Star Wars Galaxies: Galaxies Re-Review

Stradden · August 2009

MMORPG.com's Chris Higgins writes this new look at Sony online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies.

Love it or hate it, Star Wars Galaxies is still up and running after six years with a loyal following. The game itself has morphed into a completely different game than when it was first launched in June 2003. In fact, it is safe to say, SWG is an almost completely different game from when the NGE was pushed to it in November 2005. If you are new to Galaxies and thinking about trying it, you will hear tales from many disenchanted players about updates that broke the game. I guess you can't log into this game without a quick history lesson:

Read the Galaxies Re-Review

John.A.Zoid · August 2009

Imagine what the game coulda been if they gave these 4 years of development with the Pre CU system instead of NGE Coulda been the most unique mmorpg out there with a great name that lots of people still played. Instead it's a running joke of the MMO genre and people are just waiting for it to close.

All they've done over these past 4 years with the NGE is fix what it broke and added lack luster content. They like one guy in the art team and they have to reuse all the art currently in the game over and over again cause they just don't have the resources to create much from scratch anymore. If you look at the end game instances and stuff they've put hardly any effort into level design it's mainly just a room with a few mobs still in it and places some furniture thats been in the game 6 years around the place.

All the things I hate about the NGE havn't been touched since it was launched so in my eyes the game is hardly any better. Still waiting for a nice looking UI, animations, old targetting system and speed of movemnt/combat slowed down so it doesn't look like everything is on fast forward.

Azureal · August 2009

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid

Imagine what the game coulda been if they gave these 4 years of development with the Pre CU system instead of NGE Coulda been the most unique mmorpg out there with a great name that lots of people still played. Instead it's a running joke of the MMO genre and people are just waiting for it to close.
All they've done over these past 4 years with the NGE is fix what it broke and added lack luster content. They like one guy in the art team and they have to reuse all the art currently in the game over and over again cause they just don't have the resources to create much from scratch anymore. If you look at the end game instances and stuff they've put hardly any effort into level design it's mainly just a room with a few mobs still in it and places some furniture thats been in the game 6 years around the place.
All the things I hate about the NGE havn't been touched since it was launched so in my eyes the game is hardly any better. Still waiting for a nice looking UI, animations, old targetting system and speed of movemnt/combat slowed down so it doesn't look like everything is on fast forward.

The first paragraph +1

cmcmaha · August 2009

Amen, brother.

Nebless · August 2009

Got to admit though, it was a fairly decent re-review. I too remember the old days and don't find anything overly interesting in the new be it heroic's, collections or the silly card game. When I did come back (a year? ago) it was to try out the RP (don't go to SS for RP unless you're a canon **ore as they won't play with you) and the space Pvp. RP sucked, Space was fun with regularly scheduled events. Too bad they self destructed about the same time as I left, only good part of the game.

Having said that, my wife who never really played under the old system is enjoying herself now without any pre-convcieved thoughts, heartbreaks or doubts. She runs around Dant, shoots stuff and then takes it back to her house and decorates with it. When she doesn't want to shoot stuff, she goes to a cantina and dances and socializes. Do I THINK that's worth the monthly fee? Not really, but it's her babysitting money so what she does with it is her thing. Better than beer and cigerettes that's for sure.

Blackdragun · August 2009

It's amazing, after the NGE our entire guild quit. We were based on Flurry and had been playing for a very long time. I just re-up'd 2 of my accounts paying 6 months for each of them (talk about anger). I love the crafting/housing/city theme in this game. It was 100% player driven. I did enjoy WoW after SWG and currenlty am in Runes of Magic. Nothing comes close to the crafting theme in SWG. This game (pre NGE) was all about the players, helping one another complete a large variety of missions. There were quest lines but IMO very different then the normal "Pick up a quest - run here - kill that - drop off a quest" We did have a close group of gamers playing for several years together. It's been hard finding another game that everyone enjoys playing and everytime I read one of these articles it makes me very upset all over again. The loss of friends, loss of money, loss of quality entertainment. Sony acted like a bad president, made a HUGE mistake but is sticking by it to not admit they did anything wrong.

