If anything, posts like this prove why the editorial is not & will never be out of date, as long as Sony operates the title. "They are finally fixing the problems"?? Do you know how many months and years you can go back in the forums and read this immortal mantra? There has NEVER been a time, no matter how broken or ridiculous things were, that you couldn't find someone to say "Well they are finally fixing the problems." What's become clear over time is that while SOE has a fairly dismal and slow record of actually fixing stuff, they are Kung Fu Masters at spreading the impression that they are fixing stuff. For people who need to believe that "teh devz" know what they're doing, there's always just enough apparent evidence out there to keep their faith alive. And that's the glue that has kept the shambling wreck of SWG together.
As a frequent party giver at my home, I threw one the other night, the guests started leaving about 11pm and you know what? by 12:30 or so, I didn't hear any more "Goodnights" from the front door. But I did not interpret this to mean there were more people in my house than ever! I interpreted it to mean that everyone who was leaving had left - that the party was over. Similarly, most people who knew and loved the game and were sick to their stomach at the NGE are already gone. There's no sense listening for their goodbyes this week. If all you're saying is that the curve has bottomed out and people are trickling in, that may be so, but none of it had to happen in the first place, which was the point of the editorial.
And the changes they're making to the game now - in precisely the same old high handed mysterious way of course - are enough to fill any vet with deranged laughter. After swearing on a stack of Bibles with total assurance that what the audience really wanted was a much simpler game without all the complications, the learning curve, the stuff to read - and after locking, deleting and banning skeptics left and right to underscore their unshakeable commitment to this revealed truth - they are busy adding complication back in by the bucketload. Only now the complication is ad hoc, rather than part of a well thought out initial game design. Oh, and of course, your complicated old character, old skills, old equipment etc, are still long gone. But you're welcome to grind out a complicated new one - until they change things again.
The decision not to release an expansion pack undoubtedly has less to do with a virtuous focus on "finally fixing the problems" than with a Sony decision not to throw good money after bad. The previous packs have not expanded the subscriber base, and Sony cannot justify the investment. SWG will have to sink or swim on its existing boxes.
Yes, it is out fo date, how often will people continue to post the same damn thing...have you any idea how long people have hashed over and over this...it's been driven into the ground as far as it can go! Now that it's mostly out of teh forums, and now in the BACK of everyone's mind not the front...some (insert explicative here) has to type something up like this to get the drama started again. Yes they are finally fixing problems...different combat syetem, different problems....name one game that doesnt have them. Let me ask you this...are you still playing the game, or did you quit like so any others, and you are going off the original release of the NGE...which YES was very bad. But SOE has come a long way in 6 months with what is in place now. and the die hard vets like myself will tell you they the same...the NGE is improving. what people dont understand is you have to have a foundation to build off of...SOE layed down the crap (NGE release), it hardened, and now it's a fine foundation, and they're building quite well on it...not many people can build on "crap", and make it fly...SOE is.
I'm not going to respond to this, you did an excellent job as pi$$ing me off, and i'd rather not return the favor.
What you stated here...well i dont know what to say now other than, you can;t please everyone...all youcan do is try, and for once...they are.
I would love to know where you thought this up, or what your sources are. How can you even say this? Based on SOE/SWG's past? get over it...They're taking the next step in a new generation of gamers. If you only appeal to your vets...how will you expect to continue the player base incline. Impossible!!!
Here's the long and the short of it...you dont like it...i do...we can debate this til we're blue in the face, and get nothing resolved...Hence, you left, i stayed...and deny it til the end if you want...you'll be back.
Originally posted by MonoFader Yes, it is out [of] date, how often will people continue to post the same damn thing... have you any idea how long people have hashed over and over this... it's been driven into the ground as far as it can go!
I know precisely how long people have been posting about it... from the moment the changes were foisted on us. BUT NOT HERE. Not in a major independent MMO magazine. Indeed throughout the extended 16-month trainwreck of SWG re-re-revamps, the MMO gaming press has largely responded in one of three ways: (1) regurgitating SOE press releases on the principle of don't bite the hand that feeds you, (2) ignoring the whole thing because SWG was an "old game" and not newsworthy hotness, and (3) alluding to the player rejection on the assumption that the reader surely knows about it, without going into any detail - much less analyzing the problem or taking a stand. Now, at last, a serious independent editorial has tackled the core issue. It doesn't matter that it wasn't earlier because publishing it earlier wouldn't have changed SOE's course one iota, and what we really need now are lessons learned. This editorial is a start.
