No.10648 [Last50 Posts]
All right you slimos, let's do this. There are guides floating around for TCW and star wars vidya, but nothing concrete about the novels or other EU material besides GIB DARTH PLAGUEIS. Let's fix that, shall we? Pics related are a blank template to fill out, and my take on it, respectively. I'm still a bit of a newfag to the EU so my contribution is limited.
In addition to what I've started up here such a guide could probably benefit from a bit of color-coding, with colors denoting:
>must read, buy it or you're a fag
>okay but only good if you like the characters/other books in the series
>not great but honorable mention (could be an asterisk instead of a color-change)
>very…different and highly skubtastic Yuuzhan Vong I'm looking at you.
If you have something to contribute or disagree with one of the existing judgments feel free to bring it up, and post the edited template.
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No.10649
What about Zahn's Scoundrels/Allegiance/Choices of One trilogy?
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No.10650
You know? Kevin J. Anderson gets a lot of shit, but I think he's underappreciated. I think we need the Jedi Academy trilogy for context if nothing else.
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No.10670
>>10649
Zahn hasn't failed me yet, but I haven't read those books as of now so I personally can't comment.
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No.10679
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No.10682
Fate of the Jedi didn't really do it for me. It made Daala a straight up dumb villain rather than redeeming her. Abeloth was a dumb videogame boss, appearing multiple times. I did like Krayt appearing to help finish her, but it's just dumb. Who actually liked the mortis stuff from Clone Wars? The whole tribe of sith thing also didn't do it for me.
Crucible was also a piece of crap. the Qreph weren't compelling villains, and Mirta and Vestara had any depth stripped away from them to become generic villains again. The cloning thing was dumb and pointless, and the monolith scenes near the end were just so much pseudo-pholosophical garbage. It just screamed "hastily wrapping up with completely unsatisfying revelations pulled out of the author's ass"".
Legacy of the Force was much more interesting to me. In the fallout of the Vong War, Fett is dying. We learn more about him, and find his granddaughter, Mirta, a character with much potential. Han teams up with Boba and finally finishes his feud with Thrackan Sal-Solo (from the Corellian trilogy). I liked the way that, like the republic commando books, the mandalorians were really fleshed out and made to be very much their own thing. I liked Jacen being sympathetic, falling in a way similar to Vader, but with his own interesting political machinations.
I liked the way Jaina trained to defeat Jacen.
Ship, Lumiya and Alema I could do without though.
I recommend:
>LOTF, as above
>Darksaber - fun post ROTJ book that makes a good follow up to Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy. (Stars Durga the Hutt)
> Imperial Commmando 501st -looking at the lives of elite clone commandos in the empire. The closest we will get to an Republic Commando game sequel, complete with black ops raids killing fugitive jedi scum, and more mando goodness.
>Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter. Definitive Maul book.
>Jedi Academy trilogy. Let's be honest, I, Jedi would't be a thing without it. You can't have one and not the other.
>Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Whilst not integral to the old canon, it was historically important, being both the first EU novel and potentially a low-budget sequel to ANH that would've replaced Empire Strikes Back. Also has the original Kaiburr crystal idea, as it was intended to be. And has Luke slap the shit out of Leia.
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No.10683
>>10649
>>10670
Scoundrels is a bretty good Ocean's movie tribute. Allegiance is also decent. Both are self-contained and don't really affect any other material.
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No.10753
All of the Essential Guides, but especially Jason Fry's The Essential Guide to Warfare and The Essential Atlas. I'm currently reading about one General Romodi featured in the former, and if there was ever a case for the Empire having honest-to-the-Force heroes in their ranks, it can be found in this book. Guy's pretty much a sci-fi cyborg Patton.
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No.10755
>>10682
>Crucible was also a piece of crap. the Qreph weren't compelling villains, and Mirta and Vestara had any depth stripped away from them to become generic villains again. The cloning thing was dumb and pointless, and the monolith scenes near the end were just so much pseudo-pholosophical garbage. It just screamed "hastily wrapping up with completely unsatisfying revelations pulled out of the author's ass"".
