Jedi Archive

/bump....

TIGGS? GARVA??

funny they were on the boards today.. wonder why they passed this thread seeing as how they were preaching about posting to things with meaning..... hmmmm

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Baciacca wrote:

Epoas wrote: clicky

A ways back, our last Coro asked a few questions to the devs, posted/stickied here for answers. To end all this jabber of the community and try to get something positive on track again..i feel it is time to get us some kind of responce.

Corospondent Baciacca...

• Ask 5 of the top complain issues comming with TOOW, im sure you can see by the current postings what is on peoples minds.


• Ask for the devs to come here and respond.


• Make themdirect and simple questionsfor simple answers


• Community, for once dont explode/flame..maybe we can get some answers, even if you dont like the answers...lets try to get a possitive responce to work as a team.

Place your 5 most concerning issues, keep it simple and direct for answers.

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I have collected what looks to be the majority of the communities concerns from the thread started by Epoas, clicky. Please let me know if I have left any Main topic off the list.Also I know this was supposed to be 5 questions but as you can see there is too much for 5 questions, so I broke it down in toa few main sections.

FRS

• What is the status and ETA for this?


• Will there be a respec with the new FRS?


• Details....

Pearls/Lightsaber:

• Is there any plan to change the way the current tuning system works?


• What is the ETA on getting premium pearls back?


• What is the ETA on a fix for the saber speed bugs?


• Will Dervish and Saber Slash ever get fixed?

Powers/Healer:

• Is there any plans to take out the Zipbars from Weilder abilities?


• Will current Action/Mind costs from Healer and Powers be reduced?


• Will Powers be balanced with LS (ex. Item that increases dmg, reduces speed and force cost)?


• Will Healer get balanced with other healer classes?

Discipline

• What is the specific role of each discipline?


• What is the specific role of Avoid Incap, Cloak, and Stasis?


• What is the future vision of each Discipline?


• Can the community get an explanation for theVisibility system from top to bottom. (not a bunch of guesses by us players, cold hard facts)

Jedi vs BH

• Are there any plans for Jedi to have the abilities to pull missions/quests for loot instead of having to use and alt for Bounty Missions?


• Will Jedi ever be able to return the favor and hunt Bounty Hunters?

Expansion:

• Since Jedi will be hunted on Mustafar, will we get shrines to clone at to prevent griefing?


• With the implementation of new Cloaks, will all races/species be able to wear them?

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Baciacca wrote:

Still no answers.

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And this after all that Cr*p from them saying they would be doing more for the community. Though Hardly surprising even the devs know this game is going down the toilet and probably out looking for new jobs rather than posting replys.

I just hope they remember to ask me if I want fries with my order.

1. RESPAWN THEKRAYTS ON BRIA! On Bria, random krayt dragon spawns aren't even occurring -- at all. I can't even obtain pearls or crystals using my Padawan character without incurring a visibility hit. And even if I use my non-Jedi alt to hunt Force-wielding NPCs, the odds of looting a crystal seems abnormally low due to the devs' stated desire of removing high-value loot from static-spawn NPCs as a way to prevent "farming." For this issue,here are my questions:

• "Why is this happening, and when will this be fixed?"


• "What do you intend to do to resolve the underlying issue for players in desperate need of crystals and pearls?"

2. BRING BACK PREMIUM PEARLS! Once the firstissue is resolved -- either by fixing the broken krayt spawns or by creating new content that I can follow as a means for building a stock of crystals or pearls in a way that makes sense and feels like I'm playing a game again -- THEN the issue of premium crystals and pearls looms. Enormously. For this issue, I would frame the following question:

• Please elaborate on the approaches you are considering for restoring game-balance between the players who already have premium pearls and crystals, and those who are currently deprived of any mechanism by which they can acquire some for themselves. I repeat for emphasis: This is a GAME BALANCE issue, so vagueness and mysterious evasions to preserve the secrecy and surprise factor offuture content, while understandable, also undermines my perception of the value of this product as a game. I need to know NOW why I should continue to pay for the privilege of waiting for you to pull something good out of your magical hat. Your meter is still running, gentlemen....

