Entertainer Archive
Thread: Is this game worth keeping?
Page 1 of 2
Beery
Wed Dec 29, 2004 6:36 pm
#1
Okay, I've been around since the game shipped. I've always been an entertainer of some kind, but ever since the beginning I've waited for the entertainer professions to become more than just an afterthought. I've taken two long absences (both around 6 months)in the hope that things would improve while I took a break, but still, after nearly 18 months our professions are still basically where they were 18 months ago - broken and with no fix in sight.
I haven't put a huge amount of time into this game - probably 6 months all told, but I do have a character I like who has a home and who is just about scraping by on her experience. She's a pacifist though, so my ability to do things in the game are heavily restricted because the developers don't seem to seeany point in putting non-combat content (or alternative non-combat ways to get to the content that's alreadyin the game)into the game. I've taken her about as far as I can, given the restrictions I've imposed on her, and those the developers have imposed on non-combat characters.
I'm getting tired of waiting, and I'm paying $15 per month just to have this game sitting unplayed on my computer. I'm not going to cancel my account for another 3 months, just to find when I returnthat yet againnothing has changed. So the question is this:
Should I keep paying and keep hoping against hope that something good will happen? Is there any reason to think that something is in the works to make entertaining fun?
or..
Is all hope gone now, and should I just cut my losses andcall it quits for good?
AG-941
Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:04 am
#3
Zapper_Weisman wrote:
Just give up. A lot of us are.
Shush you! Not everyone has!
Go read my reply in the Musician forum!
Ra'ano Thexia
Else-Whira
Thu Dec 30, 2004 10:52 am
#4
I *love* this game still. The way it looks, the way our characters move, the amazing amount of things I have to do at any time... Hell I still haven't been to see Jabba and I have played this game since beta 3 haha!
I may be wrong but I think a lot of the people that are SOOO upset with the game are that way because their friends quit all melodramatically or they are just bored with doing the same thing every day. Maybe you are just bored with the aspect of the game that you are playing. Try a different role, server or profession for a while
I may be wrong but I think a lot of the people that are SOOO upset with the game are that way because their friends quit all melodramatically or they are just bored with doing the same thing every day. Maybe you are just bored with the aspect of the game that you are playing. Try a different role, server or profession for a while
Nifty
Thu Dec 30, 2004 4:01 pm
#5
If all you want to do in this game is be an entertainer, then I'm afraid you're not going to have much official content in the game any time soon.
As someone else said, try other aspects of the game. If those don't appeal to you, there is no real reason to keep paying to play unless you just enjoy hanging out with friends in game.
As someone else said, try other aspects of the game. If those don't appeal to you, there is no real reason to keep paying to play unless you just enjoy hanging out with friends in game.
LeBob
Fri Dec 31, 2004 2:48 pm
#6
Actually there was a recent update as to non-combat professions... it's clickied in this forum... here's the link:
I would say don't give up yet. = )
DarkY0da
Sat Jan 01, 2005 12:33 pm
#7
Yeah but the timeline on non-combat stuff for us... well there isn't a timeline except for this....
"1) We do take the unattended macroing issues seriously, and this ability will go away, but we are not going to address it this month. It is a big technical change, and takes a serious amount of development and testing. It is being done by a different team than the Combat Upgrade folks so it is not gated by that effort.
2) Yes, the other professions (including all Ents) are scheduled to be revamped right after the Combat Upgrade and before the GCW. This is our stated development strategy. When we start that process we will engage with the community on the design in the In-Development section of the website to ensure what gets done enhances the gameplay and fun within the Ent professions.
3) There is another team doing fixes on all the professions not covered in the Combat Upgrade in the meantime to address immediate issues, bugs and low (dev) cost enhancements. We will being doing some interim fixes to the Combat Upgrade professions too, as warranted. With over 30 professions they have a lot of ground to cover but Ents willl be getting their share.
4) SWG as a whole is an entertainment experience which integrates lots of gaming and social elements. It is intended to have an entire series of compelling and fun activities. Not all of these activities are working the way you or we would like them to. I don't think it is healthy or appropriate for people to continually do things that make them frustrated or angry. This seems like common sense to me, but common sense appears less common all the time as I get older. When I'm not having fun at something, but I still love it at some level, I take a break. This seems better than driving myself to an emotional breaking point. I would hope the same for our customers, as I don't like it when people leave us angry. I would rather people took a break, than got to their breaking point with us, because when they get to that point, there is no chance they will ever come back (it is a divorce, not a breakup).
