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Return to Star Wars Galaxies
Or: Thoughts on the state of the game from the point of view of a returning player. A long time ago (a few years back) in a Galaxy far, far away (not really), I played Star Wars Galaxies on a daily basis. I left shortly before the New Game Enhancements were rolled out, but after the Combat Upgrade; which means that I didn't suffer the shock of having my character's current skill set removed without warning and redesigned as a completely different class. For the record, my main character was a Master Teras Kasi Artist and Master Doctor, and was about halfway through the Aurilia Village quests to unlock my Jedi slot. As Michael said previously in his Galaxies history lesson, what's past is past, and while I'm not the person to demand that Galaxies be rolled back to the 'good old days', I'm not going to deny that I enjoyed the game most before the Combat Upgrade. So, with the game's Fifth Anniversary having just passed, I decided to install the 14-day trial from the Galaxies website, give the game a try, and see what kind of state it's in just now. Read on for my impressions of Galaxies, from the point of view of an ex-player, returning for the first time in years.
Return to Star Wars Galaxies - Part Three
If you choose a combat profession in Star Wars Galaxies, the crafting system is completely bypassed in the Tutorial. While you do have the ability to craft items, you're apparently supposed to figure that out yourself. You're told how to open your Inventory and Datapad, but not given any real instruction on either. Considering that you'll be using the Datapad to store Waypoints, Pets, Vehicles, Ships and Draft Schematics (assuming you figure out the crafting), it would have been nice to have a little light shone on the subject. There is of course a New Player Guide for Galaxies on the official site, but that's beside the point really – you shouldn't have to Alt-Tab and search the Internet just to get information on the basics systems of the game. The Legacy quest line is in place for Trader characters as well; it just doesn't really go anywhere. The first few Legacy quests for Traders explain how to use the various crafting tools in the game and introduce you to the basics of crafting, but things just fizzle out after that.
Return to Star Wars Galaxies - Part Two
For the life of me I can't remember how Star Wars Galaxies started off, way back when, but nowadays after choosing your class, the game takes you through a Tutorial. You'll find yourself waking up onboard an unnamed Imperial space station, where you've apparently been held captive due to your being 'special' in some indefinable way. It could have something to do with the monthly fee you pay SOE in the real world, but I may just be cynical. Regardless, you'll find none other than C3P0 giving you hints and tips on basic actions – movement, dialogue, combat and equipping. Immediately after that, you're busted out by Han Solo, Chewbacca and R2-D2, whose presence goes unexplained. After helping to kill a couple of Stormtroopers, you'll find yourself on the Millennium Falcon, gunning down TIE Fighters and being threatened by Darth Vader himself. It's an interesting way to open the game, but it somehow feels a little too much. I can see what SOE are trying to do here – hook you in straight away by ticking all the geek buttons. Big lore heroes, Storm Troopers of dubious marksmanship, Darth Vader and space combat in the Millennium Falcon, all within the first 5 minutes; it's just obviously transparent. Had you stumbled across any of these characters of your own accord and interacted with them in the main game, it might have been more realistic, but to run into them before your feet even touch solid ground tests your suspension of disbelief.
Star Wars Galaxies producer DeadMeat moving to SOE-Austin director position
Lorin "DeadMeat" Jameson has been a big part of the new wave of communication between the players of Star Wars Galaxies and the folks at SOE who make it. It's therefore very much worth noting that Jameson is moving out of his production role on the project, to a development directorship at the Sony Online Entertainment - Austin studio. This announcement comes in Jameson's semi-regular producer's letter, which otherwise recaps the last few weeks since Chapter 10 hit the live servers.Christopher Field is stepping into his position as Producer on the game, and generally notes his enthusiasm for the Star Wars IP in his first address to the players. Aside from his new position Jameson also notes that while Game Update 5 will be on the Test Server next week, Update 6 is going to be delayed. "The team is now pretty much focused on the Battle for Echo Base and I have to say that this is one of the most ambitious chapters we have attempted to date. The Hoth terrain and battlespace is huge and the features that are being added to support this classic Star Wars moment are incredibly exciting. In fact it is such a large undertaking that we will be delaying Update 6 until we have more of the pieces in place to ensure that we truly deliver on this encounter. Once we have broken up some of the larger development rocks for this chapter we will be able to pick up on the update tracks again."
A Star Wars Galaxies history lesson: The post-NGE era
Fifth AnniversaryThe Game Update/Chapter Update split bring us to today, with the most recent Chapter having just gone live last week. Chapter 10 added in a whole new dungeon, what the galaxies team calls a Theme Park. Theme Parks have been in the game since the beginning, but this latest addition is a far more advanced concept, based around a player-favorite group called the Meatlumps and utilizing a unique-in-the-game special purpose currency. The looking for group mechanic, an offering that was sub-par when the game launched and was archaic by todays standards, received a complete overhaul and polish.Additions like Chapter 10, the upcoming Game Update 5, and discussion of the Battle of Hoth make this an incredibly exciting time to be a Star Wars Galaxies player. Yes, the game is substantially different than it was than when it launched. The SOE folks have openly admitted the NGE was a mistake. But here, now, there's only one Star Wars MMO on the market. The developers are talking closely with the community to understand what they want, and great things are happening in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.What's past is past, and nothing can change that. Welcome back to Star Wars Galaxies.
