Surprise! Angry Birds Star Wars has come to Facebook! This is a huge release, so there are a lot of details to go through. First off, to play head over to, apps.facebook.com/angrybirdsstarwars. If you’re familiar with Angry Birds Friends then this will seem familiar; however, there are a ton of differences, so I encourage you to read on.
Note, it’s important to realize that this is a “Beta” release, so things may change on a daily basis. I am also quite certain Rovio is also open to constructive feedback via our comments. This doesn’t mean you should vent your frustrations. That will have the opposite effect. Rather, if you want to be heard, a much better strategy is to politely detail what you like, dislike, and/or or propose.
We’ll go into much more detail below, but on a high level this initial release of Angry Birds Star Wars Facebook includes:
- 40 levels of Tatooine. These levels seem to match those from the mobile version, so head over to our Star Wars section for walkthroughs and such.
- Weekly Tournament that can be unlocked. Walkthroughs for these are live, so check them out if you need help.
- Power-ups, Mighty Falcons, and Crystals which can be purchased via the “Shop”
- Death Star coming soon.
Important! Angry Birds Star Wars Facebook scores should NOT be entered into the Angry Birds Star Wars leaderboard. We will be creating a separate leaderboard for this.
Weekly Tournament
Breakdown of the Weekly Tournament
Weekly Tournament Level Selection ScreenIn addition to the normal levels, there is also a weekly Angry Birds Star Wars Facebook Tournament. This has become a staple of Angry Birds Friends; however, the Angry Birds Star Wars weekly tournament is quite different. First off, you have to unlock the tournament, which can either be done accomplishing an objective (this week that means beating Tatooine level #9) or by purchasing the “Galactic Bundle”, which immediately unlocks all tournament levels. But wait, there’s more:
- Costs Crystals to Play: Currently, every time you exit, restart, or fail a level it costs you one crystal; however, if you complete the level you’re not charged. Remember, this is a beta release, so whether or not it stays this way remains to be seen. Crystals do recharge over time (one approximately every 12 minutes), but still, this presents a bit of a quandary for many of us die-hard players that strive for highscores. You now really need to be careful how many times you restart a level. The alternative is to purchase the “Galactic Bundle” (details below), but put plainly, this option may simply be too expensive for many players. I personally have no issue with having to “unlock” the tournament, but having to effectively pay to play each tournament level seems a bit excessive. Many of the most loyal players will already purchase Power-Ups, so this adds yet another expense. That’s my 2 cents at least. Feel free to leave your thoughts below, but DO NOT rant, scream, or yell. Polite and constructive feedback only.
- 5 levels in each tournament.
- New tournament every week starting at 9 PM PST (we will verify this time)
- Star Wars Tournament Walkthroughs are up!
Break Down of Shop
Below is a breakdown of what’s available to purchase in the shop. Pricing of each Power-up/Item/Bundle may change, so we’re only going to list what’s actually available to purchase, not the price of each. All purchases are made using “Credits”, which you purchase by clicking the “Buy Credits” button.
Power-ups
- Clone Bird: Add one more bird to any level!
- Power-up Bundle: Each bundle includes Lightsaber Slings, Thermal Detonators, and Blaster Droids
- Thermal Detonator: Melt the Empire’s defenses with the Thermal Detonator
- Blaster Droid: Attach a blaster bolt shooting droid to your bird!
- Lightsaber Sling: Energize the slingshot to increase birds’ speed and mass
- Mighty Falcon: Rain down destruction and earn special gold badges with the Mighty Falcon
Crystals
Crystals are used as part of the weekly tournament, which we’ve detailed above. To recap, it costs one crystal per level and/or restart. Crystals recharge over time or can be accumulated via the methods below:
- Ask for Crystals: You can ask your friends to send you crystals.
- 40 Crystals, plus 10 free for 400 credits
- 10 Crystals for 100 credits
Galactic Bundle (via “Crystals” tab)
The Galactic Bundle is basically a subscription that includes: Infinite Crystals, All Tournament Levels, and Unlimited Mighty Falcons. Currently, there are one and six month subscriptions available. These subscriptions are definitely not cheap, but if you’re a die hard player it might be worth it to you. It’s important to note that you can also unlock the tournament by unlocking a particular level.
Oh my God! I’m kind of freaking out right now.
the last level of the tourment is extremly difficult!
