Star Wars Galaxies

http://www.massively.com/2008/06/26/a-star-wars-galaxies-history-lesson-from-launch-to-the-nge/

I left because of bugs???

*guote*Ironically, the real problem was almost certainly not the changes themselves. As a player of the game today can tell you, the title is almost certainly better off for the firestorm of change that the NGE introduced. Players began to leave not because of the changes themselves but because of the enormous pile of bugs and inconsistencies they introduced.*quote*

I left because the game I loved was TAKEN from me. Wonder what Massively got paid for this?

Massivley needs to be shut down after this utter BS!!

Ouch. It seems that Michael Zenke's article is pretty much a love letter to SOE and, specifically, the NGE. As such, the lead commentators on his article are tearing him a new one;

http://www.massively.com/2008/06/27/a-star-wars-galaxies-history-lesson-the-post-nge-era-5/

To paraphrase someone.." if you do this, you'll lose all 200k subs".

Ya we left because of the bugs. I think articles like this only hurt SWG more. It fails to acknowledge things that make the vets mad and remind them of what SOE did. And any one new reading this would think this game was gay.

Originally posted by FikusOfAhazi

To paraphrase someone.." if you do this, you'll lose all 200k subs".

Ya we left because of the bugs. I think articles like this only hurt SWG more. It fails to acknowledge things that make the vets mad and remind them of what SOE did. And any one new reading this would think this game was gay.

I absolutely agree with you. Whoever has been handling SOE's marketing and PR over the last couple of years has been crass, heavy-handed and amateurish. From the first, 'soft' launch of SWG itself to the absence of cross-media marketing prior to 2005 to the post-NGE 'viral' puffs appearing here and there across the web now, there doesn't seem to be a marketing mistake SOE hasn't made. I wonder if they've put the intern in charge of it to save money or perhaps Mr. Smedley is keeping tight hold of the coms reins, convinced that, because he has managed to keep his job despite disasters ranging from Matrix Online to Vanguard to the NGE SWG, he must be a marketing genius.

As a marketing professional myself, SOE's mishandling of SWG makes me weep.

Originally posted by hubertgrove

Originally posted by FikusOfAhazi

To paraphrase someone.." if you do this, you'll lose all 200k subs".

Ya we left because of the bugs. I think articles like this only hurt SWG more. It fails to acknowledge things that make the vets mad and remind them of what SOE did. And any one new reading this would think this game was gay.

 

I absolutely agree with you. Whoever has been handling SOE's marketing and PR over the last couple of years has been crass, heavy-handed and amateurish. From the first, 'soft' launch of SWG itself to the absence of cross-media marketing prior to 2005 to the post-NGE 'viral' puffs appearing here and there across the web now, there doesn't seem to be a marketing mistake SOE hasn't made. I wonder if they've put the intern in charge of it to save money or perhaps Mr. Smedley is keeping tight hold of the coms reins, convinced that, because he has managed to keep his job despite disasters ranging from Matrix Online to Vanguard to the NGE SWG, he must be a marketing genius.

As a marketing professional myself, SOE's mishandling of SWG makes me weep.

It's because they think its because of the 'being betrayed" and not the changes. That once people get over that they'll come back. Or at least that is the tone or theme of these. Trying to tap into that emotional part. Gay.

Hm...what SOE apologist wrote this?

Well you know what they say about half, or in this case partial, truths.  Did the NGE introduce a ton of new, game-breaking bugs?  Yes.  Did some people leave because the specials didn't fire, because they couldn't chat or move, because they couldn't rez, or because their heals actually healed enemies?  Probably. 

On the other hand, did people leave because their professions were completely deleted from the game, or all of their in-game progress was wiped out, or because if their profession was left, it no longer had a useful function in the game?  Probably.

On the other hand (3 hands??!), did people leave because they were told they were getting profession revamps, and a new expansion with features for the original 30 plus professions, but they actually got the exact opposite--the professions promised revamps were deleted, including those that were promised new things in the expansion?  Probably.

On the other hand, did people leave because of the way they were treated on the forums by moderators and very vocal supporters of SOE and LEC--being asked for feedback, then being banned for providing it, even constructively, being called all kinds of abusive terms etc?  Probably.

Did people leave because of all the above?  I have no doubt.  I think if anyone wants to accurately represent why people cancelled their SWG accounts en masse around the time of the NGE, he or she should mention at least all of these relevant factors.

Public relations around this game has always seemed to involve some kind of denial of reality, half truth or outright deception.  You'd think the companies involved would come up with a completely different approach at some point, given the obvious results, but I haven't seen it yet.

Oh well, I simply don't deal with companies whose marketting and p.r. comes across as so unethical, and I'm aware that I'm in the majority when it comes to this game.  Their loss I guess.

I left because they made the game stupid, that and SOE sucks as an MMO company.

I've said this before: I left before the CU because of bugs and a lack of bug fixing from the devs. I tried out CU and NGE and found them even worse. The game needed tons more work but instead got "revamps" which inevitably brought in more bugs that were not fixed. I felt the original game was ground breaking but totally left to ferment without more development and bug fixes.

So: I left because of bugs.

i got reasons why i left but i dont have the time or patiences to tell you why.