given the off-screen comments from Musco’s stream, I think it’s fair to say that this big, happy rock was named either for or by Emily Henderson, an Environment Artist at Broadsword. It’s very cool when artists get to sign their name or make their mark on these massive works that they’ve helped create. It’s something I’ve seen throughout the history of both Star Wars and SWTOR.

UPDATE: Vulkk has uncovered more information about the rock! There are four data pads hidden around the Dantooine encounter area with in-game information about this curious boulder! Knowing that there are secrets out there for explorers to discover always makes me happy. I’m looking forward to officially visiting Sample 3m1-L3 when it makes its official debut!

The Orbital Core

I want to finish up with a discussion of two controversial topics. First, the Dantooine Encounters conclude with a heroic-4 mission meant to be tackled with a standard group with a tank, a healer and two DPS. As it stands on the PTS, it is a very difficult encounter. On Friday, I went in blind with a solid group to check out the heroic, and we got our butts kicked. The fights have complicated and unforgiving mechanics that need to be understood and practiced in order to complete the encounter.

Poison gas, angry droids and furious lizard-cats, oh my!

This is a good thing. SWTOR has not always been great at providing challenges for its elite players, but casual players will absolutely struggle with these fights. We’ve been told that there will be buffs that we can unlock to make these encounters easier to manage, but they don’t seem to be fully implemented on the PTS so I don’t know how they will work.

I love facing challenges with new or inexperienced players, but if someone asks me how to finish the Dantooine heroic, I’m worried the answer will be to grind reputation for six or eight weeks so they are allowed to buy the buffs they need. It doesn’t feel fun to discover a cool new fight only to be told you won’t be able to try it for several weeks or months if you play casually.

I’m honestly confused by this choice. The Heroic is instanced, and the game has been creating separate difficulties for instanced group content since launch. I don’t know why it wasn’t set up like a flashpoint with Story, Veteran and Master Modes. Absolutely make Master Mode as tough as nails with special rewards for those who rise to the challenge, but not everyone can or wants to play at that level, and let them have fun too without being forced to grind rep for a fight they may only do once.

The Loading Screen

Finally, I want to put down my thoughts about the new “Galactic Threads” loading screen. There have been accusations that it was produced via generative AI, but I do not agree. As I see it, this loading screen is stylistically similar to the ones we’ve had at least since Onslaught. Typically SWTOR‘s loading screens are collages of separate character and background illustrations combined with varying degrees of internal consistency. Since the game’s start, many of the artists who have been doing character illustrations and design have worked in a loose, almost impressionistic style which is in contrast to the more realistic rendering we are used to seeing in the game’s cinematics and some other loading screens. Moreover, people might also be reacting to the way that the various elements that go into this image are assembled into a whole; seeing characters rendered with heavy brush strokes combined with backgrounds using smooth photographic effects and gradients can feel off. This illustration feels to me as messy and idiosyncratic and human as many if not most of the loading screens we’ve had over the years.

Could I be wrong? Absolutely, but the more I look at it, the less I think I could be. I am a working artist myself, have a degree in art history and have been examining the art and design of Star Wars: The Old Republic for this blog for almost ten years. Does that make me an expert? Nope, but I do think that I have enough grounds to stand upon to share my opinion on this matter.

 

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Filed under Aurebesh to English, General SWTOR, Legacy of the Sith

July 17, 2025 · 9:01 am

Unstruck

This post has been a long time coming, but it is one I am very pleased to write. Last week striking voice actors of the SAG-AFTRA union approved a new contract with the major video game developers, ending a nearly one year long strike.

Members voted in overwhelming favor for the new agreement, and the union had already allowed voice actors to resume work prior to the vote, which indicates to me that they are happy with the new agreement.

