Bioware has revealed a new part of it's plan for Star Wars the Old Republic. We all expected guilds to be a part of TOR, and were hopeful there would be some website tools to help us do this, but Bioware went the extra mile and created a system for creating and managing guilds pre-launch.
Each guild leader creates their guild on the website and chooses between an RP, PVE (normal) and PVP server type. When the game launches, it appears you will not be able to chose your server's name and will instead be placed on a server based upon your guild-leader's decisions. It also appears that guilds which are created on the website first will have the first shot at obtaining their ideal guild name. Once a guild's name, such as Bane or Vengence, has been selected too many times, you will be forbidden from creating a guild with that name. 
All of this guild creation and guild joining is just phase 1. Guilds will also be able to select allies and enemies during phase 2 of this process. At this time, it appears the ally/enemy selection is mainly so that other guilds you have contact with will start on the same server.
Finally, in phase 3 the guilds will be loaded into the game. They will only be loaded into the game pre-luanch if there are four members who have pre-ordered the game via an official pre-order site (there are no official pre-orders yet). Additionally, the guild-leader must load the guild into the game in phase 3 to prove the guild is still active and deserving of their guild-name reservation.
In last Friday's update, Bioware provided us with an overview of Coruscant, and some behind the scene information, as well as a lot of juicy screenshots. Eric Young, a World Designer, went over what it took to create the planet in game. Attached to that was a surprisingly informative series of Q and A. We learn that players will be able to level up exclusively using PvP if they want, that dialog subtitles are not on by default but can be toggled, that beta testers are still being selected, there will be several server types such as PvE and PvP, and that more details about the end-game will be forthcoming. Check the link out for those and more answers provided by the devs!
After last week's rather light update, this week we once again get a single new item from the devs, a new timeline, which focuses on the rebirth of the Sith Empire. In it, the narrator explains some of the events behind the reconstruction of the great imperial fleet. A new Grand Moff makes his apparition, and sets in motion events which will be central to the back story of the Imperial strength in the game. Check it out on the official site.
Today's update was rather small, which is to be expected since this is a holiday week in the US. The holonet on the official site was updated with a series of new races with the information and screenshots to go with them. Among them you'll find some droids, the Vine Cat, and Terentatek. Go check it out!
The official site had it's usual Friday update this week again. On top of the Fan Friday post, we had an interview with a Concept Artist working on the project. He explained how some of the concept art is being done for The Olr Republic, as well as answering some questions from the community. Some of the answers we got were the confirmation that we will indeed be able to switch helmets on and off, that starting planets will be revisited as we level up, and that groups can be a mix of any classes, including 4 of the same class.
Today on the ToR site we had a very interesting update on gameplay mechanics, mainly how the companions at your side will handle crafting and missions on their own. The update describes three skill trees: Gathering, Crafting and Missions. Here's the video they showed:
Check out the official page in the Holonet for more details.
Today a new Community Manager was announced on the official forums. Stephen Reid posted an intro post about himself in which he described his past as a Star Wars fan. According to his Linkedin profile he was at Gazillion Entertainment before coming in on the ToR team.
The website "Chronic Reload" interviewed Daniel Erickson. Hidden throughout the 15 minute audio interview there are tid-bits which have not been revealed before. I recommend listening to the interview itself on Chronic Reload, but here is my summary of some standout parts. Also keep in mind this is a paraphrase by me:
Very "Star Wars", No Flow-Walking
Dan Erickson: We respect Star Wars, if I tried to have flying guys throwing fireballs or time-traveling, they would say something about it. We can't have Wookie Jedi or explain Yoda's race for example.
An interesting development occurred today, Electronic Arts has gained the publishing rights to Star Wars: The Old Republic from LucasArts. It will be handling the distribution and marketing of this titanic title. I want to iterate that this is not 100% confirmed yet, but what does this mean to the rest of us if it does indeed prove to be true?
First of all this would entail EA to have more control over the upcoming mmorpg. They will be responsible for the majority of the direction they wish to advertise and market the game towards. Having gained more control would also give them less hoops to jump through. To bring this to a conclusion, this doesn't completely put LucasArts out of the picture as they will still be involved in the collaboration process. So yes, in short any continuity issues will go through Leeland Chee.
Let us know what your thoughts are of this recent news and your predictions on how this may impact SW:TOR.
Update:
There's been an official update from Electronic Arts regarding the new Global Publishing Agreement.
Source: dailygame.net , electronic arts
It's Friday again, time for another update on the official site. Today we get a series of items related to the Imperial Agent. First, the class video shows a Chiss Agent in action. While it doesn't bring much as far as new details on the actual gameplay, it does give various hints through the action footage. The Advanced Specializations page also reveals the Operative and Sniper sub-classes.
Then, in the biographies, we have a new entry for Kaliyo Djannis, a possible companion for the Agent. The Rattataki woman seems to have a mysterious past, and uses both her skills and charm to get the job done.
The X70-B Phantom has also been added to the Holonet as the ship the Imperial Agent will use to travel through space. This newly designed ship is said to be the most low-profile ship in the galaxy. Watch the video for a good look inside.
Finally, we have a page in the Holonet's species section about the Chiss and their background. Overall a rather decent Friday update.
It's Friday, time for another update on the official site. Today on top of the usual fan updates, we got new biographies added to the holonet. They cover several people who, it's fair to assume, will have some important roles to play in-game:
- Bouris Ulgo is the self-proclaimed king of Alderaan. From his bio, it seems he made a lot of political enemies, and will probably be at the center of much turmoil. He has a vast military background and declared martial law on the planet. He is also mad, which is always a plus in my book.
- Diab Duin is the Republic envoy to Aeten II, a small mining outpost which became very important for the war effort. The man is said to be of few words and with an independent personality. There are few hints as to how he will be involved in the actual story lines, but it's clear that if the Empire wants to sabotage or capture the mine, they would have to go through him.
- The last entry is known only as Keeper, the ultimate Imperial spymaster. Since he oversees all infiltration operations, it's fair to say he will be of central importance to those playing Imperial Agents. Because of his illusive nature, those who deal with him may want to remain on their guard.