Star Wars

Star War Mult-User Dungeon ~ Review

cherrylanekilla — Wed, 09 May 2012 03:37:00 GMT

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a lone creature slips into the seediest bar on Coruscant, doing his best to ignore the fetid stench which carried almost a half mile east. Carefully, he slips between tables, occasionally ducking, avoiding the vicious brawl that had broken out between the patrons; his lanky, insectoid figure is ill-suited to such brutish activities. Finding nothing of interest, he slips out into the bright sun, and begins to wander the grandest city in the Emperor's glorious Empire. Just another day in the world of SWmud (Star War Mult-User Dungeon.)

SWmud is a game which delivers a unique and retro experience in an age in which graphics are one of the most prevalent features, and often selling points, in games. Instead, SWmud takes an entirely different approach, forgoing most graphics for a text-based, RPG-lite dungeon crawler set in the Rebellion-era Star Wars universe. Instead of walking about using mouse-clicks, the WASD keys, or a control stick, the free-to-play game harks back to games like Zork, using text only commands to move and control the character. The lack of any graphics made up by the descriptions of each room or area, which are, most often, filled with enough details to allow the player to paint a visual image in his or her mind's eye.

During the character creation process, one of the strengths of the game is made evident: choice. Right off the bat, you are given the choice of 23 races from the Star Wars universe, each unique and lending to different play-styles. The the well-balanced human, to the technically-oriented Jawas, the support-centric Ithorians, and the brutish, bruising Gamorreans are just a small selection of the available races, each of which has unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. The player can even choose to support the Rebellion, the Empire, or be a free-lancer, connected to no faction. The variety grows even greater when the player is able to pick up to three guilds or professions; Smuggler, Bounty Hunter, Pilot, and even Jedi are less than half of the available classes, and mixing and matching allows for unique combinations and synergies.

After the easy to understand tutorial, the next aspect of the game comes into play when the player is released into the capitol city of Coruscant: exploration. The entirety of the city is open towander about, seeing the sites and making a name for his or herself. The new character isn't even confined to Coruscant thanks to the simulation center, which provides a safe place to learn the game, or the space port, if the character receives a generous donation from a friend or stranger in the way of a ship or enough money to buy one. Half of the fun is finding the many secrets scattered through the worlds, hidden by the programmers of the game.

SWmud is an interesting and unique game which allows the player to play exactly the type of character they would like. The game is not for the feign of heart though; dozens and dozens of text commands, wide open worlds to explore, occasional random quests, and of course the lack graphics makes the game somewhat intimidating. However, the ability to over-come obstacles in your own fashion is truly rewarding: you feel as though you are progressing with your character. An impressive game, this is; seek it out, you shall.

On the Drill Field: Up in Arms

Draxton — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:59:00 GMT

Greetings,

Welcome to another installment of On the Drill Field. This next Month is an exciting month for our NA SW Bn. We will be reforming the way our recruitment will be, as well as adding some exciting PVP action. This last Sunday was a proud day for us as we had a great turn out for our meeting and practice, and it shows us that we definitely have some dedicated members within our ranks. Up coming events during our meeting/practices will be posted both in the weekly emails (every Wednesday) and on here.

Currently scheduled events are as follows:

Sundays: Normal scheduled meeting 9pm PST, scheduled events immediately following meeting.

May 6th - Data Chron hunt for both empire and Republic sides. We will plan a meeting place at time of meeting.

May 13th - Individual Class discussions (hints and tips for each class)

May 20th - Taw v Taw Epire vs Republic Ladder Matches 1v1 , 2v2, 3v3 (Location to be determined at time of meeting) Prizes will be given at finish of declaration of winners.

May 27th - Gathering and Crafting hints and tips. Banking discussions

Reminder that Every Tuesday and Thursday is Raid night. Plan for Hard Mode Raids as well as nightmare mode Raids. Raids start at 8pm EST.

May 12th, PeNut (our graphics and design team) will grace us with his presence to take requests or avatars, and forum signatures. He will be on teamspeak from 12:00 pm until we are complete, or he feels is time to go

The guild bank is up and running fully operational, Please see bankers in Game or on Teamspeak [SW 1B], if you have any bank requests or questions. (donations to guild treasury is always welcome as well as items for raid groups.)

Remember the more recruit we get, the better the meeting turn out and raiding can be.

