Game Guides Archive

Following are my emails and letters to SOE, both, and the SWG feedback mechanisms:

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Good afternoon,

I would appreciate some consideration as a customer of the Star Wars Galaxies game who paid for 4 licenses, plus the latest Jump to Lightspeed expansion, amounting to over $700 in annual fees. The basis of my communication relates to the lack of consideration demonstrated by moderators of the SWG community forums/boards. I recently put great time and effort into crafting a well thought out communication of issues, constructive from beginning to end, and was shocked to find that a moderator deleted the thread today. It may not have been a subject that the devs agree with, and that is part of why it’s a problem to begin with. A large segment of the SWG customer base are not in agreement with some of the biases that seem to underlie game design decisions. My post, which constructively addressed these issues and is recreated below, was deleted out of hand, after receiving a great deal of community support. There were a dull roar of opposition flaming, quite tame, so all in all, it was thoroughly approached and responded to in a constructive manner.

The root of the issue is that key decision makers in the design team appear to be biased towards requiring players to engage in player-vs.-player (PvP) activities. It appears, though the actual statistics are hidden, that most players do not appreciate PvP play styles, and more prefer Cooperative modes of play, wherein players work together to complete objectives and game content without fighting each other as players. Most of the game design supports PvP, and Cooperative Play, with two exceptions as noted in the forums thread that the moderator deleted. The game designers seem intent upon making Cooperative Play customers engage in PvP play, even though the game is not designed to be attractive and conducive to this customer base to do so, and I can only conclude that the forum discussion was deleted because it was advocating an issue that the game designers are opposed to, regardless of what the players/customers prefer. I would appreciate your review of the material that was deleted, even though I cannot reproduce all of the positive support that followed in customer replies to the initial post, you can see the relevance of the material itself.

I would appreciate a response. The fact that we players are constantly facing a design team that is opposed to the desires of large segments of the customer base, seems to be counter-intuative to a business venture. What are your thoughts?

Sincerely,
Name, phone, address

[quote] thread content, shown here

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Deleted thread, as follows:

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Cooperative (non-PvP) Playersnot feeling the Jedi Love, or the Dev’s Love, or…

Or… why do I need to PvP if I want to enjoy Jedi and JTL content, or any content?

To borrow from another player, this is a MMORPG, not a MMOPVP.

Last night I had a great time running Imp JTL missions with a group, it was a real blast.

In the above statement there are the following key elements that we’d associate with a Star Wars MMORPG:

•Multiplayer – Group
•Faction
•Combat
•Profession-oriented
•Cooperative
•Enjoyment

So it has most of the things you’d expect to see in a Star Wars MMORPG, except two things are not mentioned:

•PvP
•Jedi

So, you can have all of the things above being a non-PvP player, including all the fun of NPC faction and combat related content around the Star Wars universe. Seemingly PvP and non-PvP can co-exist in the same galaxy, and each enjoy and choose among all of the content within their PvP and non-PvP play styles, except:

•Jedi

If non-PvP players were afforded game design that did not force them to engage in PvP, ei. no visibility unless they were engaging other player characters as one might expect from non-PvP players, then even if all non-PvP players in all galaxies were jedi, what harm is there to PvP players?

If non-PvP players are using their jedi characters to enjoy themselves against NPC’s and mobs, in groups (multiplayer) or otherwise, as in the above JTL mission example, faction, combat, missions, all that good stuff you’d expect in non-PvP cooperative multigaming, there is no impact to PvP players whatsoever. Why? The activities that non-PvP players engage in are not in conflict with the activities that PvP players engage in. The two don’t directly cross paths. You might, however, see in the middle of a PvP combat scenario, that there’s a covert (non-PvP) jedi fighting a gurk nearby, but so what, to each their own. The non-PvP player by nature is just background to PvP players, no direct impact. If they switch from non-PvP play to PvP play, then give them visibility.

Wait, if non-PvP Jedi can level all the way up to FRS without ever gaining visibility and interacting with the PvP universe, then how is that fair to FRS?

The design may be such that non-PvP Jedi (based upon the activity generating XP and overt gaming record*) get 1/3rd the XP, so it takes them 3 times the XP to get to FRS, as an example. Additionally, any Jedi that got to FRS without engaging in PvP is going to be very inexperienced in PvP Jedi combat and at a distinct disadvantage. Ten times the XP even. The point for the non-PvP player is to enjoy the cooperative multiplayer Star Wars experience, not to get to FRS, and not even interested in FRS, so the XP penalties are relative.

