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My Letter to SOE, posted here for your enjoyment. (long)
abbaba
Member Posts: 1,143
After thinking about it for a long time, I wrote a letter to SOE expressing my experience with and feelings about Star Wars Galaxies. Posted here to see your reactions. Comments and constructive criticism welcome, I haven't mailed it yet.
Dear Mr. Smedley,
I am a longtime player of Sony Online Entertainment’s Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game Star Wars Galaxies. I have also been a longtime player of Planetside, a game which I also enjoyed. First let me express my thanks to you for developing a Star Wars MMOG. As both a Star Wars fan and a gamer, it was a perfect match for me. Star Wars Galaxies was my first MMORPG. The first few months I spent playing SWG were quite possibly the best months I have spent playing any game. That said, I quit in disgust upon the release of the NGE. I have recently resubscribed, though my dislike of the NGE is extreme.
If anyone is qualified to critique Galaxies it is me. Since I bought the game in July of 2003, I mastered the Bounty Hunter, Pistoleer, Carbineer, Smuggler, Scout, Medic, and Marksman Professions, as well as trying at one time or the another Creature Handler, Rifleman, Doctor, Commando, Artisan, Brawler, Politician, and Imperial Pilot Professions. Most of these professions have since gone the way of the Dodo Bird, and as a result of your New Game “Enhancements”, I am a level 81 Bounty Hunter.
From the start, SOE’s handling and development of the game has baffled me. It seems as though you are purposefully trying to run the game into the ground (and unfortunately it looks like you are succeeding).
First, you refused to offer Roleplay servers for your players who wished to roleplay. Why you did this I do not know, since both EQ2 and WoW have had great success in offering Roleplay servers. The universe of Star Wars is far easier to roleplay in than the EQ or WoW universe as it has so much content associated with it. This decision baffled me, yet it was the first in a long line of self-destructive development decisions.
Second, you decided to offer Jedi as a playable class. In my opinion, this was a mistake because, of course, a large amount of people wanted to be Jedi, and you milked that for all it was worth with the hologrinding system of obtaining a Jedi. No mystical quests, no secrets, just grind until you get it. It is obvious to me that you put this system in place because, at launch, Galaxies was extremely lacking in content and the hologrind was something that would keep people subscribed to your game. The problem was, you had to make Jedi better than normal classes to justify the work it took to get one. This angered people who never wanted to be a Jedi but wanted a fair chance against everyone else in PvP combat. I fell into this category. I grew to dislike Jedi, so I became a Bounty Hunter to hunt them. This was great fun, and it shows how Galaxies’ sandbox style of gameplay allowed players to adapt to changes such as this. Still, If I was in charge, Jedi would only have been made a playable class if there were strict limitations on them. Namely, limiting the number of Jedi somehow, and making sure they were forced to play the “hunted by the Empire” role to at least a certain extent. I also think that you spent far too much development resources on one class (Jedi) at the expense of the other 30 something classes.
Smugglers, for example, were promised a revamp from almost launch. It was postponed and postponed and postponed, and Smugglers still, 3 years after the game’s launch, cannot smuggle. I’m sure you have no idea how much this frustrated your players. People played the pistoleer, carbineer, or any other profession, and waited for years and years with broken and buggy special abilities that were never fixed. These bugs, these broken abilities, they were all well known by the players. Your player correspondents dutifully collected all known bugs into nice, neat, collections, yet your development team did not make good use of them. Many, probably the majority of these bugs and broken abilities were never fixed until the NGE nuked the variety of professions and abilities available.
Third, you allowed ridiculously unbalanced gameplay elements to remain unchanged for months, even years. First, composite armor that could protect against 80+% of damage dealt. This, in conjunction with extremely powerful doctor buffs (3x a player’s stats) made PvE in Galaxies laughably easy. The sad thing is that I’m sure these things could have been easily balanced ( a cap on armor resistance percentage as well as a cap on buffs, among other possibilities) but they were not.
