Community Relations Archive

I think the CU is making SWG less StarWarsy and, for me at least, in some areasless fun. I have posted this elsewhere and do so again here so there is a better guaranteemy point is heard and goes up the Cor-Dev chain.

My former post:

"I do like many of the changes and feel that combat is more fun with the single caveat of the level system. I feel the level system actually throws allot of things out of whack. I don't mind getting killed in 1-3 hits but the principle of a level multiplyer to damageto me is just repugnant. Just let the mobs do the same damage, plentiful though that may be, to everyone.

Flowingfrom this is some beef i have in general about the use of skill level and its negative effect on the significance of skill modifiers. It means that you no longer really build a template. For professions like Squad Leader wherein there are many passive modifiers for the group, these are now largely irrelevant.

I have a major issue with the UI - I think it is too chunky and eats up far too much of my screen. There should be an option to reduce its size - a simple thing that would make it much, much better. The icons I feel are too large and too complex - it is like watching a kaleidoscope. This gets easier with time but in general i don't like it as I find the icons distracting.

The game breaking thing for me is the particle SFX. A more un-Starwarsy thing i cannot think of. The Devs have said the sounds for weapons will be fixed, hopefully on this issue (unlike the level issue) they may give some ground to players. I dislike all of the particle SFX. Why is it necessary to see someone doing a special? It is more Starwarsy to see blaster bolts flying hither and thither than to witness circular hoops, little spectres or the magic of generating vehicles. Star Wars is space opera not Space Fantasy.

A general point regarding the whole CU I think necessary to point out is that the scale of changes undertaken is out of proportion to what I believe was needed to be fixed to balance the game. With that scale of change has also come a similar scale of unforseen consequences. There is allot of polish that needs to be done to the CU before it, when taken as a whole, is better than what is on Live at the moment. With a little over two weeks left that is a mountain of work to undertake and i wish the devs luck but honestly, the clear lack of forethought regarding some problems/issues makes me think that they did not really have a good brainstorm as to what they were doing and the follow through effect of their actions. Many problematic issues most likely could have been avoided if they listened to the player base or, to take it toa level higher, understood the Star Wars Universe better. Particle effects indeed!

Additionally the PR of SOE has been appalling. The HOC dialogue illustrated a cleardisregard for player concerns for the CU and frankly this alone has given me a great deal of pause about continuing support for any SOE products. In RL I am a Commercial Litigation Lawyer. When I see clients whose company'shave behaved in this way it is indicative of where their company/product is heading and in my experiece that is usually downhill. Acorporate culture in a company the size of SOE that has staff dedicated to PR and is undertaking a product re-vamp the size of the CU should be on the ball in this regard. When their testing is in such developmental stages as the CU really is and they are going to push this on their customers in such a short time then there should be open chanels of dialogue. Saying that SOE staff are busy is nonsensical and poor business practice. Where I do business it is an insulting thing to say. They are busy, sure. I am busy. Everybody is busy. That is what being at workis all about.This is their product and livelihood. It is my entertainment. I am more important to them then they are to me. If I, or another customer, asks for feedback it should be given.

SOE's handling of this whole CU has been shockingand they need to pull their fingers out and communicatebetterbecause customer confidence in them is waning and for evidence ofthat look at their falling subscription rates as published against other mmorpg market shares - a google search will reveal volumes.Simple things like explanations and occassionally changing something a large volume of players want changed could go a long way to getting back some support for the CU. AtpresentCU appears like a knee jerk reaction to save a product that nobody thought could fail and I am astounded that aproduct like SWG could be messed up at all to the extent that SOE hasscrewed it up. SOE has taken a gift product and missed the opportuninty of understanding that product and so not allowed it to reach its full potential - which if they did would maximise their profit return.That is the saddest thing with the CU because thattrend seems to be continuing."

My comment today is this - I want this CU to work. SOE if youcommunicated genuinely and openly with the communitythen this transition process to a new combat system would go easier on you and us. Why SOE, do you make things so hard on yourselves? As a patron of your game I deserve better treatment than this. The non-responsiveness and duplicity thus far has made me lose confidence in you to the extent I cancelled my subscription renewl that comes up in mid-June. I didn't want to do that. I want a reason to stay but I am fed up with the current positional stand-offish approach of your company and will not condone such treatment with continued patronage. Ball is in your court SOE, there are many other products out there that I have never been tempted to try. Until now. As to the Star Wars license, a main draw card for me, I notice Star Wars Battlefront 2 will have advanced space combat and GCW action maxed. You have competition with LA. I suggest you lift your game and show me why I should stick with you guys. I look forward to a response.