Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Weekly Roundtable Discussion (Week Ending 4-12-04)
Thunderheart has been active primarily in the Image Designer forum lately, it's their turn on the chopping block.
Or is it the barber chair?
Here is also an interesting thought concerning Image Designers. (And this concept can be applied to others)
Most often you will find crafters of any kind with a shop somewhere, and a sign up to designate what they do.
In real life, actual Barber Shops have the turning red and blue post to signify (without having to read) that that location is a Barber Shop.
Perhaps this type of thing can be implemented in the game?
Although they are not crafters, per-say, they do have a craft. Give them a unique ICON of sorts that can be displayed with the sign. In the case of IDs, something atune to the Barber Shop symbol, or maybe better ideas for that can be had from their forum.
For DEs, a small Probot icon, or other common droid.
For doctor, the twisted snake symbol. A modification to this for a shop selling meds of some sort.
When passing through a town, without having to stop and read the extremelylongsignmadeupofL33tsp3akcharacters, one can view the symbol and see what is offered inside.
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Lately, the major issue comes up of players wasting a tremendous amount of time travelling to and around planets in order to locate items for sale that they require. Yet, when they arrive, they find these vendors empty of any items whatsoever.
To counter this problem, automatically remove a vendor from the planetary map once that vendor is empty.
This, so players know not to visit that location, because nothing is actually there.
Some Merchant types have already complained that this interferes with their holo-grind. In my opinion, that's too bad. There is no reason to place vendors on the map labeled 'Bounty Hunter Droids', when there is no intention of placing any actual items up for sale.
This is too common of a grief.
Wepps wrote:
I find a major problem with this issue is that the development team appears to be out of touch, starting with Haden, who is the expert on continuity. Many of us are confused on continuity issues, as applied to the game. There are way too may to even begin to list. But that continuity is a MAJOR issue, when applied to the customer base spoken of above. To those of us that live the Star Wars Saga, and looked forward to this product, continuity is 1st and foremost in our minds, the true Nerds we are.
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AudioOrgana wrote:
Wepps wrote:
I find a major problem with this issue is that the development team appears to be out of touch, starting with Haden, who is the expert on continuity. Many of us are confused on continuity issues, as applied to the game. There are way too may to even begin to list. But that continuity is a MAJOR issue, when applied to the customer base spoken of above. To those of us that live the Star Wars Saga, and looked forward to this product, continuity is 1st and foremost in our minds, the true Nerds we are.
This is the absoulte core of the issue.
I really don't think the Devs take into consideration how players play the game, or how they think about it. Look at last weeks Friday feature about the "community" menu. Whomever it was that TH spoke to really didn't get why we wouldn't care to meet people who like the same kind of external interests that we do. Besides the fact that in a role playing game it isn't really helpful to find people who also like the same type of music you do, for example, it simply is useless to anyone that isn't here to socialize. That's why God invented Yahoo!...If I was just interested in meeting people online, I'd be using a free service that does exactly the same thing, only better. It's little things like this that really drive people nuts - that they don't even seem to understand why we are playing in the first place. Give me a matchmaking service that actually had to do with in-game content (people that like to hunt on Dathomir in groups of 5-6 hunting only big game in the late PM hours of a certain time zone, for example
As to Haden, honestly, I swear to God I'm not flaming, but every time I read something he has said I have to wonder what version of SWG he is playing. For example, a couple of months back Haden did an interview where he talked in-depth about how exciting it was in SWG because "bartenders in cantina's listen to actual player conversations and regurgitate them later to other players". That sounds like one of the things that was part of the initial design, but, like many nifty things like that, was eliminated. If I cared to look I'd look up the quote - but it was from this year (as in 2004) and an interview Haden gave that was listed on the main SWG page. It wasn't an offhanded comment from before release - Haden seems to actually believe this feature is in the game.
With these boards, and the correspondent system, I have finally accepted that it's simply a way to keep us occupied, not maintained out of a true concern for players. Take the DE forum, for example. As you are likely aware, this is the "Droid Invasion", and the next patch is "Droids Rebuilt". The misleading wall-paper aside (which has been out nearly a month and the thing it's advertising still won't be in until next week), this is the droid engineers time - this is supposed to be not one but TWO patches that "fix" the profession.
And do you know what is going on in the DE forums now? Collecting of bug lists - AGAIN...ideas for new modules...AGAIN...People making up combat droid proposals...AGAIN. It's just this endless cycle, made worse by the fact that not one but TWO publishes named after us - and it doesn't feel like we got/are getting anything that we really needed/asked for - and in the past couple of weeks virtually every single DE who has been in the profession from "the beginning" has quit. I mean it - besides the correspondent and myself, I don't think anyone is left that has been a DE since launch.