I'll have to agree honestly, looking at it again now it didn't really hold up.
>Legacy of the Force was much more interesting to me. In the fallout of the Vong War, Fett is dying. We learn more about him, and find his granddaughter, Mirta, a character with much potential. Han teams up with Boba and finally finishes his feud with Thrackan Sal-Solo (from the Corellian trilogy). I liked the way that, like the republic commando books, the mandalorians were really fleshed out and made to be very much their own thing. I liked Jacen being sympathetic, falling in a way similar to Vader, but with his own interesting political machination
You've got a point, but most of that stuff is secondary to the main plot of LotF. The primary story of Jacen's fall just seemed like a schizophrenic retelling of Anakin's fall, with a much flimsier justification for becoming a Sith Lord to boot. Shouldn't Jacen of all people understand that the future is in flux, and that the one very specific thread he saw where he kills Luke only one of many?
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No.10764
>>10755
I'll admit the justification was pretty flimsy, but I liked the fall. I thought the coup was just fucking great.
The authors must've known Jacen's justification wasn't good enough, hence why Fate of the Jedi kept on focusing on his fall and the Throne of Balance.
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No.10789
>>10649
I haven't read scoundrels or choices of one. But allegiance I really liked. Especially the imperial portions of the book. It really humanized the storm troopers
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No.10841
Do not read anything by Karen Traviss
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No.10843
>>10841
I think the first Republic Commando novel (Hard Contact) is pretty good. It's a solid military adventure story with generally likable characters and a coherent plot. Triple Zero's overarching plot is decent, but it's definitely where the rot started to set in with Delta Squad's fanficcy inclusion, and all the melodramatic relationshit. True Colors is just terrible. Nothing but a sequence of the cheapest possible emotional gut-punches. I haven't mustered up the motivation to read Order 66, especially not since Traviss went and helped 343i to ruin Halo's fiction as well.
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No.11660
Updated, part with input from this thread and part from the general feeling from the board. (I know some have stood up for NJO/LotF but the prevailing opinion seems like they're shit).
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No.11663
>>11660
Shatterpoint, Labyrinth, Dark Lord, Death Star, Death Troopers, and Mindor are all fine books. You should also note that RotS adaptation is a must-read.
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No.11664
>>11660
I remember enjoying Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina and The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy when I was younger, but I've heard some people talk shit about the latter
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No.11665
>>11664
For me its the opposite. I enjoyed both but most seem to hate it Tales from MEC simply because of Dice Ibegon even though the whole point of Tales was to show that everyone has a story to tell and to expect the unexpected. Then again, the same idiots who diss it go around and praise From A Certain Point of View, Disney's shitty replacement for stories like Tales from the Cantina.
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No.11668
>>11660
Red and green is a bad combo. Too many people can't see it even before screen calibration. Make it green and purple.
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No.11684
>>11668
They're natural complements, no? What do you mean by "can't see it?"
>captcha: zog DNA
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No.11779
>>11684
red/green blurring together is one of the most common color blindness, and some displays make it even worse. You want a very pure red and green (pic related) in computer graphics.
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No.12041
Update because I completely forgot that I never posted this. Changed the neutral color to purple from orange, partially inspired by
>>11779. Added Dawn of the Jedi as shit because of fedora-tipping "balance" between the light and dark side, because only fart-sniffing hipsters assume that anything called "dark" and "light" must be equivalent to Eastern dualism. The Force is very clearly reflective of the Western concepts of good and evil. Changed Revan from green to red because the original rating was based mostly on hearsay. Also changed the NJO series to purple, mostly because it seems like the criticism directed towards it stems more from the yuge tonal shift than it does from the quality of the writing itself.
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No.12042
>>12041
Oh yeah, and I circled RotS to account for James Luceno's excellent novelization of it.
