Community Relations Archive
Thread: My State of the Game
Page 1 of 1
SheenaBrelya
Thu Aug 04, 2005 12:14 pm
#1
I, like many people, am a two-year veteran. I don't believe that I deserve any particular acclaim for this, as I am simply a subscriber to a service being provided.
Big problems have come and gone, but I'm not typically the type of person to get hung up on them and certainly not one to do what I'm doing here - calling out the best and worst of what SWG is to me and what my concerns are for the future.
Best parts of the current SWG service:
1) Space. I consider myself primarily a Pilot, while I'm a CM/Pistoleer (in that order) on the ground. JtL and the added content of RotW has been a bit of a savior to me as far as the game is concerned. While I enjoy ground-pounder activities, I do not know that I'd still be here without JtL.
2) Vastness of Choice. SWG is still one of the most ambitious MMO projects in existence in terms of choice of how to spend online time. There are people on my server that lead in-game lives so different than mine that it is a little scary, but it's amazing that we are able to decide, from so many options, what we "are" as a character.
3) Combat Upgrade. While I paid my dues as a Pistoleer, TKM, Creature Handler, Doctor, and more all pre-Combat Upgrade, I think that the CU is the reason that I again enjoy ground combat. I am primarily in a support role, so I work much better in the kinds of groups that the CU helps to encourage.
4) Focus on Interaction. Despite so many choices of things to do, there is surprisingly little that can not be accomplished alone. The beauty is in the way that so many of those things are more rewarding when done with friends.
5) RotW Content. While MMO's are certainly designed to allow each person to tell his or her own story, the driven content on Kashyyyk has been a welcome addition to ground-pounding options for activities.
Worst parts of the current SWG service:
1) Bugs. Bugs will always be the bane of programmers and users, but SWG has developed a particularly bad reputation for them. It is telling when the focus of game development must shift from adding content to fixing content because in-game bugs have become such a large problem. I am not critisizing the decision to shift focus, just the past decisions that made the shift necessary.
2) RotW unbalance of space. I am primarily a Pilot, so this one hurts me more than it might hurt much of the rest of the subscriber base, but the unbalancing effects of RotW outweigh the added content by far. I hate to say it, but I'd probably prefer to simply have Sony take back RotW if it would permanently get rid of ships like the JSF, B-22, Heavy X-Wing, Vaksai, and heavy starter ships and the negative effects that have been caused by them.
3) Jedi Overpopulation. I am not a Jedi. I am a Force Sensitive with zero FS boxes trained. While the current "Jedi production method" by way of Aurillia is not inherently bad, as it does make the path to having a Jedi avatar long and difficult, there has been no replacement to perma-death to keep the Jedi population low. Without such a way to remove Jedi avatars from the Galaxy or keep Jedi in hiding, I see no way for Sony to keep the promise of making the life of a Jedi dangerous nor keeping them in hiding as they should be.
4) Difficult Interface. The CU changed some of the basic game interface, but I would refer more to issues like Guild and City Management and lack of any support for non-Guild organizations. I would also add here that the basic Chat system has never been entirely user-friendly nor easy to maintain. Considering this is a Massively Multiplayer service, the interface options for player interaction should be more refined than they are.
5) Bugs. I would prefer to have a fifth item to add here, but it seems that the other problem areas in SWG that come to mind all boil down to bugs and/or poor development decisions.
Concerns for the Future of SWG as a Service
1) Bugs A reputation is many times harder to lose than it is to gain.
2) Jedi Population It is not exactly the Jedi overpopulation I am referring to here. It is more of a concern of tutorials, advertising campaigns, books, and movies that emphasize the path to become a Jedi and the life of a Jedi, while it is the Jedi system that has been proven to be such a point of contention across all servers and professions. I believe it is becoming a greater and greater possibility of luring in a subscriber with the bait of Jedi, only to then jade the poor person when he or she gets hit with the kind of pro- and anti-Jedi sentiment that exists in-game and on the forums.
3) Appeasement My example here goes back to RotW additions to space. The ships that are available, post-RotW, as ShipWright crafts and Quest rewards were described as "pretty powerful...and zippy...but that also makes them a lot of fun to fly" by a JtL/RotW designer (here). These ships have, in my opinion, proven to have made almost every original JtL ship obsolete while simulateously destroying the ship balance that had existed prior to RotW. If more expansions add more content such as this then they will, despite their "fun," damage the health of the system more than improving it, as the RotW ships have done.
