www.rlmmo.com/viewtopic.php I took these screenshots in january, and starstrider was the most populated server at that time, still it wasn't much. And all other planets than tatooine was DEAD. I'm feraing since the server merge all but 4 servers are empty, beacuse everyone moved to those i guess, or whatever happend.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Thats because most of the other servers are dead, or did you forget to add that? Also, as of right now there's how many post about Starsider crashing/loading and lagging in the official forums, oops, forgot to mention that also didn't you. 1 really populated server doesn't say much.
www.rlmmo.com/viewtopic.php I took these screenshots in january, and starstrider was the most populated server at that time, still it wasn't much. And all other planets than tatooine was DEAD. I'm feraing since the server merge all but 4 servers are empty, beacuse everyone moved to those i guess, or whatever happend.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Thats because most of the other servers are dead, or did you forget to add that? Also, as of right now there's how many post about Starsider crashing/loading and lagging in the official forums, oops, forgot to mention that also didn't you. 1 really populated server doesn't say much.
Taking a look for myself on my vet trial, I can back up BS's statement that Starsider has had staggering population growth (and yes, it looks to be up to Pre-CU levels). BUT, and a big BUT, ALL the other servers are DEAD.
One populated server. Not much of a business case to keep it running imo. The clock is ticking to TORs launch.
Really all the other servers are dead? Flurry sure is not dead as are about 6 other servers. But go ahead keep thinking the game is dead if it makes you feel better about yourself.
Really all the other servers are dead? Flurry sure is not dead as are about 6 other servers. But go ahead keep thinking the game is dead if it makes you feel better about yourself.
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Really all the other servers are dead? Flurry sure is not dead as are about 6 other servers. But go ahead keep thinking the game is dead if it makes you feel better about yourself.
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
Really all the other servers are dead? Flurry sure is not dead as are about 6 other servers. But go ahead keep thinking the game is dead if it makes you feel better about yourself.
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
You need to look for the server closest to you, Im west coast so I play west coast servers mainly. Games not dead, but they can cut more servers to make it more fun. If they want a healthy pop merge them down to 3 west 3 east and 1 or 2 europe.
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
Which server was that?
I HAD a smuggler/pistoleer on chilastra who had a decent amount of worldly goods. The free time is no longer available to my account but if you're willing to put up a months pay for the account ill hop on my guy. I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
I came in with a very open mind. I quit on that faithful day in november 05'. I knew it was a diferent game than what I had remembered so I had to just be ready to learn some new things. Sure there were only a few things I expected but they weren't unrealistic. At least to me.
The first thing I or anyone else notices is the way your character moves. Its a real put off for me. I dont understand why its so spastic and wacky when I can't imagine people needing to strafe back and forth to dodge rockets like its quake when they put in auto lock for targeting. I expected to see a smother movement. When they put in a snappy movement feel to the game, i think in CU, the outrage was absolute, and they reverted it back. They put back in snappy movement again in nge but this time didnt budge with any demand. This saddened me really.
I guess another thing that disappointed me was that there is really no direction for either pvp or pve. At least thats what I gathered from because I couldn't get any information on what exactly people do when they hit level cap, that holds significance. Let me explain, because this is a thing I have against most mmos; most mmo games just have you kill a boat load of crap to reach level cap, then have you kill a boatload of more crap that hits you back harder for purple stuff. You can do it as much as you want and in the end, those same mobs are still there taunting you and talking trash through scripted emotes. Nothing changes. Everything is exactly the same as it was the day before, and the day before that. In the end, all that remains is the challenge of the raid/dungeon itself and some bragging rights... but the novelty of that runs dry after x amount of years. This of course explains the life of wow and other mmos that have the same features with or without the polish.