The DIs have stepped up there game and Leanboey and cammoh have become the new DIs helping Tantalus step forward and bring up his "A game"

Teamspeak has been lonely so i encourage all members to log in once in a while outside normal meeting times and say "hello". My goal is to having Teamspeak active 24/7 within our division.

I am very proud of each member of this Bn and want everyone know know this. So with this to raise morale a step further, i would like to extend my ears to new ideas, so send me an email Draxton@taw.net with what ideas yu may have and would like to see implemented either as a practice or in general

May the force be with us all,

Draxton

NA SWbn CO

On the Drill field: Legacy

Draxton — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:06:00 GMT

Greetings my fellow Taw members. the Star Wars Division has finally reached its action point. Deployment of the 1.2 patch has finally arrived and there are many wonderful things included that is exciting for us all. A new war zone has been implemented bringing us closer to living living your life on edge. Well not literally but figuratively. More on the Warzone can be found at (Please visit the site to view this media)

Along with this came the Guild banking system allowing for one of the Biggest asset gaining abilities for any guild in an MMO. Also a new Flash point has been implemented allowing for furthering experience on questing as well as advancement for our in game characters.

leaving a Legacy isn't hard, as we have been introduced to a new system allowing for connection between your characters. adding skills, feats, and a family line, truly unlocks the full potential of this fascinating MMO. More on that at

(Please visit the site to view this media).

Though we had a small loss in membership due to inactivity at the launch of the division, we have been moving steadily forward and gaining ground once again. We are seeing a growth happen and I encourage more members to come join us on the NA Fatman server. We offer gaming for PVP an PVE experiences that are exceptional as we promote our members through the ranks and get them set in leading the way.

Coming up, starting next month, will be a Taw v Taw meet sponsored in game as to where it will be our Empire v Republic teams. This will be held for all levels. This even will be held every third Tuesday or Wednesday of each month(still to be determined) due to raid scheduling. The events will host to a ladder style match where we will have team v team and 1v1 ladders allowing for the winner(s) to be able to win a 60 day prepaid time code.

Raiding has become more of a prominent feature in SWTOR and our squad leaders are gearing up to prepare for them. the newest one that has been added with the 1.2 patch is found at (Please visit the site to view this media)

I encourage our members to step up to the plate and take on leadership roles, as it refines our play and keeps the divisions momentum. Kronos has finally gotten his team together and reaching his full potential in management of the guild resources with the new guild bank system.

There's a lot more to be had by joining us in regards to the excitement of the Star Wars game, and we want to see you there. Customization of your appearance has been a favorite of mine personally, but there is something for everyone who comes in. So this sums up this episode of On the Drill Field I hope to see you in the game

May the Force be with you,

Draxton

CO of SWTOR NA Bn.

On the Drill field : New Horizons

Draxton — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:11:00 GMT

Sunday March 25th 2012 marked the beginning for SW Division. The launch went without a hitch and was very successful. Our former CO Russell moved to the DC position and TIGGERR moved to the DO position leaving anticipation to the Bn Level of leadership. Striving forward, SW is readying its next big venture with the Patch 1.2 to come around the corner bringing us the Legacy system , guild Bank and a couple cool new War zones. The recruitment has gone steady as a few changes are already under way. The recruitment drive is still going strong and will be pushing to continue throughout the end of this month, and most likely will be extended to the Month of April as well.

The Drill instructors are awaiting the fresh recruits, so as to allow for proper training and setting the ground basics for advancement within our Division. Tantalus speaks up this week representing the common thought for the Drill instructors as a collective thought.

From Tantalus;

"So here we are finally at the official spin up of SWTOR, we have all been working very hard to see this through. There are those who questioned whether or not TAW could apply its itself to such a large scale multi-faction MMO and succeed. Today we stand proof that it can be done and provide a template for others to follow.

That being said I would like to remind you all to always keep an open mind. Having played other MMO's for years and been part of endgame raiding guilds, I have seen the things that lift guilds up and the things that bury them. So having and open mind and understanding that everyone plays these games in a different way is a must if we as a division are going to survive. Some of you will want to PVP, others will want to PVE. Some of the PVE players will have flexible scheduled and be capable of raiding 5 nights a week. Others will maybe make 2 nights a week. This will create groups of players within the guild that are vastly more experienced and better geared. Some of those players who are more experienced will thrive on helping others attain what they have, and some will believe those lower should be forced to work as much as they did to get it.

