October 12, 2018 · 11:53 pm

Jedi Under Siege Livestream

I must hand it to the good folks down in Austin they did not scrimp on the news from the latest Cantina Livestream. That amount of stuff we can expect in the next game update previously might have been spread out across an entire season’s worth of a road map, so color me impressed and punch my ticket for the hype-train. Choo choo.

To start, I’m going to keep this spoiler-free, avoiding even the mild revelations from the livestream. Please check Galactic Antics, MMObits and Vulkk for far more comprehensive coverage than I could ever hope to provide.

For me, there is a lot to be excited about in Jedi Under Siege. The world, the planet’s design, the new and returning characters, it all looks cool. Instead of going into detail on each point, I think I’ll just discuss the two things that jumped out at me the most.

Story

I have written before about how I consider the choice of whether your character supports their original faction or switches allegiances my favorite part of the Iokath story, and I’m pleased that we will be allowed to reinforce that decision. When it comes to story updates, I tend to focus on my two favorite characters, one from each faction: my Consular and my Bounty Hunter. However because both characters opted to side with the Republic my journeys through Iokath were pretty much the same each time. But on the new planet, despite their similar previous choices, it looks like those characters will experience the story differently, and I’m genuinely psyched to dive in.

As we’ve seen previously, completing the story will unlock the new zone as a daily area. I seem to be one of the few people who like the Iokath dailies for their variety and scope (stomping around in a walker will never not be fun to me). I hope the quests and environments are interesting enough to make return visits worthwhile beyond the incentive to farm up the new gear. That the new zone will be populated with datacrons, a pair of world bosses and lots of new decorations is certainly promising. I do hope the world bosses are bit more pug friendly than the Dark vs. Light bosses and don’t have ridiculous respawn timers. If at least one is instanced like Toborro’s Courtyard and my guild can run it on our own schedule, I’ll jump for joy.

Nightmare Mode Lives

I have no plans to raid Gods from the Machine on its most challenging difficulty, and if scaling up all operations to max level remains the plan for future SWTOR expansions, it’s very possible that I will never even set foot inside it at that difficulty. And, yet, the news surrounding the return of Master Mode operations has me pleased.

During Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Shadow of Revan expansions, I was part of a Hard Mode raiding team. We played casually, didn’t shatter any records, but were a solid group of fun people. During Hutt Cartel we and made steady progress on a light progression schedule. That changed during Shadow of Revan. The “hard-mare” version of Ravagers and Temple of Sacrifice, created to be a compromise between Hard and Nightmare modes with the removal of Nightmare mode proved incredibly frustrating, and we ultimately stalled out after only beating the first two encounters of both operations.

I’ve never been more angry and disappointed with SWTOR than the night we gave up trying to beat the buggy mess that was Underlurker. Attrition set in and soon after Knights of the Fallen Empire launched without new Operations, the hard mode team was no more. I don’t blame any who quit. We found our groove in Hutt Cartel’s middle lane, and it remains a drag that the removal of a raiding mode that we barely ever touched eventually led to my team’s downfall.

The release of Master Mode Gods from the Machine also will included a rebalanced Veteran Mode that I assume will be along the lines of the old Hard Modes from Rise of the Hutt Cartel. If that is the case, then pinch my cheeks and call me Rosy because you can sign me up right now. I’ve recently started raiding Veteran modes again and as much as I do love Terror From Beyond, the thought of learning new hard mode bosses has me thrilled.

That’s just two of the things I’m looking forward to in the December update. Here’s hoping the year ends on a high note! However, I fear avoiding spoilers until then will be a challenge. Fingers crossed!

 

2 Comments

Filed under Aurebesh to English, General SWTOR, KotET

October 1, 2018 · 3:10 pm

Justice Has a Mustache

Today This Week in Aurebesh celebrates a rather improbable second birthday, and I thought it would be appropriate to a return to a spot I covered way back in the earliest days of this blog: Justicar Territory on Coruscant.

Like the last time around, I’ve re-created a pair of signs that demonstrate the two very different styles of the Justicar’s propaganda seen on Coruscant, and occasionally elsewhere around the galaxy.