(im getting to a point here, hold on with me) Now rewind back to 2003 when swg was first released. I was able to tolerate the absurdity of the game for a little while for the mere prospect of seeing a kind of end game (almost exclusively pvp on my end) that was dynamic and held some significance. It was new and there were regular patches trying to adjust some classes. I remember there being absolutely massive pvp battles between the imperials of Bestine and the rebels of Snchorhead, and how both sides would contiuosly beat each other until the other side is marching on their enemies city with impunity. After a few months of random acts of pvp, the developers dabbled in the idea of allowing bases to count for planetary control and attributing the control of the planet to benefits to all classes for the associated faction etc. That was an amazing idea at the time to think that by winning specific key battles in the open world, you could contribute to real benefits to not only yourself or your guild, but to your whole faction who resided on that planet.I held on to the game for all the amazing ideas the devs kept putting on table. It kept my mouth watering.
There was even this one event on eclipse, where a mayor and the citizens of a rebel town, put up an event (with the assistance of a cm) where the imperials would invade and the rebels would defend. The target was the mayor and should the mayor die during this battle, the city would fall and its citizens would evacuate. When the dust settled, the mayor was dead and the city soon abandoned the following day. To this day i think there remains a fallen at at and the majority of the decorated structures are all slanted to show the appearance of an ancient and decrepid city. THIS was the kind of stuff that kept me playing... a dynamic world where players held the ball in their court. That is, in essence, what a sandbox should allow right?
Naturally... the game was neglected in the worst way and very few of any promised content came to fruition.The devs never got down to the nitty gritty.
When I left swg, there was an incredible sense of the "you can do x but why would you want to?" When i tried wsg again, I felt the same exact way and It is incredibly hard to motivate yourself into exploring the game for 15 odd hours just to confirm the pot at the end of the rainbow exists.
I guess in summation, all I wanted out of swg was a world that wasn't so g.damn static like every mmo on the market. I don't care about quests, or novelty items, or iconic anything... just the freedom to play out star wars, not to play some guy who is trying too hard to be star warsy. Is it unfair that I hold expectations to swg that you can't with any other mmo? No, its not fair, but neither was being lied to for years as a paying swg customer. C'est le vie? No?
Whether people here like it or not, Starsider is busy enough to cause a lot of lag. They definately didnt downgrade server hardware, so it might be an indication that it is overpopulated. People even started posts on the forums asking to restrict transfers to Starsider.
Also how many servers are populated doesnt matter at all for the playing player. Usually you stick to one server in a MMO and only that server will matter for you. Unless you dont play anymore and then some of those ppl start to find it important to compare server populations of completely different games even.
I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
..interesting read..
If SWG was only PVE combat and PVP, I wouldnt even play it. Combat is mediocre at best compared to other MMO's (I agree with the awkward movement issues and there are some serious bugs too), but the fact that it is scifi gives it a bonus for me. PVP is as shallow as it comes in MMO's and Im also not really into it. This could change after they update the GCW system.
The reason I do play SWG however is because of diversity. Im mayor of a city, I craft, I create pets, I decorate ,I hunt for creature resources, enzymes for pet creating, I join heroics, we create mini events with storyteller stuff, I do spacecombat, I collect badges etc.
No other MMO that I played has this kind of diversity. The only one I can think of is UO, but that was popular when I wasnt into MMO's yet. Especially crafting and playercities/decorating has a depth that is unparallelled in any MMO at this moment. I also dont see it being introduced again in a new MMO. Player city system like in SWG will be lost forever I think when SWG is gone.
Ive seen houses in EQII, Vanguard, LOTRO and AO. Its all shallow compared to SWG's system.
www.rlmmo.com/viewtopic.php I took these screenshots in january, and starstrider was the most populated server at that time, still it wasn't much. And all other planets than tatooine was DEAD. I'm feraing since the server merge all but 4 servers are empty, beacuse everyone moved to those i guess, or whatever happend.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Who? What players? Names? I'm going to have to go with the old.. "screenshots or it didn't happen" : )
lol @ BadgerSmaker. Thunderous I can only applaud and say epic win rofl. To all others dont get me wrong i loved swg at one time (when unlocking an FS slot and being a jedi meant something) but lets be honest the game is dead. I will say though for those that still enjoy the game they should do another server merge and have what 2-4 servers at most? This way those that are still enjoying themselves will have people to play with and if i was enjoying myself and the population was healthy for my server then I would'nt care and would do what we are all meant to do with games have fun! peace.