3. EXPAND STATE DEFENSES TO INCLUDE DEFENSES AGAINST THE NEW STATES -- ESPECIALLY ROOT AND SNARE! And don't just make those state defenses applicable to oneself: To make the game balanced again, a Jedi Enhancer needs to be able to apply state defenses via the Force to others around him in some way, either with an area Force effect ("You feel the Force enfolding around you, as if it were collecting you in a warm embrace, soothing your mind...") or by a buff mechanism: "You feel your mind opening to possibilities you were never able to envision before, as his will enters your awareness and redirects your consciousness...." And then: "Your grasp of the insightsafforded to you slips away...." Here, my question is phrased as follows:

• You forgot to update your list of states mitigated by Jedi State Defenses. You do intend to correct this little oversight... right?


• When, and what will the updated defensive measures look like? How will the variables be structured?

4. ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF THE EXTINCT MASTER HEALER! Personally, I think this issue follows out of the dichotomous nature of the five Jedi professions themselves. Basically, in order to survive, a Jedi has to have a strong offensive capability and a strong defensive capability. Jedi are unique to SWG in that they are the only profession with separate defensive and offensive skill trees. And with the SWG "Enough Skill Points to master two professions and dabble in a third" model, that leaves Healer as the odd-numbered stepchild. It has no offense and no defense, and so it cannot be mastered.

This issue needs to be addressed. However, in order to address it correctly, I fear a complete, radical revamp of the Jedi profession itself would be in order. The only real solution would be to eliminate Defender as a separate profession, and give all the other Jedi professions suitably Jedi-like toughness. I would make Lightsabers and Powers the core professions, both offensively and defensively, albeit with defensive disciplines that would not stack with each other. (One fights with a lightsaber, relying on a mix of Force-aided athleticism and skill, while the other stands unarmed and taps into the Force itself as his primary defense while he concentrates on the energies he is wielding as a weapon -- often, moving slowly due to the sheer concentration required by his discipline.) However, beyond these core abilities, the player would then be faced with a choice: Toenhance his core combat skills as aMaster Enhancerwhile dabbling in Healer or Powers,or to go for Healer and dabble in Enhancer and/or Powers. Or, if he really wants to be wild, diversify by going for both MLS and Master Powers,while dabbling in Healer and/or Enhancer.

My query here would be as follows:

• I know the above suggestion is a radical departure, but I would honestly like your opinion of it. Interesting idea? Flawed? Intriguing, but unworkable? Ludicrous?


• If this radical idea does not strike you as viable, what do you intend to do to make Master Healer viable again?
  

And now, since I am on a roll of wild conjecture, I conclude with my piece de resistance:

5. QUEST-BASED XP FOR PADAWANS, NOT THE XP GRIND!! My final issue is more of a "Big Picture" issue affecting the scope and direction of Jedi. I have almost completed my XP grind -- one more Lightsaber line to go, then my Master Lightsaber box, and I'm DONE! In retrospect, it has been a mindless, un-fun, months-longGRIND, albeit one that may be less burdensome than the solo grind undergone by pre-CU Jedi (though I think the point is debatable, since pre-CU Jedi could form solo groups, then go andsingle-handedly killentire quenker lairs in a few minutes, placing their XP-harvesting volume on a par with that of the spin groups of today -- but at least the spin groups are more of a social gathering than the solo-group grind), but I digress. Instead, I think it would be a great idea if the Jedi Grind were directed into some real quests for their Jedi XP, instead of the kill-X-amount-of XP's-worth-of-unfortunate-creatures model so beloved by the (lazy?) developers. After all, they did promise us back when they were working on Publish 9 (the launch of the Hidden Village) that our toons' development down the FS/Jedi path would be quest-based, and would get us away from the grind. Did it? NOT!

The core of this idea revolves around awarding Experience Points for completing quests. This simple idea would get players out of the role of environmental rapists, and into their role as characters -- good or evil. This idea could also work for people doing the Force-Sensitive progression, as well as Jedi Knights seeking XP for their advancement up the FRS, when or if it is ever re-released.These quests, while requiring a degree of script writing and creative thought, would afford the devs a mechanism by which they could control more accurately the rate at whichXP flows into the characters' profession charts. They can estimate, "Okay, this quest takes xx amount of time, and offers nnn degree of difficulty, so it should compensate the characters by giving them KKKKK amount of Experience." The idea would be to give players an XP reward for completing these quests that would scale similarly to what they could earn (or at worst, what the devs think they should earn) in a similar amount of time spent grinding.

