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Vet's - Where You At?
Ravensong
Member UncommonPosts: 92
What has become of the MMORPG world? I step back and look at my limited knowledge of online MMORPG games and the only game I see that was a true “sandbox” was the original SWG. It was my first MMO and I loved it. Since the major changes have occurred I have searched far and wide for a replacement and nothing comes close.
I don’t understand why it would be so hard to come up with a sandbox game so I searched the internet for some kind of answer and found an interesting article about a true “sandbox” game. The article was funny and sad all at the same time.
I do think that this type of game play can work. It did work with SWG; I believe that the true downfall and backlash came due to the fact that the programmers just didn’t fix the bugs that were there when they released it. Had the bugs been fixed, perhaps we would still have the game we once loved instead of this ……. (Sorry words can’t describe what it has become).
The genre of games available on the market now, all lean towards the fantasy market which is all fine and good but what happened to the sci-fi genre? I realize that sci-fi was never a huge market but it definitely has its followers. I then ask myself is it an age issue and I am just not currently a target for their markets?
I am a 39 year old female that just happens to love technology and the sci-fi genre for an online game. After seeing all the new games coming out though being targeted obviously for a much younger and fantasy style market I feel a little like the discarded 8-track tape.
I guess the point of this post is to find out if most of the Veteran players from SWG are in a certain age group that obviously is not deemed the target market. Yeah I am female and not ashamed to state my age. It’s just a number and you are as old as you feel. I can still kick butt on the paintball field, ride atv’s, build computers, string network cable for miles etc. lol Not ready for the retirement home just yet.
Comments
I'm not in my 30's but like you and many others, i'm a SWG vet in need of a home.
SWG truely was the best game i've ever played and it's always hard for myself to find another game to play because I end up comparing the two. I'm thinking of getting RF Online (Rising Force) and seeing how that goes, a couple of friends are playing it atm and say it's pretty good. It wont have the customization that SWG did, but it can be my MMO fix until something else comes along.
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Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
Hi,
To answer your question I'm SWM in my 30's and enjoyed playing SWG alot on shadowfire server. As for that sites opinion on sandbox I disagree whole heartedly. I rarely had any issue with other players or their reliabilty [I'm sure some did but I don't think it was as common as some thing]. Also, I think that if SOE / LA had done their job and had trusted their customers as well as have a mechinism setup to at the very least have player offer in-game content ideas we would all still be playing. In addition, I've been looking for a good game to replace SWG [since it no longer the game I like] and haven't found anything yet. I to would like something in the SCIFI realm that has the promise that SWG once had.
IMO,
Tauceti
I actually just re-activarted. Been in SWG since beta. It took a little while, but I actually like it now.
--Baclimon--
www.starfleetguild.com
i'm a 26 male and nothing comes close to pre-cu swg
swg refugee
SOE knows what you like... You don't!
And don't forget... I am forcing you to read this!
I tried (RF) GrimReapez and didnt last there more then 3 days. I just couldnt get into the game play and it appears to be a cross between L2 and WoW. Perhaps you wont mind it seeing how you have your freinds there.
Most of my guild is playing L2 and having a good time. I think its more that we are all just hanging out then the actual game though because I do the same thing and compare the games with the old SWG. I am tired of fantasy and hack and slash games.
I, in a moment of weakness also reactivted my acct just about a week ago and it lasted all of about 10-15 minutes. I went to all the major cities and it was dead right along with my hopes of the old style game play. I cancelled the game right after I logged off and the funny thing is how great that company is about really wanting to hear from their customers.
You see when you cancel you get the option to fill out a survey and tell them what you think of the game so I click the button to complete the survey and then the screen changes and gives me a message something like this: Thank you for completing our survey
I didnt get to answer their #$%* survey so I wonder how many other ppl got this and perhaps the info was applied with their answers to swell their popularity. My hubby also reacctivated same time I did and he got the same thing.
I still have alot of friends who aren't playing any game atm, we're basically just sitting around and waiting for a game to come along. It's kind of weird atm because the only games available are hack and slash type games, and the only game like it's own is EVE but that has too much farming.
There's still Middle Earth Online that's coming up, it's looking like a mature community which could be fun. Then there's Vanguard where alot of SWG refugees are heading to, it's still in Beta though.
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Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
scientology
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Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
A simplestic easy to figure out thing that once you get the computer's curve you rarely mess up. BORING!!!! And I do bore of those games. L2, FFXI, EQ2, DAoC, and WoW all bored the heck out of me in about 2 weeks.
Pre-CU SWG however, didnt bore me. There were times I went into "What to do" overload because of the sheer massive amount of things I could do. But never bored because of nothing to do. Of course I am an explorer by nature. And love to run around looking at things. Also I loved dropping my house and redecorating it. Then there was the hunts. I made them into something amazing. My guild and other guilds always wanted me leading their hunts. Because I knew where everything was.
