damn_skippy

This seems like a rip off to me. I really dont know much about the game but from what I heard isn't it like the sims but in a star wars setting?

IMO 50 bucks + 14.99 a month = bending over the consumer.

Jackskeleton

Not only bending over.. it's putting them on all fours.

El Gray

Supposedly, after your 3rd (and permanent) death as a Jedi, you get to keep the character as a blue Jedi ghost, which I think is pretty cool (even if you're no longer corporeal).

And yes, you have to keep it quiet if you're a Jedi. Just look at Ben and Yoda in Star Wars... they weren't exactly advertising that they were the last of a breed. I would think that the bounty wouldn't be IMMEDIATE... but that it would happen if you were blatant about your Jedi-ness.

This game is not like The Sims in a Star Wars setting.

Oh, and you don't have to worry about getting killed off by other players as a newb... PvP play is optional, and you don't have to join in. You can sit out for a while, level up, and THEN get ready to rumble if you want to.

El-Kabong

Ok, allow me to try and clarify - sure it may look like star wars on the surface, and may have the music and sound effects, but it didn't *feel* like Star Wars.

It's kind of hard to quantify the 'star wars feel', but let me try. Imagine the first time the first time you saw New Hope. The Blockade Runner zooms over head, and you think "Hey, that looks pretty cool". Then the Star Destroyer rumbled into view with all it's guns blazing, and you dropped a load in your pants.

This game failed to fill me with that zing. In short it failed to make me drop a load.

Star Wars is about a grand epic with blasters bolts zinging and lightsabers humming, and all kinds of hot and heavy action. It's about dropping a torpedo from a speeding fighter down a reactor shaft at a million to one odds. It's about saving the day and getting the girl.

It's not about delivering a pizza so that my faction with the rebellion goes up 2 points.

As it was my understanding, simply becoming a Jedi (or padawan, or force user, or some shmoe with a lightsaber, whatever you'd like to call it) is amazingly difficult - that only a very few characters have enough potential to become one eventually.

That is a big, big mistake for the icon of the Star Wars universe. When you think of the movies, probably the very first thing you think of is someone with a glowing sword - it's one of the most enduring images from the saga. It's the thing that everyone on the playground pretends to be. It's on all of the movie posters (and often sometimes the ONLY thing on the poster). And to withhold that from everyone is a bad idea.

Should being a Jedi be easy? No, of course not - it's a long arduous path that takes a while to pay off. STARTING that path however should be easy.

And Stormtroopers are different from all the other NPCs in the game how exactly? I mean aside from the spiffy white armor. All they do is stand there, and occasionally wander around their base camp.

Stormtroopers in the movies, however are seen doing one thing: enforcing the will of the Emperor. Putting the smack down on rebels, scaring the local populace, parading up and down in the spiffy white armor, that sort of thing.

Again, this dovetails back to the star wars 'feel' - stormtroopers are only stormies in name only.

I suppose it is unreasonable to expect FPS style fighting, but I was hoping for something a little more than what Galaxies delivered.

I don't know - perhaps the game just isn't for me. I was hoping for an immerseive Star Wars experience, with all the trappings that came with it.

Sc0rPs

Ok I think the things people are MISSING here is the fact it's a massively MULTIPLAYER online game, thus it's up to you to make it more in sync with Star Wars, if you look at it with thought you were watching the show threw some select eyes in the movies (the main chars).

This about everything else, if someone comes up and goes "Yo d00d" you can't blame the game. It has the sound effects, music, theme and very possible to get mreo immersed intot he game. I in fact had a squad of Storm Troopers and an AT-ST going through the cities patrolling keeping order to the citizens. Had lots of friends playing so it really looked "Star Warzy".

Now keep in mind people want to play Rebels, but in fairness to that player they need to travel... in th emovies you don't see Rebels freely walking around do you? You have to accept that's an element that has to be sacrificed... because first you whine it's not like the movies.. then you whine the rebels don't have the same perks as Imperial and can't walk around.

You can't have both, the game's possibilities are enormous with lots of things to do, it's your fault you get bored. For the players compromises have to be made... if you can't accept you won't be Darth Vader then try one of the solo player games where it all evolves around you.

Sc0rPs

Oh and about stormtroopers I was attacked by them plenty when I was on the rebel side, now that Imperial factioned players can dress up as Stormies as I did we did enforce the emperor's rule and put order in the galaxy. So as above it's up to the player community not A.I.'s to give that feel. Also many of us are fans of the old Star Wars movies, it was new & impresive with many of us very young... so what are you trying to get back? Feeling that you were as a child awed of such a grand & "revolutionary" movie in a different time which we all know is impossible... nothing can bring that back.