All the devs, myself included, work every day to try and improve the fun within SWG. We all get sad when we see people leave the game because we couldn't fix it fast enough to save them from leaving. We don't want anyone to leave the game, we want them to enjoy the SWG that so much of our effort and emotion is invested in.
I think that unattended macroing doesn't belong in our game and it will be removed. I have committed us to this, and I remain committed to it. When more people play AFK than ATK, we haven't done our job very well, and we need to fix that.
Thanks for listening. We haven't forgotten your issues and we will work to ensure the Ent professions provide the social gaming experience you deserve.
Gordon Walton
Sony Online Entertainment "
Which means quite a ways off still yet as from Panthu we are in the second or third group to be revamped.
So the question is... 6 months x $15 (at least) if your just planning on waiting around as an Ent.
As noted there is a lot of other things to do in game which could be better suited to a new character on a different server so that your pacifist character stays intact.
"1) We do take the unattended macroing issues seriously, and this ability will go away, but we are not going to address it this month. It is a big technical change, and takes a serious amount of development and testing. It is being done by a different team than the Combat Upgrade folks so it is not gated by that effort.
2) Yes, the other professions (including all Ents) are scheduled to be revamped right after the Combat Upgrade and before the GCW. This is our stated development strategy. When we start that process we will engage with the community on the design in the In-Development section of the website to ensure what gets done enhances the gameplay and fun within the Ent professions.
3) There is another team doing fixes on all the professions not covered in the Combat Upgrade in the meantime to address immediate issues, bugs and low (dev) cost enhancements. We will being doing some interim fixes to the Combat Upgrade professions too, as warranted. With over 30 professions they have a lot of ground to cover but Ents willl be getting their share.
4) SWG as a whole is an entertainment experience which integrates lots of gaming and social elements. It is intended to have an entire series of compelling and fun activities. Not all of these activities are working the way you or we would like them to. I don't think it is healthy or appropriate for people to continually do things that make them frustrated or angry. This seems like common sense to me, but common sense appears less common all the time as I get older. When I'm not having fun at something, but I still love it at some level, I take a break. This seems better than driving myself to an emotional breaking point. I would hope the same for our customers, as I don't like it when people leave us angry. I would rather people took a break, than got to their breaking point with us, because when they get to that point, there is no chance they will ever come back (it is a divorce, not a breakup).
All the devs, myself included, work every day to try and improve the fun within SWG. We all get sad when we see people leave the game because we couldn't fix it fast enough to save them from leaving. We don't want anyone to leave the game, we want them to enjoy the SWG that so much of our effort and emotion is invested in.
I think that unattended macroing doesn't belong in our game and it will be removed. I have committed us to this, and I remain committed to it. When more people play AFK than ATK, we haven't done our job very well, and we need to fix that.
Thanks for listening. We haven't forgotten your issues and we will work to ensure the Ent professions provide the social gaming experience you deserve.
Gordon Walton
Sony Online Entertainment "
Which means quite a ways off still yet as from Panthu we are in the second or third group to be revamped.
So the question is... 6 months x $15 (at least) if your just planning on waiting around as an Ent.
As noted there is a lot of other things to do in game which could be better suited to a new character on a different server so that your pacifist character stays intact.
Beery
Sat Jan 01, 2005 8:04 pm
#8
"If all you want to do in this game is be an entertainer, then I'm afraid you're not going to have much official content in the game any time soon.
As someone else said, try other aspects of the game. "
As someone else said, try other aspects of the game. "
Like what? My character is a pacifist. I've tried every profession that doesn't involve killing people or things: althoughall the peaceful professionsare very much more rewarding than combat (which I found intensely boring when I gave Pistoleer a go), none of them are all that fulfilling. I've considered the possibility that RPGs just aren't for me, but according to the guy who came up with this game's design, there should be a role to suit anyone. These games shouldn't be just about shooting, but it seems this game is yet another example of an RPG which goes against the whole RPG philosophy by just catering to the arcade shooter crowd.
Else-Whira
Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:10 am
#9
What does your character currently do Beery?
Some of the things I have friends or myself that find as entertaining to do as a noncombat player;
Merchant - running a happening shop that is famed for keeping items in stock or having the best type of one item.
