Star Wars Galaxies Total Revamp -- "Twitch Combat"

[Hurin]

I was never able to get into Star Wars Galaxies. The only MMORPG I have ever been able to get sucked into was Ultima Online and that was a long time ago.

But, it looks like Sony is going to try the impossible and revamp a live MMORPG almost completely. The downside, lots of pissed off current players. The upside, the game might actually be fun now.

I've always wondered what technical limitations keep someone from melding the compelling, persistent online worlds of MMORPGs (UO, Everquest), with the fast-paced skill-oriented "twitch" style combat games (Quake, Call of Duty).

Apparently, there aren't any (at least, anymore), because Sony is yanking the guts out of SWG and putting in "real" combat where you actually need to, ya know, aim. . . and stuff.

Test code is expected shortly, but adding "collision detection" for all the junk in the game (so that you don't just walk through other people, etc.) will take a while.

The scoop.

The Official Word. (not quite so direct)

So, will this change anyone's mind about the game? I know I'll probably give it a try again if only to shoot some stormtroopers and then retire to my Tatooine estate.

H

[Sundown]

Nuts. I can't believe they're actually doing this... although my complaint with SWG was never about it being turn-based. The things most wrong with the game are its lack of content, immersion, and balance... but it looks like at least a few of these things are going to be addressed, especially with them dropping most of the professions, making the game much easier to balance.

I'm now faced with a delimma, cancel my subscription now, since I've been meaning to for a long while... or wait for the revamp to roll out, and cash in on some of the veteran goodies. Mehh.

-Al

[Radd]

If it's done well, this could be interesting. I'll be looking fortward to hearing more, as the game right now doesn't really interest me.

[bsu legato]

I don't play Galaxies (or any other MMORPG for that matter) but it seems to me and my unedjamacated eyes that a move away from slow, turn based combat towards an action/FPS style combat could only increase immersion. Watching combat in something like CoH, where players cue up attacks and sit back to watch them unravel is akin to watching paint dry.

[Duke Togo]

I'll stick with WoW.

[Knight26]

I'll stick to the real world, Lucas gets no more money out of me unless a new X-Wing type game comes out.

[Zor Primus]

Another revamp? That'll be the end of SWG for sure. They lost a ton of subscribers with the last revamp, personally I left before then for WoW.

Content and the complete thrashing of continuity is what turned me off to a game that had so much potential.

[1st Border Red Devil]

If they would fix the broken economy, that would probably help as well. However, changing combat is a good thing, cause I watched a friend shoot rabbits with a blaster one day......it took repeated shots from said blaster to bring it down. That few minutes of watching cured me of ever wanting to play SWG.

[USCOLMRNE]

I'll stick with WoW.

341845[/snapback]

amen to that

[armentage]

Seriously, it's the focus on thinking and planning that makes games like WOW and other MMO's so much more interesting than trigger twitching games like CC (to the millions of people play them, that is.)

This change sounds like the SWG people are losing so much share, and are so desperate to stay afloat they're throwing out everything. I like the idea though, an MMO that isn't an MMO version of Rogue.

[Sundown]

I don't play Galaxies (or any other MMORPG for that matter) but it seems to me and my unedjamacated eyes that a move away from slow, turn based combat towards an action/FPS style combat could only increase immersion. Watching combat in something like CoH, where players cue up attacks and sit back to watch them unravel is akin to watching paint dry.

341843[/snapback]

Funny, because CoH is actually one of the faster MMORPG's in terms of action. Most of it happens so fast that it's really nearly real-time, at least once you're high enough level and have enough powers to keep your cycle going at all times. Where I'm at, I actually have more powers ready to use than I know what to do with, and my blasts are going at a constant clip... it plays more like gauntlet than anything.

As far as immersion goes, Star Wars Galaxies currently fails not because of its speed, but because the developers have turned SWG into a generic Star Wars themed fun-land, a platform to show off Star Warsy gimicks that one grinds for by completing difficult but unimmersive quests that rarely feel like anything from the movies. The result is a game featuring a mish mash of the OT and PT, with nothing truly interesting to *do*, instead of a game that really looks, feels, and plays like the Star Wars universe right between Ep I and II, which is when the game supposedly takes place.

