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Star Wars Galaxies: Developers Bid Adieu

2

Comments

  • TimacekTimacek Member UncommonPosts: 182

    Originally posted by wormywyrm

    It is symbolic on the current state of western MMOs...  The streamlined linear experience that has been forced on us, that developers think we want, and that some of US even think we want.  Those who stuck it out with SWG for more than a few months know better, we know what a virtual universe CAN be and we now have a thirst for it that cannot be quenched by any MMO in existance.

    I look into the future and I wonder when the turning point will be for sandboxes...  We have been in this decline for a while now.  I would say that it really started with the 2003 cancelling of planned sandbox MEO to be replaced by linear LOTRO, and the 2004 successful release of World of Warcraft.  In 2005 the shift was in full force with the NGE to SWG.

    agree 

  • kinkyJalepenokinkyJalepeno Member UncommonPosts: 1,044

    I never played it, but I feel your pain !

  • guardinnerguardinner Member UncommonPosts: 51

    Originally posted by Timacek



    Originally posted by wormywyrm



    It is symbolic on the current state of western MMOs...  The streamlined linear experience that has been forced on us, that developers think we want, and that some of US even think we want.  Those who stuck it out with SWG for more than a few months know better, we know what a virtual universe CAN be and we now have a thirst for it that cannot be quenched by any MMO in existance.

    I look into the future and I wonder when the turning point will be for sandboxes...  We have been in this decline for a while now.  I would say that it really started with the 2003 cancelling of planned sandbox MEO to be replaced by linear LOTRO, and the 2004 successful release of World of Warcraft.  In 2005 the shift was in full force with the NGE to SWG.

    agree 

    +1

  • AsamofAsamof Member UncommonPosts: 824

    would SWG have survived if they opened up a retro server and made it F2P? maybe...

  • tawesstawess Member EpicPosts: 4,227

    Originally posted by Asamof

    would SWG have survived if they opened up a retro server and made it F2P? maybe...




     

    Unlikley, sure the sandbox elements were good (tailor/image desiner here) but combat was pretty much broken from day one and "class" balance was no were to be seen. And there was a lot of bugs and glicthes that were never fixed.

     

    But i can agree to the fact that the social/explorer/crafter part was good. To bad the majority wanted to do combat... and that was broken. I can actually say that the combat part got a lot better after the NGE, more balanced and with more ground between "Munchkin-like OP build" and "Gimp like a sheap in leather build" saddly it came at the price of...every thing else. And it was wayyy wayyy to late.

     

    So... If they made it F2P... what would they have put in the cash shop... Crafting patterns.. Songs... Harvesters... Holocrons... I have a hard time seeing what they would have made money off.

    This have been a good conversation

  • shinkanshinkan Member UncommonPosts: 240

    This game has been beaten and molested so many time, that it was about time it was put to rest.



     

  • ElikalElikal Member UncommonPosts: 7,912

    I will always remember Star Wars Galaxies as my first and best MMO I have played, hands down. Yes, it had flaws. But overall, the 4 1/2 years I was there, my friends and guildmates, the player city, the great community and the diverse gameplay - it all made for an epic and wonderful time. It was Star Wars and it was a MMO the like we have not seen since. I think those were great days, and I will always remember SWG fondly, despite some grievances. Why some very popular things from SWG were never taken up is beyond me. I hope at least part of it's legacy will one day be taken up by games in the future.

    *saluts*

     

    Rest in peace, old buddy. We had great times together. *sheds a tear*

    People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert

  • AsamofAsamof Member UncommonPosts: 824

    Originally posted by tawess



    Originally posted by Asamof



    would SWG have survived if they opened up a retro server and made it F2P? maybe...










     

    Unlikley, sure the sandbox elements were good (tailor/image desiner here) but combat was pretty much broken from day one and "class" balance was no were to be seen. And there was a lot of bugs and glicthes that were never fixed.

     

    But i can agree to the fact that the social/explorer/crafter part was good. To bad the majority wanted to do combat... and that was broken. I can actually say that the combat part got a lot better after the NGE, more balanced and with more ground between "Munchkin-like OP build" and "Gimp like a sheap in leather build" saddly it came at the price of...every thing else. And it was wayyy wayyy to late.

     

    So... If they made it F2P... what would they have put in the cash shop... Crafting patterns.. Songs... Harvesters... Holocrons... I have a hard time seeing what they would have made money off.




