Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Italian Chat Transcript
Shug_Ninx wrote:
Q: We know what are you speaking about [in reference to previous post about the Death Watch hideout armor] many players asks if this new armor will be equippable from every players or only by Bounty Hunters. Can you reveal something about it?
A: Let me try to be vague...
Anytime we're dealing with anything that is tied to a specific character in the continuity, we try to be sensitive to that... If, for example, there happened to be a helmet that somebody like Boba Fett wore in the films and we introduced it into the game, we'd probably limit who could use that helmet in-game to players who were aspiring to be like Boba Fett. We might expand it a bit to some other roles that seem similar so that more players can enjoy our hard work. (Right now, the final list of who will be able to use the loot from the Death Watch Lair hasn't been finalized, but we're sensitive to the issue).
I am sure I don't have to tell you this, since you wrote Star Wars: Jango Fett Open Seasons, but I will anyway. Jango Fett, Boba Fett, Jodo Kast and a few others(can't remember names right now)were the only Bounty Hunters to wear the Mandalorian Armor. The Mandalorians were more of a commando strike force or mercs than an elite group of Bounty Hunter. In Star Wars: Jango Fett Open Seasons Issue #2 Jango Fett is more of a Squad Leader than a Bounty Hunter, this is when the Mandalorians got set up by the Death Watch and Jaster(Jango's Mentor) died. I just wanted to remind you of this. Thanks for everything and keep up the great work!!!
Anyone who hasn't read Open Seasons should it's a great story, a must for all Fett fans!!
Shug_Ninx wrote:
A: Right now, we're very focused on the Space Expansion (more info coming in the next few weeks [note: actually, days!]).
someone pass me the sugar! 
quite frankly, many players in our game have a lot of credits! The economy in SWG is booming! We are evaluating the cost, though, and are continually monitoring the state of the economy.
end quote:
Maybe if you STOP the selling of credits on ebay and other sites, you might realize that NOT EVERYONE is rich in this game. Having been a master droid engineer, I've not had near the income an armorsmith or weaponsmith has had. I see the same people winning on forum auctions with millions and millions of credits. Makes it very frustrating when you say we're all rich.
Ekhben wrote:
A: PvP is a very tricky issue for us. On the one hand, it's exciting and fun and we think that players enjoy being Rebels or Imperials and fighting one another. On the other hand, it can be very scary for some players, especially those who are new to MMOs, and any PvP system can easily be abused. We did everything in our power to stop people from becoming "griefers" - i.e., players who only play to ruin the experience for other players (especially new players). Our current system allows players to engage in PvP willingly and with full knowledge of the risks.
Your Astromech stats say that players do NOT enjoy being Rebels or Imperials and fighting one another. 0.71% of players are overt. Less than one percent enjoy being Rebels or Imperials and fighting one another. I'll repeat that. Less than one percent.
And yet, the GCW does not allow for any strictly PvE involvement. Thanks to the TEF system, all it takes is a group of Rebel griefers hanging around at known Imperial locations waiting for covert suckers to arrive, and a covert player is drawn into forced PvP -- usually with predictable results. This situation is actually by design, no less! So, the GCW is PvP only.
The other major 'end game' is supposedly Jedi. Yet Jedi are clearly PvP only. Not only do you get a TEF every time you use force powers, your PvP death is the raison d'etre for an entire profession!
In other words, all the end game here is aimed at LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF PLAYERS!
Thats NOT true. At that exact moment that they recorded, it was 1%! From personal expirience the majority of players PvP, and they BOUGHT this game because its called Star Wars, thus they want to participate in the GCW against other players. Everyone has been crying out for combat balance and a more focus on the GCW from the beginning. Its what the game is ABOUT!
GrafvonSoden wrote:
quote:
quite frankly, many players in our game have a lot of credits! The economy in SWG is booming! We are evaluating the cost, though, and are continually monitoring the state of the economy.
end quote:
Maybe if you STOP the selling of credits on ebay and other sites, you might realize that NOT EVERYONE is rich in this game. Having been a master droid engineer, I've not had near the income an armorsmith or weaponsmith has had. I see the same people winning on forum auctions with millions and millions of credits. Makes it very frustrating when you say we're all rich.
I definately agree... I have been playing since July and rarely if ever get above 50k saved in the bank. I am a casual player and don't make much money. Not everyone in the game is as rich as you may think.
Well done!Shug_Ninx, Thanks for sharing. These kind of overall comments seem to be rare so, thank you very much.
I'd like to comment on a few of the questions raised:
Q: Don't you think that[player cities]are pretty ugly? Will we ever be able to build walls, add things so as to make them more beautiful (a city chat, sort of things like those...)?
What about paving the cities? It is a shame our Metropolises are still carpeted with grass.
We did add some cool features as part of the Imperial Crackdown - smugglers reduce the chance that a group will get scanned or harassed by Imperials, for example.
In my experience on Shadowfire the Crackdown suffers from a harsher bark than it's bite. I really feel it has lost all it's impact from the hype that it had been awarded. Infact I can't remember the last time I saw a Probot or Trooper scanning me! Even though I'm a Rebel, I think this should be beefed up a bit.
Q: Will we ever see [player bounties]other than Jedis?
A: We'd like to do this - it was part of our original design - but we haven't found a design that isn't open to all kinds of exploits and griefing...
I'm glad this concept has been seriously considered. I know these forums are huge, so you may have missed some of the really good ideas the community are coming up with regarding a solution to Player Bounties - check them out.
...We did (and continue to) discuss the Rebels' equivalent to the AT-ST. The ion cannon is a good idea and we'll investigate how hard that would be implement.
In terms of the Ion Cannon, there are also some great ideas for long distance artillery in the Squad Leader forums. Please read these, as they may offer suggestions to any problems you may face with the Ion Cannon.
This is a personal gripe, that I know is shared by many, but certainly not all: AT-ST, pet??? What's all that about? Surely a more reasonable solution would be to use it as a combat vehicle? This system would lend itself perfectly to introduce Tie Crawlers and AT-TE's.
...But, I do think we want to re-evaluate whether or not you receive notice when the harvester stops working for whatever reason.
Just for the record - yes, please activate these e-mails.
A: Eventually, we'd like to move the timeline forward, but we don't want to adhere to a strict calendar. We want to move forward using key events (like the Battle of Hoth) at a pace that's comfortable for the community and the game.
This I am especially glad to hear.
I have one more issue that I only mention here in the hope you will visit these forums to get your feedback, and I feel it is vital it is looked at as soon as possible.
Vendors: The removal of items to the stockroom is perfectly understandable and acceptable, however, the return sale of items is proving hugely time consuming. Being a Tailor I have hundreds of items individually priced. I spend WAY too much time EVERYDAY re-selling my stock. This is truely a game breaker, so much so, for the first time in six months I have had second thoughts about logging in simply because I don't want to face 100 e-mails of failed sales and the subsequent time managing them.
Thanks again for your post.
IIRC, the one character per server restriction came from LucasArts senior management (the bottom line minders,) and is out of the control of the Devteam...
TK868 wrote:
(just a quick question: Will you (devs) ever allow more than one char. per server, say like 2 per server? That'd be really great...)
Shug_Ninx wrote:
Last week, I dropped by the Italian forums to chat with your Italian counterparts. They had a number of good questions, so I thought I'd provide a transcript here for everyone's benefit. Don't expect any huge revelations, but there might be a tidbit or two that you didn't know about before.