Star Wars Galaxies: Game Update 13 -- Chronicle Master System

Publish Notes, September 30th, 2009

Chapter Gift

Jabba’s Comlink (Quest Object)

Highlights

Star Wars Chronicles Master System

It’s time to open your imagination and start creating stories to share with your friends. With the Star Wars Chronicles system, you now have the ability to create stories from relics you will discover throughout the galaxy. Use the Quest Builder to write your story with the relics you have discovered.

Hit “Create Quest” to consume the relics and create a holocron in your inventory. This holocron can be traded to others or activated to begin the adventure. Completing holocrons will reward you with profession experience and tokens. Tokens can be used at the Chronicles reward vendor, S7-U44 Vending Droid, in both Theed and Coronet. The vendors are in the tent behind C-3PO. You can purchase relic booster packs from them as well as other exciting rewards.

For some friendly assistance, speak with C-3PO and he will explain more about Chronicles.

• Chronicle Master – all players can advance in the chronicle profession. Open your profession wheel and take a look at what awaits as you advance as a chronicler.
• Quest Builder – the tool used to create holocrons or drafts.
• Draft – a saved version of your quest. Creating drafts does not consume relics. You can edit drafts freely. They can be used to create holocrons.
• Relics – objects that represent memory, experiences, visions. You will discover relics as you play the game.
• Holocrons – by pressing “create quest” in the Quest Builder, you will consume the relics for your quest and produce a holocron in your inventory. This can be traded or sold on the Bazaar. Players can active them to participate in your quest.
• Sharing – as you progress in the Chronicle profession, you will gain the ability to allow your Chronicle holocrons to be shared. Sharing will allow multiple players to enjoy your quest from a single holocron.
• Fragments – relic fragments. They are acquired through loot, as a byproduct of creating a holocron, and by deconstructing relics. Fragments can be combined to create a relic.
• Tokens – earned for completing other people’s quests. When people complete your quests, some tokens will be held in your Chronicles Reserve for you to claim. Use /chroniclerGetReserve to claim your reserve of tokens and Chronicles XP.
• Relic booster packs – purchased from the Chronicles reward vendors by using tokens, they provide random relics.

Vendor/Bazaar:

• Search By Attribute: Selected object types can now be searched by selected attributes in the vendor/bazaar window. If the selected object in the Object Type Filter tree of the vendor/bazaar window supports search by attribute, the "Enable Item Attribute Filter" checkbox will be displayed at the bottom of the window where you can perform search by attribute.
• The price limit on the bazaar has been increased to 10,000,000 credits.
• Vendor price limit has been increased to 833,333,333 credits.
• A /locateVendor command has been added to find all your initialized vendors and report their status. The command has a 15 minute cooldown.
• Resource containers on vendor/bazaar that are instant sale now contain the "Credits Per Unit" attribute. This attribute is also searchable through item attribute search.
• You can now create waypoint to vendor for items in the Available Items tab. These waypoints will not contain the item price in the waypoint name.
• Fixed issue where some items of type Armor Component or type Container are not listed when the Component->Armor Component or the Misc->Container node is clicked in the bazaar/vendor window Object Type Filter tree.
• In the vendor/bazaar window Object Type Filter tree, items immediately under the Component node have been moved to the new Component->Component node. The new Component->Component node supports Search By Attribute.
• In the vendor/bazaar window Object Type Filter tree, items immediately under the Deed node have been moved to the new Deed->Deed node. The new Deed->Deed node supports Search By Attribute.
• In the vendor/bazaar window Object Type Filter tree, items immediately under the Misc node have been moved to the new Misc->Misc node. The new Misc->Misc node supports Search By Attribute.
• In the vendor/bazaar window Object Type Filter tree, items immediately under the Tool node have been moved to the new Tool->Tool node. The new Tool->Tool node supports Search By Attribute.
• You can now specify more characters on the item name filter entry field.

Banking:

• Galactic Reserve
  • You can store up to 3 billion credits per character in "long term, for a rainy day" storage in the Galactic Reserve. There is no interest paid on credits kept in the Galactic Reserve.
  • From any banking terminal in any of the Galactic Reserve 3 branch cities (Mos Eisley, Theed, and Coronet), through the bank terminal's radial menu, you can deposit/withdraw 1 billion credits at a time to/from the Galactic Reserve.
  • If you have a deposit with the Galactic Reserve, the balance will be displayed after the Bank balance.
  • There is a 15 minutes wait before you can perform another transaction with the Galactic Reserve.
• If receiving new credits into the cash (or bank) balance would cause the cash (or bank) balance limit to be exceeded, existing cash (or bank) credits will be automatically transferred to any available bank (or cash) balance or any available galactic reserve balance to make room for the incoming credits.