     

    no clue what they would put in cash shop, probably a lot of cosmetic items like costumes and house decorations

     

    you're totally right about the combat, it's a shame they couldn't fix it before the NGE. poor game never got the love it deserved

  • MyGaronaMyGarona Member Posts: 139
    Always remember SWG like that awful boss you once had. An example of what not to do.
  • LowcaianLowcaian Member Posts: 265

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    image
  • LowcaianLowcaian Member Posts: 265

    Originally posted by returnintor

    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    You do know that 'atmospheric flight' was built into the engine about a year after launch. It's just been sitting in the code for years because Smedley was too lazy and greedy to spend the little more money it would have taken to polish it and then release it as a - paid - expansion. Its release two months or so before close-down was just one final f.u. to the players by SOE.

    I am aware that ground and space uses the same engine, I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Feel free to prove me wrong, and even if you can do so I fail to see what that has to do with the fact that featurewise SWG was far superior to anything else out there, no matter which of its three incarnations you hold up as an example.

    image
  • LowcaianLowcaian Member Posts: 265

    Originally posted by returnintor

    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    You do know that 'atmospheric flight' was built into the engine about a year after launch. It's just been sitting in the code for years because Smedley was too lazy and greedy to spend the little more money it would have taken to polish it and then release it as a - paid - expansion. Its release two months or so before close-down was just one final f.u. to the players by SOE.

    I am aware that ground and space uses the same engine, I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Feel free to prove me wrong, and even if you can do so I fail to see what that has to do with the fact that featurewise SWG was far superior to anything else out there, no matter which of its three incarnations you hold up as an example.

    LOL.

    "I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective."

    Does anybody else who's had any dealings with SOE over SWG want to chip in on this one? I don't trust myself.

    You offer no arguments, only your personal opinion that SOE are the devil. While they have at times messed up in a big way I very much doubt they did what they did with the intent of decreasing income.

    image
  • ObeeObee Member Posts: 1,550

    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    You do know that 'atmospheric flight' was built into the engine about a year after launch. It's just been sitting in the code for years because Smedley was too lazy and greedy to spend the little more money it would have taken to polish it and then release it as a - paid - expansion. Its release two months or so before close-down was just one final f.u. to the players by SOE.

    I am aware that ground and space uses the same engine, I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Feel free to prove me wrong, and even if you can do so I fail to see what that has to do with the fact that featurewise SWG was far superior to anything else out there, no matter which of its three incarnations you hold up as an example.

    LOL.

    "I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective."

    Does anybody else who's had any dealings with SOE over SWG want to chip in on this one? I don't trust myself.

    You offer no arguments, only your personal opinion that SOE are the devil. While they have at times messed up in a big way I very much doubt they did what they did with the intent of decreasing income.

     

    The entire post launch development history of SWG doesn't make sense from a business perspective.

     

     

  • LowcaianLowcaian Member Posts: 265

    Originally posted by Obee

    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    You do know that 'atmospheric flight' was built into the engine about a year after launch. It's just been sitting in the code for years because Smedley was too lazy and greedy to spend the little more money it would have taken to polish it and then release it as a - paid - expansion. Its release two months or so before close-down was just one final f.u. to the players by SOE.

    I am aware that ground and space uses the same engine, I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Feel free to prove me wrong, and even if you can do so I fail to see what that has to do with the fact that featurewise SWG was far superior to anything else out there, no matter which of its three incarnations you hold up as an example.

    LOL.

    "I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective."

    Does anybody else who's had any dealings with SOE over SWG want to chip in on this one? I don't trust myself.

    You offer no arguments, only your personal opinion that SOE are the devil. While they have at times messed up in a big way I very much doubt they did what they did with the intent of decreasing income.

     

    The entire post launch development history of SWG doesn't make sense from a business perspective.

     

     

    Yes it does if and I say if (since nobody knows for sure) there was a panic reaction coupled with pressure from the IP owner. But it wasn't the objective of my first post to discuss business decisions but to point out that even in its NGE form ,SWG was a sandbox and as far as features went it put many newer games to shame.

    image
  • ObeeObee Member Posts: 1,550

    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Originally posted by Obee


    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian


    Originally posted by returnintor


    Originally posted by Lowcaian

    Even after the NGE it was vey much sandbox. Some people keep on harping about the NGE (yes I was there all the way) and today keep spreading misinformation even though they quit in 05. The game just after the NGE which was horrible was not at all the same game as in late 06 and onwards, and it's time people realize that. It improved a lot.

     

    The last months they added atmospheric flight, and even though rushed due to the closure it worked pretty well. I had a lot of fun dogfighting over Bestine.