Some of these levels rank up with the hardest Rovio’s put out to date. If you pay to play, you can survive a lot longer that you may have otherwise… specially in the tournaments. I’m already out, and barely made it to level 4.
i thought i will never going to see lightsaber sling in-game
Looks like power-ups are coming to everything. The ones coming to Space will probably be similar to these.
This is definitely a shock!! Will there be walkthrough videos for this as well or will they all just be the same as the videos for the iOS/Android apps??
Depends on your question. For Tatooine, no, the existing walkthroughs should be sufficient. For the Torunament levels, yes.
The tournament walkthroughs are live: https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/tag/absw-week-1/
cc: @thebirdbrain
do you think PU’s for ABSW will come to mobile devices?
Haven’t heard anything from Rovio about this.
Let’s hope not. Power-ups work well on Facebook, but it’s totally different on mobile/tablet.
I’m surprised Angry Birds Star Wars got a Facebook adaptation before Angry Birds Space, considering part of its gameplay originated there.
And I love how the lightsaber from the teaser trailer from months ago returns as an equivalent to the King Sling.
Im not surprised this game appeals to two different fan bases. There are probably Star War fans who didn’t play Angry Birds and now they do, do to this game. It makes a lot of sense this would come out before Space.
I also think that space should have gone before Star Wars. It would make more sense. Plus they are working to put Powerups for Space.
Just to add a note about the crystals. They only will charge every 12 minutes if you fall below 5 crystals. So the best thing to do is if you gather 100 credits from clearing Tattoine, wait until your crystals charge to 5 before buying a pack of 10 for 100 credits. The levels are a nice challenge. 4 and 5 will give you the biggest headaches while the first 3 don’t take terribly long to clear.
Oh and one more thing I forgot to mention for anyone curious. I got 3 stars on lvl 1 82240, level 2 99070, and level 3 76830 so we know the tresholds are around that range. I beleive level 2 is 98000 or 99000 only because 91k was when it reached 2 stars. It’s not the rule for every level but most of the time I found the difference between 2 and 3 stars is 8000 points.
Thanks @thebirdbrain.
cc: @Birdleader
Problem here!!
Angry Birds Friends doesn’t work in my FB
What’s with that?
Are you using FB on a pc or a mobile/tablet?
If you’re using a mobile/tablet, the game is flash based and will not work on those devices.
If you’re using a PC, see if your flash needs updating.
Question: does the Clone Bird only give you Luke/red birds?
Also love the animation for the tournament selection icon! :)
The clone bird duplicates the bird on the slingshot.
You get 100 credits for completing Tatooine!
Is there a place that can request friends to play AB on facebook here on ABN? I want to find some friends who play AB on FB.
Would love it if there were, but alas, we would have to create fake accounts. Might be doable…
Fake accounts are against facebook’s terms and conditions.
Wow – More Angry Birds and Star Wars ones to boot :). I’m extremely glad I have been playing the Star Wars version (on iPad) as I wouldn’t want to be learning how to control these new abilities/powers on a “life (number of crystals in this case) basis”. It’s great to see Star Wars on the big screen and use a mouse. So far I love it – but of course it’s Star Wars, what’s not to love lol.
I’m a little confused about the “Weekly Tournament” that commenced today but only has “one day left”??
Thanks @birdleader for bringing this to our attention and the info.. I didn’t notice it advertised on my facebook friends game/page.
OK, I can answer my own query. The Tournament commenced (according to @sal9 on the Walkthroughs), on the 10th December. You’d think Rovio could have let us know a bit sooner??
Really not keen on the Crystals thing. Angry Birds is game often requires constant restarts to in order to 3 star a level (well, it does for me at least), so to be penalised for doing so seems crazy to me.
I can only hope this changes in a future update.
@PlexShaw Completely agree never seen such a thing like crystal in angry birds one slight mistake u have to restart then u r out of crystals really hoping that rovio change these in future updates
Crystals do deplete when you quit or start a level but if you screw up just make sure you complete the level with the rest of the birds for at least a low score. I you do that you won’t lose a crystal because you actually completed the level.
Just to add another thing about the crystals for those wondering. The crystals will recharge even if you are not running the app. That way you don’t have to keep the app running while you go to sleep or work or go do other things. Level 4 is the hardest of the bunch and requires perfect timing to beat it. The 3 star appears to be 80000 on that level although I’m currently at 2 stars with 74000.