I remember, in the time before these uber buffs and armor, some players and I organized a hunting expedition to Lok. It was extremely difficult since most of the monsters could easily kill a solo player, but it was also extremely fun. I look upon those days with fond memories. With the advent of super buffs and super armor, I could easily solo anything on Lok, even 5-6 previously lethal monsters at a time. While this was fun for a while, it became apparent to me that I had much more fun when hunting on Lok required a large group and was dangerous.
Then, after an admittedly checkered history, You decided to drastically change the game with both the CU and the NGE. I hated the CU. Most of my in-game friends hated it too. But it wasn’t like the NGE. At least the CU was playable. If given a choice between the CU and the NGE I would pick the CU in a heartbeat.
I do not know why you insisted on changing the game to such an extent instead of fixing what was broken, but it is done. It is apparent to me and I’m sure it is apparent to you that the NGE has thus far been a colossal failure. My friends list of 200+ now registers an average of 5 people online during primetime. You have irreparably damaged your credibility with your customers (your NGE has caused negative feelings that I never thought a video game could). The NGE is vastly inferior to the Combat Upgrade, and even more inferior to the original system.
Reasons the NGE has failed:
1. Poorly thought out pseudo FPS combat system that pleases neither RPG players or FPS players.
2. The reduction of professions from 30 something to 9. This is a horrible change. The complexity of the game many, loved was erased.
3. Jedi as a starter class. Jedi is the “holy grail” of Star Wars, something to be worked for. Something that should not be obtainable with the click of a mouse, especially when you consider the MMORPG backdrop. You need to have far more “normal” classes than JedI to retain balance. The introduction of Jedi as a starter profession did two things: First, it alienated all of your former Jedi players who worked for hundreds of hours to obtain a Jedi character. Second, it ruined the timeline of the game even more, since nearly all jedi were supposed to have been killed by the Empire at the time the game is supposedly set.
3. The removal of decay from the game. This has sent the economy into a tailspin due to inflation. I remember when three million credits was more money that I could ever dream of. Now, millions upon millions is just a drop in the bucket. The removal of decay has also destroyed crafter’s repeat business. Crafting was a huge part of Galaxies. In fact, I think SWG had the best crafting of any game I've ever played. It's too bad the developers seem intent on ruining it.
I do not know why you have made these destructive changes. I do not know why you refuse to correct them.
I am writing to express my disappointment at what has happened to Star Wars Galaxies. I hope you will consider releasing a “classic” (pre-cu) server. I would certainly play on it, as would thousands of SWG veterans who just want their game, the game they paid for, played, and loved for 2 years, back. Indeed it would not surprise me if the population on “classic” servers would eventually be more than on current SWG servers.
I am sure you are aware of the SWG emulator project. With “classic” servers, you would negate the need for a SWG Emulator, and it would probably save you lots of legal action as well as get subscription revenue from people who would otherwise play the Emulator for free.
In closing, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Thank you for developing Star Wars Galaxies and allowing myself and my friends years of fun in the Star Wars Universe. Please consider releasing a “classic” Star Wars Galaxies server.
Sincerely,
<my name>
Lhargylflharfh Rex, Shadowfire Server
Comments
Very well put. As a former Master Doc on Ahazi I know how you feel.
But...
Have you ever heard the expression " Arguing with a sign post ???"
You would probably have more sucess with the sign.
Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.
Kai
OK.... here's the problem....
YOU CARE... THEY DON'T
when the original SWG team left the company, so did the passion and commitment for developing the game.
NGE, in a nutshell, was a greedy, shameful, and totally half-ass last-minute attempt right before the holidays to copy-cat WoW and get a piece of the pie. NGE FAILED AT THAT.
now the problem is an issue of pride. yep, foolish pride.
basically what is happening now is this... they will try to string along customers with promises and time-sinks and will ration out classic gameplay. the goal is to milk as much with as little effort as possible while they finish up the next-gen SW game that is in the works at LA.
it is time to let go of our love for SWG...
Kai
hehe
sad but true kaibigan34
A very well written letter. It may or may not be read...and even less likely to be acted upon, BUT you will feel better to have at least voiced your opinion. You have nothing to lose by mailing your letter.
