Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Great Expectations, Major Schedule Changes and making SWG the finest MMORPG ever
Southwick
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:43 pm
#378
No you can buy WOW which is probably better balanced already. We can all join the horde together, and give our money to a more compatent company.
RoyceCattemara
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:44 pm
#379
I've never felt so emotionally drained.
I readthis post and my eyes just glossed over. I don't think I've ever had more faith in something that gave so little reason for me to believe. I will keep playing this game because I've got some great companions and a great guild, but these fixes have been promised since November 2003. Now we're being told that they may not even come out a year later. They were pushed back twice, and now they have been pushed so far back, they don't even register on the horizon.
Goodness, 4+ more months? Thinking that I have poured so much of my own money for fleeting moments of happiness just sucks all the life out of me.
TH says that the CB will require the entire team. Yet the team is split up to work on JTL, and that's not a Patch, it's an Expansion.
It used to sound good, like it would all work out. Now, the Devs have such a track record that I just can't believe it.
It's a travesty that these programmers were given the most addicting genre in history to make such a crappy game with. Right now, I want with 99% of my being to cancel that subscription, but the "Second Storm Trooper in scene 42 of <insert SW film here>" in me just won't do it.
Shame on the Devs for failing us time and time again.
Serenius
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:47 pm
#381
You ain't the only one who feels that way, buddy. This current choice of insanity on the management's part is like kicking someone in the groin, then giving them a hand to get back on their feet, only to give them another swift kick in between the legs wearing steel-toed boots the second time around.
LtBacon wrote:
I am quite disappointed in the devs. Guess my $60 a month means nothing to them
LuthianP
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:48 pm
#382
ratlif wrote:"So we can look forward to Stun Damage being the only way to fight in the GCW from now till December?"What is GCW? I havent seen such a thingMessage Edited by ratlif on 07-15-2004 06:46 PM
GCW is Galactic Comedy Weekly, this is the forum for it.
Maidenchase
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:48 pm
#383
How true is this??? I don't complain on these forums either, but I gotta say this has got to be one of the most self serving displays of Corporate Greed I have ever witnessed. I have spent a lifetime in sales and marketing, and rule number 1 is take care of the people that pay your bills TODAY.
Remember the saying that "Customers are not here for you, you are here for us, for without us, you will not exist". Problem is too many of us are slaves to this nonsense (here for them), and as a result they will continue to get away with it.
This is pretty close to false advertising and missrepresentaion. I would go so far as saying that when you make an announcement on your boards (i.e. GCW revamps, Jedi Quests, even JTL),telling your customer's that you are going to improve their experience, increase their satisfaction, and take care of the problems they are having with the product they purchased from you, then you are indeed advertising, when you fail to follow up on these statements, you are now missrepresenting.
These guys have been stringing us along, way too long. Lately I log in, look at my toon sitting in Coronet Starport, and then log out because I am bored and have nothing fun left to do. I was waiting for the Jedi Quests and Combat Rebalance, but how can I now.
If I wanted to fly a X-wing or Tie FighterI amalready aware that there are some really great games by those titles that will indeed allow it, and are really fun to play (keyword fun). We bought this game so we could live on planet, in a virtual world full of great features that were promised on the box, yet not delivered. I have a really big blue circle next to my town (in game) and don't even know why it is there (oh yeah it's a battlefield). Interesting how this delay is announced just as someone gets promoted to Community Relations. If this is how it is, gimme back the other guy.
I dunno man, I just dunno,I had hopes and dreams, but it looks like SOE's competitors will be the ones to fullfill them. I heard Sony treats it's employees like dirt, maybe this is the result.
It's July... lets see 14.99 (bored)
August 14.99 Nothing but bored, whoppee a race track (if I wanna race I will play Gran Turismo)
Septemeber 14.99 Bored
October 14.99 Bored (but wait JTL is supposed to come out estimated price $30.00 to $40.00)
November 14.99 (Total JTL Bugs, issues and missrepresentation again) ( oh yeah will I have to pay 14.99 for both games now)
December 14.99 ( Another postponement of GCW revamp etc) because they have to fix bugs that new JTL customers are complaing about, and the holiday's closed them down)
Total so far......$124.94 ( I added JTL at $35.00) Result: Boredom and Frustration
Oh by the way I was so bored I started a new toon on a new server, good luck trying tofind a Non-solo hunting group. (Bored)
And before you tell me to quit the game.......................bite me.
Heineken Maidenchase (aka Dumb SWG Loser)
MrWizzard
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:49 pm
#384
Thank you for being honest.
Thank you for reading my mind and not rushing through publish 10 just to "get it done."
Now get to it! 
Southwick
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:51 pm
#385
Well that does it, I was even thinking about buying the expansion. But with this level of incompetance I cant imagine the cesspool of crap the expansion will be now. Not trying to sound like a raving noob, but I wouldnt expect this from a shady car repair shop.
Canceling my account, good ol' Doom is gold, and comes out in 2 weeks.
Cant believe Im an elder here, and came back hopeing you guys would do what you had promised.
You really let us down.
Fellstaff
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:51 pm
#386
Thunderheart wrote:
downertool wrote:
so can we get a timeline kinda thing to show what is coming out when, like when JustG made a state of the game letter that showed what was in publishes and mini pubs
like this
The development cycle still has momentum and we still have some other important items, big and small, coming out of the pipeline.Here is what still lies ahead:
Publish 10 is slated for the end of August, but one of the reasons for these delays is to make as much room as possible for extra implementation and testing time.
Before publish 10, we plan on launching the character transfer system
In Publish 9.2 We’re publishing Wookiee armor sets #2 and #3, new crafting quests and the second swoop race
Publish 9.3 will bring us the third swoop race
Publish 10 will be the Jedi Trials.This will be the new gateway to the Jedi profession that will by a mysterious path to unlocking Force sensitivity.
Publish 10.1 is going to bring us an exciting surprise and also a list of Correspondent requests
Publish 10.2 is focused on the entertainers which features a unique new game experience where entertainers, Dancers and Musicians can perform for an NPC audience for the reward of a new song and dance.
Might I suggest a more realistic schedule? So you can actually havemore than 2 months of beta testing for JTL and not lose MORE players.
Pub 11 - Mid-Late October - Combat Revamp
JTL- Mid-Late December - (CHRISTMAS ANYONE?)
Oireg
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:51 pm
#387
20 pages of posts and how many agree with this?
Wake up and save your game SoE.
MajorXP
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:51 pm
#388
Thunderheart wrote:
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
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.
wow
krackhead
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:52 pm
#389
im sorry but i think this set back was the final straw.. the jedi are way overpowered, more common than most people would like they have pretty much killed the gcw on the corbantis server if you do find an overt rebel somewhere there hiding in there cantina.. way to go i have 3 accounts and will not be renewing any of them once they expire thanks to this set back
GG SOE
Oireg
Thu Jul 15, 2004 3:52 pm
#390
Fellstaff wrote:
Might I suggest a more realistic schedule? So you can actually havemore than 2 months of beta testing for JTL and not lose MORE players.
Pub 11 - Mid-Late October - Combat Revamp
JTL- Mid-Late December - (CHRISTMAS ANYONE?)
Yep, I'd say you are 100% correct on this.
We'll be lucky to have a completed combat balance by this time next year.