@thebirdbrain I appreciate the feedback. I was curious about this one myself. At some point we’ll compile all this info and create a sort of crystal guide above.
Really not a fan of the crystal thing at all. Seems like just another way to get money out of us. Its frustrating and turns me off this tournament completely. I am a die hard fan and want to beat every level, but I am getting tired of these constant, must pay elements to the games. I also hate being forced to beat a level I already beat to unlock a weekly tournament. This factored in with the beyond ridiculous price on the Falcons on the org Star Wars game (i hate the paying so much for the Space Eagle to, but at least 20 gets you a 1000 which I haven’t even used half of yet) are really turning me off of being a AB fan.
I completely agree with you. You mentioned all the negative points about this game. This game has not one single advantage compared to the mobile app. Only negative things (crystals, power-ups, coins to buy, replay the same levels again).
Troll way to beat your friends’ score: Beat the first level with one Red Skywalker. Then, use clone bird. A lot of extra points!
The tournament ends in 8 hours, now I’m going to sleep (in my timezone it’s almost midnight). I take a screenshot of my scores, will I be able to enter them into the leaderboard after the tournament ended? If I’m not wrong, the leaderboard is not up yet.
Well, I take my screenshot too. Hopefully leaderboard up soon.
New angry birds song released on iTunes! It’s called Fly me home tonight.
New tournament has started and it has the same first level (with slight changes, now it’s more dificult to throw black bird to the right upper zone), don’t know about other four, haven’t played them yet.
And two more things about crystals:
– If you don’t buy unlimited package, the only recoverable quantity is 5. So there is no reason to buy additional crystals, because they won’t raise your recoverable limit and will serve you just once.
– Don’t try to restart the whole app (refresh the page) to save the crystal, it won’t work =)
Ok, this may be a dumb question, but I’m not very familiar with buying things in game. I know how to purchase things for my account, but what if I wanted to pay for a friend of mine to have power ups or even the unlimited subscription? Is there any way I could put the money up for her account? Sorry if that seems silly, just not well versed in the whole pay to play idea. Thanks.
yay one of my favorite games now on Facebook !
I think a way some people would try to cheat crystals out of the game by changing the date on their computer. I don’t think this is right, but it’s just for a week, isn’t it? I don’t actually have ABFacebook but was just wondering since some people are like that…
The time is based off of rovios servers not the persons laptop changing the date on your PC wouldn’t affect the game at all
Hi, did anyone miss me? I keep forgetting to get on here…
I’ve finally had the chance to play around with the app a little bit. Here’s my opinions:
• I like the Power Ups. I think they’re creative and fun. I’m much more a purist, but I don’t mind the concept. I would like to see some sort of distinction (just like I would like in ABo, and also in AB:Friends) that shows that Power Ups were used.
• I like the Weekly Tournament, and the staggered release is OK. I think that 3-starring a level should earn 20 coins, so that 3-starring will earn enough to choose to unlock the next level.
• I honestly don’t mind the “Crystal” idea on the face of it. I always thought there should be a small penalty for being unable to pass a level. On the other hand…
• I very much dislike that it costs a Crystal every single reset. I think once 1-star has been earned on the level, you should be allowed to replay it as many times as you’d like. I would be willing to compromise to, say, unlimited replays if 3-stars are earned on the level. But it should be 1.
• Prices are way more than I’m willing to spend. I’ll enjoy the freebies, but I won’t buy any of the IAPs on this one. (Coming from someone who purchased the large-packs for AB:Space & Star Wars, and will occassionally purchase packages in the original AB:Friends.)
All and all, I don’t think I’ll play this app too much. Maybe from time to time, I’ll check in on a Friday or something and just gun through the levels to enter my scores on the Leaderboards here. But it will surely rank lower than any other games I play (not just AB games on my iPad, but other games like Bloons and Mario).
I like your idea of only losing Crystals if you haven’t beaten the level in the first place yet. I also kind of like the idea of not unlocking the Tournament levels until a certain level has been played. I’m not sure if I’m going to play this game as much, but I might from time to time.
If they decrease the Crystal (harshness, maybe? I can’t find the exact word here…), I will definitely start playing more.
I totally agree. The Crystal concept adds an unnecessary layer to the game … regardless of the cost.