The first sign is a recruitment poster with a fairly simple, yet effective design. Its words are inspirational, and the bursting sunrise lifts the entire composition. The double chevrons, as always, recall the Justicar’s origins as a military organization and while they might normally act to draw the viewer’s attention downward, in this case, they echo the upward thrust of the sunbeams and have the opposite effect. The vertical layout and use of glowing white highlights inform the viewer that the Justicars are bringing light back to Coruscant, and you can help that effort.

The second poster on today’s menu also has a simple layout and minimal color palette, but to me, it recalls wartime propaganda of the First and Second World Wars. There is little thought given to the poster’s graphic design. Indeed this actually looks to be printed on paper with torn edges and curled corners, unlike the previous graphic (and many others in the game) that seem to be displayed on a monitor. I guess the Justicars opted to slash their advertising budget after taking control of the sector.

I’ve often wondered who this fellow featured so prominently in the poster is, but his appearance doesn’t match any of the Justicars we meet in the game. Indeed, his huckleberry of a mustache is tragically not even available as a customization option for players. Nevertheless, I think it’s fair to say that this shadowy figure is not watching out for you, but just watching you. Oppression, not inspiration is the message of this poster, and its stark design makes that pretty clear.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has stopped by over the last two years. I hope this blog has been as entertaining a place to visit as it has been for me to create. It is weird to look back at some of my original recreations. My initial goal was to make them quick and dirty, but they strike me now as too quick and too dirty. As I’ve gotten more familiar with many of the wonderful graphic styles used in the game, I’m glad my recreations have become somewhat more faithful to the originals. I’ve not yet exhausted the game’s supply of Justicar propaganda, and I suspect we’ll revisit the topic again.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Aurebesh to English

September 12, 2018 · 9:00 am

Design on a Dime: Top Five Non-Cartel Market Decorations

With the release of the sprawling new Rishi stronghold, I’ve been looking through my stash of decorations and realized that many of my favorites can be acquired in the game and that spotlighting a few might make for a good topic for another dumb top five list. Paring down the list, however, was not easy. It’s to SWTOR’s credit that there is no shortage of very cool decorations that won’t cost you a single Cartel Coin.

Flashpoints/Operations: Rakata Mind Trap

There are numerous decorations to be found in flashpoints and operations, and the latest group content has been over-flowing with decorations. As much as I adore Copero fountains and get a kick out of seeing Tyth sulking on Manaan’s ocean floor, my favorite in this category is and always will be the Rakata Mind Trap. I love these things as art objects, technological accents, creepy Force artifacts or just the Star Wars equivalent of lava lamps. I have dozens, I put them everywhere, and I always want more.

Reputation: Ancient Voss Sarcophagus

All of the recurring event and planetary reputation vendors sell some appropriately themed decorations. While I think the Gree vendor has the best over-all selection, my single favorite reputation decoration is the Ancient Voss Sarcophagus. I’m always happy to visit Voss, and this decoration’s spooky sculpted face and eerie, green glow nicely captures Voss’s unique aesthetic. It’s appropriate for a Sith reliquary, a Jedi’s archive or a Bounty Hunter’s treasure horde.

Vendor: Custom Huttball Stand

For a cool 2,018,000 credits you can and should add a Custom Huttball Stand to your stronghold. This decoration is sold by the “Starfighter & PVP Decoration Vendor” on each faction’s Fleet. Before we could truly PVP in the Rishi stronghold, we could play Hutt Potato with friends using this interactive decoration. Grabbing the passable Huttball, starts a timer and the last person holding the ball gets blasted into the air by the exploding orb. Even when it comes to children’s games, the Hutts don’t mess around. One of the fun things about this decoration is that the explosion can hurl characters places they normally can’t reach. Some guildies and I once used the Hutt Potato to make it on top of the massive Holocron of Ancient Masters.

Achievement: All For One Four-Pack

The Star Fortresses added during Knights of the Fallen Empire are jammed packed with achievements and rewards, and while it might be a bit of a cheat, you can get four different decorations for completing a single achievement: All For One. It’s hard to beat that much bang for the buck. The Portable Sentry Turret, the Scramble Grenade Suspension Chamber, the Force Focus and the Prototype Medical Probe are all animated with glowing effects and one or more of these will fit the themes of any number of strongholds. The achievement requires reaching rank 10 influence with all of the Alliance base specialists which is fairly easy if you have a decent stash of supply crates from planetary Heroics, and then completing a Veteran mode Star Fortress with all the buffs that can be found around the Fortress. Unlike a few of the other Star Fortress achievements, this one can be completed in a group, so if you’re having trouble, ask a friend for help!

