Please bare with me as this could be a long post.

I recently sorted out trial accounts for my Fiance and best friend as we've been looking for a decent MMO since the NGE hit SWG. I myself did a trial of Heroes last year and thought it basic, but then again basic can also mean fun as i still get hours of enjoyment out of my age old games for Spectrum and Commadore 64.

Once my fiance was in the game she found it a tad tedious to start with but stuck it out, i purchased the CoH/V double pack for us both and since then she's got into it more and started to really enjoy it.

The reason why i'm making this post is to give my first impressions of the game and one thing in particular that upset me. First off the game seems quiet even though it's still slated as one of the most played MMO's today, this could be cause i'm only a low level still and most people are up in the end game regions, who knows (Defiant server is the we play on).  Overall gameplay is repetative but enjoyable, it's what i'd expect from a game of this sort and therefore holds no suprises for me (unless things change at higher levels).

From a new players point of view the game would seem awesome, as a 7 year veteran of various MMO's the game seems easy but fun in comparison to some.

The one upset i mentioned above was not being able to make the Hero i wanted, at first i wanted a mix between Captain America and Flash, in game terms this would be a Shield using scrapper with the speed of Flash. When i selected Scrapper i found i couldn't have what i wanted (i even checked out the other archtypes and found no shield use powers at all). This is a big deal for me as, although some may deny it, EVERYONE at some point in their life has dreamed or wondered what it would be like to have super powers or watched a super hero film or series and thought "if only i could do that". Now although i'm from England (born and bread Yorkshireman) Captain America was an idol for me when i was growing up, not for the patriotism he portrayed but for the mere fact that he used a shield rather than offensive items/powers. I'm hoping that one day an update will come out (sooner than later i hope) where i can be what i always dreamed of being.

anyways enough ranting from me for now.

you all have a good time and hope to see more in CoX.

Originally posted by Alienovrlord

Originally posted by Wickersham

"it's not great now but we plan to make it better" was the games theme since SWG launched too early.

"it's not great now but we plan to make it better" was the games theme when the CU was announced.

"it's not great now but we plan to make it better" was the games theme when the NGE dropped.

"it's not great now but they plan to make it better" has been the overall theme of this FIVE year old game since day ONE.

 

Excellent points.   Maybe there was so much lacking in SWG because the developers spent so much effort making their complex, intricate and ultimately meangingless Crafting system.

Why do I say meaningless?  Not because of SWG's failure to attract players but because it's Star Wars.  Show me a Star Wars movie, novel, comic, video game or anything else about the exciting adventures of some shopkeeper selling junk to other people.   

Old school players praise SOEs attempt to make a 'living world' with a functioning crafting economy while ignoring the fact that the game failed utter to capture the essence Star Wars - an intergalatic space opera.

How much do you want to bet Bioware's Star Wars MMORPG will only pay a cursory nod toward trifling, secondary mechanics like Crafting and focus on important elements that SOE ignored, like class balance, combat mechanics and most importantly FUN that is true to the IP. 

Star Wars is about spaceships, blaster fights and daring rescues.   Keep your shopkeeping for the Walmart MMORPG whenever that comes out. 

I'm really sorry to say this but, you sir are not a true MMORPG'er..  you want a 3rd person combat game with other players by the sound of your post. Fair enough thats what you like but don't ever assume that it's what the majority want, SWG subscriptions to this date prove without a doubt that the majority preferred things how they were before the NGE, this included crafters and the economy.

