The footy is coming

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Wookie

In just 4 weeks the wait will be over, keen followers of the AFL have spent the summer arguing about the usual offseason tripe such as memberships, attendances, joining in the weekly code war, whether Richmond will make it, how low GWS will go, whether various players are training the house down, or whether Collingwood will get a free ride. Newspapers carry stories of clubs and players that are ready to go at it like a bull in a china shop as they scramble to find news to appease the football loving public in the off season. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnell – In 28 days, we can finally get back to what we want to see – actual football.

So what I hear you say, its the preseason, it means nothing to anyone. I say to you, that you are sorely mistaken. The preseason allows us to see players who wouldnt necessarily get a game when premiership glory is on the line. It can be invaluable for any club in great need of a great start to the season. You can generate quite a bit of positive flow toward the club with a stirring performance. This can be particularly useful when looking for members and sponsors. I imagine people who rarely get to see professional sport first hand in smaller cities across the country would be quite fond of the preseason.

Since 1988 the VFL/AFL have conducted a pre-season competition, which has been over the years mainly based on a knockout format. In 2012 clubs are guaranteed 4 rounds of preason matches all over this fair country. This season takes us to the three way matches seen for the first time in last years NAB Cup, followed by a guaranteed 2 rounds of regular matches played all over the country. Say what you like about the NAB Cup and its relevance to the real thing, theres no doubt that for professional sport locations out in the middle of nowhere, these matches are a godsend. In 2012 at least, it has the added bonus of sending out the big Victorian teams (Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton in particular) to places that get very few visits from them.

NAB Cup Round 1:
Hawthorn, Richmond and North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium)
GWS, Bulldogs and Collingwood (Blacktown)
WEst Coast, Fremantle and Essendon (Pattersons)
Geelong, St Kilda and Sydney (Etihad Stadium)
Gold Coast, Brisbane and Melbourne (Metricon)
Adelaide, Port and Carlton (Aami)

For those unfamiliar with the triangular format, the competition is basically 3 matches, one after the other with two short halves and a quick break between matches. Clubs can completely change squads between matches if necessary. The matches also feature the 9 point super goal for goals kicked from further than 50 metres out.

Predicting the NAB Cup winners can be fraught with danger. Some clubs take it seriously, some clubs dont. Some clubs go all out (Port make this promise annually) while others are quite blatant in their belief its a practice run (see Paul Roos every year ad nauseum), so ive elected to give predictions pfor the first round only.

Richmond will show up bright eyed and bushy tailed – and will be stomped by Hawthorn. Collingwood will make probably their only trip to Blacktown ever to face GWS, why Sydney isnt in this group is beyond me given the AFL have neatly combined all other home state groups. Perth people will get to see the Bombers on a rare visit out west, where West Coast will comfortably account for all, and Fremantles hopes rest on one man – Aaron Sandilands – being fit. Geelong will dominate its group at Etihad. The close ones will be at Metricon, although I expect Brisbane with Merett and Brown back to lay down the law over a still gathering Gold Coast and Melbourne. Carlton will head to Adelaide where it should win both matches comfortably.

NAB Cup round 2, combines the NAB Cup with matches that used to form the NAB Challenge (for eliminated teams). Previously it was losing sides that competed in matches outside of the major metro areas. This year matches will be featured at Mandurah, Wangaratta, Alice Springs, as well as a rare AFL match at Bruce Purser Reserve for the Swans. Other matches will be played at traditional season venues at Etihad, Aurora and Metricon.

NAB Cup round 3 takes matches to Albury, Victor Harbor, and Ballarat as well as the usual AFL venues at Etihad, Simonds, Patersons and Aami. The Carlton v Brisbane match is listed as TBC for some reason, although Id suggest its likely to be in Victoria. That said, Ive also heard that its going to Queensland, I guess time will tell.

Under the new TV deal ALL preseason cup matches are broadcast live on Fox, and will not be shown on FTA for the first time. The Grand Final will be simulcast on the Seven Network. Note also that local matches which are usually shown in non victorian states on Free to Air do not get the same protection during the NAB Cup.

As a further note, Foxtels Footy Channel launches on February 17th with the triangular games between North, Hawthorn and Richmond. The 2012 AFL Premiership Season begins March 18th, 2012.

The Gathering Storm: A-league v Big Bash

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Wookie

“It’s enough to break my heart, but I sense that just as one may have hoped the Hyundai A-League was gaining a piece of media turf, along has come a new summer sports phenomenon destined to usurp it”. With these words, Les Murray portrayed the possibility of a gloomy future for the A-League.

Cricket recently revamped its domestic T20 series, and despite misgivings from the traditional wings of the game, it seems to be taking off quite successfully.

After years of falling crowds and dwindling television coverage, cricket has finally got a product that is family and television-friendly, and you might say is the empire striking back.

Against this backdrop, we have the A-League which moved to summer, at least partly to escape the all-pervasive presence that is the dominant football codes at the elite level, the AFL and the NRL.

One wonders where they can turn if the BBL continues to take off.

Murray complains about the media attention awarded to the BBL, and claims it’s a mystery. It is not.

Cricket has a huge number of advantages here. It has been in the national awareness for longer than any other sport in this country. It has long been seen as the ‘Great Unifier’, that one sport that bridges the divide between the NRL, ARU and AFL.

Growing up, it was not strange to think of the year as being split into the cricket and football season.

Indeed, many major stadiums in the country are utilised along the same lines. Cricket has lent us some of our greatest heroes, all household names.

It is credited with bringing us out of the depression, bringing hope to the masses after World Wars.

It has had enormous political and media support. It has given the country the legend of Bradman.

The A-League hasn’t given us so many heroes. Yes, there are the guys who made their names in Europe and have returned, but these guys perform far too rarely in the national team here, and most people will never see them play live, especially if you live outside of Melbourne and Sydney.

The BBL has the backing of Cricket Australia, and its state associations are all shareholders in teams. This means that the BBL automatically benefited from stadium arrangements, and the Cricket Australia marketing machine.

The A-League has to contend with expensive stadiums they don’t own and some of which are unsuited to professional matches. With T20, Cricket was able to pull star power in the likes of Shane Warne and Matthew Hayden, as a neat counterpoint to the A-League recruitment of Brett Emerton and Harry Kewell.

If anyone pulls a crowd in Victoria, its Warnie. Hayden carries a similar mythology in Queensland.

In T20, cricket found a match of family-friendly length, not much longer than a standard football match, and this for me is why it will persevere. No longer do you need to spend an entire day at the cricket, there is now time to mow the lawn, do some housework and then you areoff to an evening at the BBL.

The convenience factor of this should not be underestimated.

In T20, cricket has found a television-friendly format, no longer requiring a day or several days of broadcast time.

This is going to be key when broadcast rights come up for bids in 2013. For the present, both association football and T20 are on PayTV platforms, and the BBL is streaking ahead. ASTRA ratings shows the BBL is slaughtering the A-League.

A-League supporters would have us believe that the Socceroos are the biggest national team, but nothing compares to the Australian cricket team for national awareness. It is the unstoppable juggernaut that dominates the summer, as it has since before Federation.

Where the A-league does get an advantage is that it has a longer season, but what happens if Cricket Australia simply extends the BBL season? They are already talking about expanding the competition, and with that comes an inevitable increase in the number of matches.

Murray’s assertion that the BBL is a new, summer sporting phenomenon, ignores the century and half that cricket has been around for.

The success of the BBL coverage and crowds is also interesting when you consider that A-League proponents use its mere six-year existence as a reason for crowds and TV being what they are, yet the BBL in its first year, is trouncing it for coverage, in both TV and news coverage.

Its food for thought in any case.

The Victorian AFL Report Cards are in

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Wookie

Its finance reporting season for AFL clubs and the annual reports are in for all but St Kilda and so we gain an excellent snap shot of the current economic climate amongst Victorian clubs. We cant produce the same across non Victorian clubs due to the way those clubs are operated. Adelaide, Port and Brisbane (and I believe Sydney) DO produce individual annual reports, but the WA clubs, and the new boys on the Gold Coast certainly dont at this time. Further, St Kilda havent supplied an annual report yet.

Memberships were up across Melbourne, with 25,000 members added to the 2010 tally taking numbers to 425,756. Seven out of ten Victorian clubs recorded increases, with Collingwood taking out top spot with an increase of more than 17,000. At the bottom of the ladder, the Saints dropped more than 6,000 members. Collingwood, Hawthorn, Carlton, Essendon and Richmond round out the top 5 clubs for membership – all with more than 40,000 members.

To attendances, and these were also up across Melbourne with 25,000 more people going through the gates than in 2010 and total attendances in Melbourne and Geelong exceeding 4.3 million. The big movers in 2011 were Richmond, Carlton and Essendon recording net gate increase of more than 50,000 attendees. Collingwood still reigned supreme almost 90,000 clear of the Blues in second place. Bringing up the rear Melbourne dropped 70,000 at home, but the spoon goes to the Bulldogs and North, both under 300,000 attendees.

