If I could build a NEW Star Wars MMORPG....Here is 10 things I would do.

1) I would start by using the very same format as the "old Pre-CU" game (minus the bugs).  A complete "sandbox" game without question is a must.  All 32 professions would be in as well as the same Skill Trees, Races, and Factions. I would also Upgrade the Graphics with "Euphoria" and DX10 quality and style. It would use viberent colors, but the Characters wouldn't be "Cartoony" or WOWish.

2) I would Double the size of the game. I would make sure such planets as Hoth, Dagobah, Coruscant, Kessel,  Kamino, and Geonosis were in the game. I also would have made space more "explorable". I always thought a player should be able to go and discover new and interesting things in the Galaxy.

3) Speaking of Space. I would leave most of JTL as is, however I would put Massive Guild Capital Ships and Space Stations. These new features would support mass space combat as well as enhance social and commercial aspects of game play.  Space Stations could serve as very nice player cities with mini-game casinos and huge markets with NPC vendors.

4) I would have real Guild Fire Bases, not just player cites. Complete with NPC troops and weapon systems. A real defense network where the land you control determins resources.

5) Add a 3rd faction...the Criminal Underworld Faction for Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, and Black Market Merchants. I also would have a REAL WORKING smuggling system that meant something in game. A Real system that was meaningful and important.

6) No cross Faction cooperation. I can't tell you how many time I saw REBS and IMPS grouped. FAIL! The factions must always be fighting on FFA servers.

7) Many sever types for a various play styles. FFA PvP, RP, RP PvP, PvE, RP PvE.

8) Atmospheric Flight!...Tie Bombers and X-Wings used in Close Air-Suppot Ops. Also players could Fly from place to palce on the planet surface.

9) Item Decay is in along with the ability for Crafters alone to make the BEST gear and items.

10) Yes there will be "ALPHA PROFESSIONS"! There would be (2) two such professions. JEDI and BOUNTY HUNTER. Each profession would be rare and most difficult to achieve. In fact each individual player would have a different way to unlock. No two unlocks would be the same. Even if you find the right combo of actions, professions, and items, you would still have to get them all in the right order at the right time. IF a player could manage to unlock, it would take many weeks to complete a full temp toon.  The Alpha Path is not for the casual gamer. So rare in fact, you may never  see someone unlock.

I kinda feel like those starving people who sit around talking about the food they wish they had. We used to do this in the Military all the time. Anyhow, I know all this is a pipe dream, but if i ever hit the $350 million dollar Powerball lottory you can be sure I will be making this game!

Hmm...sounds pretty damn sweet.  Wish you were in the business of making MMOs .  I think many feel the same way you and I do, unfortunately you don't see any of the big namers stepping up to the plate.

Oh man I love this topic!

If my boss were not on my butt I would be writing a mini-novel as we speak :)

LOL soon as she is out the door I can go back to slacking...

You got 10 wrong.  There's no need to make such specific alpha classes.  You unlock Force Sensitive, the end.  Force Sensitive provides generic trees that allow you to do generic things that would benefit any profession.  You could (if you wanted to, loremongers would disagree probably) argue that the luck people like Han Solo and Boba Fett had was due to the force.  Give luck bonuses to all stats and give generic powers you can learn.  No over the top stuff, the very top branch would be a low-end force lightning, force choke, saber throw, force jump, and force push.

That way, every class can be an alphaclass.  If you wanted to be a carbineer, you could still be a carbineer.  You just give up that ancillary stuff you picked up and swap it for FS Alpha powers.

Originally posted by Exar_Kun

I would also Upgrade the Graphics with "Euphoria" and DX10 quality and style. It would use viberent colors, but the Characters wouldn't be "Cartoony" or WOWish.

 

So in other words, you want to keep the current population levels.  Dude, think for five seconds.  How many people can even afford that kind of rig?  How many people out there wanted to play Vanguard or Age of Conan but never even get the chance to see if they like it at all because their machine cannot run it?  And you want something even more PC intensive?  MMO's are still niche compared to the larger video game market.  And the people who play MMO's actually tend to be older.  Not old enough to have built up a career with lots of disposable income and too old to have mommy and daddy buy them a new rig every Christmas.

And a big N-O to #10 there.

sweet ideas. i would love to see an inhanced version of the of SWG we all love.

Great Topic.

Originally posted by Exar_Kun

If I could build a NEW Star Wars MMORPG....Here is 10 things I would do.