www.rlmmo.com/viewtopic.php I took these screenshots in january, and starstrider was the most populated server at that time, still it wasn't much. And all other planets than tatooine was DEAD. I'm feraing since the server merge all but 4 servers are empty, beacuse everyone moved to those i guess, or whatever happend.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Who? What players? Names? I'm going to have to go with the old.. "screenshots or it didn't happen" : )
lol @ BadgerSmaker. Thunderous I can only applaud and say epic win rofl. To all others dont get me wrong i loved swg at one time (when unlocking an FS slot and being a jedi meant something) but lets be honest the game is dead. I will say though for those that still enjoy the game they should do another server merge and have what 2-4 servers at most? This way those that are still enjoying themselves will have people to play with and if i was enjoying myself and the population was healthy for my server then I would'nt care and would do what we are all meant to do with games have fun! peace.
What epic win? Why would anyone keep track of names of ppl who would make these comments? Check the forums for yourself already. Even if he came up with screenshots, then Thunderous would just say..oh you found someone that said what you want, how does that prove anything?
Meh. If you just bothered to take a few looks on Starsider forums then you will find even posts from ppl that want to restrict servertransfers to Starsider because of the lag it causes.They find Starsider too populated atm.
I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
..interesting read..
If SWG was only PVE combat and PVP, I wouldnt even play it. Combat is mediocre at best compared to other MMO's (I agree with the awkward movement issues and there are some serious bugs too), but the fact that it is scifi gives it a bonus for me. PVP is as shallow as it comes in MMO's and Im also not really into it. This could change after they update the GCW system.
The reason I do play SWG however is because of diversity. Im mayor of a city, I craft, I create pets, I decorate ,I hunt for creature resources, enzymes for pet creating, I join heroics, we create mini events with storyteller stuff, I do spacecombat, I collect badges etc.
No other MMO that I played has this kind of diversity. The only one I can think of is UO, but that was popular when I wasnt into MMO's yet. Especially crafting and playercities/decorating has a depth that is unparallelled in any MMO at this moment. I also dont see it being introduced again in a new MMO. Player city system like in SWG will be lost forever I think when SWG is gone.
Ive seen houses in EQII, Vanguard, LOTRO and AO. Its all shallow compared to SWG's system.
Heh, If i held my breath the first time i heard there was going to be an update to the gcw system that actually had substance, I'd be a cadaver, long turned to dust from the wait
I can see why swg would appeal to someone who doesn't place much interest (or at leas the majority of it) into combat. Really I do. I used to have an incredibly elaborate and well decorated house, and was deeply involved the political landscape of the (former) town i lived in, and had my limited amount of fun with space combat when jtl hit. What ever content in swg that is not oriented around either gathering or combat, its oriented towards community and such. I had an amazing group of friends playing with me back in the day, where we could actively battle rebel guilds (for resource veins, rivalries, pissing contests etc) but everyone from that era is gone now. The sort of community that i knew and loved doesn't seem to exist anymore on my server.
Would I be willing to reroll on starstrider? Maybe... you spoke truth in that there might not be another mmo for a very long time that had the kind of non combat depth swg has. Developers might be afraid to push the boundries like swg and go with the tried and true styles that Warcraft takes on. Developers aren't willing to risk a huge investment, but sadly its all for the wrong reasons... SWG didnt fail because it was a sandbox, it failed because of the inmeasurable amount of neglicence on behalf of the development team. Think for a moment if you had blizzard who produces quality and polished gameplay, running SWG back in august of 03. Imagine what the game could have become? Its better not to dream because the earliest you'll find such a game will be in about 10 more years... at best.
Really, all this is why its so hard to move on from swg, because ultimately, there are no alternatives. This is why disgruntled vets, will always be.