I can understand making changes to a game and finding out "Hey, this was a bad idea" and fix it. Not just drive it into the ground. Gezz, its been a while since I ranted about SWG - still feels the same though.

Join us on Runes of Magic

Server Grimdal

Bluedragun 31mage/30knight

Blackdragun 15 rouge/waiting for druid

Blackdragun · August 2009

Originally posted by Nebless

Got to admit though, it was a fairly decent re-review. I too remember the old days and don't find anything overly interesting in the new be it heroic's, collections or the silly card game. When I did come back (a year? ago) it was to try out the RP (don't go to SS for RP unless you're a canon **ore as they won't play with you) and the space Pvp. RP sucked, Space was fun with regularly scheduled events. Too bad they self destructed about the same time as I left, only good part of the game.
Having said that, my wife who never really played under the old system is enjoying herself now without any pre-convcieved thoughts, heartbreaks or doubts. She runs around Dant, shoots stuff and then takes it back to her house and decorates with it. When she doesn't want to shoot stuff, she goes to a cantina and dances and socializes. Do I THINK that's worth the monthly fee? Not really, but it's her babysitting money so what she does with it is her thing. Better than beer and cigerettes that's for sure.

I agree its a good review

I agree is better than a smoke and a beer

Now, need to figure out how to get my wife into MMO's :P

cevius · August 2009

Returning SWG vet here,

I gave the game another whirl. I was excited for the first couple of weeks because of the different changes which are noted in this review. Overall, I just felt like it is an unfinished game. I've finally decided that I will not go back to the game until they've fixed everything that needs fixin.

In the meantime, everyone keep enjoying "Star Wars Galaxies: New Game Experience Open Paid Beta"

-Cev

John.A.Zoid · August 2009

Originally posted by Blackdragun

Originally posted by Nebless

Got to admit though, it was a fairly decent re-review. I too remember the old days and don't find anything overly interesting in the new be it heroic's, collections or the silly card game. When I did come back (a year? ago) it was to try out the RP (don't go to SS for RP unless you're a canon **ore as they won't play with you) and the space Pvp. RP sucked, Space was fun with regularly scheduled events. Too bad they self destructed about the same time as I left, only good part of the game.
Having said that, my wife who never really played under the old system is enjoying herself now without any pre-convcieved thoughts, heartbreaks or doubts. She runs around Dant, shoots stuff and then takes it back to her house and decorates with it. When she doesn't want to shoot stuff, she goes to a cantina and dances and socializes. Do I THINK that's worth the monthly fee? Not really, but it's her babysitting money so what she does with it is her thing. Better than beer and cigerettes that's for sure.

I agree its a good review

I agree is better than a smoke and a beer

Now, need to figure out how to get my wife into MMO's :P

Puzzle Pirates

superniceguy · August 2009

"Cons

No real epic Galactic Civil War action "

An update to the GCW is in the works, so that should hopefully get crossed off the list by the end of the year.

Here are things coming soon, and update 12 has now just gone live:

Taken from: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/posts/list.m?topic_id=969587

Update 12 – Engineering Trader

As many of you know, we have extended Update 12 to include some very important new features. Much of this was driven by your input on this update. These features include changes to the Engineering Trader expertise and profession wheel, the introduction of cybernetic hands and a new cybernetic point system, and the continuation of the legacy quest line to connect it to the Meatlump theme park.

Update 13 – Star Wars Chronicles

Loche just got back from SOE Block Party where he got a chance to demo Chronicles. We got some really great feedback. The team is making good progress on this update as well. There are some challenges ahead but so far the system is looking like it will be a great addition to the game that all of you will be able to enjoy. The two big areas we are still finalizing the details on are cost and reward. How much should it cost to create a quest? What are the rewards you’ll get from completing a quest and for others completing your quests? These questions are critical to the balance of this system. We’ll keep working on the details and let you know when things are finalized.

Since we delayed Update 12 some, we have decided to include the Death Troopers prologue in this update. This is also why the updates have been re-numbered.