Neither point of view expressed here is wrong. To those who excel faster than others I say, never become greedy of your knowledge. Even if you believe those behind you should not be carried take the time to share your knowledge in other ways. If you are clearing the highest tier of content, make videos with instructional commentary and share them with other members. Help to guide them without actually carrying them. To those on the lower end I say, never become envious of those higher than you, all good things come in time, and if you are diligent then you too will achieve the level of success within the game that you seek.

At the end of the day we are a community of gamers, we are here to have fun and engaging experiences, and to share in those experiences with our fellow community members. As people we will always have different opinions, but one of the most emphasized qualities of a TAW member is showing respect to others in all things. That includes respect for others opinions.

It has been my pleasure to have had a part in the launch of this division. I know we are more than capable of running this division for years to come, and I look forward to being
a part it both in and out of game for a long time."

Well said Tantalus, thank you for submitting your response.

It pleases me to see the growth potential and the community we have grown together. I for one will be holding true to the basis of the team mentality with TAW as a whole and as the SW Division grows. Leadership positions will open and many will have their shot taking hold in the leadership as a union between each other.

What moves our Battalion and Drives our sanctum of security? What motivates us to press onward to this ground breaking MMO? These are questions that will be answered in upcoming episodes of on the Drill field so stay tuned for further activity.

May the Force be with you,

~Draxton

On the Drill field: Co's word of the day

Draxton — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:32:00 GMT

Get down and give me Ten and more!

We have had a successful launch of our recruitment drive for our NA SWTOR Empire and Republic Guild. Recruits are coming in and our ranks are being filled. However we still need to get the new recruits to register at Taw.net and complete their boot camp.

last weeks episode of On the Drill Field explained in details many prizes that can be won to include a 60 day prepaid game time code as well as gaming gear such as headphones, keyboards and mouse/pad combos..

With this our leadership has amped up and Both the Empire and republic are reaching end game goals. With the new updates coming in, we are looking forward to the new guild bank as well as new War zones. and guess what a new class and legacy system are coming into effect.

this week we have had the opportunity to have a word with our current CO Russell.

Words From our Division CO,

"We are currently sitting on one of the most successful ground-up guilds that I've ever had the privilege to be apart of. We've not only managed to successfully put together a guild that is able to succeed in both PvE and PvP content, we've actually done it twice. One of the challenges of running both a Republic and an Empire guild concurrently is that every "challenge" that normally arises for a guild, arises for us twice. I'm very proud to say that we've really managed to pull both sides together and resolve everything actually ahead of the challenge. I credit this to the wealth of experience that the entire team brings to the table. We have had an amazing amount of participation from everyone involved. I am proud to say that we have fresh recruits to TAW already stepping up and taking the lead on making a raid here or a PvP match there be successful.

As one of the primary measures for a successful MMO guild is in terms of Raid Progression, I am extremely pleased to say that we have fielded multiple raid groups that meet with victory on a weekly basis. On our Republic side of things, we routinely run two distinct raid groups a week, one that is focused on gearing and training up, the other focused on pushing into new, more difficult content. Our second group is currently pushing through the "Hard Mode" worth of content and is only a boss or two from being able to claim full clears on that difficulty.

Our Empire raid groups are also meeting with some fantastic success. I am very excited to report that we have one of the premier raid groups on the server. With "Normal" and "Hard" modes on farm status, we have a raid group that is currently tackling "Nightmare" mode content, which is on the very cusp of raid content in SWTOR. Because of this group, TAW is currently ranked in the top 5 for a Raid Progression Guild on our server.

What's in store for us in the future? There are some extremely exciting game features that are on the horizon, the most exciting is an implementation of some competitive, ranked PvP. In response to this, there are already things in the works to ensure that TAW is able to continue our reputation of being a dominant PvP guild. It is my intention that we will be THE PvP dominate guild on our server. As a secondary comment on PvP, there are features being implemented to facilitate Guild verse Guild PvP. This is going to allow us to start to a month PvP event of Empire of TAW verse Republic of TAW. This promises to be one of the most exciting upcoming TAW events to date within SWTOR.

Lastly, it pleases me greatly to announce that Hook, our Spin Up Leader might actually have level 50 within his sights. Lets all make sure to send him some words of encouragement to help push him through those final levels and be able to join the rest of us rocking out all of the end game content. "

thanks Russell for your insights. Grats to Hook keep at it you got this.

Stay tuned for more information from NA SWTOR as we step one step closer to becoming a division apart from Vanguard.

May the Force be with you!

-Draxton

On the Drill Field: Day of the Recruit

Draxton — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:55:00 GMT

Nothing says "Hello MMO world!" like free game time and free gaming equipment.

