Jedi Archive
Thread: Recent Gamespy article filled with more lies
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Lorelai_Seabreeze
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:08 am
#1
A new world order looms as players will soon reap the benefits of a bold, new vision for Galaxies... whether they want to or not.
By Miguel Lopez | Nov. 8, 2005
Star Wars Galaxies has been sort of a problematic game since launch. On the one hand, it benefited from what's arguably the richest sci-fi mythos in existence -- one with countless fans the world over. On the other hand, its fundamental design was predicated on the sort of laborious game mechanics that defined the MMO universe prior to "modern" MMOs like City of Heroes, EverQuest II, and World of Warcraft. Perhaps this was OK when the game first launched in 2003, but now, with the market expanding and players' attention spans getting shorter and shorter, SOE and LucasArts have evidently decided this kind of thing clearly isn't cutting it.
Come November 15th, Star Wars Galaxies is going to be a radically changed place. Forget grueling profession paths that take months upon months to make progress in, often involving "grinding" through mundane, non-heroic tasks. Likewise, forget battles with Krayt Dragons that take 50 minutes to resolve. And definitely forget dedicating a good half year to becoming a Jedi.
That's because you'll be able to assume the role of a Jedi the minute you install the game, not to mention eight other high-glamour Star Wars professions: Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Officer (think Princess Leia), Medic, Spy, Commando, Trader (a la Lando), and Entertainer (Reebo?). "Our analysis both of the existing game and of the possible 'iconic professions' in the Star Wars universe led us to the conclusion that the nine professions we came up with really resonated best with the Star Wars fiction," said Dallas Dickinson, Galaxies' producer at SOE.
Nearly all existing professions in the game can be readily folded over into one of the new archetypes -- Commandos can use both melee and ranged weapons, for instance, and in upcoming patches, there will be mechanics worked in to allow them to specialize in certain areas. So both former pikemen and sharpshooters will apparently be accommodated.
But what about the poor creature handlers? Well, they might have to consider themselves among the most shafted of player segments in MMO history. "Unfortunately, Creature Handler was not one [the nine iconic professions] (and was played by less than 1% of the SWG community). That said, we are looking at how to reintroduce the use of pets in the game for a future publish (potentially as a selected skill available to multiple professions)," Dickinson assured us. All hope is not lost, denizens of the Rancor pit.
The Jedi question is a trickier one, both in terms of power balance and canonical continuity. For the latter case, the people at SOE realize that there's no way to reconcile the doubtless throngs of Jedi that will eventually populate the universe. They're playing up the fantasy here -- it's fun to be a Jedi, not trying to retell the original trilogy.
Don't expect to wield godlike power the minute you roll your fledgling Jedi, however. "In [the Star Wars fantasy], a kid on a backwater planet can become a hero, and can get a hold of a lightsaber before he is anywhere near being a Jedi Master," Dickinson told us. "That's what we are doing with the Jedi profession -- allowing people to access the fun of Star Wars quickly, and then feel themselves progress and get stronger through fun gameplay, rather than XP grinding."
From what we saw in brief demo of the new starting area in the game, this philosophy carries over to the whole experience. Foremost is combat. It's faster, in that the blaster bolts fly with more frequency, and battles are resolved more quickly. In short, it's not like combat in most MMOs you've played. You have to click the mouse button to shoot with your gun, and a very "sticky" reticle aids you when it comes to selecting targets. You still get special abilities, but don't expect to be hitting hotkeys too often. Instead, you'll "load" abilities from your hotbar to your right mouse button, and use them that way. Once you're done with one particular attack, you simply load another one in. If you've played the Diablo games, you'll be in familiar territory.
You're much less of a nobody as well. Within 10 seconds of starting the game, you'll encounter none other than C3PO. He'll dole out your first mission (which involves retrieving a blaster from a locker), and instruct you in shooting it. Immediately afterwards, Han Solo, R2D2, and Chewbacca bust through a blast door, and break you out of prison. And inside of five minutes, you'll have lasered-up a group of Stormtroopers, stormed into the lower deck of the Millennium Falcon, and taken out some pursuing TIE fighters with its blaster cannon. Once you get the starting area proper -- Tensari Point Space Station -- you'll get to grind your teeth on the entry levels of the profession of your choice, with the host of trainers housed therein. If you choose to be a bounty hunter, incidentally, then you may not be surprised at this point to learn that your trainer will be none other than Boba Fett.
