Well I'm more of an evidence based egg-head lol, but I know what would make me happy:

A Star Wars online game that was not in the hands of SOE.  I love Star Wars, and enjoy gaming with other fans.  It's a sad, sad thing to see this epic story and it's fans in the hands of a company with SOE's record of how it has treated its player community.

So here's hoping that someone else gets the Star Wars title sometime in the near future.  Someone that will respect the source material, and respect the people who play a game to relax and enjoy themselves.

ARC3

As I'm reading this thread, I see a lot of people focused on who should be held accountable for the NGE.  I see the relevance to the OP in that it is Vanguard's association with SOE that is being scrutinized.  It seems clear from SOE statements that they initiated, designed and implemented the NGE.  But wait now, this may not be an "either or" situation.  Did LucasArts have a role in approving the NGE?  A lot of posts from SOE seem to indicate that they wait for LA approval on game changes.  So it's fair to conclude in my view that SOE AND LA had different roles to play in the design, approval and implementation of the NGE.

SOE has taken responsibility for designing the NGE and implementing it.  That is certainly their part in the fiasco. 

Was it a good design?  In my view certainly not.  When it came out basic functionality was incredibly flawed.  Movement, chat and combat systems were significantly impaired by major bugs. 

Was it implemented well?  In my view most definitely not.  Information was with-held to the point that many players felt intentionally misled by SOE.  Player input was not a part of the process, and many players felt that they lost much more than they gained through the changes.

So in light of SOE's clear roles with regard to design and implementation, will I purchase another game with their name on it?

The answer is simple yet elegant:  NO

ARC3

Well I'm afraid that I just can't bring myself to trust anything with SOE involved anymore.  The way they sold us all the Trials of Obiwan expansion right before dropping the NGE on us, without ever mentioning the NGE in the Stratics chat they set up about the expansion and the future of the game.  Man that was just evil.  Then they announced the NGE right after all our Visa payments passed the no refund date.  That is the most unethical business practice I have ever seen.  I was shocked and amazed.  They only barely avoided legal action and an even more damaged reputation by offering all of us a refund on our Trials of Obi Wan. 

And what they have done to creature handlers continues to be nothing less than cruelty.  All these people who found and tamed pets lost the ability to interact with them.  Doesn't SOE realize that people become emotionally invested in things like that?  Mounts were finally let out of player datapads, but people are still screaming on the SOE boards for non-mount pets to be released.  People have been looking at their pets trapped in their datapads for nearly a full year now.  That's really just cruel.

So can I with any level of comfort invest myself in a game connected with SOE? no bloody way. 

Would my conscience allow me to give money to SOE after their unethical practices and mistreatment of players?  Not in this lifetime.

ARC3

You know this kind of post from an SOE dev demonstrates a very important reality.  This dev obviously does not understand that many of us USED TO BE players who post.  Then our professions were deleted.  (I lost Teras Kasi Master, Master Doc, and Master Brawler all at once).  I had just enough skill points for a triple master and I LOVED my character that I spent nearly 2 years working on.  At the same time, we lost all our progress on the force sensitive and jedi quests.  My guild was dedicated to helping people complete this quest.  At the same time, we then lost most of our guild, and our city became a ghost down.  At the same time our friends who spent the last 2 years taming pets lost access to them.  AND we got a new game system that we don't like and that has 17 PAGES of known issues and bugs (See Senator Badgersmacker's bugs and issues post--I copied this into a word document and it is 17 pages long.)  AND we have been reporting these bugs for 10 months and many of them are STILL there.  AND when we try to tell SOE that we're not happy with what they are doing, our posts are locked, deleted and/or we are banned from the forums.

So in light of all of this, why in the name of anything would I still enjoy being a "player" who posts.  My stuff has been taken away or broken, and my friends have been driven off.  I BECAME a poster who played because I would ask for things to get fixed, and then try the game out to see if they had been.  Obviously this dev doesn't understand the state of affairs that his company has created.  He sees it as players being self-centered and stroking their own egos.  Well now Mr. Chriscao you've taken my stuff, broken the things that remain, driven off my friends AND insulted me, failing to see what your company has done, and blaming my pain on my own selfishness.

You know I gave up playing AND posting because I realized that SOE is run and staffed by people like this dev who are totally clueless when it comes to understanding people, their feelings, and how to be respectful and responsive to a customer base.  They keep breaking things and abusing people who try to bring it to their attention.  Utterly amazing, the blindness over there is so pervasive.

I can't post over there anymore, but if anyone still can, do feel free to copy and paste this onto their boards.  They so badly need to regain touch with reality.

ARC 3

So in the Sony SWG forums there was a thread discussing what we think about some recent game changes.  I figured I'd share my thoughts.  I said that I liked how they were restoring some things that got deleted by the NGE: things like player bases, some character customization again etc.  However, I asked why only a few things were given back only a little bit at a time.  I said that I feel strung along by this drawn out process, and that it would feel a lot better if they would just give everything back that they took away by providing pre-NGE servers.  I used New Coke and Classic coke as an example of why this might work out well for everyone.  I wasn't nasty about it in my view.  I felt this was constructive feedback about gameplay, and what I would like to see as a player.  Well for my troubles I got banned by SOE.  No message, warning or explanation, just a ban.  I think saying the phrase "classic servers" may have been what got me black bagged, but that's only a guess.  So thanks to MMORPG for allowing me the freedom to say, CLASSIC SERVERS lol.  Wow that felt good.  (Waves to SWG mods--can't get me -_^)  And I still think it's a good idea.  Pre-NGE servers, with some devs to work out the kinks that were there.  Poll the players re. what version of classic server they want too.  Go with the majority, then work out the kinks.  Most people would be some happier with anything Pre-nge. 

ARC3

Hi there.  I'm new to these forums, and to this site.  First off I want to say I think the site is really cool :).  Secondly I just want to say thanks for questioning SOE in the first place.  That was big of you to do.  I think any flak you guys are getting is really just misplaced anger.  An awful lot of people are still hurt and angry about all the losses they experienced, and all you need to do is mention the letters SWG and/or SOE, and it all comes boiling out.  I've seen some good articles about what happened over in SWG that I'm pretty sure came from you folks, so thanks for that also.

I'm one of those players who lost all my professions that I had mastered (over about 2 years) and lost the jedi quest line that I had also been working on for about the same amount of time.  I was on the last mission of a very long series of quests when they all got deleted.  That was indeed a major bummer. 

On a positive note, I rediscovered my love for Star Wars when I received the original theatre versions of the original trilogy on DVD.  I also got Star Wars lego 2.  Now that game is F.U.N. ^_^.  AND nobody is going to come into my house and delete all my progress I don't think lol.  Take that SOE -_^.  My kids and I are now enjoying co-op adventures in a galaxy far far away.  

As for MMORPG fun, I'm really enjoying City of Heroes and City of Villains.  My experience with the company that runs those games has been very positive and refreshing.  Game play is excellent and the community is in a really good state. 

I'm also looking forward to reading articles on this site, and posting on the forums now and again ^_^.  Happy gaming all!

Arc3