For the Truly Dedicated: Event Ambassadors

Having a vendor to repair your gear and take all that useless loot off your hands is a must for any stronghold. But wouldn’t you rather have a vendor with style? Not some rusty old droid or poor Felusia Stato and her silly hat. The Event Vendors dress for success. Sith and Republic versions of the vendors are available in the Cartel Bazaars of their respective fleets. Ambassador Ky’lee is a Cather who is not afraid to dress in white after Labor Day, and Ambassador Jirrik is a Chagrian who knows how to contrast his blue skin against red Sith robes. Either of these decorations will set you back nearly forty assorted tokens that can only be earned during the Relics of the Gree, Rakghoul Resurgence, and Bounty Broker recurring events. The events come around so often these days that’s its not that much trouble to save up for these swanky personnel decorations.

Honorable Mention: Craft Your Starship

Crafters can make all the essential utility decorations and many, many others from Synthetic, Industrial and Universal Prefabs, but toss in a few Dark Projects and you can park your favorite class’s personal starship. Dromund Kaas and Coruscant are the only two strongholds without the Starship Hooks these decorations need; otherwise they are prefect additions elsewhere. I won’t tell you which class has the coolest ship, you should pick your own, but it’s the Agent’s X-70B Phantom.

Honestly, I’ve barely scratched the surface. Certainly there are lots of neat decorations for sale on the Cartel Market or GTN, but there are plenty more to be found in the game, and with a little effort you can transform your stronghold from the place you empty your bags to a place you call home.

For more information about Strongholds that I could ever hope to share, please check out these invaluable resources for the decorating fanatic: TOR Decorating and Swtorista’s two episodes about strongholds and decorating from her Academy series.

 

Comments Off on Design on a Dime: Top Five Non-Cartel Market Decorations

Filed under Dumb Top Five, General SWTOR

September 6, 2018 · 2:30 pm

Beach Front Property

This week I’d like to share my first impressions of the Rishi stronghold. I hesitate to call this a review because I’ve only scratched the surface of all the spaces this stronghold has to explore. The stronghold lag bug meant I did very little with it the first week, and even though I spent a couple hours decorating this week, I’m still only at 12% completion as I write this.

This is fine by me. I very much enjoy the zen of decorating. For the Manaan stronghold I had a good sense of what I wanted to do with each area from the get go and most of the rooms were blocked out quickly. But I expect Rishi will be more like how I decorated Yavin, a process that took almost a year as I played with different options and furnished areas around brand new or old weird decorations.

The first stronghold change I want to mention actually happened earlier this year with the update to Conquest: the separation of the total stronghold completion percentage from the bonus granted from completing Conquest objectives. Removing the incentive to chase 100% completion has been a real boon. Even before the maximum number of hooks on Manaan was increased, my stronghold there was stuck around 75% complete, but it still felt overly cluttered. Now, I can declare a room done when I’m happy with it, not when I’ve maximized its usage of hooks.

Moreover, if in the weeks or months to come, I get a fancy new decoration, it’s nice knowing that I still have plenty of hooks left to place it on. I love my Nar Shaddaa stronghold but adding even one deco means removing another, and that can throw a whole room into chaos. Yeah, I know how that sounds, but I think it’s easier to balance the Force than find the proper ratio of tables to chairs.

The Rishi stronghold has several new features that we’ve not seen before. The most prominent is, of course, the PVP zones, and I’m impressed with how well they’ve implemented them with team colors, score keeping, spectating, and custom decorations for the pitch. I don’t know how much actual PVP I’ll do in my stronghold, but having the option to mess around with my friends whenever we want is pretty cool.

There are also other little things of note. That a dozen of my favorite pets eagerly watch while I beat up a target dummy makes parsing just a little more fun. And let’s not forget Speedy the Turtle who is the first unique inhabitant of a stronghold. I’d still like to see a Force ghost haunting Yavin, but watching Speedy trundle by while I chill out on the beach makes me smile every time.

And if Speedy doesn’t bring you joy, you can kill him dead. The inclusion of secret achievements and earnable legacy titles exclusive to the stronghold has been another fine addition. I don’t know if we’ll see full on questing in a stronghold (I can arm-chair-develop a dozen quest suggestions at the drop of a hat), but seeing the stronghold concept change from something static to something approaching dynamic is pretty neat, and I hope Bioware keeps exploring new ideas for things players can do in them.