Update 14 – Death Troopers

Progress is moving along nicely. We continue to get in some eerie new assets and the SWG specific storyline is creeping along. Keep contributing to GPD threads like [Gamplay Focus] Braiiinnnnnstorming GU14-15. You have some great ideas and we’re enjoying reading them.

Update 15 – Galactic Civil War

One of the most asked questions from Fan Faire 2009 was: Will each profession have a specific contribution to the GCW? The team has put a lot of thought into this question. It’s still very early in the development cycle but we do have some very good ideas on the table. We’re looking at the GCW like a game of chess. Chess is all about thinking ahead, using the pieces on the table to the best of their abilities, making sacrifices, and setting up the winning move. In chess, all the pieces play a role and, in the GCW, each profession will play a specific and key role in the strategy as well.

- Teesquared

BlackWatch · August 2009

SWG is still alive because of the 'Star Wars' name and because there are 'Star Wars' fans. The game itself is terrible... I say this after having played for years and many returns to try it again. When the new Star Wars MMORPG (SW:TOR) launches, I think SWG will be a thing of the past.

As for the article... no bitter SWG Vet will be happy with an article on the game unless it is a landslide and open/all-out bash vs SOE and the game as it is today.

Mechanicus · August 2009

I started playing SWG on release. I was a beta tester for Jump to Lightspeed, and preordered it too.

I also spent a lot of time on the Test server, trying to help make the game better. Every time I logged into the Test server, I would write up a report about how bad the NGE was, and ways they could make it better. I know I wasn't only one person, but the amount of vehemence I put into those post about NGE, and all the other posts people made (both in reports, to GMs in the game [if they could get hold of them], and on the forums), should have been enough to make the Devs stand up and pay attention.

Unfortunately, they didn't. They dug their heels in, stuck their fingers in their ears, and sung the "I'm not listening" song until NGE was released.

I quit the game the day Rage of the Wookies was due to be released, after I heard that all the hype about the new planet was rubbish (the planet was a linear track, and at release there were little or no quests to do there).

My account was reactivated not all that long ago (Must have been some sort of special even or something). I took the opportunity to log my old character in and check stuff out (she was a Bounty Hunter/Crafter, very close to finishing Jedi training, called Gisele). I went to the Waypoint where my old house was, only to find it gone. I had paid so much maintenance into the house it should've still been there. With it, went loads of rare, even unique, items I had placed in there lovingly. Needless to say, that in itself was enough to make me quit playing. I have never been back since, and I haven't been tempted to return, even with the current dry-spell of MMOs.

sorez · August 2009

A fairly honest review of its current state

Unfortunately while its fine for new players ie. Lots to do...(if you can live with the bugs) for people who've been playing for a long time there is just nothing to do anymore, Everything is now a grind, there are no meta games anymore, nothing to keep you playing or give you a feeling you're actually making a difference

There is a planned gcw revamp coming later in the year and I think it'll be the final make or break for alot of the population.

Also the frequent small updates while adding things to do also introduce numerous bugs which are never fixed due to the small dev team moving immiediately to the next update has become a bit of a curse to the game, along with the rampant unchecked exploiting going on.

While many have remained loyal to the game dispite the nge and everything else there comes a time when enough is enough

ericlatrelle · August 2009

No "I Win" classes? LOL!!!! Wow. How about DS Jedi, Commando and Spy? Try again.

Mazin · August 2009

Originally posted by Mechanicus

I started playing SWG on release. I was a beta tester for Jump to Lightspeed, and preordered it too.
I also spent a lot of time on the Test server, trying to help make the game better. Every time I logged into the Test server, I would write up a report about how bad the NGE was, and ways they could make it better. I know I wasn't only one person, but the amount of vehemence I put into those post about NGE, and all the other posts people made (both in reports, to GMs in the game [if they could get hold of them], and on the forums), should have been enough to make the Devs stand up and pay attention.

Unfortunately, they didn't. They dug their heels in, stuck their fingers in their ears, and sung the "I'm not listening" song until NGE was released.

