Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Great Expectations, Major Schedule Changes and making SWG the finest MMORPG ever
BoomBoz
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:29 pm
#1431
Sounds like the decision has already been made TH. Aside from the venting that I feel like doing, is there anything that can be done to change this. To me it seems like the corporate monster is pushing to get themselves another chunk of money (cost to buy the expansion) at the expense of the player happiness. It sounds like you all are being told this is what you are going to do - screw the fanbase.
It sounds like someone has already done the calculation of how much cash will we make by pushing the expansion and not fixing the ground game. This figure is apparently larger than those who will cancel accounts out of frustration.
It seems to me that the uppers in the organization have also read the hundreds of posts stating, "I'll be back after JTL ships".
Well that's what I think this decision was all about. Its all about the money. In the end its the bottom line that counts - lets finish out the year strong and have something to sell at year's end. We can bundle it with Empires Divided and suck in even more people. I really don't think thatthe customer is being heard.
And while I'm on my mini-tirade, I think that the dev's and programmers, the support people, and people such as yourself who put in the 60 to 80 hour work weeks are also getting shafted because you have to face your customers - not the uppers. Love to see them live a week in your shoes.
Sorry for the rant. Thanks for listening. Hang in there and whatever you decide to work on, thanks for your efforts.
mason2002
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:30 pm
#1432
Lets all cancel on the day your money runs out ... what an asstool.
You think the DEVs give less then half a rats ass about what a handful of players do?
You want the cold hard truth? There is nothing out there to fill the MMORPG nitch. City of Heros and L2 both suck.
SunCrusherTx
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:33 pm
#1433
I just figured out whySOE marketing isnt allowing the devs to fix the CB until later.
Go watch the trailer in the upper right hand corner of:
People who want to battle and PvP are going to go play SW:Battlefront
There aren't any X-Wing vs Tie Fighter sims coming out in the next 6 months that I can see, so JTL is the key to SW fans playing in space.
Thunderheart
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:37 pm
#1434
Great Expectations
There are great expectations in the community for the upcoming Combat Balance and the Galactic Civil War revamp. These announced upcoming major features are pivotal to making the Galaxies experience more of a Star Wars experience. To deliver on these major features, we will need the full development team and re-assembling the team isn’t going to happen until after the upcoming Jump to Lightspeed expansion is shipped.
Delaying these critical features was not something we are doing for our convenience, but only to ensure they are done well. The team leadership has been discussing these changes, the future of SWG and the feedback from the community. Clearly the community wants us to do a better job at delivering the game service and this reinforced our decision to make sure we have adequate resources on each update to the game.
At the core of the discussions are our team goals. The team’s goals are to increase the quality of the service, make the game more fun and accessible and finally to make a much more intense Star Wars experience. In this, we agree with the community that our design and implementation process should continue to be improved and we want to assure our customers that it is our goal to exceed their expectations and make SWG the finest MMORPG ever.
Rather than continue to split the team’s forces and try to accomplish too many goals, we’re going to do a few things and do them right. Once the Jump To Lightspeed is complete, the team as a whole will be re-grouped. Then the combined team will accomplish the Combat Balance, the GCW and all the other improvements to the game.
What’s Ahead
To offset this very big announcement that will affect all of you, I will be immediately working with the correspondents and the community to develop a list of pre-combat balance fixes to get combat into a more enjoyable state. This will encompass many items planned for the Combat Balance, and will happen in a steady stream between now and JTL. The Combat Medic and Bounty Hunter changes that are coming in Publish 9.1 are the first of these efforts.
Between now and JTL is where I come in. Right out of the gate, I’ll be working with the community to develop plans for the Combat Balance and post them on the site; we’ll do a few features and I will continue to post updates. Later we will do the same for the GCW, the Squad Leader Revamp and all of the community issues on the table. In this, we can marry community expectations and development goals in a way that has never been done before with online games.
Our next major update, Publish 10 will bring us “The Jedi Trials”. Finishing the revamp of the Jedi profession is a big task. Being a Jedi is a big part of the Star Wars experience and it is a big game system. To become a Jedi, there needs to be a known path with mysterious quests, new NPC’s, new NPC behaviors, new places and all the little things that will make The Jedi Trials a publish to be excited about. To accomplish this, the team has expanded the scope of publish 10 so there is more design time and more testing time (hence the big changes).
