Star Wars Galaxies: 2008 Preview

At GDC 08, we sat down with LucasArts Producer Jake Neri and others from Star Wars Galaxies to discuss the game's direction in 2008. They spoke of a new development plan to bring more updates to their fans and incorporate more of their feedback.

In Update #2 they plan to focus on the Entertainer and Medic, not with a full overhaul, but with an assortment of changes and additions that have been highly requested from those segments of the community. This Update is due out in the next couple weeks.

Chapter 9 follows later this month and is headlined by a new heroic instance and epic villain from Star Wars lore: Exar Kun. Heroic instances are top-end dungeons, and this is their first new one since Chapter 7. In tune with their desire to be more reactive to the community, Exar Kun was chosen from a list of epic villains that the development team polled the community on during the planning phase of this Chapter.

Read more after the jump.

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Wow, this is about the weakest plan I've ever seen... THIS is something even worth writing an article about?

So this is what people who continue to put up with this game have to look forward to in a nutshell:

1. Insubstantial profession updates that amount to minor window dressing rather than adding more depth to them like they had Pre-NGE? That's not even worth dedicating a team to. Not to mention that most of these "player requested updates" amount to BUG FIXES. Why should players have to request bug fixes as updates? Shouldn't a competent Dev team be able to fix bugs on it's own without requiring players to do QA's job for them?

2. ONE... Only ONE new "Foozle" boss instance in 1/4th of a year? That's not enough content to keep anyone interested much less persuade a vet like me to resubscribe.

3. More "collections" IE: Galactic Scavenger Hunts. These are FUN? To whom? Masochists who enjoy chasing all over the place for loot drop 4 or 5 or killing the same mob thousands of times? This is content? This is going to convince ANYONE that the game is better now, come back? Nope.

It's time for the SWG management to get their heads out of the sand and face reality here. The reason why they have 20 empty servers and why they don't excite anyone and continue to "enjoy" a reputation somewhere between radioactive nuclear waste and toxic non radioactive waste is: THE NGE. I see nothing here that does anything to address the NGE itself, which is the reason why this game has at least 5 former subscribers for every 1 current subscriber (and I am actually being generous to the NGE there).

If this is the best they can do for 2008, then my prediction for the result of it is extremely easy to make: Even lower populations on the servers, fewer subscribers, and even less financial success. If this is the best they are prepared to do for 2008 they might as well not bother trying. The laughable thing about all this is all that would have to be done to DOUBLE their current subscriber base (at least double) would be to take a backup tape from pre-NGE and upload it to 4-5 of their empty servers.

But unfortunately SOE/LEC are not smart enough to do this. Which means 2008 will be yet another year we, their former customers, will get to sit back and laugh at SOE and LEC, as they continue to chase that NGE "target audience" that never did show up to replace us hardcore, dedicated, sandbox Pre-NGE players. Boy, screwing over 250,000 loyal customers really worked out for them, didn't it? Karma, as I am fond of saying, can be a real b*tch some times :)

Who really cares anymore anyway?
Not I, and certainly not them.

Time to finally pull the plug on this thing and move on.

Sonno:
Who really cares anymore anyway?
Not I, and certainly not them.

Time to finally pull the plug on this thing and move on.

I quite agree. The game as it is now is a complete embarrassment to all connected with it. Why continue the humiliation? Even if it makes some money, there is more money to be made in taking the qualified Devs from their team and spending them on a new project that had potential and didn't have the NGE's baggage.

I don't understand why SOE and LEC don't just shut it down, if for no other reason than to allow a gap of time for memories to fade and to rebuild the IP's value for a future MMO. Right now I wouldn't give LEC 100 bucks for the rights to make a Star Wars MMO given the damage that IP has suffered because of the extreme mismanagement SWG has had, and the NGE fiasco.

Sonno:
Who really cares anymore anyway?
Not I, and certainly not them.

Time to finally pull the plug on this thing and move on.

I totally agree.

I don't see how throwing in the random Star Wars character, without any real context, makes the games more 'Star Warsy'. Exar Kun around during the Rebellion? That's as stupid as the spirit of Obi-Wan appearing in game for anybody to chat with. When will SOE realise that STORY makes a game, not random named characters?

As for the advancement system, it was there 5 years ago. It was just broken with the NGE, so obviously it's back.

Even looking at the SWG forums, people are complaining more about lack of population, the need for server merges, and heavy lag on servers. SOE really needs to get it's act together, but we all know that won't happen.