User Interface

• Holding delete/backspace/arrow keys/home/end now works properly in text fields.

Combat

• A pass was made on many melee weapon sounds.
• This means many of the melee weapons will now be using custom sounds rather than the default swing.

Misc

• Yavin IV Whisper Bird lair names should no longer show as code string.
• The pirate trap abilities can no longer be used on asteroids
• The Sorosuub Ion Mesh Projection shield should now get valid values when looted
• Added new counter badges for players that have accumulated more than 300 badges.
   

so thier puting in a ssytem like ae in cox?

Originally posted by Axeion

so thier puting in a ssytem like ae in cox?

Not sure what that is, Mission Architect from City of Heroes is similar.

Honestly I think this is a good thing albeit a few years too late.

But IMO anything related to creating quests should have been given to politicians, This would give some much needed playability for that profession and encourage others to want to run for their city mayor.

And lastly I see this as only another medium for SoE to inject TCG loot items into. Personally I doubt this new system would have been created had there been no avenue to introduce new TCG loot.

Originally posted by Suvroc

And lastly I see this as only another medium for SoE to inject TCG loot items into. Personally I doubt this new system would have been created had there been no avenue to introduce new TCG loot.

The two systems are completely seperate, how do you imagine a player quest builder tool could feature Trading Card loot?

You mean introducing relics as TCG loot items?  They haven't done that with Storyteller, although there are some Storyteller vet rewards, I'd be surprised if relics/sotryteller tokens via TCG loot ever happened but if Smedley gets wind of your idea then who knows! :)

I think it's a great idea, and will make the game worth more for those folks still playing. 

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by Axeion

so thier puting in a ssytem like ae in cox?

 

Not sure what that is, Mission Architect from City of Heroes is similar.

AE = Architect Entertainment

CoX = City of Heroes/Villains.

So, is this an expansion to the Storyteller functionality in SWG, assuming storyteller even went in or is this merely the storyteller functionality rebranded?

Where's Obraik? ( ' ;

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by Suvroc

And lastly I see this as only another medium for SoE to inject TCG loot items into. Personally I doubt this new system would have been created had there been no avenue to introduce new TCG loot.

 

The two systems are completely seperate, how do you imagine a player quest builder tool could feature Trading Card loot?

You mean introducing relics as TCG loot items?  They haven't done that with Storyteller, although there are some Storyteller vet rewards, I'd be surprised if relics/sotryteller tokens via TCG loot ever happened but if Smedley gets wind of your idea then who knows! :)

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this but isn't the chronicle system mean't to compliment the storyteller system? And isn't there things like props and NPC's that can be utilized within the storyteller system?

Originally posted by therain93

So, is this an expansion to the Storyteller functionality in SWG, assuming storyteller even went in or is this merely the storyteller functionality rebranded?

Where's Obraik? ( ' ;

It's a completely separate and different system.

"Assuming Storyteller even went in?" When was the last time you played? Storyteller's been a cornerstone of endgame content for a long time...

I am totally going to make a quest about zombie stormtroopers! It's gonna be awesome!

I kid, I kid.

Originally posted by Riceman

Originally posted by therain93

So, is this an expansion to the Storyteller functionality in SWG, assuming storyteller even went in or is this merely the storyteller functionality rebranded?

Where's Obraik? ( ' ;

It's a completely separate and different system.

"Assuming Storyteller even went in?" When was the last time you played? Storyteller's been a cornerstone of endgame content for a long time...

Indeed, Storyteller and Chronicles are independant systems though, I didn't seem much in the way of cross over between these two systems, although that would be pretty cool if it happened.

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by Riceman

Originally posted by therain93

So, is this an expansion to the Storyteller functionality in SWG, assuming storyteller even went in or is this merely the storyteller functionality rebranded?

Where's Obraik? ( ' ;

It's a completely separate and different system.

"Assuming Storyteller even went in?" When was the last time you played? Storyteller's been a cornerstone of endgame content for a long time...

 

Indeed, Storyteller and Chronicles are independant systems though, I didn't seem much in the way of cross over between these two systems, although that would be pretty cool if it happened.

I've been out of the SWG loop a looooooonng time as evidenced by my ignorance on the topic.  Just from that description, as basically an outsider, it didn't really sound very differentiated, thus my question.  I appreciate the responses, thanks ( ' :

Originally posted by Riceman 

It's a completely separate and different system.

"Assuming Storyteller even went in?" When was the last time you played? Storyteller's been a cornerstone of endgame content for a long time...

Last I played, Storyteller was nothing more than a decorating/RP system. It's great for events or parties, but I never saw it used for anything more. I only played every day for the last 5-years, so maybe I missed it?! 

