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What would it take...?
bluchew
Member UncommonPosts: 53
What would it take or what changes would have to happen with SWG to get you playing again?
Comments
Unless you start with the VERY PUBLIC resignation/firing of John Smedley and his entire management team, it doesn't matter what they do. Those guys F-ed up the Pre-CU once, they'd do so again.
All of those options would be nice.
It would only take one to get me back.
PRE CU
They already did publicly appologise for the nge... i dont need to see a guy lose his job... i think thats rather personal considering it is a game.. they changed the game into something i didn't like so i stopped paying them.. pretty simple... however to answer your poll a pre cu or even pre nge server would bring me back for sure
I really don't think anything would. Got over being angry about what they did a long time ago but that's just it. To much time has gone by.
It is too late for apologies,whats done is done. I would however like a Pre-Cu Server or a Pre-Cu or CU ui added to the current version of the game if they did this I would say the game could live instead of die like it is in its current form. I would even start from scratch again and dump wow for a Pre-Cu server with future updates and development including expansion pack. Go back to Pre-Cu then do not ever mess with ui or even try to balance it just start making the items in game worth getting like changing the stats of the faction armor to make it worth getting.
Someone DOES need to lose their job, and here's why: SOE needs a complete management culture change. That's not going to happen so long as management stays the same.
Even if they gave us pre CU back they couldn't do anything good with it. First off they don't believe in it. So they'd start off bitching and moaning about it and wanting to start the cycle of CUNGE all over again.
Honestly, as I've said before, the best thing for those of us who want to see SWG close and SOE fail is for them to keep doing what they are doing with the management they have.
What would it take ..for people to stop going on about this,Years from now you will be on your death bed with your children and grandchildren around you and your last words will be,SOE why did you ...do...it...ahh.
If someone had came up to me in 1980 when I was on my Atari 2600 and said we will be playing games with thousands of people at the same time.I guess my response would have been,"but I only have 2 joysticks"
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/235780/page/8
i dont have a link but ill look for it.. i read the appology a number of months ago.. in fact i believe it was a headline on this siteThere was no apology to the vets. It was just Smed sayin he was sorry about the way the NGE was implemented.
I can understand your concern for someone keeping his/her job, but it just wasn't a game decision - it was a huge business blunder and all teh Smedz is sorry for is that it didn't work out as hoped (tapping the WoW playerbase). It cost $OE an untold amount in ToOW refunds and millions in subscriptions that never will return. Any other person would have rightfully been canned for a mistake of this magnitude.
The fact that now, even years later, the majority of the fan base is so passionate about the pre-nge versions of SWG is a testiment to just how great a game SWG was, bugs and all.
It had a crafting system yet to be matched by any other mainstream MMO; when a crafter took the time and effort to make a top notch item...it was obviously better then what someone who did not put the time in could produce.
It had a great profession method...the "professions" you could be were virtually endless, you mixed and matched however you wanted.
It catered more to the "non combat" type people more then any other MMO I have experienced. I personally know, in the real world, almost ten people who played SWG for years and truly enjoyed being a tailor, image designer, dancer, etc. The community that *was* found there was one of the most social I have ever seen, and the mechanics at the time allowed people to do these things, and feel as if their time spent meant something.
The list goes on, and in short everyone who misses it, wants it back, and speculates what it would take to get people back are simply stating one thing: SOE let corporate decisions molded by the marketing success of Blizzard destroy one of the few truly unique games to have existed in the MMO market, and while they would like to see it go back to the old ways, they hope that other companies learn the most valuable of lessons: Customers know what they want, and theyll tell you what they dont; listen to them.
There was no apology to the vets. It was just Smed sayin he was sorry about the way the NGE was implemented.
Exactly!
An apology would be directed to the customers (i.e. on the SWG forums), and not to some reporter.
What we saw was spin, and not an apology.
Would it be better if he actually mentioned your character name in his appology?
Look im anti SOE and have a serious anger from the way SWG turned out but he appologised for the nge.... TBH i read it and thought too little too late... so he didnt mention the vets specifically but i think a reasonable person would deduct he was appologising to anyone the NGE impacted...heres the article for those that care.. This is the part of the interview that we are discussing i also linked the article if you choose to read it... but ill warn you its alot of boring with the exception of what i quoted here LOL
FROM SMEDLY INTERVIEW
((((That other lesson is the infamous "New Game Experience" the team put into Star Wars Galaxies in 2005. On that, he was completely frank.