While Broadsword never officially cited the strike, I think it’s fair to say that it is the reason Star Wars: The Old Republic has not had a story update in more than a year. The developers did mention missing pieces that prevented story updates, but given that some of the cast hails from Europe where the strike was not in effect, it seems like they were able to record some but not all of the game’s voice over dialogue. Notably, the featurette released by SWTOR during Star Wars Celebration featured English actor Jamie Glover delivering one of Malgus’ characteristic monologues on the Force, fate and the destruction of both the Jedi and Sith.

I have always supposed that the task of scheduling the voice over work from SWTOR’s sprawling, multi-lingual cast must be a herculean task, but, with the strike over, I’m certain Broadsword is working hard to get everyone back in character. I don’t know how long that will take, but I have seen other developers discuss getting back on track, and Keith Kanneg in his quarterly update, posted shortly after the strike was suspended, let us know the details of when we can expect the next update. Based on the schedule they’ve been keeping the past couple of years, I’m guessing the next SWTOR livestream will be at the end of this month or at the start of August.

With the strike resolved, it’s also nice that we can again start thinking about the future. What are Malgus and Shae Vizla planning? Who is Darth Nul? Is she still alive? What is the device detailed in her holocron? Which companions get the next date nights? All important stuff!

And we can perhaps look even further. SWTOR‘s devs made made it clear that they are planning not only at the next patch cycle but at the game’s longterm future. Could that include news of an expansion announcement?

During the strike, two major story updates, “Galactic Threads” and “Master’s Enigma” were put on hold, and the next should be due soon. If they release it all at once, we’ll be treated to the largest story update SWTOR has had in years!  It’s pretty exciting.

As for how Broadsword has filled the time during the strike, I think they’ve done a good job. I’ve really enjoyed Dynamic Encounters. I am always happy for an excuse to take my characters out into the game world and do stuff. It’s nice to return to the starter planets and I’ve been to corners of Ilum and Hoth and Tatooine that I’m certain I have not visited in years. Some of the achievements and rewards are frustrating to earn, but for the most part, I’ve had a good time running around the galaxy causing trouble for the Empire and doing good for the Republic.

I’ve also enjoyed Relentless Replication, SWTOR’s new lair boss. Propagator Core XR-53 is a neat and unique encounter with an accessible Story Mode, a challenging but doable Veteran Mode and a very difficult (at least for me!) Nightmare Mode. The major reward of this operation has been a new tier of augments. Crafting these augments is extremely tedious, and the highest level ones are luxuries, but the new starter augments should be accessible to anyone who wants to cheaply get ready for challenging group content.

I feel like the character model updates are coming together nicely and the scope of new character customization options added to the game was beyond anything I would’ve imagined. And I hope more is to come.

Was I glad that SWTOR hasn’t had any new story updates in a year? Of course not. But I’m an old fashioned pro-union guy, and we’ve seen time and time again that the major video game publishers will gladly lay off employees by the thousands, destroy entire studios and treat the products they release in the most mercenary fashion. So score one for the voice actors. They bring to life the characters we love to play and interact with. I’m glad they won an agreement they could support, and I hope everyone working in the industry can get the same consideration one day.

 

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January 16, 2025 · 9:01 am

Mists and Shadows: SWTOR in 2025

It has been tradition for me to kick off a new year of Star Wars: The Old Republic with five bold predictions of what we might see in the weeks and months ahead. Last year I went two for five which is pretty good by my standards especially since the two biggest swings I took last year were hits. That said, I’m going to skip predictions this year. When it comes right down to it, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA voice actors strike which seems to be affecting SWTOR makes it very difficult to guess what might happen this year, particularly in regards to two topics that most interest me: where the current story might go and whether we might get an expansion or at least an expansion announcement this year.

Until the strike is resolved, speculation about the story and expansion ought to be put on hold. I support the aims of the voice actors and their union, and I think it is entirely reasonable to believe that a humongous corporations like Electronic Arts, SWTOR’s publisher, do not have the best interest of their contractors and employees as their highest priority.

I am in no position to say exactly where SWTOR stands with regards to the strike. There has been some voice work in both the newly added Relentless Replication operation and the Dynamic Encounters, but I am very reluctant to speculate about those additions and whether they count as exceptions.