And Chronicles is very much an update to the Storyteller system. In fact, when Storyteller was released, this is almost exactly what SoE SAID they would add to Storyteller (and what PLAYERS requested from Storyteller).

Just like Storyteller, it's for those who want to create their own "thing" in-game. It's not a system for everyone and I don't think it will draw back or attract more than a handful of players. I never once met a person/player who said "I'm done with SWG until *I* can make my own content".

/shrug

I think it's a great idea for SWG - the original idea in CoX seems to have sucked everyone to its missions but in a negative way, but I don't think that's gonna happen in SWG. I'm eager to see what will come out of it.

I pvp'd for a little over 45 min today and got 16 of the player relics for PvP chronicle quests. It's just another way to add content to the system. I have no interest in the quests (other than pvp quests), but some in my guild are hyped about it.

According to the official boards, this current "update" also broke many of the search functions for vendors and bazaars, and now a lot of people are getting stuck in cloners after they die, and have to try to find people to group with to get pick-up points out of the cloner. Among other reported bugs....

Nothing like SOE programming at it's finest....

When are they gonna hire a dedicated artist thats actually good? You know redesign the UI and when they do these patches have nice art instead of something I coulda done better on photoshop.

Originally posted by rsreston

I think it's a great idea for SWG - the original idea in CoX seems to have sucked everyone to its missions but in a negative way, but I don't think that's gonna happen in SWG. I'm eager to see what will come out of it.

That's interesting, what was negative about the usage of the system in CoX?

As for the difference between Storyteller and Chronicles, I thought I'd try and clear that up.

The two systems are quite different, Storyteller is used to decorate world areas and although it can be used to provide content in the way of inviting people to a story where you have placed an army of Battle Droids for instance, there are no system generated rewards.

Chronicles is a quest builder system that does have system rewards for the creater and the user when creating and completing quests.

Star Wars Galaxies - Storyteller

With this new assortment of tools, Storytellers can build their own points of interest and locations, and even populate them with attackable NPCs (non-player characters). Players are still the most important part of any event, but with the new Storyteller props and NPCs, player events will be bigger and better than ever!

Storyteller is not an expertise system, nor is it a profession. It is an item-based system that begins with the Storyteller Vendor.

Star Wars Galaxies - Chronicles

It's time to open your imagination and start creating stories to share with your friends. With the Star Wars Chronicle Master System, you now have the ability to create stories from relics you will discover throughout the galaxy. Use the Quest Builder to write your story with the relics you have discovered. Hit "Create Quest" to consume the relics and create a holocron in your inventory.

It will be interesting to see if and how players are able to link the two systems together, perhaps have a set of Chronicle Quests that are also part of a Storyteller setup.

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by rsreston

I think it's a great idea for SWG - the original idea in CoX seems to have sucked everyone to its missions but in a negative way, but I don't think that's gonna happen in SWG. I'm eager to see what will come out of it.

 

That's interesting, what was negative about the usage of the system in CoX?

As for the difference between Storyteller and Chronicles, I thought I'd try and clear that up.

The two systems are quite different, Storyteller is used to decorate world areas and although it can be used to provide content in the way of inviting people to a story where you have placed an army of Battle Droids for instance, there are no system generated rewards.

Chronicles is a quest builder system that does have system rewards for the creater and the user when creating and completing quests.

---

Star Wars Galaxies - Storyteller

With this new assortment of tools, Storytellers can build their own points of interest and locations, and even populate them with attackable NPCs (non-player characters). Players are still the most important part of any event, but with the new Storyteller props and NPCs, player events will be bigger and better than ever!

Storyteller is not an expertise system, nor is it a profession. It is an item-based system that begins with the Storyteller Vendor.

Star Wars Galaxies - Chronicles

It's time to open your imagination and start creating stories to share with your friends. With the Star Wars Chronicle Master System, you now have the ability to create stories from relics you will discover throughout the galaxy. Use the Quest Builder to write your story with the relics you have discovered. Hit "Create Quest" to consume the relics and create a holocron in your inventory.

---

It will be interesting to see if and how players are able to link the two systems together, perhaps have a set of Chronicle Quests that are also part of a Storyteller setup.

Thank you VERY much for the clear differences.  When Storyteller was announced, I was under the impression it allowed players to generate quest content, much like the CoX Mission Architect.

Edit:  As for what happened in City of Heroes, the "negative" aspect to the MA was that players could design missions for relatively easy farming before the latest issue.  As a result, a high percentage of the playerbase essentially disappeared from the game worold, staying sheltered inside the MA building, powerleveling up with multiple 50's yet having no clue how to play or even that there was an entire gameworld out there. There really were brand new players with no 3 month badge that had level 50s but never knew there were zones beyond Atlas Park.....