Entertainer - dancing, flirting, healing, buffing... I get tired of the healing and buffing quickly but that's just because I WANT to be flirting and fooling around when people come up to me and butt into my private conversations with needs hehe
Doctor - healing wounds, buffing, healing damage, tossing out the occasional heal to a dancer or musician in a cantina or crafting new and more powerful medicines.
Crafter - hunting down the finest resources and making the absolute perfect item. I have friends that *live* just for that... They are only as good as the best stats on the items they made
Resource collector/reseller - they scour the galaxy looking for the highest concentration of resources with te greatest stats. Without these folks putting in effort to find the rarest high quality resources the crafters could never really attain their ultimate goal of the perfect item.
Politician - I know at least three people in this game that have only one real important gaming goal: Build a functioning and dynamic city. They go to great pains to find and build towns where people want to live, arrange events, and have a real sense of community.
Wedding planner/officiant - Not sure if I have seen any lately but from time to time someone decides to actively pursue this. Basically they plan, organize, help officiate and decorate player wedding functions.
Beggar - They walk around asking for things. Not my thing but i have a friend that swears by it... Go figure.
Interior decorator - They help design the layout and in some cases also craft the furniture pieces needed to make a player building into something resembling a home, office or other interesting to visit unique enviroment.
Fisherman - They fish... Not my thing but I have a friend that swears by it.... When he isn't begging that is
Rare item collector/trader - They buy, sell and trade for the strange things people find in the game usually for decoration. Many times these folks make wonderful displays of the things they have found for the public to view.
Swoop racer/Animal racer - Now that we have tracks I am actually surprised we don't have more races being held. These are fun events though if you have ever participated in or sponsored a player run one.
Film maker - Some of the player made films are absolutely amazing.
Image designer - If you haven't played as one or been to one you haven't played this game right How else I am to become bright red and hawt!
Faction spy - basically you run faction delivery missions until you get enough faction to be able to see the vulnribility time of a player dropped faction base and then sell that time to members of the opposing faction. Not my thing, but I could see the draw. There is an inherent danger to this in that it IS possible that you may some day be lead into a trap or circumstance where your player character is attacked, but then that might be fun in and of itself.
Guild leader - Some folks spend a great deal of time promoting their guild, recruiting, settling disputes, making alliances and creating guild events for their members. They take the running of a guild as seriously as the person who spends their grinding jedi.
New player tutor - I remember a guild that was once organised solely for this purpose... they just waited for new players to arrive and then helped them out with learning the game. Not my thing for sure, but some people really enjoy this.
Scout/ranger - I haven't seen many of these lately, but I remember early in the game having many of these come along on hunts to build tents and gather the meat, bones and hides from the things the hunters killed. I think it is rare to find one without combat skills... It is possible though.
Gambler - I have a friend that organised a poker game for in game credits using an online multiplayer poker game... They had a lot of fun. Also there are now NPC games you can gamble with. Not my thing.. but it is there
I'm sure I can think of a few more things but... That's still an impressive list of things to do in this game as a noncombat player.
Some of the things I have friends or myself that find as entertaining to do as a noncombat player;
Merchant - running a happening shop that is famed for keeping items in stock or having the best type of one item.
Entertainer - dancing, flirting, healing, buffing... I get tired of the healing and buffing quickly but that's just because I WANT to be flirting and fooling around when people come up to me and butt into my private conversations with needs hehe
Doctor - healing wounds, buffing, healing damage, tossing out the occasional heal to a dancer or musician in a cantina or crafting new and more powerful medicines.
Crafter - hunting down the finest resources and making the absolute perfect item. I have friends that *live* just for that... They are only as good as the best stats on the items they made
Resource collector/reseller - they scour the galaxy looking for the highest concentration of resources with te greatest stats. Without these folks putting in effort to find the rarest high quality resources the crafters could never really attain their ultimate goal of the perfect item.
Politician - I know at least three people in this game that have only one real important gaming goal: Build a functioning and dynamic city. They go to great pains to find and build towns where people want to live, arrange events, and have a real sense of community.
Wedding planner/officiant - Not sure if I have seen any lately but from time to time someone decides to actively pursue this. Basically they plan, organize, help officiate and decorate player wedding functions.
Beggar - They walk around asking for things. Not my thing but i have a friend that swears by it... Go figure.
