All Posts by JYCowboy

After looking closely at the pic from all the links provided, I believe the planet is not blowing up.  The perspective is from within a Planet Ring at close up.  Look at the planet beyond and it seems to be whole.  A planets ring is made up of small asteroids circling the larger body.

But, I believe most are correct here. Speculation and rumor seem quite clear here.  Cryptic has STO.

I still dont see Star Trek being MMO friendly.  The format and expected experiance just doesnt lend itself to solo/group gaming very easily.  What I am waiting to know is how starship operations work in a group MMO setting.  I figure its one ship - one owner type play.  Away Teams will be fine, but what of the space experiance?  I just hope it favors its ready made audiance, the Star Trek fan, and not try to break records in subs to players that dont care about its lore.

Stargate Worlds, however, has a show formula that begs to be a MMO.  You can solo or group to run adventures instanced in the gate.

Originally posted by BaronJuJu

. . .

 "I think horror will be a big genre in this [MMO] space; I know that's something we're looking at," said Smedley.

Really? This is the first time I know of that Smedley has mentioned this. Anyone else have anymore info? I know posters on here before have mentioned how much they would like a horror MMO.

  

 

This follows what SOE has been pushing for every year.  More veriety of genres in thier mix of game for the Station Pass. They have Fantasy covered 3 times over with EQ, EQ2 and Vanguard, Sci-fi with SWG, Matrix and Planetside, Spy with the Agancy, Super Hero with DC Universe Online and Family with Freerealm.

Smedley is probaly starting to stump for a new secret MMO that is in developement.  At any rate, for SOE, its quanity over quality.  Lets just hope they start to see the error of this with Blizzards example.

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

Lol!

The very first picture is the Naboo Starfighter, and its not even IN Star Wars Galaxies. Haha, the naboo forces fly around a bunch of Boba Fett ships! What a joke!

They all look so bored, and their offices are mind numbingly dull in appearance. Geeze.

The N-1 Naboo Starfighter is in game.  It was introduced as a craftable schmatic by Shipwrights in the Space Update Chapter with the three new Gunboats.  The game does go on and there are new and old things being put in.  This group of devs have done more work in the past year than has been done in the 4 year previous.  SWG for all its current flaws, is way different game from what it was when the NGE was new.

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by JYCowboy

 

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by Lasastard

NGE-hate aside for a moment ...

Did they put in some nice jedi quests in yet - with some roleplay value? Like a storyline guiding you from level 1 padawan to lvl 90 Jedi master? I remember that there were *some* attempts to that... That would be something worthwhile to check out, for me anyway.

 

Those changes seem to go in the right direction, for what it's worth. Although I personally dont like how you can mix and match light and dark powers, its not really true to the lore, is it?

While I want a quest series to take me from lvl 1-90 as a Jedi too, it would make no sense to create a Jedi only 1-90 quest line when there are 8 other professions who don't have their own questline. However, I do believe Jedi needs their own content, since every other profession has their own.

 

In forth coming Update or Chapter, Jedi will get its on special Collection Quest for a new robe.  It stats will reflect the changes coming to Jedi in its expertise tweek.  Coming with this collection quest will be the following:

-New Dark(will be Black not Dark Brown) and Light Robe with stats comparable to the current Elder Robe (note Elder Robe is getting boosted to)

-New 5th generation Sabers

-Flawless Pearls are returning

Couple these with the new Waist Pack, Acid Crytsal and Instance Jewerly Sets you will have a very powerful character.

Collection's doesn't equal content. That's just getting new items. Every profession has canonical content for their profession...content that makes sense for that profession to have.  A bounty system equals content, which the BH's have. The Smuggling system is profession content, which the Smugglers have. The ability to not only craft, but open up a shop or even a mall is profession base content for traders. Entertainers can run a cantina, which is profession based content. The combat professions other than Jedi have the GCW, which from a lore stand point is profession based content for them. We have no content that pertains to Jedi and to create content only for Jedi would be fair, since every other profession has content specific to their profession. It can be argued that the GCW is content for Jedi and yes, by game mechanics it is. However, when do Jedi fight in wars? It is lore breaking to have Jedi gain rank for fighting in a war. Jedi by canon are General's in a time of war. The player base would not like this, so why not have a Jedi v. Dark Jedi war going on?

