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SOE has ruined their name with this one
Makane
Member Posts: 232
For several years, I followed SWG's development. Having played several MMORPGs and being a loyal SW fan, I was really looking forward to this game. During beta I had a blast. The game was huge, I thought, and I could never do everything and see everything that was in this game. Sure, the game had bugs and balancing issues, but what game doesn't during beta.
Then, the game was released (far too early in my opinion). Beta testers complained and pleaded with SOE against releasing. SOE didn't listen to the player base. At release, there were major problems with the game. Exploits, server issues, bugs were all there. Hell, I couldn't even log on for several days after release. But at this point I was still forgiving. I was still having tons of fun playing my Bounty Hunter and Droid Engineer, even though I noticed major problems with them. There seemed to be so much to do in game that it didn't bother me. "They'll fix it" I said to myself.
And they did fix some things, but mostly the nerfs and exploit fixes only caused more problems. A bug fix would cause several other bugs. The bugs that were caused by bug fixes were never addressed and it seemed the SOE staff completely ignored the forums. At this point, a month or so into release, everyone was still having a great time. Players figured that the problems would get fixed in time and that SOE was working on them.
As the months wore on, players began to see a pattern. The almost daily hotfixes were fixing 1 or 2 exploits or game imbalances or introducing stealth nerfs and nothing else. The update list never contained the correct information. Monthly updates contained many fixes, which almost never solved any problems. The monthly updates also contained new content, if you can call doing a couple of missions lasting several hours "new content". I also began noticing that, even though I had been having fun playing the game, I was beginning to run out of things to do. Around the time of the big October patch, which was a disaster of epic proportions, the game began to lose its luster. Graphics running at 15fps on a high end machine, my master droid engineer was useless (no one used droids because, in the game, droids didn't do anything...just eye candy), my bounty hunter char was so hard to level that it became mind-numbingly boring to play him, the theme parks were all the same (run here, kill this, deliver this) and offered horrible loot (Jabba the Hut gave me a fishing pole along with other useless items), managing harvesters is a full time JOB, ... I could go on and on.
On top of all this, the devs completely ignored the players. Sure, they may say things like "We're working on it" or "You're at the top of our list" but they never do anything about..well..anything. Six months into release and Droid Engineers are still broken, and I read on the forums that the devs wouldn't be able to fix them until early next year.
I was planning on giving Everquest 2 a shot, but there is no way in hell I would do that now. SOE has ruined their name (did they have one in the first place?). Sorry for the long post, but potential players need to know the truth before spending their hard-earned cash on crap like this. I feel sorry for you people that payed 6 months or a year in advance.
Oh well, I'm going to wrap this up. Thanks for reading
Makane (Makane Ares (Former Bounty Hunter)) (Aganazzar Merril (Former Droid Engineer))
Comments
I must that I totally agree with you, makale. I've been playing SWG for a couple of months now and I already mastered Droid Engineer and it's just crap!! I really thought like: SOE, this it, I'm gonna freaking quit this cuz I cant take this unbalanced shit any longer. So now I'm just waiting for world of warcraft and getting even more bored with call of duty. <sigh>
Don't pray for a miracle, be it yourself
Don't pray for a miracle, be one yourself
Yep, World of Warcraft will rule! I wish they would start beta already. I haven't played Call of Duty, mainly because Medal of Honor gave me my WW2 fix for several years.
In SWG, something like half the professions complain about being unplayable. I can't believe they (SOE) let it come to this.
/bigsigh
Don't pray for a miracle, be it yourself
Don't pray for a miracle, be one yourself
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"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
Rich Cook.
"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause accidents."
Nathaniel Borenstein .
This debacle will definitely end SOE's run as the market leader in MMORPGs. SWG is an an abortion. The horrible attitude of SOE staff toward their customers will be studied in MBA programs for years to come. I've never seen a business entity that has so much contempt for their clients.
I've stopped using my account, but I still go look at the message boards occasionally rubbernecking at the train wreck as it happens. It's like watching Raph Cramden design a video game. Screw-up. Screw-up. Screw-up. Threat to knock a player to the moon. Page of locked threads. More screw-ups. It makes for a classic Honeymooners episode. I just never thought I'd see someone remake the Honeymooners as a reality series this way.