Whether people here like it or not, Starsider is busy enough to cause a lot of lag. They definately didnt downgrade server hardware, so it might be an indication that it is overpopulated. People even started posts on the forums asking to restrict transfers to Starsider. Also how many servers are populated doesnt matter at all for the playing player. Usually you stick to one server in a MMO and only that server will matter for you. Unless you dont play anymore and then some of those ppl start to find it important to compare server populations of completely different games even.
Pre-CU/NGE SWG did not have the lag problems that it has now. The only server that has anywhere near the population that it had pre-CU/NGE is Starsider, even though, IMO, the current population is still less. Blaming current lag on population increase is not correct. The blame can be placed on inefficient software updates, increased animation speed, over spawning, and any number of other reasons. Alot of these problems started with the release of the NGE.
As far as Starsider being overpopulated... for the current state of the software/hardware I would have to say yes it is. The increase in population is making the lag worse but it is not the root cause of it. Pre-CU/NGE software/hardware handled the population with little lag as compared to now.
Pre-cu had huge lag, rubberbanding as well. Traveling between server boundarys would rubberbound like crazy, this was most pronounced around the time they indroduced mounts and player citys.
As far a server population there are 6 or 7 really nice sized populations a few more that are populated and then 50% of the servers are empty since people transfered out of them to the populated servers.
I define a server is populated if you can group with ease, if you sell stuff on a vendor you get steady sales and PvP is around when you want to.
I logged in for the free month. I think I caught it at the end and got about a week or so. I'm pretty much over SWG. I'm on Ahazi and the pop is high on the low end maybe. Quite often I was alone in a city..ME, Coronet..
I also logged back into some crazy guild scandal. I spent two hours reading emails. Anyone that has the lowdown on LVN gate let me know
Pre-cu had huge lag, rubberbanding as well. Traveling between server boundarys would rubberbound like crazy, this was most pronounced around the time they indroduced mounts and player citys. As far a server population there are 6 or 7 really nice sized populations a few more that are populated and then 50% of the servers are empty since people transfered out of them to the populated servers. I define a server is populated if you can group with ease, if you sell stuff on a vendor you get steady sales and PvP is around when you want to.
Sorry but 'really nice sized population' is meaningless to everyone but you. IMO only Starsider has a population anywhere near what it was pre-CU. Most of the servers are dead due to the CU/NGE. The FCT just moved a large segment of the remaining population to Starsider hence the 'really nice sized population'. This game has nowhere near the population that it did 3+ years ago. With SW:TOR coming out I can only see it getting worse.
Comments
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Thats because most of the other servers are dead, or did you forget to add that? Also, as of right now there's how many post about Starsider crashing/loading and lagging in the official forums, oops, forgot to mention that also didn't you. 1 really populated server doesn't say much.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Thats because most of the other servers are dead, or did you forget to add that? Also, as of right now there's how many post about Starsider crashing/loading and lagging in the official forums, oops, forgot to mention that also didn't you. 1 really populated server doesn't say much.
Taking a look for myself on my vet trial, I can back up BS's statement that Starsider has had staggering population growth (and yes, it looks to be up to Pre-CU levels). BUT, and a big BUT, ALL the other servers are DEAD.
One populated server. Not much of a business case to keep it running imo. The clock is ticking to TORs launch.
Really all the other servers are dead? Flurry sure is not dead as are about 6 other servers. But go ahead keep thinking the game is dead if it makes you feel better about yourself.
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
Which server was that?
Dead is certainly a relative term I admit, but I think we all know what I'm comparing the populations to (Pre-CU for those that don't know). So yes, compared to Pre-CU, ALL servers but Starsider are DEAD.
I would also like to acknowledge at this time the crazy amount of lag that Starsider has now, which makes it almost unplayable in populated areas.
So yes, I'll continue to stand by my statements that compared to Pre-CU (of which it is the norm to compare SWG NGE to, which is why SWGNGE looks so crap as it does now), all servers are dead but Starsider. And it does make me feel better.
