Development Cycle Archive

I'm not so sure I want to pay another 15 bucks to wait out another publish that may give entertainers as much new content as the Corvette gave us... or as much new content it gave my master artisan either...

I'm sorry if I'm being negative but content for non combat classes are never really given much consideration, why should I be duped into thinking this next publish is going to change anything?

This new exciting MMO experience gets old real fast when the realization hits that you are excluded from almost every element of the game... Unless getting tells for musician buffs trips your trigger... After all, certainly wouldn't want to send anyone to the corvette unprepared...

Sorry again, how can I help not being sarcastic...

I would suggest to make the Entertainer's World more inviting for other players is to enhance the popularity of the Cantina. I have seen so many EMPTY Player cantina's in this game it is rediculus. I would suggest implamenting a few features that are noticeable about the cantina. I would suggest the option of putting in luckjack machines and this could be a way the Owner of the building could have some income other than very seldom tips. I think this would help out with making cantina's more player friendly. this is just one suggestion but there could be many MANY ways you could make the entertainer more desireable. Outside chages such as a large florecent sign or something that makes them unique, they should be the social center of a player city but as of now they are just a trophy for the Owner and the city. The other biggest problem is that there are so many entertainers who grind away AFK. You guys keep saying it is a social profession but you have made the grind so boring and long that no one wants to do it. I would suggest something like a flawless performance xp bonus or when you get a certain combo of Flourishes as a band etc... you get more xp or something odd happens. It is too much of the same thing. I know this is kinda random points but I think it is huge issue with the game as a social outlet.

Still waiting for some answers, clarification, feedback. We're full of ideas but we don't know what you want here.

And I do apologize if many of us seem negative or cynical. Unfortunately, we entertainers have had a pretty rough time of it the past few months. The promise of the "new type of profession" has been sullied by AFK hologrinding, lack of content, inadequate missions, broken tools, and a general lack of respect by many of the "combat types." We're really hopeful that Publish 9 is going to bring us some sorely needed attention.

I'd love to see a Ent quest, but there's got to be more NPC crowd reaction (instead of none for the missions out of the terminals). I like somebodies suggestion of faction misisons especially the comment about getting agged if you don't do well.

More importatly I'd like to say something about the glut of use of the Coronet Cantina.. I come on, how many enteretainers can you squeze into that place? Entertainers wonder why they don't get tips anymore? Why should they when you have to spend the time and credits just to get to Coronet to heal your BF.

If you Dev's are reading I think you should put a cap on the number of enteretainers allowed to entertain in a cantina. Then maybe some of the other cantinas around the galaxy would get some play.

-The Vagabond Cat

I have to agree with some earlier comments about the afk holo grinding that is over crowding permanent cantinas while leaving player cantina's emtpy. When i tried my first musician i had all my healing boxes filled long before any of the others, lately it seems that healing xp is getting harder and harder to get as groups of 20 entertainers dominate the cantina's and are entirely made up of afk players. When you consider that there are usually 2-3 of these mega groups blocking the cantinas and lagging the entire thing down its a wonder anyone gets healing xp.

That being said im eagerly looking forward to a quest and i think the "simon says"
method sounds good. It challenges us to know which flourishes do which moves instead of just hitting any old flourish like the afkers. Perhaps if Afk entertainers had their healing amounts cut and full time entertainers had their normal healing rates there would be less in-fighting for xp.

I also heartily support the fame idea being like faction points. Ive been doing entertainers since i started this game and enjoy the social aspects, but it seems that the social sides have disappeared as most people are just holo grinding.

I don't know where this goes so you get it here.

Image designer: why can't image designers "mask" a character? an Image designer should be able to "buff" a character's faction points so that they can pass through areas unharmed. For example passing as an Imperial Stormtrooper when you have -5000 imperial FP. A temporary face change would be needed. Or why not a temporary "species" change? Image Designers would be a Bounty Hunter's worst nightmare. So you have a bounty. but it is [i]harder[/i] to find because his/her face, title, name. guild, and faction points have all been temporarily changed. Why not? come on. at least think about this one.

Dancer: I want to see bonuses from using pets and weapons in a dance. Tons of people already douse weapons,why not find a way to incorpoprate that into a mission. Points and rewards are given based on the functionality of the item held for the dance (for exapmle swords look great with Formal). Functionality is based on the type of weapon. Really what I'm getting at is the use of polearms, swords, vibroknuckers, and guns. In truth the pole looks too unweildy in the dance animations, vibroknucklers are hard to see and many of the guns look rediculous. Points would also be given on how much the item appears to be for decoration.