There is one new feature that I discovered just last week: light switches in the rooms of the Overlook. I don’t know if it was a simple change, but it’s a subtle one that can totally alter the character of a room. It’s not quite the day-night cycles I’d have liked to see in all strongholds, but I really do like this addition!

Finally, the team at Bioware must get props for the agile response to player feedback they received from the PTS. The removal of clutter, the change of the color of the sand, and the addition of the overlook rooms are just three of the changes that came about because of requests from the players. I understand some of the fixes required herculean effort from the designers, but it has truly made for a better stronghold.

If your favorite stronghold is the front room on Coruscant or Dromund Kaas with the GTN, mailbox, a vendor and your banks all crammed within arms reach of the zone-in spot, then Rishi is an easy pass, but if finding the right rug to tie a room together, being the captain of a space-pirate ship or grabbing some rays on the beach are a few of your goals in life, it’s worth the credits.

 

2 Comments

Filed under General SWTOR, KotET

August 29, 2018 · 1:11 am

One Truth

This week, let’s take a look at the obelisk that dominates the great hall of the Sith Academy on Korriban. This pointed monolith has four faces with a swirling mass of twisted visages on two sides and a repeated Aurebesh inscription on the others.

While most players likely first encountered this monument on Korriban it is also available as a stronghold decoration. The currency needed to purchase it can be rarely found in the Korriban Incursion and Assault on Tython flashpoints. When my guild unlocked our Sith faction Guild Ship, several of us pooled our hard-won Recovered Relics to purchase the obelisk decoration. Unfortunately, the obelisk is very tall, taller even than the ceiling of the command deck on which we had hoped to display it. Instead we placed a more appropriately sized decoration, and the obelisk gathered dust in storage until the guild purchased the new Rishi Stronghold.

While Rishi may not be the most thematically appropriate spot for such a decoration, it was a relief to be able to erect the obelisk in a spot that won’t cause it to poke through the floor into the deck above.

The other benefit of displaying it on Rishi is that it’s a bit easier to decipher than in its usual spot in the mist-shrouded hall on Korriban, and so my translation and recreation was done in comfort on Rishi’s sandy, sunny beach.

A viewer might think that the monument records the principles of a Sith lord from the distant past. Instead, it does quite the opposite! The words were actually spoken by Darth Maul in a television ad for The Phantom Menace. Regardless of how or whether one might want to explain this rip in the time space-continuum, Maul’s “tone poem” is indeed appropriate for such a colossal sculpture.

The base of the obelisk is similar to the bases of glowing red and green triangular Sith holocrons found in ancient, Dark Side ruins from Korriban to Oricon. The Aurebesh at the base of the obelisk reads “Fear in power”, and it matches well with the holocrons that read “Power in fear.” This is exactly the kind of circular logic that appeals to the Sith and is nice design touch to tie these monuments together.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Aurebesh to English

August 7, 2018 · 2:45 pm

SWTORbringers

This week, I thought I’d take a look at the notorious MMO cinematic in which the leader of the traditionally “evil” faction and their associates stage a brutal attack on a beloved stronghold of the opposing faction. As the leader’s eyes glow red, they slaughter their enemies and leave the site a burning, destroyed ruin.

But enough about Darth Malgus, let’s talk about Shae Vizla. The Deceived cinematic, released nearly a decade ago, was Shae’s introduction to Star Wars lore, and she remains a popular character years later. In the space of this scene, she deploys all the gadgets and weapons you’d expect from a Mandalorian hunter including this pop-up display:

Based on information from my translation, I surmise that Shae had sliced into Coruscant’s space traffic control to track the arrival and explosive entrance of the Sith’s stolen transport. The display indicates that Malgus’ deception was successful, and that the Republic never saw the attack coming.

The Aurebesh text contains some awkward grammar and a misspelling or two, and I’ve tried to keep my translation as faithful as possible. In addition, it seems like the text in the right hand column was truncated mid-word. This could easily be chalked up as panic from the controller as they realized what is about to happen or that their feed had been hacked. The version of the Aurebesh font used here includes numbers that match our Hindu-Arabic numerals, and I did not bother “translating” all of those.