Perhaps you were confusing SOE's in-house discussion forums with actual journalism. "Teh forums" [sic] don't matter. This does.
...Based on SOE/SWG's past? get over it... They're taking the next step in a new generation of gamers.
Thank you for my daily humor fix!
Here's the long and the short of it...you dont like it...i do...we can debate this til we're blue in the face, and get nothing resolved...Hence, you left, i stayed...and deny it til the end if you want...you'll be back.
Actually (1) the long and the short of it is what the editorial said; (2) we're not debating anything; and (3) I didn't leave. Other than that, this is a spiffy summary.
Originally posted by Clattuc Originally posted by MonoFader Yes, it is out [of] date, how often will people continue to post the same damn thing... have you any idea how long people have hashed over and over this... it's been driven into the ground as far as it can go!
I know precisely how long people have been posting about it... from the moment the changes were foisted on us. BUT NOT HERE. Not in a major independent MMO magazine. Indeed throughout the extended 16-month trainwreck of SWG re-re-revamps, the MMO gaming press has largely responded in one of three ways: (1) regurgitating SOE press releases on the principle of don't bite the hand that feeds you, (2) ignoring the whole thing because SWG was an "old game" and not newsworthy hotness, and (3) alluding to the player rejection on the assumption that the reader surely knows about it, without going into any detail - much less analyzing the problem or taking a stand. Now, at last, a serious independent editorial has tackled the core issue. It doesn't matter that it wasn't earlier because publishing it earlier wouldn't have changed SOE's course one iota, and what we really need now are lessons learned. This editorial is a start.
Perhaps you were confusing SOE's in-house discussion forums with actual journalism. "Teh forums" [sic] don't matter. This does.
...Based on SOE/SWG's past? get over it... They're taking the next step in a new generation of gamers.
Thank you for my daily humor fix!
Here's the long and the short of it...you dont like it...i do...we can debate this til we're blue in the face, and get nothing resolved...Hence, you left, i stayed...and deny it til the end if you want...you'll be back.
Actually (1) the long and the short of it is what the editorial said; (2) we're not debating anything; and (3) I didn't leave. Other than that, this is a spiffy summary.
Actually (1) the long and the short of it is what the editorial said; (2) we're not debating anything; and (3) I didn't leave. Other than that, this is a spiffy summary.
To the person you were responding to Clattuc, I once again really wish this had not turned into a who likes what about the gameplay mechanics regarding the NGE, despite protestations 3 times. Obraik is probably the most intelligent NGE fanboi on this forum for example, always argues his defense of the NGE rationally. (From a logical standpoint, in reality I think living in New Zealand has driven him kookoo lol) Yet he said for the most part he agreed with my article, since it wasn't focused on if the game was good, BUT ON THE REASONS PLAYING. If you wanna debate the changes themselves, goto the SWG forum on here lol. To the person you were responding to Clattuc, I once again really wish this had not turned into a who likes what about the gameplay mechanics regarding the NGE, despite protestations 3 times. Obraik is probably the most intelligent NGE fanboi on this forum for example, always argues his defense of the NGE rationally. (From a logical standpoint, in reality I think living in New Zealand has driven him kookoo lol) Yet he said for the most part he agreed with my article, since it wasn't focused on if the game was good, BUT ON THE REASONS PLAYING. If you wanna debate the changes themselves, goto the SWG forum on here lol.
This editorial should be posted on each and every wall of $OE's Ivory Tower. Let this be a valuable lesson all other MMORPG developers can learn from. Still, with all that has transpired and the time that has passed, $OE has done little to respond to the protests and desires of its customers.
Great Job Kevin Tierney!!! I hope this article haunts $OE and LA indefinitely.
First off the guy that wrote this article doesn't even make the illusion of not being biased.
Second, you can't just say that because the subscribers dropped off was because of NGE. There are many reasons why the game lost folks and the biggest starts with a W and ends with the same.