To Revenue, and its Collingwood and daylight. The Pies turning over 75 million this year, more than 24 million clear of the second place Bombers. Hawthorn and Geelong round out the top 4 there. North Melbourne haplessly bringing up the rear on 26 million, 12 million below the league average (38 million for vic clubs). Victorian clubs raised more than $400 million in revenue in 2011.

Its been widely reported than 9 AFL clubs have made a loss this year, but in terms of operations only two Melbourne clubs (North and St Kilda lost money). 4 clubs made profits of more than a million dollars. (Collingwood made 2). When write offs and depreciation are factored in, 3 clubs made a loss, including Hawthorn (albeit narrowly). The addition of AFL and Australian Sporting Foundation Grants almost certainly means two more clubs made a loss when these are taken out. Total profit for the Melbourne clubs is more than 7 million, and more than 12 million after consolidation.

In Marketing and Sponsorship revenue, Collingwood remain top earning $22 million, Richmond, Essendon and Geelong on around $15 million. Melbourne, North Melbourne and the Bulldogs fall way down on 8 million each. More than 123 million in sponsorship was raised in Melbourne across 10 clubs with an average of more than 12 million.

Revenue from Membership and gate receipts topped $100 million, Collingwood clear winners as expected with more than $16 million from members alone. Geelong, Richmond, Carlton and Essendon rounding out the top end, while North struggled with less than $6 million. The league average in Melbourne was over 10 million.

Gaming revenue is a tricky one, and most clubs include this with their social club takings – including hospitality and beverages. Most clubs in Melbourne average 3-4 million in gaming revenue. Ironically, the biggest gaming beneficiary is Brisbane taking more than 12 million from pokies in 2011. North has no gaming revenue at all.

Melbourne clubs spent more than 170 million on their football departments in 2011, and even North managed to spend 15 million on theirs in 2011. Collingwood way out in front at 19 million, Geelong, Essendon and Carlton not far behind.

Theres a lot of positives in the annual reports for clubs. Some have debts, but they appear to be entirely manageable, and for the foreseeable future the clubs finances are backed by the AFL. North and the Bulldogs remain causes for concern, they just appear to have no strong support either in the crowd or corporate sectors. As long as this remains the case, their future will be called into question by the waiting vultures, equalisation fund be damned.

On the flip side, that Collingwood benefits from the fixture more than any other club cannot really be a question any more. Not that its Collingwoods fault – every club wants to play them and theres only a certain number of AFL games that melbourne clubs can play interstate, for which the Pies generally do meet the average.

Hawthorn continues to be a financial powerhouse, with a reported $20 million sitting in the bank, developments in Tasmania and New Zealand, and a feisty board. I dont think theres any coincidence that guys like Eddie McGuire and Jeff Kennett are – or were in Jeffs case – at the helms of two of Australias most prosperous football clubs.

Carlton, Essendon and Richmond are begining to perk up again, and this is reflected in their memberships and astonishing increases in crowds. Essendon and Carlton in particular will be wondering if they can the MCG for home matches when their current deals expire. Carlton are already selling out Docklands for matches against non victorian clubs.

State of the Game: Sydney AFL

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Wookie

State of the Game:
Australian Football in Sydney

So its that time of the year where the various state and regional bodies begin to put out their annual reports and the first of these this year is AFL Sydney. With Greater Western Sydney coming in 2012, and the reputed “AFL Invasion”, theres a few things of interest to bear note of in the report, and these are things I will discuss briefly here. In short, however, the Annual Report confirms what some of us have believed for some time, that Australian Football is alive and well, and growing in the suburbs of Sydney.

In 2007, 19 Clubs fielded 62 teams, the Sydney AFL now boasts 22 clubs fielding 78 teams. A far cry from the lows of 1998 where just 7 teams took the field. Where in 2007 total playing numbers were 2155, in 2011 they stand at 2914 (a 35% increase). In 2007, there 45 teams, in 2011 the Sydney AFL featured 59 teams. The league has gone from seventeen to nineteen Under 18 teams in the same time. Senior playing numbers have risen by 530 since 2008 (up 30%), and the Under 18 teams have also risen by 114 (Up 20%).

Eleven clubs have at least four senior teams. The league itself is split into five divisions, and two U18 divisions, with promotion and relegation systems for the lower divisions.

The annual report states that the AFL itself spent money improving facilities at Drummoyne Oval, Picken Oval, Pioneers Park, Gore Hill Oval, Hensen Park, Mahoney Park, Monarch Oval, and Olds Park. For those claiming to have never seen an AFL oval, its also worth noting that 35 venues were used for AFL Sydney matches in 2011. The Grand Finals for all divisions were played at Blacktwon.

AFL Sydney continues to benefit from some coverage on Foxtel with an hour long highlights package shown on Foxtels Main Event channel prior to the Friday Night AFL broadcast.

Against this backdrop, the East Coast Eagles participated in the inaugural Foxtel Cup where they were duly slaughtered by Port Adelaide at the SCG, thereby confirming everyones suspicion that the league standard may not be as high as in other Australian Football territories. In 2012, they will again face off in the Foxtel Cup, although they start with what could be a relatively close match against QAFL club, MT Gravatt.

East Coast Eagles – now Sydney Hills Eagles, will along with Sydney University, the Swans and Giants reserves, form the Sydney AFL contingent in the 2012 NEAFL Season, featuring teams from the AFL ACT territory, and matches against clubs in the NEAFL (Northern Division). In 2011, the Sydney area was represented only by the Swans reserves and the GWS Giants.

From its begining as the NSW Football Association in 1903, through its 1980 renaming to the Sydney Football League, to its present incarnation from 2009, Australian football continues to endure in the Sydney Area. 11 clubs took the field in 1903, and sank to an all time low of just 7 teams in 1998. Despite many clubs coming and going in the 108 years of its existence, the league is still here today.

With the arrival of Greater Western Sydney, and the continued work of the Sydney Swans, not to mention much resources and funding from AFL House, its easy to believe that Australian Football is driven purely by the big boys out of Melbourne. The fact is there are thousands of Sydney dwelling players, umpires, and club volunteers who are just as responsible for the growth of the game as anywhere else. Yes, helped immensely by an AFL that in 2009 was lambasted by the Swans for not paying enough attention to Sydney, after leaving promotion of the game in the NSW capital entirely up to the Swans for years. Helped along by the AFL spending money on facilities and promotion, there can be no doubt, but the backbone of the operation remains the people who go out week in and week out, they staff the canteen, they operate the scoreboards, they supply goal umpires, parking attendants and god alone knows what else to keep these clubs running.

That the number of teams and players is growing is undeniable. Will it take over Sydney? No. Will it be around another hundred years? Who knows what the sporting landscape will look like 100 years from now. We can however, safely say that the immediate future looks rosy for Australian football in Sydney.

Are we spending too much on stadiums

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Wookie

As a sports fan I love a good stadium, as an AFL fan I must say we’ve endured some great times recently as new ovals and upgrades to facilities that will be used by the AFL community are announced on a regular basis. Its all very exciting for the keen sports follower. However,as an Australian taxpayer, I have to ask though, is it all too much.

In recent times more than 1.8 BILLION dollars has been allocated to stadium builds – and yes much of it is the Adelaide and Perth developments. Yes, 100 million of it will come from the AFL and various crickeet trusts. The 1.8 billion rises to 2.5 billion if you factor in the last 8 years (which includes a 464 million MCG Northern Stand Redevelopment, admittedly only $77 million from the Victorian government). The question we should all be asking is just how State Governemts will find the 1.7 billion to build stadiums.

You have to remember that these are the same states complaining they dont have enough funds, in particular South Australia and Western Australia who complain about funding shortfalls every time theres a budget, but apprently think nothing of spending an easy half billion dollars on professional sports infrastucture.

In Perth, NIB stadium has received approval for an $82 million stadium upgrade, while at the same time the government intends to spend another $700 million on a stadium that will be used maybe 25 times a year for AFL matches. From a pure economic standpoint, wouldnt that extra 85 million best have been invested in the 60,000 seat stadium that will be full maybe twice a year…if only to justify the return on investment over time. Instead, you have Union and A-league, and in the future likely Rugby League playing out of the little 25,000 seat rectangular stadium, Cricket playing out of the WACA and AFL having this massive stadium more or less to itself.

In Adelaide, the economics border on ridiculous. The A-league club will play out of the 15,000 seat Hindmarsh stadium, while two AFL clubs will play out of the new, shiny Adelaide Oval they will share with cricket which barely utilises the ground to its current capacity, let alone the new one.

In Sydney, the SCG has approved a 186 million dollar upgrade – whole stadiums have been built for this recently – in a stadium that is almost never full, where the government is upgrading the showgrounds despite there being an 80,000 seat oval stadium right next door, and an underutilised 36,000 seat stadium across the city.