    The last night there was an ISD over Coronet, not a wallpaper but an actual real ISD (same as in DS) it was huge took me 20 sec to fly by it, it was attackable.

    I stood on the ground watching the leviathan and a Vak did a low pass at top speed, it looked awesone and it was not a particle effect but a "real" fighter with a player in the cockpit.

     

    Polish was lacking but it is sad to know that a game that outguns every modern mmorpg in concept and amount of features is now gone.

    You do know that 'atmospheric flight' was built into the engine about a year after launch. It's just been sitting in the code for years because Smedley was too lazy and greedy to spend the little more money it would have taken to polish it and then release it as a - paid - expansion. Its release two months or so before close-down was just one final f.u. to the players by SOE.

    I am aware that ground and space uses the same engine, I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Feel free to prove me wrong, and even if you can do so I fail to see what that has to do with the fact that featurewise SWG was far superior to anything else out there, no matter which of its three incarnations you hold up as an example.

    LOL.

    "I do not believe you because what you are saying doesn't make sense from a business perspective."

    Does anybody else who's had any dealings with SOE over SWG want to chip in on this one? I don't trust myself.

    You offer no arguments, only your personal opinion that SOE are the devil. While they have at times messed up in a big way I very much doubt they did what they did with the intent of decreasing income.

     

    The entire post launch development history of SWG doesn't make sense from a business perspective.

     

     

    Yes it does if and I say if (since nobody knows for sure) there was a panic reaction coupled with pressure from the IP owner. But it wasn't the objective of my first post to discuss business decisions but to point out that even in its NGE form ,SWG was a sandbox and as far as features went it put many newer games to shame.

    How does a history of chasing away customers make sense from a business perspevtive?  The only sandbox features that were left post NGE was the housing system and the crafting system, which was rendered useless until they added WoW's enchanting system to it.  The NGE core systems were horribly implemented and the NGE combat system never propperly functioned due to the game engine not being able to handle it.  When a member of the development team finally admitted the game engine couldn't handle the combat system (which came a few years after a number of players and former players pointed the fact out, but was denied by the dev team), he made it a point to mention that they would not do anything to fix the problem.  That mentality was a problem from the day the game launched, quality and functionality was never a concern with the developers.

    As for the IP holder pressuring SOE to make the game the horrible pit of dispair it was, that was denied by the former Director of Global Communications at SOE, Alan Crosby, on the official forums when he was asked if LucasArts force the NGE on SOE (his answer to that drect question was "No" and he then expressed his pride at the company making the largest and most costly blunder in MMO history).  The former Lead Gameplay Designer, Jeff Freeman, gave some insight on how the NGE came about on the SWG forum on this site (search for posts by "Dundee").  The former Lead Designer, Dan Rubenfield, has a long, though sanitised post on his blog about the NGE and its origins (the original version can be found and displays more of the mentality toward the game's playerbase that caused the NGE).  Finally, one of the former dev team members (GreenMarine, who's real name I can't remember at the moment) left a couple comments on the Broken Toys blog which was discussing the Rubenfield blog post, stating the problem was with the SOE producers thinking they knew better than the customers what the customers really wanted (he specifically stated the LEC producers were not a problem) and ignoring what the players were asking for (content) in favor of screwing up the core game systems.

    SWG was a game that launched with a ton of potential, but the longer it was live, the more and more that potential was stripped from the game, until all that was left was the abomination that finally went dark a few days ago, and as such, the cumulative quality of the current MMO landscape has increased.

     

     

  • MalacorMalacor Member Posts: 10

    Be realistic, perheps it was time to come to an end.

    Imhave played SWG from the Beta to the NGE and after a break  agai 6 months after the NGE.

    At the start SWG was unique, not compareble with any other MMO, the concept, the freedom, the deepness   and complexity made that game so special.

    But thats comes with a price, and this price was balance. The freedom to compine each and every skilltree from diffeent classes ended up in completly unbanced combinations and  the next fix only moved one broken fotm combination to another.

    In addition to that the goal was to reach a Jedi (what I did), be the way to reach one the balence of the jedi class and leter the way to level a jedi was  alos not a good idee.

    At the time I was joking wih my friends that the way to let the force be strong with you and become a master was to kill 50.000 grass eating animals in a group of 8 jedis (takes months of gameplay to reach it) and bath in there blood.

    Sorry but this had nothiong to do with star wars.

    Anyway the NGE was a 100 % turn back and so noone could expect to make many players from before stay in a complete new and different game.

    Most guilds was falling abart because of 80 % of the players left, making the few who likes the new set up loosing even more as the gameconcept, they also lost all their freinds and community .