I have no doubt that Broadsword fully intends to continue development despite issues caused by the strike. Galactic and PVP Seasons require little-to-no voice acting, and plenty of non-story content from flashpoints to Dynamic Encounters could be implemented without it as well.

Dynamic Encounters are SWTOR‘s version of “Group Quests” and I’ve very much been enjoying them. They are semi-random quests of various types, many without any combat at all. I always enjoy taking my characters out into the world, walking from place to place, meeting people, getting into adventures. Unlike Dailies and Heroics, the pace of the Encounters is less hectic, and I don’t feel like I need to race from quest to quest or objective to objective. I go where I want and complete the encounters I want. It’s not an efficient source of Conquest or Tech Fragments, but it is relaxing and that’s a greater reward to me.

What is SWTOR without Story?

In light of the strike, however, I think this is a fair question to ask. Patch 7.6 “Galactic Threads” launched without implementing its story, Until the strike is resolved, I think any future “Critical Path” story updates will be delayed as well. SWTOR‘s story and it’s fully voice acted interactions remains one of its biggest assets and strongest selling points to new and returning players. But if the story is delayed, where does this leave players?

I don’t imagine they will present the story with subtitles. At the very least, we have all seen the community react poorly to this style of gameplay when it appears during important moments in the story.

The game’s last major story update, Desperate Defiance, shifts between SWTOR’s traditionally fully voiced staging and the “KOTOR” style in which our character’s responses are related in text and the character animations are limited. Last June, Ashley Ruhl, SWTOR’s narrative director, took to the forums to discuss why and how the choices to use these styles of interactions are made.

Any discussion of this topic must acknowledge the reality that players of  Star Wars: The Old Republic have a lot of very different expectations when it comes to the content the game ought to produce, and that these expectations come from very different points of view. First off, SWTOR is expected to regularly produce the kind of content that every MMO offers: solo play, group content, PVP, raids, dailies, cosmetics, achievements, and gear. On top of that SWTOR is most well known for creating story and character development at a level that frankly other MMOs do not match: fully voiced dialogue, regular cinematic cutscenes featuring 48 lead actors across three languages and a huge supporting cast.

Let me be clear, none of these expectations are unreasonable. Nevertheless, we also have to accept that SWTOR is not the biggest MMO on the market. SWTOR hasn’t changed its subscription pricing in the United States since launch, and it hasn’t charged for an expansion in a decade. I am certain the costs associated with every aspect of creating this game has gone up, and the development team has the challenge of doing what they can with the resources they have.

As a player, I also understand the frustration. I was disappointed that my first major conversation between my character and Sahar, the expansion’s major addition to the cast, was done in the KOTOR style. For me it deflated much of the drama leading up to that moment.

I’m not going to tell anyone how to value their subscription and their play time. If you only want to pop into SWTOR once a year to catch up with the story, I get it. I’ve often called SWTOR the theme-parkiest of theme park MMOs and how often do most people go to DisneyWorld or Six Flags in a year? If you’d rather challenge yourself against the constant stream of new raids only World of Warcraft can supply or the large scale PVP of New World, I completely understand. We live in an age of subscription services, and no one can or should keep up with them all. For example, as their fees have increased and their quality and quantity of their shows gone down, I’ve gotten into the habit of juggling my streaming services. I don’t see any point in subscribing to Netflix for more than one or two months a year, and it makes sense that others view their MMO subs the same way.