In my personal opinion, no matter what SOE do to SWG now, it will NEVER be as popular as it once was. This saddens me as it was my first ever MMO and i enjoyed it for a good 2-3 years. for me it wasn't the combat changes that killed the game as i became a successful and respected Bounty Hunter that could take out a lvl 90 elder jedi from lvl 82 (wasn't easy and i never used off-side tactics), for me it was the removal of Decay and the consolidation of the crafting systems, they made the game simplistic, i don't care who made the decision to make the NGE the fact is they brought it out and killed the game. If you dispute the fact that they killed the game then perhaps you can show me proof..  my proof is the sheer numbers they lost because of it. i'd estimate at least 75% of subscribers left within 3 months of the NGE going live..  This mass "rats abandoning a sinking ship" effect was, in my opinion, due to the removal of decay and because SOE chose to cater for the whining kids that don't like it or prefer to just go out and PvP rather than have a variation of choices of what they want to be (the RPG element was removed). SOE consolidated the Crafters, for reasons i can't comprehend, thereby removing the need/want for a competative market between traders and future traders, the traders that were left started using factories more often which removed the customised feel of what people bought, Decay was removed, which in my personal opinion, is always a bad thing as it completely negates the reasons of having crafters in a game. What do the high level players that remain do today, they've got everything they want and need so whats left??  PvP and pretty much nothing else..  Why on earth turn a game that was loved and played by possibly millions of people into something that caused them to lose the majority of players? the reason is simple, they wanted to cater for the WoW children who are used to playing WoW and expect all other MMO's to be the same, simple and a bore grind....   Crafters used to make the best items in SWG, now they are nothing compared to looted stuff..

Anyways enough of my rant as i'm sick of it and SOE lost my trust and respect a long time ago and i reccon i aint the only one that feels this way..

Have a good life and good fun grinding in your new WoW.

Bioware are (in my opinion) excellent when it comes to RPG's..  They've had their hands into KotOR and Fallout, both were simply the best RPG's ever made..  If they make KotOR online basically a sandbox (open galaxy) version of the Single Player games with more content and, to put it simply, other players, then it will be a hit in my opinion. Can't comment anymore as like others have said, no info is out yet and it would be pointless to debate things that don't exist..

Side note : If they cater to the Single Player lovers instead of the WoW lovers the game will be huge and very popular. WoW and that style have been old for way too long and even WoW players/ex-WoW players i've spoke with over the years are sick of it.

I hate to be a doom-sayer but i have to be in this case..  I played SWG for about 3 years (or there abouts), roughly a month after the CU i joined and about 3-6 months after the NGE i quit..  I had great fun and with it being my first MMO ever played was very happy with what i found in the game. The Doom-saying i spoke of is the fact that it wasn't just the NGE that killed the game, yes they simplified things, yes they made it more "child" friendly but what killed it for the majority was adding Jedi as a chosen profession from the start.. Many people left because of this fact alone and over the following weeks many more left, leaving the servers dead..  No economy, no groups, no game.. 

With the rumour or announcement (not sure which as i haven't read anything about a KotOR MMO yet) i seriously doubt that SOE will be allowed to continue with the licence if it's given to someone else and as many others have said SOE screwed it up bigtime, they are not the only ones to blame though as i reccon LA had a hand in the changes that killed it as well.

The player base leaving was what killed the game, not just the actual game changes which caused the player base to leave.

i'm one of the many awaiting for the game to arrive in the post, didn't apply for EA as i wasn't prepared to pay the extra cost for just a few days..

one question for those who are in game though if you don't mind answering it for me..

Whats the economy like? Player driven or NPC driven?

Reason i ask is crafting is what i enjoy for end game features and with being an ex SWG player i've been bummed about the lack of economy in all current MMORPG's with them being item/gear driven by loot runs etc.

Hope someone is able to answer this for me, if not then i shall see you on the fields of battle once my game arrives.

Not going to agree with the OP about it being Funcom's fault, it's not...

Not going to agree with people who say it's the OP's fault.. it's not...

I pre ordered from Play.com on the 8th may, monday the 12th i recieved an email with my early access code and full instructions on how to sort it out. I chose not to as i wasn't prepared to pay the extra £5 just to have my computer download the client and then patch for countless hours. i'm happy to wait till full release and for my game to arrive through the mail..

Fact of the matter is that from my understanding of how it works or was meant to work is as follows..  you pre order the game, you get an email from whoever you bought it from with code and instructions, you follow instructions and pay the extra, your now able to play the game (EA was reopened recently)..  upon this deduction based on my pre order experience the one to blame is the people you bought it from, not the developers or anyone else.