Interior decorator - They help design the layout and in some cases also craft the furniture pieces needed to make a player building into something resembling a home, office or other interesting to visit unique enviroment.
Fisherman - They fish... Not my thing but I have a friend that swears by it.... When he isn't begging that is
Rare item collector/trader - They buy, sell and trade for the strange things people find in the game usually for decoration. Many times these folks make wonderful displays of the things they have found for the public to view.
Swoop racer/Animal racer - Now that we have tracks I am actually surprised we don't have more races being held. These are fun events though if you have ever participated in or sponsored a player run one.
Film maker - Some of the player made films are absolutely amazing.
Image designer - If you haven't played as one or been to one you haven't played this game right
How else I am to become bright red and hawt!Faction spy - basically you run faction delivery missions until you get enough faction to be able to see the vulnribility time of a player dropped faction base and then sell that time to members of the opposing faction. Not my thing, but I could see the draw. There is an inherent danger to this in that it IS possible that you may some day be lead into a trap or circumstance where your player character is attacked, but then that might be fun in and of itself.
Guild leader - Some folks spend a great deal of time promoting their guild, recruiting, settling disputes, making alliances and creating guild events for their members. They take the running of a guild as seriously as the person who spends their grinding jedi.
New player tutor - I remember a guild that was once organised solely for this purpose... they just waited for new players to arrive and then helped them out with learning the game. Not my thing for sure, but some people really enjoy this.
Scout/ranger - I haven't seen many of these lately, but I remember early in the game having many of these come along on hunts to build tents and gather the meat, bones and hides from the things the hunters killed. I think it is rare to find one without combat skills... It is possible though.
Gambler - I have a friend that organised a poker game for in game credits using an online multiplayer poker game... They had a lot of fun. Also there are now NPC games you can gamble with. Not my thing.. but it is there
I'm sure I can think of a few more things but... That's still an impressive list of things to do in this game as a noncombat player.
Nifty
Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:48 am
#10
Beery wrote:
"If all you want to do in this game is be an entertainer, then I'm afraid you're not going to have much official content in the game any time soon.
As someone else said, try other aspects of the game. "
Like what? My character is a pacifist. I've tried every profession that doesn't involve killing people or things: althoughall the peaceful professionsare very much more rewarding than combat (which I found intensely boring when I gave Pistoleer a go), none of them are all that fulfilling. I've considered the possibility that RPGs just aren't for me, but according to the guy who came up with this game's design, there should be a role to suit anyone. These games shouldn't be just about shooting, but it seems this game is yet another example of an RPG which goes against the whole RPG philosophy by just catering to the arcade shooter crowd.
Well, remember that I said official content. You can always make your own content, much like Else-Whira mentioned. The problem with in game content is entertainers are considered a social profession. Designers for the most part expect social professions to amuse themselves, so to speak.
Anyways, the reason I keep paying to playMMORPGs is the friends I make in the games. I played UO for years, and only because of the people I played with. The game alone was not good enough to pay for every month, but RPing with my friends was. SWG is pretty much the same for me. The game itself is partially amusing, but it's a lot more amusing when I play with my in game friends. Feel free to look me up on Starsider. I should be playing a bit more by the weekend. Holidays are a tough time for me to play much;I watch toomuch college footballon TV.
Takei_Urawaza
Thu Jan 06, 2005 10:23 am
#11
Pay your house rent up for a year and cancel your account for 6 months, then pay for a single month around june and then cancel it for another 6 months again.
that way you pay for 2 months rather than 12 to keep your character around. My house is currently payed up till 2006 8P... who knows... combat upgrade might have finally made it in to the game by then...
in the mean time try something else like Vampire Bloodlines...
Schardour
Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:39 pm
#12
Aye, I'm told Bloodlines is alot of fun. The girl I knew ingame is admittedly goth, in some ways, but I'm taking her word for it and might look into it later
But to answer the original question....If you're not having any fun, don't keep it. If the perceived reward is greater than the monetary cost, then sure, hold onto it. That's your decision though...
Beery
Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:37 am
#13
DarkYoda wrote:
"So the question is... 6 months x $15 (at least) if your just planning on waiting around as an Ent."
I'd estimate it as a year at least, if not longer. That's $180+. I'm not surethat I can make that sort of financialcommitment fora changethat's not even guaranteed to be an improvement.
Page 1 of 2