I can only answer the question for myself. I use SWTOR’s 180 day subscription plan, and every six months I ask myself if I’m getting my money’s worth from my sub. It costs me more to go out to a movie than to play SWTOR for a month. I truly believe I get more fun from a month of SWTOR than I do from two hours at the cinema, so it’s always been a short conversation. But other people may feel different. A great many players are just here for the story, so taking a break from the game until the strike is resolved is more than reasonable. Should SWTOR add other types of content to tide us over until the strike ends? I’m certain that’s the plan. The next Galactic Season should start in a month or two, and I imagine we’ll get more Dynamic Encounters and perhaps a new Venture. Will we see extra emphasis on group content? Maybe. I don’t know. Honestly I don’t think SWTOR has the resources to satisfy all the expectations players have of the game. As always, it will be a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Don’t look to me for solution to this problem. I understand subscriptions remain SWTOR‘s biggest source of revenue, but Broadsword has introduced the “Join the Fight” and “Master the Fight” bundles to entice players to subscribe for more than a month at a time. I believe that these bundles are solid deals if you want some extra Cartel Coins to spend, but they are skippable if you don’t. I don’t relish the thought of paying more for SWTOR, and I don’t believe SWTOR should or will raise its subscription price unless World of Warcraft does so first; I imagine they are rather like two competing gas stations across the street from each other, forced to match prices. Should SWTOR charge for expansions again? Shadows of Revan, SWTOR‘s last paid expansion, cost $19.99 US, and I would gladly pay that for an expansion with the same scope and content. Would other players? I don’t know.

For me, a big part of the appeal of the game comes from the fact that I get to play with so many fun and funny people both within my guild and the community of people I’ve gotten to meet over the years. I love raiding, I enjoy dipping into Galactic and PVP seasons. There is almost always something I want to do when I log on.

But I can’t speak for other players. All I can really do is hope that the strike is resolved quickly, and the voice actor’s are satisfied with the agreement.

Yes, Chef

Ok, I lied. I do have one 2025 prediction to make. It is obvious to me that the next Venture will revolve around Porgs. This Venture will introduce players to the months long process of breeding, hatching, nurturing Ahch-To’s beloved and delicious avian friends. That’s right, I said “delicious.” This Venture will be the means Broadsword finally introduces the cooking crafting skill to the game. Players will need to journey across the galaxy collecting rare ingredients, uncovering ancient recipes from lost ruins of the Sith, Jedi and Rakata. We will learn to build campfires in the wild, construct fusion ovens in our strongholds, navigate crowded, tension-filled kitchens and battle the fiercest Beskar Chefs to discover who reigns supreme in the kitchen stadiums of the galaxy. At the end of our journey, we will finally earn a vaunted Mandalorian Star proving that we are worthy to stand with the greatest chefs in all of Star Wars lore.

And it all starts with the humble Porg. Of that I have no doubt.

 

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December 15, 2024 · 9:01 am

The Face I Had Before the World Was Made

During SWTOR’s 7.6 livestream, Eric Musco announced to everyone’s surprise that the game’s character models were being updated, and my initial reaction was this: “I hope they know what they’re in for, because if they don’t get it exactly right, people are gonna freak.”

And they did. I was one of them. The very first version of the updated characters we saw on the PTS was very rough indeed. I posted my shocked first impressions on the forums, but I kind of regret it. I fear I helped stir the pot and encouraged the frenzy that we are seeing in some corners of the community. That was never my intent. I believe what Broadsword wants to do is a good idea and I want them to succeed. I want to be careful in my comments and criticism, because I think we’ve seen improvements since the initial version of the PTS, and I believe the team is determined to get it right.

First and foremost, I have no experience with 3D modeling and I don’t know what specific challenges the art team faces in working with SWTOR’s teenaged game engine. My initial gut-reaction has been these aren’t the changes I would’ve made. Let me be perfectly clear, that is not useful criticism. To say “I would have done differently that thing I don’t know how to do” is not helpful at all.

If you’d like the perspective of someone who does know what they are talking about, definitely check out the commentary on this subject by Sultana on Bluesky. Sultana has experience with 3D modeling, has played with the game’s assets and has fascinating insights.

As for me, I do think I can fairly talk about the aesthetics of the changes and how I am reacting to them. I am absolutely not the first to point out that SWTOR’s characters tend towards a more animated style, and swinging too far towards realism clashes strongly with how we’ve come to see our characters over the years. The sweet spot would be for our characters to appear naturalistic without necessarily being realistic. This is a tough line to walk, especially as the environments and objects and outfits around us have become more realistic in recent updates.

