This has been a very popular feature request for a number of years.

Here's my favourite thread on it, featuring pretty much every picture of Lando there is posted by SWG players  that really, really, really want to see Lando in SWG.

Was this you? The Top Ten Issues With Star Wars Galaxies.

It's all very well being negative about the game on a non-official forum, which you do very often here. 

Once you take that negativity to the players themselves and start posting about issues that have been discussed by them at length for several years, many of which discussions received feedback from Development, then you just come across as a disgruntled, out of touch whiner.

Very often veterans return to the game and like to think that they still know everything about the game that needs knowing because they have read some forum posts, but this is often far from the case.  An open mind is essential in returning to any MMORPG after a prolonged absence.

If that was your post, you did touch on some worthwhile improvements in the way of UI, controls and grouping tools but the rest was a bit of a Pre-CU rant.  They get a lot of those posts there though, vets coming back and posting a list of complaints that haven't been properly researched, it's pretty much the done thing to flame it.

I'd be happy to discuss some of the points you raised further, for instance, Development once tried a model with full 3d collision as a prototype on internal test servers.  QA came back with over 1000 bugs and they shelved the project indefinately.  At this point changing the collision model would be NGE-like in aspect with huge wide sweeping core game changes, I'm not sure that SWG needs any more of that.

Just let me know if you ore details on any of the other topics you raised.

Originally posted by Kazara

You can remain neutral if you want, but you will miss out on the PvP content (outside of actually player bounty hunting) that requires you to be Imperial or rebel. In fact, the next big game update is supposed to be focused on the Galactic Civil War (GCW), so in order to take part in it, you will have to choose a faction.

This is incorrect.  A new "Faction Helper" system is in testing right now.

• While considering various possible systems for Neutral/Civilian to participate in the upcoming GCW game update, we are testing this early version of the "factional helper" system.
• The system is available on TCPrime and TestCenter for research/preliminary testing, and to get player feedback.
• The faction helper system is just one of the various systems under consideration.
• Use the /factionalHelper command to choose how you want to help (or stop helping) your favorite faction.
• "Factional help" is currently limited to ground PvE and PvP combat only. All other systems will still continue to treat you as Neutral/Civilian.

With this system, Beermangler could stay as a Neutral Bounty Hunter and "Faction Help" in PvP whichever faction seems most appropriate.

The faction path you choose on the Legacy quest doesn't actually align you with any faction, so feel free to chose whichever path you fancy.

Whenever I level a new character, I make sure to group as often as possible as you can get a lot more XP that way.

The key is to group with people that are around the same level as you.  You can do this by using the Player Search tool and filtering by combat level, about 5 levels difference is best but you can get away with 10.  For instance, if you are level 38, use the tool to send a tell to all players that are level 33-43 and ask if they want to group up.

It's fun to run terninal missions in groups of eight, you get double and sometimes even triple the XP from doign them solo due to the huge number of kills you get on top of the COMPNOR.  If you set up a group just before 12:00 PDT when the COMPNOR reset occurs then everyone will be ready to do their missions.

It's also a great way to make new friends.  As well as COMPNOR missions you can also do quests and collections together.

Which server were you playing on when you tried the trial?  To get an idea of which servers are more populated, take a look at some statistics I put together here: SWG Galactic Civil War and Player City Statistics - October

You can use a macro bound to a key on your keyboard to easily and quickly equip/unequip your weapon.  See the "User Interface and Macros" secion of Guide: Combat Preparation for more information.

To invite someone aboard a multi-passenger ship have them stand near you at the ship terminal and click the "Invite" option, you will see their name in a list and can click on it to invite them.  Once acceeted, when you launch they will receive a pop-up notification asking if they wish to join you and when they accept this they will appear on your ship with you.

I hope this helps.

I did a write-up of the producer note and condensed the subsequent Q&A session here:

New Galactic Civil War system coming to Star Wars Galaxies.

As a combat character, rare loot is always a good way to make money.  You'd need to identify which loot is worth going after and work out what kind of market there is for it.