Back to pets. Yes you can dance with pets. I don't know if it is a bug or not (and if it is a bug don't you dare touch it!) but pets will dance in circles when you use the formation commands. I have gotten many compliments for using spats, R2units, probots, flying birds, bols, brackasets, skreegs, purpoles, nunas, and other creatures while I dance. I am currently trying to teach people of this alternate function of pets, but it is slow going. How about some sort of bonus for dancing with a pet? You're doing so with droids already, lets give something to our living friends as well. Costumes made by a tailor and put on by a Creature Handler. Dances that can be taught to a pet (just a simple command) and used by a musician (not a trick that eats up action and mind). Or even mind healing bonuses. Also currently this does not work with mounts at all (pets npw become completely stupid once saddled), but they cannot enter a cantina any ways. Costuming a pet could be equal to mounting it (but without the stupidity factor).

For the entertainers you could have instanced missions on such things as Jabba's sail barge, Lady Valeran's pleasure vehicle, or some other thing. A Dancer and Musician troupe could perform and please for his royal fatness. Image Designers would help a group sneak into the barge for as part of an undercover mission for CorSec (or other "police" group).

Perhaps Starports could offer in flight entertainment that uses players. These would be more expensive for those not performing flights, and they would be a touch longer, but would add a bit more flavor to the game.

In a larger arena you could also have mounted dances. These are dances that require a mount of course. This would require a larger area then a cantina. A rodeo perhaps? More stuff for architechs to build and politians to place. They could be similar to theaters, with an open sky. Starports are big enough to do this in. Not only could you have dances but you could have duels in said arenas. They could be gladiatorial (brawler professions) and jousts (mounted pikemen), gunfights,or target practice (thrown weapons or guns and based on the skill level of a character). The area could be placed by a Master Entertainer or a Politician and given a special function like cities (manufacturing center, research, etc.). The special functions I have mentioned above.

I don't know if you asked for more "entertainer" things or not but there you have it.

wow, how sad. not a single clarification of this thread from a Dev. TH, you reply in some form another regarding all the meathead PvP or PvE crabbings, why not us "new and exciting" professionals? So much feedback folks could give, but not if they're not truly solicited for it. For shame, Devs. And really, from the very vague description of these new quests, they look like the same old same old. maybe now we'll get 275 credits for completion. let the good times roll! what fun! Me: can i borrow 50 credits to get back to Theed Cantina, mister? Some armored and buffed shmo: get a CDEFweapon and go run a mission. *sigh!*

They truly don't care about this new and supposedly "exciting" profession, so it would seem from their responses to this thread.

I for one am a proud Master Musician. Proud because I provide a service and have met many fine folks, and I try to make the game a little more fun for those who see finding entertainers NOT AFK in cantinas a drudgery due to hologrinders. I rarely AFK unless eating or getting something to drink IRL, otherwise I remove my MM tag so as not to further embarrass the profession (already embarrassed horribly by rude and pointless hologrinders). I see it as a Taxi sign - whether I'm on or off duty. But honestly, this thread shows how sad the state of entertainers is. what's the point? to stand around and chat? yahoo is free for that. oh right, it's to have rude people who just solo'd the Corellian Corvette (which ya know, is brand new and exciting too, but we'd be useless in it and throughly destroyed) demand buffs for us and do everything they can to avoid paying us much.

Sorry if i seem so negative, but this thread just depresses me. There are LOTS of good folks who are great to meet and talk with while I buff. And I love just hanging out and jammin out, being a mind medic essentially. So many folks are crabbing about AFK musicians and not finding entertainers for mind buffs, and why? because we're throughly ignored by the game Devs.

Let's do what the Wookiees did for Armor - organize a huge mass gathering of entertainers and let's "AFK macro for Attention!" en masse to ask for some lovin from the Devs! Sound stupid? Can't be as stupid as taking further abuse from this Dev group. Talk to the Wookiees, they all have lovely new armor and more coming soon.

Oh, and would it be so hard to give us some new INSTRUMENTS and SONGS? The people getting buffed are sick of every song, and I hear it pretty much the WHOLE TIME I PLAY. Another fabulous and exciting bit of feedback for you Devs - FIX THE SHORTCUT YOU GUYS TOOK WITH THE INSTRUMENT SOUNDS - why did i master musician to play a Chindinkalu Horn that sounds just like a stupid Slitherhorn you learn to play at Novice? That'd be like mastering pistoleer and getting certification for a CDEF pistol. why bother?

so please: some attention from the Devs (so much to ask for? yeeeeeesh, i pay for my game, too you know), new instruments, new songs, new anything more than some new type of mission where i need to travel somewhere I don't want to travel to( i mastered musician to be recognizable to frequent customers in a specific chosen cantina - NEWS FLASH - i don't want to travel to who knows where to play for some NPC whose judgement i could care less about, go figure).