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No.12048
>>12041
>>12042
You want to put in some text to make that clear. Could be as simple as "(Novelization)" or "Novelization is actually really good."
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No.12049
>>12042
>Luceno
STOVAH. STOVAH, YOU FOOL.
Also, hey, you missed the rest of >>11663
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No.12053
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No.27045
I've been doing reading, and I've updated this guide. Took Darksaber off because I've heard very ambivalent things about it, I'd want a little more consensus besides one anon's word. I might pick it up myself at some point.
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No.27055
>>10841
I've only read Hard Contact and part through Triple Zero but so far she's the least bad female EU writer.
>>11660
>>12041
NJO has some very good books. Traitor was one of my favorites in the EU. The problem is that it's mixed with total garbage like Dark Journey, and because it's all connected you kind of have to slog through the trash.
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No.27074
>>10648
All EU novels are /sw/ approved
>>10841
Karen Traviss is one of the best EU writers, all Republic Commando books are essential reading
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No.27075
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No.27078
These lists frustrate me because they only ever mention the novels and films. What about the comics like Dark Empire that make a significant contribution to the overall story?
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No.27080
>>27078
plus the video games and essential guides
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No.27082
>>27078
>>27080
not to mention non-del rey or bantam series like Jedi Apprentice
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No.27088
>>27078
There are some resources like http://www.starwarstimeline.net which are more complete. I believe the reason this novels-only list is so predominant is that every Legends novel has this complete timeline within the front matter, meaning it's very widespread and officially supported. Timelines that include other media are mostly fan-made, and as a result don't enjoy the same degree of visibility.
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No.27092
I propose we do a beginner's guide to the the reading/playing order for the EU. Since most of the different media (video games, comic books, novels) tie into each other somewhat, we should make a chart showing the most important stuff to read if someone wants to get into a certain era.
For example, for Old Republic it would be: Tales of the Jedi -> Knights of the Old Republic -> Knights of the Old Republic II -> KOTOR comic -> Darth Bane Trilogy
For pre-Episode 1, Jedi Apprentice -> Omnibus - Rise of the Sith -> Darth Maul - Shadow Hunter -> Cloak of Deception -> Darth Plagueis
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No.27094
>>27092
That's actually a good idea, as most people need a place to start and don't just jump around the timeline the casuals.
For the New Republic era, I'll propose this:
>Truce at Bakura
>X-Wing up to Solo Command
>Thrawn trilogy
>X-Wing: Isard's Revenge
>Dark Empire comics
>I, Jedi
>Starfighters of Adumar
>Hand of Thrawn duology
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No.27096
>>27094
Can you skip Jedi Academy in favor of I, Jedi? I did for Jedi vs. Sith with Darth Bane and I didn't miss anything, is is the same thing here?
Also you might want to include Jedi Knight games in there.
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No.27099
>>27096
This. Jedi Academy is shit, but I, Jedi actually makes something good out of its worst.
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No.27109
Anyone remember this? I read this when I was 14 and I was terrified, I dunno about it now, but it always seemed to be the black sheep of star wars books.
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No.27110
>>27109
Haven't read it because I thought the idea seemed cheesy, but I loved Maul: Lockdown from the same author so who knows.
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No.27111
>>27096
It's what I did and I don't think I'm the worse for it. I believe quite a few people do exactly that given the opportunity, actually.
>Jedi Knight games
Didn't mean to disparage them by not including them, they're great games. I felt that, as Jedi Knight is a pretty self-contained story, it didn't have to be put anywhere in the guide as far as reading/playing order goes. You can play the game without reading any of the books and know what's happening, and reading all the books beforehand doesn't contain spoilers for the game. Because of this, I thought it wasn't necessary to include it in a starter's guide. Same with Shadows of Mindor–independent of quality questions, it's a standalone book, and implied to be the events of an in-universe holodrama, that can you can pick up and read anytime. As such, it doesn't have to be in a babby's first EU guide.