    From there on the game was struggeling to survivewith server coming together to compenate  lost of players and a lot of correctons to the NGE... but from that moment on SWG was fighting against the time , to prevent an end , this end is coming now.

     

    so RIP SWG, you was great fun during a long time of your history and I will remember you in good memory for the years of enterainment you gave me

     

  • M1sf1tM1sf1t Member UncommonPosts: 1,583


    Originally posted by Bob_Blawblaw
    I love how there's just one more product upsell on that page (SWG Memory Book: Coming Soon!).
    Even in death, they gotta make a buck.
    (Decent letter though)

    Ummmmmm.....that's because SWG was solely designed to "make a buck".

    Games I've played/tried out:WAR, LOTRO, Tabula Rasa, AoC, EQ1, EQ2, WoW, Vangaurd, FFXI, D&DO, Lineage 2, Saga Of Ryzom, EvE Online, DAoC, Guild Wars,Star Wars Galaxies, Hell Gate London, Auto Assault, Grando Espada ( AKA SoTNW ), Archlord, CoV/H, Star Trek Online, APB, Champions Online, FFXIV, Rift Online, GW2.

    Game(s) I Am Currently Playing:

    GW2 (+LoL and BF3)

  • nmalthusnmalthus Member CommonPosts: 98

    SOE/LA massacred the game with the CU & NGE and the killing blow was player cities. TOR is everything SWG should have been.

  • brenthbrenth Member UncommonPosts: 301

    good riddance to a poorly designed  game that lacked inspiration,creativity and depth.

    I wonder what will be the next sony game to fleece loyal fans of a franchise.

    Weve all ready seen  star trek on line  from another company go down the epic fail route  not even having all the planets in Sol system. The loyal fans that fork over the cash for such crap are just blind loosers and deserve such low standards in game crafting.

    make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.

  • ukforzeukforze Member Posts: 331

    Originally posted by Zekiah

    It's a shame how they destroyed that game. IMO, SWG had the most potential out of any MMO ever created.

    What a disgrace.

    So true & yet so sad :(

    The Deathstar destroyed planets...Lucas Arts destroyed Galaxies

    ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
    Played:
    SWG | EVE | WOW | VG | LOTRO | WAR | FML | STO | APB | AOC | MORTAL | WOT | BP | SW:TOR

  • LizanteLizante Member Posts: 182

    Bottom line is that Lucas Arts wanted the Star Wars Galaxy MMO to be a blockbuster "pablum for the masses" game and thus forced SOE to dramatically "dumb down" SWG with "Upgrades" and the NGE.

     

    And that was the beginning of the end for what many of us believe was (and pre-NGE, is still the shining epitime of) the best MMO ever released.

     

    RIP, SWG -- gone but never forgotten.

     

     

     

     

  • ukforzeukforze Member Posts: 331

    Originally posted by Lizante

    Bottom line is that Lucas Arts wanted the Star Wars Galaxy MMO to be a blockbuster "pablum for the masses" game and thus forced SOE to dramatically "dumb down" SWG with "Upgrades" and the NGE.

     

    And that was the beginning of the end for what many of us believe was (and pre-NGE, is still the shining epitime of) the best MMO ever released.

     

    RIP, SWG -- gone but never forgotten.

     

     

    Exactly, SOE is a shower of shi*e but they take the fall for SWG ...it's a common mistake,

    Don't forget who MADE SWG, it was Lucas that stuck their noses in & forced SOE to change

    the game when they saw WoW...  

    The Deathstar destroyed planets...Lucas Arts destroyed Galaxies

    ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
    Played:
    SWG | EVE | WOW | VG | LOTRO | WAR | FML | STO | APB | AOC | MORTAL | WOT | BP | SW:TOR

  • JerYnkFanJerYnkFan Member UncommonPosts: 342

    SWG was my first MMO and still has the fondest memories for me.  It had hands down the best community I have ever been in.  I know it wasn't perfect, but who can forget the massive PvP battles near Anchorhead or myself being a Ranger taking orders from Doctors for a specific kind of avian meet that I had to go hunt on Lok.  I miss my massive camps or the awe of seeing a Jedi for the first time.  Go gently into that good night SWG.

  • HadoshiHadoshi Member Posts: 13

    Its time to pass the torch to swtor.

    R.I.P SWG.  

    It was fun from the beginning.  

    May the force be with you. 

     

    (( I`D RATHER DIE WITH A STRAIGHT BACK THAN A BOW TO YOU AND LIVE ))^^^^^>

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