 

1) I would start by using the very same format as the "old Pre-CU" game (minus the bugs).  A complete "sandbox" game without question is a must.  All 32 professions would be in as well as the same Skill Trees, Races, and Factions. I would also Upgrade the Graphics with "Euphoria" and DX10 quality and style. It would use viberent colors, but the Characters wouldn't be "Cartoony" or WOWish.

 If you include all 32 professions you must have clearly defined roles for them to fill.

2) I would Double the size of the game. I would make sure such planets as Hoth, Dagobah, Coruscant, Kessel,  Kamino, and Geonosis were in the game. I also would have made space more "explorable". I always thought a player should be able to go and discover new and interesting things in the Galaxy.

The current game has too much land in my opinion.  At least for the amount of concurrent players that can be in the game.  If you double the size of the current land mass, it would feel quite deserted.  Even Pre-CU, there were deserted towns in the game because people just naturally congregated in certain areas, Theed and Coronet to name just 2.  Max concurrent players would have to be greatly increased.

Also, wouldn't it be better to do fewer planets and do them well, than to do too much that isn't that interesting?

3) Speaking of Space. I would leave most of JTL as is, however I would put Massive Guild Capital Ships and Space Stations. These new features would support mass space combat as well as enhance social and commercial aspects of game play.  Space Stations could serve as very nice player cities with mini-game casinos and huge markets with NPC vendors.

 Sure.  Sounds good.

4) I would have real Guild Fire Bases, not just player cites. Complete with NPC troops and weapon systems. A real defense network where the land you control determins resources.

 Not sure exactly what you're getting at.

5) Add a 3rd faction...the Criminal Underworld Faction for Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, and Black Market Merchants. I also would have a REAL WORKING smuggling system that meant something in game. A Real system that was meaningful and important.

 Good idea.  Examples?

6) No cross Faction cooperation. I can't tell you how many time I saw REBS and IMPS grouped. FAIL! The factions must always be fighting on FFA servers.

 I have to disagree with this.  There are times when enemies do work together.

7) Many sever types for a various play styles. FFA PvP, RP, RP PvP, PvE, RP PvE.

 How is RP, different from RP-PVE?

8) Atmospheric Flight!...Tie Bombers and X-Wings used in Close Air-Suppot Ops. Also players could Fly from place to palce on the planet surface.

 Should have been in SWG since the start.

9) Item Decay is in along with the ability for Crafters alone to make the BEST gear and items.

 Agreed.  Quest rewards can still be worthwhile without being replacing crafted items.

10) Yes there will be "ALPHA PROFESSIONS"! There would be (2) two such professions. JEDI and BOUNTY HUNTER. Each profession would be rare and most difficult to achieve. In fact each individual player would have a different way to unlock. No two unlocks would be the same. Even if you find the right combo of actions, professions, and items, you would still have to get them all in the right order at the right time. IF a player could manage to unlock, it would take many weeks to complete a full temp toon.  The Alpha Path is not for the casual gamer. So rare in fact, you may never  see someone unlock.

1.  There shouldn't be Jedi.

2.  BH shouldn't be an alpha class.  Anyone who nabs a two-bit criminal is a bounty hunter.  Most BH's are just regular people.

I kinda feel like those starving people who sit around talking about the food they wish they had. We used to do this in the Military all the time. Anyhow, I know all this is a pipe dream, but if i ever hit the $350 million dollar Powerball lottory you can be sure I will be making this game!

I kinda agree with 3,5,8,9 can't deside on 1

Maybe start with few planets like 3-4 and make them good with actually something on them SWG had pretty good sized planets but barely nothing on them.

More planets with add-ons :p real cash cow like the Sims-series.

3 factions would be nice like you said.

1) I would start by using the very same format as the "old Pre-CU" game (minus the bugs).  A complete "sandbox" game without question is a must.  All 32 professions would be in as well as the same Skill Trees, Races, and Factions. I would also Upgrade the Graphics with "Euphoria" and DX10 quality and style. It would use viberent colors, but the Characters wouldn't be "Cartoony" or WOWish.

The Pre-CU game system was a little too limited and buggy to swear it can walk on water.  Though of all the systems SOE vomited at us, it does have the most promise.  I think there are qualities, some fewer than others, from each system worth considering.  Words like 'always' and 'never' lead to obtuse and close minded thinking, and should be avoided.  The 32 professions, and 8 million different combinations between them will make programming the game like this really challenging.  Every possible combination of talents will require templating, into a unique system.  **Example:  Bounty Hunters x3xx Knock Down shot, mixed with/followed by Combat Medic 4xxx Heal Over Time, will lead to a Bonus Attack or an Armor Bonus etc.  While BH x3xx KD when tree'd with Rifleman over 4444 will render the BH KD ineffective.  Logic being what does a Rifleman need another KD for, etc. 