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No.27116
>>27109
I quite like this one. I think it could be interesting to see more horror themed SW stories. The opening of the level where the squad enters the derelict Prosecutor was pretty eerie.
Deathtroopers/Republic Commando mod when?
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No.29380
Update with the Corellian Trilogy. I almost made this purple for the sheer fact that the Human League wears literal brown shirts and armbands as their uniform, but the writing's good so it just barely makes it itno green. Also, the author keeps saying that the Empire is completely dead and gone, which is annoying.
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No.29384
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No.29390
One thing that's always bothered me about these lists, is the lack of Jedi aprentice and Jedi Quest on them. Sure its a "kids" series but they still hold up remarkably well.
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No.29391
>>29390
I never read Jedi Quest. Is it a good read?
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No.29392
>>29391
I'd say so. It follows Obi-wan and Anakin in the years between TPM and AOTC, similar to how Aprentice was for Obi-wan and Qui-gon.
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No.29495
>>29390
Same goes for Young Jedi Knights (barring one or two canon hiccups), which I also just noticed isn't on this list.
Speaking of which, anyone have that "Depths of the EU" picture with the iceberg?
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No.29506
Is there an image like this, but for Dark Horse comics?
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No.29584
>>29506
I don't think so, but Tales of the Jedi is a must for Comic readers.
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No.29589
>>29506
I checked some of the last comics from Dark Horse (Sons of Dathomir, Legacy Vol. 2, Dawn of the Jedi) and none of them had a timeline. Oddly enough though, one of their older releases "Panel to Panel Vol. 2" does have one. Obviously it's not up to date, it's from 2007.
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No.29592
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No.29602
I am reading Republic Commando books now. I am like 80 pages into the third one. I liked the first one a lot, but the second I found a chore to read, the third one too. I don't like the relationship drama stuff and all the whinging about muh evil jedi muh evil republic muh heritage. And some of the stuff is highly autistic, like the clones having their own special song and dance routine or singing to each other on their helmet coms. I think all the jedi in it are written quite badly and really aren't how jedi ought to be, which can be totally fine if it's an exception, but they're all written badly so it doesn't work. I will read them all but I wouldn't recommend these books so far at least.
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No.29610
>>10648
My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute by Luke Skywalker. Also, the Thrawn Trilogy.
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No.29622
>>29602
I love the 2nd and 3rd books (4 and 5 too but maybe not quite as much) Which Jedi don't you like? Jusik? Etain? Arligan Zey? There aren't that many. They're really not perfect Jedi but I'd say they're all written very honestly. The mandos were pretty hypocritical too from what I remember. The pov is always juggled from character to character so there never actually is any "muh evil jedi" narrative, everyone in the books has a biased pov and no one is objectively correct. I've heard some people complain that the female characters are weak but I thought they were pretty realistic. Maybe a little too realistic? Some of them seemed to totally lack their own agenda (i.e Besanys friend)
>like the clones having their own special song and dance routine
this is the "special song"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhF7M1a5H5Y
it plays on the kashyyyk level in the video game
that shit is so amazing because when you read those scenes and the concept is introduced, it's slipped in so intelligently and the writing is so cinematic you can imagine this absurd thing being totally filmable. It's probably funny without context, but this is the type of star wars filoni babbies and redditors can't handle, this is advanced level stuff. It's in touch with humanity and this makes the fedoramasters squirm. I'd say all the characters are actually very neurotypical which is probably why the novels are so enjoyable for me. They really are the opposite of autism (although maybe a little too emotional for some tastes), but definitely not video gamey or autistic or robotic. Maybe it's because the novels mostly follow the spec ops units, but I like that the clones aren't autistic boyscouts like in TCW and that they actually have balls. I like how we learn that even docile regular troopers like Corr aren't just useless "yessir no sir" npc-versions of Jango Fett. Kind of makes you think, just how much was Lama Su exaggerating about the modding when shilling the troopers to Obi-Wan. I also fucking loved the anti-aging cure sub plot. SO good.