And in the course of pursuing the quests, the players could encounter dialogue and settings that give them interesting insights on the nature of the Force, and all manner of backstory about the settings to which their quests take them.

The ideal mechanism for launching these quests would be the Jedi Shrines, which could be given a functionality similar to the conventional Mission Terminals. Only, instead of giving out a generic mission, the Force itself could give out level-appropriate quests. Granted, these quests would become repetitive after a lengthy period of time, but perhaps they could be designed in a modular fashion, in which elements like the NPC that the player is sent to is randomly determined, and the content is drawn from a body of templates that match up randomized villains and story lines.

And maybe, this could be a tool by which the devs insert the occasional premium, specifically-written quest.

And by the way, if the devs need a creative writer to help generate a sufficient volume of ideas, well... here am I...

Or, maybe they could have a writing contest among the player base, with the winners seeing their ideas published in-game!

But all the mechanics aside, the core idea is that the player would be awarded XP for completing tasks, not just for killing stuff.

On this one, I would simply say:

• Whatcha think?

Message Edited by Iakimo on 10-22-2005 07:45 AM

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Baciacca wrote:

FRS No eta for this at this time.

• What is the status and ETA for this?


• Will there be a respec with the new FRS?


• Details....

Pearls/Lightsaber: Pearls are currently being worked on and I have no information on them yet.

• Is there any plan to change the way the current tuning system works?


• What is the ETA on getting premium pearls back?


• What is the ETA on a fix for the saber speed bugs?


• Will Dervish and Saber Slash ever get fixed?

Powers/Healer: All classes are constantly monitored for balance. I do not know what is up next but I can check on these.

• Is there any plans to take out the Zipbars from Weilder abilities?


• Will current Action/Mind costs from Healer and Powers be reduced?


• Will Powers be balanced with LS (ex. Item that increases dmg, reduces speed and force cost)?


• Will Healer get balanced with other healer classes?

Discipline There was a document being worked on and I will have to see how far along it is. Priorities shifted to ToW so this document may be incomplete.

• What is the specific role of each discipline?


• What is the specific role of Avoid Incap, Cloak, and Stasis?


• What is the future vision of each Discipline?


• Can the community get an explanation for theVisibility system from top to bottom. (not a bunch of guesses by us players, cold hard facts)

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Tiggs wrote:

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Baciacca wrote:

FRS No eta for this at this time.

• What is the status and ETA for this?
• Will there be a respec with the new FRS?
• Details....

Pearls/Lightsaber: Pearls are currently being worked on and I have no information on them yet.

• Is there any plan to change the way the current tuning system works?
• What is the ETA on getting premium pearls back?
• What is the ETA on a fix for the saber speed bugs?
• Will Dervish and Saber Slash ever get fixed?

Powers/Healer: All classes are constantly monitored for balance. I do not know what is up next but I can check on these.

• Is there any plans to take out the Zipbars from Weilder abilities?
• Will current Action/Mind costs from Healer and Powers be reduced?
• Will Powers be balanced with LS (ex. Item that increases dmg, reduces speed and force cost)?
• Will Healer get balanced with other healer classes?

Discipline There was a document being worked on and I will have to see how far along it is. Priorities shifted to ToW so this document may be incomplete.

• What is the specific role of each discipline?
• What is the specific role of Avoid Incap, Cloak, and Stasis?
• What is the future vision of each Discipline?
• Can the community get an explanation for the Visibility system from top to bottom. (not a bunch of guesses by us players, cold hard facts)

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Answered what I could. I need to be in the office to check on the other questions.

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Message Edited by Fluke_SillyWalker on 10-22-2005 03:43 PM

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=communityrelations&message.id=13749#M13749

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Sithmaser6 wrote:

Tiggs, I think a lot of the issuesin the gameat the moment could be ended with some communication and few fixes. So please address these issues for us all.

1. Lava Crystal - About 90% of the jedi community and 100% of the rp community hate it and never asked for it. I know a lot of work wet into this idea and the whole lava planet but it's out of place. Please Replace with a few of the named crystals the jedi have been asking for forever. I.E. Complete rebel get Kenobi's Legacy, complete imperial get mauls vengeance, complete neutral get quetecence of the force.