"With the NGE, I'm sorry about the mistake we made," he told us. "We screwed up and didn't listen to the fans when we should have, and it's not a mistake we're going to make again."
The NGE completely altered Star Wars Galaxies, a game that had launched in cooperation with LucasArts over two years before. Classes disappeared and the game fundamentally changed in almost every way. It came as no surprise to observers that this change was massively unpopular among the playerbase)))
________________________________________________________________________________--
http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/interviews/2301-John-Smedley-Exclusive-Interview-with-the-SOE-CEO
Should have been followed by, "We should have given you classic servers over a year ago, we hope that you forgive us for better late than never" And by, "I resign".
im not about to attack you on this... but im sorry i dont agree with you.. i dont think his family needs to suffer because he made a bad decision. im not willing to transfer in game anger and focus it on someone real life well being and that of his family. Again ill say i totally disagree with SOE AND its changes to SWG as much as the next guy.
Let me get this straight, you dont think a guy responsible for losing at least a hundred thousand customers and Millions of dollars should be fired?
There is an issue with the concept of SOE offering a preCU form of the game.... they have waited too long to do it.
If SOE would've rolled out preCU servers long ago with a formal apology, then they would've saved some face. Seriously.
The fact that they have ignored the majority and decided to take their game in a wild direction, it just didn't pan out. The fact that they have continued to ignore their players... that's the major issue here. Every day that goes by that SOE doesn't release a statement of formal apology AND announce preCU servers... it's bad for them. It just makes it worse.
...
SWG could've lived for a long time, due to the nature of the game and the sand-box style. SOE just got very jealous and greedy. They risked a lot and lost what corner of the MMORPG market they had.
First, regarding the apology: There was an initial apology made by Brenlo on the SOE boards. That's where he said SOE, not LA, was responsible for designing and implementing the NGE. He took ownership of it, but then went on to apologize only for "communication" and "timing." I and many others may have appreciated him taking ownership of the NGE, but I also thought SOE needed to apologize for a heck of a lot more than poor communication and timing.
What I liked better about this round of apologies was that Smed admitted the NGE was a mistake. That was missing from Brenlo's post, a very glaring omission in my view. I also liked Smed's apology for not listening to his players. What didn't they listen to? Here's the short list:
-NGE is completely bug ridden on test, DO NOT RELEASE.
-NGE destroys years of progress and replaces the current game with another one, that's broken, see number 1.
-NGE renders features we just purchased in the new expansion useless and/or non-functional, it would be ethically wrong to release it and possibly illegal.
-You've destroyed the product/service we've subscribed to, please give us back the product that we paid for, and the one that was more functional; please restore via rollback or classic servers.
Like I said that's the short list. All these things were communicated by thousands of players immediately before and immediately after the NGE, and SOE did not listen to a single one of them, not one.
So, for Smedley to apologize for the NGE "mistake" and for "not listening" to the players, really struck a chord for me. It was a bloody long time coming for that apology (2 years?) but Smedley covered a lot more ground than Brenlo.
Still on apologies, LucasArts has remained silent on the whole NGE situation. Their last press statement described SWG as a "success" and said that time had been good to the game. The NGE issue was completely side-stepped. As I understand it, even though SOE designed and implemented the NGE, LA had to approve it, and may have encouraged it. To be honest, their current approach to the issue definitely stands in the way of me investing anything into this product/service again. If LucasArts has any part in decision making regarding this game, and they are still in denial over the NGE and its impact, I frankly don't trust them not to do something insane again. Also, as long as one of the parent companies attempts to deny the NGE" mistake" people are going to continue to try to break through that denial by posting about their bad experiences and people are going to continue to see SWG as a bad investment. MMO's are all about building and progress. If that can be wiped out overnight, many people just aren't going to come out to play. LA's silence and denial just fuel ongoing posts about the NGE, and ongoing concerns about investing in the game.