If you want an improved, slightly more tacticool version of the 2008 TCW film, read the novelization by Karen Traviss. Even TCW characters are much more realistic in her books. She also wrote the TCW novel "No Prisoners" which has Pellaeon. They may have cartoony covers but they're totally in-depth and realistic like the main EU books. Also do NOT forget to read the short stories "Omega Squad: Targets" and "Odds"
anyway you can tell I'm enthusiastic about these books. I'll tell you why, they're the first EU novels I read. It was massive eye opener to me, the idea that you can make star wars feel "normal" and not larger than life, or the idea that it can be a military sci-fi thriller while still being in the spirit of star wars. I guess I knew it was possible, but these books really sold it. I really like the more mundane moments in the EU in general, one example that comes to mind is in one of the Maul novels, where the guy is on Coruscant in public using an ATM and travels using a regular moving walkway or an elevator or something and people staring at him. There's just something so satisfying about that. Without spoiling anything, I love the way the way Order 66 command is revealed in the 4th book. It embodies so many things I like about the series. The nuance and drama is excellent.
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No.29627
>>29592
Very nice, thank you.
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No.29669
A companion to the reading guide.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
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No.29681
>>29669
Are Bedlam Spirits really on a higher level than Celestials? I always figured they were rogue Celestial children since their behavior is just like the Son and Daughter.
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No.29684
>>29681
>rogue Celestial children
Hohoho.
Read this: >>23165 . You're not far off the mark.
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No.29687
>>29684
Wait, I was right? That's fucking rad!
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No.29763
>>29380
Why does Kevin J. Anderson get so much hate again? I'm not doubting that you guys are wrong, I just haven't had much exposure to his works. I thought the Jedi Academy trilogy was alright, but nothing special. What has he done to draw such ire on the level of Karen Traviss or R. A. Salvatore?
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No.29767
>>29763
>What has he done to draw such ire on the level of Karen Traviss or R. A. Salvatore?
The Sun Crusher.
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No.29770
>>29380
Splinter of the mind's eye should be in Green. The fight at the end and his duel with one of the creatures of the world alone should warrant it being on the approved list.
The Han Solo adventures (not the 3 newer novels like paradise snare, the old ones), at least of what I've read (2/3) I would consider good. Others may not though due to the more adventurous tone that some of the other EU books lack, as well as the absence of the empire. They take place in Authority Sector controlled space (what is, or at least was when Han Adventures were written, its own entity), and as such the villains are different. So, I guess purple for them. I have enjoyed them thus far, others might not
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No.29771
>>29669
>tfw I seem to have skipped most of Padawan and gone to knight
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No.29772
>>29770
Gotcha, unless someone objects it will go in the next update.
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No.29783
>>29772
Would it be possible to add the books that are missing to list while still keeping it reasonably readable? I've noticed a few things are missing, like the Rebel Force and other YR/YA novels, along with a few CYOAs. I suppose having a separate list for that and the reference books would be useful.
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No.29785
>>29783
It could probably be done, but compiling a separate pic would likely be easier.
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No.29792
>>29767
Yeah, it's yet another goddamn superweapon, but that's par the course for a lot of EU works. It's dumb, but I never felt like it wrecked the overall world, plot, or characters. That invites the debate over Kyp Durron, but then we would end up arguing about the morality of destroying the Death Star and such.
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No.29867
Has anyone read the Black Fleet trilogy? It any good?
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No.29872
>>29867
It's alright. Less of a swashbuckler and more on the sci-fi side, and not as laid back as the X-wing series. You get three separate plotlines (main conflict + Luke and Lando doing their thing) that don't meet until the very end and if you don't like one of them it can become something of a drag. Interesting for New Republicfags who want to learn a bit about their military. Also some underrated wookie bits.
