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Moriendor
Black Ring Leader
Joined: 19 Jul 2001
Posts: 1306
Location: Germany |
| SWG: NDA Lifted - Tons of News |
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The NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) for 'Star Wars: Galaxies' has been lifted today (<a href="http://boards2.station.sony.com/ubb/starwars/Forum3/HTML/134157.html" target="_blanK">official announcement</a>), i.e. beta testers are now allowed to freely speak about the good and the bad, post screenshots, and share whatever else they think might be of general interest.
<br>In case you know about 'Star Wars: Galaxies'' popularity you can probably imagine that all hell has broken loose. Here's part of it:
<br>
<br>1) The <a href="http://boards2.station.sony.com/ubb/starwars/Forum3/HTML/134242.html" target="_blanK">Beta Manual</a> (slightly dated since testers have last been introduced to the game by an in-game system)
<br>2) <a href="http://swgcb.yogn.net/swg-cb.php" target="_blank">Skill Trees</a>
<br>3) <a href="http://boards2.station.sony.com/ubb/starwars/Forum3/HTML/134182.html" target="_blanK">Screenshots</a>
<br>4) New site sections dedicated to various stuff at <a href="http://www.swgcenter.com/index.asp?bhcp=1" target="_blanK">SWG Center</a>
<br>5) <a href="http://swg.stratics.com/content/gameplay/professions/professions.php" target="_blank">Professions</a>
<br>6) A lengthy beta tester <a href="http://boards2.station.sony.com/ubb/starwars/Forum3/HTML/134151.html" target="_blanK">review</a> |
Fri Jun 20, 2003 3:54 am |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Affirmative, all hell has broken loose...
Last edited by Ammon777 on Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:45 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:11 am |
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Halsy
Village Leader
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 84
Location: Toronto |
As an ex-beta tester, I wouldn't recommend anyone touch this game with a 10ft pole.
_________________
Midget Soothsayer robs bank. Small medium at large. Film at 11. |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:44 am |
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Mr Wonderstuff
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 09 Jan 2002
Posts: 30
Location: London |
Given that the review was put on the SWG Official board, I'll be a little sceptical. |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 10:07 am |
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methusala
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 281
Location: Odinwald |
I expected fillet mignon and ended up with a baloney sandwich. That about sums up my beta testing SWG. |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 12:27 pm |
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madgnome
Guest
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| this beta tester says no thanks |
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I've been a beta tester for the past 2 months and I've cancelled my pre-order. I'm not doing this because of the bugs still present or server instability, I'm mostly disgusted/disillusioned by the game-play itself.
I do not believe this game will appeal to the hardcore or power-gamers among us, unless you are so enamored of the StarWars universe that you become oblivious to the weak game mechanics. Or (and this is just one example) you don't mind becoming a BountyHunter or Doctor or Master Craftsman or whatever that has the EXACT same skills as every other person in your profession.
This won't mean much unless you're taken the Bartle test, but I'm an EAKS with E and A being almost equal. The SWG developers have admitted that this game will not appeal to people with high A (Achievement). It is MUCH more about the S (Social) and some E (exploring). But I found the the 10 planets to be largely the same, despite the terrain and ligting changes. If you still think as I do that EQ has the best atmosphere/immersion and variety from zone to zone, then you will be disappointed by SWG.
I'm still waiting for a game that is able to surpass the atmosphere of EQ.
I continue to look forward to Horizons, Frontier 1859, and WorldOfWarcraft.
--madgnome |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 3:25 pm |
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Farscry at work
Guest
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I've been rather negative regarding Star Wars Galaxies due to my experiences in the beta testing since November. Not because I want the game to fail: far from it. I wish the game would actually live up to the hype and be a solid, revolutionary online title. That's what it was originally intended to be, after all.
Unfortunately, as of now, 7 of the 10 planets have yet to be beta tested. The in-game help and reference files are incomplete. Many objects and items in the game don't even have any descriptive text beyond "cha_tabl_2_1_acc" and such. Vast areas of emptiness permeate the game world with nothing to do (or even battle). I've gone literally minutes running across Tatooine without so much as a gundark appearing on long-range sensors.
The game isn't ready for release. June 26th as a release date means that the gold master was pressed as little as a week ago, possible further in the past. The game is not content-ready for release, and with the gold master being that old, prepare for people having a massive patch to download on release day. There will likely be a good amount of initial content for very low level characters, but I anticipate that there will be more problems plaguing this release than we saw with WWII Online and Anarchy Online… combined.
The thing that concerns me most is that the NDA has yet to be lifted, effectively muting any voices who would talk about the sad state of ingame affairs at the moment. One independent (read: not owned by a major media conglomerate) gaming site had this to say, which illustrates the point better than I could:
"Without making any statement on the realities of the game, I as a consumer would be very concerned about the state of a game that refuses to lift its NDA so close to release.
Consistency in accurate reporting is, of course, an issue we all need to look at closely - and, on a personal note, I like to think GWJ is ahead of the curve on that issue - but I doubt seriously that LucasArts would be quite as concerned about the particulars if they genuinely believed that the overall response would be positive. It strikes me that holding the NDA in place is a lot like taking the fifth amendment, it isn't an admission of guilt, but it sure doesn't look good." -- Gamers with Jobs [<www.gamerswithjobs.com>]
As it stands, I warn anyone against purchasing SWG until it has had time to develop into the game it should be. Your Star Wars gaming dollar will be better spent on Knights of the Old Republic later this summer or Jedi Academy this fall. I hope they improve the game, but here's one less gamer they'll be able to count on for their opening numbers. |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:00 pm |
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farscry at work
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That comment was what I e-mailed my coworkers just before I heard the nda was lifted. Even so, this "stealth launch" still points to what I made in my remark. |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:02 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by madgnome
I do not believe this game will appeal to the hardcore or power-gamers among us, unless you are so enamored of the StarWars universe that you become oblivious to the weak game mechanics.