Repeatedly saying the same thing over from the same people here doesn't make things a fact. SWG is an older game, people will stop playing it's happened to every single mmo to date.
I hated the game before, I like it now. I never posted repeatedly how much SoE was a horrible company because they didn't do what I wanted to. I quit EQ, DAoC, CoH and other games because of changes and just plan old tired of the same game. Yet, I don't fill up forums with how they screwed me over.
I'm sure I'll be in the minority on these forums simply because all the misfits that seem to think SoE is the devil incarnate live at mmorpg.com.
...long live mythic, we will eat WoW one bite at a time
ROFL!!
Mythic is just as bad. The only difference is they don't even bother hosting their own boards so that they can ignore their playerbase more effectively.
Nice article. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, though. The only good thing I have left from the dark times of the devs are the memories of other players as they struggled to eek out a virtual existence against all odds. SWG is dead long live The Refugees.
PS: Welcome aboard this Refugee medical freigther designated mmorpg.com If you received burn trauma from exposure to SWG customer service/account service please proceed to our specially prepared Intensive Bacta Care Unit ( the forum ) where former patients are standing by to help you.
SOE has a knack for creating 'silent majorities' - usually by locking threads or otherwise silencing it... *smiles slightly* But hey... if people don't speak up, then they probably agree... :P - much easier dealing with a 'silent majority' than a very vocal one... But I guess it got a bit too quiet as people upped and left...
I'm one of the masochistic people still caught in SWG, and yeah... if they put up a classic server, I'd be there on the spot... But... seeing how fond they are of listening to their player base, I doubt that's going to happen any time soon...
"So I contend that the player stories will always be more powerful than the scripted stories that we try to tell the players."
SWG is dead, let it go mate. For a while I was thinking the same, if they setup classic server, i'll be there. But in the end.. it's no longer the same. SOE crappy management of things has indeed left a deep scar that the bacta can't fix. I have a feeling even if they go for the classic one, then after inital interest it will die down as well.
Let's wait for the next SW MMORPG, we just need to wait a few more years and it should be announced.
This is the best thread about this issue i have ever seen!! Its so true
i loved when they wrote this
"The number one rule of any business deserving of customer patronage is to first and foremost, take care of your existing customers. Once they have been satisfied, then look out to attracting new customers"
SOE nerver came near doing that, duo to th CU and NGE... tsk tsk SOE :-(
Originally posted by caine6621 Originally posted by Sicarim I left SWG because of these very reasons.
I LIKED being uncle Owen instead of Luke Skywalker.
it added more depth for me, i was creating my OWN star wars character in the star wars universe. I miss it greatly.
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! amen I second that. I Loved being "uncle owen" I liked having my own adventure, making my own mark in the world, creating a reputation among the players. I played as a Bounty hunter and I had massive fun I might add, til they dumb down and narrowed the amount of skill sets to some generic crap that has no real relevance or difference from other skills. I liked being a pistol expert with melee Tera kasi Skills set for beating the crap out of some unexpecting jedi. and force him to make a decision pay the bounty for me to spare him or lose 200,000 xp, all the while Im roleplaying lol. oh man the memories.
amen I second that. I Loved being "uncle owen" I liked having my own adventure, making my own mark in the world, creating a reputation among the players. I played as a Bounty hunter and I had massive fun I might add, til they dumb down and narrowed the amount of skill sets to some generic crap that has no real relevance or difference from other skills. I liked being a pistol expert with melee Tera kasi Skills set for beating the crap out of some unexpecting jedi. and force him to make a decision pay the bounty for me to spare him or lose 200,000 xp, all the while Im roleplaying lol. oh man the memories.
I loved being who I was, having fun among other players who right beside me I would fight beside, then the next day I take a bounty on and Deathblow them for 100,000 credits and throw a macro'ed phrase I worked hard so I could have fun roleplaying, and I might add I recieved quite acclaim as being one of the few Bounty hunters of soloing, never ganking, win or lose. Now its like there no real depth, no intrigue to what this game once had.
It saddens me because I adore Star Wars universe, like alot of you I find myself coming back ; mind you not because of the Game itself, but because I love Star wars, and always have this inkling of hope that we will have; maybe just maybe a fraction of what we had back then in 2004, and In SWG i loved the community, the comradery, the kinship I had playing with in SWG with people who like me loved being that unnamed individual who came from no where and is known by so many people, and has connections, and friends...damn its down right depressing.
