There is a massive Galaxies Patch on the official site. Some of the notable and amusing things found while skimming it are:

- Mounts have been added! Players can now ride Bols, Brackasets, Kaadu, Carrion Spats, Dewbacks, and Falumpasets. To get a mount, mounts must be your pet AND trained as a mount. Players can either buy them as trained mounts or players with pets can take their pets to a Creature Handler (with the correct skill) to be trained as a mount. Bio Engineers can create mountable pets but can't automatically train them unless they have Creature Handler skills.

- Player Cities are now live! This extensive system allows you to become the Mayor of your own city. Included with the player city system are many new structure types including city halls, cantinas, and cloning facilities. Read the in-game Holocron pages on Player Cities for information on how to start and run a city.

- The Politician profession is now live! In order to build a city you have to be a politician. Politicians gain skills that let them build bigger and more impressive cities. You can find politician skill trainers in all the major planetary capital cities.

- Added the DLT20 rifle to novice weaponsmith.

- /centerOfBeing went in with this patch, it is a melee discipline that will greatly enhance the tanking power of player characters.

- Added the ability to see base maintenance rates on structure deeds.

- Added new command, "/notepad", allows modifications to a text file that gets saved as "notes.txt" in the user's base profile directory.

- Removed the 'experimental durability' property from structure components, because it didn't actually do anything.

- Players cannot tame baby creatures while dead or incapacitated.

Galaxies is constantly getting better!

LucasArts announces the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic "Choose Your Destiny" sweepstakes.

Enter for a chance to win an array of great prizes such as:
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Enter Today!

The Official Star Wars Site has announced the author of the Episode III novelization.

"New York Times bestselling author Matthew Woodring Stover will write an original novel based on the upcoming Star Wars movie, Episode III. Though the publication date is yet to be announced, Del Rey Books is expected to release the hardcover novelization in time for the film's theatrical debut in the summer movie season of 2005."

"The novel will be based on the story and screenplay written by George Lucas. The aciton takes place three years after the events of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, and chronicles the final descent of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and his ultimate transformation into Darth Vader."

Stover is no stranger to the Star Wars universe, having also penned Shatterpoint and NJO's Traitor.

"Shatterpoint made me feel like I can bring out the interior life of a character that you've only seen the outside of on the screen. That's a lot of what I anticipate I'm going to be doing for this novelization," says Stover. "I think that Lucasfilm and Del Rey feel I have a certain insight into the dark side. That is, after all, what I was writing about in both of my previous Star Wars books."

The online petition to get the Original Trilogy (OT), along with all of it's cut-scenes and in it's original release format, has crossed 45,000 signatures! OriginalTrilogy.com has been trying to get the OT onto DVD for years. Click here to sign the petition.

Although the OT is coming out in Fall of 2004, it will NOT be in it's original release. It will be in it's Special Edition format, but modified even further, and we still might not see the cut-scenes. However, I was searching around a while, and found some of the cut-scenes from the Trilogy! Although they are not in full screen and don't have good quality or background music, you can still view them by clicking here. Among the lost scenes you'll see C3P0 removing a sign on Hoth, a sandstorm, a lost Biggs scene, the original Cantina scene, Luke and the treadwell, Luke going to Toshi station and Biggs saying goodbye.

Hello everyone! I would just like to let you all know that Galactic Voyage is 4 years old today! I started the site on November 14 back in 1999. Thank you to all who have come and enjoyed Galactic Voyage for the last 4 years! It has been a great ride! With out fans and staff like you, I would not have been able to keep this site going!

I would also like to say a special thank you to my wife and little girl for allowing me to continue to bring you the best of Star Wars on a daily basis. It has been hard, but I hope that with your support, Galactic Voyage will continue to grow and prosper in the future. Take care all!

TF.N has written their own review on Rebel Strike. Here's a brief snippit:

The meat of the game still resides in the space combat, and you can expect similar missions styles and medal earning challenges to the previous two titles in the series. In reality, nothing much has changed in this area of the game, but there’s nothing wrong with that since Rouge Leader was such a perfectly developed game in the first place.

On the surface, the biggest change in the presentation circles goes to the framerate. Despite how beautiful Rogue Leader was, Factor 5 decided to bump up the effects even further, and although there are still slight occasions of slowdown, the result is stunning. I really couldn’t see how they could improve it further, but there’s even further detail in the ships, the draw distance has been pushed back a little further in the background allowing for more to appear on screen at once (always handy for deadly dogfights), and everything seems a tad brighter then before (or is that just me?).

