My history with SWG

Erethorn

Let me tell you a little bit about my history with SWG. SWG was the first MMORPG I've played. I'm a die-hard SW fan, collecting action figures and magazines, seen the movies over and over and so on, you get the picture.

When I've first herd about SWG, some time before it launched, I was mesmerized. I had a vague ideea what a MMORPG was. What I heard was that there would be this game, you could be a guy in the SW universe. Not just kill things with a blaster, or be a Jedi, you could do ANYTHING. I remember distincly reading on the net about how you could have your own house, and you could be a hairdresser, you could earn a living just doing people's hair.

Now bear in mind, at that moment, my only experiences with Star Wars gaming were Jedi Knight and XWING series. I remember telling all my friends about this: "imagine there's gonna be this great game, where you can just be a hairdresser !!! It will be so complex, you could just do people's hair, guys will come to you and pay you to change the way they look in this virtual world !!!" It sounded like something out of a dream to me.

At that moment, and for a long time after launch, this dream was way out of hand for me. I live in Romania, and that means both lack of Internet acces and a general lack of means for online payment. I earned about 100 dollars monthly as a teacher back then. So I would take a peak at the game webpage, on my poor dial-up connection, from time to time, and dream on....

Last year my dream seemed to be closer to reality. I got a well paying job (by Romanian standards, that is about 300 US dollars a month) so I could afford to spend the monthly fee, and I had a credit card. More important, the job was for a local ISP, so I could have a cable connection. At long last, I had the means to play SWG. There was no SWG on sale in Romania at the time, but I managed to buy it from an website with my new credit card and had it sent to me from England. Finally, I was able to create my character and start living in the universe I loved so much.

Upon entering the game, It seemed the reality exceded my dreams. It was wonderful. My character was a ranger and a musician. I would go on long hunting trips, exploring the wildlife. I would set up camp and play music at night, in the middle of the wilderness. I couldn't care less about the war in the galaxy - there were so many beautiful places to explore, and to play my music.

By the time NGE hit, I was exploring for an isolated place where to build my home.

And now I feel that SOE's greed has taken the dream from me. They have created a great thing, only to smash it to pieces. I did the stupid thing of paying for acces again, just to see what had become of my ranger. But I couldn't fit in. And the server is empty. I wasn't a "social" player. But when I entered a town, it was great to see all those players there, made you feel part of a living world. Not any more.

SOE has slain the goose that could lay golden eggs.

azhrarn

/tar Erethorn
/comfort

I'm sorry. We're right here with you. Welcome to the place where Star Wars fans come to cry.

WooD06

Year 2003: I Install and enter the world of Swg for the first time. I arrive in Mos eisly and im looking at the massive amount of people in the city(the lag back then was horrible)and thinking I have found home. I soon join a guild whos leader is a strange woman, after earning her trust she decides to teach me the ways of the jedi. She claimed that she once where of that noble kind. After realising that she is serios I do my best not spam her with questions. She told me that my first step on becoming a Jedi was mastering a proffession and after a long talk with my master I leave the place with a Graffi stick/baton? (Can't remember) and some cool armor. Good old times for a n00b such as myself. I stoped playing a while after that(you try play the game with 256ram).

Year 2004: I enter the game for the second time and I remember how cool I tought Tk skills was back then. I grind the hell out of myself then I explore the world of swg.

Year 2005: "Large groups in Anchorhead have gathered to raid Bestine. People have also gathered on the bridge to group for some squill hunting". I'm on mustafar and currently reading my guildmates mail I can almost se and feel the old times of swg and it's people.

Later in year 2005: The NGE hit us hard, most vets of the guild has left or is leaving, our guild leader announces in a mail that he to is leaving. I see now how the citys is getting abandond, Ground zero is a ghost town. I enter my home and look at the many things the NGE has given me and I know now that the mysteries of the game is gone, I log out.

I cannot Speak thus I have no words