In pursuing this line, I have always felt that Traders and Entertainer should have thier own Legacy Quest that was tailored to thier form of non-combat.  This would allow progression without a cantina or craftign grind.  Alas, my ideas dont always get attention.

Jedi have been stated to make up about 40% of total character population across all servers.  It is the number one chosen profession and warrents its given attention by the develpers and producers.  More than likely Lucas Arts will devise a system to meet the need you request.  In brief, the game needs more systems that makes it more attached to Star Wars than simple game balance.

Keep in mind that every piece of story or function of a given profession is recorded and checked by Lucas Arts for consistancy to Star Wars Canon.  No matter your view of SWG breaking canon its still policed my Lucas Arts in this way.  This is why there is such a huge delay in material being approved.  This known delay is why there is more group quests than individual quests.

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by Lasastard

NGE-hate aside for a moment ...

Did they put in some nice jedi quests in yet - with some roleplay value? Like a storyline guiding you from level 1 padawan to lvl 90 Jedi master? I remember that there were *some* attempts to that... That would be something worthwhile to check out, for me anyway.

 

Those changes seem to go in the right direction, for what it's worth. Although I personally dont like how you can mix and match light and dark powers, its not really true to the lore, is it?

While I want a quest series to take me from lvl 1-90 as a Jedi too, it would make no sense to create a Jedi only 1-90 quest line when there are 8 other professions who don't have their own questline. However, I do believe Jedi needs their own content, since every other profession has their own.

In forth coming Update or Chapter, Jedi will get its on special Collection Quest for a new robe.  It stats will reflect the changes coming to Jedi in its expertise tweek.  Coming with this collection quest will be the following:

-New Dark(will be Black not Dark Brown) and Light Robe with stats comparable to the current Elder Robe (note Elder Robe is getting boosted to)

-New 5th generation Sabers

-Flawless Pearls are returning

Couple these with the new Waist Pack, Acid Crytsal and Instance Jewerly Sets you will have a very powerful character.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Here we go again, nothing wrong with Jedi, just that allowing a beginning character to be a jedi is just wrong, wrong wrong.  Just makes the game the laughing stock it is now.  Of course the rigid EQ like character templates don't help either.  The servers are still ,for the most part, ghost towns.  I still expect the plug to be pulled on this game before long.

What most dont see is SOE doesnt close games.  They keep them going as long as 100 players are still on them.  Matrix is only still going because they have to keep it going to keep the contract for DC Hereos Online. SWG has been struggling for how many years?  How many times has it been predicted it was closing in weeks, months, minutes?

What really gets me is all the professional people(Doctors, Accountents and Lawyers)  that have played SWG that piss and moan about the "good old days" and scream the demise of the game every day.  I get the hate and loss of the Pre-NGE.  I fully understand the loss of trust for the lies and deceptions.  Misery may love company, but why sit and complain and post your anguish and not DO SOMETHING?  Instead of organizing into a hate group, orgainize into a Legal Team to finally have your day in court.  You guys want this game killed.  Take it to court should about do it.

"I agreed to play the version of the game they provided everytime I logged in.  So I can't sue."   BS!! they changed the damn EULA so they could make that change on you legally.  Sue for that. 

"The game is going to shut down when the new Star Wars MMO comes out, so whats the use?"  Legal battles can be fought for years after the said product was discontenued.  Its your responsiblity that this kind of wrong is not repeated and legal policy is set.

If your going to hate and be miserable then find use for it.

Ozmodan, this is not directed towards you alone, I hope you understand.

As for me, I play the game.  I am on a medium size server and still am absorbing content.  Friends come and go and like to help new players when I can.  I miss the Pre-NGE but the current game would be fun with more people to.  Oh, and if you have read my posts here, I am objective to the games progress as well.

