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Previews for Star Wars Galaxies Game Update 4
The next big patch coming to Star Wars Galaxies is Game Update 4. It's a systems tweak, aimed squarely at addressing community issues with the Commando and Officer classes. SWG's community manager Valara dropped into the forums this week with previews for both sides in the chain of command. What's really interesting is that she includes the 'top five issues' list that each classes' senator have been maintaining. Senators are player representatives for one facet of the game, and these top five lists are the biggest issues facing each class at any given time. Valara then offers up changes coming in the update that directly stem from this list.For example, the preview of Commando changes lists "Address issues with heavy weapons, including design, DoT complications, and UI interference" as one of the top five community issues. This is the response to that concern on the 'in the works' list: "Investigate issues with heavy weapons including DoT applications and UI interference. Add a new cold elemental weapon." Similarly, the preview of Officer changes has "Leadership abilities such as /sysgroup and /rallypoint need to be re-introduced." The update's response: "Investigate the addition of system group messages and rally points; rally point may grant group members a new buff for meeting at the rally point. Investigate Supply Drop." Both of these threads have several visits from developers as well, making for a very interestinv conversation about these class issues. For more background on the Commando's DoT problems, check out the thread entitled the history of Commando DoTs for more details.
Ties that blind
When you show up to Archimonde attempts on a Monday night, you don't really expect much apart from a fun night with lots of wanton death and slaughter, albeit not for Archimonde himself. Killing Archimonde is pretty much out of the question at the moment. He's the kind of type-A boss who likes to demand absolute perfection out of his visitors, and that's not really what we're prepared to offer right now. We are more of an experimentation guild, the type that slaps things together with duct tape and then cheerfully proffers them for inspection, the type of guild that wanders off while important historical events are occurring, absorbed with what's going on with that duck by the pond or an interesting tree. Despite this, or possibly because of it, we've progressed pretty quickly. Too quickly to avoid leaving people behind, according to some, in the wake of an ugly blow-up that happened early in the evening and continued for the rest of the night in a flurry of tells, vent binds, and and anxious messages.All guilds have problems and all guilds have drama; if you read the site you have the opportunity to see a lot of what goes on elsewhere if your own guild isn't host to a ton of trouble. My own wasn't for the most part until last night, and I tend to read Officers' Quarters and Guildwatch with the sense of clinical detachment you might expect from a surgeon's dispassionate survey of a necrotic limb. Not so much so anymore, I think. Guild-ending matters are usually the result of a slow burn you recognize only in hindsight, and when I read of of break-ups it's hard not to think about the names you don't know and wonder who was the whistle-blower, who tried to save the ship, who abandoned it altogether, and who was simply lost along the way. Guilds are fragile families. This will be an interesting week.
Hacked and robbed blind, one guild's cautionary tale
Our Guild had been going downhill for a while now. At the beginning of the year, key officers and members, cornerstones of our raiding team, quit the game for one reason or another. Some of our members got hacked, just like WoW Insider's Amanda Dean. This took the wind out from under our sails, despite great success in Serpentshrine Cavern and Tempest Keep. As 2007 closed, I envisioned us taking down Vashj and Kael within the first quarter of 2008. I was stoked. There were good times when we'd take down two new bosses a week. Of course, Murphy's Law happens. While key team members quit the game, others took extended (sometimes unannounced) leaves of absence, and with diminishing raid attendance and obviously performance, other members looked elsewhere for better raiding opportunities. And when it rains, it pours.A little over a week ago our Guild bank was robbed. It was cleaned out -- so empty I could almost imagine the sound of flies buzzing about -- well, okay, it wasn't that empty. On the third tab, the robber was kind enough to leave us ten stacks of Roasted Clefthooves. At first it struck me as odd because we had fixed our Guild permissions somewhat after our GM left the game to take a shot at a relationship and play with his Nintendo Wii. In what order exactly, I can't be sure. He passed the mantle off to one officer who passed it to another officer who later passed it on to me. So for a while, I was GM of a Guild that wasn't quite doing anything but waiting on people to come back to the game. So imagine my shock (more like anesthetized indifference, to be honest) when I was going to deposit items into the Guild bank only to find that it had nothing. Well, nothing but those clefthooves.
Panzer Tactics goes commando
Aside from its support for online multiplayer matches, one of the features that really make Panzer Tactics stand out to us when comparing it to other turn-based strategy titles (e.g. Advance Wars) is its employment of Commandos and Officers. Commandos essentially act as stealth operatives, sneaking into enemy territory and acting as an unseen nuisance to your opponent, whereas Officers improve the attributes of the troop they're assigned to and increase morale for surrounding allies.The above three-and-a-half minute video, Panzer Tactics' third episode in its "Producer in a Box" video series, further explains the capabilities of these Commando and Officer units. Move your army to the hex cell after the post break to watch the two previous "Producer in a Box" movies. You can also study the fifteen new screenshots we've added to our Panzer Tactics image gallery.%Gallery-6027%
Guildwatch: We won't stand being talked to like that, either
Yes, it's Tuesday, time again for Guildwatch, and this week we have a question. WHO IS YOUR GM!?! We won't stand being talked to like that! You better watch your mouth, sonny; I am the GM of Guildwatch, ruler of all you see before you!Yep, the only problem with being a guild leader is that it doesn't mean you actually have any authority at all-- but it's still funny when you think you do. For more drama, downed news, and recruiting notices, click the link below. And if you've got anonymous tips to report (we got a ton this week!) send them please to wowguildwatch@gmail.com. Now get us some tea and crumpets-- we are your king!
Does Apple need a Chief Security Officer?
MacSlash posted an interesting question to their readers that I thought would make for an interesting discussion here at TUAW: due to the rise in Mac OS X security-related stories, the debunked worm alarms and even hacking contests that get cancelled before they become useful experiments, does Apple need to appoint a public Chief Security Oficer?On one side of the topic, some argue that it would show a sign of weakness in Apple's security department. On the other side, some believe it would equate to Apple putting their best foot forward on security, a topic that will likely hit the company head-on sooner or later anyway. To clarify what this position would (theoretically) be: the Chief Security Officer would be a public figure for Apple who could speak as an authority on Mac security, putting rumors and mis-reported news to rest, announcing the company's position and status on security, etc. The MacSlash post also summarized an important public element of this topic quite well: "In matters related to product marketing, it's the public perception, not the reality that really matters....And once you've lost a user's confidence, it's hard to get it back. Just ask Microsoft."What do you think, TUAW readers? Should Apple get ahead of the game and appoint a public security official before something more serious strikes Mac OS X? Sound off.