Ill admit this much, despite all the bugs, despite all the hooplah that has transpired, I never had such an emotional connection with a community as I had with SWG, with players who shared the same passion, same happiness I did,that is what Defines SWG from all other MMO's I played before and in the future, there something etheral, deeply connecting when star wars fans come together in a game to play out their lvirtual lives as a Character whether it be a entertainer, bounty hunter, commando, Droid engineer, or a Medic, or the wonderful, sadly missed creature handler. I dont think any Genre can boast such a claim.
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
Exceptional editorial and spot on. This really applys to most EVERY MMO out there...well maybe not WoW...wish I'd bought stock in Blizzard before that bad boy came out...
Good article, but that stupid strobing AO flash ad RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE was so annoying I finally had to ad-block the damn thing just to be able to focus on the words on the page.
Originally posted by iceman00 Originally posted by Mna_Grok Originally posted by DrChewbacca Originally posted by Mna_Grok I am honestly not sure why people are reading this article like it is a brand new business paradigm that will revolutionize MMORPGs.
The article can be summed up in two sentances:
1 - Don't piss off current customers in a bid to get new customers.
2 - (Potential) new customers are greatly influenced by the words of old customers. (both currently subscribed and not)
These are not new ideas. They form the basis of any business' relationship with it's customers.
Hey, thank you for your brilliant analysis. The article is not about these ideas being new. It's about a rather big company obviously ignoring these ideas that seems so basic for us normal customers. Including you. This is what's interesting there.
My comment was more aimed at all of the posters in the thread who are screaming "Great analysis" and stuff like that.
The editorial is not, IMO, a great analysis of what went wrong. It is a simple statement of what went wrong with SWG. SOE made a gamble and lost. That is all there is to it.
Now an in-depth analysis of why they decided to change the classes would be interesting. But this editorial, not really.
The reason they made the changes was because they reasoned the "silent majority" wanted things "simple" and "iconic." That's all part of the gamble. Hence that was covered. Or do I have to explicitly go after everything?
Never satisfied hehe.
I completely understand why Sony gambled. If it had worked and their subscriptions numbers had skyrocketed and they were beating WoW, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Was a long time SWG player until all this mess happened. Even if they changed it back to the way it was originally, they'd never get me and my 4 accounts back. Why? What's to stop them from doing all this again!
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. --Aristotle
Very well written article, really hit the nail on the head so to speak.
You could replace SWG with "Everquest" and the article would still apply. I think in broader terms it is showing that SOE as a whole doesn't understand how to properly manage a MMOG. They have always been notorious for ignoring customer concerns and doing what they felt best. In the case of SWG it had come back to bite them... hard.
I even tried EQ2 with the hopes SOE would learn from the mistakes of their other games. Quit 2 weeks after release. Several months later I got an email for 1 week of free playtime to see the new improvments (meaning, correcting things to compete with WoW). I actually did enjoy the game then, so I subscribed for 1 month. Two weeks into that month they did the EQ2 "combat upgrade" and I cancelled next day.
I really think they need to understand as a company the concept "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when considering any major changes to their games.
Originally posted by Mna_Grok I completely understand why Sony gambled. If it had worked and their subscriptions numbers had skyrocketed and they were beating WoW, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
I and everyone else that played SWG, especially the NGE, can tell that there was 0% chance of what they released doing that. absolutely, no freakin way. Even the pre-cu game so many of us enjoyed couldn't have done that if it was perfect, the core game just doesn't have that kind of draw.
They may have made a stupid choice with the NGE and an even stupider one keeping it around, but there is no way in hell they didn't know... but I don't believe for one second they are that totally incompetent to believe that steaming pile of feeces could compete with WoW's subcricptions, nobody could be that self-dilusional, not even $OE. I choose the believe they just don't care.
an MMO sorta becomes home.. so much so that it can actually be hard to leave it but I must admit that I had no issues leaving SWG, and I can't say I've missed Corbantis one bit since closing my account.
