Smuggler Archive

Man I'd so love to test out the Sandbox.

It's been over a year, and they still haven't fixed the NPC's at the Gungan Sacred Place, and I bug reported that place for a straight month. Every day.

I'm pretty diligent to a point, that point being when it doesn't look like stuff will get fixed. But I hang with it and stay the course.

Message Edited by PhoenixOrion on 08-19-2004 12:30 PM

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Geevo wrote:

I will gladly tell them every day that they need to fix:

Panic Shot (so it doesn't stop upon another hit)
Feign Death (so we can't be black-barred)
Low Blow (so it hits more)

Last Ditch...well, LD is pretty nice as it is

I miss /lowblow /panicshot (while they are down so they can't get up) /lastditch until they get up

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Geevo wrote:

I volunteer

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In red you go!

The Infamous Caylin Borealis - First Master Smuggler on Bria
One of the Four Horsemen of the Smuggler Apocalypse!
:The Ghost with the Most:

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Smuggler_Caylin wrote:

Many of you are aware that the developers are asking correspondents to select five members of their community to help test the combat revamp on a special test server.

I do not intend to be taking open applications for this though from the entire community. In short, I am not an equal opportunity person in this matter. I know several of you will feel excluded, and if I could take 30+ of you, I would. I have made a small list of some of our community members that I feel might have what it takes to get this done. If you aren't on the list, it doesn't mean I don't think you aren't capable, but I had to draw the line somewhere. A few have let me know via PM's you were interested in getting in on this, but I'm going to stick with people I know have had a presence here.

There are a couple players I will be wanting in here should they be willing and able. An example would be Dreven, who I have been able to get in contact with. These people will have asterisks beside their names and all they have to do is tell me they want in, to get a spot on my list.

Blue Names mean they have let me know they are interested.

Red Names are considered a 'done deal'.

• Cshauny


• DrevenStrobe*


• Fishbrains


• Geevo*


• JediArashi


• JTGAlpha*


• Nickheel


• PhoenixOrion


• Sapperlight


• Yimaz


• Ipseck


• WesBelden

For those who are on this list, I copied something from N'jessi that I feel is right on target with how this should be taken though it does address tailors instead of smugglers. If you don't think you can make the commitment that this will likely require, it's cool. I don't even know if I can meet up to my own expectations.

If you think you can handle it, please let me know via PM or here on this thread. When you do, I should be making your name appear blue on the list above.

The rest of this... I'll take in a more diplomatic fashion. I have potentially 4 spots open here. I hate making things look like a popularity contest but if you feel I am missing someone who would do an outstanding job, let me know. I can't remember everything that everyone has done and for that I apologise as many of you have made wonderful contributions. Feel free to add support to anyone you feel would do a good job, there is no need to say you don't agree with a name here though. I have reasons for every name on that list It was very hard to narrow this down, I had over 30 people on here as I kept trimming things down...

I'll be seeing what kind of support other names get for the remaining spots and I'll update as I can.

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What the heck is that?
The combat balance sandbox is a closed server where the correspondents and the devs will be testing the changes to the combat balance. It will be a very very closed beta.

At this time I do not have the timeframe, but my best guess is approximately 1-2 months from now.

What does that have to do with me?
Well, TH wrote: "we are also going to add the correspondents Top 5 picks from each profession to also come on to the sandbox server and take part in the testing." Link.

So I get to pick 5 of you to help us test the combat balance changes.

What can I expect?
First, let me dispel any myths. This is not a perk, this is a job. You have to take direction, and spend a lot of time doing boring "grunt work". It's not glamorous. You have to be dedicated and committed. Expect to spend a lot of time repetitively testing certain weapon combinations, in either PvP or PvE, and to spend even more time giving feedback and discussing the changes. Expect it to take up the majority of your allotted gaming time, require time every night, and to take priority over logging in to your regular server. Not a problem ... I am bored anyway. Do we get anything for it (like free pass to Jedi?)

I am trying to get more specific details about what exactly is expected from testers.

Am I a good candidate?
At this point, I don't have the exact criteria that the devs want, but we should get the ball rolling on who is interested so in case I'm called upon to make a quick decision, I have a list of people who are interested, and who would do a good job.

So before you apply, ask yourself the following:

Do I have the time to test this?
This may be harsh, but because this is a small selected group, we need testers who will dependably logon every day. If you can't do that, you need to leave the spot open for someone who can. The sandbox will take priority over your normal gaming, including restocking. Normally I say, work around real-life priorities. Now, I say that you need the ability to clear your schedule. If your job is 60 hours a week, if you can only sneak online for 2 hours a night in any case, if workload has a tendency to bloom at inconvenient times, this job is not for you. Hmm, Full Time Work, Full Time School ... no (well minimal) social life ... hasn't stopped me yet since I play every day except Tuesdays.

Do I have the patience to give feedback?
As a correspondent, I can say that you will probably spend twice as long giving feedback and writing up your findings as you are actually online testing. It's not glamorous, expect to feel like a glorified secretary. I think so

Do I have the ability to take directions?
This is not a game where you run off and do whatever you want. You're not going to be able to focus on going cool places, getting loot, or making money. The devs want you to test aspect X, you test aspect X. If it's boring, too bad. If you have to do it 50 times, that's life. Yes, but I will complain if I don't like them ... and I hope they are clear directions.

Do I have experience testing?
If you already play on TestCenter or have previously been involved in beta testing, then you know what to expect, and what is expected of you. It's not required, but it is helpful. None ... unless you count the last year of SWG testing (no,not Test Center)

Do I have combat experience?
Sorry folks, this is the combat balance, not the crafting balance. It's true that combat-related crafting will be tested and tweaked (such as armor and weapons), but tailoring will probably not be receiving tweaks. So, primarily we're not going to be crafting (well, probably not), we're going to be whacking each other with sticks. If you have no experience with combat or healing, you will be less useful to the devs. (Now why they want 5 picks from me, the tailor correspondent, is beyond me - but there ya have it.) Does Feign Death Count?

Message Edited by Smuggler_Caylin on 08-19-2004 12:16 AM

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