Development Cycle Archive

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johnautry613 wrote:

Thunderheart,

I think it is completly unreasonalbe to lower the max non ch pet level down to 10. As you just said in your post, this will make them simply a waste of your data base space.

How exactly are those of us who want to ride kaduus or have a cowardly gurrek 'taking adavantage of' or 'exploiting' the ch ability? It is not like we are cruising around with rancors or grauls. We simply want to be able to play this game too.

From a mount perspective, you are esentially condmeing those of us with out ch abilities to the Carrion spat. Does that make any sense?

For those of us, quite a few actually, that have used a cat ever sense YOU ALL lowered the ability of the masses to only call level 15 pets you are hosing us over. This will make it so we are even less able to compete.

LISTEN TO US!!!! We understand the majority of what you are saying. People have been taking advantage of a loophole in your system. But you are about to penalize all of us who have had nothing to do with this. Those of us who bought our pets. We just wanted a way to help us out, not completely own anything that walked.

A level set of 15 is not that much too ask. YOU SET IT! We followed your guidline! Now you are going to kill our pets and lock us into a single mount.

This is not right, it is not fair, and you must know it on some level. We are only talking about5 points here, please be reasonable.

Thank you,

Lazurk

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Thunderheart wrote:

4. Concerns about only one 'pet' of any kind out at a time. Our plan here is to first impost a very strict limitation: One pet, regardless of type. And later (but soon) to introduce exceptions to the rule based on the particular pet type. For example, your faction rank will be used to allow you to control more and better faction-perk pets. And your profession will influence the type and number of droid pets you can call (or the number you can call in addition to a creature pet). For example: Doctors, Medics, and/or Combat Medics might gain the ability to call a surgical droid even if they already have a pet of some other type called, whereas a Droid Engineer might be able to call a number of droids of any type, etc

Pet Issue: What will happen to 'legacy' pets that are currently CL 10-15? Will they become unusable by the non-CH who has purchased/been given them under the current CL 15 system? Will they be rebalanced to CL 10 either automatically or through some voluntary means? Should people like me, who have been giving CL 12 and 14 female and male kaadu as gifts to non-CH friends be worried about whether they'll be mountable? Unfortunately, most of these pets will be stuck in your datapad. You won't be able to call them or trade them (unless they know the transfer command), because they are higher level than 10. Your only option will be to destroy the PCD.

My main issue (only issue) are these two things. If you are going to make rank even more useful (Why can a Private GET a AT-ST never mind use 3?) then that is very good. Rank only lets /delegate work (and isn't even 1:1) better so it gives people a reason to rank up. As for droids, well it still isn't any work to have a droid out. It is a mindless box that does what you say, so how are they hard to control? They don't have any personality to rebel against you unless you pet a rebel personality chip in

As for 10clvl now, that just sucks. I haven't seen any good pets at 10. As it stands I can't even have a super cute meowing Kima, and now I'll lose my cool rock b. which is fast and has ranged :/

Btw Thunder, STOP USING HTML! Whenever I try to quote you it's a pain and a half. You know normal people can't use html. I don't know what you are doing, but it makes it hard to quote ya.

TH: is there any reason why "follow other" and "patrol" can't stay in? They're awesome RP commands and they work well, not to mention they hurt no one. Just toss them in some level 3 or 4 boxes with the proposed changes.

~~Shabhaii, Mayor of Tombra, Naboo
www.cityoftombra.com
The REAL BT
"THe FS system only rewards the Veruca Salt's of the MMO world . . . not the Charlie's"

Its no wonder why all the Master Creature Handlers love this... still business pretty much as usual andnow the total market on creature mounts and creature sales....

Everyone who isn't a Master gets a major nerf and even those who made it to Mngt 4 and got their Transfer command is out of the creature business.

Well I'm not a Master CH and I think these changes stink...

I just love how the solution to all problems in this game is to nerf rather then fix the other professions...

Its almost as bad as the people in broken professions who want other professions to be just as broken and cry for nerfs...

I'm undecided who are worst although I think nerfs are worst for morale in this game... Every nerf and I see more friends I know in the game leave...

I realize that these changes may fix some of this problem, but I am REALLY concerned about the galactic civil war looking more like a zoo fest than a battle between rebel and imperial forces. I have a thread on this here:

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=GCW&message.id=58406

If you look at the screenshots you will see the problem....

I did go look at your screen shots...two observations:

(1) To handle a graul you HAVE to be a CH. If all those players are CHs, they EARNED the right to have a graul.

(2) Devs are not nerfing CH pets, CHs will be barely affected, except that you won't be able to control 2 grauls at once, and you need another box or two of CH to have a graul. Instead the devs are heavily nerfing all non-ch pets / faction pets / and droids.

So to answer you question...although this nerf may have been aimed at zoo-fests, it actually does nothing to prevent them and kills non-ch pets in the process. Good plan, huh?

THANKS DEVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this is much better than the first plan!

thx for listening!

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SioBabble wrote:

Thunderheart:

I do appreciate your posting of this.

I am still very concerned about the mindset of the devs that advancement is "too fast". Why? Is this an admission that the only content there is in this game is grinding out skill boxes, and we need to prolong this process to keep the majority of players engaged?

I am happy that, for once, the devs are acknowledging the real crime of CH: It's too much fun. The issue now is to make the other professions as much fun, in their own way, as CH is.

...

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I would like to know why CH advancement is considered "too fast" as well. It took my husband and I a long time and a lot of hard work to make MCH.

If you think that CH advancement is too fast, you had better really take a look at the rest of the combat professions. I have watched other players that I group with regularly master their professions in 1/2 or less of the time it took me to master CH.