Rovio needs to balance the replay value of levels or tournaments and revenue.
I understand paying to play, but loosing money for failing is a little far fetched in the gaming world.
I agree completely.
Star Wars Angry Birds in FB… ok… make the app free for those that paid for it… woohooo.. way to go Rovio!
Now.. add that to TWO weeks that were exactly the same, and make me waste what I earned in the first week, only to play the exact same levels again in the second week…. is WEAK.
$50.00 US to keep playing the same rounds over and over? Have you bumped your head?
Lose a level, wait ten minutes to replay a replayed level? Not sure if I should stop laughing, or stop facepalming.
Point being… we pay more for the PC version, and get even less then your mobile counterparts… having said that, you are a mobile company.. but since we lack Eagles, and Dragons.. and lots of other perks..other than the $5.00 you got from me to buy the PC version, not gonna see any more expenditures on my part to support this version.
I also love all parts of the game (except crystals), and we could see the battle between Obi Wan and Vader.
I dislike the part of crystals count. I agree with your opinion about crystals, and maybe adding crystals after you pass certain levels would be better.
The best part is the credits. This would give players that out of money to buy their power-ups.
Leaderboards Facebook Star Wars Tatooine and later Death Star no?
At this time, we don’t think so.
One common theme in some of the recent releases from Rovio has been the introduction of ways to obtain additional revenue from the players. It appears that power ups will be a reality in all the AB games. Power ups are fun to use, provide additional powers, different attributes, and do assist one in obtaining the highest score possible. There is a utility and usefulness to their application that benefits the player. In a simple sense, the player improves the score and the owner of the game improves their revenue source. It is a win-win for each.
The idea of subscriptions is a great idea given the time frame of how long an individual wants to play a specific game. They could provide one an inexpensive method of playing extensively for a given time period.
The concept of crystals has been introduced, where an individual has to eventually pay money to replay after failure of a level which appears to be defined as not obtaining three stars or just reseting a level. This concept seems foreign to the motivations of achievement, improvement, striving for the best score or improving one’s game playing techniques and strategies if for no other reason than that itself. The traditional failure of a level can provide one with the motivation to complete the level to three stars or an above average scores. Crystals may limit or even stifle the motivation to play due to the fact that they extract a double negative; failure of a level itself and a financial cost after a certain amount of resets of a level are utilized. This is akin to a double penalty for not obtain success of a level. Individuals have to pay for the power-ups or some of the forms of the mighty eagles and when these are used up we have the option to purchase more. It appears that crystals provide us the opportunity to pay for “the right” to pay for the power ups, the MEs and the privilege to play this specific AB game. If crystals are expanded to the other games, especially the ones we had to purchase to play initially, this now provides a different dimension concerning the “right to replay” that specific game after a specified amount of resets. In a sense we are paying at least twice to play the game.
One may question, “What benefit do crystals provide players to directly improve their playing skills (power ups) or increase their playing time (Mighty Eagles) of the AB games?” One may invent an esoteric excuse that they make us think more carefully prior to launching the first bird but for many levels we do not know how they will react until we view them a few times.
I think it was mentioned above that crystals are a penalty for not passing a level which begets their very nature. As to why Rovio has provided them to the players of their games it appears to gain another revenue source. The underlining concern is that this source just does not appear to provide a real tangible “win” situation for the players.
@amslimfordy @birdleader Where can I enter my score for this week (17-21 dec.) tournament of Facebook Star Wars?
On the Facebook Star Wars Leaderboard : https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/leaderboard/facebook-star-wars/
@sal9 I know, but you can only for week 1 and not for week 2!
week 1 was scrapped because it only lasted a day an a half and the levels are identical. The true first week is this week, number 1.
Okey, thanks @sal9
I don’t mind having to unlock the levels for the tournament. I would prefer not to pay for it, but it’s not too bad. The whole crystal system has got to go. I’m the player who wants to play the level over and over trying different methods and that just discourages me. I don’t wanna spend that kind of money. If you do want to charge me every time I fail a level, then maybe you could give me power ups or credits every time I win a level, whether I’ve beaten it before or not. I do like the power ups and the game is pretty fun. When playing on the levels with the mostly white sky background, the yellow dotted guide line can be a bit hard to see. Other than that, the game is pretty solid. I haven’t had any glitches or bugs.