This letter may even be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Outrageously optimistic I know but what the hell, like Kazara it'll make you feel better anyway so fuck it, post it.
OK.... here's the problem....
YOU CARE... THEY DON'T
when the original SWG team left the company, so did the passion and commitment for developing the game.
NGE, in a nutshell, was a greedy, shameful, and totally half-ass last-minute attempt right before the holidays to copy-cat WoW and get a piece of the pie. NGE FAILED AT THAT.
now the problem is an issue of pride. yep, foolish pride.
basically what is happening now is this... they will try to string along customers with promises and time-sinks and will ration out classic gameplay. the goal is to milk as much with as little effort as possible while they finish up the next-gen SW game that is in the works at LA.
it is time to let go of our love for SWG...
do you have a link for this.... id love to play a new SW mmo
Tin Foil hats dont work.. its all a conspiracy
I can tell you exactly how John will handle this:
1) Reply with something to the effect of: Thank you for the email, we're currently working to add features to the game to make it more engaging for our players... blah blah blah"
2) Delete email
3) Chalk it up as another vet who they expected to piss off anyway.
You guys just don't get it. They don't CARE about the Vets. They flat out said as much when they said they fully expected to lose a large number of existing players when the NGE rolled out. They don't care what WE want. They care what their mythical "target" audience wants. Whatever the hell that is.
No matter what we, the vets, say... do... or want.... SOE has written us off as a loss and just doesn't care. They don't want to go back to Pre-CU or even CU version of the game. They have their blinders on to us. Sorry to be blunt but that's just the fact here. Nothing vets can do or say is going to change that. The only way I see it going back to Pre-NGE code is if the exit interviews they're doing reveal that NEW players want something more like the old system.
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
Hmm, no but I have heard of a brick wall...
- Scaris
"What happened to you, Star Wars Galaxies? You used to look like Leia. Not quite gold bikini Leia (more like bad-British-accent-and-cinnamon-bun-hair Leia), but still Leia nonetheless. Now you look like Chewbacca." - Computer Gaming World
Unaware of the Jestor?
http://about.me/JestorRodo/
Friends enjoy his classic Vblog - https://www.facebook.com/GoodOldReliableNathan
sorry man.... I think this is going straight to....
-virtual tourist
want your game back?
Thanks all for your comments.
I've decided to send another, slightly different version to LucasArts, but I don't know who to send it to. Links for SWG on the LucasArts site just link to SOE's SWG site. Could anyone tell me who at LucasArts is responsible for SWG?
-virtual tourist
want your game back?
The OP hit the nail on the head and is totally right.
He expressed the right reasons to be dissappointed with SWG.Unlike many of the cry babies(you know yourselves) who on this site spam because they lost their uber jedi the OP actually said the reasons SWG gone down the hill.
It also SEVERELY violates their own timeline. I was so surprised when LA of all places allowed Jedi to be a starting character. This game is supposed to happen between Episode 3 and 4. Jedi are supposed to be extinct. There are even remnants of this still in-game. If you have been tot he Jedi temple on Dantooine and gone behind the waterfall you'll find a Jedi there that talks about how she is the last of the Jedi left.
Darth Vader and the Imperials have hunted down and eliminated almost all Jedi. Now they non-chalantly walk around almost outnumbering non-Jedi characters in many areas/servers. Also, if you follow the Lore, the imperials had trained people mentally to outwit Jedi. Hints of this can be found in the other various SW games such as KOTOR2, and other books and whatnot.
And for a time in which Rebels were severely outnumbered and outclassed there are many servers I've been on where Rebels had more then the Imperials. For recent indications look at the many posts about the Restuss event in which most Imperials could not even visit because so many Rebels were there. And Jedi are no longer outlaws, but the norm.
How can you be expected to roleplay in a game, if the game violates it's own rules? That was the big thing that killed it for me. It isn't a Star Wars RPG anymore because you can't role play. It is now a fantasy game. In a fantasy game you can make/break world rules as you wish, and complete disregard for basic reality rules is non-existent.