-Al

[SpacePirateNeko]

oh dear lord this is everything i have wanted since teh development of swg began...i might actually go back to playingmy character that has been sitting in his home for months

[Sundown]

Meh, just read that it looks like once we pick a profession, we're STUCK with it for the lifetime of the character... which means that for us vets who respec into a new profession, we'll never be able to play from the ground up without deleting that character and all the badges and special items that go with them. Even worse, with the limitation of one character per server (except for those who ground out Jedi), we'll never be able to try out another profession without axing the original.

So in one fell swoop, Star Wars Galaxies has turned from the MMORPG offering the most freedom and customization for a character into the most limiting... and it seems that either the developers were extremely shortsighted or it's a nefarious ploy to get us to buy more accounts so we can play with our friends on our old server.

-Al

[Mechwarrior]

I play the hell out of SWG, i am lookng forward to the revamp. Everyone who said they were gonna leave the last two major changes didnt, in fact the server i play on (Valcyn) had doubled in the past year. I can't wait for the change. I tried WoW, just couldnt get into it myslef, but seeing how SONY owns em both, they dont lose.

[promethuem5]

Sounds like alot of people are startin to jump on the twitch MMORPG bandwagon... like Huxley, an FPS MMORPG which looks awesome. Twitch play is the only way I could every enjoy an MMORPG... turn based makes me want to kill somebody.

[Hurin]

feels, and plays like the Star Wars universe right between Ep I and II, which is when the game supposedly takes place.

I know that you know this, and it was just a mental hiccup on your part. But for those who may not know, I think you meant that the game is set between EpIV and V.

H

[Sundown]

feels, and plays like the Star Wars universe right between Ep I and II, which is when the game supposedly takes place.

I know that you know this, and it was just a mental hiccup on your part. But for those who may not know, I think you meant that the game is set between EpIV and V.

H

342061[/snapback]

I... no longer deserve to hate the PT. *cries*

-Al

[Anubis]

I'll stick to the real world, Lucas gets no more money out of me unless a new X-Wing type game comes out.

341856[/snapback]

Same here.

[bsu legato]

I'll stick to the real world, Lucas gets no more money out of me unless a new X-Wing type game comes out.

341856[/snapback]

Same here.

342066[/snapback]

Don't hold your collective breaths. The entire PC flight sim genre seems to be in a coma right now. Everything has shifted over to "arcade" style shooters, usually console ports.

[Zor Primus]

I play the hell out of SWG, i am lookng forward to the revamp. Everyone who said they were gonna leave the last two major changes didnt, in fact the server i play on (Valcyn) had doubled in the past year. I can't  wait for the change. I tried WoW, just couldnt get into it myslef, but seeing how SONY owns em both, they dont lose.

342052[/snapback]

Sony does not own WoW Blizzard does...

Two things come to mind when I think about why I left SWG. First the continued thrashing of continuity and storyline destruction. Second the game was essentially released as a beta and with all these changes and "revamps" and "upgrades" are more akin to code updates then anything else. There has never in my knowledge of mmo's been a game to see so many changes to its core game done over and over and over again... SOE dropped the ball on what could have been a flawless MMO. Instead they have taken a franchise name and done whatever they felt like with the knowledge that just because its Star Wars people would take it. I guarentee you that if this had been an EQ title it would not be handled this way.

I was talking about the SWG dilemma over the weekend with my best friend who like me beta tested the game months before it went public. We agreed that had this mmo carried any other name it would have died a horrible death when the CU was thrown at its players. We also came to the conclusion that this time even the die hard fans of the game and the Star Wars name will probably depart leaving behind a vastly lower amount of good players left sparsely spread out over all the servers. RP as I knew it was done with the CU, it will probably not exsist at all with this new change.

[bsu legato]

Judging from the new VIDEOS on IGN, I don't think that "twitch" combat is the correct term. "Lethargy" is more apropos. If this is the new intense combat system, I shudder to think of how mind numbing the original version was.