Hit the above link for the full review.

The Tech Central Station features an article entitled, “Technology Is Ruining Movies”, which looks at why the author didn't like the Matrix sequels or the Star Wars prequels. Here's an excerpt:
OK, so prequels are inherently dubious, but when it came to "Star Wars," we all figured, hey, creator-director-producer George Lucas is a genius; he's the premier mythmaker of our time, he's channeling Joseph Campbell, he's got all those Industrial Light & Magic people working for him, and those SFX-ers can do anything.

All that presumptive optimism, of course, was punctured when the actual movie appeared. Remember all that talking? All that plot-exposition-ing? Lucas was so anxious to keep up with his own legend-pretensions that he filled his film with speechifying by various queens, senators, supreme chancellors, and trade federationeers, all of which wordiness seemed more suitable for C-SPAN than the local cineplex.

And who can forget -- no matter how hard they might try -- Jar Jar Binks? In "Phantom" we learned that Lucas had a racial-determinist streak; in addition to Jar Jar's being a cross between an incompetent Stepin Fetchit and a wacked-out Rastaman, all the evil characters in the film had Asian or Middle Eastern looks and accents. Most disturbing of all, we learned that membership in the Jedi Knights was not reckoned by meritocratic virtue -- in the way, for example, that the young King Arthur proved himself by pulling the sword from the stone -- but rather by the presence of "midi-chlorians" in the blood. In other words, the Jedi were a kind of master-race.

Hit the link above to read the rest of the article. Thanks to TF.N for this info.

'A New Hope', 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi' all made it onto the Oregonian's top 50 best sci-fi films ever made, which they compiled by polling 15 writers and hardcore sci-fi buffs. Here are the Star Wars entries:

5. "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980, Irvin Kershner): It is your destiny! This dark heart of the original "Star Wars" trilogy riveted audiences when it was first released with its great plot twist: Luke Skywalker learns that evil Darth Vader turns out to be dear ol' dad. But it's the introduction of two key characters -- Jedi master Yoda and bounty hunter Boba Fett -- and those incredible snow walkers that gives this sequel an edge on the original.

6. "Star Wars" (1977, George Lucas): "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is the opening premise. Then comes John Williams' blast of brass and the opening story crawl that changed sci-fi forever. The story evokes the film serials of the 1940s and '50s, and none of the acting rises above that level -- even thespian Alec Guinness overdoes it a bit. But the story of how farm boy Luke Skywalker becomes an intergalactic hero is the stuff of myth, echoing Shakespeare, Wagner and Jung. Heady stuff for a movie in which one of the leads has a cinnamon-bun hairdo.

42. "Return of the Jedi" (1983, Richard Marquand): Rumor has it that George Lucas' original concept had the planet of Endor as the wookie home world. Think of how different that ewok-free movie would have been. Still, "Jedi" has the best action sequences of the series -- the Imperial speeder bike chase through the forest and the three simultaneous sequences at the finale -- and introduces Ian McDiarmid's wicked and wonderful Emperor Palpatine. He had us at hello.

Hit the link above to check out the full Top 50.

The latest Homing Beacon has arrived, and today we get to talk more about the people behind The Clone Wars cartoon series. The Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series has started, and is currently running on The Cartoon Network and starwars.com Hyperspace. To provide the voices of the classic characters are a group of talented voice actors who, in most cases, have played these characters before.

If Anakin sounds familiar, particularly to video gamers, it's by design. Mat Lucas is the voice of the Chosen One in the micro-series. He previously played Anakin in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars video game from LucasArts, available for the GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is played by James Arnold Taylor, whose vocal talents can be heard in many video games and animated works. He provided numerous voices for The Animatrix short films, was the voice of Pippin in the video game release of The Fellowship of the Ring, and has provided guest voices in such Cartoon Network programs as "Powerpuff Girls" and "Johnny Bravo"

Providing the elegant vocal tones of the evil Count Dooku is Corey Burton. Burton previously played Dooku in several LucasArts video games, including Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. He can be heard in many Disney projects, and fans of ‘80s animation will remember Burton as the voice of Xamot, one of the evil Crimson Guard Commanders on "G.I. Joe," and as the Decepticon Shockwave and the human tag-along Spike in "The Transformers."