In Queensland the government has recently built Carrara, which aside from Commonwealth games use will only be used for the 11 AFL matches a year, while across the coast is a rectangular stadium that is also underused by its tenants.

Yes, I get that soccer, league and union are vastly better to watch in rectangular stadia. I just cant justify it in the face of hospital closures and extensive waiting lists for critical procedures. I cant justify it when funding for life saving medical treatments is being cut or is non existent. I known where Id rather our taxpayer funds to go. People wont die if they have to watch Australian football at ANZ Stadium, people wont die if they have to watch soccer at the new perth stadium. Then there are other issues. There are 180,000 homeless people in Australia that need help – they wont be able to sleep on the bright red Carrara terraces. Tens of thousands of people live below the poverty line – they wont be able to afford the food at ANZ stadium anyway. Thousands more are out of work and will not benefit from these stadiums one iota. The refugee issue gets no closer to being solved by building the stadium at Burswood, unless it will house the boat guys when they get here.

Where have our governments priorities gone when giant edifices which primarily benefit professional sporting organisations that rake in millions per year in profit are put ahead of public health and safety. Surely if we must build stadiums – and I get that sport is essentially part of the Australian culture – that the public have a right to expect more bang for their dollar. Its not like the average community player will benefit. Most will never set foot on the turf or do anything than sit in one of the brightly coloured seats for which they have had to mortgage thir house, and sell their cars in order to buy a pie and a beer in a plastic cup.

Cricket and the AFL share grounds across the country, Rugby league, Union and Soccer have all been played on the MCG and Etihad. Not to mention the Gabba, Carrara and SCG. It can be done, it should be done. Theroetically the more use you get out of a stadium, the cheaper it should be for patrons to enter. Compare AFL entry prices at the MCG with anywhere else in the country for most sports.

Stadiums should be for the consideration of all.

Major Stadium Grants in 2011-12

Skoda Stadium (Sydney Showgrounds) – $20 million
Metricon Stadium (Gold Coast) – $144 million
Sydney Cricket Ground – $186 million
Melbourne Cricket Ground (Southern Stand) – $55 million
Simonds Stadium (Geelong) – $29 million
Adelaide Oval – $570 million
Burswood Stadium (Perth) – $700 million
NIB Stadium (Perth) – $82.5 million
Bellerive OVal (Tas) – $21 million (applied for)
WIN Stadium (NSW) – $29.8 million
Penrith Stadium (NSW) – $5 million
———————————————-
Total: 1.8 billion
———————————————-

The Twelve Days of Christmas – Bank Street

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Wookie

On the first day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
A guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the second day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see

On the third day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see

On the fourth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the fifth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the sixth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the seventh day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the eighth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Eight trashed hotel rooms,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the ninth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Nine large rats,
Eight trashed hotel rooms,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the tenth day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Ten toothless alley blow jobs,
Nine large rats,
Eight trashed hotel rooms,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Eleven lovely strippers,
Ten toothless alley blow jobs,
Nine large rats,
Eight trashed hotel rooms,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

On the Twelf day of Christmas Bank Street gave to me,
Twelve ugly prostitutes,
Eleven lovely strippers,
Ten toothless alley blow jobs,
Nine large rats,
Eight trashed hotel rooms,
Seven natives shouting,
Six broken windows,
Five cops all running,
four people without houses,
three people fighting,
two homeless druggies,
and a guy so drunk he couldnt even see.

Old Republic: Datacron List

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Wookie

For people like me who like to look for stuff like this

http://www.swtorstrategies.com/2011/10/complete-datacron-location-list.html

Leveling in the Old Republic 10-20 Part 1 (Sith Inquisitor)

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Wookie

So theres a 4 hour maintenance going on at the moment where they kick out the free loading early access guys, and I figured this was as good a time as any to move on to the next phase of the leveling experience.

Your Inquisitor story line requires you to head to Dromund Kaas, and so after selecting your crafting/gathering/mission skills and class speciality, you should head there, and begin the journey to Kaas city. (Unless you are PVP inclined and then theres a whole heap of missions on the Fleet. Im not so I wont be covering that).

The first thing that hits you when leaving the spaceport is the contrast in environments with Korriban. Where Korriban is sandy, rocky and constantly exposed to sunlight, Dromund Kaas is apparently in some sort of permanent twilight, full of jungles and rivers and creeks. Straying off the path into the jungle will undoubtedly lead you into one of the many heroic areas that dot the landscape.

Finally where Korriban was relatively small, Dromand Kaas is several times larger, and the zone is a decent size for the keen explorer. Fortunately speeder points and quick travel terminals are available at fairly regular intervals so its not unbearable, especially after level 14, but Ill get to that later.

Planetary Transport

I should briefly explain transport here. Until level 14 you walk everywhere, helped by landspeeders and the quicktravel function. For the experienced WoW player these are effectively flightpoints, and a much more mobile hearth ability. Unlike WoW this ability is not fixed to any one point, but can be used practically anywhere you find a speeder. On the downside, WoWs hearth ability is transferable across planets and continents, in Star Wars quicktravel is only available for the planet you are on.

Dromund Kaas features not only a spaceport but a shuttle as well from The Wall.

The Map

As previously explained your map is transparent if you have it open while moving, and in some cases features speeder points in locations you havent been to already, note that this is not always the case, but is useful when tryin to figure out where to go. The Map also includes co-ordinates, so you never find yourself in the situation where some idiot is telling you where something is based on an addon he has that you dont use.

Repairs

All gear can be repaired by Imperial Medical Droids, these are stationed all over the place, and can usually – but not always – be located not far from transport points. They also sell medpacks and “stims” – essentially buff potions for fortitude and similar stats.

The Questline continues…

Visits to Lord Zash are frequent at first, but the quests take you further and further away from Kaas City, and so interaction with your Sith Master is less burdensome that it potentially could be.

Arriving in Kaas City it looks massive, going into the city it FEELs massive. However this is sadly just a reflection on the Empires apparent desire to build huge plazas and wide roads, than any massive urban area. I was disappointed by this as most of the city serves as a painted backdrop and the areas of your exploration are somewhat limited in scope.

Upon arrival you can take the taxi straight to the central Kaas station, but there are quests and holocrons within easy reach, and being something of a completionist, I obviously opted to go down the latter path.

The Dromund Kaas story line is all about the continuing search for power with your master issuing directives and you carrying them out. These typically also are your breadcrumb quests which lead you from one zone to the next within the planet and then on to the next one. Dont be afraid to kill mobs enroute because these will frequently yield bonus quests.

Bag Space, vendoring and saving

The Fleet has your bank until you get your space ship. As is my want, I expanded my bag space as soon as I had the 5,000 credits to do so. You should feel comfortable enough to do that and still not have to worry about funds for your land transport. (Ill cover this later but I ended up with 20,000 credits over the needed funds without playing the galactic market or anything.)

If I havent mentioned it already, your companion can be sent off to vendor all your grey items, this typically takes one or two minutes.

Level 14 = Sprint

Until level 14 you are walking everywhere, its not terribly burdensome on Korriban and even Dromund Kaas isnt too bad (no similar epic walks to WoW where you could walk from Loch modan to Menethil Harbor for those with long WoW memories). At Level 14, you gain that most critical of attributes: Sprint. It makes a world of difference, trust me, especially on the next planet, and you can leave it on permanently, although you need to hit it again if you die.

You’ll use sprint a lot until you get your own speeder license at 25.

Level 16: Space, the final Frontier

At level 16, you will generally be almost done with Dromand Kaas, its possible that its even further along if you have significant rested experience saved up. However, your spaceship is tied in with your quest line, and so its likely you’ll be near the end of the planets quests when you receive your orders to proceed onward to a new area, and with it comes your own spaceship.

Your ship contains among other things, a bank vault, this is accessible from bank vendors as well as the ship itself. The ship can have various parts upgradeable to make it faster or give it more armor and firepower. The ship itself is the same model as one you use in Knights of the Old Repiublic Unfortunately, you cant quick travel back to the ship, and it seems you are condemned to walking through the spaceport/fleet/orbital station looking for it.

The Ship also contains your map of the galaxy, and so after Dromund Kaas the universe opens up for you.

And three makes company…

As an added bonus, you receive a second companion with your star ship, this time effectively a medical droid. Personally I find it easier to have Khem Val (an effective tank) running around with me, while my droid levels my crew skills, but this is a matter of taste depending on your speciality.

On to new worlds!

If all goes well, the Questline will take you out of Dromund Kaas, with the option of hitting Nar Shadaa or Balmorra. Nar Shadaa mobs start at around level 21, and most people seem to finish Dromund Kaas at around 16 or 17, so I strongly recommend Balmorra. This I will deal with in part 2.

Leveling in the Old Republic (Level 10) – Sith Inquisitor

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Wookie

Our journey from Korriban leads us straight to the Imperial Fleet, and its here that the game increases from the basic leveling you’ve done on Korriban. Its here that you will select your crafting choices and your class speciality. Id also like to touch on a few things that i neglected in the last article.