You can certainly go on playing the game with your imaginary fellow players (provided by SOE in the form of holo-players in the cantina) on any other server outside of Starsider, and feel good about yourself for doing so. My guess is you'll be playing on Starsider, cause playing an MMO with other people, is funner than not (IMO of course).
Truth. I took up that free game time for canceled accounts and quite honestly, the game could probably switch to "ghost town emulator" and it would be better at that than a star wars emulator. I probably would have been able to find probably pockets of civilization but after about an hour of probably the worst (imo) character movement ive tried in years, I tapped out and admited defeat and logged off.
You need to look for the server closest to you, Im west coast so I play west coast servers mainly. Games not dead, but they can cut more servers to make it more fun. If they want a healthy pop merge them down to 3 west 3 east and 1 or 2 europe.
Which server was that?
I HAD a smuggler/pistoleer on chilastra who had a decent amount of worldly goods. The free time is no longer available to my account but if you're willing to put up a months pay for the account ill hop on my guy. I'll admit, the (few) people that I DID find, were very pleasent people but they were trying too hard to convince me that the game is amazing because of all the quests and collectables you can get... wasn't a good sale imo but to each their own.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
I came in with a very open mind. I quit on that faithful day in november 05'. I knew it was a diferent game than what I had remembered so I had to just be ready to learn some new things. Sure there were only a few things I expected but they weren't unrealistic. At least to me.
The first thing I or anyone else notices is the way your character moves. Its a real put off for me. I dont understand why its so spastic and wacky when I can't imagine people needing to strafe back and forth to dodge rockets like its quake when they put in auto lock for targeting. I expected to see a smother movement. When they put in a snappy movement feel to the game, i think in CU, the outrage was absolute, and they reverted it back. They put back in snappy movement again in nge but this time didnt budge with any demand. This saddened me really.
I guess another thing that disappointed me was that there is really no direction for either pvp or pve. At least thats what I gathered from because I couldn't get any information on what exactly people do when they hit level cap, that holds significance. Let me explain, because this is a thing I have against most mmos; most mmo games just have you kill a boat load of crap to reach level cap, then have you kill a boatload of more crap that hits you back harder for purple stuff. You can do it as much as you want and in the end, those same mobs are still there taunting you and talking trash through scripted emotes. Nothing changes. Everything is exactly the same as it was the day before, and the day before that. In the end, all that remains is the challenge of the raid/dungeon itself and some bragging rights... but the novelty of that runs dry after x amount of years. This of course explains the life of wow and other mmos that have the same features with or without the polish.
(im getting to a point here, hold on with me) Now rewind back to 2003 when swg was first released. I was able to tolerate the absurdity of the game for a little while for the mere prospect of seeing a kind of end game (almost exclusively pvp on my end) that was dynamic and held some significance. It was new and there were regular patches trying to adjust some classes. I remember there being absolutely massive pvp battles between the imperials of Bestine and the rebels of Snchorhead, and how both sides would contiuosly beat each other until the other side is marching on their enemies city with impunity. After a few months of random acts of pvp, the developers dabbled in the idea of allowing bases to count for planetary control and attributing the control of the planet to benefits to all classes for the associated faction etc. That was an amazing idea at the time to think that by winning specific key battles in the open world, you could contribute to real benefits to not only yourself or your guild, but to your whole faction who resided on that planet.I held on to the game for all the amazing ideas the devs kept putting on table. It kept my mouth watering.
There was even this one event on eclipse, where a mayor and the citizens of a rebel town, put up an event (with the assistance of a cm) where the imperials would invade and the rebels would defend. The target was the mayor and should the mayor die during this battle, the city would fall and its citizens would evacuate. When the dust settled, the mayor was dead and the city soon abandoned the following day. To this day i think there remains a fallen at at and the majority of the decorated structures are all slanted to show the appearance of an ancient and decrepid city. THIS was the kind of stuff that kept me playing... a dynamic world where players held the ball in their court. That is, in essence, what a sandbox should allow right?
Naturally... the game was neglected in the worst way and very few of any promised content came to fruition.The devs never got down to the nitty gritty.
