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Feb Producers Letter, Grant Mcdaniel, and the BS continues.
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Member UncommonPosts: 236
Hello!
My name is Grant McDaniel, though many of you may know me as Rogue_5. I was recently Producer for the Star Wars Galaxies Trials of Obi-Wan expansion, and now I am the Producer for SWG. I have been part of the SWG development team since almost the very beginning back in February 2002.
All along I have been an avid, some may even say extreme, Star Wars fan and collector since the very first film was introduced. I have collected thousands of various Star Wars items and memorabilia including such things as toys, books, replicas, and autographs, and I often spend my free time tracking down unique and rare items for my personal collection.
The best part of being such a devoted Star Wars fan is getting to work on a Star Wars game. There is no other job I could think of that would allow me to indulge my passion and get paid for it. I recognize the strength that this franchise has in terms of fans worldwide and I respect the core values inherent in the brand. For that reason, I am proud to be on the development team and excited about leading the SOE development team into the future.
Going forward, our overall goal this year is to continue to improve our game by focusing on adding content that offers players the best interactive entertainment experience available online today. We are lucky as we already have the greatest entertainment brand to build content around Star Wars .
To make that goal a reality we will continue to develop compelling Star Wars style adventure content that brings the excitement of the movies alive through in-game missions and story-driven adventures. Additionally, we will be working to further differentiate each of our nine iconic Star Wars professions in the upcoming live publishes. We will start by giving them new abilities and skills, and then access to new things that make each of them unique. Improving our communication is going to be a critical part of achieving this goal. We recognize that our success is determined in large part by our ability to listen to players, ask for feedback, initiate research and stay true to the brand. We want your continued support. Your input is critical to our process and we will continue to bounce ideas off the community, put new content on our Test Centers and probe for your ideas. Together we can take this game to the next level of excitement.
We know we have to earn your loyalty. To that end, this year you will see an increased focus on quality first and a passion for introducing content that brings iconic Star Wars conflicts and characters alive in-game. Like you, we love this brand because of the classic Star Wars adventures it brings to life Jedi fighting with Lightsabers and Force powers; Bounty Hunters battling with blasters; Commandos and Officers leading raids, Smugglers and Traders offering valuable resources, Spies leading us behind enemy lines and Medics keeping us safe and putting us back in the action or Entertainers engaging us with their artistry. Let's not forget the fun we have in space with the best space combat in the galaxy while dog-fighting in legendary ships like the X-wing, TIE fighter and Millennium Falcon. There is no other Star Wars game that let's players take up residence in the Star Wars universe and play an active role in the ongoing battle between the Empire and the Rebels. This year, our commitment to you is to bring back the spirit of Star Wars with more focus on the wars, the characters, the adventures, and battles that hearken back to the movie adventures. We have a lot of fun planned, a lot of quality improvement, and a lot of bug fixing so get ready for an exciting year that will remind you of why you love SWG .
Feel free to, drop me a line from time to time and let me know how we are doing. I look forward to hearing from you on our boards, the Stratics chats (hint: you might want to tune in to the one coming up this month for some news about an upcoming publish!), and meeting some of you at upcoming events (look for announcements coming soon about the Dev team hitting the road and going on some real-life galactic adventures). Stay with us and keep giving us the benefit of your insights. I look forward to a great year at the helm of a truly great game. The movies may be over but the adventure continues right here!
May the Force be with you!
Grant Rogue_5 McDaniel, Producer SOE
Grant "Rogue_5" McDaniel
SOE Producer, Star Wars Galaxies
Comments
"I look forward to hearing from you on our boards, the Stratics chats (hint: you might want to tune in to the one coming up this month for some news about an upcoming publish!), and meeting some of you at upcoming events (look for announcements coming soon about the Dev team hitting the road and going on some real-life galactic adventures). Stay with us and keep giving us the benefit of your insights. I look forward to a great year at the helm of a truly great game. The movies may be over but the adventure continues right here!"