Hello all,

Welcome to the third installment of On the Drill Field. In this segment, we are going to discuss the recruitment drive we are currently hosting. Since the release of Star Wars the Old Republic, we have seen a heavy increase in membership into TAW. With this increase, new challenges have come up in getting members to register on our site at www.taw.net as well as completion of their boot camp. With these issues, the NA Drill field have put together an opportunity for our members to obtain not only free prepaid game time, but also an upgrade to their current gaming equipment.

We have recently obtained 60 day game time cards, gaming headsets, & mouse and keyboard combos. The items will be given out as the first part of Operation Bootcamp commences. Here is how this is going to work.

During the Month of March members who wish to participate, will recruit ten or more new members into either Empire of TAW or Republic of TAW until the end of March. To qualify, each participant must have a minimum of 10 recruits and be an active member of TAW on the NA The Fatman server.

On the www.taw.net application:

The recruit must place the name of the taw.net registered member who recruited him/her into the "Recruited By:" section.
The recruit must place in game character name(s) and whether or not they are on republic and or Empire in the "Comments:"
The recruit must verify his/her email address via a verification email sent to the registered email from www.taw.net.
The recruit must successfully sign into Team Speak and pass boot camp to qualify the recruiting member as an entry.
The recruit must still be an active member by July 4th, as to which point we will hold an award ceremony on Thursday July 5th (or next closest mandatory meeting)

The awards will be given to the person(s) with the most successful longstanding recruits from the month of March.

1st place will receive a 60 day prepaid game card plus a choice of:

2nd place will receive a 60 day prepaid game time card and a Headset
3rd place will receive a 60 day prepaid game card.

In case of a tie for placement, rewards will be distributed equally, with no major changes.

This is just a start, and if this operation is successful, then there will be further opportunities in the future for more prizes and rewards.

Stay tuned for further information and insight for new designs for SWTOR Media, and video still in process.

May the force be with you,

-Draxton

On the Drill Field: A New Day

Draxton — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:26:00 GMT

So, it has been just over a week since we first published On the Drill field and a lot has happened since then. Star Wars the Old Republic has had a turn in leadership as the NA Battalion has stepped up recruitment and is driving at a steady speed.

NA DIs Modanya, ShadowRunner & Tantalus have been pushing forward bringing recruits in with the full understanding of what being a member of TAW is all about. They have been showing their unyielding motivation and desires to ensure loyalty and dedication from our new recruits and striving for the best quality and measures. Meanwhile, Vashone has left the position as a DI to further pursue his desires in becoming a leader in the Empire platoon and has already hit the ground running setting plans for future PVP excitement. Good luck and see ya on the battlefield Vashone!

Adrenalin was appointed position as the second Squad leader to aide in Empires dominance in PVE end game content. While Flipluck has maintained his push to end game successfully organizing multiple 8 to 16 man operations for the republic. Both have been gaining support from other guilds and 50s drawing a verbal alliance in raiding.

Our successful Thursday meeting brought out our members back to Tatooine where we held a soon to be anual TAW v TAW meet wich included a great turn out as well as a new event to be sponsored by us "Nude Brawling". (video of event coming soon)

Our members have maneuvered around to the point that growth is at its heaviest potential for this division. Almost daily, new recruits are coming to join TAW on both the Republic as well as empire platoons. Russell is now holding position as the CO of SWTOR NA Battallion and is leading firmly with his XO TIGGERR.

Jediborg was appointed position as PL for the Republic platoon and Zartaan has taken the lead for Empire. With this, Both sides have been pushing their expectations and reaching end game goals and accomplishments. Jedi has focused on and obtained his third lvl 50 (Jedi Guardian) and is gearing him up to lead on into end game raid content. Zartaan on the other hand has been focused on his lvl 50 Imperial Agent and pushing his platoon deeper into the end game content at least three times a week.

Given a chance to speak in his own words, Zartaan has honored us with his own insights up to this point.

"Since coming to play SWTOR with T.A.W. I have seen this imperial guild go from a sniper, assassin and an operative that wanted to play as some evil cutthroat bad guys to having a very successful full on raiding guild that no longer has to even go out of it's way to recruit as much, and that being because we have people that want to be part of a good raiding guild coming to us. For me personally the past few months have been very interesting with many highs and lows. I have met some people that I now consider friends that I interact with everyday. I have also been so frustrated that I have had my finger hovering over the quit guild key just a heartbeat away pressing it, from seeing set backs and seeing growth sit still.