"...you just #@*&;$% with the wrong rhino, pal!" - Smoochy
Yea they customer support sucks ass, seriously, my freind couldnt use his lots because everytime he placed something It'd disappear. Thus he never got much money at all. RETARDED, and all the people had to say was "talk to an in game gm" OMG THERE ARE NEVER ANY AT ALL!
SOE released it because they were tired of losing money on beta ect, so they decided to make everyone pay to play beta. AND AFTER THEY MADE MILLIONS they really dont care. Ever wonder why it costs 15 bucks a month? lets see.... if their 200k players payed for atleast 1 month... that'd be..... 3 million? 2 months? 6 million? God, greedy money grubb'n bastards.....
~Best thing since sliced bread
~Best thing since sliced bread
SWG-Ahazi- Kovoa DE/DOC
AC-Morningtha- Fou-Lu lvl 79 UA/LIFE
SOE didnt start screwing things up with SWG. It began as soon as they took over EQ.
They changed things that didnt need to be changed, they added things that took away from the gameplay. The stealth nerfs you talk about started off in EQ. They would post something like minor server fixes in the patch message and in reality they were nerfing some quest / class / mob.
I have lost all respect for SOE. I will absolutly refuse to play any of their games, now or in the future.
I have alot of respect for Funcom (Anarchy Online) and Blizzard (WoW) and hope that they eventualy take their place as top MMORPG companies and kick SOE off of its high horse.
Stop complaining about what's being done and make a difference and create something. If you're not going to make a difference then dont whine about it.
- MMORPG.COM STAFF -
KillerTwinkie - That one guy who used to mod mmorpg.com's forums.
I don't know what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
~Albert Einstein
killerTwinkie said, "To tell all of you in ernest, SOE does not pull the strings behind SWG. Well, at least most of them. Lucas Arts runs about 75+% of what happens to that game."
Not True. Raph Koster personally demanded that creature handlers be made character classes. Koster made SWG the pokemon mess it has become. Koster wanted the dependence on player-created content, then provided almost no tools for players to do so. The GCW is barely in existence and what little is there either doesn't work or got nerfed by the new death decay.
"Don't blame all of this on SOE, they're a good company."
SOE games consistantly have the rudest and worst customer service teams in the industry. They got away with that with EQ because EQ was the only game in town at that level of graphics tech for years. SOE believes they can provide pretty graphics and nothing else whatsoever. Now that there is competition, players are simply not going to stand to be treated rudely by people they pay a lot of money to. People understand bugs and errors. However, MMORPG players are fed up with being treated like dirt by the staff of these games.
"Stop complaining about what's being done and make a difference and create something. If you're not going to make a difference then dont whine about it."
The SWG players HAVE BEEN TRYING to help since the beginning of beta. SWG Devs don't want feedback from SWG players. They claim they know what we want better than we do and make it clear they have little interest or use for our feedback. We tried. Twinkie, the only people that can be helped are those willing to accept help. SOE SWG staff have made it clear they have no respect for the advice players have to offer. Don't you dare complain about us players because SWG management refused our endless attempts at trying to get them to fix what was broken.
You are SO far off from knowing the real story inside SWG (Lucasarts control... not.) that I don't worry too much about your opinion. Your opinion is clearly not very well informed.
"...you just #@*&;$% with the wrong rhino, pal!" - Smoochy
"A good man knows his limits, a Great man knows he has none...."
"A good man knows his limits, a Great man knows he has none...."
/agree
There were some very smart and creative people PLAYING Star Wars Galaxies. I remember reading on the forms, looking at some suggestions to make the game better. I was completely blown away by some of the great ideas floating around the forums. As for the devs, they never acknowledged the good ideas, or when they did they just said that they'd pass it on. Yeah right...
Raph Koster and his dev team ruined this game.
SIG "This is now now. Everything that is happening now is happening now. What happened to then? We passed then. When? Just now. When will then be now? Sooon."