We have seen, to different degrees, animated properties from Star Wars’ own The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch shows to Arcane on Netflix and the Spiderverse movies blur those lines between the semi-realism of their setting and the stylistic flourishes of their character designs, and I believe  SWTOR should be able to strike that balance as well.

The main focus of the developer’s attention right now is on our characters’ faces, and I think what we saw with the launch of 7.6 is on the right track. Star Wars is predominantly a cinematic property, and I think ultimately the goal is that we should feel like our characters look like movie stars, as dashing as Harrison Ford and Oscar Isaac and as beautiful as Natalie Portman and Daisy Ridley.

For the most part, I think the male faces are there. I like the heavy lower eyelids, but their lips still seem dry and parched to me. As for the females, while they’ve come a long way, they’re still not quite there. For better or worse, hard contours work on males, but on female faces, they need to go, especially on the neck and where the cheeks meet the the mouth and upper lip area. Light and shadow should be all we need to define those shapes when the character is smiling or shouting, but the transition between the two areas should be smooth as possible in neutral expressions. My main issue is that sometimes the characters’ appearances can change dramatically in different settings and lighting. On the character select screen a character can look fine, but in darker location with higher contrast, the textures on the skin comes off as too stark.

Regarding changes to the bodies of characters, Musco has made it clear that these are even more so a work in progress, and it shows.

The six pack abs on the portly Body Type 4 males has long been the source of jokes, and we can see with the new iteration that they have given these characters a more naturalistic appearance. That is a very good change. Comparing a Nautolan that still uses the old textures to an updated human, we can see more definition around the collarbone, shoulders and arms on the Nautolan, but because they’ve turned down the intensity of the textures on the human to soften wrinkles on other parts of the model, those details feel soft now.

Looking at the back of one of my female characters (on the left, below) we can see the opposite problem. The updated model seems to use the original textures (as seen in the middle) but they are now more intense; those old textures have not aged well. The Trapezius muscles are overly prominent, and the textures on different parts of the bodies don’t quite connect to each other You can see this in the shoulders, especially in how they don’t quite match front to back and in the gaps of the armpits where they should join the torso.

My larger point is that I would like to see the character updates focus less on muscles and anatomy and more on flesh and blood. Yes, there are all sorts of muscles on the back, but in real life it’s the shoulder blades and the curve of the spine that define a person’s back. The result of the over-definition of the older textures is that characters can look literally thin skinned and even emaciated (especially Body Type 1s). The emphasis on sculpted muscles works for Body Type 3 characters who are supposed to be jacked, but everyone else should look like a real person and not a greased up body builder.

“Just make the hard parts look hard and the soft parts look soft!” That’s easier said than done, but it doesn’t mean I want Broadsword to give up. I do believe many of the changes have been improvements. The extra glint of light in the characters’ eyes is a subtle touch that adds a lot of extra life to our characters, and to me, that Body Type 4 human looks better than his Nautolan counterpart.

MMO-RPGs are works in progress, and sometimes not everything works the way we want it to. That sucks sometimes. I don’t love that my characters look off right now, but there are things about games like this that I hated more and have endured longer. As players and customers, we should be engaged with the developers about this process in constructive ways. Screaming and shouting feels good and makes for solid click bait, but it doesn’t help the good people at Broadsword make the game better.

That’s the goal. That’s what we all want.

 

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June 27, 2024 · 10:01 am

Pits and Potes and Skiffs

While I still intend to write about the story of Star Wars the Old Republic’s Desperate Defiance update, I’d like to instead start with a look at a brand new Aurebesh sign that has ties to not only one from the earliest days of SWTOR but also to an extremely obscure bit of Star Wars lore from more than twenty five years ago.

