Adventures of the NGE

The goal of this blog is to intrest ALL gamers and MMOers into Star Wars Galaxies, whether they are/were/aren't playing. I will prove SWG's true worth by showing off the NGE's innovative new features/content that rebuild the population on a daily basis.

Author: Soara

Hello world!!
Star Wars Galaxies's NGE has fascinated us striving players (still playing) since the ultimate SOE let-down back in 2005, and my goal of blogging on MMORPG.com is to introduce the great wonders Star Wars Galaxies has presented so far. Later this month, the awaited "Trading Card Game" will be released, which is already in beta, and clinging to players already.

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Earlier this year during springtime, the SWG team announced the project of creating a new Trading Card Game along with The Battle of Hoth (which is also doing extremely well).
The new trading card game for SWG, Champions of the Force, will be a similar and newer version to that of Everquest's Legends of Norrath. CotF will also include some fabulous in-game "loot cards" (explained below) alongside an intriguing storyline as you play through these virtual decks.

Might I say first and foremost, the artwork made for this content is astounding. It makes us players really feel like the team cares about the game we love so much. PROVEN the fact that it is not only shown in hundreds of new cards, but new objects and artwork are also spotted for in-game content provided as well. Below is an idea of the artwork (Javascript PopUps), and what it is like on over 100 playing cards:

So onto the game itself...
Champions of the Force is a standalone client which can be accessed in-game or out-game. Speaking of that, you do NOT need a subscription to play. However, any loot cards you get of course will not be redeemable until you log into Star Wars Galaxies.

Anyway, each player will recieve one Starter Pack and five Booster Packs every month to play with. Additional packs can be digitally purchased, but IMO the price isn't worth it at all (Boxes are up to $99.99). The player will build their decks how they choose, with chosen factions and avatars. The game can be played "PvP", or against the computer with "quests" and "quick matches". Both of these are compliant with grouping as well.

It doesn't stop with the playing cards there though. Star Wars Galaxies: Champions of the Force also shows off some fascinating "Loot Cards", which are redeemable for some extremely neat in-game items.   Some are simple appearences, while some are major pieces hardly touched since the NGE. These include flyable airspeeders, house greeters (gungan, ewok, meatlump) with VOICE messages, new structures, new furniture, and even a pilotable podracer! 

Many more awesome things follow my small list -- and these aren't copied objects with some fancy costumes like the previous SWG "new" objects, mind you.
Below are shots of just a few of the hundreds of lootcards themselves:

So overall, what do I think of it all? I think it's a fabulous way to introduce new objects and above all, a new feature. This is yet another unique piece of content that Star Wars Galaxies carries, and is certainly siding with all of the other wonderful things to do in the game.

We already have endgame and outside-combat features, and its great to see even more.
No other game has that
-Soara
http://www.starwarsgalaxies.com

***MY DISCLAIMER: Negative or "critically constructive" comments will not be worth keeping if the poster has read few or no paragraphs***

Hello world!!
Star Wars Galaxies's NGE has fascinated us striving players (still playing) since the ultimate SOE let-down back in 2005, and my goal of blogging on MMORPG.com is to introduce the great wonders Star Wars Galaxies has presented so far. Well instead of discussing SWG this time, I'm going to talk about the new Star Wars movie that's about to hit theaters later this month.

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The new Clone Wars movie;

You all know it -- it's an animated movie directed at the children's appeal.
Crazed bloggers and posters alike have claimed that the movie has a "horrible graphical style" and a "Disney Channel-like humor", therefore it sucks. LOL

I have to admit, the first time I saw the trailer on TV, it felt a little too much like it was one of those new Cartoon Network shows, and laughed to myself. 
Then I wondered, "So....Where was Anakin in all of that ZOMG??"
I eventually found out that Anakin was the guy with the Runescape hairdo, but I also realized that I really wanted to see this movie.

Not only because I think that "you aren't a fan unless you can love it all", or because I don't care what the heck kind of approach they put onto the Expanded Universe, but because this movie is the future for the younger audiences as well. This was probably one of the smartest marketing ideas ever: to aim Star Wars at families, moms (which is working), and expand it further among young children (which is seriously working).
 

Even if I didn't love the approach they put into this movie at first, it doesn't mean that they failed at all.
I still think the fact that it's Star Wars is good enough for me to enjoy it.