Falling From a Great Height is Never Fatal

Speaking of Malgus, SWTOR’s next expansion looms in the hopefully not-too-distant future. While not much is known, Bioware has indicated that we’ll be returning to a story based on the war between the Republic and the Sith Empire. As part of that, there has been speculation that this renewed focus on the game’s original conflict might also signal the return of Darth Malgus, perhaps as leader of the Sith Empire or an antagonist for both factions.

On the one hand, I am totally on Team Malgus. He’s my favorite of SWTOR’s many Darths, and had most of my Sith characters been given the chance they would’ve gladly joined his New Empire on Ilum. I take the original iteration of the False Emperor flashpoint as canon, and there is plenty of precedent in Star Wars for Sith lords surviving exactly the kind of defeat Malgus saw there. Moreover, there is the infamous moment cut from the Sacrifice cinematic that revealed that Arcann and Thexan had taken Malgus’ carbonite frozen body as a trophy. So I don’t think it’s a stretch to suggest that Malgus remains on the minds of the folks in Austin.

That said, between the Shadow of Revan expansion starting with the return of Revan and ending with the return of the Sith Emperor, and Darth Maul’s equally improbable return to popular consciousness just this summer in Solo, I wonder if maybe we’ve been there and done that already.

So I’m split and give it an even chance that he’ll be back. Star Wars needs good Dark Side villains, and he certainly fits the bill, but I wouldn’t be disappointed with someone new.

 

2 Comments

Filed under Aurebesh to English, General SWTOR

July 16, 2018 · 4:57 pm

In the Pink

I thought this one would be easy. I really did. I had planned to post this recreation during the Nar Shaddaa Nightlife event since this neon sign can be seen around the moon’s Promenade and casinos. Clearly, I’m late to the party.

The challenge of this recreation was not in the translation. Like many similar signs, it seems to be a collection of random letters in which I’ve long since given up attempting to find meaning.

At first glance, one might think this sign is written in Aurebesh. Technically, however, it uses Galactic Basic, a font that, like Aurebesh, was inspired by the script used on monitors in Return of the Jedi. Galactic Basic is actually more accurate to what can be seen in the movie, but Aurebesh was codified in official sources first and has since become the official version of the language.

The center logo, the inset letters on the upper left and the two repeating glyphs on the bottom are all written using Galactic Basic. The orange tinted letters in the next-to-bottom row are rendered in the Atrsian font. Like Aurebesh, this font has a tangled history. It also can be glimpsed in Return of the Jedi, and was featured in several early Lucasarts games.

My guess is that all these fake space letters were meant to be parts of the same “language” but because they were fleshed out separately, they all became individual fonts and scripts. I’m certain that had high definition screen captures and copious reference materials been around three decades ago, the current landscape of Star Wars’ written word would be very different!

The use of Atrisian is not an usual sight in SWTOR. This script can be seen not only in signs on Nar Shaddaa, but also carved in the ancient ruins of the Rakata on Belsavis. It’s amusing to think the same glyphs that adorned the great works of a long lost civilization are still emblazoned in neon around the galactic underworld.

The large logo in the center is what caused me the most trouble. The repeated letter rotating around the center translates to J, but I’d wager it was not selected because of any particular meaning but because of how the alien glyph maintains its symmetry in the arrangement. The English J, however, is not quite so accommodating and I tried many variations, fonts and even custom letters attempting to replicate the original layout. In the end I realized I was overthinking the problem, and took inspiration from the actual design. Reshaping the glyph to resemble a J more or less did the trick. I don’t think my recreation is as stylish as the original, but it’s close enough that I hope it gets the idea across.

Living Large on the PTS

Despite having played since launch, last week was my very first visit to SWTOR’s test server. I cannot deny it was fun to get an early peek at the Rishi stronghold and queue up for Saturday’s PVP test.

My first impression of the Rishi stronghold is quite good. I think they are aiming to address the major complaints regarding the previous strongholds on Umbara and Manaan. Unlike Umbara’s train, Rishi has a large variety of environments to explore and decorate, from the massive pirate airship to the beach and the cove. It also looks like they are paying more attention to how decorating hooks are being used. As much as I love Manaan, the widely spread out hooks and limited choices of what hooks are even available has been a source of frustration. Rishi seems to have a larger variety of hooks, placed closer together so that decorators will be able to create areas with more cohesion.

