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Free Realms launches Tuesday
In what is quite possibly the shortest 'closed' (public) beta ever, Sony Online Entertainment has decided to bring their free-to-play family fun game of clicky-addictiveness Free Realms live - tomorrow! Yes, this means just a few days past two weeks after those from last year's Fan Faire were given beta access to the game, SOE now feels that the game is ready for prime-time. According to a post on the Free Realms forums from Jason "Pex" Ryan, Community Manager, the servers will be going down this morning at approximately 8:00 AM Pacific, and will remain offline all day today while they push their final patches and run internal tests. They note that they will also be deleting all beta Free Realms characters as well. Now, the good news for those who participated in the beta test is that the SOE team will be giving all testers a unique in-game item as a way of saying thanks for helping to test the game - although they didn't say what that item might be. (We're hoping for a booster pack of rare cards or a special pet, personally.) Also, they will be bringing memberships and the Station Cash Shop online when the Free Realms servers come on line, welcome news for those who wanted to pick up pets or try out members-only content but were unable to. It will be interesting to see how demand goes for memberships, and just how many decide to opt-in for the paid model. But for now, we wish a hearty congrats to the Free Realms crew, and look forward to seeing the finishing touches tomorrow!
SOE podcasters speak freely about Free Realms
Always an interesting listen, the most recent Sony Online Entertainment podcast, #59 offers a bunch of new information on their hot upcoming title, Free Realms. A large part of it is a great interview with the Free Realms Community Manager, Jason "Pex" Ryan, who talks a lot about the different systems at work, and ways that their game sets itself apart from other games. There are tons of great tidbits, including a "Top 10 list on Why you should Play Free Realms", talking about the closed beta, and more background on the game. Aside from that, you'll hear about who shouldn't be drinking coffee, what class Alan "Brenlo" Crosby normally doesn't like playing, Fan Faire talk, more about EverQuest II, Twitter and email silliness - and even more. Be sure to download it and check it out! It will certainly make your daily commute fly by.
Schedule for Pex's farewell tour in Star Wars Galaxies now available
At the beginning of May we brought you word that Pex, the man behind Star Wars Galaxies' singular event support system, would be leaving the game. He's slated to pick up the Community Manager position on SOE's in-development title Free Realms. His departure from the SWG team will be happening quite soon, and to allow players a chance to say goodbye the community team has coordinated with players to tour Pex around the galaxies. This farewell tour will see the man visiting almost every server, and participating in a roleplaying party thrown in his honor. Attendees will not only get a chance to chat with Pex in-game one last time, they'll get a one-of-a-kind badge for their troubles. If you're interested in participating, the Badge Bash will be swinging through the stars next Friday and Saturday (the 6th and 7th of June). Folks looking to advertise the events can get ahold of some swanky materials whipped up by the community team. It's a fitting tribute to a guy that's impacted SWG culture as much as he has. In his honor, players are lobbying to have the Storyteller system renamed "Pex", and developers are conceptualizing an alternate appearance system that will make roleplaying in-game easier.
Ending of event support for Star Wars Galaxies marks era's close
Very soon the Star Wars Galaxies community will be marking the end of an era. Jason 'Pex' Ryan, the game's event support coordinator, will be moving on to the position of Community Manager for Sony Online's in-development Free Realms. Like the departure of Guild Wars' Gaile Grey, Pex's departure marks a momentous change in SWG's community backdrop. Toiling hard in-game since the early days of Galaxies' live service, Mr. Ryan has always been the puppeteer behind characters like Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader. His portrayal of these and other characters in the game lead to one of the most unique systems available in any MMO today: the Storyteller system of player-placeable objects and characters.The announcement of his departure this past week has met with a strong response from the community. Tributes to the man's work have sprung up, remembrances of events that he's run. Others reflect on the numerous event reports that he's put together over the years, a catalog of player-driven events. Others wonder about the ultimate impact that live event support's closure will have on the game. Some forward-thinking players are thinking about this development in regard to next month's momentous anniversary: Star Wars Galaxies turns 5 years old in June. Regardless of the future of the game, Pex moves on to bigger and better things having left a visible impact on the player community. Indeed, his pioneering work in this area may ultimately leave a lasting mark on the genre itself. Good luck, Mr. Ryan, and best wishes on success with Free Realms.
