Jump To Lightspeed Archive
Thread: Good idea. Bad implementation.
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theinfidel
Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:37 am
#1
I probably should have waited to see some reviews of JTL before buying it, but it was still fun to give it a try. Gamespot's review pretty much sums up my suspicions about the game...
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesjumptolightspeed/review-2.html
" the learning curve in Jump to Lightspeed is very gradual; in fact, it's too gradual. You'll literally have to destroy hundreds of enemies at the same skill level as you before you have enough experience points to learn each new skill. While defeating enemies that are significantly better than you theoretically rewards you with experience more rapidly, you'll quickly discover that the tier ratings assigned to enemies refer primarily to the strengths of the crafts that you're facing rather than the skills of the NPC pilots."
"Player-versus-player combat is exactly the same, incidentally, and no matter how skilled you are, it's unlikely that you'll ever defeat a player who has unlocked significantly more skill boxes than you."
"Of course, getting your hands on a craft like the YT-1300 (there are Rebel and Imperial equivalents) is no mean feat. Not only will you need a lot of experience points before you're certified to fly one, but also you'll need the money to pay a shipwright player for the blueprints, in addition to paying more money to pay a non-player ship broker to turn those blueprints into a chassis."
"Ship components can be likened to the weapons and armor that have made millionaires of so many crafters in the preexpansion game. However, only the most skilled, conscientious, and well-equipped shipwrights will be able to craft components considered good enough for serious player-versus-player encounters, and only pilots who have previously made their fortunes on the ground (space combat doesn't pay terribly well) are going to be able to afford to outfit their ships as well as they'd like, in addition to paying for repairs every time they're shot down (not to mention tipping doctors and entertainers who can heal the wounds sustained by your character whenever you "die" in space."
"If you've not played Star Wars Galaxies before and have become interested since the launch of Jump to Lightspeed, the bad news is that space combat is so expensive in terms of in-game credits that it's really not possible to participate in it without first spending a significant amount of time on the ground earning money (alternatively, some players have resorted to purchasing in-game credits in exchange for real-life currency--a practice that violates Sony Online's terms of service). The same can also be said of the shipwright profession, since experienced artisans with other players working for them are already stockpiling all the best raw materials needed for starship construction, as well as establishing starship vendors in player-run malls and even using droids to advertise their services at major starports."
So, given that I spent time away from the game and didn't grind out a fortune, I'm at a huge disadvantage. The structure of JTL has simply reinforced the bad economics already existing in the game. I enjoy the space combat system, and was really looking forward to PvP play, but it sounds like I would need to spend months grinding out not just the piloting skill tree, but grinding out credits in the ground game. There's no real way to PvP until you've reached Master Pilot, as you will just not be able to compete with people at higher skill levels.
Interestingly, I haven't spent much time with JTL once I got it. I keep opting for Star Wars Battlefront. It's easy to find a good game, and I can get some good PvP action without the grinding. I think I'll stick with that and finally let go of Star Wars Galaxies.
truewildman
Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:39 am
#2
Interesting. I'm 4433 pilot right now, and got my copy last Wednesday. I have a full time job, and care for a family.
I wonder who's learning curve they're basing that on? 
As for the prices, there's a good thread going on that subject right now. Many can get the YT-1300 for 200k-500k.I don't think that's very unreasonable.
Message Edited by truewildman on 11-02-2004 09:42 AM
BigRay
Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:44 am
#3
If you want things handed to you, go play battlefront and the like. If you want to work for it ... achieve it ... then play an MMO like SWG. Every MMO is the same. To be the best, to hang with the best, you have to work for it. There is not a single MMO that is not the same way in that regard.
theinfidel
Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:50 am
#4
BigRay wrote:
If you want things handed to you, go play battlefront and the like. If you want to work for it ... achieve it ... then play an MMO like SWG. Every MMO is the same. To be the best, to hang with the best, you have to work for it. There is not a single MMO that is not the same way in that regard.
Fair enough. Different strokes for different folks. I found for myself that the "work" element of SWG just wan;t an enjoyable way to spend my limited gaming time. After spending a few months away, getting back into action multiplayer games, I discovered that it was much more satisfying to me. Testing my skills against other payers is fun; grinding out skills and credits just to have a chance of testing my skills against other players isn't fun for me.
Vechaljian
Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:53 am
#5
when Jtl went live My charactor Had 20k to His name. Took Me 4hours to get, equip and Certify my dunelizard with all lvl 3 components all great quality. don't think that too bad considering the game just came out.
as far as pricing they will go down as the supply goes up.
as far as pricing they will go down as the supply goes up.
NuVeck
Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:07 am
#6
I have always found that while reviews can sometimes be helpful, I have always had to try a game by myself first and rate it myself. An opinion from one person can be totally different from another. I love JTL I was hating the ground game and even quit playing for a while. I LOVE space shooters. I grew up on all the WingCommander games. If I reviewed JTL I would have bored you with tales of "I had 3 ships on my six and it looked like the end". IMHO I beleve that some skills are gained to quick. I pay 15 dollars a month to play and thats a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a new game every month. I expect some things to take time, If I could grind out my professions so quickly the game would bore me.
The best review of the game is the one you write yourself.
Dragonbanisher
Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:15 am
#7
money is easier in the space game than it is in the ground game. No real need for buffs, armor, or the like. Just make sure your ship is in tip top shape. Then do duty missions and sell the loot. At 4k a pop for loot and seeing as how loot drops MUCH more requently than it does in the ground game and people are always buying it. You can make money fairly fast. I made 100k from just selling loot and another 100k from looted credit chips the enemy ships drop.
JCRogue
Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:18 am
#8
Your basing it off of one review ... I could go out and finda bunchof people that say democracy sucks and communism or a dictatorship is better ... yet unless I spoke with a wide variety of people from different areas I wouldn't get the 'real' story ... try researching better ... I'm sure you'll find many other reviews saying how good JTL is ...
Tommas 8-)
Smerk
Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:22 am
#9
Start harvesting steel and you can make money while you're not playing. The high ship prices are primarily due to a steel shortage, so you can attack the prices from both sides.
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