Originally posted by SioBabble

 

Originally posted by JYCowboy

Originally posted by Prime8

Nothing can improve untill they fix the basic game , so yet more lipstick gets applied to the pig .

Outside the scope of the UI and Targeting, much of the game has improved in the last 6 months.  More content and fixed bugs.  If they finally accept that the FPS is a failure and the UI is just not meeting the need then a more drastic change could be had with SWGs current game play.  FPS was to set SWG appart from ther MMO's but most keymap back to a locking target that is very clumsy at best.  I have had devs even admit that they prefer it over the FPS.

My understanding is that  Lucas Arts insists that the pseudo FPS system be maintained.

 

No matter how inherently brain dead it is.

UI, as I learned from Fan Faire last year, is also a legal issue with the NGE.  Deadmeat indicated that UI art Issue are the realm of the Legal department, meaning copy right is in question.  I figure they can't have modded UI's being avaible openly for cross copy right infrigment.  Star Wars has to remain Star Wars if you will.  Lucas Arts handles issues like that.

Originally posted by Prime8

Nothing can improve untill they fix the basic game , so yet more lipstick gets applied to the pig .

Outside the scope of the UI and Targeting, much of the game has improved in the last 6 months.  More content and fixed bugs.  If they finally accept that the FPS is a failure and the UI is just not meeting the need then a more drastic change could be had with SWGs current game play.  FPS was to set SWG appart from ther MMO's but most keymap back to a locking target that is very clumsy at best.  I have had devs even admit that they prefer it over the FPS.

Originally posted by Lasastard

NGE-hate aside for a moment ...

Did they put in some nice jedi quests in yet - with some roleplay value? Like a storyline guiding you from level 1 padawan to lvl 90 Jedi master? I remember that there were *some* attempts to that... That would be something worthwhile to check out, for me anyway.

 

Those changes seem to go in the right direction, for what it's worth. Although I personally dont like how you can mix and match light and dark powers, its not really true to the lore, is it?

Quest content is a mixed bag and this is reflected in current mind set on what is coming.  The next big adventure package is a Meatlump Theme Park for level 45-70 to fill the gap left by the Legacy Quest's abrupt end.  High level content is being filled with the addition of Heroic Encounters.  The Exar Kun instance is very Jedi in theme but really calls for few Jedi in a required full group.

The issue of Jedi with the NGE is not to hold them in great esteem but to make them an equal part of an adventuring group.  Game balance over Lore is the main issue in making this system fun.

I do hope that more profession spacific quests could be introduced but that maybe some time off.  The dev team is still balancing adding new content with also bashing or gutting old bugs.  This limits how deep they can concentrate on a given issue.

NGE hating considered, SWG is really a much better game than it was on Nov. 15 2005.  I, however, do not compare it to Pre-NGE which was a different game all together.

OK, SOE haters, this is  your chance to be heard.  The people you want to grill for what ever reason will be there.  After a day of assulting developers and producers you might think "what now?"   YOUR IN VEGAS!!

Hook-up with old game mates and party.

"I can't aford to go"  If you search, you can find room packages for almost $100 a night.  Travel can be just as good because they want your money and they gotta get ya there.

So register and go.

Link to SWG page not working.

Originally posted by vickypollard

 

Originally posted by Obraik

Originally posted by Lateris

The artwork just keeps getting worse for anything new. It is really sad.

Really?  The art inside the Exar Kun instance is probably the best in the game so far.  Not sure what's wrong with the art on the new ITV...

Never seen it myself so post pictures but SWG instances have never looked good anyways, hardly the quality of games like WOW. They always reuse the same layouts and same textures and character models, it gets very old very fast. Wish the previous game was made on a different engine and not the POS they are using atm which doesn't even have a proper jump feature.

 

They still got that horrible jump animation where you press space after the NGE and was the worst thing ever lol, I know it was in before the nge but they coulda atleats made the effort.

Lets see, thats 2 retreads and 3 new builds.  Thats a try.

So go Leroy Jenkins on those and tell me what you think.

