Star Wars Galaxies: CH Issues - Dev Responses

This is going to be a little different than the other profession responses (we're working with different designers and they all have their own way of responding). Here are the issues that our CH designer is working on this week. We don't have an ETA for when they will get to the live galaxies yet.

Pet regen rate is too low:
The fix for this is already in. If you store the pet, it will recover damage while in the datapad.

Pets getting deathblow'd in PvP:
This was caused by snipershot, and we're hotfixing that. There are reports it is also cause by faction-perk pets killing CH-pets, and we're looking into that. But see below, because this is about to become a non-issue:

Pets disappearing out of the datapad:
There are two issues here: In one case the pet isn't actually gone, and if you logout for 5 minutes or so and log back in, then you'll see it. This is a "datapad is not updating properly"-bug which the programmers are working to resolve now.

In the second case, the pet control device is being deleted due to some other error (such as sniper-shot deathblowing the pet, as per above). I'm going to implement a safety measure to prevent this from ever happening again:

I will never delete a pet control device. PCD's that should be deleted (e.g. faction perk pets) will instead be flagged, and when you try to call those pets you'll get a message, "This pet is dead". Before sending that message I can check to see if it is the sort of pet which shouldn't be dead (i.e. one of your CH pets) and instead of sending the message, I'll just remove the flag and allow you to call the pet. So the only way to get rid of a pet control device will be to select the 'Destroy' option.

This means that the pet "release" command will instead work just like "store". It won't delete your pet, because nothing except the destroy option on the radial menu will delete your pet. So, I'll rename the "release" command to "store" so that it makes more sense.

Pets stopping at zonelines
Again, there are two issues here. One is the pet would stop when entering or exiting a city region. This has been hotfixed to live. The other is that pets stop on server boundaries, and the programmer in charge of pathfinding is working on a solution for that now.

Store button on radial menu
I will add this back, and (as per above) you'll also be able to use the "release" command to store a pet.

Non-creature handlers can have an aggro pet, but novice CH's can't - non-CH's can store more pets
My main focus has been on getting the CH profession working properly, so I haven't been spending as much time as necessary on non-CH's pet-abilities (and restrictions). I can see how irritating this is to everyone though, so I'll fix it this week.

Pets warping back to their callpoint
I will do my best to fix this, but it isn't going to be easy (else it would have been fixed already), so I don't want to make any promises there.

I can offer some help, though, which is to allow you to call a pet at any time the pet is supposed to be out already. i.e. If your pet warps to 0 0 or its callpoint or goes for a walk or whatever it is that the pet is doing, then when you select the 'CALL' option from your pet control device, the pet will come whether you're in a camp or not.

Spamming "Hungry!" and "Play!" all the time for no good reason

Oh boy am I going to fix this.

CH limit is wonky due to Aggro and Non-Aggro pets being counted as different types - Fourteen pet limit is too low.
So, the bug is that aggro- and non-aggro pets are counted separately, and they shouldn't be. I will fix that. I'm not opposed to the idea of increasing the stored-pet limit at master-level, but there is a database impact there which needs to be explored first.

"retreat" command - to call pets out of battle
I will add this.

SPAM!
I will add a "/tellpet <command" that works better than /shout, doesn't spam everyone around you with what you're saying, and otherwise works just like "/shout <command>" or "/say <command>" - very easy to add this. Additionally it may (we can always hope) allow you to 'call' a pet that has warped off to its callpoint or stopped 200 meters behind you at the zone boundary.

Pets often run at the thing you tell them to attack, and then just stop
I will fix this.

Pets switch targets in combat
I will fix this. Would you prefer that it only apply to pets being controlled by moderate-to-high level creature-handlers? (so low-level and non-CHs get "dumb" pets).

Need to earn xp based on the creatures current (baby) level
I will fix this.

Training XP is granted based on the current (baby) level - easy fix
I will fix this.

Transfer command is useless
I will restrict secure trade of pets to those that know the "transfer" command only.

When you put a pet in the trade window, you can see it but the person you're trading with cannot
I'll need to get a client-programmer to fix this, so I can't promise it will be fixed this week.

Can't put pets on a vendor or the bazaar
This requires some research on my part and will probably require the commodities market programmer to help out here, so it won't be fixed this week. I'll work on it once these other issues are addressed.

Probably the biggest issue is the control_level being capped at 70.
I would much rather find ways of enhancing the CH profession which do not involve increasing your ability to destroy things. e.g. Giving you the ability to train and sell pets to non-CH's, and so on. Really open to ideas, here.

Pets immediately decrease is HAM the first time their vitality is lowered
I'll change this so that at Vitality of 91-100, your pet has full stats. At Vitality 81-90, your pet will have a 10% reduction in stats, and so on.

Kevin "Q-3P0" O'Hara
SWG Community Relations Manager