Tom Kane does the voice of Yoda. He had previously played the ancient Jedi Master in Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, and Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles. He has also performed for many other LucasArts titles, dating back to providing the voice of Leebo the droid in Shadows of the Empire. Cartoon Network viewers can hear him regularly as Professor Utonium, the creator and guardian of the Powerpuff Girls.

Nick Jameson is another LucasArts veteran. For the micro-series, he plays Palpatine, a role he previously voiced in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, Star Wars: Rebel Assault II -- The Hidden Empire and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. Fans of Kyle Katarn should note that Jameson first provided the voice for that character in the original Dark Forces game.

Though Padmé Amidala and the deadly Asajj Ventress don't have much in common, they are both voiced by singer Grey DeLisle. DeLisle also played Padmé in such video games as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, and Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles. She provided the voice of Padmé's daughter, Princess Leia, in Star Wars: Force Commander. She plays a variety of characters for various Cartoon Network projects, and is the new voice of Daphne on various "Scooby Doo" specials.

For the role of C-3PO, Cartoon Network went straight to the original source. Anthony Daniels provided the voice of the classic protocol droid character, just as he did for the original Droids animated series in the mid-1980s.

The latest Star Wars Insider is out, and TF.N has a report on it. Although not everything is spoilers, alot of it is. Spoilers - Highlight to read:

Here’s a few of Rick McCallum’s answers from the "Rumor shooting gallery"

Insider: ”We read on Hyperspace that you said there’s another character who’s a clone.”

McCallum: ”Uh, I did. But you can’t believe [everything you read online]. In the middle of that set I had to go out and take a telephone call, and Pablo continued, and he gets me into so much trouble”

Insider: ”Chewbacca delivers the children to safety.”

McCallum: ”Negative.”

Insider: “One of the principal characters has a near-nude scene”.

McCallum: ”No. Topless.”

Also, there’s some great pictures from the set, including one of Obi-Wan and Anakin in the lobby of a Trade Federation cruiser, a pic of Hayden in the make-up chair waiting patiently for that days transformation with the caption “-a prelude to a much more dramatic one later”, Anakin and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine discussing “something of importance”, as well as a shot of a new vehicle, a transporter for the Supreme Chancellor.

TF.N has provided a great spoiler, with a bit of dialogue and some info on Obi-Wan! Spoilers - Highlight to read:

So far we know that Obi-Wan becomes good friends with a character in the film. Ironically, he is a one of the new clonetroopers - you should know that these are the ones that are the final step forward in the evolution to the stormtroopers we all know and love.
The clone/stormtrooper is from Trooper Factory 011 on the planet Coruscant. He is a prototype Stormtrooper. Evidently he is one of the jillions of troopers created for the beginning of the Empire (unbeknownst to Kenobi) and this is one of the scores of factories on different worlds all over the galaxy. We'll finally get to see where the Classic Trilogy stormtroopers are born. You remember that number on their backpack, don't you? Wow.

On the back of this clone/stormtrooper is the number 011 from the factory he was created. Obi-Wan gives him the name (sounding like) "OH11" and they have a brief bit of dialogue in the film to establish their relationship. At one critical moment in the film, when Palpatine turns all of the Clones against the Jedi. O11, who is with Kenobi, becomes stiff and robotic - almost like he is being controlled. Kenobi who is realizing what is happening - ignites his lightsaber and is forced to strike 011 across his chest plate. The Trooper drops to its knees then falls lifelessly to the ground with his blaster still in hand. there's some moving moments to make this scene dreadfully sad. Here is what looks to be the brief dialogue for this scene:


011: "Target Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Locked on."
The saber strike happens, the Clone's body drops
Kenobi: "It was always Ben to you my friend...goodbye."

Ricardo Elorza got a chance last Friday to sit down with Samuel L. Jackson in Madrid, Spain. He was there promoting "S.W.A.T". And while he was interviewing him for his TV show, he also shot off some questions for TF.N. Here's a transcript of what he said about Episode III:

Ricardo: OK, now that you´ve finished your participation in the "Star Wars´ movies...

Jackson: Not necessarily.

Ricardo: Well, maybe there are some pick-up shots left (Jackson nods his head in agreement), how was the experience of portraying a Jedi Knight?