*Example: If I’m a Jedi and gained all my XP fighting mobs and NPC’s, I have no status as a PvP Jedi, and no visibility. However, if I’ve brought the Jedi out during a PvP base attack in the last 90 days and gained 2,000 XP as a result, I’m no longer statused as a non-PvP Jedi and am subject to visibility.

But wait, this is a PvP game, its about a war, everyone should PvP if they want faction and Jedi and all that jazz.

Many players do not like PvP, and will not PvP. This is a MMORPG, not a MMOPVP game. Both play styles should have the opportunity to enjoy all the content. The first example of grouping for JTL missions is a clear example of multiplayer MMORPG content including grouping, faction (rebs vs. imps), combat, and enjoying content to its fullest, and does not require PvP. Nothing should require PvP.

But why don’t you fools like PvP, I love it!!! Love it or leave it!!! Go play Jedi Academy!!! You don’t deserve Jedi and faction and enjoyment if you don’t PvP. I’m glad you don’t get the same opportunities being a non-PvP player!!!

Well, as we’ve pointed out, most game content is designed to suit PvP and non-PvP players alike. The only times that does not occur and the game has been designed to force non-PvP players to PvP includes:

•Jedi
•JTL –Ace Mission

With those two exceptions, both play styles get full choice and opportunities to enjoy the faction, the war, the grouping, the multiplayer, and contribute to the galaxy as inhabitants, consumers, merchants, and friends.

Why don’t we like PvP? Well that’s the problem, many of us would like to. Many of us would like to be able to armor up, join groups, and participate in PvP content around scheduled or planned events, to attack or defend a base, battlegrounds, or to duel.

The difference there is that in those examples, they are consensual. We are actively choosing to do so. Where we fall out with PvP is when we’re attacked when we don’t choose to be, such as:

•Engaged in PvP yesterday to defend a base, log in today, still overt, so I’m walking around with a sign over my head that says, “I don’t care what plans I have today, what I want to do, where I want to go, I have this sign over my head that says to anyone and everyone to walk up and start shooting me. Yes I just logged in and I have no buffs, am defenseless, and you’re walking around looking for trouble and here I am as a sitting duck just wanting to mind my own business and I have to wait an hour after finding a recruiter to go covert, so go ahead anyone, grief me.”

This is a huge turn off to the non-PvP player. Non-consensual combat is a PvP game-killer for peeps like us. I’m not talking about the ability to exploit a toggle and turn off Overt when it suits me, I’m talking about the ability to turn it on and off reasonably, to suit the circumstances.

If I was fighting yesterday and am logging in today, “Do you choose to remain Overt? Yes or No” would be a nice option. Or just like when you’ve been in combat and you can’t work with pets and vehicles right away, be able to say, “I’m done, I have to go work on my crafting and harvesters now, overt off.”

These things lead to non-consensual ganking on peeps who want to be doing other things. I know many of you PvP’ers don’t understand this, but if you want more of us to engage and enjoy PvP, some understanding of this is required.

Battlegrounds, base action, duels, live action events, all these planned PvP activities would be welcome to many currently non-PvP players, but when we can’t reasonably disengage from these activities when needed, and we’re being killed by fully buffed PvP’ers because we just logged in, or when we’re done with a planned PvP event and just don’t want to, period, we fall out and disengage from considering PvP as a play style.

Content exists for both play styles in all facets except where we non-PvP’ers are forced to choose between PvP or foregoing the content, and that applies only to:

•Jedi
•JTL –Ace Mission

This needs to be remedied. As discussed, there is no direct impact to PvP players even if in the unlikely event that all non-PvP players pursued and achieved Jedi status. There’s just no impact to PvP players if nearby someone with a saber is attacking a bantha. None.

Maybe, if PvP is more consensual, and focused more on the battlefield, the base, the event, and less on ganking some poor player who hopped into Tyrena and is just trying to get along with their business while the overt-to-covert clock wears off. An utter turn off to most players.

To the PvP’ers and the devs, you’ll get more with carrots than with sticks. Give motivation to enjoy and explore PvP, rather than try to force it on us. As it is, it doesn’t work for us. These two areas need to be addressed in the future to maintain the enjoyment of the non-PvP player base, the two areas where our choices are for all intents and purposes removed:

•Jedi
•JTL –Ace Mission

Consensual is key. Can you unlock it?

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