If I play a StarWars MMO again (or any other MMO for that matter) I need to know it's being run by people that aren't going to pull the rug out from under me unexpectedly or knowlingly mislead me. That's still missing for me re. SWG, unfortunately--largely now because of LA's approach to the situation. It also needs to be fun and functional and have good customer support. I've seen some progress in those areas, but what I see/hear about in SWG still falls short of the standards I experience in other games.
A final thought on the whole trust issue: Smedley said he won't do it again regarding the NGE, I'm still waiting to see if he can keep his word. We thought the Combat Upgrade was the first and last huge shake up we would experience. After the CU and a long list of saying one thing and doing another, the NGE was the deathblow to what was left of player trust. It's going to take a heck of a lot of consistent integrity and excellence to bring that trust back from the dead. The things that are inhibiting a revival, I've already listed above.
I think that a customer demanding someone lose theyre job is a bit... well... a bit much .. especially when its a gameing company - not a seat belt manufacturer. or aircraft manufacturer.
SONY letting someone go for poor performance or any number of internal issues.. and a subscriber for a game demanding the man be fired for screwing up theyre game.. theres a big difference there.. what it comes down to is anger and i feel it with you. But i'm not about demand a guy be fired for what is in the end a game. You dont strike me as an idiot and i think you can see my point.. your just angry and believe me i went through what your going through but in the end i moved on. IF they change the game to what i am interested in playing again then great.. they get some of my money.. and if they dont.. they will have to make due with one less subscriber
This fits into the lack of confidence I have in the management of the game. It seems that at critical decision points, the management team has made exactly the wrong decisions, despite people screaming from all sides at them to hit the brakes. Critical decisions include:
-releasing the combat upgrade instead of all the fixes and balances they had been working on to the the original system via the CURB,
-releasing the NGE period,
-releasing the NGE right after they released an expansion that could have had a positive impact on subs over the holiday season and had a movie tie-in--this destroyed the possible benefits of the expansion and its excellent timing,
-destroying the positive impact of the long awaited revamp to professions via the NGE--again horrible action, disastrous timing,
-when there was a huge public outcry for classic SWG, they missed the bus and kept running with the new formula (yes this is a classic coke analogy, that stuff tasted like bile and so does the NGE to those that developed a taste for the classic product.)
After this track record of disastrous decisions and missed windows of opportunity, I'd have to check my brain at the door to feel good about investing any time or energy into this entertainment service. If I keep my brain with me, I can't resonably expect to be entertained. I expect to be disappointed and frustrated, again. I can get that for free anywhere I like, I don't need to pay for it in my spare time.
TY LordSic for that Link
I don't care what SOE does. They ruined years peoples time destroying many things people worked for. No way would I put time into any game knowing the past. With no warning the game was totally changed into a mess.
The changes in NGE were so pathetic I really can't believe a team of 70 professionals released that garbage.
Why would you bother grinding up a toon that can be wiped out with no regard? SOE screwed their player base BIG TIME in hopes to cheese in some WOW stragglers.
Screw you SOE.
Just imagine instead of this retarded direction of constantly reinventing the combat system like CU and NGE they just polished added content and debugged the original game. This would have been much better way to use devs time. Unbelievable bad choices were made. Epic blunder. I can't believe people who made these choices were paid to do so.
Please ad a vote for not coming back no matter what they do. That's my stance.
SHOHADAKU
I can understand that things are business related and not personal. So, no need for an apology for me, but financial compensation is along acceptable business lines. Nothing personal, just business.
I actually wouldn't mind the NGE style of game play, but that level based system would need to be replaced by the skill system. (I do like the Pre-CU, but it would need to be fixed (ie: blasters do more damage than bare hands)).
And that is why...
Conservatives' pessimism is conducive to their happiness in three ways. First, they are rarely surprised -- they are right more often than not about the course of events. Second, when they are wrong they are happy to be so. Third, because pessimistic conservatives put not their faith in princes -- government -- they accept that happiness is a function of fending for oneself. They believe that happiness is an activity -- it is inseparable from the pursuit of happiness.
I think it's too late in my case, I've slowly kind of moved on. I don't like SOE and I doubt I will ever pay for any of their games, ever. so even if they did all of the above, I probably would just not try it. I'm anxiously waiting to hear something from Bioware though. Any announcements yet?