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The exact problem is how poorly they do the basics, it has nothing to do with being an MMORPG. Poor testing methodology, rushed publication of buggy code, slow responsiveness to critical issues, poor understanding of customer satisfaction .... these are the hallmarks of any poorly managed software project, it has *nothing* to do with it being a game. Add in substandard support quality due to understaffing and inadequate training, and you don't get any surprise at all with the results.

I have no idea if the other MMORPG's coming out will provide a product of higher quality ... I won't know until I try some of them. It seems like they'd be hard-pressed to do worse, however. My hat has always been off to the artists behind SWG, they made one great-looking and sounding product .... but what their managers did with it ... oi.

If that's true it's only a recognition of the abysmal quality that gamers accept in their code ... but since almost all 60 of the people I started a city with in this game have thrown up their hands and left in frustration, I have to say that I lack empirical evidence supporting the proposition that serious gamers accept of the state of code in this project.

It's all about personal satisfaction, and for those who think the game offers enough value to overcome its flaws ... hey, it's your money.

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Caine_Chapel wrote:

trust me kzin... i've played worse... much worse (AC2 in particular) and well done but very boring (COH). Its all about hitting the right balance between features and at this moment i think (despite its problems) SWG does better than most of them out there.. because if you look at it in perspective... they ALL have thier problems that can be VERY annoying

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KzinKiller wrote:

That's right, it's an opinion ... but when you see a server like Tarquinas that used to be well populated, and now has exactly *one* city with any activity (Coronet) while Theed, which used to be pretty busy, is home to tumbleweeds and chirping crickets, I think that the 'money men' are getting a very clear message. People are voting with their feet.

This game will see a short-lived population bump when JtoL goes live, and then, unless there is a bigger shift in management focus than we've ever seen in SWG, the population with plummet when WoW, EQII and others come out.

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Slarus wrote:

And when the subscribtion rate drops off on those over bugs and content like evry other game, will you post doom and gloom on those boards to.

Do you and CORAX hate MMORPGs?

If you had your way, there would be none. If you can do the basics and have reasonable game play (Which SWG does) the rest is fixable. If you want to run and your character, drops and flops on the ground, well then you have a serious problem, still fixable but very serious

I for one see potential SOE has been doing this for sometime, I think they just need to find their groove in this game. EQ sucked for almost 3 years before they ironed out the serious stuff, SWG is smoother in one year then EQ after 3, LA has zero experience in this market, they WILL do worse not better.

Hate Jedi all you want CORAX gave you options to rid yourself of those horrible Jedi (Shudder), enjoy! I think the best thing for us who play the game instead of whine and spread rumors is communicate, post problems send bug reports, do our part, SOE/LA and we the customers are a team that is how to fix problems, and they wont go away overnight it takes time, be patient give em a chance company demands are steep so there is not alot of time for this problem solving, just be patient.

SWG is and will remain one of the best MMORPGs, but few after the first achieve rock star status after one year.

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At least get the right person straight before you start flaming, geez, there goes your credibility.

Message Edited by C0RAX on 10-15-2004 09:42 PM

If you mean they over-reached, yes, clearly. Pushing out code that you know you lack the resources to properly maintain and develop is just negligent software dev.

Is there any doubt that customers of this product would be happier with 16 professions that worked flawlessly as designed, rather than 32 that all had major problems and that have never inter-related in a balanced way, or even progressed toward improved balance, in over a year? Is there any doubt the fixes would have been quicker and more reliable, and even minimally tested under proper QA procedures, if there was less complex code to deal with?

Hubris was management's biggest sin in this project, by far. Customers were asked to pay a year of subscription fees on code that was mostly neglected by a management team focused on building the next half-built 'expansion' to sell the same customers they'd already sold code that wasn't nearly ready for prime time. 'Groundbreaking' is absolutely irrelevant if it doesn't work, because the only word the customer remembers is 'broken' .....

Yeah as Lucas Arts Prime goal is to retain Star Wars conrtinuity, second only to making money. Where as SOE is money money money money money money money etc...

Message Edited by Liamo on 10-17-2004 01:59 AM

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Balzan wrote:
Yeah as Lucas Arts Prime goal is to retain Star Wars conrtinuity, second only to making money. Where as SOE is money money money money money money money etc...

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You do know that everything that soe adds to this game Lucas arts has to aprove, so if SOE is only after money in your eyes then so are Lucas.

Why do people think that Lucas is a gaming god , yes they have made some good games but they have never had any experance in this type of game.