There's 9 worlds to explore I believe, I only been on 4 and 2 of them very breifly. Tatooine & Corellia was the two with Tatooine I was all over. So to repeat it's really up to you how much you want it to feel "Star Wars" in you own individual perspectives... mine will not be exactly liek yours.. nor will yours be exactly like the next guys.

Fatman

I would love to play this game, but unfortunatly I can't afford it. So here is another game I will have to pass up. Just can't see myself shelling out $14 a month to play a game that I just paid $50 for.

glassdragon

Are they at least giving you a month or 2 free for shelling out 50 bucks for the game? like most every other online rpg does?

El Gray

1 free month, yes.

El-Kabong

Enormous possibilities? The only thing to do is beat up butterflies with a stick (or goblins with a sword or womp-rats with a blaster or whatever), hopefully leveling up. Wash, rise, and repeat - except that the next level will require me to poke bigger rats with a bigger stick. Quite frankly it's repetitive, and it's boring.

This isn't a game, it's work - only I'm supposed to pay 15 bucks a month for the privilege of doing boring repetitive stuff each day, instead of being paid to do for boring repetitive stuff.

I mean, what is the point? DO my actions further the plot? No, because as far as I can tell there's no plot to the game.

Is there some kind of challenging puzzle that needs to be overcome by my wits or by thoughtful strategy? Not that I've found.

Does it require quick reflexes and honed skill? The only skill it appears I need to the ability to poke a rat. And poke it again. And again. And again. And. . . . .

Star Wars is about action and romance and stealing TIE fighters and fighting the Empire and slaying Dark Jedi and adventure. No, the problems with this game go well beyond other folks saying "Yo d00d".

El Gray

Yes, there will be a plot. From the SWG site:

------------
The Galactic Civil War is in full-swing and the epic struggle between good and evil is played out all around you. Read about featured quests in which players can participate that advance the ongoing story of the game.

Kicking Things Off in July, 2003
In mid-July 2003, we will begin the prologue to our first monthly story arc, "The Cries of Alderaan." Our goal is to provide featured quests that virtually any player can take part in. Your success or failure may sway the direction of the overall storyline.
-----------

I have to ask, Kabong, have you ever played an RPG? I understand that you might be looking for a different type of game, but there's nothing unusual about having to kill smaller creatures for a while at first. Slimes in Dragon Warrior, little elves and wolves and crap in Final Fantasy... you've pretty much always got to start small.

It's part of the learning/growth process of your character. That's the way these games work. You don't start out at full power. If you just want to run around and shoot/slash, go play Jedi Knight, but please don't hold SWG to the same criteria as you do an action game like that. They're not the same thing at all.

PalmerJoss

Good luck to anyone who is trying to subscribe--I've been at it for about 2 hours now! Must learn patience, must learn patience, must learn patience...

Jackskeleton

the issue here is I'm going to have to pay for time. My time is now money, not only because I paid 15 bucks for the month, but because my personal time will be spent. I don't want to be dicked around for a good few months (45 bucks) while my character is learning the basics over and over again. The most of all it becomes a pain that I have to go through all that without knowing a simple storyline. Save the world, not lag, whatever. it seems that for the first few months it's going to be crap because there is no solid story there yet and then when there is a trace of story and you jump on later on you will be out ranked by the others who have been going at the basic "take item from point A to B and back again" actions that you will be out classed by the time you get in.

Simple matter, If I'm going to pay 50 bucks and then another 15 a month, the story better be there from the get go. They tried to make it balanced by putting all the limits on the ways to become a jedi or a dark jedi and yet they don't realize.. with MMORPG's you can't make it balanced unless you limited the amount of which people can reach with leveling up their stats.

El-Kabong

Call me crazy, but I would have thought that plot - AKA: something to do in the game - would have been a vital componant of the game shipping.

Depends on the RPG you're talking about. I've played the pen and paper style RPG for about 15 years now. I've played my fair share of console RPGs - some Zelda, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia II and so on. Not a huge amount, mind you, but enough. I've never played everquest beyond one or two full weekends.

I'm not nessassarly holding SWG to the criteria set by the other games - but I am holding it to the criteria set by the movies. The other games I mentioned just happen to emulate life in the Star Wars universe much closer than this one does.

cubanx

Thanks El-Kabong and Jackskeleton for your views. I might re-visit this game in the future but it's definitely not worth my time in the present state.