Training and Crafting

Your speciailty is unchangeable and theres a fairly detailed explanation of each class choice available from your trainer. For the Inquisitor, this means that you will be pigeon holed into either damage or healing, as this is where your talent trees take you. From here on when you train, the tab will feature skills for the Inquistor, and the Sorcerer – make sure you get both.

With your specialisation chosen, you should take the time to visit the profession trainers. You can only take one crafting profession, and there are a wide variety of other gathering and mission trainers available. Being me, I selected Scavenging, Investigation and Treasure Hunting as my three.

Heres where the game throws you a curve, not only do the companions you have fight for you, and cash in your low rated items for credits, you can send them off to level your professions as well. This takes anywhere up to 6 minutes with the average being about 3 minutes, and is a welcome change for the experienced WoW player whose used to standing around for ages leveling professions and doing little else. Later when you get your second companion (at 16), you can send the one you dont have with you off to do the jobs for you, thereby not impacting your combat ability.

Heroic zones and Flashpoints

With all that done, its time to choose whether you take the ordinary shuttle to Drumon Kaas or the Black Talon as hooked up by your master. The Black Talon is a two man flashpoint, and again represents a change for people used to either having to solo or forced into groups of 5.

The two man run was decent, the objectives werent overly taxing, and most of all, it was fun. Bioware seem to have decided that there is room for all manner of group sizes in the game, and so these little adventures are for anywhere up to 4 people (at level 19 ive yet to see one assigned for larger groups). You’ll know the recommended group size because the quest tracker will list it as “heroic 2+ or heroic 4″ etc.

There are several of these on Korriban, and Drumon Kaas is liberally scattered with them, the innocent level 10 explorer will come across these elite mobs running around the jungle freaking out new comers, the heroic zones are literally marked heroic when you enter them. For Vanilla wow players, this is the equivelant of early Jintha Alor in the Hinterlands or areas in the original tier 0.5 upgrade chains.

Importantly, you gain social points for doing things in a group. This enables you to buy things from various social vendors.

Instancing and Storyline mobs

The game neatly does away with quest mob griefing by ensuring that mobs at the end of quest lines are safely locked away for you and your group. Some are for individual Sith Inquisitors and some are for your group as well. These are typically shown by a green doorway.

Solo Inquistor zones are usually pertinent to the Inquistor story line, and similar zones exist for all classes as part of Biowares excellent commitment to the class story lines.

Holocrons – Lore and Statistics

There are Holocrons scattered throughout the game, at least three that ive found on Drummon Kaas, and two on Korriban that I know of. These will grant you increases in knowledge and more importantly, some will give you permanent increases in stats. Be on the look out for roads and paths that go nowhere, and this is one of the best reasons you should thoroughly explore everything.

In addition, you can pick up lore from various tablets and displays lying around the place. These will show up as Codexes when you’ve clicked on them.

Self regeneration

Another awesome feature, and one I left out on the earlier article is the Sith feature, Seethe. No longer do you have to sit and eat and drink when a few seconds of Seethe will grant you health back. All classes have a similar ability and this is one of the many reasons Im finding Old Republic to be a better MMO than WoW.

Dark Side/Light Side choices and You

Your conversations with NPCs will occasionally lead you to make choices which will lead you further down the path of the dark side or send you on the treacherous path to the light side. For a sith, you are expected to be arrogant and attempting to kill everything in sight when its an option is usually your best bet. Why else do you think I went Sith lol.

Its important to note that your dark/light side score will determine some of the gear you can use. Your score can be found on your character tab, by pressing C.

And with that done…its on to Drumon Kaas! next article of course.

Leveling in the Old Republic – 1-10 (Sith Inquisitor)

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Wookie

Anyone who knows anything about me will be aware that ive done a vast amount of Warcraft playing over the years. Some would say too much. As the somewhat proud owner of some ten characters of every class and race past level 80, and most to 85, I believe that i can refer with some authority to the the leveling process in WoW.

Playing old republic has its familiar elements, make no mistake. The UI is relatively simple, action bars are located in the same place.

The Sith starting world is Korriban, a desolate wasteland devoid of most plant life and seemingly inhabited by rogue sith, badly programmed droids and the usual rebel scum. The zone is not large which is good since at this time you’ll be walking, with occasional help from speeders and such.

The zone is specifically designed to funnel you through the initial process of learning to use your abilities, get introduced to the sith way of doing things and learning to use various abilities. Reaching the Sith Academy on Korriban is relatively simple where you meet your overseer, and find out who you are working for, the lovely Lord Zash.

ok at this point there are a couple of key differences in questing. For one, the “kill a hundred boars” syndrome that is usually applied to WoW isnt the main game here. Yes, its there, but at no point to date has it been a critical part. The “kill X such and such” quests form an incidental part of the quests you are already on, tend to come up automatically as bonus quests which are up to you to complete, but no mission critical. In most cases, you’d be killing the mobs anyway so it doesnt really hurt.

A great feature is the map. Yes I know every game has a map, but unlike WoW the map can be open and transparent while moving, and is available anywhere in the game – caves, citadels, cities, flashpoints, ships. You can literally follow the full size map and see where you are going at the same time. it automatically lists available quest givers and vendors, and quest mobs. Its an awesome tool whether experienced MMO player or novice.

Another excellent feature – and sorely missing from WoW – is the ability to AOE loot bodies. One click and your looting everything within a short distance. It saves so much time and effort.

A feature that i find curious is the companions. You gain a combat companion – not pet – at around level 9 or 10, for the Inquistor this is called Khem Val, and he is effectively your tank. Companions can benefit from gear and enhancement mods, just as your own character can.

In this way, Inquisitors are a mixnmatch Mage/Warlock/Priest class (more direct damage, less dots/some healing abilities/combat pets). This becomes more apparent when you reach the Fleet and choose your specialty at level 10.

Another excellent feature, is your ability to resurrect either at the med centre (effectively a graveyard) or wait for the droid to be available to resurrect you where you are. If you die a lot the timer on the droid can blow right out to ten minutes.

The final – and superb – feature is another that WoW could learn from, bag space can be bought – initial increase is 5,000 credits (followed by a 20k credit buy) which is fairly easy to get hold of by the time you hit Droman Kaas. If you need bag space, you can send your companion off to sell your grey items to a vendor. This typically takes about a minute before they return.

Mission items are kept in a separate inventory, and as such dont take up bag space at all.

By level 10, you’ll have scored your lightsaber, you will be ready to leave Korriban, and move on to the Fleet. A meeting with your master will send you on to your next planet, in the case of the Inquisitor, on to Droman Kaas via the Imperial Fleet. This will be the subject of the next article.

In short, leveling 1-10 in Old Republic is fast, you’ll do it in hours, just as you would in WoW, but without much of the tediousness involved. The storyline is very well done, and for Australians at least, many accents will be familiar. There are so few american voice actors, and what appears to be many from the UK and even Australia, in the cast. For fans of star wars its heavily recommended, for Wow players looking for something different – this is it. Oh it wont kill WoW, not with an expansion around the corner, but its engrossing enough to keep me going for quite some time.

Finally the light at the end of the AFL Pay Deal

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Wookie

Like a fine wine, some things take a while to be settled to everyones satisfaction. For the last 19 months the AFLPA and the AFL have waged a war of words on the media about affordability, cost and potential action. There was talk of a temporary one year deal, three year deal and a mandatory 5 year deal. We were treated to an endless parade of player representatives threatening potential strike action and Fair Work Australia intervention, and the AFL saying that hey heres our offer, do with it what you will. Oh and it will be five years whether you like it or not.

Todays announcement that everyone has come out a winner should be no surprise to anyone. Andrew Demetriou is nothing if not a worthy negotiator, and lets not forget he was in charge of the AFLPA when they received their present deal. Essentially everyone got most of what they wanted, and a few goodies appear to have been thrown in.

The players didnt receive their stated goal of 25-27% of the games revenue, but they will receive 1.144 billion in pay and benefits over the next 5 years, subject to a review in 3 years time. This is prudent as the AFL almost always ends up with more money than it plans for, in fact it was just the other day that they announced they expect an extra 140 million to be found over the next 5 years. The amazing thing about this revelation for me is if the players didnt get 25% of the games revenue, it means the AFL and clubs will generate around 6 billion in cash revenues over the next 5 years. Thats a hefty amount to dream about.

By 2016, the Salary cap will have risen to 10.2 million per club, much of this is funded by the AFL from TV rights. Bear this in mind too, with total player payment increases being funded by the AFLs income, and not the clubs, this means the AFL believes that it will in effect be able to spend almost the entire tv revenue on players, and still have enough left to fund the leagues operations – including the 200 million for Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. Clubs will have to pay a minimum 95% of the cap up from 92.5%.

In addition, clubs will be able to employ players in Additional Services Agreements to the value of up to a million dollars by the end of the deal.