[promethuem5]

Twitch my ass.... I'll second your comment BSU, I'd hate to see the combat system before.

[Uxi]

When Galaxies was announced, I was hoping it would be like Jedi Outcast/Academy but with some interaction and non-Jedi advancement.

Instead it took the worst elements of KotoR and ignored just about everything from every other element. Space went a long way to keep me subscribed for 6 more months. I'm a Rebel Ace and master in a couple things (rifleman and about 2/3 towards commando)....

I let my subscription lapse, but I'm not opposed to reactiving my toon should it turn into Battlefront 2 with interaction.

[SpacePirateNeko]

ok ive been playing the new combat revamp on teh test servers for the last few days...

first the bad : The "twitch" needs to be worked on alot, its hard to aim because when you are strafing its so jerky

due to teh way your characters walks when going left or right all they need to do is add true fps strafing and maybe a gun barrel view

seperating crafting and combat classes was just a very dumb move, people do not want to be forced into one style of gameplay, if soe gets wise they will dump the trader class and instead let all of the 8 other classes choose a secondary crafting skill out of the 9 crafting choices

Only 9 classes? Another bad move, right now there is very little difference save weapons and small ability difference between the classes, get wise and at least up it to 12-14 classes. You should have multiple paths you can climb within a class to differentiate between one and the other....if you are a bounty hunter at end game there should be bounty hunters who are better at hand to hand combat while others may have aimed towards more stealth.

Jedi 24/7.....teh annoying unlocked jedi were bad enough but now that you can be jedi from scratch get ready for roleplaying to be destroyed completely as 6 thousand jedi sword fight in front of you

you still cant reall jump

The good news:

The new demo and tutorial area is GREAT , that first ten minutes of play have felt more like star wars then the last two years of the game

Movement is faster and the general game seems to flow faster , quest come easier and your movement and run speed are faster

The "twicth" is also faster but one problem i see with it is since you can only fire when your target lays over the mob meaning you can never really miss, this needs to be changed , you should be able to fire your weapon whenever your target is in crosshair form ( 90% of the time ) the only exception being when it becomes chat bubble or interact target. The shots should have zero effect on teh surroundigs if they miss but the act is you should be able to miss...period. Add in a true fps jump and that in itself would up the game to me another 10%

so in general if they ...

add a few more classes and a few seperate paths in each class

give us a jedi free server for roleplayers

remove trader class and let any combat class choose one of the 9 tradeskill jobs

give us a TRUE fps interface , gun barrel view, a jump, better strafing movement, and being able to shoot outside the targeted area

those alone would make this game amazing

[Zor Primus]

SOE's standpoint on subscriber opinion:

[kalvasflam]

Haven't played SWG in eons, but from the looks of it, the crafting class is going to way of the dinosaurs. I wonder what the SWG subscription base looks like now.

This could potentially be a good thing for SWG if they ever go the route of adapting a dynamic storyline for the servers, but unfortunately, I doubt if that'll ever be the case. Which is too bad.

They seem to be ripping out the best part of SWG, which was the economy, at least from what I saw a year ago, that was the case. Hopefully they'll be able to do something good with the combat changes. I personally think they should've just struck out beyond the movieverse and go into their own era, i.e. KOTOR era would be decent if there was a good overarching story line.

[Max Jenius]

I'll stick with WoW.

341845[/snapback]

amen to that

341877[/snapback]

I just got my 2nd level 60 character on Ner'Zhul. Depite it's shortcomings... WoW is the popular one so I play that. I like the MM aspect of the games.

[Duke Togo]

My main on WoW is just about at 48, and I have two alts at 20. I've only been playing for a month and a half. Its a fun game, not the end all be all, but... I'm on the Kargath server, my main's name is *shock* Glavil!

[Zor Primus]

My chars in WoW are in Argent Dawn. I have a lvl 60 NE Hunter and working now on a lvl 55 Human Mage. Unlike SWG, WoW's beta was more akin to a real game then the live version of SWG. Great game, with the only gripe being the endless waits to get into Battlegrounds.