Issue 16 addressed this by altering xp distributed in the Mission Architect and also by giving players new difficulty settings whenever they entered a mission.  For example, someone who wanted to solo and have a real challenge could specify how many levels higher or lower the mission could treat them as well as treat the player like he was a party (from 2-8 players).  So the Tank who wanted to fight an army complsed of lt's and bosses could say "treat me like i'm 4 levels higher than i really am and populate the map as if I were a party of 6".  The net result is most people are our of the MA now (the powerleveling types anyway) and grouping has drastically improved.  While some people try to declare MA dead, I think we'll see better quality story arcs now (or at least they won't be buried under farm maps).

Originally posted by therain93 

Issue 16 addressed this by altering xp distributed in the Mission Architect and also by giving players new difficulty settings whenever they entered a mission.  For example, someone who wanted to solo and have a real challenge could specify how many levels higher or lower the mission could treat them as well as treat the player like he was a party (from 2-8 players).  So the Tank who wanted to fight an army complsed of lt's and bosses could say "treat me like i'm 4 levels higher than i really am and populate the map as if I were a party of 6".

That's actually a brilliant way to handle "instances" in an MMO. It allows the solo or small group player as well as the guilds to all participate in the content.

Originally posted by TUX426

Originally posted by therain93 

Issue 16 addressed this by altering xp distributed in the Mission Architect and also by giving players new difficulty settings whenever they entered a mission.  For example, someone who wanted to solo and have a real challenge could specify how many levels higher or lower the mission could treat them as well as treat the player like he was a party (from 2-8 players).  So the Tank who wanted to fight an army complsed of lt's and bosses could say "treat me like i'm 4 levels higher than i really am and populate the map as if I were a party of 6".

 

That's actually a brilliant way to handle "instances" in an MMO. It allows the solo or small group player as well as the guilds to all participate in the content.

If that wasn't brilliant enough, they doubled-down by implementing a new "Super SideKick System".  Basically everyone on the team scales up or down to the mission-holder's level.  Previously, players could only sidekick to 1 other player.  When the issue came out, a lof of people including myself were a bit meh, but with reflection and playtime, have really enjoyed it.  The timing of a free activation and double-xp weekend on October 8th (likely the same time as when the Halloween event starts) should see a nice boost to playerbase again.

Originally posted by therain93

If that wasn't brilliant enough, they doubled-down by implementing a new "Super SideKick System".  Basically everyone on the team scales up or down to the mission-holder's level.  Previously, players could only sidekick to 1 other player.  When the issue came out, a lof of people including myself were a bit meh, but with reflection and playtime, have really enjoyed it.  The timing of a free activation and double-xp weekend on October 8th (likely the same time as when the Halloween event starts) should see a nice boost to playerbase again.

Sounds good, now SoE just need to steal the Examplar/Sidekick system from CoH and put it into SWG. :)

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by therain93

If that wasn't brilliant enough, they doubled-down by implementing a new "Super SideKick System".  Basically everyone on the team scales up or down to the mission-holder's level.  Previously, players could only sidekick to 1 other player.  When the issue came out, a lof of people including myself were a bit meh, but with reflection and playtime, have really enjoyed it.  The timing of a free activation and double-xp weekend on October 8th (likely the same time as when the Halloween event starts) should see a nice boost to playerbase again.

 

Sounds good, now SoE just need to steal the Examplar/Sidekick system from CoH and put it into SWG. :)

Honestly, it's an idea EVERY game should steal.

Originally posted by BadgerSmaker

Originally posted by therain93

If that wasn't brilliant enough, they doubled-down by implementing a new "Super SideKick System".  Basically everyone on the team scales up or down to the mission-holder's level.  Previously, players could only sidekick to 1 other player.  When the issue came out, a lof of people including myself were a bit meh, but with reflection and playtime, have really enjoyed it.  The timing of a free activation and double-xp weekend on October 8th (likely the same time as when the Halloween event starts) should see a nice boost to playerbase again.

 

Sounds good, now SoE just need to steal the Examplar/Sidekick system from CoH and put it into SWG. :)

LOL :) Knew you'd like that one Badger :P

I can certainly see the Heroics being scalable, but I don't see how the "Sidekick" system could work with BH's/PvP and all the CL restrictions on gear, weapons, droids, etc. The amount of re-programming to do this would be massive I'd think (for SWG).

EDIT: Just read your UPDATED idea Badger -

Yup, I just added in the CoH sidekick system and wrote a bit on how temporarily increasing your level to match the higher level player in the group could work in SWG.

Temporarily increasing your level: Once grouped with a player that is lower level than you, you would have an option to take them as your "Apprentice".

Not THAT could work! Rather than reducing the "Master", you upgrade the Apprentice...that line was JUST added right?