On the other side of that I have taking screen-shots that are on my desktop background right now of the guild downing Karraga on hard-mode. But the one thing I always knew was there is NO better managed guild in gaming anywhere and it wasn't gonna be better anywhere else then it was here, there wasn't no way.. So even at low points and during frustration I decided that these guys had the tools in place for me to take charge of the situation and build an Imperial guild. I knew it would be a lot of work, anything worth having usually takes a lot work to get. And so here we are I hope you all are pleased and have fun gaming with The Empire of TAW. And I fully intend to keep pushing this thing until it is a monster and continue to help you all get gear and reach new achievements.

A few upcoming goals I would like to push for are:

For more members to get PVP geared and learn more about how to execute successfully.
This includes the sharing of information , such as websites with info, shot rotation info, and on non raid nights to go get our ilum dailies/weekly quests done.
And start doing premade wz's with everyone using coms
We now have Vashone as a PVP squad leader that wants to organize more pvp
More datacron hunting, because if you get them all it is like having another piece of gear.
For the guys that already know the hm flashpoints to teach others , so that they can teach others too, hm flashpoints drop Columi just like norm raids.
Starting a second weekly hm raiding team and changing the current one to a full time nightmare mode team.
Keep the norm difficulty raid at 16 man weekly until we have more then 16 then start another 8 man.
I would like for everyone to help each other to get geared, PVP together using teamspeak to complete objectives, make new people feel welcome, all while maintaining the high set of The Art of Warfare standards that set us apart from everyone else.

Last and most important...........Keep communicating problems and new ideas, this is YOUR guild, we are always listening...."

Thanks for the input Zartaan!!

Stay tuned for words from Jediborg in the near future, as I am sure his plans will be brought to light as well as far as where the Republic platoon will be headed.

Upcoming talks have begun for a all out recruitment drive. Talks and preparations are being made by the NA DI unit. these talks are of rewarding our members with different items and gaming equipment such as gaming headsets, keyboard/mouse combos and free month of game play. so definitely stay tuned for further information on this as it comes.

For now, We end this session of On the Drill Field, we look forward to seeing you next time or in game.

May the force be with you.

-Draxton

On the Drill Field

Draxton — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:29:00 GMT

Welcome to the first installment of "On the Drill Field",

Our former NA SO: TIGGERR has bounced his way to XO of the battalion and has turned the guide iron of the DIs over to myself. As the new SO of the NA Battalion, I will send in reports about upcoming events and strategies that will be implemented among my fine staff of DIs.

With the most recent updates for the SWTOR battalion, we have vamped up in our recruitment methods as well as our expectations. Our DIs are in full force and ready to take on the challenges of meeting with our new recruits and fulfilling boot camp needs. We have adopted a new charter to follow when conducting our boot camps and, thanks to TIGGER and his hard work and dedication, we now have a fully functional, new and improved DI Guide that became active on Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012. Our current DIs have proven themselves and stepped up to the challenge to weed out and train the recruits to represent our unit and TAW as a whole, with highest standards.

Currently our fine staff of active NA DIs are as follows:

Staff Officer - Draxton, 2nd Lt

Drill Instructor - ShadowRunner, SGT

Drill Instructor - Tantalus, SGT

Drill Instructor - Modanya, CPL

Drill Instructor - Remulus, CPL

Drill Instructor - Vashone, CPL

Drill Instructor - akillathehun, LCPL

As we proceed further down the road, many things will come our way and offer many opportunities. stay tuned for more details as they present themselves. For now however, know that for a soldier to be formed, proper training and dedication must be given from both sides. With this, the unit will survive and grow to its full potential...

Until Next time,

Draxton

On the Drill Field

TAW TOR Team Video

Hook — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:22:00 GMT

TAW TOR Team Video

About The TAW.net Star Wars Team

Hook — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:05:00 GMT

Regions: EU, NA and OC

Server Type: PvP

Factions: Republic and Empire

Focus: Raiding (End Game Focus)

We are primarily focusing on the end game operations however we will be active in PvP events, crafting and grouping for character progression. Our team offers something for everyone!

Meeting Times (Time Listed Is EST (NYC))

EU Friday's at 3PM EST

NA Friday's at 9PM EST

New Schedule

Hook — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 01:59:00 GMT

Beginning September 2nd the SW Team will meet twice on Fridays. See the EVENT calendar for more info.