I have to strongly agree here. I think the SWG staff and community is getting the shaft here. Maybe the alleged new Star Wars MMO rumors might be true? The art in this game has not improved. The promised Avatar updates for textures have been flushed down the luu. The NGE target system is still faulty. Servers are empty while populated servers are not that full. Server merges are needed. All new content is just previous artwork. I think the writing is on the wall and its really sad. That engine does have potential. Just look at what EQ II has been able to do. If SWG would of stuck with the Pre CU they would have found that integrity means growth. Look at Eve Online. You can't even see any Star Wars Galaxies content in the Star Wars newsletter! I think Lucas Arts us pulling the strings on this one while staff have to sit back and say "yes we agree" to keep their jobs.

I would rather enjoy myself in Eve Online.

You people obviously have no idea what you are talking about! Have you even played the game recently? No? Then you can't comment.

Not all of the servers are "empty", my own server has seen some vet players are returning and new players start daily, hardly a game in dire need of shutting down!

The new instances are engaging with NEW not old art, the collection system, while IMHO lacking somewhat, is welcomed. This new dev team has its fingers on the pulse with trying to deliver what the playing community wants, restoring some pre-NGE elements as well as adding new content on a more regular basis.

If your still bitter and twisted about what LA done with SWG back in 2005 then fine, just don't shoot down the great work that has been done over the past 18 months and what is to come in 2008 and beyond.

Icobacca:
You people obviously have no idea what you are talking about! Have you even played the game recently? No? Then you can't comment.

Not all of the servers are "empty", my own server has seen some vet players are returning and new players start daily, hardly a game in dire need of shutting down!

The new instances are engaging with NEW not old art, the collection system, while IMHO lacking somewhat, is welcomed. This new dev team has its fingers on the pulse with trying to deliver what the playing community wants, restoring some pre-NGE elements as well as adding new content on a more regular basis.

If your still bitter and twisted about what LA done with SWG back in 2005 then fine, just don't shoot down the great work that has been done over the past 18 months and what is to come in 2008 and beyond.

Yes, I did try out the NGE, recently at that. Sorry, if that's what you call a fun game to play, then I guess anything would do for you. You have my sympathy; there are much better games out there to play from much better companies.

A large majority of the servers are empty. That's a fact. Maybe 3/26 have a somewhat decent population, but no where near what you had before. Yeah you're right, vets are returning. But they're only there for a week or so, say "WTF happened to my game?" and are gone again. I know because I'm one of them, and have talked with many others.

So you have new instances and a new scavenger hunt system? Do I really need to comment on this? A new scavenger hunt system? Anyway...

Bitter isn't the word really. But it is a normal reaction when a big company robs you blind and gets away with it. SOE has EARNED every last bit of bantha poodoo thrown their way. That is also a fact my friend. When the rug is pulled out from underneath you one day, we'll be here waiting for you.

I have been in SWG since beta. When gamers refer to the empty servers it is a comparison to the fact that all cities used to be full on every server. It is nothing compared to pre NGE- fact. The new instances are engaging and I do like them. However look at reality here- Lucas Arts is not planning ANYTHING new for SWG. I think this is frustrating for the current dev team and I do respect this dev team because they have fixed this NGE garbage minus the targeting issues and other bugs that have been in game since beta. And they are addressing the UI issues. Yet many issues are swept under the rug.

But this game has been dumbed down from the start. The graphics have been tweaked down to nothing for beta and release because PC's could not handle them back in the day over 7 years ago during development which is why it is dated. The interaction of the economy and players has been nerfed to no end. If you even dare to make a post asking for a classic server it is locked. There is nothing coming down the pike that is new for SWG in 2008. It is very frustrating to see point and click jedis running around when obviously the lore of Star Wars has been tossed aside. The NGE producers wanted the World of Warcraft numbers and made a POS statement to an existing customer base thinking "because it is star wars they will follow". SOE games are completely paying the price for this mistake and still SOE does not and will not get it. And neither will its existing fan base.

The only reason I even play SWG is because I have real friends in game. And compared to other MMO's this engine is the worst released engine I have ever witnessed placed upon a subscription base. The artwork is still getting crappier due to piss poor leadership and lack of true talent. Everquest II has the same engine and has made leaps and bounds by tweaking it with art and collision. Just about every major promise by the SWG devs have been tweaked or blown off such as the avatar texture updates for all species. The star destroyer took almost 4 years of begging to be allowed in the game.