I'd like to see some protests at whatever events the DEVs go too, something to make a disruption. I'll personally pay for someones plane ticket if they go throw a pie in SMEDS, FREEMAN, ROGUE_5, or JUILO's face.
Forums ate my post.
Repost: First, 80% vets? BS. Only the worst of the NGE fanbois would claim that. 200k tried the demo? Throw in the free 15 days for vets, and I'll believe it. Bet nobody stayed -- or you'd be crowing.
If you're going to lie, you need to throw a few truths in there first! Not start out with a lie so big your audience is choking in disbelief.
This game is dead. What's the letter boil down to: "Better Communication! More quality! Bug fixes!". That is NOT what the undecided were waiting for -- that's a dead game. That's maintance mode at best. At worst it's called treading water while the real decision makers figure out how to unscrew your mistakes.
I bet they lose more subs off of this. I know several folks waiting for Publish 27 and this letter -- they wanted to hear a gameplan, some ideas of where the game is heading. This isn't it.
Noooooooooooo
My names Grant
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Don't click here...no2
No.. if you twist the numbers right... I can believe 80% of the current players ARE vets. 80% of 20k that is.
They also said 200k people TRIED it. Didn't say they stayed. Hell, I d-loaded the trial twice myself.
Shayde - SWG (dead)
Proud member of the Cabal.
It sounds great, so great in fact, I pitty those who canceled
I don't like it when you say things. - A Vanguard fan who does too.
09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
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Don't click here...no2
This took 2 months to come up with? And isn't this the same garbage TH posted already? What is new in this letter? What is the schedule? Wth was that?
Is that a joke?
Anyways.
We will start by giving them new abilities and skills, and then access to new things that make each of them unique.
That doesn't make any other "smuggler" different from any other. That is the problem with the nge. God these dev's and producers are a flipping joke.
I hoped for a lot more than that and I am very dissappointed. I am just throwing my swg copies away. This game is fubur now.
They actually live in an alternate reality that is exactly 2 years behind present time. The issues addressed were what the masses were begging for back PreCU. They are ignoring the true elephant in the room - the NGE. People left in mass because of it. Before then, it was a steady trickle and in some cases - flesh wounds.
So they point out the common complaints but not the true source of today's issue. You can put pearls on a pig but that doesn't make it pretty. Nine iconic professions being fleshed out? Joy. I can mack out a Yugo with a bevy of light effects and stereo system that emulates the voice of God but it is still in essence a Yugo and if the core product is rotten - no bauble added to it will help.
Grudgingly, it is forward progress but not the type of progress every one of us (well some of us) is holding our breath for with each bit of news. Bring back PreCU with more content and fixed bugs.
Ah well, maybe next month. Perhaps when someone finds a way to "read" the numbers again and finds that there are now enough people to populate a small town cemetary.
The little desire I had to return to my toons on SWG has been killed by those letters.
It's unbelievable that they would keep playing the, "we just need to polish these letters up and make sure we've included as much info that the forums have been asking for as possible," game only to release these two letters that say absolutely nothing new and look as if they were written during a lunchbreak.
I guess it's too much to ask a leopard to change its spots or for SOE to regard it's customer base with a modicum of respect for their intelligence.
-d
Waiting on: Pirates of the Burning Sea and Pirates of the Carribean Online
Damn. The forums EXPLODED. I figured it would be bad -- but damn. PAGES of "I quit" threads. "This is bullshit" threads...
They started deleting quickly, but it seemed like everyone who read the letters was PISSED as hell.
I think they just cost themselves at least 2/3rds of the forum dwellers accounts. I haven't seen Wepps' response, although it should be good.
His response is predictable. He'll say, "see, 200k new players that's the official number the game is doing great!!!1"
"The man who exchanges Liberty for Iconic classes is a fool deserving of neither." - Me and Ben Franklin
OH MY GOD!. I only normally read the posts on this site but I have to speak now. That letter was biggest load of twaddle that I have ever seen!
It sounds like they don't have much of an idea. If you break the letter down you could write its content in maybe 2 paragraphs! It looks more like an essay that has been stretched to meet a word count!