You could roll out a Trader character on your second character slot on that server.  It's always better to get other players to pay you with credits for goods and services than to grind credits yourself. ;)

You could also buy TCG Booster Packs and sell them in game for credits.  That's probably fastest, depending on your server you can get 8-10 million credits for $0.99.

Originally posted by maxdo

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that i have helped start up a new guild on the sever bria. It is going to be a PvP focase reble guild. we will also be doing a lot of PvE. If you guys are interasted in joning just send Jerck (me) or Stev an in game tell or e-mail.

Hey Maxdo,

Good luck with your guild.  Be sure to post about it over on the official Bria forum.

Originally posted by Daffid011

You are trying to paint this situation as if the free character transfers created a situation where server mergers suddenly became a possibility.  Just think about that for a moment.  Why on earth would any company work to create something that would kill servers... well I mean with a character transfer tool.  .  

Because it took less time to implement the FCTS than it would to implement a full Apprenticeship system, cross server play and other community tools to give players a reason to stay on their server.

Nice guide.

Also take a look at the Current Update and the Publish Archive.

Originally posted by Legato89

1. Not being able to put your weapon away. It just doesn't feel right walking around with your sword pointing to NPCs you talk to. I don't know why something so simple hasn't been added in so many years.

2. Graphics overhaul. Numerous MMOs have done it that have been released earlier this decade.

3. Lower level pve dungeons. From what I was told, I won't be doing any until I hit max level, which is a real bummer.

1. Drop your weapon into a slot on your toolbar, use one of the toolbar panes that isn't the first one and then bind a macro to that toolbar slot.  Go into Keymap and assign a key to that macro.  When you press that key your weapon will be equipped/unequipped.  More info on macros here: Guide: Combat Preparation .

2. There have been a few graphical improvements over the years, are you running SWG on full graphics settings?

3. Do you mean low level instances?  There are some lower level instances in the Meatlump Themepark and on Kashyyyk, you'll be sent to plenty of PvE bunkers on the Legacy Quest.

Originally posted by Wildcat84

Badger actually asked them to do this and they wouldn't for whatever reason.
 

Hey Wildcat, what brings you here?  Nice to hear from you again.

The SWG Veteran Keymap concept was well received by the Devs.  I hope they put something like this in for the next veteran trial.

Welcome back to SWG, blueshadow.  Glad to hear you are enjoying it.  You can switch to auto-aim by pressing Y if you get tired of the Manual Aim system.

Originally posted by Daffid011

There is no possible way you create 1 way transfers from servers that are dead and intend to keep them live. 

If the uptake on the Free CTS hadn't been so overwhelming, and lets say for instance one server managed to retain a large portion of its population then it would have likely stayed up.  This didn't happen due to the "success" of the FCTS.

I spent the last six months on Infinity working with the players there in order to ensure that everything possible was being done to rebuild the server community with an aim to avoiding closure.  We managed to go out as the busiest "Transfer from" server due to those efforts, but the server population was miniscule compared to the now current lowest population of Sunrunner.

SoE gave players a choice, the majority of them took the option of moving and therefore the promotion is considered a "success", they aren't talking about the NGE or the game in general, just the fact that the uptake on the FCTS was probably more than they were originally expecting.

Star Wars Galaxies: Game Update 14 Death Troopers

Publish Notes, October 12th, 2009

Death Troopers

After a mysterious turn of events the Empire has mustered an enormous military presence in a remote location on Dathomir. Imperial High Command has issued a travel warning to notify citizens to avoid travel to the planet if possible. Citizens that cannot avoid travel to Dathomir should be aware that certain locations are now considered restricted areas. Unauthorized travel by citizenry to these restricted areas may result in fines, arrest or both. While rumors have circulated that restricted areas are being used to contain a biological threat, no official report has been confirmed or denied by High Command.