A nostalgic look back on the Star Wars Galaxies beta
With Star Wars Galaxies, unbelievably, celebrating its fifth anniversary (and winner of the Spinal Tap, "Where are they now?" category, 2008) I was asked to reflect on my experiences in the beta program. Most likely, time healed a lot of wounds and I've probably got my new rose-colored glasses on, so forgive me I'm overly nostalgic. Like a lot of people, I'd applied to the beta program and would compulsively hit the refresh button on my webmail client whenever Kevin O'Hara (Q3PO) sent out the "we added more testers" e-mails. On February 18, 2003 (clearly, I keep too many e-mails to pull that one up) I got my acceptance letter and promptly ordered the CDs.Read on for an account of my love/hate relationship with Star Wars Galaxies' Beta program.
Tip of the Day: Celebrating Empire Day
Planning to celebrate Empire Day and Star Wars Galaxies' Fifth Anniversary this weekend? Make sure you know what you need to!
A Star Wars Galaxies history lesson: From launch to the NGE
The CU (Publish 15)Because Star Wars Galaxies was so unpolished when it launched, many elements - even major game elements - were partially implemented or poorly tested. The BioEngineer class, for example, was added just a week or two before the title hit store shelves. As a result the cloning expert in the game was a barely functional mess. The main combat system was fully implemented but, despite the lengthy Beta test, was also highly idiosyncratic. In an effort to answer player concerns and streamline the game's playability, the designers undertook a massive overhaul of the combat system. Where, previously, every character was allowed to use every item (more or less) there would now be restrictions on who could use what. There would be clearly marked bonuses and penalties for using certain times of armor and weapons, and how weapons and combat worked would be clarified as well.It was easily one of the largest changeovers attempted in a post-launch MMO, and the hope was that clarified combat would attract new players. The current players were vocally opposed to a number of elements in the CU, with entertainers and crafters the most vehement. Those classes - once able to sally forth into combat alongside their big-game hunting friends - would now be restricted to pea-shooters and cardboard robes. The catch - the thing that few people recall these years later - is that the Combat Update worked. Afterward players found engaging in combat a far more rewarding experience, and (the rumour goes) subscriptions actually rose back to at-launch levels. Perhaps even beyond. History Lesson Part 5 - The NGE
Help choose the anniversary painting for Star Wars Galaxies
Star Wars Galaxies' Community Manager Valara has dropped some pretty impressive pieces of art into posts on the official forums today. In honor of the game's fifth anniversary, the SWG team is letting the player community pick what the next piece of in-game art will look like. A contest has been ongoing there on the forums since the beginning of the month, and now the options are down to just six entrants - three rebel and three imperial. Forum-goers are being encouraged to participate in polls to determine which image will be picked for each side.The above "March to Restuss" piece looks like its winning handily on the Rebel side. The pieces "United in our Cause" and "A Day Long Remembered" are neck and neck on the Imperial side. Check them all out in our gallery below, and then go vote for your favorite!%Gallery-25914%
Star Wars Galaxies celebrates its Fifth Anniversary starting June 24th
Starting on Tuesday, June 24th, players of Star Wars Galaxies will be able to celebrate an incredibly auspicious occasion. Thursday the 26th will officially mark the 5th anniversary of the launch of LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment's foray into the Galaxy Far, Far Away. We're going to be marking the occasion here on the site with features and galleries, but with your avatar's hat on you'll be able to check out some unique in-game events. Empire Day just happens to fall on the game's anniversary, and both the Rebels and Imperials are pulling out the stops this year to mark the holiday.At the palace in the city of Theed (/waypoint -5469 4410), loyal soldiers of the Empire can meet face-to-face with Darth Vader for the chance to be granted a special title. They'll also be able to buy special holiday candies that increase movement rate and experience gain. Finally, holiday gifts will be freely given out from a massive statue of the Emperor - a painting of the Empire Strikes Back movie poster, and a fun-looking visor/HUD thing. Rebels can get the same benefits and presents by talking with Princess Leia in the northern part of Coronet (/waypoint -214 -4093). Check out the official forum threads on the subject, and this week go fire off a blaster in honor of the game's big anniversary!
The Star Wars Galaxies dev team looks back on five years of gaming
Late this month, on the 26th, is an auspicious day. Five years ago exactly Sony Online Entertainment and LucasArts released the Star Wars Galaxies massively multiplayer game. There were bumps and hobbles (this blogger's first character was wiped when the servers went down), but the early days of SWG were met with guarded enthusiasm. It was a very different kind of game, and offered a unique take on the Galaxy Far, Far Away. In honor of the upcoming anniversary, the current members of the SWG development team have offered up some brief memorable moments from their time with the game. It's interesting to read along noting the reaction of former players vs. long-time developers. QA Supervisor Taylor Haley best recalls the launch of the Jump to Lightspeed expansion, for example, and the success of that rollout. Community Manager Kelly Knox, on the other hand, most vividly recalls her unnerving first encounter with the Emperor. You can check out some memories from fellow players at the official thread, but we're interested in your take: what's your best memory from the last five years of Star Wars Galaxies?