That is all I have. Please take these items as simply my opinions, so there is little need for anyone to get upset with my choices of what to include.
Shona Bre'lya
Valcyn
Big problems have come and gone, but I'm not typically the type of person to get hung up on them and certainly not one to do what I'm doing here - calling out the best and worst of what SWG is to me and what my concerns are for the future.
Best parts of the current SWG service:
1) Space. I consider myself primarily a Pilot, while I'm a CM/Pistoleer (in that order) on the ground. JtL and the added content of RotW has been a bit of a savior to me as far as the game is concerned. While I enjoy ground-pounder activities, I do not know that I'd still be here without JtL.
2) Vastness of Choice. SWG is still one of the most ambitious MMO projects in existence in terms of choice of how to spend online time. There are people on my server that lead in-game lives so different than mine that it is a little scary, but it's amazing that we are able to decide, from so many options, what we "are" as a character.
3) Combat Upgrade. While I paid my dues as a Pistoleer, TKM, Creature Handler, Doctor, and more all pre-Combat Upgrade, I think that the CU is the reason that I again enjoy ground combat. I am primarily in a support role, so I work much better in the kinds of groups that the CU helps to encourage.
4) Focus on Interaction. Despite so many choices of things to do, there is surprisingly little that can not be accomplished alone. The beauty is in the way that so many of those things are more rewarding when done with friends.
5) RotW Content. While MMO's are certainly designed to allow each person to tell his or her own story, the driven content on Kashyyyk has been a welcome addition to ground-pounding options for activities.
Worst parts of the current SWG service:
1) Bugs. Bugs will always be the bane of programmers and users, but SWG has developed a particularly bad reputation for them. It is telling when the focus of game development must shift from adding content to fixing content because in-game bugs have become such a large problem. I am not critisizing the decision to shift focus, just the past decisions that made the shift necessary.
2) RotW unbalance of space. I am primarily a Pilot, so this one hurts me more than it might hurt much of the rest of the subscriber base, but the unbalancing effects of RotW outweigh the added content by far. I hate to say it, but I'd probably prefer to simply have Sony take back RotW if it would permanently get rid of ships like the JSF, B-22, Heavy X-Wing, Vaksai, and heavy starter ships and the negative effects that have been caused by them.
3) Jedi Overpopulation. I am not a Jedi. I am a Force Sensitive with zero FS boxes trained. While the current "Jedi production method" by way of Aurillia is not inherently bad, as it does make the path to having a Jedi avatar long and difficult, there has been no replacement to perma-death to keep the Jedi population low. Without such a way to remove Jedi avatars from the Galaxy or keep Jedi in hiding, I see no way for Sony to keep the promise of making the life of a Jedi dangerous nor keeping them in hiding as they should be.
4) Difficult Interface. The CU changed some of the basic game interface, but I would refer more to issues like Guild and City Management and lack of any support for non-Guild organizations. I would also add here that the basic Chat system has never been entirely user-friendly nor easy to maintain. Considering this is a Massively Multiplayer service, the interface options for player interaction should be more refined than they are.
5) Bugs. I would prefer to have a fifth item to add here, but it seems that the other problem areas in SWG that come to mind all boil down to bugs and/or poor development decisions.
Concerns for the Future of SWG as a Service
1) Bugs A reputation is many times harder to lose than it is to gain.
2) Jedi Population It is not exactly the Jedi overpopulation I am referring to here. It is more of a concern of tutorials, advertising campaigns, books, and movies that emphasize the path to become a Jedi and the life of a Jedi, while it is the Jedi system that has been proven to be such a point of contention across all servers and professions. I believe it is becoming a greater and greater possibility of luring in a subscriber with the bait of Jedi, only to then jade the poor person when he or she gets hit with the kind of pro- and anti-Jedi sentiment that exists in-game and on the forums.
3) Appeasement My example here goes back to RotW additions to space. The ships that are available, post-RotW, as ShipWright crafts and Quest rewards were described as "pretty powerful...and zippy...but that also makes them a lot of fun to fly" by a JtL/RotW designer (here). These ships have, in my opinion, proven to have made almost every original JtL ship obsolete while simulateously destroying the ship balance that had existed prior to RotW. If more expansions add more content such as this then they will, despite their "fun," damage the health of the system more than improving it, as the RotW ships have done.
That is all I have. Please take these items as simply my opinions, so there is little need for anyone to get upset with my choices of what to include.
Shona Bre'lya
Valcyn
Page 1 of 1