We have been begging for new clothes, hair styles, duel pistols, capes, changes to player cities, balance, new worlds, a guild UI that shows who is online and who is not, and it has all gone ignored. Just like the fact that 350k people left Star Wars Galaxies because of a broken release and the NGE. All of it ignored. We now have community managers who indirectly insult the old player base because the vets referred to Star Sider as the "unofficial role playing server" which was its nick name from the release. There is no integrity left. There is so much amazing talent and resources of SOE and Lucas Arts combined yet the do nothing and I mean nothing to build SWG up. There are no stories on the web site, there is no lore for the game, there is nothing- Compared to games like Eve Online, Neocron 2, EQ II, and Lord of the Rings- SWG gets no attention at all. And it is a shame. A real waste of money. And a real waste of time.

Icobacca:
You people obviously have no idea what you are talking about! Have you even played the game recently? No? Then you can't comment.

Not all of the servers are "empty", my own server has seen some vet players are returning and new players start daily, hardly a game in dire need of shutting down!

The new instances are engaging with NEW not old art, the collection system, while IMHO lacking somewhat, is welcomed. This new dev team has its fingers on the pulse with trying to deliver what the playing community wants, restoring some pre-NGE elements as well as adding new content on a more regular basis.

If your still bitter and twisted about what LA done with SWG back in 2005 then fine, just don't shoot down the great work that has been done over the past 18 months and what is to come in 2008 and beyond.

Sorry, I'm not going to come crawling back after the betrayal of the NGE, because whatever they have done in the last 2 years has still done nothing to address the reason why over 200,000 players have quit and not come back: The NGE itself.

They can fix it. They can add to it. They can polish it. They can do all that ALL they want and it doesn't matter one damn bit (which I think the lack of any subscriber gains proves). The fact that the NGE represents a total inversion from what was once a skills based sandbox game with real choice, a combat system that didn't require frantic button mashing, and an endgame goal that required time and work invested to reach, to a level based, click click click run run run broken combat system, static class based instead of skills based game is why I don't play, why I won't play, and why no one else will come back to play.

If they'd spent the last 2 years reversing their stupid decisions of 2005 and rebuilt the game into what it was by RE ADDING the skills system, rewriting the combat system, and once again making the path to the Force something you earned, then they might have something to be proud of instead of to be laughed at.

I went back and tried the game again recently, on Bloodfin, which is the 1st or 2nd most populated server. I didn't see 50 people total online. This was far FAR less than was there when I quit last year.

Furthermore, the combat system STILL doesn't work, it drops specials and heals constantly, and mobs still shoot you through terrain. They've done NOTHING to fix problems like that over the last 2 years, again, something this Dev team should be ASHAMED of, not praised for.

Worse yet, to be useable, the UI requires you to completely remap your keyboard manually, and write macros to deal with it's deficient lack of functionality. Not to mention that it's practically REQUIRED that you install UI mods to be able to do things like, for example, MOVE THE HEALTH BARS TO ANOTHER PART OF THE SCREEN!

No, this Dev team has nothing to be proud of and it shows in the fact that cries for server merges and complaints of lack of subscribers never leaves the front page of their forums.

If there is, as the article states, a "sense of calm" amongst the Dev team, it's because they realize their patient is terminally ill, and they've stopped fighting the inevitable. Which is what this "2008 development plan" seems to be to be all about.

this game is so star warsy and iconic it could crap ewoks!

"according to Neri, there is now a certain calm around both the development team and their community."

Yes all that remains to do is turn the light off and lock the door , this is a dead game and it deserves to be so .

You know, having gone back and re-read this "article" again, I once again have to point out how weak the MMO industry blog/press is with respect to dealing with publishers.

Seems to me that this is nothing more than a CTRL+V of a SOE press release with the "author" providing some very light and complimentary commentary at the end.

Just once I'd like to see a publication stand up for the customers of MMOs (you know, we who only provide the MONEY that fuels it?) and refuses to post such fluffery without the opportunity to ask follow up questions with nothing off the table.

You know what, if SOE refuses to do real back and forth interviews, or to answer tough questions, you have the option of NOT covering SOE or SWG... Which would hurt SOE more than it'd hurt you, you know, SOE needs all the coverage it can get, as they try desperately to keep their heads above water in an ocean that has become World of Warcraft...

I know that websites like this tend to make their money from the publishers who advertise. But those who run them need to keep in mind that unless they balance that with the fact that no one has any reason TO advertise if you don't have readers, who are MMO players, and who will expect you to also stand up for us at least occasionally (or even just ONCE)...

Bad publishers like SOE need to have their feet held to the fire. That's the ONLY way they are ever going to have incentive to change their ways.

So, not only is SWG's 2008 "development plan" a fail, so is this article, and so is Warcry for posting it and splashing it all over the front page.

SWG is still enjoyable in small amounts, in my opinion. More regular updates can only be a good thing for the game.