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The Daily Grind: Have you ever scored an MMO world first?
Back in the days before achievement systems reassured us that we were indeed having fun and badges were considered content, I had a dream: a dream to be the first Master Image Designer on my Star Wars Galaxies server. With the help of my guildies, I put together the staggering amount of money to train my skill and made at least a thousand people "look like Neo" for tips, becoming so well-known that newcomers to the profession traveled the galaxy (literally!) to seek me out for training like some NPC. (I promptly used my newfound fortune to round out my template as a Smuggler because nothing says "upstanding hairstylist" like drug-dealing and hacking.) Back then, games didn't reward you with a pretty badge or fancy title for being "first," but modern MMOs do. Players and guilds will go to ridiculous lengths to ensure their place in history as "first guild to down such and such boss with 13.5 players" or "first tailor to sew hot pink level 500 epic boots." How about you guys? Have you ever landed a world or server first, recorded or otherwise, and what was it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Ten things to do in Star Wars Galaxies before it's gone
When SOE announced that Star Wars Galaxies would be sunsetted by the end of the year, many players despaired. They gave up. They saw their long years (eight years!) of play turn to dust. But others looked on the impending closure as incentive to do all those things they'd been putting off, all the activities they just hadn't gotten around to. There hadn't been time. The game is too big for anyone to do it all. And that's precisely why Star Wars Galaxies is a legend among sandbox fans despite the NGE disaster. It's a living museum of great MMO ideas from the past, of player-driven economies, of open-world housing, of high-end, game-supported roleplay, of roaming in a game that lets you dictate the terms of your play. It's a rare relic you should see in the flesh, today, right now, before it's gone. You can pick up a weapon and fight in any MMO (excepting A Tale in the Desert, that is), but there are so many things you can do in Star Wars Galaxies that you can't do anywhere else with the same level of immersion. And I'm going to tell you which 10 you should do first... before it's too late.
The Daily Grind: What Star Wars Galaxies features will you miss the most?
Yep, it's another Star Wars Galaxies-flavored Daily Grind (if you think the sentimentality is thick now, wait until the week of December 15th). When the long-running sandbox title rides into the sunset this winter, it will be taking with it quite a few unique features that have been deemed unnecessary in all the games since. Whether we're talking about the Dancer, Image Designer, and Musician functionality, the space game that allows for interaction and personalization inside the spacecraft as well as out, or the player-generated content features made possible by the Storyteller and Chronicle systems, there's a lot to love about SWG even if you don't particularly love Star Wars (or the game's disregard for Star Wars lore). Today's breakfast topic follows on from yesterday's, but this time around we want to know about feature sets instead of personal memories. What SWG features will you miss the most? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