Clearly, SOE and LucasArts are laying the Star Wars-ness pretty thick. Ultimately, the overall experience will be less like going to Tashi Station and picking up some power converters, and more participating in an action-packed space opera, alongside names and faces you know and love.
This would unequivocally be a good thing, if it weren't for the fact that there is already a player base currently neck-deep in Galaxies, of which at least a solid portion is already used to -- and likely quite attached to the game as it currently exists. Right now form, Star Wars Galaxies is a very hardcore game, the sort where players tend to be proud of their accomplishments.
"The community has responded even more positively than I hoped," Dickinson stated. "We have been very confident that the enhancements (to the combat system especially) were both more fun and the right thing to do for the game. Those who have gotten into the game and tried it out are, for the most part, really happy and excited about what this means for the future of SWG."
But what about those who aren't? It appears they'll likely be casualties of this revolution. "This is relatively unproven ground that we're treading on," said Dickinson, "but it all comes down to [doing good by the Star Wars fantasy]. We are making the game better, and we are delivering on the promise of what a Star Wars online experience should be. The game systems that are affected were the ones that kept us, as developers, from hitting those goals." For what it's worth, the new Galaxies seems like a game that I would personally enjoy a whole lot more than what was there before. But then again, I'm not part of a two-and-a-half year old guild. The new Star Wars Galaxies is set to go live on November 15th. It's currently available on the TestCenter, though, so by all means, give it a whirl.
By Miguel Lopez | Nov. 8, 2005
Star Wars Galaxies has been sort of a problematic game since launch. On the one hand, it benefited from what's arguably the richest sci-fi mythos in existence -- one with countless fans the world over. On the other hand, its fundamental design was predicated on the sort of laborious game mechanics that defined the MMO universe prior to "modern" MMOs like City of Heroes, EverQuest II, and World of Warcraft. Perhaps this was OK when the game first launched in 2003, but now, with the market expanding and players' attention spans getting shorter and shorter, SOE and LucasArts have evidently decided this kind of thing clearly isn't cutting it.
Come November 15th, Star Wars Galaxies is going to be a radically changed place. Forget grueling profession paths that take months upon months to make progress in, often involving "grinding" through mundane, non-heroic tasks. Likewise, forget battles with Krayt Dragons that take 50 minutes to resolve. And definitely forget dedicating a good half year to becoming a Jedi.
That's because you'll be able to assume the role of a Jedi the minute you install the game, not to mention eight other high-glamour Star Wars professions: Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, Officer (think Princess Leia), Medic, Spy, Commando, Trader (a la Lando), and Entertainer (Reebo?). "Our analysis both of the existing game and of the possible 'iconic professions' in the Star Wars universe led us to the conclusion that the nine professions we came up with really resonated best with the Star Wars fiction," said Dallas Dickinson, Galaxies' producer at SOE.
Nearly all existing professions in the game can be readily folded over into one of the new archetypes -- Commandos can use both melee and ranged weapons, for instance, and in upcoming patches, there will be mechanics worked in to allow them to specialize in certain areas. So both former pikemen and sharpshooters will apparently be accommodated.
But what about the poor creature handlers? Well, they might have to consider themselves among the most shafted of player segments in MMO history. "Unfortunately, Creature Handler was not one [the nine iconic professions] (and was played by less than 1% of the SWG community). That said, we are looking at how to reintroduce the use of pets in the game for a future publish (potentially as a selected skill available to multiple professions)," Dickinson assured us. All hope is not lost, denizens of the Rancor pit.
The Jedi question is a trickier one, both in terms of power balance and canonical continuity. For the latter case, the people at SOE realize that there's no way to reconcile the doubtless throngs of Jedi that will eventually populate the universe. They're playing up the fantasy here -- it's fun to be a Jedi, not trying to retell the original trilogy.
Don't expect to wield godlike power the minute you roll your fledgling Jedi, however. "In [the Star Wars fantasy], a kid on a backwater planet can become a hero, and can get a hold of a lightsaber before he is anywhere near being a Jedi Master," Dickinson told us. "That's what we are doing with the Jedi profession -- allowing people to access the fun of Star Wars quickly, and then feel themselves progress and get stronger through fun gameplay, rather than XP grinding."
From what we saw in brief demo of the new starting area in the game, this philosophy carries over to the whole experience. Foremost is combat. It's faster, in that the blaster bolts fly with more frequency, and battles are resolved more quickly. In short, it's not like combat in most MMOs you've played. You have to click the mouse button to shoot with your gun, and a very "sticky" reticle aids you when it comes to selecting targets. You still get special abilities, but don't expect to be hitting hotkeys too often. Instead, you'll "load" abilities from your hotbar to your right mouse button, and use them that way. Once you're done with one particular attack, you simply load another one in. If you've played the Diablo games, you'll be in familiar territory.