Sc0rPs

Hey El-Kabong I respect your views but you still obviously didn't play too far into it. There's still being able to go to places like see Jabba, join Rebel or Imperial and one fo the bigger things is the crafting where the entire galactic economy is dependant on player crafters.

You can nit pick any game you want to death, the real thing is what you take of it & do. For me it's about playing with good online friends & having fun without over analyzing every little thing.

duz

Wow, you just defined MMORPGs to a tee. Whether that is good or bad is another matter. From the couple of MMORPGs that I've played it seems that there is something fundamentally wrong with the presentation. Honestly I think all the games will be like this for a few years until someone comes along with some revolutionary idea that will make the computer games as good as the table top sessions you have with your friends.

fujishig

Hmm... I remember reading that they wanted to make it difficult to become a jedi, and that only a few people on each server would reach that status...

How are they going to do that? First off, like someone before me said, it may be more realistic, but 99% of the people playing would rather be a jedi than, say, a medic. There's got to be a set way to do it, and as difficult as they may make it, it's probably just time consuming (unless they only let random people do it, which would tick people off). The "trick" will come out in an FAQ eventually (I'm always amazed at the amount of info FAQs have).

So, given time, a lot of people will become jedis. I thought maybe they'd cap the number, and you'd have to wait for someone to die before you could become one. But even after a jedi dies 3 times, the user can still restart with another potential jedi, right? So there must not be a cap...

I am disappointed that they were rushed on release and there are so many bugs in the game. Fortunately it's not on a console, so it's easier to get updates.

El Gray

The Jedi FAQ on Starwarsgalaxies.com has some good info in it:

http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony...age=Jedi%20FAQ

al_bundy

For anyone who is curious, it seems the login servers have been overloaded as far as various message boards on the internet say. There has also been problems with game servers and the devs had a conference call with Oracle to try to troubleshoot the problem.

There is also a patch out, but people are having trouble downloading it. And I checked the system reqs and they say 1GHz and up. I have a Geforce 4, but only a P3 933. Looks like I'm going to have to wait and see if this is worth upgrading.

El-Kabong

And even at that, the game is chuggy as hell. I've got a pretty beefy computer (1.7 ghz, more memory than god, a nice Geforce 4, ect, ect) and still I was getting all kinds of chop when in I was a crowded section of town. And I'm not the only one - I've heard lots of complaints from other folks with high end machines.

I guess the thing that pisses me off the most about the game is not the lack of Star Wars feel, or that I could get the same experiance for free in a MUD - but the fact that the game is not yet done, and yet was rushed out the door. Sony released an incomplete project, and expects us to pony up the monthy fees while they bang out the remaining bugs and server stability.

This is unacceptable to me. Finsh the game and release a solid product, stockholders and deadlines be damed.*




(* Duke Nukem Forever notwithstanding. There comes a time where you do just have to cut your losses and put something out.)

El Gray

Cities are definitely a bitch on this one. I have a 2.4 Ghz machine with 384 MB of RAM and a decent-but-not-great video card, and it chugged like crazy in cities.

collven

No MMORPG comes out free of bugs, and I think it's safe to say it will never happen. You can't get everything 100% right in Beta for a game like this. The game has only been out a few days, and everyone who has bought it is rushing to the login servers and mulling around in the cities because they are learning how to play the game. Once it settles down a bit and people start advancing enough in the game that they don't have to hang out in cities as much, it will get better.

El-Kabong

I understand that every single game on the planet ships with bugs - I test software, so I probably understand this better than anybody here. However the magnitude of beta-ness that Galaxies shipped with is totally unacceptable. Certain basic stability issues should have been addressed before even thinking about going live. But the "Oh, we can fix it in the next patch" mentality won out. Frankly that’s just sloppy, intolerable and unprofessional.

And positions like yours, people that say "Hey, it's a new game. Give it some time to shake itself out" only further that. If Galaxies only sold 10 percent of their projected sales, I bet they'd rethink that policy.

But hey - if you don’t mind paying 15 bucks a month to test their software, then more power to you.

El Gray

I agree with you here. I know there are still critical issues that MUST be fixed soon. BUT... I still think the game is a lot of fun AS IS, and I'll be buying in within the month, most likely. (there were no gamekilling issues for me, though I think some people still suffered from them at the end of Beta.)