When I left swg, there was an incredible sense of the "you can do x but why would you want to?" When i tried wsg again, I felt the same exact way and It is incredibly hard to motivate yourself into exploring the game for 15 odd hours just to confirm the pot at the end of the rainbow exists.
I guess in summation, all I wanted out of swg was a world that wasn't so g.damn static like every mmo on the market. I don't care about quests, or novelty items, or iconic anything... just the freedom to play out star wars, not to play some guy who is trying too hard to be star warsy. Is it unfair that I hold expectations to swg that you can't with any other mmo? No, its not fair, but neither was being lied to for years as a paying swg customer. C'est le vie? No?
Whether people here like it or not, Starsider is busy enough to cause a lot of lag. They definately didnt downgrade server hardware, so it might be an indication that it is overpopulated. People even started posts on the forums asking to restrict transfers to Starsider.
Also how many servers are populated doesnt matter at all for the playing player. Usually you stick to one server in a MMO and only that server will matter for you. Unless you dont play anymore and then some of those ppl start to find it important to compare server populations of completely different games even.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
..interesting read..If SWG was only PVE combat and PVP, I wouldnt even play it. Combat is mediocre at best compared to other MMO's (I agree with the awkward movement issues and there are some serious bugs too), but the fact that it is scifi gives it a bonus for me. PVP is as shallow as it comes in MMO's and Im also not really into it. This could change after they update the GCW system.
The reason I do play SWG however is because of diversity. Im mayor of a city, I craft, I create pets, I decorate ,I hunt for creature resources, enzymes for pet creating, I join heroics, we create mini events with storyteller stuff, I do spacecombat, I collect badges etc.
No other MMO that I played has this kind of diversity. The only one I can think of is UO, but that was popular when I wasnt into MMO's yet. Especially crafting and playercities/decorating has a depth that is unparallelled in any MMO at this moment. I also dont see it being introduced again in a new MMO. Player city system like in SWG will be lost forever I think when SWG is gone.
Ive seen houses in EQII, Vanguard, LOTRO and AO. Its all shallow compared to SWG's system.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Who? What players? Names? I'm going to have to go with the old.. "screenshots or it didn't happen" : )
lol @ BadgerSmaker. Thunderous I can only applaud and say epic win rofl. To all others dont get me wrong i loved swg at one time (when unlocking an FS slot and being a jedi meant something) but lets be honest the game is dead. I will say though for those that still enjoy the game they should do another server merge and have what 2-4 servers at most? This way those that are still enjoying themselves will have people to play with and if i was enjoying myself and the population was healthy for my server then I would'nt care and would do what we are all meant to do with games have fun! peace.
That was six months ago, and before the Free CTS. Starsider had a population explosion since. Take another look.
Players report that the server is as busy, if not busier than Pre-CU.
Who? What players? Names? I'm going to have to go with the old.. "screenshots or it didn't happen" : )
lol @ BadgerSmaker. Thunderous I can only applaud and say epic win rofl. To all others dont get me wrong i loved swg at one time (when unlocking an FS slot and being a jedi meant something) but lets be honest the game is dead. I will say though for those that still enjoy the game they should do another server merge and have what 2-4 servers at most? This way those that are still enjoying themselves will have people to play with and if i was enjoying myself and the population was healthy for my server then I would'nt care and would do what we are all meant to do with games have fun! peace.
What epic win? Why would anyone keep track of names of ppl who would make these comments? Check the forums for yourself already. Even if he came up with screenshots, then Thunderous would just say..oh you found someone that said what you want, how does that prove anything?
Meh. If you just bothered to take a few looks on Starsider forums then you will find even posts from ppl that want to restrict servertransfers to Starsider because of the lag it causes.They find Starsider too populated atm.
Was there something specific about the Star Wars experience that you were hoping to find on your trial?
..interesting read..If SWG was only PVE combat and PVP, I wouldnt even play it. Combat is mediocre at best compared to other MMO's (I agree with the awkward movement issues and there are some serious bugs too), but the fact that it is scifi gives it a bonus for me. PVP is as shallow as it comes in MMO's and Im also not really into it. This could change after they update the GCW system.