Retirement funding has been increased to around $70 millionn. Players will finally receive some retirement pay, the AFL and AFLPA hasnt been entirely clear on eligibility for this, but from what was released today it seems that retiring players will receive a guaranteed $20,000 per year after the game is done. While this doesnt seem like much, theres likely to be room for growth on this in the future. It sure as hell beats nothing. Maybe we’ll see an end to retired players selling off medals for easy cash. The AFL is billing this the best retirement scheme in Australian sport.

Player wages will rise to almost $300,000 on average, and rookie wages wil rise to $49,000 next year to almost $60,000 in the final year. This is a minimum, and no maximum is specifed. A big win for rookies, and a decent chunk for the mid level AFL player. Whether this makes AFL players the best remunaterated sportsmen in the country as claimed by the AFL is doubtful, especially with figures released recently showing Cricket players dominating the pay scales locally making millions per year. Some will argue that the AFL funds more jobs, and theres little doubt that the AFL do pay more over all.

Players will get a guaranteed day off per week enshrined in the CBA, and six weeks guaranteed annual leave, which is probably fair enough too. Player education and welfare will be more closely taken care of with all clubs to appoint a player development manager. In addition the AFL has guaranteed decent seating on aircraft while traveling, including exit row seats, and mulitple seats per player where required.

The Veterans list is now gone, absorbed back into the general list which will not include rookies at this time, despite this being the subject of a players association push during negotiations. CLub lists will now expand to 46 + up to 6 rookies. Effectively this is 936 playing jobs.

For the first time, players injured in second tier competition – I believe that is the AFL listed players in state leagues, Id be shocked if it was all state league players since I doubt the CBA applies to them – will be covered for injury. Benefits for players with career ending injuries have been increased by up to 200%. Death and Disability insurance cover will rise to $1 million from $500,000, and a quarter of a million dollars is allocated to former players with football related health concerns.

All up its a pretty sweet deal on offer, and well done to both parties for getting it done before the NAB Cup was threatened. Bring on the AFL 2012 season.

ref: http://mm.afl.com.au/portals/0/2011/images/cba_presentation_%20151211.pdf

2012 Foxtel Cup Details announced

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Wookie

The AFL has recently released the Foxtel Cup details for 2012. The Foxtel Cup was created in 2011 as a viable national second tier competition for Australian Football – and as

the 2012 competition shows, not just as a GWS develpment vehicle – and as such proved to be reasonably successful, so much so that the AFL will continue with it into a second

year. The competition takes the top ranked senior clubs in each state and territory and pits them against each other.

If you are new to the concept, this is an invitation only competition where qualification requires your team to be highly ranked in the most senior competition in your state

or territory, outside of the AFL. Foxtel Cup matches are played during scheduled byes in your league calendar, and any travel is funded by the AFL and Foxtel. Some SANFL clubs

have refused to particpate due to a percieved lack of cash on offer and the potential for burnout if players effectively forfeit the bye.

Prize money for this years competition is up by around 20% making the first prize about fifty thousand dollars, and total prize money about three hundred thousand dollars.
Debuting in this years competition are the VFL premier, Port Melbourne, Mt Gravatt (QLD), Subiaco and West Perth (WA), and South Adelaide (SANFL). Burnie and Launceston come

in for Tasmania, both debutantes in this competition. Like last year, the top three South Australian sides declined to participate.

Gone from the 2011 competition are Swan Districts (WA), Clarence (Tas), North Ballarat (Vic), Northern Bullants (Vic), North Adelaide (SA), and Labrador (QLD). Greater Western

Sydney have been promoted to the AFL in line with their development plan, and been replaced by a second Tasmanian side

The clubs participating are:

Vic – Williamstown (defending champion), Port Melbourne, Werribee
NSW – Sydney Hills Eagles
QLD – Morningside, Mt Gravatt
Tas – Launceston, Burnie
ACT – Ainslie
WA – West Perth, Claremont (2010 runner up), Subiaco
SA – Port Adelaide, South Adelaide, West Adelaide
NT – NT Thunder

Many of the clubs participating in the Cup form some of the oldest clubs in the country

In order of foundation:

Williamstown (1864), Port Adelaide (1870), Port Melbourne (1874), Launceston (1875), South Adelaide (1876), West Perth (1885), West Adelaide (1891), Subiaco (1896), Claremont

(1906), Ainslie (1927), Morningside (1947), Werribee (1965), Mt Gravatt (1970), Sydney Hills (1976), Burnie (1995), NT Thunder (2008)

Like last year, the matches are exclusive to Foxtel, however in a shift, most round 1 matches will be played and broadcast from 11am, as opposed to right before an AFL game

regardless of when it was played as was the case in 2010. The round 1 match in WA will start at 2pm. In 2011 they were almost all exclusively broadcast from 3pm on.

The round 1 Foxtel Cup Fixture (starts March 31 with matches weekly)

Morningside v Launceston (metricon Stadium)
Port Adelaide v Subiaco (Aami Stadium)
Werribee v Burnie (Etihad or Aurora TBA)
Ainslie v West Perth (Blacktown – not a curtainraiser)
Claremont v West Adelaide (Pattersons Stadium – not a curtainraiser)
Sydney Hills v Mt Gravatt (SCG)
Williamstown v South Adelaide (MCG)
NT Thunder v Port Melbourne (TIO Stadium)

Predictions

Its considerably early, however if Port Melbourne can get over the trip to the Territory in round 1, I fully expect them to take out the flag. Reigning champions Williamstown

were beaten pretty easily by Port Melbnourne who went through 2010 undefeated in the VFL. After the Tasmanian showing last year, Im not sure if doubling the number of teams

from that state was prudent. I expect Claremont to put on another good showing in the Cup. The continuing lack of upper echelon SANFL teams means the upper level teams from

Victoria and WA should have a relatively easy 2012 competition with the Thunder being the dark horse for mine.

A complaint to Weight Watchers

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Wookie

Dear Weight Watchers,
C/o Complaints People.

Having recently gotten wedged in an elevator and needing the jaws of life and a large bucket of used lard to extricate myself, I came to the realisation that I was fat. Not just mildly fat, but the kind of size that Australia Post assigns its own post codes too, or the sort of body that only Nasa can fully appreciate. Consequently, I recently embarked on an atempt to better my diet, partly by consuming some of your pre-cooked frozen meals.

I began by purchasing several containers of what were labelled “Thai Chicken Curry”. Having read the instructions and taken shelter behind the couch so I didnt go sterile from stray microwaves – after all I may want some chubby children of my own some day – I proceeded to heat the meal for the prescribed 6-7 minutes. So far so good. At this stage was I unaware of the Pandoras box I had opened and the subsequent yawning chasm that had unexpectedly opened beneath my feet.

If you had any kind of half decent education you would be well aware of the mythology concerning Pandoras Box, but then maybe you went to a public school. Nevertheless, According to the Greeks it was the box that held all the evils in the world in it, and when Pandora emptied it out, all its contents spilled onto the earth except one. That item was hope. To paraphrase this into something remotely relevant, the box content of the aforementioned Thai Chicken Curry meal, contained many things, except one. Chicken.

One figures upon many things being missing from a Thai Chicken Curry Meal. Human Body parts, for instance are not expected in a Chicken Curry meal of any variety, no matter where you are from. Nor do you expect any kind of nuclear waste to be lurking beneath the curried spices. Nor should you expect cute little puppies – although this can vary depending on where you are in Asia at the time.

Quite frankly, I was horrified and dsitraught to discover that my Thai Chicken Curry was devoid of all manner of chicken. Its not like theres a world wide Chicken shortage. There are 50 billion chickens raised for cooking every year, and yet not one piece of these tens of billions of chickens out there apparently qualified for the Weight Watchers Thai Chicken Curry I had to choke down last night.

While the Curry was very much in evidence, and no one seriously expected a little Thai person to jump out of the package, the box was however utterly bereft of chicken. I would ask that in future chicken be included in such meals that are advertised as containing chicken, lest humanity fall into despair and people lose faith in our corporate masters whom we follow with such blindess and expectation as to be near sycophantic in our loyalty towards our dietry master.

Finally if none of this works on your conscience, consider the ramifications of a rampant chicken overpopulation. Weight watchers like the venerable KFC before it, presumably kills a lot of chickens every year for use in their product. With a world population exceeding 30 billion, imagine a world over-run with wild and angry chickens. I for one will bow before our new Chicken overlords, helping to round up dissenters and protesters. Theres a grim reality ahead of us if you dont act now, where the Chicken takes dominion over Man. No longer will humanity be masters of its own destiny, as the planet burns in the fiery rotisserie of the chicken revolution.

Yours sincerely,

Jason Lassey
e: the_wookie@adam.com.au
p: 0459 707 967

Apple: A menace to the future of mankind as we know it

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Wookie

We all know an Apple fan boy. He owns an iphonet. Hes the only person you know that owns an iMac. He swears by the companies designs and “inventions”. Well, surely the latest news has to give even the most ardent fruit lover cause for concern.