Much of the action in Desperate Defiance takes place in a new area of Hutta called the Minboosa District. Now that I’ve visited Minboosa as part of the story and seen how the changes have also affected “regular” Hutta as well as the Karagga’s Palace operation, I want to take a moment to appreciate how impressive the updated Hutta looks. The old yellow cast to the areas was intense and alien, but now every corner of Hutta is thick with haze and smog. Being outside on Hutta feels gross; it feels like it’s going to stick to your character even when you scramble indoors, and it’ll take more than just a long sonic shower to wash it all off.

At first glance, Minboosa shares similar architecture to the town of Jiguuna on Hutta where Imperial Agents and Bounty Hunters begin their class stories. Minboosa is perhaps a bit more densely packed with buildings, but once you venture outside the town itself, you can really appreciate the changes. Soaring trees, Tibanna gas refineries and landing platforms tower overhead like skyscrapers on Coruscant. Nem’ro’s palace feels positively quaint by comparison.

The center of Minboosa is, of course, the cantina. Shining above its entrance, is a holographic neon sign. This sign is similar to the one above the cantina in Jiguuna, but there are some differences. It’s this earlier sign with which we’ll start. The neon declares that the cantina is called “The Poison Pit” and features radiating circles that act to focus our attention on the logo and the letters atop it; below the three lower letters are framed by octagons and follow the arc of circles. These design elements feature in many examples of the holographic glow that illuminates the player’s journey across the galaxy, most prominently on nearby Nar Shaddaa. The purple creature at the center is a Chemilizard, one of Hutta’s native species that evolved to survive off the pollution that resulted from the Hutt’s short-sighted mistreatment of the planet.

The writing used in this sign is not technically Aurebesh, rather it is a variant known most commonly as “Galactic Standard.” I’ve written about the different types of Aurebesh before, but in general I imagine these alphabets are at least legible and perhaps interchangeable to most of the characters in the game world.

The neon sign above the cantina in the Minboosa District shares a similar design to the Poison Pit sign. This difference that jumped out at me immediately is that this graphic employs a “traditional” Aurebesh font familiar to anyone who’s encountered these letters in other Star Wars media or even Galaxy’s Edge at Disney. While sharing a similar circular design to the previous graphic, this one places the word “skiff” in a horizontal shape which acts as a base for the central graphic which helps enhance the feeling that the speeder is floating above the ground.

I imagine it must have been an interesting design challenge to create a new neon sign for the cantina in the style of one from well over a decade ago, but the artists at Broadsword pulled it off. The two signs are similar, but different enough that they can be told apart at a glance.

However, I do want to explore the meaning of this sign. The image in the center depicts a skiff, a light, open-top repulsorlift “hover-boat” first seen during Return of the Jedi during the battle above the Great Pit of Carkoon.

The name of the cantina, the “Dirty Skiff” sparked a very specific memory for me. Throughout the history of the various Star Wars action figure lines from Kenner and later Hasbro, the toys often includes additional gimmicks: cheap collectible coins, digital bobbins with poorly recorded bits of dialogue or sound effects, and, perhaps most unusual of all, “Freeze Frame Action Slides.” These were two-inch square frames with a small, still image of a scene from one of the Star Wars movies. These images were meant to be seen through an “Action Slide Viewer” (Sold separately, of course; batteries not included, of course) a toy shaped like a pair of Macrobinoculars that allowed you to look at the slides in a manner similar to the old Viewmaster toys. The Freeze Frame Slides could also be used in a traditional slide projector, something familiar to anyone who grew up in the era before digital photography. If this all sounds weirdly retro to you now, believe me, it was nearly as silly back then.

The Freeze Frame Slide included with the “Pote Snitkin” figure, a character both obscure and ridiculously named even by Star Wars standard, features Luke Skywalker in battle during Return of the Jedi’s Sail Barge rescue with a caption that stuck with me all these years.

Some of my Star Wars friends found the phrase “cleaning skiff” to be quite amusing and imagined that it might have come to be slang in the Star Wars universe for “kicking butt.” Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it’s too far a leap from “Cleaning Skiff” to “Dirty Skiff” which, depending on how dirty your mind is, could have all sorts of additional meanings.