Other than the basic components (Jedi, Vader, Skywalker, Leia, Light Sabers, X-Wings, Y-Wings, TIEs, etc etc) this is not a Star Wars game anymore. It has degenerated itself down into the hollow shell of what it once was.
The rants of how this game violates SW foundations that were set out by George Lucas himself and LA (not even taking into account the expanded universe books) would be astounding. And yet LA has a fairly large say in what goes on right alongside SOE, which if memory serves, they are no authority on the SW universe. They haven't written books, movies, etc. They should just be there for technical support and leave the real work to the people that have a clue as to what is going on in the SW world. Granted LA isn't totally faultless here, they have made blatant disregard for the SW universe the normal thing to see. That can only explain why TIE Fighters and Interceptors are shielded and can hyperspace around. In the REAL SW universe, only TIE Advanced and above had shielding, the Fighters and Interceptors were designed to be fast and quick, sacrificing shields for that.
I'd better stop before I talk myself out of my fanatacism for the real SW universe. As a purist SW fan, this game's disregard for it's own rules and timelines was staggering. Knowing LA allowed it was even worse.
OP, if you want to add any of the above to your letter feel free....
I got a reply from SOE today.
From "Bill Corning, Senior Customer Service Representative". I don't think it was a form letter because of the grammatical errors (and it did have my name and address on it).
Basically, in very general language, it excused the NGE. I quote from the letter, "We believe such modifications were needed in order to keep Star Wars Galaxies a premiere massive Multiplayer Online Game."
Still haven't gotten a reply from LA, and I don't think I will.
Thanks for the update. Any chance you can scan and OCR that response so we can pick apart every detail and put words in their mouths and turn the letter into something it is not?
There has been a lack of real content on this forum in recent days and we could sure use an infusion of new material.
I'd probably reply to the reply with something like:
But that is just me.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
Thanks for the update. Any chance you can scan and OCR that response so we can pick apart every detail and put words in their mouths and turn the letter into something it is not?
There has been a lack of real content on this forum in recent days and we could sure use an infusion of new material.
I'd probably reply to the reply with something like:
But that is just me.
It wasn't that long so I'll just re type it all. Very little pertains to the actual state of the game.
I've received your letter regarding the recent Star Wars Galaxies game play changes. First, thanks for taking the time to write Sony Online Entertainment. To address your comments on the New Game Enhancements that went live on November 15th 2005; we believe such modifications were needed in order to keep Star Wars Galaxies A premeiere Massive Multiplayer Online Game.
Please note we have and will continue to invest a great deal of time weighing in the thoughts and opinions of our Player base. It is important for us as a company to hear our customer's concerns and opinions on how we can better serve everyone that uses our products.
If you have moved on from Star Wars Galaxies, please know that Sony Online Entertainment is constantly striving to improve upon all aspects of Star Wars Galaxies.
May the Force be with you,
Regards,
That's it.
You're right, and it is a form letter.
The part I copied just steams me though. I have one thing to say in return:
THEN WHY BAN PEOPLE FOR ASKING FOR PRE-CU SERVERS? It is important that you know we want that. Of course, non NGE Fanbois are not your "Player base" so I guess I am wrong.
I officially call Bantha PooDoo on this reply. Lying sacks of crap.
Thanks for sharing, Abbaba. I was beginning to mellow out about the whole thing. Thanks for saving me from the Light Side.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
You know what Mr. Smeldley just heard?
Blah blah blahblah. Blah. Blah Blah. Blah.
Blah.
All your reasoning from fan perspective is absolutely irrelevant for Mr. Smedley.
i never tried the pre-cu but i have played under CU and it was fun. now when the nge started im still playing cause i dont know any good game as star wars you know star wars is star wars.
but those times when we all had a lot of fun r gone.
we must be though and pray for something what will save us.
______________________________
I usually picture the Career builder commercial with the room full of monkeys and upside down sales chart when thinking about the SOE/SWG decision making process.....
SOE's John Blakely and Todd Fiala issued a warning: "Don't make our mistakes." Ref NGE
Winner of the worst MMOS goes to.... the NGE and SWG..!!! http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm?loadFeature=1034&bhcp=1
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis