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Star Wars Galaxies: Focus Testing: Make $125
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
LucasArts sent along a notice today for current or former Star Wars Galaxies players in the Los Angeles area. For two hours of your time you can make $125 if you participate in a focus test. Here is the info:
| PAID VIDEOGAME RESEARCH - STAR WARS GALAXIES PLAYERS PAST/PRESENT IN LOS ANGELES AREA
On SUNDAY MARCH 5, Nielsen Interactive Entertainment would like the experienced opinions of MALE and FEMALE gamers 18 years and over, who are CURRENT OR FORMER subscribers to Star Wars Galaxies, on behalf of a major videogame publisher. Participation in the study will pay you $125 for 2 hours of your time. Please call our confirmation department toll free at (877) 862 - 3456 between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, 7 days a week, and state that you are interested in the "LOS ANGELES STAR WARS GALAXIES research" on March 5, 2006 to determine if you qualify for this exciting study. ALL Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley/South Bay/Inland Empire area welcome. |
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
What are they going to do this time? Make it a RTS?
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
Wow, more 'focus groups', something must be up with LucasArts for sure. First the syrvey mailed out a couple months after the NGE hit the fan, then the job postings for SWG and online game producers at LucasArts, and now ANOTHER focus group.
Well, since I no longer play SWG but would love for it to come back or at least change again, it looks like some drastic changes will be made all over again once the jobs at LA are filled and this group does it's thing. Best outcome is they open up some classic servers, second best is they scrap the NGE for a 4th combat system that would by default be better than the NGE, as it can't be worse (at least I can't think of a worse combat system), or at the very least they will screw up some more and we all will get some more laughs at their expense
And having them ask for female players is a good sign at least, might cut back on the Mountain Dewd crowd that said the NGE was great.
Well, I know its a pretty standard thing to say, but someones got to do it, so here it goes... *ahem*
Wow! It looks like SWG has gotten so bad that SoE is finally PAYING PEOPLE to play it.
Play as your fav retro characters: cnd-online.net. My site: www.lysle.net. Blog: creatingaworld.blogspot.com.
At this point, just throw it away. Take SWG and throw it in the trash.
It was a nice game once, but it's never going to be good again.
ROFL
At least they're asking for actual players this time.
Do us proud. -)
Roll back and nothing less.
Oh, and the firing of all the idiots responsible for all this.
If they think the NGE caused an upraor, wait till the everyone gets a hold of this.
Too little way to late.
Great... they do focus tests first off with people that never played the game. Then lost almost all the verteran players. Well from what I see what I have logged in they lost most everyone regardless.
Now they want to listen to subscribers or former subs... to find out what is written all over their forums.
Wish I lived in the area because.. I too would like the chance to make back some of what I spent. I'd go back if they did a rollback but I doubt I'd see any of my friends list again realisticly. They ruined the game and I agree its most likely to late.
In the last news item from SWG they said no rollback again. I was like that's fine but I won't resubscribe no matter what you may bring back. A class and level based system doesn't interest me or I'd be subscribed to any number of mmo's out instead of hoping a skill system mmo comes along.
This is priceless!
Now they have to pay people to tell them what is wrong with their game? Damn, this is just hilarious. It's like watching a headless chicken running around aimlessly before it keels over and dies. Never thought watching an MMORPG sink could be this entertaining. Especially not one that I used to love so much. SWG will be remembered as the Titanic of MMOs. The one that was unsinkable. Destined to success because of the SW name and brand new features. Then the captain rammed it into an iceberg... not once, but twice, rather than going back to port and fix the things that turned out to be broken. They might as well save themselves the trouble and pull the plug. The name SWG has been ruined and they're the laughingstock of the MMO industry. Heck, it's even spreading to the gaming industry in general. No focus group can change that fact. It's Game Over.
I'm a big ol' fluffy carewolf. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
The only decent thing SOE/LA has done since...launch...was to offer us refunds for the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion after getting the pre-orders for it then telling us the game would change totally a week after ToOW went live.
I've played some games that I didn't like, but I've never wanted my money back. Just chalked it up to a gaming lesson learned. Not the case with SOE. I'd like every cent back, and if I knew a way to legally get it back, I'd most likely do it. Maybe I need to talk to my attorney, lol.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
WOOT, it's finally getting into beta testing!!!!! I can't wait for this game to come out!!!
(oh, I did play the 'alpha' from month 3 to CU)
I also want me money back! /cry
(or my preCU)
Kill the jedi!
Wumi
Wumi - SWG - Bloodfin - Cancelled
Wumi - WoW - Eu-Kazzak - Cancelled
Bulldozer - Aion - Eu-Kahrun - Cancelled
Wumi - Rift - EU-Riptalon - Cancelled
it's funny how some of the guys in this forum try to defend Starwars Galaxies and the NGE and say that it's still a good game. This game has become a joke and one of the worst MMORPGs you can play.
Are you guys who defend the current version of Starwars Galaxies out of your mind or blind? This game has been messed up since the 2 big updates: Combat Upgrade and the NGE (next generation enhancements).
All I can say: Keep your fingers off this game. It's a waste of money and the worst experience you can make of a game and of a customer support and a company called Sony Online Entertainement (SOE)
Never again I will spend 1 cent or 1 minute of my freetime to a Sony, SOE and especially LucasArts product, no mather if its a game, movie or a Sony product.
SOE and NGE-Star Wars Galalaxies:
Raph Koster: "It's like dumping the girlfriend who has always been patient and loving to chase after the supermodel who probably won't love you back."
Unaware of the Jestor?
http://about.me/JestorRodo/
Friends enjoy his classic Vblog - https://www.facebook.com/GoodOldReliableNathan
I haven't been in SWG since about a year after launch. I would think about it if they went back to the original release. I would have to think hard about visiting SOE with my camo on (if you know what I mean) if I was still playing after 2 years and my beastmaster was rendered useless by NGE.
But I agree Jester it would be hilarious if they payed BANNED players from telling them what they obviously do not want to hear.
This needs to be publicized as much as possible. Post it everywhere and anywhere. Tell your friends in game about it.
Hell, if I could, I would put an afk toon in theed with the info....
This is a true sign just how desperate SOE is to try and keep the remaining subscribers that are left.
So now SOE is finally sinking in their own quicksand that they created and been creating 1 month after the original release of SWG. I knew this day would finally come but I didn't think it would take this long for those thickheads to realize it.
I really have a personal need for SWG to be cancelled and severly hope it happens soon.
"I really have a personal need for SWG to be cancelled and severly hope it happens soon."
That really bothers me especially since you mention earlier in your post "since 1 month after launch". I dunno why you would have felt that way so long...
Until the CU came I loved SWG it wasn't perfect but no mmo is. After CU and especially NGE I agree with you except I'd rather have my pre-cu back than lose it all.
Sadly since they changed it once I could never trust that they wouldn't again... so in a round about way I guess I agree with you just not from 1 month after release.
Its not SOE. It's LA.
Big difference. One has to wonder what is going on behind the scenes at this point.
Big difference. One has to wonder what is going on behind the scenes at this point"
It seems smed doesn't agree with you...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/21/tech/gamecore/main1335511.shtml
Oh and this is an actual cbs article not the mail bag. Part of what smed says is:
"Despite rumors that LucasArts imposed the changes, Smedley says the "Combat Upgrade" and "New Game Enhancements" were mutually agreed on. The decision to modify Star Wars Galaxies was made by both companies."
One thing he does say is the focus group for NGE was run by LA and not SOE tho.
Hmm. Since we dont know the legal situation signed by LA and SOE. It would be poor presumption to say that they can just walk away from the table in a business transaction that as it seems has gone so poorly. You would cut your losses and move on. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Now as what is posted in the Ad If LucasArts are the ones trying to find out what exactly happened. I view this as a good thing. Since we all understand that although the License for Star Wars products are LA. The actually creation and deployment of the game was for the most part in SOE's hands. LA i would probably pretty much assisted in the creative, and artistic aspect of the game.
Hmmm. This is a very tough situation to be in from LA standpoint. On one had they can tough it out try to correct what went wrong with the game and SOE's handling of their product and the consumers of this product (this part might not go so well in this survey)
I personally left SWQ after the 2nd revamp of the Jedi Trials... I knew at that point that this was not going to go well.
Now i know that nobody is going to perfect in producing any MMOG. But in the pursuit of higher profit margins and lower overhead. I think the producers of MMOGs are loosing sight of why people pay to play video games. Which is mainly entertainment.
I dont expect there to be revolutionary changes with in the genre. But as so many MMOG are proned to come and go. I hope these game developers learn that extracting as much feedback from the consumer as possible not necessary will always lead to but could in overall help them in generate lesser cost on game development and implementation and increase profits by means of a sustained satisfied consumer base.
(THIS PORTION IS AN EXAMPLE GONE HORRIBLY RANT AND CAN BE SKIPPED IF NOT INTERESTED PLEASE CONTINUE BEYOND THE YELLOW TEXT FOR CONCLUSION) One of the reasons Blizzard has been so successfull with their WOW program. Is not content for we most of us are familiar with the Warcraft game and its history. Character design, as we were familiar with this as well. Their success came from sticking with their formula. They gave us a game that was very familiar in terms of creative and artistic design and fairly easy to pick up set of commands. Beyond that everything else that makes the game great really has to do with the fact player interaction seems to be very popular. The fact that people are able to plan weekly raids for hours on end is a testament to the enjoyment of interaction with each other then the actual content. Click the fireball spell in your queue of skills does not change from game to game so i dont see how this could have impacted the games popularity. Other aspects of course fall into the equation many players as i was playing EQ2 that went to WOW would note that the main difference in the games was that the characters and their skills were well intact. This is probably one of the BEST things going for WOW at the beginning. Not to say their werent any bugs but the bugs didnt seem to hinder game play as it has done so in so many other MMOGs in particular with SOE MMOGs. They did have some server stability problems at the beginning, which they quickly quenched before, that fire got out of control. I dont play WOW either as it felt like a simpler version of the EQ series and SWQ which in turn is a good thing it seems as it broke the gap barrier letting just about anyone of any age able to successfully participate in the game.
Faranthil Tanathalos
EverQuest 1 - Ranger
Star Wars Galaxies - Master Ranger
Everquest2 - Ranger WarhammerOnline - Shadow Warrior
WOW - Hunter
That's right I like bows and arrows.