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EDIT: I just saw it and loved it, all Star Wars fans old and new definately should not pass this one up. The commercials don't do it good.

Hello world!!
Star Wars Galaxies's NGE has fascinated us striving players since the ultimate SOE let-down back in 2005, and my goal of blogging on MMORPG.com is to introduce the great wonders Star Wars Galaxies has presented so far. So this week, I'm going to show off SWG's brand new in-game Voice Chat (woohoo!!) that went live just the other day.

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Since I wasn't in a guild when I logged into Test Center last month to try Voice Chat out, it wasn't really one of the first features I tinkered with in my TC visit. Game Update 5 released many things including an In-game Browser and a [really] neat addition to Munitions Traders & Beast Masters, so I never really got around to it until I actually joined a group with another fellow.

To take first note, there was an entire tab added to the interface where I could select my channel (None/GroupChat/GuildChat), view which person was talking, and more.

Another button on the toolbar will open up a small window to show you who is in the current channel. This is also a really helpful tool if you want to find out which guild members of yours are online. It's basically like bringing up a minimized Ventrilo or Teamspeak. (shown below)
 

Everything seemed in line and fit together perfectly, and the biggest flaw (which of course there was going to be one) was corrected by the time the feature hit live. I noticed easy-use with Voice chat too, which made it seem over-dominate with voice servers I've used in Ventrilo and TeamSpeak.

No copying server addresses, no tabbing out, no extra latency, easy access...it seemed almost a dream. So I did what us testers do; interrogate the content. After constant tinkering and exploit attempts, I concluded that all of the major bugs had already been fixed (at least for my own system), and unless you didn't have some kind of sound output (like Vent or TS, you don't need a mic to join) it was completely functional. The new In-Game voice chat was a complete success! 

Below, the JavaScript thumbnails show what it looks like when somebody (I /targeted self) is talking and when they aren't talking.
 

Let's not forget though -- if a game has a great idea implimented, it's gotta be good right? The sound quality must suck since it's SOE right? Well, aside from all the cool things I've mentioned and the uber snipeage the team went against bugs, the new feature has its own reserved spot in the Options menu. Here you can do a number of things, such as set input/output volumes, record/monitor your voice, and many more. It works very similar to Ventrilo, but for the record, I would say a LOT easier. 

Below is a screenshot (Javascript Thumbnail) of my voice, well...monitored, inside the new member of the Options Menu.
 

From my past experience with other games containing the voice chat feature, Star Wars Galaxies is the only one that has grown to be this evolved...even more than that of Tabula Rasa's group chat line. The quality is great, and the implimentation has increased the intrest of many Pre-CU vets and new players alike. Speaking of, as an SWG player, I am proud to announce that several servers are becoming "Population: Heavy" on the server selection list, and continue to keep growing! SOE has had some very positive changes and I for one cannot wait to hear what Chapter 11 and GU6 is to bring!

Anyway, I will conlude that Voice Chat not only enables us avid Vent/TS-users to communicate in a whole new easier way, but also brings out those who aren't yet into voice chat! Those who have not even heard of Ventrilo or TeamSpeak can have fun as well, helping to grow better and funner groups, and to finally become one with their own guild.

Thank you for reading everyone!
-Soara 
http://www.starwarsgalaxies.com

Hello world!!
Star Wars Galaxies's NGE has fascinated us players since the ultimate SOE let-down back in 2005, and this time around, they have released an innovative new feature:
An in-game browser!
The browser is still on Test Center for "Game Update 5" (along with in-game Voice Chat, and significant changes to Weapon & Armor crafting), but it will be live later this month.

Although SWG's in-game browser was primarily made for a "Help" button replacement, players who type in "/browse" will find themselves in their very own Explorer, complete with a Back/Forward button, Refresh button, and address bar. I was able to even check my Myspace, check my E-mail, and go on MMORPG to post this blog.

The biggest thing I found with this feature is that I can surf the net and play the game without having to ALT+TAB out. I can easily switch from browser to game with a click of the mouse with 0 lag, and can grow/shrink the window however I want. I can look at the game or send tells while on the internet, and to close, all I have to do is click the "X" on the top right.

The browser is still on Test Center (it still needs to be Java/Flash compliant), but expect it to satisfy players around your live galaxy soon!
-Soara