While I dont agree completely or disagree completely with any of the posts about SoE's practices or how SWG has been run, I must laugh at people who say everyone is fed up with SoE and will not tolerate them anymore now that EQ isnt the only game out there.
There have been new mmorpgs out for years and more coming and EQ still continues to grow and have some of the longest held subscribers in the industry. EQ2 is one of the most highly anticipated mmorpgs in development.
SoE may have mistreated some of its customers but they have a whole lot of people who still love their games and will keep coming back for more.
Misti said, "SoE may have mistreated some of its customers but they have a whole lot of people who still love their games and will keep coming back for more."
Well, if you noticed, I didn't say this mess would put SOE out of business. I simply said this SWG debacle would cost SOE their leadership in the field.
If SWG had beeen the success it was expected to be, SOE would have had the numbers from that and EQ2 to claim the position of market leader, and people would have had a hard time arguing. However, now that SWG will have much lower subscription numbers, I think it's pretty clear Blizzard will take over the top spot when WoW launches. No matter how anticipated, EQ2 is not going to keep up with WoW.
That's a good thing. Once SOE is done licking their wounds from no longer being the industry bully, maybe they will learn some lessons on how to treat people.
Hey, if you have fun playing an SOE product, more power to you. This is supposed to be about having fun, and if you are, great. However, many don't have fun playing SOE games. Many think they are closer to jobs than games, and their "gameplay" is nothing but boring grinding. It's about time someone else had a chance to influence future game development for players to do a significant amount of their time doing things other than camping and grinding.
"...you just #@*&;$% with the wrong rhino, pal!" - Smoochy
You have obviously made your perception on peoples statements Leftie. Though, I will not say what I want to, I will say this. SOE is a good company hands down, and they're obviously doing something right.
Not all blame for the SWG fiasco is SOE's fault, no matter how you put it. Certain things may have happened to the game, but that's why Lucas went in with SOE's vast experience. Give this game some time.
- MMORPG.COM STAFF -
KillerTwinkie - That one guy who used to mod mmorpg.com's forums.
http://www.kingsofchaos.com/recruit.php?uniqid=8mj35887
Thats kinda the point, say what you will about how horrid their games are but SoE's mmorpgs are, and will likely continue to be, some of the most popular mmorpgs in the U.S.
Its way too early to say how well Blizzard will do in the mmorpg market and even if WoW were to by some miracle get more subscribers then EQ, a single mmorpg will not make them the leader of the industry in SoE's place. SoE has something like 500k playing EQ, 250k playing SWG, 50 to 100k playing PS, and hundreds of thousands eagerly awaiting EQ2.
I personally am looking forward to WoW but its silly to say they are going to dominate a market that they have never even attempted to enter before with a single game. It may happen, but guessing that currently is not realistic.
It makes sense you are angry with a company that made a game you feel they did poorly on, or has treated you unfairly, and there are a lot of people who would agree with you I'm sure. It does not however change the fact that their games are some of the most popular to date and so many people are willing to play them.
What I really dont understand is how anyone thinks Star Wars could in any way work in a mmorpg format no matter who made it.
Twinkie said, "You have obviously made your perception on peoples statements Leftie."
Yep. SOE Devs and CSR staff. Player correspondent reps that were told so many lies they quit. Three quit in one day last wee, twinkie. The correspondents were the uber-fan-boys... then met the truth of SOE's unofficial policy to lie to it's customers whenever it suits their purposes. Week after week, month after month, they told these poor player reps they had patches and fixes for the various bugs that they promised over and over would be on the very next patch. The patches came out and all those promises were vaporware, and then the players started screaming at the reps becasue the fixes they had been promised weren't there. It was a mess.
SOE is a terrible company regarding customer relations. SEO can do one thing in games... graphics and sound. Nothing else. My neighbors dog loves to watch pretty blinking lights and sits with it's face stuffed in their Christmas tree from the moment it goes up till it comes down. Weeks transfixed by the purty lights. Stupid dog forgets to eat if you don't half-drag it to it's bowl during the holidays. Twinkie, I have a feeling you're like that stupid dog. You're so hypnotized by the purty lights and noise you don't even there is no plot or gameplay, probably so deep in your hypno-fog you don't notice the CSRs are laughing and cursing at you in your chat browser. Well, whatever floats your boat. However, most of us need something a little more sophisticated than that to enjoy our gaming experience.