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No.29873
>>27078
>Dark Empire
>significant contribution
As much as I love the art style and what the narrative was attempting to work towards, even I have to admit that you could take it out of the timeline and literally nothing would change. It's ending was far too conclusive.
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No.29876
>>29589
This misses out a few things and seems to also screw with the timeline a little. E.g you've got all nine republic volumes occurring between 32-19, but volume eight covers the stark hyperspace war which happens earlier in 44. You've also missed out the Knights Errant comic series that takes place just before jedi vs sith.
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No.29877
>>29876
exactly, it's from 2007 and not really properly organized
the Del Rey novel timeline isn't perfectly chronological either and is missing stuff. Most of these official lists aren't that great, you kinda have to rely on 3rd party stuff like starwarstimeline.net and wookieepedia
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No.29888
>>29873
It had some lasting impact on Luke, which came up in I, Jedi. Because of his experience serving the reborn Emperor, for a while Luke became convinced that everyone had to have some kind of close brush with the dark side before their training was truly complete, and that flawed approach crept into his teaching.
Of course, just to play Alderaan's Advocate, you could argue that his confrontation with Vader and the Emperor over Endor would also lead to this mindset, but that wasn't nearly as dramatic an exposure to the dark side as his service to Palpatine reborn.
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No.29897
>>29888
>as his service to Palpatine reborn.
The problem I have with this is that, whilst I loved the mysticism of Byss and the further extrapolation of the dark side, the plot itself was far too by the numbers. We never really get a sense of Luke's fall or inner conflict - one panel he's nasty, the next he's good again. It came across as amateur; a real missed opportunity. RoTJ did a much better job and even that was inadequate in a lot of ways. Like I say, it's a real shame because Dark Empire was a perfect medium through which to explore the corrosive and seductive nature of the Dark Side in real depth.
Instead, we got a ham-fisted rehash.
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No.29921
>>29770
I don't think the setting being so far from the core with a tight enough local authority that the Empire is not immediately relevant warrants taking the book (There's a collected version and it's not all that big) and being a slightly different genre takes it down to purple
>>27116
How is Galaxy of Fear for an adult reader anyways?
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No.29928
>>29897
You're right that it's not a very good story, but the fact remains that multiple books reference its events, which makes it significant.
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No.29991
>>29921
>and being a slightly different genre takes it down to purple
I have the 3 in 1 version.
I agree on it should be green, I just thought others might not like the more adventure driven tone and setting. If you think they would, put it in green
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No.29997
>>29792
Kevin J Anderson gets hate because he tried to retroactively rewrite scenes from the movie. The Death Star being IG-88 for example.
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No.29998
>>29997
Kevin also wanted to kill Luke, Han and Leia.
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No.30006
>>29997
>>29998
Now that is what I was expecting to garner such a level of hatred. Why the hell would he want to kill off the original trio?
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No.30008
>>30006
I guess he just wanted to be a special snowflake. People gave a lot of shit to Traviss and might've or might not have deserved some of it, but most of it was due to her getting so much coverage. By the mid 2000s KJA had faded from memory and he was lucky the internet wasn't around during his reign and that better authors were called in to rewrite his shit and retcon it, otherwise he would've truly gotten more hate that was well deserved. He wasn't Chuck Wendig-levels of bad, but he almost came close.
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No.30014
>>29602
After watching the Jedi launch Star Destroyers from orbit in Darksaber, I found the anti-jedi sentiment in the Republic Commando books very pleasing. That was many years ago and I can see why people hate them now. Tripple Zero put me to sleep, I liked Order 66, and Imperial Commando was just a transition story for a book that would never come out. I would agree that the power wank on those guys was too much. I think there is so much room for a "PT Jedi aren't suited to be soldiers or deal with a clone army ect", but Traviss executes it poorly. I liked the clone/mandalorian culture, but I haven't read all of them so my judgement isn't total.