It was recently reported that an Iphone spontaneously combusted on an aircraft in Australia, while just a day later another one went up in smoke in Brazil. It strikes me as somewhat odd that this feature is not widely reported in reviews of the iphone or indeed any smartphone.

Speaking only for myself here but i believe that things like 3G, wi-fi access, screen size and touchability, app availability, reception, antennas, cases and such, pale into insignificance when compared to the risks these miniature death traps pose to mankind and yet the issue of flamability has been overlooked time and time again. At best this is negligent, and at worst its a cover up that would make Watergate look like a boy scout jamboree.

Apple is popular in the smartphone and tablet space, so much so that all this time we’ve been suspecting apple of plotting just to take over the world of electronic appliances, when the brutal reality is they may be part of a simple plot to reduce the planets overpopulation.

Wookie, you say, theres only been 2 reports of fires so far, dont you think your over-reacting? No. No I dont. And Ill tell you why. Reporting Iphone fires are like reporting a rape. Very few incidents are reported, many are silenced by hush money, and no one ever really gets justice. We all know that they are out there, these tiny little computerised volcanos, ready to explode without warning – I dont think its too far a stretch to suggest that these may be even staged at the push of a button from an office somewhere in the Apple HQ.

We all know what the next step is of course, miniaturisation and nanotechnology has advanced to the point where it will be possible to miniaturise nuclear weapons, this will give Apple quite the strangehold on modern society if they can say that there are several million mini-nukes around the world. Society as we know it would end. Im not trying to say it definitely will happen, but my sources tell me that the only reason they Iphone 5 isnt out yet is because the reception wasnt reliable enough – not for the customer – but for the upper echelons at Apple to issue commands reliably to the onboard nano-nuke to tell it when to go off.

Now Im not trying to instigate a worldwide panic, although i strongly suggest getting a survival kit, plenty of canned goods and bottled water, and prepare for the apocalypse. People predicted Green House warming, some hoped for Zombies, still others are waiting for the Asteroid in the 2012 – but the cruel reality is that Apple will be the end of us. One person at a time.

The more sober minded of us will recall that former President George Bush talked about his New World Order, and it was about the same time that Apple began to climb up the ladder of power, into the nest of influence. Im not saying that Senior members of Apple are members of the Illuminati, and that they together with the CIA and the Foreign Relations Committee, in conjunction with the Treaty of Rome and the European Community are working together to rid the world of the weak, namby pamby individuals who fluff their hair, clean their finger nails, and wear their fashionable clothes, drive their fancy cars by making Apple products appear irresistable to these feeble minded sheep with the ultimate goal perhaps being to kill them all off, leaving the strong to fight for their survival in the Mad Max style future that is soon to be upon us where a man will turn upon his brother, a husband against his wife, and children against their parents, and pets against the children. I cant see into that dark, harsh future my friends, I can only speculate.

On the other hand, one wonders if samsung could just go to court in its patent trial and say “well we can think of one key difference between our stuff and their stuff…ours doesnt catch fire.” Theres an advertising ploy that would take the market by storm. Forget the little digs Nokia and others are taking – hit em where it burns.

* Dear Apple Lawyers, please note. This is satire.

Speechman #028: Faulty testing

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Wookie

Old Republic News and updates

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Wookie

Darth Hater website is quoting Stephen Reid as saying that the beta client from the Nov 28 weekend will be patchable to release saving you around 15gb of downloads!

FAQ: if you played this weekend you do NOT need to uninstall the #SWTOR client. We are planning to patch it to Early Game Access / Live.

Old Republic Trailers

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Wookie

Star Wars – Old Republic: A new Game for a new Era

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Wookie

Those who know me will be aware that Im an unabashed fan of World of Warcraft. Ive been playing WoW since September 2005, have raised one of every class to 85, including all professions. Due to the nature of my work Ive been able to play a lot to fill time, and at the moment my /played in game is more than 18 months in REAL time.

As my chosen moniker suggests Im something of a fan of Star Wars, and so I had been determined to give this a shot as soon as the game was announced in 2008. Now at long last, the chance has arrived, and having just finished a weekend in beta, I can honestly say that the game genuinely excites me.

System

Toshiba Sattelite (laptop)
Intel Core i5
4gb DDR3
Nvidia GT525M

The recommended system for this:

Core 2 Duo/Athlon equiv
Geforce 7800 GTX/Radeon X800 GT
2gb RAM
Win Xp
Directx 9
15gb HDD space

Graphics

Old Republic is a little more advanced than the WoW graphics engine – and it should be given that the WoW engine has been around for several years – however the game has some issues – at least in the beta – but this is more in the details than anything. You spend a lot of time in closeups with NPCs whose facial hair looks like it was scribbled on with a texta. That said, the scenery is outstanding – from a distance. Close up, it can leave a lot to be desired. Dont be expecting Far Cry like graphics here.

There are the usual options to tinker around with, but again, its a very simple arrangement.

Character

My chosen character for this was a female Sith Inquisitor, whom i conveniently named to as Wookiesith. (People familiar with my WoW nomenclature will know i do all my characters like this). Customisation options are nothing particularly spectacular, but are relatively easy to setup, and then you are on your way.

The Sith Inquisitor at a glance appears to be a hybrid healer/dps with talents that would be familiar to wow players from mage, warlock and priest classes. The armor class for this character is described as “light”, more or less a cloth character.

Instead of mana, and intellect, Old Republic have provided the Force, and Willpower is the stat it comes from. More Willpower = more Force. This adds to the familiarity that will aid many a WoW player to come to the dark side.

Ive specifically chosen a Sith, because after six years, Im fed up with playing “good” guys, and the chance to play something inherently “evil” was too good to pass up. Even though I only reached level 20 in the beta, I can say that my desire for a truly evil Sith is satisfied. The ability to smite NPCs and Quest givers who offend you is something never really possible in the family friendly fun that is WoW. Old Republic Sith classes cater to a far more bloodthirsty character type.

Like WoW, you start with no talents, and begin to collect them at level 10. The talent trees are reminiscent of Wow prior to the Great Simplification, and there is plenty of scope for individuality at this early stage of the game.

Once you’ve chosen your class, and leveled to 10, you can then select an advanced class. For the Sith Inquisitor this becomes a choice between Assassin and Sorcerer. I chose Sorcerer, as hand to hand combat has never appealed to me all that much – that said, people wanting to dual wield or use double bladed sabers ala Darth Maul should select Assassin at this point in the selection process. However if you like the idea of frying stuff with Force Lightening then Sorceror is the way of the future.

This speciality can be selected via an NPC in the Imperial Fleet or at the next Capital.

The level cap at this time seems to be set to 50.

Companions

You’ll find as you go along that you will receive companions. These differ for each class, and never seem to shut up which can be annoying if you are around other people with companions because you can all hear each others companions.

The companions can all recieve gear and upgrades from your loot and vendors. Another great thing is that the companion can be sent to sell off all your useless items to a vendor, even if you arent near them (they come back).

Quests

Ive never been a PVP person, so if thats what you want to know about, Id suggest you move on to other reviews. As a PVE player however, I found this to be a very linear progression up until around level 16 where your options become much wider. Up until this point, the game very much steers you where it wants you to go as you learn abilities and get to know your smoking hot Sith master, Lord Zash. The game generally leads you from one zone to the next, and at early stages at least, has a definitive path for you to travel.

Here the game whilst being simple in its assigning of Quests and routes to follow, doesnt highlight mobs and indicate quest targets the way WoW has taken to doing, and while this is only the beta, it should appeal to those who prefer things “the hard way”.

Along with your assigned quests, you pick up seemingly random bonus quests along the way, which are effectively side quests which are no trouble at all to finish while you do the main chains. Turning in a quest is relatively automatic about half the time, with the other half requiring a return to a quest giver.

Dungeons and Heroic Zones – “Flash Points”

Flash points are generally group events, the Mission log will tell you how many are required for the flash point or heroic quests. Entire zones are designated “heroic areas”, and remind me very much of old school Jintha Alor and other areas from the Wow 0.5 tier upgrade quests.

An innovation is effectively a single player dungeon. These are generally located at the end of Quest chains and signify something major is about to happen. These are only available to one player at a time – however this is a great change from having to wait for an NPC to respawn after some other clown has killed it. It also prevents griefing to an extent. This will be a huge benefit in the early days of the game after launch.

Travel

Travel takes a number of forms. Unlike WoW theres no hearthing ability, but a “Quick Travel” function that can return you to any number of discovered points you’ve previously been to – these are discovered when you click on a terminal beside the taxi point). In the beta this is on a 30 minute cooldown.

Mundane transport is provided in the form of taxi points, these are usually landspeeders or aircraft, and can only travel to other connected points in their flight path. These are fairly frequent.

Walking. Up until level 25, get used to it. Sometime between level 15 and 17 you get the Sprint function which is a hell of a lot faster, and can be toggled on and off.