Is this holographic sign an intentional homage to an odd accessory from a twenty-five year old action figure? I can’t say for sure, but once I made the connection, I knew I had to share it. And it’s not the first time something from Star Wars toys seems to have inspired something in SWTOR.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: there is so much weird, dumb, silly and wonderful lore across the history of Star Wars. None of it should be taken seriously, but it’s funny what bubbles to the surface sometimes.

 

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June 18, 2024 · 9:01 am

Spring Has Sprung

At the end of May, SWTOR’s game update 7.5 launched. Called “Desperate Defiance”, it includes a continuation of the expansion’s main story, the next PVP season, a new springtime event, and a system of activities called “Ventures” the first of which is focused around our character training Lane Vizsla’s Basilisk prototype droid project: Bessie. And there is even some Aurebesh for me to translate!

It’s a busy time for both SWTOR and Star Wars, which also saw the debut of the new Disney+ series, The Acolyte. I haven’t been able to make time for all of it, and my desire to cover all of 7.5 in a single post has proven to be impossible. Between the ongoing Galactic Season, a new PVP season and my regular activities, the addition I’ve spent the most time on over the last three weeks is the “Festival of Abundance” the game’s new spring-time event. Given that I publically speculated that there was a gap in SWTOR’s yearly calendar where a spring focused event could naturally fit, I was, as you can imagine, glad to see this addition.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about MMO-RPGs is simply being in the world the game creates for players. I like having an excuse to go out and do things. In SWTOR, these things are most often dailies and heroics, stuff I’ve repeated many times over the years. So I embrace events like the Feast of Prosperity,  the Swoop Rally and now the Festival because they offer a relaxed change of pace. Their focus is less on combat than on just existing as a person in the game world.

If I want to fight and test my skills there are already plenty of ways for me to do so in this game. This new event instead offers me opportunities to pet baby Tauntauns, cook vomit inducing pies, dance around a futuristic Maypole and traverse the galaxy hunting hidden eggs. It’s all very silly, and I’ve been having fun with it.

That’s not to say there is no combat. To my surprise, the event’s story quests include encounters with a few fairly tough opponents. Don’t forget to put your pants on and have a companion at your side, or you might be in for a rough go.

In general, however, the event’s objectives have been very low key. That’s just the way I like it. There are lots of activities and achievements, including many hidden ones, to chase and plenty to keep me busy during my play sessions. I honestly enjoy that I’ve been able to summon my favorite companion and hop on my favorite speeder and just run around and do stuff for neat rewards. There will be plenty of time in the weeks and years to come for me to put my game-face on and jump into the action, but for now I’m having a good time with the event.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The Festive Footwork quest to dance at the holo-ribbon could be more interactive. As it is now, you approach the pole, click a button and wait. That’s it. Being able to move around, try different dance moves or cross the holo-streams for different results might’ve been fun. In addition, if you want to earn more than a handful of the rewards, you really need to commit wholeheartedly to the event. I know Broadsword wants players coming back again and again, but I think the rewards, especially from the story quests, could stand to be more generous with the event currency. And, to be honest, I wish the armor and weapon rewards were legacy bound. SWTOR has done so much to make Legacy gear an integral part of the game, but that I’ve had to “farm” up currency for multiple pairs of both versions of the goggles for all the characters who could use ‘em doesn’t feel great.

But other parts of the event do feel good. Setting a pie on an empty table is satisfying. Chilling out while I zap fishies or dance around the holo-pole for Conquest points beats the heck out of any heroic mission. The “dark side” option at the end of the story made me laugh; that my Sith Inquisitor has put on display an ancient, obviously active Sith relic in the barn of her farm feels very much like something she’d do. And given that the event is mostly about being nice, healing sick animals and sharing pies, it’s fair that those who walk the path of the Dark Side should get the last word in one regard.