Going all the way to DX10 for graphics might be a bit of pipe dream.  Especially if the game is programmed the way it has in the past.  I have a good system, a very good system, and my grandmother on her walker is faster than my quad-core if I even think about SWG.  You can still keep the WoW cartoon aspect out of the game without increasing the bandwidth load.

2) I would Double the size of the game. I would make sure such planets as Hoth, Dagobah, Coruscant, Kessel,  Kamino, and Geonosis were in the game. I also would have made space more "explorable". I always thought a player should be able to go and discover new and interesting things in the Galaxy.

Dead space, is what we used to call Deep Space on my server.  Everything in the game should have a purpose.  That's a lot of 1's and 0's to slow things down.  The reason there was so much land to begin with was for player cities, which is something SWG should never drop.  However, (comma) an increase in content, closer to the "Never in a Million Years will you ever be able to do everything in this game" like WoW is a must.  I can honestly say, I have done everything in SWG, until I left.

Since Day 1, regardless of system or Internet connection, Mos Eisley, has lagged to some degree.  Even if you cannot see it.  Watch your Frames Per Second and try to ride a speeder through Eisley.  All I can say, is although Coruscant would be a SW fan's wet dream in an MMO, the idea of the amount of lag threatens to give me a stroke.

In all fairness, to truly revamp SWG, they need to start from scratch.  For too long, the DEVs answer to eliminating something from the game has been to place a house or a rock over the NPC or instance entrance.  I have no doubt when I curse SOE by logging SWG, that crap from the CU, pre-cu, and Pre-NGE are still slowing my speeds down because the DEVs were too incompetant or too lazy to remove it.

3) Speaking of Space. I would leave most of JTL as is, however I would put Massive Guild Capital Ships and Space Stations. These new features would support mass space combat as well as enhance social and commercial aspects of game play.  Space Stations could serve as very nice player cities with mini-game casinos and huge markets with NPC vendors.

All of these ideas are fantastic for space.  The space aspect of SWG should be a game in itself.  Perhaps, two seperate games, as far as the PC is concerned that can run independently if needed.  That way people who don't want to go up, don't have to.  THey can just ITV to another planet.  No extra monthly fee though please....even though the SWG DEVs reading this know I would pay it.

Make an isntace, with hundreds of quests, for the pilot, and even some like the ground Corvette, where you have to be a good pilot just to get to.  Like when we first landed on Mustafar or Kash, you knew there were hundreds of quests to do.  Bring the pilots into this game.  WIth space drops from NPC's...good ones!  Grand Moff Dork-Buff on board the Imperial Star Destroyer What's his face!  Has a chance to drop a uber blaster for a light fighter, that can be uber-RE'd into something crazy.  Instead of doing HK 10,000 times, I would be there, trying to get a load of those guns.  Oh yeah, the whole Space Instance would be overt, with Rebel Players, and Imperial players, doing missions side by side...all overt.  And Bounty Hunters like me up there too, looking for my mark.  And generic bounties, from Vader or whomever, kill 15 Overt Rebels.

That would be a nice payday.

4) I would have real Guild Fire Bases, not just player cites. Complete with NPC troops and weapon systems. A real defense network where the land you control determins resources.

Guild Wars is a very under-utilized aspect of the game, and always has been.  So I am in favor of anything that will make them more fun.  TO INCLUDE ALLOWING THEM TO EXTEND TO SPACE. 

5) Add a 3rd faction...the Criminal Underworld Faction for Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, and Black Market Merchants. I also would have a REAL WORKING smuggling system that meant something in game. A Real system that was meaningful and important.

Even if that 3rd Faction, is UNFACTIONED as its title.  GIve them something to do.  Like EVE, make the smuggling an active part of this game.  Have NPC's spawn on ships smuggling.  Have them auto-declare overt when launching, and can only use the farthest away Hyperspace Points so they have to travel at sub-light speeds to get to the stations.  No 'auto-eject' or homeporting.  I would come back to SWG today with all my friends if I thought for one second, I would see overt POBs running around with a fighter escort..  I could turn on a nice audio-book, make a nice big glass of RUM and sit behind an asteroid in Tatooine Space, and wait for them to jump in/out.  I either get them or I don't, but if you get away from me you should get paid.  Perhaps, pre-determined "safe" smuggler jump-out points, that they have to travel too.

