Every Star Wars™ hero needs a companion. Han has Chewie, Luke has R2-D2 — even Jabba has the cackling monkey lizard Salacious B. Crumb. These characters will complement your strengths or weaknesses, and provide company for the epic journey you will inevitably undertake. Whether they’re combative, friendly, flirtatious, or even just good for a laugh, they always contribute to your development and serve as a sounding board for your choices. In Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, a variety of these Companion Characters will join your cause.

This weeks update is more focused on the addition of the companions page to the official website, rather than the release itself. Companion characters have been used in an MMO environment before but not in a way that they’ll react to all the primary decisions that you make. What I find interesting, is how BioWare will be able to incorporate these Companion Characters in groups.

If your in a group of 5 Sith Warriors, you don’t want to see the same “unique” NPC 5 times running after all of you. Then again, it would beg the question – what the hell are 5 Sith Warriors doing grouped?

Thirty years ago to the day, Star Wars™: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back™ opened in movie theaters, forever changing the cinematic landscape. Bursting with action-packed battles, fast paced dialogue, and characters faced with complex choices, the echoes of this landmark film are still felt today. From toys, to fashion, to punk rock, its influence is everywhere. The Empire Strikes Back has not only changed how we relate to our favorite movies, but has made a lasting contribution to our very culture.

To commemorate this monumental continuation of the Star Wars™ story, we are proud to reveal the ice world of Hoth – the latest explorable planet in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Access the HoloNet to learn more about the pivotal battles in the history of Hoth – and to understand why both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire are interested in the planet. Check out this video to see Hoth’s brutal blizzards and unique wildlife. Don’t forget to visit the Media Section for never-before-seen screenshots, wallpaper, and concept art showing this barren, desolate landscape.

Although I love the idea of Hoth, I have noticed a lot of uproar on the forums surrounding the extended universe and how Hoth fits in (or doesn’t, as many are arguing). Having worked with and done an excellent job on the KOTOR series, I am fairly confident BioWare can weave solid reasoning into their story for the discovery of Hoth.

Another edition of The Old Republic’s “Fan Friday” has been released. Included in this weeks Fan Friday is an interesting look at the work that BioWare are doing to add depth-of-field to their game and enrich the overall experience for us!

Welcome to Fan Friday! Today we’re giving you a look at some inspiring creations from the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community and sharing an inside look at some work-in-progress content from the Development Team.

Take a look at this sample conversation demonstrating depth of field (DOF), or the effect of creating a sense of distance between the nearest and farthest objects. Notice how the focus of the scene is centered on the conversation taking place, and how other objects behind and around the characters decrease in sharpness.

This is one of my favourite updates to date!

Today we are revealing a new area of the website called Game Systems. This area talks about various features from a gamer’s perspective. Our first section in this new area discusses the Advanced Class System.

The Advanced Class System grants you access to unique skills and abilities, and is designed to allow you the flexibility to customize your characters to fit your play style. For example, all Smugglers are lucky, opportunistic swindlers. But, do you want to be the kind of Smuggler that sneaks into the middle of a firefight and quickly blasts away at an opponent from point-blank range? Or do you want to be the kind that keeps to the outskirts of the battle, strategically picking your targets from a distance?

These are just some of the meaningful choices that the Advanced Class System offers you to personalize – and advance – your character in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

This update really intrigues me, depending on how diverse and interesting each class is this effectively splits four classes into eight. For BioWare, this means less time working on individual class stories and more time to focus on the overall polish and quality of the game. For the fans, this means that we get individual class stories and additionally more diverse class structures to choose from.