Originally posted by streea

 

Originally posted by Beatnik59

I'd like a bit of regulation, because I'm sick of the scams, wholesale redesigns, and bait and switch that is in this industry: things that the industry cannot and will not regulate on its own.  With digital distribution, I expect the scams to become worse.

The truth is, the MMORPG publishers have us over a barrel, because the software costs us so much up front, and we have absolutely no rights to the software we own, without access to the service we don't own.  The problem is that the MMORPG publishers can turn the things we own into anything they want; including junk we would never want in the first place.  And since they won't allow us to get our money back from that initial software purchse, they have no real incentive to practice restraint.

 

I agree completely, I just don't think the government should be the one to regulate it. Or at least, IF the government regulates it, they set aside a little bit of money and start up a division of like 5-10 people who monitor it and take complaints and file stuff and such.

Now we just need to find some sort of middle-ground that gives players some legal rights/control over their character/account/etc without leaving the industry open to gold farmers/cheaters/etc who would take advantage of such a system...

If we are not careful with this new form of entertainment we will see the rise of another Joeseph McCarthy, lobbying against the industry.  History does repeat itself.

As diverse as the demographics of all MMO's are, (8 year old school kids to 50 year old Accountants) its a wonder that there is not more attention to Virtual Property Law.  I feel after seeing this thread that a Lawyer could specialize in this field.  Standard EULA language could then be established as a industry norm.  This would highlight when a given game agreement deviates in its terms.

At any rate, I think this is an important issue for both parties rights to use a game.

Originally posted by Alienovrlord

Blizzard introduced more people to the MMORPG experience than any other company in history.  They didn't use a tutorial, just hints that pop up while playing.  

Maybe it's not about tutorials or introduction levels.   Maybe it's about well-designed UI and playable game mechanics.   

Portal was a great game.   But it was a gamer's game, not one meant to be anyone's first experience with a FPS as the article points out.     WoW has many flaws, but easily introducing newcomers to the game's instinctive UI is not one of them. 

It would be interesting to know how quickly Laura Geneder's mother could pick up playing WoW.

Maybe the tutorials aren't at fault, but developers who have forgotten that not all of their players have years of video game experience under their belts.     Developers who think they are targeting a broad market but assume that 'everyone' should know about some particular game mechanic or system. 

The panel described in the article may have completely missed the point telling developers that if they have horrible turn-over of low levels they should re-do their tutorial.   Maybe if they're having horrible turn-over of low levels, they should re-do their entire game.

Originally posted by ArcAngel3

 

Originally posted by soulwynd

You're not required to accept an EULA, but then you don't play. If you don't like the EULA, don't play, state you're not playing because the eula and spread the word to other players about the horrible rules they don't know they abide to. That's the best you can do.

And about the changes/enhancements, you must be young. Any contract you sign for power, internet, water, almost anything non specific, has a clause that states they can change it without refunding you, but at the time they change the contract, you have to sign it again, or stop using their service. That's how it goes. It's rare to find a contract/eula with a fair refunding policy.

Many service industries are based on the principle of "informed consent."  Relevant legislation defines what it means to be "informed" and who is able to give "consent" to receive a particular service. 

 

EULAs, as used by SOE for example, are very sketchy on the "informed" aspect of this principle.  Is the customer given sufficient, accurate information about what may or may take place after they make payment?  I would argue no.  SOE has exploited this to justify mistreatment of their players, and taking money from them under false pretenses.

While I don't believe that a EULA clearly defining possible game changes would solve all of the ethical issues here, I do believe it would be a step in the right direction.

If for example, SOEs SWG EULA would have said, "we reserve the right to alter the fundamental game mechanics at any time, and this may render any or all of your in-game progress null and void," I would have chosen not to play.  Many would have chosen not to pay for a year's subscription in advance.  Did they make a truly informed choice to play and subscribe for a year?  I would say no.  The EULA's description of possible game changes is vague at best, and SOE's use of the term "enhancements" for the NGE was an obvious attempt on their part to exploit this lack of clarity to their own advantage at their players' expense.