The reason I do play SWG however is because of diversity. Im mayor of a city, I craft, I create pets, I decorate ,I hunt for creature resources, enzymes for pet creating, I join heroics, we create mini events with storyteller stuff, I do spacecombat, I collect badges etc.
No other MMO that I played has this kind of diversity. The only one I can think of is UO, but that was popular when I wasnt into MMO's yet. Especially crafting and playercities/decorating has a depth that is unparallelled in any MMO at this moment. I also dont see it being introduced again in a new MMO. Player city system like in SWG will be lost forever I think when SWG is gone.
Ive seen houses in EQII, Vanguard, LOTRO and AO. Its all shallow compared to SWG's system.
Heh, If i held my breath the first time i heard there was going to be an update to the gcw system that actually had substance, I'd be a cadaver, long turned to dust from the wait
I can see why swg would appeal to someone who doesn't place much interest (or at leas the majority of it) into combat. Really I do. I used to have an incredibly elaborate and well decorated house, and was deeply involved the political landscape of the (former) town i lived in, and had my limited amount of fun with space combat when jtl hit. What ever content in swg that is not oriented around either gathering or combat, its oriented towards community and such. I had an amazing group of friends playing with me back in the day, where we could actively battle rebel guilds (for resource veins, rivalries, pissing contests etc) but everyone from that era is gone now. The sort of community that i knew and loved doesn't seem to exist anymore on my server.
Would I be willing to reroll on starstrider? Maybe... you spoke truth in that there might not be another mmo for a very long time that had the kind of non combat depth swg has. Developers might be afraid to push the boundries like swg and go with the tried and true styles that Warcraft takes on. Developers aren't willing to risk a huge investment, but sadly its all for the wrong reasons... SWG didnt fail because it was a sandbox, it failed because of the inmeasurable amount of neglicence on behalf of the development team. Think for a moment if you had blizzard who produces quality and polished gameplay, running SWG back in august of 03. Imagine what the game could have become? Its better not to dream because the earliest you'll find such a game will be in about 10 more years... at best.
Really, all this is why its so hard to move on from swg, because ultimately, there are no alternatives. This is why disgruntled vets, will always be.
Pre-CU/NGE SWG did not have the lag problems that it has now. The only server that has anywhere near the population that it had pre-CU/NGE is Starsider, even though, IMO, the current population is still less. Blaming current lag on population increase is not correct. The blame can be placed on inefficient software updates, increased animation speed, over spawning, and any number of other reasons. Alot of these problems started with the release of the NGE.
As far as Starsider being overpopulated... for the current state of the software/hardware I would have to say yes it is. The increase in population is making the lag worse but it is not the root cause of it. Pre-CU/NGE software/hardware handled the population with little lag as compared to now.
Pre-cu had huge lag, rubberbanding as well. Traveling between server boundarys would rubberbound like crazy, this was most pronounced around the time they indroduced mounts and player citys.
As far a server population there are 6 or 7 really nice sized populations a few more that are populated and then 50% of the servers are empty since people transfered out of them to the populated servers.
I define a server is populated if you can group with ease, if you sell stuff on a vendor you get steady sales and PvP is around when you want to.
I logged in for the free month. I think I caught it at the end and got about a week or so. I'm pretty much over SWG. I'm on Ahazi and the pop is high on the low end maybe. Quite often I was alone in a city..ME, Coronet..
I also logged back into some crazy guild scandal. I spent two hours reading emails. Anyone that has the lowdown on LVN gate let me know
Sorry but 'really nice sized population' is meaningless to everyone but you. IMO only Starsider has a population anywhere near what it was pre-CU. Most of the servers are dead due to the CU/NGE. The FCT just moved a large segment of the remaining population to Starsider hence the 'really nice sized population'. This game has nowhere near the population that it did 3+ years ago. With SW:TOR coming out I can only see it getting worse.