Call me crazy, but you're actually lifting my spirits up! Power gamers don't need more to appeal to them. Casual gamers need some love, and those useless proffessions that everyone keep talking about might actually appeal to them very much! We'll see about that 
quote:
Originally posted by Farscry at work
(...)but I anticipate that there will be more problems plaguing this release than we saw with WWII Online and Anarchy Online… combined.
That's some heavy prediction... Shadowbane was worse than WWIIO and AO combined, and you're saying this might be as bad as SB, or maybe even worse? From what I have heard in general, I doubt it, but again we'll see
quote:
Originally posted by Farscry at work
As it stands, I warn anyone against purchasing SWG until it has had time to develop into the game it should be.
As far as I'm concerned, this warning goes for any MMORPG that has ever seen the light of day. This is nothing new. Only the most hardcore MMORPGers and those that are willing to play a buggy game should try it in the first weeks of its life. Nothing new here 
EDIT: Fixed a stupid mistake of mine on the first quote...
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word=
Last edited by Ekim on Sun Jun 22, 2003 3:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Jun 20, 2003 6:42 pm |
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Farscry at Work
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Err... Ekim? I only care about this niggly little detail because I respect and value your opinions, so a quick correction: I wasn't the one who said this won't appeal to the powergamers or hardcore gamers, that was the gentleman before me.
I, personally, don't care that much about the powergamers or hardcore gamers. What I value in a game and what they value in a game are usually different things entirely.  |
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Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:09 am |
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Gravel
Guest
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I find it very "weird" that i read very good reviews on every "commercial" board on the web, while if you search for reviews from people who actually have tested SWG, you would came to the conclusion that SWG is indeed a bad game as it is now. |
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Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:27 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Farscry at Work
Err... Ekim? I only care about this niggly little detail because I respect and value your opinions, so a quick correction: I wasn't the one who said this won't appeal to the powergamers or hardcore gamers, that was the gentleman before me.
My apologies Farscry  I changed my quote earlier yesterday but couldn't post this message until this morning because I had trouble with my internet connection this weekend...  But sorry about that.
quote:
Originally posted by Gravel
I find it very "weird" that i read very good reviews on every "commercial" board on the web, while if you search for reviews from people who actually have tested SWG, you would came to the conclusion that SWG is indeed a bad game as it is now.
You know, this is the same with every new game. I don't think I've ever seen a new MMORPG come out where the general BETA tester feelings were positive... I don't usually put too much importance on the usual rants that fly around after the NDA is lifted. Never forget the golden rule of game message boards and testers: those who are happy are not the ones that talk the most Let's just wait and make our own opinion of the game.
But in general I don't think the comments are half as bad as those I saw for most recent MMORPGs.
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jun 23, 2003 3:22 pm |
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Gravel
Guest
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Ekim, I AM in Beta 3 and i can tell you that the negative posts outruled the positves. Infact, i dislike whinging and rants, but i have also seen a lott of contructive "negative" posts with very good ideas.
Thats why i wonder why the websites gave SWG all the 90%+ reviews. Either they have seen some nice pictures and a pay-cheque from SOE or they have no idea what they are talking about :/
quote:
Let's just wait and make our own opinion of the game.
Sorry, been there, no go for me in this game.
Btw, Kevin and Raph also called SWG many times a MMOG, instead a MMORPG. No RPG in this game. At least not for the time i have tested.
[/quote] |
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Mon Jun 23, 2003 3:38 pm |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Gravel
Ekim, I AM in Beta 3 and i can tell you that the negative posts outruled the positves. Infact, i dislike whinging and rants, but i have also seen a lott of contructive "negative" posts with very good ideas.
Oh, sorry maybe you misunderstood what I meant to say. I didn'T say that there weren't a lot of negative comments, or that there were less of them than positive ones. What I said is that they weren't half as bad as what I've seen with other games, meaning that they were mostly civil and constructive, or simple comments that detailed what was wrong with the game at that point. I've followed AO forums before it came out and let me tell you that the ranting was way beyond what I've seen with SWG. Way worse!  People with bad language and cursing every other word, threats, bantering, petitions... I've seen it all...
What I see with SWG kind of reminds me of what happened with DAoC. Yes, lots of negative comments, but nothing too hateful. Yes, most BETA testers said they would leave and not buy the game. But that didn't keep me from liking it very much in the end.
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jun 23, 2003 4:43 pm |
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Gravel
Guest
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No problem Ekim, i didn't take any offense on your comment. I just wanted to say that i did actually test play the game and bug it.
And although the whole was in beta, i am still wondering what the hell the Devs were doing in the end of the Beta fase.
It went okay till a certain point were they probally got to hear that this "dead-line" was really the release date.
quote:
What I said is that they weren't half as bad as what I've seen with other games, meaning that they were mostly civil and constructive, or simple comments that detailed what was wrong with the game at that point.
True, very true. I agree on this.
quote:
But that didn't keep me from liking it very much in the end.
Good, be happy about it, a lott of other people don't like it playing a MMORPG is very personal ! A lott of people are having a ball in SWG and the rest finds it boring an EQ in space. I am one of the "not going to play this game persons" bc i think the game would/should have been a far better product if they would have listend more to the Beta testers (ofcourse to a certain limit  ). Maybe i had higher expectations. I mean lets face it:
MMORPG = Level grinding = Cash cow.....
Money is what players have and what the company wants...
And leveling the way like this is to much like all other MMORPGS i played sofar (old guy here, 39, played them all :/ ) |
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Tue Jun 24, 2003 9:34 pm |
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