I would advocate for a standard that requires game companies to list the possible changes they reserve the right to make to the game.  If something is not on the list (e.g. delete professions, change the game from rpg combat to fps) than they can't do it.  Doing so would violate the contract.

It's been pointed out that consumer protection legislation cannot be over-ridden by a EULA.  I agree wholeheartedly with this point, and I've made it myself.  BUT vaguely written EULAs serve to "muddy the water" so to speak to the point that some lawyers and prosecutors pause before taking on a game company that has been accused of fraudulent activity.  I would also argue that broad stroke EULAs are written by unethical companies with the intent of obscuring consumer rights and muddying the water with regard to possible legal recourse. 

Let's clear the water and remove the tool of obfuscatiing EULAs from the hands of disreputable companies.

As for me being young lol, I wish :)

Lucas Arts Marketing controls much of what is choosen in the direction of SWG.  They package, promote, cut deals with online services and research the demographics for the game.  It was and is an insult to Lucas Arts for other lower visible IP's to out do SWG in subs.  WOW identified the larger purer MMO customer that all target now in thier demographics.  SWG was originally a world simulator "sandbox" MMORPG that appealed to an older demographic that was much smaller in coverage.  This is key in understanding the marketing mindset.  I will identify "Someone" demanded that SWG be geared to capture the WOW demographic at the cost of the then current game machanics.  At the cost of the current low number(actually quite high for the average market) dedicated veterian playerbase.  The NGE was the magic formula to win the new kiddies over and put to sleep the old game with its issues.  They knew they would loose many vets but the gambled return on the new target audiance would quickly out weigh the loss and bad mouth.

The NGE failed.  They now have an idea of how far they can stretch the brand assoiaction of Star Wars before a product will not sell.  The real problem with SWG was not Target Demographics but the SOE philosphy of MMO marketing.  SOE has worked very hard in the last 5 years to provide a diverse catalog of MMO offerings that crosses many generas and interests for thier Station Pass.  Low priority for quality of games at launch and further lack of dedication to improve those offerings has given SOE its less than steller rep.  Lucas Arts has been marketing SWG with this SOE lead.

At no time in the life of SWG(Pre-publish 9, Pre-CU, CU, NGE, post Chapter 6) has it been bug free, stable, polished, complete or directed to the general acceptance of the common MMO market.  Brand assoication could only carry the game as far as it can before all realize how sour the milk is.

As to the EULA, I agree with ya' on that Arc, old bud.

Heh, I see a few SWG vets, interesting.

You need to look at the extremes.  Too much World Simulator without Game can be bad (second job).  Too much Game and little World Building is preditctable and makes your world the same as everyone elses MMO(non-unique).

SWG was incomplete at launch.  It carried its IP with all that was expected to be seen but not experianced.  I know players that quit in Pre-CU because it was too much of a second job and had little content in the form of Instance quests and other Directed game play.

The community grew from its dedicated players that were happy with existing content and always hopeing the next publish would bring a (positive) more.  They liked that experiance but the game never grew beyond the select group of dedicated.  Thats the point someone(SOE/LA) decided SWG needed more Game.   This is the point of the CU and the NGE.  WOW had 5 million subs with its semi-popular IP and SWG only got up to maybe 275k subs with its very popular IP. 

Whatever the format of the MMO, World Sim roleplay heaven or Game Slagger paradise, make it complete, make it high quality and make it fun within its decided form.  Don't rush it to publish because you want to cross promote your product with the coming of another big IP event (movie premiere).  MMO's are self contained organisims that should be allowed to grow and develop at thier own pace to be a stable Cash Cow.  They are not the new "box on the shelf" that is quickly forgotten a few weeks after launch.

What does this have to do with Role Play?  First  and formost, these are products for profit and thats how the companies see them.  Is RP in a game a boon or hinderance to maximum customer coverage and what is the easiest way to cover its use? 

RP is a personal experiance that you can't really price and put in a box.  You can only provide a stage.