I will pass this on to the team.

2. New Snare and Avoid Incap changes have made 2 jedi master ability's useless are there plans to make these ability more useful again, or do you plan to replace them with something new, if it is something new what, please don't keep us hanging.

This was passed on to the team already.

3. Zip bars on powers need to go!!! If there are no plans to remove them now or ever please explain why and how it balances gameplay.

I will pass this on to the team.

4. Jedi have been asking for new robes for the better part of 6 months. Rather then toss us 2 cloaks with sub par stats that arn't worth getting besides for collecting, why not makes us happy and assign the old FRS robes to maser blocks. Give Knight robes to MLS, give master robes to enhancers ect. They don't even need better stats just something to help define our profession instead of the same old padawan robes. If you can't do this why?

I will pass this on to the team.

5. Force rank systeme we need an update last anyone heard you had finished a new idea and it ws submitted for approval from lucasarts. Did you see in beta the exceitment that the old frs brought back.I think most jedi would be happy to have that syteme back even broken, as it was content which is better then noithing at all, while we wait for the new systeme.

This is still being discussed.

Please Respond to our issues Tiggs

Thanks you,

-Mar-Civac

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Tiggs wrote:

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Baciacca wrote:

FRS No eta for this at this time.

• What is the status and ETA for this?


• Will there be a respec with the new FRS?


• Details....

Pearls/Lightsaber: Pearls are currently being worked on and I have no information on them yet.

• Is there any plan to change the way the current tuning system works?


• What is the ETA on getting premium pearls back?


• What is the ETA on a fix for the saber speed bugs?


• Will Dervish and Saber Slash ever get fixed?

Powers/Healer: All classes are constantly monitored for balance. I do not know what is up next but I can check on these.

• Is there any plans to take out the Zipbars from Weilder abilities?


• Will current Action/Mind costs from Healer and Powers be reduced?


• Will Powers be balanced with LS (ex. Item that increases dmg, reduces speed and force cost)?


• Will Healer get balanced with other healer classes?

Discipline There was a document being worked on and I will have to see how far along it is. Priorities shifted to ToW so this document may be incomplete.

• What is the specific role of each discipline?


• What is the specific role of Avoid Incap, Cloak, and Stasis?


• What is the future vision of each Discipline?


• Can the community get an explanation for theVisibility system from top to bottom. (not a bunch of guesses by us players, cold hard facts)

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Answered what I could. I need to be in the office to check on the other questions.

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Maybe they havent told you what an answer is over in SOE land. But you have managed to answer Nothing. No ETA, No infortmation, Dont know and heres a surprise an expansion ment we dont get some answers. If this is the increased information that we were promised is it no wonder SWG is dying.

But heres an idea to cut down on some of the hostility hows about you turn off the vissibility system until you have sorted these problems. Or do you like that you are killing this game with each patch?

Message Edited by Costello on 10-22-2005 08:11 AM

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Tiggs wrote:

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Baciacca wrote:

FRS No eta for this at this time.

• What is the status and ETA for this?
• Will there be a respec with the new FRS?
• Details....

Pearls/Lightsaber: Pearls are currently being worked on and I have no information on them yet.

• Is there any plan to change the way the current tuning system works?
• What is the ETA on getting premium pearls back?
• What is the ETA on a fix for the saber speed bugs?
• Will Dervish and Saber Slash ever get fixed?

Powers/Healer: All classes are constantly monitored for balance. I do not know what is up next but I can check on these.

• Is there any plans to take out the Zipbars from Weilder abilities?
• Will current Action/Mind costs from Healer and Powers be reduced?
• Will Powers be balanced with LS (ex. Item that increases dmg, reduces speed and force cost)?
• Will Healer get balanced with other healer classes?

Discipline There was a document being worked on and I will have to see how far along it is. Priorities shifted to ToW so this document may be incomplete.

• What is the specific role of each discipline?
• What is the specific role of Avoid Incap, Cloak, and Stasis?
• What is the future vision of each Discipline?
• Can the community get an explanation for the Visibility system from top to bottom. (not a bunch of guesses by us players, cold hard facts)

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Answered what I could. I need to be in the office to check on the other questions.

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