Of course, for faction, and reputation, that would cause a need.  But if there was a way to incorperate players needing items smuggled.  Now that would really make it stick.  Mr. Uber Crafter for Server X needs 20 cases of "whatever ingretient" taken to his shop on Talus.  You can pick it up from Vendor Z, on Lok, and if you get it there safely, you will receive 10 mil, and if you fail...well, now the Trader can put a large enough bounty on your head that every one who hunts will be looking for you.  And yes, bounties should be aplicable to space...so you can't just hide up there.

Imperial Pilots like me, will enjoy loads of GCW, faction, whatever, for freelance hunting pirates in imperial Space.

GOD that would turn me on!

6) No cross Faction cooperation. I can't tell you how many time I saw REBS and IMPS grouped. FAIL! The factions must always be fighting on FFA servers.

Hmm, respectfully disagree.  Though it would make selection of friends more challenging.  Many of us created Rebel toons to experience other parts of the game.  

7) Many sever types for a various play styles. FFA PvP, RP, RP PvP, PvE, RP PvE.

 I have no real preferences there, so long as I am not on a PVP server.

8) Atmospheric Flight!...Tie Bombers and X-Wings used in Close Air-Suppot Ops. Also players could Fly from place to palce on the planet surface.

This will require a complete game revamp.  I assure you, there is no possible upgrade to any current or fromer SWG system that will support this.  Nevertheless, since the space ship has landed, and an alien came out giving us three wishes, they might as well do it.  It will bring new aspects to flight, more duty missions to help sway the Gallactic Civil War, and would add a new element to Guild Wars if I can nuke your city.  Might necessitate your heavy city artillery, if you need some Air Defense.  It would be nice to use my TIE-Bomber, as of when I last played all I used it for was a place to take whatever trashy Twi-lek dancer I picked up for some alone time, if last nights trashy Twi-lek dancer was still sleeping it off in my Decimator. 

9) Item Decay is in along with the ability for Crafters alone to make the BEST gear and items.

 Decay to a degree, to keep the crafters crafting.

10) Yes there will be "ALPHA PROFESSIONS"! There would be (2) two such professions. JEDI and BOUNTY HUNTER. Each profession would be rare and most difficult to achieve. In fact each individual player would have a different way to unlock. No two unlocks would be the same. Even if you find the right combo of actions, professions, and items, you would still have to get them all in the right order at the right time. IF a player could manage to unlock, it would take many weeks to complete a full temp toon.  The Alpha Path is not for the casual gamer. So rare in fact, you may never  see someone unlock.

An alpha path for each profession would be ideal.  But I am talking beating a level 250 Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, to get the uber-schematic you will still have to craft and buy the uber-ist of resources for.  A path, that only a select few of the servers population would even be elidgible to try.  A 15 part instance, one death and you start again.  You go in alone.  Take all the general GCW Buffs with you, and all the stims and junk you can carry.  Not like Lord Vartonis, where he is easily managed.  And the player who goes in the cave, the one who is used to fighting with his friends will be wasted.  Only a true, master of the Force, who can truly game...manage his buffs, know exactly what each and every attack, buff, heal will do, has a chance.  And then when that one person, that one Jedi beats Skywalker, (not kills) he is awared the stuff that will make the rest of us cream our keyboards when we see it.  And when he is dumb enough or drunk enough to wear it in public, a level 250 Boba Fett, and every other player bounty hunter will come for him.  If Boba wins, then he's loses his stuff.

That will keep the uber in question from whipping out his baddness in Restuss, just because he can waste the lot of Rebels talking smack.

All the other professions, well, the combat ones at least, should have this opportunity.  Medic, BH, and so on.  Let them fight the top of their class, Boba etc.  And when they get too big for their britches, which they are sure to do.  The NPC Bounty Hunters Guild will come for them. 

Jedi should be a profession everyone can try.  But SOE should make is so only the best of the best can even survive.  I would have every lightsaber hunted constantly, so people wouldn't even want to play the profession unless they were good.  Yes, this means a lot of controlled logging to get the gear worthy of surviving, but isn't jedi a life of hiding anyway.  Yes, you better learn to fly too, and get good parts, beacause a Tier 10 Slave II will be looking for you.

Ah, well I am done, thanks for letting me vent.