• Players that have already completed the Update 13 "Something is Obviously Wrong" quests will be contacted and given a quest upon login.
• Players that have not already completed the Update 13 "Something is Obviously Wrong" quests will need to finish up to have access to the Death Troopers quest line.
• Players that have not started the "Something is Obviously Wrong" quests can kick off the content by using the publish gift named "Jabba's Comlink."
• To participate in the Death Troopers content, players will first need to complete the "Something is Obviously Wrong" quest line.
• Added Chronicles relics specific to the Death Troopers content

Death Troopers - Known Issue

• After further experimentation with the Blackwing virus, we discovered that the Sullustan race was particularly susceptible to the infection. Sullustan's who have been infected will exhibit symptoms including mood swings, cold sweats, and white eyes. Rest assured we have an inoculation ready and it will be administered in the next update.

Vendor/Bazaar

• Search By Attribute: You can now search by attribute factory crates by the attributes of the item contained inside the crate. If the Misc->Factory Crate node is selected, you must first specify the Type search attribute to indicate the type of item you are looking for, and based on the specified item type, additional search attributes for that item type will be added to the attribute list. If an item type node under the Misc->Factory Crate node is selected, the attribute list will be automatically populated with the search attributes for the selected item type.
• Fix issue where the Offers and Stockroom tab return all items regardless of what is selected in the Object Type Filter tree.

Chronicles

• If your Chronicles Reserve has something in it, you will see a reminder message when you log in.
• Reward items inside of a Chronicles Holocron will no longer appear in a junk dealer's list.
• You will now be able to move objects inside of a Chronicles Tent up or down.
• Generic Location tasks in a Holocron built directly from a draft will point to the correct location.
• If you are claiming more than 500 tokens from your Chronicles Reserve, you will now get the correct amount.
• Chronicle relics are no longer of any interest to junk dealers.

Game Update 14 Gift

• Undead Rancor Statuette

TCG

• FG 8T8-Twin Block2 Special Podracer: Driver uses the correct riding position.
• The AT-AT Head ITV will now cancel sending you to a location if you choose "Cancel" in the confirmation window.

User Interface

• Chronicle rating now shows the rating to the tenths place, this provides a bit more accuracy.

Misc

• Navari Trik (Painting Distribution Specialist) is back in Mos Eisley with some new paintings for you.

Star Wars Galaxies: Hotfix 14.1

Death Troopers

• Increased blackwing canister spawns at all camps Alpha - Delta
• Death Trooper Virus should not be applied in the Quarantine Zone when the player logs in if the player already has the antivirus.
• Removed 2 handed melee weapons from undead.
• If at any point the player deletes a quest in their Death Trooper main quest line, returning to the last NPC or device where the quest was received, should allow that player to receive the quest again.
• Fixed issue where players would get stuck at the first dungeon console if they deleted the quest and had the quest reissued from the Inquisitor.
• Fixed issue where players would get stuck if they deleted their active quest because Dr. Jin disappeared. Players can now go to the command console on that level to reissue the quest.
• Elites Level 5 - 50 no longer Death Blow the player.
• Normal’s Level 5 - 80 no longer Death Blow the player.
• Dynamically spawned undead still Death Blow the player (enemies spawned for camp defense, shuttle parts, vents, escort, etc.).
• All Sullustan's have been inoculated. Their eyes should no longer be white and they should be in a better mood.
• Virus Inoculation now lasts 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes.
• Added research facility collection objects.
• Trig should no longer gate players from redoing the main quest line because they have completed the radio delivery content.
• All factions will now clone at the cloning facility near the Starport.
• Dr. Griffax Jin now respawns within 2 minutes.
• If players break off combat with Dr. Jin (by running away or using smoke bomb for instance), they will receive a system message that indicates he will be back soon.
• Cornburr is now a boss.
• Reduced Respawn Timers on much of the quarantine zone.
• The music track for defeating the Undead Rancor will only play once.

Misc

• Structure admin can now move, rotate, and save decoration/restore decoration no trade items.
• Flare S Sitting Position Fixed.
   

Originally posted by TUX426

You can't take just PART of the statement. "Due to the overwhelming success of the Free Character Transfer Service..."...what? What is happening due to that success? What is the result of that success? Closing half the games servers is simply not something any reasonable company would view as a "success".

If the FCTS hadn't been used by the huge number of people that took advantage of it, the servers would not have closed.