Not long after The Jedi Trials, we’ll be focused on the JTL Beta and integrating Space with the ground game. Meshing the live service with JTL is a big challenge since it means it will be the first time anyone has ever integrated a complete RPG and action Space game before.
The Jump to Lightspeed is currently on track for a later October launch, which is a relatively short time away. Prior to that, we’ll be finishing up the Jedi Trials (Publish 10) and right after that, we will begin integrating the ground game with Space, start the JTL Beta Test and get on with making the game we all want to play. The good news is that the Jump to Lightspeed beta registration site is opening later this week
The Jump to Lightspeed is currently on track for a later October launch, which is a relatively short time away. Prior to that, we’ll be finishing up the Jedi Trials (Publish 10) and right after that, we will begin integrating the ground game with Space, start the JTL Beta Test and get on with making the game we all want to play. The good news is that the Jump to Lightspeed beta registration site is opening later this week
We appreciate your continued participation in the SWG community. Please continue to give us constructive feedback on our message boards as it helps us keep focused on your needs and priorities.
The original thread has been archived so community members can post their comments without feeling like it will be buried and never seen. You may reference the thread here.
MisterWizard
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:38 pm
#1435
First.
After you moved the old thread.
(Woot! First first! Sadly, on the most depressing thread...)
Message Edited by MisterWizard on 07-16-2004 07:40 PM
mutable72
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:40 pm
#1436
You just deleted my thoughtful response on page 44, of the original thread by this same name, before it was even readable. Why?
Serenius
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:40 pm
#1437
We still think this is the worst move ever and that you just signed SWG's death warrant. Way to go.
Skankin
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:47 pm
#1440
/sign if you feel that JtLS should be pushed back in order to fix the game we actually pay for.
BlackEdge
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:47 pm
#1441
Michero wrote:
Three words:
WTH?
It's moved to the development archive cycle. Guess he's doing it so people can continue to respond, and won't be cluttering as much. Anyways I'm done. ^_^
Rooks
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:48 pm
#1442
As I posted on the last page of the thread you just deleted.
You had over ONE THOUSAND ACCOUNT CANCELLATIONS on that thread alone within 24 HOURS.
TH, Devs, SOE you need to FIX THIS and fix it FAST.
This isn't going to go away just cause of the week-end. Heck, the weekend players are JUST NOW finding out about this and many of them will be quitting too.
Also, at least 20 people I know have already sent copies of your CB thread to every online gaming mag and showed how SOE is MORE interested in getting future profits rather than maintaining a playable game for those already paying for it.
WE PAID for a game that is BROKEN TODAY!
and we DEMAND it be fixed TODAY! NOT 6 months down the damn road!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY should we PAY money to sit around and do NOTHING for 6 MONTHS until basic COMBAT is fixed?
We were assured by YOU THthat the core game would not suffer as a consequence to the work being done on JTL
We have BEEN LIED TOO several times by YOU TH specifically when you said DEVS were NOT being pulled from Daily SWG maintaince and put on JTL but yet you have just told us about needing to put the whole team back together and so on.
SOE SHOULD HAVE HIRED A SECOND DEV TEAM TO DO JTL and left the original devs on SWG to do revamps, fixs and content.
Now, we have FLOODED the forums on GCW and professions with QUICK FIXS that the Devs can do QUICK AND EASILY and VERY SOON that MAY save this game for all of us.
PLEASE go check them out.
Also, you THINK you are leaving for the wekend? Think again, IF we do not see RED NAMES on these boards responding to OUR quick fix ideas and responses TODAY, TOMORROW and SUNDAY, by Monday this game will officially be DEAD.
WE WANT TO SAVE THIS GAME!
But short of HACKING in and coding it ourselves we have done eevrything else FOR YOU!!!!!!!
JUST READ our IDEAS on GCW and the PRofessions board. Spend a few hours and by Monday we can have QUICK FIXS LIVE that will make ALOT of people happy.
Message Edited by Rooks on 07-16-2004 07:25 PM
Message Edited by Rooks on 07-16-2004 07:46 PM
Bighead04
Fri Jul 16, 2004 4:49 pm
#1443
Just wanted to say cya TH I don't like sinking ships and us Irish learnt our lesson after the titanic.