I quit the game the day Rage of the Wookies was due to be released, after I heard that all the hype about the new planet was rubbish (the planet was a linear track, and at release there were little or no quests to do there).
My account was reactivated not all that long ago (Must have been some sort of special even or something). I took the opportunity to log my old character in and check stuff out (she was a Bounty Hunter/Crafter, very close to finishing Jedi training, called Gisele). I went to the Waypoint where my old house was, only to find it gone. I had paid so much maintenance into the house it should've still been there. With it, went loads of rare, even unique, items I had placed in there lovingly. Needless to say, that in itself was enough to make me quit playing. I have never been back since, and I haven't been tempted to return, even with the current dry-spell of MMOs.

I don't think they put the NGE on the test server, and if it was, it was only like a week.

They really jammed the NGE down the players throats, worst live game making decision in gaming history; not to many people could argue that point.

I still got hope that they will close down 5 of those barren servers and put up some pre-cu servers

Mechanicus · August 2009

Originally posted by Mazi

I don't think they put the NGE on the test server, and if it was, it was only like a week.
They really jammed the NGE down the players throats, worst live game making decision in gaming history; not to many people could argue that point.
I still got hope that they will close down 5 of those barren servers and put up some pre-cu servers

Well, I might be thinking of the CU, because it was a long time ago (relatively speaking), but I definitely remember writing loads of reports on NGE, at least a couple a day.

equoowe · August 2009

"the combat upgrade or CU was going to make combat more challenging"

what? i think its the other way around, they made the CU to make combat and gameplay more basic (then even more basic with NGE)

also it had alittle more then some "growing" pains, they lost alot of subs with the CU, they should have spent all they time they did on the CU and NGE on fixing the issues with the pre-cu

jaxsundane · August 2009

Originally posted by Stradden

MMORPG.com's Chris Higgins writes this new look at Sony online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies.

Love it or hate it, Star Wars Galaxies is still up and running after six years with a loyal following. The game itself has morphed into a completely different game than when it was first launched in June 2003. In fact, it is safe to say, SWG is an almost completely different game from when the NGE was pushed to it in November 2005. If you are new to Galaxies and thinking about trying it, you will hear tales from many disenchanted players about updates that broke the game. I guess you can't log into this game without a quick history lesson:

Read the Galaxies Re-Review

Nice review and it's good to hear a mmorpg reviewer say in the end "I didn't like the game" reviewers on here often seem to tiptoe around that statement when posting reviews even when it's apparrent they didn't like the game. I subbed to the trial and was probably most excited by the change to allow two characters per server which wasn't possible when I last played, I moved my main toon over to my first server and made him a crafter my other toon I turned to Jedi. I think to make crafting a sub class is a good idea because as you stated if you want to do anything else other than crafting you are in a world of hurt, but I also noticed the combat in general is pretty lame, I got my Jedi to lvl 40 or so and up to that point it is near impossible to take out more than one opponent at a time as by the time you knock one of them out the other is usually almost done with you as well it feels overall very archaic without much if any sophistication at all you basically take turns bashing away at each other and two vs one comes off much the same way but of course you are taking two hits to the mobs one so more likely than not by the time you get the second mob down half way through his health you will be on the ground (luckily most mobs ignore you at that point so you just need to wait to wake up stand off a bit and wait for health to recharge to finish him off, but still a Jedi should not have so much trouble with two pirates, or whatever it is you are facing at the time. Again crafting just plain hurt the craft system is one of the best in an mmo but when you consider the fact that that toon will be pretty useless against any mobs in a fight it makes crafting more of a chore especially since you can really only craft one thing at a time while waiting for the crafting tool to load an item.

Space was ok the same as it was when I left basically a fun element but nothing really stuck out about it, this is one of the things that SWG has over other games I've played and enjoyed if I was tired of running around on the ground I could blast off and take on some pirates or Imps in space. This games best days are certainly behind it as evidenced by the lack of meaningful content added to the game in comparison to the "campy" and mostly useless stuff they add. I hate to come off as sexist but this game seems like they think most of the player base are girls who want just want to play house as from NGE to now that is the system I've seen the most added to hands down it is now just a huge scavenger hunt for lame decoration items it's almost impossible to get the feeling that something important is going on in this game.

