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The Daily Grind: When have changes overwhelmed you?
Ask most Star Wars Galaxies fans what the problems were with the NGE, and you're likely to get a list that dwarfs most screenplays. But it's hard to argue that one of the major failings was that it was trying to make too many changes to the core of the game in too short a span of time. Even if the changes were good ones -- and many players were of the mind that they weren't -- it was a massive shift in a game without enough time to adapt to all the alterations. Few MMO players would argue that games never need to change, if only to remove parts of the gameplay that are unintentionally broken. But changes that rush on too fast can leave players disoriented, unhappy, and more than a little confused. So when has the pace of change in a game overwhelmed your ability to cope? Was it a major change like World of Warcraft's massive overhaul of the old world, or even something simple but far-reaching like City of Heroes' Enhancement Diversification? 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!
Star Wars Galaxies livens up a theme park
Usually, references to theme parks when it comes to MMOs are meant as derogatory terms. Not so much the case when playing Star Wars Galaxies, where "theme parks" are areas with connected and in-depth quest lines designed to invest the player in the region's storyline. The most recent producer's letter for the game mentioned that Nym's theme park was due for an overhaul and revision, and more information has helpfully been provided by the development team. The overhaul is targeting both new and veteran players, with the additional quests available for those who've never done them and quests available for those who already experienced the original line. The original plan was to outright scrap the old content, but when the team got their hands on the volume of content, they decided instead to do an overhaul. That means that the original Nym content remains in the new questline, which has been vastly expanded and ties more personally to Nym himself. There's also a number of new optional bosses and collections added in the chain, to challenge and interest players of all stripes. Star Wars Galaxies has put a great deal of energy into the overhaul, no doubt hoping that people will be anxious to take a ride in the park.