Your class quests lead you to your own personal spacecraft at level 16. This vehicle can be used for travel or combat and communicating with your Sith Master. It seems to be an oversight that you cant Quick travel back to your own craft, but must go to the spaceport, find the Inquistor hanger – each class has their own – and then use the holoterminal inside the craft. The downside of your spacecraft is every time you enter or leave the thing, you get a damn cutscene.

Land transport becomes available at 25, which i failed to reach.

Death

Your death happens occasionally, and generally two options will present themselves – you can get a probe to resurrect you or you can pop back up at the nearest med station, whether you’ve discovered it or not is irrevelant. Med stations are fairly frequent. Like most MMOs your gear will take a hit when you die.

Taking the rez on the spot from a probe will result in a cutscene again which serves a purpose only the devs must know, but gets irritating over time.

Reputation

You gain points with the Dark side/Light side as you go along, your choices in conversation generally reflected with a darkside or lightside icon inside the conversation hub. This is not always the case, and many a Sith will occasionally gain light side points by mistake.

You further gain points with your companions depending on which companion you have out and their preferences. At level 20 in the beta, the Sith Inquisitor has two companions, a tank/warrior (received at level 5) and a droid with capabilities that include healing (recieved at 16).

Gear and Equipment Modification

You can modify your gear at Enhancement stations using Mods you receive as loot or rewards and these can be inserted onto clothes, weapons, armor and vehicles. These are generally located in Capital Cities

PVP, Space Combat, Professions, level 21+ and more

So many things I didnt get time to look at, but there seems to be plenty to do and plenty to keep me engaged at this time and for some time to come.

Australian Availability

The game is slated for release on December 20th in North America and Western Europe only. It cannot be digitally downloaded in Australia or elsewhere not in those two zones, and there is at present no release date for it, and cannot be pre-ordered online at this time.

Amazon is your savior here, the game is $75 with regular shipping ($84 with express), and comes with an early access code that should give you anywhere up to 5 days access before the launch date. Theory is that this is dependant on how early you registered.

See: http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Pc/dp/B001CWXAP2/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1322577739&sr=1-1

Old Republic staff are on record as saying that you will be able to play on US servers if you are overseas, similar to how Wow Players do now. They have categorically stated there will be no ip blocking. Quite how this works with the EA origin client may well be another story.

Summary

This is a great game. Star Wars has its own extensive Lore which means that unlike WoW, much of what you are seeing is content and references derived from its own universe, and not so much taken from other games and films.

The ability to be truly evil, take out your enemies – even if they are on the same side – and generally wander the game being an utter bastard to all and sundry, is a welcome change from the lovey dovey approach taken by other MMOs. Old Republic immerses the Sith player into all the intrigue, plots and mayhem one would expect of a Sith.

Content is stream lined and hopefully there is more of it as you go through the game, but having seen the Galaxy Map, there seems to be plenty of places to go and plenty of things to do.

The game is more than just a reskinned Warcraft in Space, but with just enough elements borrowed that it will not be alien or difficult to use for anyone making the transition from WoW to Old Republic.

Further references:

http://swtor.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic_Wiki
http://www.swtor.com

Bolvar

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Wookie

Introduction

He sat quietly on his throne overlooking his domain. A being of immense power, unmatched by any mortal man, with minions and armies aplenty, the pain of his recent transformations and torments still very much fresh in his memory, with scars that could never heal, and wounds that could not be treated by any on Azeroth.

Outside the wind howled and snow and ice prevented any kind of real visibility, which was just as well, for the surrounding landscape had been ravaged by the minions of his immediate predecessor. Now they were his minions.

At times the eerie silence of his cold, massive palace irritated him, but not this day, as he sought refuge inside his own memories, wielding them like a shield to stave off his demons..

He’d had a name once, although he could often not even remember it. The people of Northrend however, knew him as the Lich King.

Prologue

Stormwind was in a state of flux. In a matter of days the city had gone from celebrating its restoration to tensions so thick you could cut them with a knife.

With Stormwind City almost completely rebuilt after the Third War, the Stonemasons Guild had gone to the King for payment. The King had assured them the Crown would pay, but that matters to do with the city itself fell within the purview of the House of Lords.

Faced with a mounting bill for the repair work, and a huge bill to support the outlying forces, the House flatly refused to pay the price asked and sent the bill back to the Guild unpaid.

Protests began almost immediately.

The Four members of the House of Lords were in shock, the streets were in turmoil, and there riots. Shops and merchandise had been set on fire. The city burned. People had died.

Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind, Leader of the Alliance sat at the head of the table.

“Why has this come to me again?” he roared, “The royal seal was attached to these months ago. How has this not been paid?”

Lord Gregor Escavar smoothed out his moustaches nervously before answering quietly. “Your majesty, we considered the request and given the current state of rebuilding as well as the cost of recent wars, we simply do not have the money to pay.”

The Kings face was mottled with fury. “My Lord Escavar, the money was there months ago when I authorised the payment. My treasury does however report that that the four of you have over the same time been able to authorise payment for your own dwellings out of MY treasury.”

At the far end of the table, the King observed the slim figure of the only female member of the House, the Lady Katrana Prestor move uncomfortably. To her right, Count Ergalidin raised his hand.

“Your majesty, I don’t see how accusing us of embezzlement is going to save this situation. We need alternatives. Perhaps offering the stonemasons positions in the royal household will hold them off until we can work out payment”.

The King stood. “My Lords and Lady, make the offer, but if one more person dies as a result of this, on your head be it.”.

The Guild master was a man by the name of Edwin Van Cleef, who learnt the trade at his father’s knee, and had gladly leant his skills and comrades to the rebuilding of the city, as well as the construction of the new fortress at Nethergarde. For a man who was usually bright and cheerful, and quite at home with a jug of beer in one hand and a wench in the other, he was putting on quite a show of anger.

“You want to offer us positions in the royal household?? Are you serious, My Lord? They can’t even pay us for the work we’ve already done and you want us to accept more government work?” My dear Escavar, we’ve had enough. You think it’s bad now? By tomorrow it will be worse.”

Escavar shook his head. “You would dare open rebellion against the King? If he calls out the army, you’ll be massacred?”

Van Cleef smiled. “Well that’s not likely. Marcus Jonathon would never deploy inside the city against his own people unless the King directly orders it so, and the Queen supports our cause. We can’t lose.”

Escavar gritted his teeth. “You better hope nothing happens to the Queen then”.

Varian Wrynn stalked down the corridors of the palace. He’d thought the House were such good people once, able to share the responsibility with him for the city, and enable him to focus on other threats to the Kingdom as well as rebuilding the Kingdom after the losses of the war. He shook his head. Too many good men had been lost whom he’d respected.

He turned, just in time to see a small blurry form jump out at him with a shout! Momentarily stunned, it took the King a moment to realise he’d been ambushed by his own son, but not before they’d both tumbled down the hallway and pulled a curtain down on top of them both.

His wife appeared, and taking in the scene, burst out laughing.

“He’s been doing that for a week. The palace staff are being terrorised by a boy who thinks he’s the second coming of Turalayon!”

The King sat up and was helped to his feet by the Queen. They both turned to help their son up, but already the boy had run off to his next nefarious deed for the day. The king rubbed his forehead ruefully, “I’ll need to put a guard on that boy”.

The Queen sat down; Varian came over and sat next to her. “I assume you’ve heard of the Councils latest lunacy? The city will explode tomorrow. I’m afraid I’m going to have to deploy troops to prevent further bloodshed”.

“I don’t understand why they can’t be paid? Can’t you pay them?” asked the Queen.

“Unfortunately, while I have much power over my subjects, responsibility for the city lies with the House. It’s been that way for centuries. As much as I would like to execute the lot at times, I don’t think that would go down too well.” The king smiled.

“Deploying soldiers will just make it worse though Varian! You’ll be adding weapons and armour to a protest which so far has just singed a few merchants! Please don’t add to the bloodshed…for me?” The Queen pleaded.

“When could I ever refuse you, my lovely Queen? I will hold off on the army for now, but if it gets out of control tomorrow then I’ll have no choice.”

————————

Commander of the Stormwind City Defence, General Marcus Jonathon, and the secretive commander of Stormwind Intelligence, Matthias Shaw, sat quietly in a corner of the inn. Neither was feeling particularly happy about the prospects for the following day.

“The king refuses to deploy troops even to prevent possible bloodshed. He believes the people have seen enough of armies for a while and that this will antagonise things further. Do we know anything about the stonemason’s guild and their intentions?”

Shaw shook his head. ‘We’ve been unable to get anyone inside the organisation. We know who a few of the big wheels are, but we’ve got no idea what’s going on with their planning.”

The General swore. “One spark and this place is going to go up like a bonfire”.

It started early. The crowds had filled the court yard shortly after dawn, and by the time the King had been awoken, the crowd was already in fine voice. Outside, Count Ersgalid begged for them to calm down. The assorted guild members, now joined by various other disaffected elements and malcontents numbered in their thousands.