The FCTS was a success because so many people used it.  If it had gone in and nobody had moved then it would have been deemed a failure.

Not really rocket science, and it's old news, but some people never pass up an opportunity to take a shot at SoE, even if they have to fail at reading comprehension to do so.

If you look at my recent population stats, you can see the drop off for the servers that were closed started with Chapter 6, where PvE difficulty was substantially increased over what is was after the NGE pretty much broke it. 

Players moved servers, either using the paid for CTS or rerolling, just so that they could find the groups required for the new difficulty. 

Thus started the great server population imbalance that we still see today.

Originally posted by Jatwhal

Death Troopers push live tomorrow...

Star Wars Galaxies: Game Update 14 -- Death Troopers

Originally posted by ArcAngel3

If you had me in mind when you wrote your disclaimer, I hope that clarifies. 

No it wasn't aimed at you at all, I can't say I thought of you specifically when writing the thread, sorry.

Originally posted by TUX426

Originally posted by Jatwhal

"We will also be adding new relic types in the future like spawn – yep, you will be able to spawn mobs with real loot, name them, and let them say a phrase like "Teesquared shall be avenged!" "

Can't wait for this update...

Producers notes...

starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/players/news_archive.vm

 

Sarcasm? While I'm sure they plan to add in a few more "relics", I have no reason to think this new "big system" will be anything other than another chapter in 60-days. Just another dropped in and forgotten system - just like theme parks, just like the GCW, just like Battle Fields, just like the DE and Tailor updates, just like Jedi, just like the Heroics, just like Hoth...the list goes on and on. All of those were additions/updates with great hype and hope...yet all of them fell short and seldom, if ever, were tweaked after being implemented.

Bloody hell, should SWG slash its wrists now Tux? :P

You're certainly chirpy and bright today. 

I don't think Jatwhal was being sarcastic, I read that the most enjoyable part of the CoH system for the players was the fact that they could make customised NPCs with specific specials etc.

It seems the SWG team knows this and has plans to implement this down the line.

The responses make a great read, particularly regarding what we all loved about the old game and what we feel about it now.

I just want to stress that SoE isn't considering any of this at all, couple of people posted and seem to have that impression.

All I might do is send a link to this thread to the Dev I spoke to about this with about a year ago, just so they can enjoy the read too, but other than that I don't see this becoming a reality any time soon.

One thing I was thinking was if you could access the Origins/Classic servers via a Trial account or something, the trial would expire for the live game buy you could still play Origins/Classic for free.  That way SoE could justify it being maintenance only as they aren't charging for it.

Could be a way to bring people into the Live game if they are after new content over Pre-CU gameplay, and that means potentially more TCG sales which we all know makes Smedley very happy indeed.

Originally posted by mmcguire2

This has already been talked about. SoE won't do it because they feel the NGE was a step forward in the game.  This interview says t just can't be done

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/gameId/6/setView/features/loadFeature/461

Woah, that was in 2006?  I spoke to the Devs about this a lot more recently than that, I think they could do it and that they would probably enjoy doing it, but whether it's worth doing at this point?  Not sure.

As said, it was pretty much the community and the fact that it was such an innovative game at the time that made SWG what it was, time has certainly marched on.

Disclaimer: I do not work for SoE, nor have I ever, nor will I ever.  I once was part of a player volunteer program that SoE ran but that was about it, I have no say in what SoE does.

With that out of the way, I thought it would be interesting to discuss how SoE could go about Origin/Classic SWG Servers, if they ever had the time, resources and inclination to bring them up.

I discussed this with SWG Developers long ago and they seemed keen on the idea, but the live game always takes presedence so this was always a pipe-dream.

It's fun to talk about dreams though, so what would you like to see in the way of Origin/Classic SWG Servers?  They would likely be brought up as part of the Test Center servers and receive only maintenance updates, no additional content.

Which patch level would you want to play, if at all?

Patch Level

Pre-CU: Pre-publish 9

Pre-CU: (Literally just before the Combat Upgrade)

CU: Just before the NGE.