"There is an instructive lesson in this, which I believe will be reflected upon by MMO companies long into the future. They will take seriously the importance of their already existing community, and should put their desires over that of a mythical “silent majority.”
We can only hope.
"The liberties and resulting economic prosperity that YOU take for granted were granted by those "dead guys"
I liked the original pre-cu game. It just needed a bit of tweaking. Nerf the poision chuckers, put the original Jedi TEF back, fix the line of site issues (no shooting through hills or chucking poision through walls) and add some type of a control the universe take over territory kind of thing going on so that PvP had more of a purpose.
I think I'm going to quit hoping that they can actually get something together that will keep me interested enough to play.
Comments
Clattuc wrote
If anything, posts like this prove why the editorial is not & will never be out of date, as long as Sony operates the title. "They are finally fixing the problems"?? Do you know how many months and years you can go back in the forums and read this immortal mantra? There has NEVER been a time, no matter how broken or ridiculous things were, that you couldn't find someone to say "Well they are finally fixing the problems." What's become clear over time is that while SOE has a fairly dismal and slow record of actually fixing stuff, they are Kung Fu Masters at spreading the impression that they are fixing stuff. For people who need to believe that "teh devz" know what they're doing, there's always just enough apparent evidence out there to keep their faith alive. And that's the glue that has kept the shambling wreck of SWG together.
As a frequent party giver at my home, I threw one the other night, the guests started leaving about 11pm and you know what? by 12:30 or so, I didn't hear any more "Goodnights" from the front door. But I did not interpret this to mean there were more people in my house than ever! I interpreted it to mean that everyone who was leaving had left - that the party was over. Similarly, most people who knew and loved the game and were sick to their stomach at the NGE are already gone. There's no sense listening for their goodbyes this week. If all you're saying is that the curve has bottomed out and people are trickling in, that may be so, but none of it had to happen in the first place, which was the point of the editorial.
And the changes they're making to the game now - in precisely the same old high handed mysterious way of course - are enough to fill any vet with deranged laughter. After swearing on a stack of Bibles with total assurance that what the audience really wanted was a much simpler game without all the complications, the learning curve, the stuff to read - and after locking, deleting and banning skeptics left and right to underscore their unshakeable commitment to this revealed truth - they are busy adding complication back in by the bucketload. Only now the complication is ad hoc, rather than part of a well thought out initial game design. Oh, and of course, your complicated old character, old skills, old equipment etc, are still long gone. But you're welcome to grind out a complicated new one - until they change things again.
The decision not to release an expansion pack undoubtedly has less to do with a virtuous focus on "finally fixing the problems" than with a Sony decision not to throw good money after bad. The previous packs have not expanded the subscriber base, and Sony cannot justify the investment. SWG will have to sink or swim on its existing boxes.
Yes, it is out fo date, how often will people continue to post the same damn thing...have you any idea how long people have hashed over and over this...it's been driven into the ground as far as it can go! Now that it's mostly out of teh forums, and now in the BACK of everyone's mind not the front...some (insert explicative here) has to type something up like this to get the drama started again. Yes they are finally fixing problems...different combat syetem, different problems....name one game that doesnt have them. Let me ask you this...are you still playing the game, or did you quit like so any others, and you are going off the original release of the NGE...which YES was very bad. But SOE has come a long way in 6 months with what is in place now. and the die hard vets like myself will tell you they the same...the NGE is improving. what people dont understand is you have to have a foundation to build off of...SOE layed down the crap (NGE release), it hardened, and now it's a fine foundation, and they're building quite well on it...not many people can build on "crap", and make it fly...SOE is.
I'm not going to respond to this, you did an excellent job as pi$$ing me off, and i'd rather not return the favor.
What you stated here...well i dont know what to say now other than, you can;t please everyone...all youcan do is try, and for once...they are.
I would love to know where you thought this up, or what your sources are. How can you even say this? Based on SOE/SWG's past? get over it...They're taking the next step in a new generation of gamers. If you only appeal to your vets...how will you expect to continue the player base incline. Impossible!!!
Here's the long and the short of it...you dont like it...i do...we can debate this til we're blue in the face, and get nothing resolved...Hence, you left, i stayed...and deny it til the end if you want...you'll be back.
