Are they adding Hoth as a planet? Or is it like an adventure zone?

A entire planet would be sweet, but (decidedly) kinda pointless; it's just ice and snow after all.

But deffently Echo Base, the Wompa Cave and maybe some stuff from the Expanded Universe.

it'll come out the same time capital ships do

It will be out in less than 2 months on live. It will also be an instance, not the whole planet. So far this year the devs have added the ISD and Exar Kun as instances both of which are great content.

It's not an actual planet. It's another cookie cutter instance.

The players wanted an actual planet with a focus on PvP. SOE is adding Hoth as a PvE instance. Hmmm...

Originally posted by Gutboy

It will be out in less than 2 months on live. It will also be an instance, not the whole planet. So far this year the devs have added the ISD and Exar Kun as instances both of which are great content.

Personally, Game Update 5: The Munitions Update/Revamp is probably the Update I'm looking forward to most.  Depending how they do it, of course :|

Nothing to get excited about, people have been asking for Hoth to be added as a PVP environment since launch. 5 years later SOE finally get round to announcing it and they intend to add it as a PvE instance, showing yet again that even when its screamed at them for 5 years, they'll still do what they want to do and not what the players actually ask for.

It's just another lame cookie-cutter instance and you won't see it for a long time anyway.

Have you actually done any of the instances? Unless you have you opinion is worth nothing. I swear some of you vets have "cookie-cutter" phrases you will post into any SWG post, can you at least try to come up with something new?

Or is your whole outlook on life based on 2003?

You are right. Why just the other day I was reading about how NGE's instancing strategy has put it up for several innovative industry awards. The mmo community has been crying out for more instances nearly on every thread I read here at this site and dozens of others. Abandoning their planet scale concept that was once their bragging right to the industry in order to do these instances is a step in the right direction.  Clearly they listen to their customers - past and present.

/sarcasm off

Simple fact - Hoth should have been a planet and one geared toward wholesale pvp with a healthy dose of PVE for the added flavor. It may be snow and ice but it offers a nice mix of theme park pois, harsh climates and a chance to implement interesting effects on the players. Isn't Tat nothing but sand and rock? Heck, wasn't Hoth at one time supposed to be an expansion?

Instead, you get yet another instance that most likely will have its fair share of bugs. Just like the others. Star Wars is by concept and design supposed to be grand scale. Epic. But they have settled into this role now of adding instances much like DDO...

Originally posted by Gutboy

Have you actually done any of the instances? Unless you have you opinion is worth nothing. I swear some of you vets have "cookie-cutter" phrases you will post into any SWG post, can you at least try to come up with something new?

Or is your whole outlook on life based on 2003?

It's really difficult to come up with new and original crap to say about a game that is 5 years old.  This is particularly the case when that game is full of bugs and crap content.  I'll tell you what though, the day SOE actually fixes the many bugs that have plagued this game for years and adds some simple things, like the promised but never realized collision detection, is the day I'll start beating my head against a wall to come up with something new to say about the game.

Originally posted by kefkah

You are right. Why just the other day I was reading about how NGE's instancing strategy has put it up for several innovative industry awards. The mmo community has been crying out for more instances nearly on every thread I read here at this site and dozens of others. Abandoning their planet scale concept that was once their bragging right to the industry in order to do these instances is a step in the right direction.  Clearly they listen to their customers - past and present.

/sarcasm off

Simple fact - Hoth should have been a planet and one geared toward wholesale pvp with a healthy dose of PVE for the added flavor. It may be snow and ice but it offers a nice mix of theme park pois, harsh climates and a chance to implement interesting effects on the players. Isn't Tat nothing but sand and rock? Heck, wasn't Hoth at one time supposed to be an expansion?

Instead, you get yet another instance that most likely will have its fair share of bugs. Just like the others. Star Wars is by concept and design supposed to be grand scale. Epic. But they have settled into this role now of adding instances much like DDO...

 

Star Wars might be designed to be grand scale but do remember that SWG is the only game to actually have that grand scale feel.  All other Star Wars games are essentially made up of instances.

omg.... there still people playing galaxies... to use this instance... or even for the devs to pay the costs of developing it???

Originally posted by Obraik

 

Originally posted by kefkah

You are right. Why just the other day I was reading about how NGE's instancing strategy has put it up for several innovative industry awards. The mmo community has been crying out for more instances nearly on every thread I read here at this site and dozens of others. Abandoning their planet scale concept that was once their bragging right to the industry in order to do these instances is a step in the right direction.  Clearly they listen to their customers - past and present.

/sarcasm off

Simple fact - Hoth should have been a planet and one geared toward wholesale pvp with a healthy dose of PVE for the added flavor. It may be snow and ice but it offers a nice mix of theme park pois, harsh climates and a chance to implement interesting effects on the players. Isn't Tat nothing but sand and rock? Heck, wasn't Hoth at one time supposed to be an expansion?

Instead, you get yet another instance that most likely will have its fair share of bugs. Just like the others. Star Wars is by concept and design supposed to be grand scale. Epic. But they have settled into this role now of adding instances much like DDO...

 

I guess Hoth is one of those places where LucasArts decided to enforce continuity.  If Hoth was an open planet, then everyone would have to be free to roam it.  Considering the planet is meant to be an escape for the Rebels from the Empire so they can build a base, it wouldn't have been all that hidden if there were herds of Imperials strolling around on their Tauntauns. 

 

Star Wars might be designed to be grand scale but do remember that SWG is the only game to actually have that grand scale feel.  All other Star Wars games are essentially made up of instances.

If they were concerned about continuity, would they throw in a lot of new gear tied to each movie's release that was as good or better than some existing stuff from the current time period? Think about it. Do we really think the clone armor, jedi starfighter, and clone trooper rifle from the quests should be as good or better as than the "modern" equipment in the game. Think about it -- if continuity were being adhered to, would you want to be using equipment from 30 years ago or modern equipment?

Continuity doesn't matter at all, and to suggest it does is ridiculous. It's all about money. Throwing in the 30-year-old gear released with RotW and ToOW was about tie-ins to the movie and making people want to buy the expansions. The decision to make Hoth a PVE instance instead of a world boils down to not having the budget to devote to creating a full-scale world or not being able to field a large enough staff to create the world. In this case, it could be both.

Suggesting it's LA stepping in and saying, "Oh no, we can't have that! That creates all kinds of problems with the continuity and the timeline. Make it an instance," is grasping at straws while trying to defend the decision.