Jackson: It´s been awesome! It was a lot more than I bargain for when I asked, you know, to be in the films. George Lucas did an enormous kind of favor for me by creating this particular role because I was just asking for being in the film. I was willing kind of being a stormtrooper or whatever, run to a frame or something and say, I was in the film! That´s me, right there! He created this really interesting character for me that is an important character that, now, has...I guess, a place the "Star Wars" lore that´s pretty prominent.

I think in Episode III he´s definetely answered a lot of the questions that people had over the years about how this particular thing happened or why this person is this way, you know...who is connected to this and who is connected to that, but I think, he´s also done what a lot of people has asked and probably gone a little further in that people was so angry about the first episode because they thought it was just a kiddy movie and the second episode because is kind of, well...that didn´t answer all the things we need.

So now, he has put all these things together and tied it up. It´s very dark and shakespearean...and adult, and more violent than a "Star Wars" movie used to be. Hopefully they´ll be satisfied with this particular episode.

Ricardo: You wanted to be in these films...you got it. You asked for a purple light saber...you got it. Did you get the proper death you demanded for your character?

Jackson: (Laughing)Yeah...I did.

MovieZone recently had the honor of interviewing Hayden Christensen. While it mostly centered on Shattered Glass, Episode III comes up briefly. Here's a clip:

MZ: You worried?

Hayden: I mean I get such a kick out of that. When little 9 and 10 year olds come up and they can’t differentiate between Anakin and me – you’ve brought him to life for them. You make their fantasyland tangible and to be a part of that is a privilege.

MZ:Do you have your own doll?

Hayden: I do have the doll! They send you one of everyone that’s made. But mine is going to stay in the box for a very long time (laugh). I got my own action figure – I was like: This is the coolest thing. But I have to say, the doll doesn’t look like me at all.

MZ: Is the final film going to make people’s eyes pop out or what?

Hayden: I hope so. There’s no question there was some excitement on this film that wasn’t on the last one. It’s more thrilling. I had more to sink my teeth into. It’ll be a neat film!

Hit the link above for the full interview.

Tonight's member-exclusive Before the Helmet picture on the Official Site is a massive one. The series of pictures hasn't been very aggressive so far - but this one makes up for the previous and then some. Pictured is Spoiler - Highlight to read: the lightsaber hilt of Darth Sidious aka Palpatine. You may remember a previous spoiler report, in which I said that Yoda will duel with Palpatine, but Palpatine wins. You must decide what that means for yourself, but we forsee greatness.

P.S. If you want to see any/all of the "Before the Helmet" pics, just AIM me at 'dockingbay101'.

The Official Site updates with news that the Limited Edition Holiday Yoda action figures are now available to members of Hyperspace! The 3 3/4" collectible is adorned with Santa garb and comes with a display case as well as a holiday greeting card.

The second in a series of Holiday Edition commemorative figures from Hasbro, the yuletide design is ispired by a 1980's Lucasfilm greeting card by Ralph McQuarrie, the concept artist responsible for much of the look of the original Star Wars trilogy. These figures are currently only available to members of the Official Star Wars Fan Club and starwars.com Hyperspace - while supplies last.

Holiday Yoda figures are $12.95 each, and are limited to four figures per person.

Not a Hyperspace member? Click here

TF.N has provided a spoiler report that helps shed some light on a name change in the movie:

There's a minor quabble among fans on how Obi-Wan gets his name changed to "Ben" in the classic Episode IV. For long lengths to time, fans have speculated that it may be answered in Episode III. Well, from what we hear it will be. Here's how it goes:

Obi-Wan's given name is Ben - but he's been called Obi-Wan for so long no one seems to know otherwise. As they zip around the galaxy in the new Jedi Star/Tiefighters there is a scene where Anakin, having discovered Kenobi's actual name recently (though not seen in the film), calls him "Ben" as a jest in the middle of a blazing firefight. Obi-Wan responds, saying "This is no time for jokes Anakin! Besides you know I hate it when you call me that" - but Anakin persists. "Did Qui-Gon ever know your real name?" he asks. Obi-Wan blasts a few enemy ships, then says he fears that everyone will know now that Anakin does.

Speculation then would lead us to believe that after the fall of Anakin to the Dark Side. Obi-Wan escapes into hiding, calling himself Ben and burying himself on a planet where Vader would least want to return to. He uses the name as a painful reminder of his relationship with the fallen padawan, who he would someday face again one day.