Lhynius Blake
-Elder Master Smuggler-
SWG Always!!!
Perhaps you were confusing SOE's in-house discussion forums with actual journalism. "Teh forums" [sic] don't matter. This does. Thank you for my daily humor fix!
Perhaps you were confusing SOE's in-house discussion forums with actual journalism. "Teh forums" [sic] don't matter. This does. Thank you for my daily humor fix!
To the person you were responding to Clattuc, I once again really wish this had not turned into a who likes what about the gameplay mechanics regarding the NGE, despite protestations 3 times.
To the person you were responding to Clattuc, I once again really wish this had not turned into a who likes what about the gameplay mechanics regarding the NGE, despite protestations 3 times.
This editorial should be posted on each and every wall of $OE's Ivory Tower. Let this be a valuable lesson all other MMORPG developers can learn from. Still, with all that has transpired and the time that has passed, $OE has done little to respond to the protests and desires of its customers.
Great Job Kevin Tierney!!! I hope this article haunts $OE and LA indefinitely.
you can stop beating it now, honest!
"Is it better to know everything about nothing then nothing about everything ?" -Me
Second, you can't just say that because the subscribers dropped off was because of NGE. There are many reasons why the game lost folks and the biggest starts with a W and ends with the same.
Repeatedly saying the same thing over from the same people here doesn't make things a fact. SWG is an older game, people will stop playing it's happened to every single mmo to date.
I hated the game before, I like it now. I never posted repeatedly how much SoE was a horrible company because they didn't do what I wanted to. I quit EQ, DAoC, CoH and other games because of changes and just plan old tired of the same game. Yet, I don't fill up forums with how they screwed me over.
I'm sure I'll be in the minority on these forums simply because all the misfits that seem to think SoE is the devil incarnate live at mmorpg.com.
Cheers.
http://www.greycouncil.org/
Great article.
ROFL!!
Mythic is just as bad. The only difference is they don't even bother hosting their own boards so that they can ignore their playerbase more effectively.
Previous played: SWG (pre-NGE), DAoC, CoH, Anarchy Online, DDO, Champions Online Beta, LOTRO, GW2, SWTOR
Nice article. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, though. The only good thing I have left from the dark times of the devs are the memories of other players as they struggled to eek out a virtual existence against all odds. SWG is dead long live The Refugees.
PS: Welcome aboard this Refugee medical freigther designated mmorpg.com If you received burn trauma from exposure to SWG customer service/account service please proceed to our specially prepared Intensive Bacta Care Unit ( the forum ) where former patients are standing by to help you.
SOE has a knack for creating 'silent majorities' - usually by locking threads or otherwise silencing it... *smiles slightly* But hey... if people don't speak up, then they probably agree... :P - much easier dealing with a 'silent majority' than a very vocal one... But I guess it got a bit too quiet as people upped and left...
I'm one of the masochistic people still caught in SWG, and yeah... if they put up a classic server, I'd be there on the spot... But... seeing how fond they are of listening to their player base, I doubt that's going to happen any time soon...
"So I contend that the player stories will always be more powerful than the scripted stories that we try to tell the players."
- Will Wright
DAKSHA - the Weaponsmith
proud member of KDS
SWG- DAKSHA, Quietus, Decebal, Deceneu -retired
EVE - Daksha - retired
WOW - Daksha - retired
COV - Daksha - retired
EQ2- Daksha - retired
SOR- Daksha - retired
Vanguard - Daksha - retired
LOTRO - Daksha - retired
AOC - Daksha - retired
Warhammer - Daksha - retired
Aion - Daksha -almost retired
Waiting for SWTOR
Let's wait for the next SW MMORPG, we just need to wait a few more years and it should be announced.
--
Maniac
This is the best thread about this issue i have ever seen!! Its so true
i loved when they wrote this
"The number one rule of any business deserving of customer patronage is to first and foremost, take care of your existing customers. Once they have been satisfied, then look out to attracting new customers"
SOE nerver came near doing that, duo to th CU and NGE... tsk tsk SOE :-(
I loved being who I was, having fun among other players who right beside me I would fight beside, then the next day I take a bounty on and Deathblow them for 100,000 credits and throw a macro'ed phrase I worked hard so I could have fun roleplaying, and I might add I recieved quite acclaim as being one of the few Bounty hunters of soloing, never ganking, win or lose. Now its like there no real depth, no intrigue to what this game once had.