As it is twinkie, it's clear you'll say anything to protect your purty lights. Last post of yours in this thread, you said Lucasarts controlled 75% of SWG design process. This post, you said Lucas depends on SOE's "vast experience." Which is it, twinkie? Is Lucasarts controlling SWG, or is Lucasarts depending on SOE's vast experience to do the job. In case you're in purty light hypno-fog as you wrote that, those two statements of yours contradict each other. Ooops.
"...you just #@*&;$% with the wrong rhino, pal!" - Smoochy
Reply to Misti...
SOE has games with good graphics and sound. Nothing else. If you are as Twinkie seems to be - hypnotised by purty lights - then you'll never notice all that is missing beyond the purty lights, like gameplay, for example.
On your numbers... The hundreds of thousands eagerly waiting EQ2 are already playing EQ. SOE will gain little on their subscriber base from the release of EQ2. It's players will be almost entirely current EQ players. SOE gets to make another bundle on a sofware release, but it will bring in very little in additional players. There just isn't that much buzz in the game press about EQ2. It's almost being treated as a big expansion. Nothing more.
SWG is already down to 100,000 players. The subscriber rate for SWG is in freefall. PS is going to die rather quickly. It's broke.
On the other hand, WoW is going to have a HUGE audience of people who have never played a MMORPG before. Probably 75% to 80% of the players will be brand new to the genre, trying out the game because of good experiences these customers have had with earlier Blizzard products. Blizzard games stay on top of the game charts for months/years after release because Blizzard refuses to do what the rest of the game industry does and release betas as final products. Blizzard Games are not just fun, they work.
"...you just #@*&;$% with the wrong rhino, pal!" - Smoochy
http://www.zolrman.com/eq/
http://www.bicklein.com/dabbu/archives/000005.html
http://www.digitalbloc.com/archives/2003/08/everquest_sucksanother_life_away.shtml
lets not forget the incidient with the poor girl who does becuase her mom played EQ
"Thirty-Six year old Mary Christina Cordell is being charged with manslaughter, after neglecting her 3 year old daughter while she wasted her life and money away on the popular with the basement dweller crowd "Everquest" for the PC. During her two hour plus non-stop gamefest, she had no idea of the location of her daughter, who was later found dead in an a car with no ventilation. "
what will they say about her! Cause of Death:Everquest
If you need more sites then just ask EQ SUCKS LIVE WITH IT
http://www.kingsofchaos.com/recruit.php?uniqid=8mj35887
BurningMan, I don't see your point. Who was contesting the addictivness of EQ?
If in that you mean that SOE is a good company because they made EQ, that's not the case at all. Verant created it, and SOE bought it from them.
If you knew this already, or were talking about something else completely then...sorry.
me+jogging=keyboard pillow
/deepbow
You said it leftie.
Can anyone who likes SWG can tell me why they are still playing, I would be greatly appreciated. I'm fascinated that people who have been there since release still enjoy playing. I'm not knocking anyone, I'm just trying to understand. Did you play only 1 hour a day or did you powergame? What's kept you there for so long?
I do agree with the initial statement made, SOE has ruined their name with this game. Look only at the facts. This game was the biggest hit before it ever was released. It had tremendous depth and i heard people say they would play it the moment it got out when i was playing both UO and DAoC. They had huge amounts of players coming to them, and they manage to loose the majority of them in record breaking time.
I have never been looking forward to a title as much as i did to SWG, i really thought it would have the depth of UO, and it would rock in almost every single way. I mean if you have that kind of support from that big of a community, surely you can afford it to put back the release date some so that the game would at least be somewhat bug-free. But they choose not to do that.
Allthough i was never really drawn towards EQ or EQ2, after hearing what happend to SWG i will probably never do so either. They effectivly destroyed a game with huge potential and a huge following.
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Until I see somthing different from SOE, I will not buy any game they are associated with. And yes thats my opinion.
Notice: The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com or its management.