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No.30015
Added The Han Solo Adventures, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, and the Black Fleet Crisis based on anon recommendations. Also changed up the rating of Republic Commando a bit to highlight how skubtastic and contentious it is, as everyone seems to have an opinion on it.
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No.30034
>>30015
good call and a clever/accurate visual edit on the republic commando stuff, but you should find a way to also visually connect Imperial Commando to Republic Commando as it's basically the same series, just with an updated name. Direct continuation from Order 66 and you typically read it right afterwards.
>tfw matthew stover Imperial Commando sequel never ever ;_;
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No.30051
>>30015
>revan is red
Are the old repbulics bad? Is the story bad, the prose, something else?
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No.30052
>>30051
<old republics
Old republic books I mean
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No.30056
>>30051
I remember it reading like a shitty young adult book. Simple characterization and motivations, and dumb shit like Revan going undercover as "Avner" or everything ever being part of some keikaku by the Dark Side version of the anti-Christ. You'd think it'd be better since it was written by the head writer of the first KOTOR game and the Darth Bane novels.
Most of the fiction that is part of the TOR MMO is pretty underwhelming. It's like filler at best.
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No.30057
>>30052
>Old republic books
I've always heard good stuff about them, I think "Deceived" (Paul S Kemp) was the fan favourite and from what I understand you don't have to know anything about the MMO. Ironically, it was the non-Revan books starring literally whos that seemed to be more popular.
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No.30058
>>30015
>crucible is bad
well that's a disappointing way to end it all
Should I read outbound flight before or after survivor's quest?
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No.30060
>>30051
I can only speak for the Revan book. Imagine the lead writer of kotor 1 getting asshurt over kotor 2, retconning it, shitting on it, and plagiarizing it at the same time. It's a shitty bad end for the protagonists of the first couple of games just so TOR's protagonist can meet Revan. It also kills off T3-M4 because fuck you.
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No.30061
>>30058
They're both pretty standalone books, it's your choice whether you go in chronological order (outbound->survivor's) or publication order (survivor's->outbound).
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No.30062
>>30060
>I can only speak for the Revan book. Imagine the lead writer of kotor 1 getting asshurt over kotor 2, retconning it, shitting on it, and plagiarizing it at the same time. It's a shitty bad end for the protagonists of the first couple of games just so TOR's protagonist can meet Revan. It also kills off T3-M4 because fuck you.
Well that's really fuckin gay. Makes me wish we had just gotten kotor III
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No.30095
>>30052
>>30051
>>30056
>>30057
>>30060
>>30062
The Old Republic is the TCW for the Old Republic Era. It does a whole bunch of damage to established characters like Revan and the Exile, completely ignored previously established events such as the ending to KOTOR II and what happened to the rebuilt Jedi Academy on Malachor. And it also looks visually different from everything else (the visual design makes it look like it takes place in the Rebellion era or Legacy comics than it does in the TotJ/KOTOR era). Neither is it really referenced at all in non-TOR expanded universe novels.
It's a shame too, because Darth Bane was an excellent book trilogy. I don't know if Drew Karpyshn turned into a hack over the years or what but it really fucked with Old Republic lore.
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No.30096
>>30095
>I don't know if Drew Karpyshn turned into a hack over the years or what
probably from being forced to write shitty lore for bioware for mass effect dulled his writing abilities over the years
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No.30101
>>30095
It's amazing how bad every single writer became the minute EA took over. I wonder if it was a management issue, where they didn't give a single fuck about the quality and it rubbed off on everyone.
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No.30145
>>30095
>Neither is it really referenced at all in non-TOR expanded universe novels.
unsurprisingly, based Luceno managed to sneak Valkorion/Vitiate into Plagueis
>I don't know if Drew Karpyshn turned into a hack over the years
he has always had detractors, I've talked to people on the internet that did not like the Bane novels for some reason.