I am not calling for a nerf. I believe in bringing the other professions up to the level of the professions that the players find FUN. I am just asking you to reconsider making CH less fun for those coming up the tree.

Ok, with the new proposed changes, I am much happier. Notquite as hurtfulto the beginner CH's and no longer a full loss of 10 CL for the master. I actually don't mind losing the use of one full creature. Actually, I prefer to see it that way. I am tired of seeing so many CH creatures running around in the game. Now, with the new stringent rules of only ONE pet, unless your class/faction standing gifts you the use of an extra one, is great!

Grab one of the 8k HAM FP Soldiers and you have as good a pet as it gets unless you decide to get level 4 in at least half the CH tree. With more powerful droids being allowed, perhaps buying one off a DE will be more useful than spending the 25+ ponts in CH to get an equally powerful pet. If you decide to go full bore and grab Master CH or close to it.... you may get lucky and find a CL 60 monster. (I have seen a few full grown 50+and I dare to dream....)

It does look more balancing for the entire game. This is needed BADLY. Right now it is more Pet Wars than Star Wars (Everyone was complaining), with these changes, it will be more Star Wars. I knew a nerf like this was coming... at least it is not as bad as it was when originally posted. I look forward to seeing it in action.

Thunderheart,

I posted this plea in Part 2 of this ongoing thread, but in case you've abandoned that one, let me post it again for you. I am seriously hurt by this:

I'll confess to not having read this entire thread, so if my complaints have been covered, please excuse my ignorance, but I think I have a valid compaint here.

I am not a CH. I have no intention of being one. I do, however, have a Cowardly Gurreck named Spike. Perhaps I'm odd, and I KNOW I'll get humiliated for admiting this, but Spike is my PET, in every sense of the word. I do not fight with Spike. Let me rephrase that -- I do not use Spike to take down critters that I couldn't take down myself. If he's been a good boy, I let him chase the occasional Durni, which he enjoys, but he is certainly not a tank. I love him too much to see him get hurt.

Spike is my companion out in the wild on those long solo excursions across the Galaxy. Yes, I talk to him. Yes, I pet him. Yes, he is really, honestly, truly my PET.

If this change goes into effect, am I to understand that you will be taking my Spike away from me? I have lived through many nerfs in this game, and have tried my best to havea positive outlook on the whole thing. I love SWG to the core of my being, and have taken a lot in stride (or incorporated it into my roleplay with a sort of "stuff happens" attitude.

But if you take my Spike away...

If, in the real world, our government said to me "all Chows and Pit Bulls are outlawed for anyone other than professional dog handlers (yes, I have both -- technically the Pit is a Chow mix), you know what my response would be? "Come on, Mr. Suit -- send your best officers to take my babies from me... if you think any of them are man enough to do so. They are harmless teddy bears, so don't worry about them. It's me you have to contend with, and you're not that big a bad-ass, I promise."

"But, other people who own Chows and Pit Bulls haven't raised them as you have, Mr. Citizen. I'm afraid we have to take them from you because others haven't played fair."

"Do your best, Mr. Suit. As I've said, you aren't taking my little boys."

Guess what? I can't hole up in my house with a baseball bat and a bad attitude daring SOE to steal my Spike from me. They only have to flip a switch, and my little boy is mine no more. If I don't like it, tough.

Thunderheart, please don't take my Spike away from me. Make it so that he can't fight anymore, fine. Make it so that the only commands I can give him are "follow" and "sit pretty." Fine. Just don't take my Spike away.

Gentlemen, I've left my flame-retardant suit at the cleaners. You may fire when ready. I know my point-of-view here is an odd one, but I feel it's valid.

Thunderheart--

The post answers many CH concerns. There are twothat still stand out to me:

1) Even with the CL staying at 70, we will not have viable 2 pet combinations at MCH because the creatures are getting their CL raised. I find this limiting to our variety and see a future of SWG filled with single Maulers/Rancors everywhere. It just doesn't allow a MCH to be diffeent from the crowd--especially with the idea of putting extra pet levels in the 4 trees. A person having 4 4 4 1 (or any combo of 3 level 4 boxes and 1 level 1 box) will have the same level 50 pet as a master.

2) The impending AI change will leave doctor/ch's in a state of constant cloning. I am a carbineer, so I do not expect a mob to ignore me shooting it. However, healers, entertainers, and artisans who have CH skills may not have any offensive skills--and these folks will be killed if healing causes agro.

The rest I can live with. Toss these two concerns to the team and see if they can understand where I am coming from.

VInaddar

ps, if there will be exceptions down the line, then I can understand all the posts wanting those exceptions to be implemented when the faction pets and droids are affected by these sweping changes. The interim time will be very unfair to the DE's, Medics/Doctors, and others.

Thank you Jasper

Really annoys me the rest of the Master Chs couldn't care less about those trying to climb this tree with its insane exp pointupper steps as it is...

Seems to me theyare just happy the effect on them is minimal and they gain more market so its the ole slap on the back and good job to the Devs for them.

Unfortunately I'm not a stranger to this "lets make it more of a grind attitude" of the devs and went out of the weaponsmith business when they nerfed factory exp.

I was having fun as a CH but I will not play this "ok, we are putting the screws too all who aren't master already" game of theirs.

As a new Ch working hard to get Master I just want to say thankyou for bringing back some of the things that made me want this in the first place.

2 dewback petswith me on a dewback mount is my dream. Your keeping the dream alive by keeping the Cl 70, +1 pet at management 3.

Thankyou

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BlindTyldak wrote:

TH: is there any reason why "follow other" and "patrol" can't stay in? They're awesome RP commands and they work well, not to mention they hurt no one. Just toss them in some level 3 or 4 boxes with the proposed changes.

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