The problem with Pre-CU, according to Smed, was that the engine was a pain to deal with and they couldnt get all the bugs. I have no reason not to doubt this statement. But it was still SOE's fault. First they used a hand-me-down engine that couldnt handle the load. There is a reason UO2 never made it off the ground and that is one of them. Second, SOE used a database they couldnt deal with the load. 70% of the bugs early could be attributed to the database in someway. Third, SOE kept switching teams. Even Steve Jobs learned you dont move programmers around in your infrastructure. But for SOE this is SOP. And finally fourth, they undermined the communities trust through lies, illogical decisions, needless programming. Smugglers needed to smuggle, wookies needed armor, rangers needed something so they wasted 30 man hours making sure pets couldnt be called in buildings.
Someday someone is going to see the validity of the Pre-CU enviroment and run with it. Leaving SOE and LA sitting there looking like guppies at feeding time.
Kai
On the original queation. I am playing DAoC right now. I would prefer Sci-fi to fantasy, but this game is so clean and bug-free compared to SWG... it should hold my attention untill something better comes along.
I have tried a few other MMOs.. really everything from Anarchy Online to Eve online.. and i still havent found anything that comes close to what i loved about SWG. No other game has done a better job of integrating crafting, player housing and vehichles in my opinion. The interdependecy wasnt a liablity to me... it was a reason to play. The wide open possiblities that an empty sea of sand presents are what I miss the most.
-----Zero Punctuation Eve Online Review-----
Feel free to send me threaths tough this is somewhat of topic.
//Regards
Former Master Doc Ahazi server.
Well I am female and will never see 40 again
At the present time I am playing EVE. Also I am looking at Roma Victor but wondering how a farmer (thats what I want to be in that game) is going to survive in a world of full PVP.
Support Bacteria, its the only culture some people have.
Raven, to make it short:
There is no substitue out there atm - sad but true
SWG had it all, the community, housing, the fun, the combat, the crafting, the intersocials, the spacecomponent, the entertainment etc etc etc .
All the games out there are missing essential things, if it is crafting or housing or sandbox style or whatever, no game is remotly comparable to the SWG we once had.
I went through all the games, even Saga of Ryzom, but its all not what i "need".
I so VERY MUCH hope that STO or Vanguard will do it.
Till then, i just do my work (got much of it) and play the game called "Real life".
Do yourself a favour hun, burn the bridge you still have...it hurts too much.
Say to yourself all time "We had it once, i was part of it. They killed it and all left back is the memory. It wont come back so i look forward."
Of course we all miss it, but its not helping you to keep up the hope for a miracle.
Maybe you want to (like i do) get "excited" but what is coming and put your hope in these titles.
One thing is sure:
The SoE-disaster shattered the whole gaming industry and "normally" we should not see again a company doing this again. So finally the catastrophal operations by SoE have a positive effect:
The industry NOW knows exactly what to avoid...and in the future we should see better games and service.
Maybe the refugees from here should team up on teamspeak etc., like the "Take that is no more-teen help line"
Claude
I still have alot of friends who aren't playing any game atm, we're basically just sitting around and waiting for a game to come along. It's kind of weird atm because the only games available are hack and slash type games, and the only game like it's own is EVE but that has too much farming.
There's still Middle Earth Online that's coming up, it's looking like a mature community which could be fun. Then there's Vanguard where alot of SWG refugees are heading to, it's still in Beta though.
I had a similar moment of weakness. My ISP was having some level 3 connection issues with Blizzard so I reloaded SWG and tried the 15 day free pass they had given me cause I quit on 11/13 (I had seen the doom of NGE on TC). I think I played all of 3 hours the whole 15 days and now I can no longer post on SWG forums too (I was able to ever since they gave me the pass), I definitely made the wrong decision trying again.
For me the jerky motion and hyper-animation of their sped up combat gives me a headache. The simulated aiming didn't come off as fun for me (maybe if they had an actual fps engine it would be, though I am fine with auto-target of other games) and the fact that you really can't attack and communicate with anyone at the same time made me feel isolated, well that and the fact that there was almost nobody playing on a weekend night (this was Ahazi which used be a heavy server).
For now I play World of Warcraft, which lacks many features I want in an mmorpg, but is very polished, considerably bug free (compared to SWG what isn't?) and I have found a pretty good role-playing guild.
Looking forward to Star Trek Online, but am worried by some of the posts I have seen.
I have been having fun with EVE. The PvP is 10x better than anything Star Wars even came close to. PvE is severely lacking, but so was SWG's TBH.
UO - Very old but STILL the king of the 'sandbox'.
EVE - Sci fi but a lot of folks find it's playstyle fairly boring. Very nice sandbox though.
IRTH (Though it sucks currently) - Sandbox is good. Game implementation is lacking and it's very buggy still. It IS in a released state but is more of a paid beta than a real game
Supposedly RV will be as well but it's in beta still and not released yet
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Sig image Pending
Still in: A couple Betas
It seems to me that the article about "sandboxing" linked in the OP worked from a much stronger definition of "sandbox" than most I've seen; it was about creation of real content by players, whereas I tend to think of it more as very freeform and interdependent gameplay. Player-created content may be the Holy Grail of game design (I'm sure any dev would love to set up a game and never have pressure to keep up a stream of content), but gameplay more like the old SWG (but better implemented and focused) is definitely feasible and has obvious advantages - it makes strong, healthy communities which keeps people playing, and gives depth and variety alongside the traditional "dungeon" content.