Anyway, SWTORs accessibility is tied to how personally you take the kotor 2 & revan stuff. If you can get over it then there's no problem really. Unlike TCW, swtor doesn't directly overwrite anything. It brings a few things from the previous games into an unfavourable direction (I guess it depends on where you stand), but 99% of it is original and explores new territory. It's just a new chapter like dawn of the jedi. The entire point was of course to allow people to "live" in the old republic era and explore it from different povs and inject cool stories in there to keep them hooked. I think this is where the game simply excelled at in terms of making the setting feel natural and not like "filler". I love that there's massive amounts of breathing room between Revan and Bane and we can see all of it. I really like the atmosphere in the game too, I love some of the sith & jedi fashion. Even if you're not a fan of the end result, at least it was a new excuse to pour millions of dollars into the EU while giving it more visibility. Unlike TCW, it was still a new thing at end of the day and not a replacement/remix. These days, I just don't think the project is worth looking at that negatively anymore. I think people really oughta give the game another chance and to try and enjoy it while it lasts. I played it since launch and already got everything I can out of it, but I'll always remember it as a fun, adventurous part of the EU. New stories, new art, new music, new worlds, cultures etc–as a multimedia project I thought it was far more exciting compared to The Force Unleashed. In fact, if you really take it all in, it's been a massive part of star wars since late 2011/early2012. In many ways I imagine it's been just as much of an EU safe haven for some people as this board is. I love most stuff from the EU with a strong visual side, but a strong interactive side? even better. Galaxies was a great sanbox, but the aesthetic and all the planets was stuff we've seen before. SWTOR, like KOTOR 1 may have been inspired by the prequels a lot but at least it was still unarguably "new".
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No.30206
>>30145
Agreed. Though I hate how they handled Vitiate's characterisation towards the end. The idea of a sociopath learning to experience empathy as a byproduct of his own will to power was very novel. To see him reduced to yet another big bad was depressing, particularly as he always came across as a dime store knock off of the Emperor anyway. They were going in exactly the right direction initially with the introduction of Zakuul and his subsequent redemption arc. I guess ""the producers"" or whoever couldn't allow a white male to grow and develop beyond the role of villain and monster. It's a good thing that the next expansion is shaping up to be strong independent black female vs. strong independent brown female. I mean, returning to faction warfare and having every major character be female really worked for Battle For Azeroth right?
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No.30213
>>30206
It's simpler than that. Bioware have shown previously their difficulties giving their main villains nuance, and Vitiate was no exception. Should have given it over to Avellone.
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No.30216
>>30213
But he HAD nuance and then they took it away.
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No.30222
>>30216
Honestly, I thought they were always going in this direction.
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No.30234
>>30222
Only because it was the most obvious way to go. But there were hints that he could have been something far more - a monster inadvertently redeemed through his own relentless quest for power and new experience.
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No.30237
>>30234
Vitiate's earlier dialogue certainly suggested that he was meant to be something more than another bland Big Baddie. I know a lot of people didn't like KotFE/KotET but personally I was excited to see where it would go, at least in the earlier stages. It felt radically different than anything SWTOR had attempted before. I feel like the story was forced to a nonsensical closure.
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No.30240
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No.30725
>>29921
>How is Galaxy of Fear for an adult reader anyways?
Anyone know? At 12 books it's actually the longest running EU novel series since even if you count Wraith Squadron and I, Jedi there are only 10 Rogue Squadron books.
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No.30781
>>30725
Don't forget Starfighters Over Adumar.
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No.30784
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No.31446
what good books are there on the clone wars politics?
preferably something about the seperatists
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No.31474
>>31446
The Essential Atlas dives into the politics of Star Wars, including the Clone Wars. And the guide to Essential Warfare has some political information about both side's war effort.
Most of the political stuff is Pre and Post Episode 1, but there is some in some issues of Star Wars Republic.
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No.31475
>>31446
The Dark Horse Dooku comics are perfect CIS wank.
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No.31476
>>31475
examples?
wich ones exactly?
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No.31485
>>31476
Fourth issue of Star Wars Jedi titled Count Dooku.
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