We all like fighting with light sabres? Go buy SW Battle front 2 then! When this truely was a good game it was a thing just to see a light sabre being used!
As for the nine iconic profeesions? Trader? Trade what? Smuggler? Smuggle what? Oh that's right nothing as the "Iconic" story line gives you everything. So all that is left to trade is the stuff to make light sabres! JOY!
I have been watching the films with little lad and it has been hard resisting the lure of what I remember of the game. The letter I have just read puts those feelings way out there! The only feeling I have now is anger.
Communication? My arse. The post at the end of my drive listens to me more than these jokers ever did! They are a joke.
I feel really sorry for everybody that spent time and money and built something in the game. Some will say it is only a game and you should just try your best to enjoy it as it is not that bad. HELLO! I am paying for the game each month. What do you expect to get for that money? Support maybe? Stable servers maybe? A stable game? I suppose 1 out of 3 ain't bad eh???
The whole thing just sucks, soe just sucks and we the customers are left with an empty feeling and empty wallets.
Apologies for the rant but that letter was just another of those last straws!
I've got one question after reading that letter. Is Julio part of the new "target audience?"
Heh, no announcement of a roll back to pre-cu? Legacy servers? Game shutdown? Server merges?
That's a few rumours dead that were based on the letter(s)
UHMM , learn to read He said 200,000 trials not , New players . A huge chunk of those being trolls creating multiple accounts after being banned over and over . Idiots didn't even realize they were helping SWG in the #'s while they were trying to hurt them . LMAO
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
You have the option at anytime to cancel and discontinue paying , Blaming them for you spending your money is ridiculous .
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
No wonder. Both Producer's Letters provide no new information about the progress of the game or its direction. Apart from the PR speak, the only information given, about the focus on bug fixing, was already known. So disappointing...
Currently playing:
* City of Heroes: Deggial, Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster. Server: Defiant.
* City of Villains: Snakeroot, Plant/Thorns Dominator. Server: Defiant.
LMAO, ya suuuure, why SOE/LA has never lied to us before have they?
PIRATE LORDS
While I agree with the sentiment behind your post, after all it is the only thing SOE will understand, I still think it's not an entirely satisfying solution.
First, the obvious, many have pre-paid accounts that SOE will not reimburse. If you would have responded "If you prepaid, then we all have learned a lesson, never pre-pay for a mmorpg" then your response would have been less "troll-like" and more sympathetic to the poster's misery.
Second, there is a large time and financial investment that has to be considered. I mean everybody likes to think that the time and money they put into things is important, right? Well, if you would have responded "I understand you may have a large time and money investment into SWG, but unfortunately SOE only understands cancellations" then once again you would have appeared a tad more sympathetic to the poster.
Not trying to flame you bud, but yours was a typical trolling response. However truthful it may be. Let me throw you a few others so you might avoid these responses in the future.
* the box says "Game experience may change"
* It's just a game, get over it
* They don't owe you anything
That's just a few to get ya started.
Now the problem in my opinion is that right now the MMORPG population needs to yell and yell very loud about the NGE. SOE and every other MMORPG maker out there needs to COMPLETELY understand that this horrid, horrid chain of events needs to never happen again. The repercussions of this even remotely succeeding will set an ugly precedent that will basically allow developer's to change their games on a whim in the hopes of $$$ whether warranted or not. Cancelling is always the first and the best step in sending a message, but it is not always enough. I'm following what's happening with SWG with extreme interest. How this plays out will definitely determine whether I stay with the genre any longer. Investing a couple of years into character development to have the character severely diminished or outright destroyed is not an exciting prospect to me.
Once again not flaming, just some constructive criticism.
ROFL. What a complete line of crap!
Quality first? Earning your loyalty?
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid and paying those fees to beta test boys. As I always say, it's your money - do with it as you will.
Well we learned a lot from Grant there didn't we?
Its a very poor MMORPG now. Plain and simple.
Also the best space combat is in EVE.
I will never buy another SOE game again.
Another producers letter that says absolutely NOTHING.
So does this mean Julio Torres is gone?
NGE Refugee.