Anyway, to turn back to the main topic, I'm 33 and male (accidentally typed 22 for my age - I wish!), a long-term smuggler in SWG. I quit last autumn/fall before the NGE for RL reasons (though I was growing disillusioned with the Jedi situation); when I was free to resub a month or so back, I didn't even play through the full month I paid for. I had a go at WoW with a trial account, since many of the people I knew from SWG had a guild there, but WoW began to bore me within a couple of hours, and I lasted less than a week. It held no interest for me at all, so even old friends couldn't keep me playing. I've had a go at Guild Wars since, and it's pretty much the anti-SWG, with very little emphasis on community and socialising, but I adore the combat system enough that it's kept me for the time being. I'm in an MMO hiatus at the moment playing Oblivion, and I might stick to single-player games for a little longer yet.
In the longer run, I'm looking at Roma Victor and Hero's Journey. RV has a lot of things I like, especially the setting, but also things I dislike (I'm leery of open PvP, and the system of paying RL money for in-game money grates on me - I'd much rather have a fixed monthly fee). HJ looks very exciting, especially the system for semi-volunteer GM's with content creation tools; seems to me like that's the closest thing to the full sandbox idea from the Nerfbat article that's on the MMO horizon.
Dasharr Eandall, SWG, Smuggler/Pistoleer (retired after 2.5+ years)
Well folks, I am a 32 year old male and Pre-CU SWG was the best GAME (never mind mmorpg) I have ever played in my life. I played on the Bria server, best community I have ever played with
It was my first mmorpg and to be honest I probably wouldnt have bothered to look at it if it hadnt have been Star Wars (a bit of a closet SW geek here). However, from the first time I logged in I was totally hooked. I loved everything about the game.
My main toon was originally a Master Fencer/Master Rifleman and I had such a great laugh with that template. Of course once the hologrinding madness started I had to join in and even though a lot of people think that hologrinding helped to destroy the game, I really enjoyed it.
I didnt powergame my way through the professions, I took my time with them and tried to experience all that the game could offer. To be honest if it hadnt been for the hologrind there are many professions that I wouldnt have dreamed of doing that I actually ended up really enjoying, such as dancer, musician, ID, architect etc.. I made some good ingame friends while playing those professions that I would never have met if it wasnt for the hologrind. After 29 professions I finally unlocked about 2 weeks before publish 9, that was probably the greatest feeling I have had while playing a game. I'm rambling here, back to some sort of point, lol.
I loved that game, eventually having 3 accounts and 5 characters; 2 jedi with different templates - MLS/M Powers/Heal 4004 the glass cannon lol (actually was a total destroyer, most peeps just couldnt play that template well) and a MLS/M Def/Heal 4004, as well as my Master Artisan/Master Chef, my Master Swordsman/Master Doctor and my Master Dancer/Master Musician. Great times.
When the NGE was released my whole guild quit on principle alone (have tired the trial since because I wanted to see what it was like and because I missed the game - its awful) and went off to CoV. I lasted about 2-3 months on that game, but superhero's are just not my thing and I missed the variety and choice of old SWG. I tried several other titles:
1. WoW - terrible community, fantasy setting - CRAP 2. MxO - good community, awful gameplay 3. Silkroad Online - Free to play, OK game, but not for me 4. Anarchy Online - just couldnt deal with the crappy graphics (very shallow of me, I know, lol) 5. CoV - already mentioned.
As for the games I am currently playing, they are:
1. EvE Online - I tried the trial a couple of months back, but couldnt get used to playing a ship not a character, since then, however, I have relented and subbed to this game just this week actually. I am quite enjoying it and it is a total change of pace from my other current game -
2. RF Online - A pretty good game, apart from the nightmare PT grind (which is why I am playing EvE also, gives me a break). RvRvR is fun at the Core Wars.
Neither of these games, either seperately, or together can (in my eyes) hold a candle to the game that was Pre-CU SWG. The sheer diversity of the game with its 30+ professions and great, varied community will always be missed.
I also hate the fantasy setting that nearly all the game developers out there keep pushing on us, what the hell is wrong with Sci-Fi hmmm?? Or even a mmorpg that is set in a modern day warfare or gangland setting. Anything and I mean anything is better than all these crappy fantasy titles. I cant get excited about any of the upcoming releases like Vanguard etc because I HATE the fantasy genre. I'm not interested STO either though, because even though I am a sci-fi fan, Star Trek has never 'done it for me' - way too boring IMO.
God, I better STFU, this post is getting huge! Well just some thoughts folks, l8rs.
MMORPG History:
Playing - EVE Online.
Played (Retired) - AO, SWG, MxO, WoW, RFO, SoR, CoX, EQ2, GW, L2, Vanguard, LotRO, AoC, TCoS, Aion.
Favourite MMO - Pre-CU SWG, 3 Years, 4 Accounts, 2 Pre-CU Jedi (1 Pre-9).
Awaiting - Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Secret World, Earthrise.