The PVP areas are a gimmick to be sure. But it’s a cool gimmick. And even if I’m just using it every once in a while, I’m fine with that.  As with the addition of target dummies, having more stuff to do in our strongholds is something I’m glad to see. I hope they continue to explore more ideas in the future. Maybe there could be a special boss on the pirate ship that can only be summoned during the Bounty Broker event, or a stronghold zombie survival mode in which the beach is swarmed during the Rakghoul Resurgence. Armchair developing is easy! But, hey, I can dream, can’t I?

I also participated in Saturday’s PVP testing during the morning and evening sessions. I don’t PVP a whole lot so take these comments with a grain of salt.

For the most part it seemed like the matchmaking worked. There were a ton of healers in the morning queue, but the teams had even numbers. The matches with three healers per side tended to stalemate; I imagine with a larger pool of dps that wouldn’t happen as much. I did notice that backfilling in arenas would not always keep the tank/healer balance, but I guess filling empty spots quickly might be more important.

I thought the Mandalorian arena was pretty cool. All my matches there were fought on the top level, so I don’t know if the lower ring or tunnel will see much action.

I ran four Voidstars during the day, and aside from the one with six healers, they definitely went faster. Once the first door opens, the other matches became a race to the finish, which I consider an improvement.

Overall, I went 7 and 6, which I rate a smashing success and had a really good time. It seems like most folks were there to poke around and have some low stakes fun. It was neat to cross paths with some SWTOR celebrities, and I like to think my healer saved a dev or two from certain death once or twice during the day.

I’m definitely in the camp that is happy to see the return of open PTS testing. That the good folks at Bioware have been quick to implement changes that have come from feedback has been great to see. I hope to visit the test server more in the future.

 

Comments Off on In the Pink

Filed under Aurebesh to English, General SWTOR, KotET

June 10, 2018 · 4:16 pm

A Rose By Any Other Name

This week I want to cover a few topics related to Star Wars, fandom and a bit of Aurebesh too.

Why I Love Rose

It’s not for nothing that we meet Paige Tico first. Paige is a bad ass. Under the worst possible conditions, she keeps her shit together and gets the job done. When it comes to the Tico sisters, she is the cool one. She’s a fighter jock; she gets to hang with Poe Dameron. We all know which table Paige sits at. When we meet Rose a little later, she’s been assigned the glorious task of guarding escape pods.

No one wants to think the annoying little sister can be the hero. We’re supposed to want our Star Wars heroes to be quick with a one liner like Han Solo, wear sweet armor like Boba Fett, and blast stormtroopers like Princess Leia. Rose is too earnest for a snappy comeback, wears a frumpy jumpsuit, and isn’t much of a shot (aside from poor Finn, I guess). Some have complained that Finn and Rose accomplished nothing on Canto Bight. I disagree; maybe their plan to disable the First Order’s hyperspace tracking was a bust, but that’s not all they did. In passing on her ring to the broom kid, Rose kept alive the spark that’ll light the fire of the Jedi again. Small victories matter. They may even matter more than big ones. And if nothing else, Rose and Finn tore that place up, and gave those shit-heels a bad day. Because fuck those guys. Fuck them.

I get it; we all want to be cool like Paige. But we’re not. We’re Rose. Most of us don’t get to be played by an actor as charming and enthusiastic as Kelly Marie Tran, but, like Rose, we can step up and be heroes too if we want to. We can save what we love. Paige knew it. In her last moments, she didn’t flip off the First Order or make a dumb joke. She thought of her sister.

I have debated all aspects of Star Wars endlessly with friends whom I greatly respect and whose opinions differ greatly from mine. I doubt there is a long time fan who has not been disappointed by Star Wars at some point in their fandom, but Star Wars is so big and means so many different things to so many different people, that no one should get to say what the litmus test for being a real fan is. Sadly, fans acting like hateful, spoiled shit birds is nothing new, but it seems like social media is only capable of amplifying stupid rage these days. Anyone who feels better spewing bile at real people for daring to try to entertain them or goes looking for conspiracy theories in mass market, space adventure stories has clearly taken the wrong lessons from Star Wars.

It’s okay to stop liking Star Wars. Heck, I checked out during the the latter days of the Expanded Universe. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi have revitalized my interest, but I’m fully prepared to move on once the Game of Thrones guys take over. If they make a movie I don’t like, I’ll get over it like a fucking adult.