And that’s just the tip of the 7.5 iceberg. There are elements of “Desperate Defiance” from how it advances the story, its presentation and a major change in the cast that I want to discuss, but that must be a topic for next time. And later after the series concludes, I also want to explore The Acolyte’s parallels to SWTOR’s lore.

But this post is late enough as it is! Next week, I’ll be back to my routine, but for now I encourage everyone to check out the Festival of Abundance and have some fun with it.

 

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May 3, 2024 · 9:01 am

Good Riddance to the Yellow Filter

Wednesday’s SWTOR Livestream previewed the new additions coming to the game with Game Update 7.5, Desperate Defiance, but I want to focus on just one: the visual change to Hutta’s environment. One of my goals with this project is to examine the symbols in SWTOR, but not just their literal meaning, but also their connections to the worlds inside and outside of the game. The changes to Hutta does not involve fake space letters, but the meaning does involve something symbolic that I think is worth exploring: the “Yellow Filter”.

Color is an extremely powerful tool in visual storytelling. It can be used not only to differentiate locations, but also suggest a mood and meaning to places and the people in it. Within Star Wars lore, The Empire Strikes Back best demonstrates the use of color as a means to enhance the story. Hoth is “cool” white and blue; Dagobah is covered in “lush” greens and earth tones; and Bespin is primarily lit in reds that swing from “passionate” to “hellish.”

SWTOR is often staged in a similar way, but over the years it has also been influenced by other cinematic techniques popular at the time. Hutta is a case in point. The Hutta players have experienced since launch is bathed a bright yellow color grade. But why? Yellow can mean different things in different contexts, but I think we can agree Hutta is yellow to suggest the world’s corruption and pollution.

If we take a step back and look at how yellow grading is used in other media, we can see that SWTOR was likely inspired by movies and TV shows like Traffic and Breaking Bad which applied a yellow color grade to scenes set in Mexico. In those cases, this effect serves to make the action set there among the drug cartels feel not only more arid and hotter than scenes set in the United States, but corrupt and rotten as well.

So, of course, I can see how the SWTOR of 2011 might have been inspired to use a similar visual shorthand for Hutta. But in the years since, the meaning of the yellow filter changed, and in many case it has become known as the “Mexican Filter.” Even if we leave aside the fact that casting locations in a yellow color key does not accurately represent their actual appearance, the filter has become used to imply that a location was not only hot and arid, but foreign, poor, different. And it did not go without notice that people who lived in the locations that get the yellow filter treatment from not only Mexico but also the Middle East and Asia almost always have brown skin.

I am not saying that Yellow Hutta is racist and that the devs who made it are racists or anyone who prefers the original version is racist, but I do think that SWTOR is an evolving thing, and new players are experiencing aspects of its game for the first time well over a decade after it launched. I am glad that the team at Broadsword is willing to make changes and updates to the game, even after all this time. I believe that Hutta’s yellow filter has not aged well. It is at the very least clichéd and at the very worst reminds players of a filmmaking trope that has become lazy and often racist itself.

The updated Hutta of 7.5 shifts the color cast towards the earth toned end of spectrum. Certainly there is still plenty of yellow, but a bit more reds and browns instead of orange as well. In addition the cloud cover is now at ground level and the entire environment feels murky and clammy. I can see how many people might prefer the first iteration of the world. Certainly the strong primary color cast of the original Hutta is very dramatic and immediately marks it as an alien world, but, to me, the new Hutta feels sticky and I can practically smell the swamps and polluted air. And when we do see different colors, whether they are the nameplates of enemies or the neon sign of the cantina or an oil slicked rainbow, they pop a bit more.

I think the muted color tones and smog of the new Hutta does a better job of implying that the current environmental catastrophe is something that has been done to the planet by its Hutt overlords and not simply how it has been all along. To me that is more interesting symbolically than a hackneyed yellow filter that these days just says “hot and poor.”

 

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Filed under General SWTOR, Legacy of the Sith