You're much less of a nobody as well. Within 10 seconds of starting the game, you'll encounter none other than C3PO. He'll dole out your first mission (which involves retrieving a blaster from a locker), and instruct you in shooting it. Immediately afterwards, Han Solo, R2D2, and Chewbacca bust through a blast door, and break you out of prison. And inside of five minutes, you'll have lasered-up a group of Stormtroopers, stormed into the lower deck of the Millennium Falcon, and taken out some pursuing TIE fighters with its blaster cannon. Once you get the starting area proper -- Tensari Point Space Station -- you'll get to grind your teeth on the entry levels of the profession of your choice, with the host of trainers housed therein. If you choose to be a bounty hunter, incidentally, then you may not be surprised at this point to learn that your trainer will be none other than Boba Fett.
Clearly, SOE and LucasArts are laying the Star Wars-ness pretty thick. Ultimately, the overall experience will be less like going to Tashi Station and picking up some power converters, and more participating in an action-packed space opera, alongside names and faces you know and love.
This would unequivocally be a good thing, if it weren't for the fact that there is already a player base currently neck-deep in Galaxies, of which at least a solid portion is already used to -- and likely quite attached to the game as it currently exists. Right now form, Star Wars Galaxies is a very hardcore game, the sort where players tend to be proud of their accomplishments.
"The community has responded even more positively than I hoped," Dickinson stated. "We have been very confident that the enhancements (to the combat system especially) were both more fun and the right thing to do for the game. Those who have gotten into the game and tried it out are, for the most part, really happy and excited about what this means for the future of SWG."
But what about those who aren't? It appears they'll likely be casualties of this revolution. "This is relatively unproven ground that we're treading on," said Dickinson, "but it all comes down to [doing good by the Star Wars fantasy]. We are making the game better, and we are delivering on the promise of what a Star Wars online experience should be. The game systems that are affected were the ones that kept us, as developers, from hitting those goals." For what it's worth, the new Galaxies seems like a game that I would personally enjoy a whole lot more than what was there before. But then again, I'm not part of a two-and-a-half year old guild. The new Star Wars Galaxies is set to go live on November 15th. It's currently available on the TestCenter, though, so by all means, give it a whirl.
jonstraf
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:10 am
#3
slippinghalo wrote:
WHAT ARE YOU
ALLY TO GOOD! NIGHTMARE TO YOU!
MsNiL
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:13 am
#4
GameSpy 06 / 26 / 2003
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (PC)
"FAIR"
* * * * *
Pros: Star Wars feel; solid graphics; good faction system; non-combat classes; enjoyable combat system.
Cons: Bugs, bugs, and more bugs; poor customer service; premium price; bad controls; lack of content; imbalanced classes; creatures and quests.
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (PC)
"FAIR"
* * * * *
Pros: Star Wars feel; solid graphics; good faction system; non-combat classes; enjoyable combat system.
Cons: Bugs, bugs, and more bugs; poor customer service; premium price; bad controls; lack of content; imbalanced classes; creatures and quests.
gr8whitehope
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:17 am
#7
The community has responded even more positively than I hoped," Dickinson stated. "We have been very confident that the enhancements (to the combat system especially) were both more fun and the right thing to do for the game. Those who have gotten into the game and tried it out are, for the most part, really happy and excited about what this means for the future of SWG.
Funniest thing ive read in a long time! I want whatever this guy was smoking lol
WookieOgre
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:21 am
#8
gr8whitehope wrote:
The community has responded even more positively than I hoped," Dickinson stated. "We have been very confident that the enhancements (to the combat system especially) were both more fun and the right thing to do for the game. Those who have gotten into the game and tried it out are, for the most part, really happy and excited about what this means for the future of SWG.
Funniest thing ive read in a long time! I want whatever this guy was smoking lol
I believe he was refering to the 30 or so people that were secretly testing the game for them. Those players who told them the changes I'm seeing are exciting and needed to happen are tools.
Lorelai_Seabreeze
Thu Nov 10, 2005 8:23 am
#9
The article is dated for the 8th, when did TC open? and how many were allowed in?
How many Correspondants actually went south to test it?
How many Correspondants actually went south to test it?
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