It's just like - what are we bothering talking about this in this thread for? On Monday, TH will come in, lock this one up, and start a new one. It doesn't matter what profound thoughts people come up with, because it all just feels like going through the motions. I'm sure when TH or other Devs read the very honest words people like us have been sharing lately - those of us (beta vets) who actually still give a darn - they either chooseto ignore itor maybe they do understand but feel helpless to fix it.
In either case, I just know that every day I play someone else I know, on the boards or in-game, leaves - many silently. And those that haven't often say, "I'm here until Space". It worries me that we are almost in Space, and we still have the /sit bug...and unless space is just so absolutely stunning that we never leave our computers again, I just see more people going than coming. SOE will have made their money, and those of us who are true Star Wars fans and have tried very hard to help SOE understand how they can truly make this game extraordinary - we will be left with a large blemish on our overall Star Wars experience. I know I can't watch AOTC without cringing every time I hear the battle music from the game - the very repetative battle music that was made dynamic (different tunes) late in beta, then for some reason re-broken (like many of things) the day the game went live. It just makes me shake my head and wonder how it could all go so wrong, and I'll never be able to experience Star Wars without the taint of it again.
What I outlined in my earlier post is the only way I see things getting truly better - because there are so many levels of red tape and misinterpreted information on all sides that the lines of communcation aren't getting better, they are getting worse. In the areas where we have seen improvement (bug lists, etc.) it's even more depressing, because now we find out that communication wasn't the big barrier, it was that it takes an act of the Galactic Senate to get a bug fixed internally - we are out here helping them do "triage" for bugs that have been around in some cases as long as the game has while at the same time new, also buggy content is being added.
I see where the Devs are coming from - it must feel like a hopeless situation. It sure does from this end.
AO
Haden has the most SW credentials in the bunch...he has worked on many SW related projects...He invented Nym for godsakes!
but earlier in the thread i mententioned the Clone Wars cartoon...it is really starwarzy ...it is a different universe than ours...epic battles, space, spaceships, military vehicles, droids, technology, cool planets, many races, conflict...not a creature handler or scout in sight..it has many things SWG needs...
ifyou havent seen the series, you can watch it at the cartoon network site
Naufragus wrote:
Haden has the most SW credentials in the bunch...he has worked on many SW related projects...He invented Nym for godsakes!
In the end, attention to detail is what makes a quality product. Even Image Designers need help. Yes, I agree that combat is hurting, especially in some cases like Pikeman and Bounty Hunter.
However, I have no idea what is planned for the combat pass, so I can't judge what they are thinking. Obviously, they think it's a good thing to get the ID corrected near first. Fine with me, as long as they don't take all month doing it hehe.
I prefer to hope they will get around to dogpiling the professions one at a time. Take 3 days, crank out fixes, implement them. If bugged, spend the next 2 or 3 fixing them, move on.
At this pace currently, it'll be 2007 before they get around to the last profession. None of us want to see that.
remove them...
These are not the skill mods you are looking for... Move along
Something really has to be done about creatures, I am not speaking as a MCH here wanting uber pets. I am speaking as someone who is bored with PvE.
Things that I should not be able to do that I can (even without pets or buffs)
Solo rancors of all types
I will remind everyone that in ROTJ the rancor Luke killed was a YOUNG rancor. not fully grown, and certantly not a ancient bull rancor.
Solo Krayts
Yep it was only a juvinal and I didn't use any structure exploits just stragety.
Solo a Mob of GSP's
these are supposed to be pack hunters and fierce and deadly not killable in like 5 shots.
Also Faction bases
Useless nice faction farms for the opposeing faction my suggestions for imporveing them are here
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Valcyn&message.id=106336
Essentially TH after playing since June, I am getting really bored with this game. I understand things take time, but when you scrap a plan after already implimenting part of it you need to unimpliment what was. Give me something to be excited over today not 6 months from now
AudioOrgana wrote:
Naufragus wrote:
Haden has the most SW credentials in the bunch...he has worked on many SW related projects...He invented Nym for godsakes!
Well, that's great. But it doesn't mean that what I said wasn't true - he may be a Star Wars expert, but the example above is just that - one example of many where Haden has talked about something in SWG that doesn't seem the most accurate reflection of the actual content in game. His comments on the Jedi system recently were another. It's just that literally every time I read what he says I honestly feel like he can't be talking about the game I play. I'm not big into the EU, so I am unaware of the origin of Nym - if he wasn't Lucas's creation, it's not of great interest to me, honestly - and my comments above reflect my understanding of Hadens public statements made about SWG, nothing more.
Again, that's not a flame, but an honest comment that I don't know another way to form.
AO