Solo: A Star Wars Story Review

I kinda hoped waiting a week might give me some unique insight into Solo: A Star Wars Story, but I don’t have anything profound to say. I found it a perfectly fun summer movie with charismatic actors doing exciting things and having a grand ol’ time. It doesn’t have much depth, but I wasn’t expecting it to; I’m not sure I even wanted it to. In many ways it felt like a Fast and Furious or Mission: Impossible movie, except, y’know, in space. Whether you find that a ringing endorsement or a damning condemnation probably will indicate how you’ll feel about Solo. I had a good time. I think it’ll it hold up better than Rogue One and is a perfectly good way to waste a couple of hours on a hot afternoon.

I’ll leave the speculation about why it has not performed like gangbusters to the experts except to say that I think it’s probably for the best that we’re in for a year and a half wait until the next Star Wars movie.

Sometimes It’s All I Think About

Longtime readers will recognize this image from a previous post, but if I’ve learned anything from George Lucas it is that it’s never too late to make changes. After three attempts I think I’ve finally arrived at my “original vision.”

I was prompted to revisit this poster after it was added as a stronghold decoration available to players who complete their weekly Conquest goal. The advertisement’s tag line is in the center of the graphic, and there is additional text at the bottom and vertically oriented along one side. The Aurebesh itself is reversed so it must be read right to left (although my recreation reads normally). Curiously, the decoration version of this poster differs from the one seen around the galaxy. The poster’s frame is reversed, but the image itself remains “backwards.” The result of this is that much of the text along the vertical edge of the picture is hidden in the stronghold version.

Nevertheless, I was determined to put this one to rest and finally translate the faint, vertical text that had vexed me previously. It took a bit of digital jiggery-pokery before the letters finally came into focus. The image above is a peek at my work file; sometimes these translations really do take more a bit doing than you might think.

Next time, something new! And fewer f-bombs, probably.

 

1 Comment

Filed under Aurebesh to English, General Star Wars, My Artwork

May 25, 2018 · 12:01 am

Revenge, Money or Something Else

Even though it’s been with some nervousness, I have been looking forward to the release Solo: A Star Wars Story. So I thought I’d mark the opening day of the movie with a different kind of Aurebesh recreation.

Rather than translate something from Aurebesh into English, let’s try it the other way around!

It’s obvious to me that the controversial Solo teaser posters were directly inspired by/ripped off from a series album covers designed by Hachim Bahous for Sony Music. On the one hand, it’s a terrific design, but it’s laughable that whoever was responsible for the plagiarism thought that no one would notice. I hope Bahous and his team received significant apologies and compensation from Lucasfilm.

For my version, I made sure to include elements from Bahous’ design to pay tribute to his work, but with a SWTOR spin. To be honest, I originally hoped to feature Malgus or Satele, but their names were just too long. Good ol’ Darth Marr, however, was a much better fit.

Here’s to what will hopefully be a fun time at the movies this weekend!

 

2 Comments

Filed under Aurebesh to English, General Star Wars

May 17, 2018 · 5:20 pm

Summertime Blues

Just a few hours after my last post, Keith Kanneg shared SWTOR’s Summer 2018 Roadmap. I’m not usually one for hot takes, but, what the heck, I’ll give it a go.

I don’t do a ton of PVP these days, but cross-faction grouping, a new Huttball map and the ability to exclude certain types of matches all sound pretty good to me. I prefer objective based PVP, so if I can queue knowing that I won’t get dropped into an arena with three strangers against a pre-made, I’d play more.

On the PVE side, there isn’t much. I’m always up for a new stronghold, but that’s about it until the fall. Welcome to the content drought of 2018.

My first guess is that they’re giving World of Warcraft’s new expansion a wide berth, which, honestly, doesn’t strike me as a bad idea. In addition, Keith Kanneg recently raised the question of how folks want to receive SWTOR content: in smaller, more regular updates (which seems to have been the model for KotET) or in larger full fledged expansions. I hope they’re leaning towards the latter model now, which sadly means having to bide time until stuff comes together. I’m not psyched, but this isn’t my first MMO, and I’ve seen things like this before. If this is the cost for getting story updates that last longer than 5 minutes and not having to wait months between raid bosses, it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Besides, it’s the summer, there is plenty of other stuff to do. Time to get some sun!

 

Comments Off on Summertime Blues

Filed under General SWTOR, KotET