Queen Tiffin looked out her window at the seething mass of humanity below. She turned to her maid “They know I’m on their side, perhaps I should go talk to them”.

Her maid looked horrified “Your majesty that’s quite dangerous. The King would never allow it”.

Tiffin looked all the more determined. “That’s why we won’t tell him first”.

The Queen stepped out onto the balcony, and waited for Lord Escavar to finish his turn at calming down the crowd. Count Esgarlid’s face was white.

“Your majesty can’t be here. It’s not safe. If anything happened the king would have our ears”.

The queen snapped back. “Don’t tell the king! Nothing will happen! These people know Im on their side”.

The Count turned to his aide “Get me General Marcus Jonathon and palace guards at once!” – And in a much quieter voice “and somebody tell the King”In the war room,

—————————

General Marcus Jonathon bolted from a meeting with City defense commanders, along the way calling every palace guard he could get.

—————————

In the courtyard, Escavar wasn’t having the most soothing of effects on the crowd, who knew him well as being behind many of the troubles in the city. They began to stir restlessly. At the back of the crowd, rotten fruit and eggs were being passed into the crowd.

—————————–

“The Queen is WHERE?” demanded the King “Get her inside at once! Ignore whatever she says! Damn that woman! I should confine her to quarters! And someone find Anduin at once and lock him in his room with a guard!

—————————–

Escavar sat down. “It’s no use your majesty, they won’t listen to reason, I don’t think you’ll have much chance either. I MUST ask you to please reconsider!”.

The Queen stood. “It’s the duty of leaders to lead, Escovar, not just to rob treasuries blind for your own good. If you and your colleagues in the House had been less greedy we wouldn’t be in this position”.

She turned to face the crowd.

————————-

General Marcus Jonathon could see the doorway leading to the balcony, guards right behind him. He was almost there. Dear God, let nothing happen.

————————

In the throne room, Varian Wrynn paced surrounded by palace guard and flanked by Reginald Windsor, Marshal of the Armies of Stormwind,

———————

“Good citizens of Stormwind! The King and I have heard your complaints and are working towards a fair solution that will help everyone. Just please go back to your homes until we can work this out. Trust me, the King and I support you in this.”

“How can we trust you? Our wages are 6 months overdue!”

“We cant feed our children with promises from the Queen!”

“You have NO idea what we are going through!”

Lord Ridgewell stood to address the crowd, but before he’d even opened his mouth he was subjected to a barrage of fruit and vegetables and eggs. He stumbled and fell under the assault. The Queen moved to help him. Esgarlid looked around nervously. Where had his aid gone? Where were the guards?

————————

General Marcus Jonathon reached the steps with a dozen palace guard and dragged the fallen Ridgewell inside. He turned to Esgarlid who stared white-faced at a body on the ground. Dear god please let this be a nightmare…

————————–

King Varian Wrynn waited in the throne room. He’d stopped pacing and was seated on the ancient throne of the Kings of Stormwind awaiting the arrival of his Queen. There were some urgent words to be had.

————————–

General Marcus Jonathon, and the House of Lords representatives, and members of the palace guard carried the body gently from the front steps and into the hall. Moving slowly, they moved into the throne room.

Varian Wrynn saw the party approach slowly, and noting the lack of noise felt s asick sense of dread begin to work its way through his stomach. He could barely speak, able to croak out a single word

:”how”

General Marcus Jonathon spoke quietly “It seems she was hit in the head by a number of rocks thrown from the crowd while going to the aid of a fallen member of the House. She was dead by the time I reached the steps”.

The King collapsed. The General ordered everyone from the throne room. “Your Majesty, the guards are clearing the courtyard and arresting the perpetrators as we speak. We’ll hold them in the stockades.”

The King said nothing. “Your majesty, go to your son. Let us deal with this for you”. He nodded weakly, and servants were summoned to take the King to his rooms.

The general turned to Windsor. “I’m placing the city under martial law. The city garrison will report for duty at once. Right now, we need somebody here whom the King respects, the people respect, and the army respects.”

Marshall Windsor responded “It’s a difficult problem, but Ive got just the answer. Get me a messenger ready at once”.

Chapter 1

Lord Bolvar Fordragon, Commander of the Southern Border, strode briskly in the morning air through the keep. Nethergarde was one of the newest fortresses in the Kingdom, built at great expense to keep an eye on the dark portal, and protect against the demonic forces that dwelt nearby and might wish to use the artifact for ill.

Bolvar Fordragon was a man used to finer comforts, clean clothing and freshly cooked meals. Unfortunately for Bolvar, Nethergarde afforded none of these, being so new that there were still masons tools and debris all over the place. His quarters weren’t even furnished. He longed to be home with his family and be done with his tour of duty in this hellish place. He was just two weeks from completing his current cycle and the end couldn’t come fast enough.

The paladin looked over the top of the parapet. Daylight could reveal the true horrors of that forsaken landscape, and already the scavenging hyenas, vultures, and basilisk were feeding on the remains of the night’s horrors. The paladin shrugged. There were far worse things out there than a few hungry vermin. There were things out there that no man should ever have to see.

To the south, he could see the smoke and soot, and the ever pervading darkness that was the stronghold of demons. Left over from the second war, the demons, led by their powerful leader, the Supreme Doomlord Kazzak remained contained only by a strong alliance presence, and a small, but watchful horde outpost. A kind of uneasy peace had been struck after the opening of the dark portal and the arrival of the orcish hordes – for while the Alliance and Horde were officially at war, the demon lords and their minions presented a threat that could wipe them both out and there was somewhat erratic communication between the Alliance and the Horde commanders at Stonard.

The young man’s face was grim as he stared out at the horizon. The sun was already beating down, and the heat shimmering off the plains below. It was going to be another stifling hot day in the Blasted Lands.

He turned at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs behind him. One of the keep servants appeared. “My lord, a messenger from Stormwind awaits you in the main hall.”

Bolvar entered the main hall, and walked to where the messenger knelt. For the first time he noticed the face of his deputy commander, a mage handpicked by the legendary Khadgar himself. He grinned “Probably some new direction on how to wash our uniforms AGAIN.”

Silence was the only answer, and Bolvar grunted as he reached for the message. There were two, the first was unsealed and addressed to the court. The second was addressed to him personally.

Bolvar couldn’t believe it – the Queen was dead. A day of mourning had been declared throughout the Kingdom. Well, that was to be expected. He knew the second one would be a summons to the Capital – all Lords would be required for the funer…wait, what was this?

Lord Fordragon,

You are directed to report to General Marcus Jonathon in Stormwind as soon as possible. Matial law has been declared and we are short of soldiers to relieve the city garrison. Accordingly, You are further directed to gather as many troops as possible from Redridge, Duskwood and Westfall garrisons forthwith.

Signed

Reginald Windsor, Marshall of the Armies

Well, that was a turn of events wasn’t it. That’s not your everyday summons. Something was up. Still, there was nothing to do but obey orders. Next stop, Redridge. The local Garrison commanders are going to love me.

————————

Magistrate Solomon was livid. “We already have issues with orcs and anyone can SEE the goddamn gnoll camps. Not to mention that SOMEHOW we’ve got a murloc infestation. You CANT do this to us”.

Bolvar looked ashamed.”I have orders to leave you with a company of men to keep the peace and fight crime. The rest must come with me. Im sorry magistrate, but thats all there is to it.”

Solomon shouted “I’m writing to Windsor! Don’t think you’ll get away with this.”

Bolvar shook his head.

———————

A similar response was had in Duskwood where the townsfolk were fatalistic about their chances. Gryan Stoutmantle at Sentinel Hill didn’t hold back.

‘You think Stormwind is band…given time, Westfall will be worse! There’s already reports of a new gang in the country side. We’re going to regret this”.

Nearly two weeks after he received the summons, Lord Bolvar Fordragon arrived at the gates of Stormwind City at the head of ten thousand troops.

Wookie Reviews – Lean Cuisine Spaghetti Bolognese

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Wookie

Price: $4.00 (on Special)

Vendor: Coles

Rating: 6/10

Given I only paid $4.00 for this, it scores a 7 in the value stakes. However, after this, the curve drops off pretty steeply.

While the serving size is probably correct according the mystical scientists at the Lean Cuisine Institute, their taste testers obviously had the day off when this product was going through testing.

Make no mistake, the meal was edible, perhaps even tasty, but definitively lacked flavour, and was rather dry. With all that taken into account, it scores a 5/10 on the Wookie Taste Scale.

Which leads to the final score. 6/10, good value and edible, but not much else to write home about.

World of Wookie

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Leveling in the Old Republic (Level 10) – Sith Inquisitor

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Apple: A menace to the future of mankind as we know it

Speechman #028: Faulty testing

Old Republic News and updates

Old Republic Trailers

Star Wars – Old Republic: A new Game for a new Era

Bolvar

Wookie Reviews – Lean Cuisine Spaghetti Bolognese

May 2012
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