Great report on a possible new bit of dialogue in the film.

Jedi have been popping up on Galaxies Servers like.... rare plants. But not non-existant plants! There are at least three Jedi Initiates spread amongst the servers. IGN has an interview with Haden Blackman about this very subject, excerpt folows:

IGNPC: What sorts of unique missions can Jedi undertake? Will they simply take on the regular player missions with these new skills or will they have Jedi-specific missions?

Haden Blackman: Because there will be so few Jedi initially, our philosophy was to allow players to play out the "Jedi in hiding" role, as seen in the original Star Wars. They can still experience all the current content, using their lightsabers and Force powers, and participate in PvP combat, but being a Jedi will be dangerous, given that the Emperor and Vader have dedicated themselves to killing all Force wielders. Eventually, as Jedi become more pervasive, we hope to add Jedi-specific missions and quests, for both light and dark Jedi.

SWG.Stratics has more information, of which I'll outline a bit:

- To make the training saber, all the needed were gems, steel, and chemicals ... all easy to get. No looted components.
- Jedi are hunted my Bounty Hunters! In the greatest development yet:

In a shocking twist Bounty Hunter players on the Naritus galaxy found a new "Dynamic Mission" appear on the Bounty Hunter terminal listed with the hardest missions Bounty Hunters can get. Naritus is also the home of one of the few new Jedi Initiates.....

Zina was confirmed to unlock her FS just late yesterday, the second such Jedi player we have heard of. Now this new "Dynamic Mission" is level 75 difficulty and only has a letter and number code as its name. The reward is 150,000 credits.... One of the Master Bounty Hunters, Nerro Elyst accepted the mission, the Jedi players name was listed on the mission in the targets name section.

Nerro Elyst then quickly spoke with the Master level Spy-Net Operative and received the bio-signature. Nerro Elyst then attempted to track the player using droids but was greeted with a "your target is not online message" even though she was indeed online. Perhaps a bug, or perhaps the Jedi player had not yet done enough open displays of the force to give away her position, in the end though with Player Bounties active one thing is certain... It will be the players who will eagerly help keep the Jedi population in check... now the question to you is are you to be one of the hunted or the hunter?

LucasArts is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the PC has gone gold and will be in-store on November 18, 2003. This game is rated Teen.

Featuring an all new Star Wars storyline and developed by the team that brought you Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, includes a new PC specific interface, enhanced graphics and sound, and a special trading area where users can get different weapons, armor and clothing items.

The time has come for you to choose your path between the light and dark side, so grab your lightsabers!

TF.N has provided another wave of Episode III spoilers. Spoilers - Highlight to read:

Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader really isn't in the film for all that long of a time. In fact, he gets maybe five minutes at the maximum. Here's some details on what scenes you can expect him in:

1) He will be seen just for a couple minutes in the much talked about "waking-up" scene. This is after his recovery from the duel and he realizes what he has done and what has happened to him. He is shown here without the cape and upper helmet.

2) There's the "Sith christening" scene also known as the knighting as a Sith Lord. Another couple of minutes when he'll be seen during the film. He is also named here.

3) And finally, there's the "superstructure being built" minute where you can see the Death Star being constructed from his viewpoint with a few other notable Empire characters.

There is another review of Rebel Strike, this time on GlobeTechnology.com:

The first two games succeeded because they did a good job in making players feel like they were actually flying ships in the original Star Wars movies. The graphics were terrific and the sound was right on, with the John Williams score, beeping droids and shrieking TIE fighters enriching the experience. Most importantly, the gameplay was stellar — the ships handled well and differently from each other, and the dog-fighting action was fast and furious. Rogue Leader particularly excelled in this — one of the later missions had players take on hordes of TIEs in an X-Wing fighter while Star Destroyers loomed in the background, in a re-creation of the big climactic battle over Endor from Return of the Jedi.

Rebel Strike has all of this and, much like Rogue Leader, it's a great game as a result. However, it's the new stuff that's a problem. In an effort to take the franchise forward, LucasArts has experimented with adding ground-based combat to its successful formula. The result is not so successful.

Overall, the game still gets a thumbs-up, but apparently there are issues with the on-foot sequences. Read the complete review by clicking here.