I didn't quit because of the CU or the NGE I actually left a bit before any of that but the lack of meaningful direction or development and the overall attitude of staffers at SOE will keep me from resubbing to this game.

mokoleus · August 2009

my entire guild left because of the NGE. what the hell were they thinking? has any mmo ever changed the entire game, right down to the fundementals, with a healthy number of subscriptions? it just never made any sense. has anyone ever admitted to coming up with the idea? SWG needed work, no doubt, but to scrap any entire system, and re-vamp by stealing the most generic ideas from other mmos?

to this day, has anyone from SOE come forward and say, i fucked up? the broad changes they randomly made, would be like blizzard one day, making WoW into a RTS like the rest of warcraft. and then TELLING their players, that THEY LIKE IT. that drove me nuts about SOE, didn't matter what we said to them, they kept telling us, that we actually liked it. has anyone ever liked the NGE? and not people that never played it before, but people who were playing, and then logged in one day, to find out it's a completely different game.... just using the original modeling/texture data.

pretty sure my entire guild would sign up again, if they released a pre-NGE (atleast), server.

Leeky · August 2009

i feel its a fair and honest re-review.

I played since launch, quit when the nge hit, like 90% of the people i knew on eclipse. I went back at the begining of this year and whilst i enjoyed leveling a few pets using the new BM system, it wasnt a patch on Creature Handler and simply comes across as a tired, confused game. My anger towards SOE has subsided, i still miss precu/cu SWG and everyone that i met playing it and its still a deciding factor when buying a game, namely is it run by SOE?

Zarynterk · August 2009

Its dead Jim... move along nothing to see here.

superniceguy · August 2009

Originally posted by Mechanicus

I went to the Waypoint where my old house was, only to find it gone. I had paid so much maintenance into the house it should've still been there. With it, went loads of rare, even unique, items I had placed in there lovingly. Needless to say, that in itself was enough to make me quit playing. I have never been back since, and I haven't been tempted to return, even with the current dry-spell of MMOs.

The house would not have been completely deleted. The house would have been packed up inside your datapad, due to the house pack event at start of year - http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com/packup/ All your items would still be in there, and placed in ths same locations as you dropped and moved them to. Even if maintenance ran to 0 and was 100% damaged it would not have been destroyed, just would need to pay a small fee to un-condemn it

John.A.Zoid · August 2009

Originally posted by Mechanicus

Originally posted by Mazi

I don't think they put the NGE on the test server, and if it was, it was only like a week.
They really jammed the NGE down the players throats, worst live game making decision in gaming history; not to many people could argue that point.
I still got hope that they will close down 5 of those barren servers and put up some pre-cu servers

Well, I might be thinking of the CU, because it was a long time ago (relatively speaking), but I definitely remember writing loads of reports on NGE, at least a couple a day.

The NGE went up on test and everyone hated it but SOE still didn't listen and released it anyways. I remember a woman from LA said we don't care what the current players think, we're trying to attract new players.

TookyG · August 2009

Accidental. Please delete me.

beauturkey · August 2009

So, unless I missed something, he plays the game for enough time to reach max level and to get really involved with the game, quits for a year and then comes back to say it's boring?

Yet, he gives it a 6.8.

Say what you want, but obviously this guy loved this game for a long time. Isn't boredom after such a career expected? Didn;t he not only get his money's worth, but a helluva lot more?

Nah, let's just blame the NGE.

Beau

TookyG · August 2009

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid

The NGE went up on test and everyone hated it but SOE still didn't listen and released it anyways. I remember a woman from LA said we don't care what the current players think, we're trying to attract new players.

Nancy MacIntyre! Arg!

In regard to the re-review, yes, if someone can get past all the terrible stuff about the "game," sure they'll have fun. However, I think the same could be said of anyone with any game. SWG has been in a situation where, since the NGE was pushed live, the development team has simply been trying to fix what the NGE broke or (re)add "features." Features, that are put on top of broken or juryrigged code.

It's a real shame what SWG has become. It was by no means balanced or bug free at any point. Pre-CU though, it was the perfect long term MMO for me because it was a world--not just a game. Most MMOs are games now. They're fun for a little while but that euphoria wears off eventually. Worlds don't suffer from that--at least in my opinion.

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