In every Fan Friday, we showcase talented members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community. This one is no exception as we show off some great artwork from the fans.

Also, this month’s Fan Site Spotlight features Corellian Run Radio, one of our favorite community podcasts.

In addition, we’ve created some new forum icons and avatars for you to use in the forums. Please enjoy!

Be sure to read this month’s Studio Insider to see how art assets are polished throughout the development process. Plus, Senior Game Designer William Wallace answers your questions on character classes in The Old Republic.

Community Creations

Over the last three decades Star Wars™ has inspired amazing fan creations across the globe, and our community has played a role by making many incredible contributions!

Don’t hesitate to share your talents with us on the community forums! In each Fan Friday, we feature impressive creations directly from the community.

Fan Art

This amazing work-in-progress piece was drawn by KazeKat. We liked it so much, we couldn’t wait for it to be finished before featuring it! Follow the progress of the artwork in his thread.

Community member Mezzidriel created an amazing mockup of her future Sith Inquisitor, Darth Aestas. Aestas is also a part of an ongoing story, Master and Apprentice: Rise of the Wraiths, which you can read on The Old Republic forums.

In Ardenyr’s Art Thread, community member Ardenyr created a work of art depicting a Republic Covert Operative on alert in a cantina.

Fan Site Spotlight

This month we’re pleased to showcase the ladies of Corellian Run Radio! Carla, Kathy, and Roxanne’s weekly podcast gives you a bit of insight into the week’s news, while also providing some entertaining quizzes and games, like “Fact or Fiction” and the weekly “Jedi or Sith test.” They’ve also had a number of guests on their show from all around the community. We sat down with the hosts to find out more about how they got started.

How did Corellian Run Radio get started?

Carla: I had wanted to start a podcast for about a year, but could not find the right opportunity or topic. Then it hit me. I love gaming and I love Star Wars™. When I started looking for a co-host, my thoughts came to Kathy immediately. I had known her about five years through gaming and loved her sense of humor and personality.

Kathy: My first reaction was, “What is this nonsense you are speaking?” Then I decided I might enjoy the challenge of developing a program that would be informative and most of all, fun. That’s why our podcast has segments such as the Fact or Fiction quiz, fake commercials, and the Sith or Jedi test.

Roxanne: I was asked to make a logo for the site to replace an awesome comic-sans-over-clip-art creation someone had wrangled together. Somehow I went from that, to being on the show a couple of times, to regular host.

What is it you enjoy most about running CRR?

Carla: Working with Kathy & Roxanne and learning more about what an awesome game SW:TOR is turning out to be.

Kathy: My favorite thing is recording. It starts out as this rather dry-looking page of topics and links and somehow magically transforms into conversation that is really fun to be a part of. And then when we get some positive feedback from the community, that just makes all the prep work worthwhile.

Roxanne: Arguing with Carla. Definitely.

One of the things that makes CRR unique is the all-female cast. You’ve even had some of the more prominent women in the community as guests on your show. Was this a conscious decision from the start? What advantages/disadvantages do you feel this brings to the table?

No, it just turned out that way. Of course, we did realize that we were the only all-gal podcast, but that moment of recognition was fleeting and we moved on. Did it help us get noticed at first? Probably. But for every one person that is drawn to the notion of an all-female podcast, there is probably another person who doesn’t like the idea, so it’s hard to say whether we are helped or hurt by our demographic.

One possible disadvantage is that people assume the all-female thing is our “angle” or that we’re trying to make some kind of statement about girl gamers. Ultimately, we hope people will try us and find that it’s not our gender, but our content that makes CRR worthwhile.

What advice would you give to someone who’s looking to start a fan site?

First, look at what’s out already out there. Second, distinguish yourself from the pack with unique content and/or fresh perspective. Have a strong voice. Third, establish yourself in the community and talk to everyone. Sometimes people think it’s a competition and try to keep to themselves, but by staying on their own little islands, those people are really missing out on a lot of the cross-promotions that happen among friends. The most important thing is to have fun!

What are you most excited about in SWTOR?

Carla: I have to say I am looking forward to being immersed into the story. I want to “feel” like I am part of the whole Star Wars world. To top all that off, I will get to blow things up!

Kathy: I agree with everything Carla just said, especially the blowing things up part. If we’re talking specific game features, I can’t wait to get my hands on the Crew Skills System.

Last month we were lucky enough to meet Kathy and Roxanne in person at PAX East. What was your favorite part of the convention?

Carla: Watching the Facebook & Twitter feeds for any tidbit of news since I didn’t get to go!

Roxanne: Playing the game! Meeting the BioWare guys and gals! Meeting and hanging out constantly with people from the fansite community! Sorry. I know that’s more than one thing.

Kathy: Obviously, meeting everyone. But also, KICKIN’ BUTT IN TARAL V.

For someone who’s new to your site, which feature or episode would you recommend they check out first?

Carla: My favorite feature is our “Sith or Jedi” challenge. I don’t have one favorite episode – it would be a toss-up between #12 with Zach Brown from Mos Eisley Radio, #13 with Senior Community Coordinator Joanne LaRoche, and #15 with Emlaeh from Darth Hater.

Kathy: I would recommend that people NOT listen to our first episode! In fact, why is it even still on our site?? Interestingly, as much as I have loved the many terrific guests we’ve had, I think some of our best podcasts have been the ones with just the three of us. We tend to make more fun of each other and Roxanne tends to go off on her little cerebral rants more often, such as in #17: Roxanne vs. Godwin’s Law.

Roxanne: Episode 17: Roxanne Vs. Godwin’s Law. And not just because it’s got my name on it.

A big thanks to Carla, Kathy, and Roxanne for their time! Be sure to check out Corellian Run Radio!

Events

Gear up for the excitement we have in store for you at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, CA. We’ll be updating The Old Republic website from the show floor of the convention, so be sure to check back during the event. Also, be sure to check the Events page for updates as we get closer to see what we’ll be up to!

Forum Icons

Today we’re excited to introduce a new set of Hope forum icons (AKA ‘smilies’) for use in the community forums. To use a forum icon, click “More” in the Smilies section off to the right when creating a post. From there simply click on the forum icon of your choice.

Forum Avatars

These armored combatants are not ones to be trifled with. Dress up your account by equipping your profile with ones of these new avatars.

To use one of these new avatars, log in, go to My Account, and click Avatar. From there, navigate through the pages until you find the avatar of your choice.

Fan Site Kit

Thank you to all the fan sites that continue to support Star Wars: The Old Republic! We’ve updated our Fan Site Kit to include all recent releases from our website, including new screenshots, avatars, Biography images, and more!

To download the newest edition, log into your account and access the Fan Site Kit page where you will be prompted to fill in your information and accept the terms and conditions. Enjoy the new content!

Polls

We want to know! You can find these polls in the Surveys and Polls section of the website.

• Have you joined a guild yet for The Old Republic?
• Which species are you most looking forward to playing as in Star Wars: The Old Republic?