Jaskell from Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies writes this developer journal looking at housing updates in the game's Update 9.

Hey gang, this is Jaskell checking in with a behind-the-scenes look at some of the excellent new features coming with Game Update 9.

Being a Star Wars Galaxies home owner myself, I was excited to be assigned the task of adding new structures to Game Update 9. I had heard that the art team was going to add structures with windows as well as exterior color customization and was impressed that they were taking on such a bold task since these are both exciting new features never attempted before in Star Wars Galaxies. As you might imagine, taking large, multi-room structures and cutting holes in the geometry, then attaching a palette where one never existed, presented a few challenges. Ultimately the art team was able to overcome these challenges and successfully created eight windowed houses with exterior color customization, two of which were completely new structures.

Read Game Update 9 Journal - Housing Updates

Can you see outside these windows Seamlessly? That would have been useful back in the Bounty Hunter days when they used to wait outside your house lol.

Is this the patch that brings back the pre-nge game?  :P

Originally posted by MindTrigger

Is this the patch that brings back the pre-nge game?  :P

Probably not, hence: who cares?

The only reason I still follow SWG's updates is because then I get to imagine what pre-CU would've been like with them.

La la la. :)

 I wonder how many people still play it. I tried the trial a few years back, didnt see a single player.

I would invest a lot of time into it if only they updated the graphics and made the game how it was befire that update, I ve read a lot about that,

There is no reason why MMO can not just be updated and evolved. Look at WW2 ONLINE, has been going for something like  9 years and they are currently updating its gfx engine and there is no sign of it dieng, devs just keep evolving and evolving it.

I notice SOE keeps giving me like 2 week free periods every couple of months to go back and try it, I dd a few months ago and I played for a week and then stopped because it was just terrible. For something as huge as Star Wars, there shouldn't be the option to release crap content or change the game so much that 75% of your player base quits on you just because you wanted to copy WoW. I play WoW and sometimes it sucks and you want to get into the star wars universe and just have fun like we used to. Ehh, heres hoping that bioware mmo won't be just hype.

Sorry i just dont see whats challenging about adding transparent blue.

yea but then the bounty hunters can see in too.   Has this game really upgraded their graphics much since it first came out?  I havent played in years.  How are the numbers.    Server populations pretty high?  thanks much for any info.

Originally posted by Shreddi

1. Has this game really upgraded their graphics much since it first came out?
2. How are the numbers.
3. Server populations pretty high?

1. Not really.
2. Terrible.
3. Nope.

All-in-all, it's been nothing but a horrendous disappointment since the CU. Welcome to the SoE MO.

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.  People are going to be so disappointed when that game launches.   Really think, what lessons did that crew learn from the SWG experiance of game design?  The only lesson they got was not to change a "Sandbox" for a game.  Just make the "Game" in the first place.

Someone wrote that "WOW is the death knell of the MMORPG..."  Looking at the AAA Market of today, I can see thier point.

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid

Can you see outside these windows Seamlessly? That would have been useful back in the Bounty Hunter days when they used to wait outside your house lol.

From inside the house you can see everything outside just as if you were standing out on the front porch.

From outside the house you cannot see people or items inside the house - unless you've already seen them outside the house, or unless you yourself were inside the house earlier.

In other words, a private house with windows looks empty unless you happen to see the owner entering it.

Originally posted by JYCowboy

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.

I don't think it's funny; I think it's massively disheartening.

I just hope that they don't make the same mistake, again; otherwise, it's simply another SW game that I avoid like the plague.

Honestly it's a neat feature and I wish it was the same in all MMOs.

I hope it's showing the way to others studios.

Sad thing is the sate of the rest of the game is... well, you know it.

/sigh....yet again the dev team of SWG updates something trivial instead of making the game GOOD again like it was pre-CU.  SOE will NEVER learn....that's why I will NEVER play another SOE game again!!!

Originally posted by JYCowboy

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.  People are going to be so disappointed when that game launches.   Really think, what lessons did that crew learn from the SWG experiance of game design?  The only lesson they got was not to change a "Sandbox" for a game.  Just make the "Game" in the first place.

Someone wrote that "WOW is the death knell of the MMORPG..."  Looking at the AAA Market of today, I can see thier point.

I find it funnier still that you think you have a point to make, most people here have actually said they liked the game at launch so what would be bad about having them as the devs on this product?

I for one never thought the talent of the devs was/is the problem with the game it's ass hats like Smedley who use deceptive business practices in a highly personal customer service industry like mmo production.

Lot's of people make stupid statements about wow doesn't make it true or relevant.  Todays AAA market mostly attempts to copies wows design but hardly is able to match it's quality or it's mass appeal.I think all this really says is that we are at a point in mmo developement where companies are going to have to try and fail to find their success as Blizzard did.

Originally posted by JYCowboy

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.  People are going to be so disappointed when that game launches.   Really think, what lessons did that crew learn from the SWG experiance of game design?  The only lesson they got was not to change a "Sandbox" for a game.  Just make the "Game" in the first place.

Someone wrote that "WOW is the death knell of the MMORPG..."  Looking at the AAA Market of today, I can see thier point.

I guess you haven't followed the whole timeline of SWG but I, along with anybody who complains about the NGE, would play *any* game developed by SWG's original dev team. The original development team had nothing to do with ruining the sandbox.

Originally posted by liberalguy

Originally posted by JYCowboy

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.  People are going to be so disappointed when that game launches.   Really think, what lessons did that crew learn from the SWG experiance of game design?  The only lesson they got was not to change a "Sandbox" for a game.  Just make the "Game" in the first place.

Someone wrote that "WOW is the death knell of the MMORPG..."  Looking at the AAA Market of today, I can see thier point.

 

I guess you haven't followed the whole timeline of SWG but I, along with anybody who complains about the NGE, would play *any* game developed by SWG's original dev team. The original development team had nothing to do with ruining the sandbox.

When TOR comes out, let me know how that sandbox is like.

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Originally posted by liberalguy

Originally posted by JYCowboy

With all the moaning and groaning you guys do, I find it funny that SW:TOR is being developed with the same devs as SWG had at launch.  People are going to be so disappointed when that game launches.   Really think, what lessons did that crew learn from the SWG experiance of game design?  The only lesson they got was not to change a "Sandbox" for a game.  Just make the "Game" in the first place.

Someone wrote that "WOW is the death knell of the MMORPG..."  Looking at the AAA Market of today, I can see thier point.

 

I guess you haven't followed the whole timeline of SWG but I, along with anybody who complains about the NGE, would play *any* game developed by SWG's original dev team. The original development team had nothing to do with ruining the sandbox.

 

When TOR comes out, let me know how that sandbox is like.

Yes there is not going to be any sandbox in SWTOR, DEVS said so i their blog when they announced the game. From their words they are going more for WoW formula, unless you consider that sandbox *rolleyes*

you guys really need to stop comparing every mmorpg to WoW,  it's not like it was the first one to use quests for leveling....not like any of its features are new to the genre.....

Originally posted by Clattuc

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid

Can you see outside these windows Seamlessly? That would have been useful back in the Bounty Hunter days when they used to wait outside your house lol.

 

From inside the house you can see everything outside just as if you were standing out on the front porch.

From outside the house you cannot see people or items inside the house - unless you've already seen them outside the house, or unless you yourself were inside the house earlier.

In other words, a private house with windows looks empty unless you happen to see the owner entering it.

Private houses should have curtains or blinds then lol.