It saddens me because I adore Star Wars universe, like alot of you I find myself coming back ; mind you not because of the Game itself, but because I love Star wars, and always have this inkling of hope that we will have; maybe just maybe a fraction of what we had back then in 2004, and In SWG i loved the community, the comradery, the kinship I had playing with in SWG with people who like me loved being that unnamed individual who came from no where and is known by so many people, and has connections, and friends...damn its down right depressing.
Ill admit this much, despite all the bugs, despite all the hooplah that has transpired, I never had such an emotional connection with a community as I had with SWG, with players who shared the same passion, same happiness I did,that is what Defines SWG from all other MMO's I played before and in the future, there something etheral, deeply connecting when star wars fans come together in a game to play out their lvirtual lives as a Character whether it be a entertainer, bounty hunter, commando, Droid engineer, or a Medic, or the wonderful, sadly missed creature handler. I dont think any Genre can boast such a claim.
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
Good article, but that stupid strobing AO flash ad RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE was so annoying I finally had to ad-block the damn thing just to be able to focus on the words on the page.
My comment was more aimed at all of the posters in the thread who are screaming "Great analysis" and stuff like that.
The editorial is not, IMO, a great analysis of what went wrong. It is a simple statement of what went wrong with SWG. SOE made a gamble and lost. That is all there is to it.
Now an in-depth analysis of why they decided to change the classes would be interesting. But this editorial, not really.
The reason they made the changes was because they reasoned the "silent majority" wanted things "simple" and "iconic." That's all part of the gamble. Hence that was covered. Or do I have to explicitly go after everything?
Never satisfied hehe.
I completely understand why Sony gambled. If it had worked and their subscriptions numbers had skyrocketed and they were beating WoW, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Very well said!
Was a long time SWG player until all this mess happened. Even if they changed it back to the way it was originally, they'd never get me and my 4 accounts back. Why? What's to stop them from doing all this again!
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.
--Aristotle
Very well written article, really hit the nail on the head so to speak.
You could replace SWG with "Everquest" and the article would still apply. I think in broader terms it is showing that SOE as a whole doesn't understand how to properly manage a MMOG. They have always been notorious for ignoring customer concerns and doing what they felt best. In the case of SWG it had come back to bite them... hard.
I even tried EQ2 with the hopes SOE would learn from the mistakes of their other games. Quit 2 weeks after release. Several months later I got an email for 1 week of free playtime to see the new improvments (meaning, correcting things to compete with WoW). I actually did enjoy the game then, so I subscribed for 1 month. Two weeks into that month they did the EQ2 "combat upgrade" and I cancelled next day.
I really think they need to understand as a company the concept "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when considering any major changes to their games.
I and everyone else that played SWG, especially the NGE, can tell that there was 0% chance of what they released doing that. absolutely, no freakin way. Even the pre-cu game so many of us enjoyed couldn't have done that if it was perfect, the core game just doesn't have that kind of draw.
They may have made a stupid choice with the NGE and an even stupider one keeping it around, but there is no way in hell they didn't know... but I don't believe for one second they are that totally incompetent to believe that steaming pile of feeces could compete with WoW's subcricptions, nobody could be that self-dilusional, not even $OE. I choose the believe they just don't care.
an MMO sorta becomes home.. so much so that it can actually be hard to leave it but I must admit that I had no issues leaving SWG, and I can't say I've missed Corbantis one bit since closing my account.
>_> <_< ^_^
Faranthil Tanathalos
EverQuest 1 - Ranger
Star Wars Galaxies - Master Ranger
Everquest2 - Ranger WarhammerOnline - Shadow Warrior
WOW - Hunter
That's right I like bows and arrows.
"There is an instructive lesson in this, which I believe will be reflected upon by MMO companies long into the future. They will take seriously the importance of their already existing community, and should put their desires over that of a mythical “silent majority.”
We can only hope.
"The liberties and resulting economic prosperity that YOU take for granted were granted by those "dead guys"
I think I'm going to quit hoping that they can actually get something together that will keep me interested enough to play.