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 Star Wars Galaxies - An Empire Divided
 SWG - Chapters and Updates
 Producer Note (24.03.2008): Chapter 9 a 10
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robiwan
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Posted - 24/03/2008 :  22:47:08  Show Profile  Send robiwan an ICQ Message Send robiwan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Hi Folks,

As I am sure most of you know, we put Chapter 9 up on TC Prime on Friday and we are very excited about this release and the great feedback we have had so far. We are still doing some internal hotfix testing on the old (frog) testcenter but we should have that opened public soon for Chapter 9 testing as well. As always we invite everyone to come and try the new content for C9 and give us feedback in the supplied threads. The Exar Kun heroic is one of the most challenging ones we have done, with a lot of great puzzles and perhaps the best interior space we have ever created for this game. Its a lot of fun, but not for the faint of heart. The storyteller blueprint system in C9 I think is one of the coolest features we have added to the game for awhile and I cannot wait until we start seeing some of the great layouts we have seen using storyteller props get replicated around. We also added some new collection types as well as the the long awited ITV collection.

The Jedi and Bounty Hunter communities have been fantastic in the feedback they have been giving the devs working on Game Update 3. Whenever we do anything with these two communities it is a challenge since they are very large, vocal and passionate, but I have been pleased with the results so far. I do ask for patience and civility as we work through these updates. I think we are hitting the top five issues as best we can and attempting to be as fair as possible in terms of adding cool things while not too greatly unbalancing the game. I am sure you folks will keep the designers on their toes.

We have started the planning for Chapter 10 and I wanted to give you a small preview. We will be centering C10 on a new quest series based on the Meatlumps and we have decided to have that series be focused mainly on the mid levels (approximately CL 45 - 65 but that may shift around a little). I feel we have not added any major content for these levels for awhile, and this particular stretch can become something of a grind. I expect to take a little heat not to be focusing in on the high levels of the player base, but I believe this is appropriate at this stage of the game. C10 will also introduce our vastly inproved search and Looking-For-Group interface as well. This should really go a long way towards helping folks on lower population servers get together to enjoy all the new content. I am personally commited to this approach of adding to the game to help low pop servers as opposed to other, more drastic measures.

Commandos and Officers are the subject for Game Update 4 so folks from those communities should be sure to be working with their Senators to ensure that their 'Top Five' lists are in good shape.

So again, please check out the Test Centers this week and give the new content a spin and Have Fun!

DeadMeat
Lorin W Jameson, SOE Producer, Star Wars Galaxies

Odkaz: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/posts/list.m?topic_id=629111


I have waited and planned and built my strength for fifteen thousand years. I have evolved. It is time.
(Omnius Evermind)
---------------------------
Feyd'Rautha Saresh (Medic, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera), Robe Saresh (Force Sensitive, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera)


Edited by - robiwan on 24/03/2008 22:47:22

robiwan
Moderator

1035 Posts

Posted - 24/03/2008 :  22:49:52  Show Profile  Send robiwan an ICQ Message Send robiwan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Otazky a odpovede:


Q: Thanks for the heads up DM,

Alot from my community (as well as me) feels that a second round of updates really is needed to beef up combat viability. Do you mind having us on the table as you progress with the other professions? Maybe for Bugs adressing with the other professions so our list of issues is short when you finally get around to the second pass!

Or maybe giving us at least another glance when the next round is up? Please?

A: Its certainly something to consider. I think it has gone pretty well so far so we may consider another circle through. I like to stay flexible, and I am certainly aware that we have more work to do.



Q: You knew this was coming.

Any plans past say, Chapter 11 to address the situation with Munitions beyond the profession update?

We're in a bad spot here, and since there has been no comment from the top other than "No Munitions Revamp", it has many of us concerned, as we don't see our issues as something that can be fixed with even a 12 day update (which I believe is what BH and Jedi have, correct me if I am wrong).

All in all, the work you guys ARE doing is awesome - but the crafters are in need of some serious love, and while we are all pulling for one of our own to become viable again (Engineering Traders - Droid Commander + related expertise revamp, as per last years Fan Faire), it leaves those of us who make weapons and armor in a real lurch in terms of what can actually be done, and whether we will be able to inherently make weapons players want to use, instead of having "bonus schematics" given here and there every publish, and whether or not we will ever be able to truly compete with each other for business, or if we'll remain stuck in the "one gun is as good as the next" mode...

I know it's a really loaded question, but just know: I want to believe in you guys. You do excellent work in everything BUT crafting right now. Bar none, you guys are the best team this game has ever had. But crafting has really been the achilles heel, and Munitions representing much of that heel.

Is there something, anything planned, even on-going talks? I'm not looking for deadlines, just acknowledgement and awareness...

A: We have had a number of discussions here about where we are at with crafting in the game. It is a complicated system that is incredibly difficult to balance against the state of the economy. While it is true that the pass through the crafting professions will not be in the form of a major revamp, I know that there are some important things we can do during the shorter updates. We have heard you and find a number of the ideas talked about very compelling. It will really come down to the calculus of what changes could be made and how we balance the amount of resources we put against those changes to the effect it would have on the game. Any revamp to such a complicated and intertwined game mechanic will have far reaching implications and cannot be done lightly. The best I can say at this point is that it is not off the table for the future.



Q: Dear Deadmeat,

Can you be more specific when Ch. 9 will be on the frog Testcenter? Some CHC are looking forward to testing the Sith heroic.

Thanks again.

A: I am shooting for tomorrow at this point.



Q: Thanks for the update, DM.

One question for you- During Chap 8, you said that the dev team wanted to include space content most, if not all, upcoming chapters. While disappointed, I understand not necessarily having much in Chap 9. I am more interested in any space content for Chap 10 and beyond- any plans currently?

A: I have nothing specific at this point in terms of future content for space. I would still like to do a Space Heroic of some kind but we have not fit that into the schedule as yet.



Q: Deadmeat your team is doing great job and game is picking up again and I can sy I LOVE THAT.

Please tell us when can we expect vast improvement in GCW and meta game.
Many players write and offer diferent versions what can be done.
Question is will it be done?

Thank you

A: Hmmm...I am wary of anything 'vast' but we do have some ideas cooking on PvP and the GCW. I think the GCW collections we added in C9 are pretty cool and we have a few things on the horizon, but I do not have any plans currently to make a major change to the GCW in the near future.



Q: All I am really asking for is that Hanse has smuggler as second priority as you guys progress.

I know there are times when he can't really work on the profession he is focused on while waiting for design/art/programming to complete his requests. I have a good feeling that we could hit some fairly high impact areas with a very short time to actually work on it, but I just need to know what there is time for so I can focus my community efforts.

If there is time for small tweaks as we move along, ill focus on that. Should prove usefull for both you and my community as well. Besides, my guys need a bone. Theyre pretty beat up at the moment.

A: I am always open to small tweaks. I know that the Smugglers probably suffered from being one of the first through the new update process, so if you have some small improvements you want to suggest, I would be open to that. Please do not do that in this thread however SMILEY.



Q: So is Droid commander, gardener, and the so called ISD vs Mon cal cruiser still on the table for later?

A: I still hope to get Droid Commander in this year. Probably not Gardener. Don't ever remember talking about an ISD vs Mon Cal feature.



Q: Hey DM,

Just a quick question. You mentioned in this thread (Various "Procedural Effects" are not triggering) That these issues will be resolved in a future update. Any word on this yet? Thanks!

A: Let me check...I know that Adept was looking at some of these.



Q: With regard to the meatlump questline levels.

If you level through legacy and do 10 terminal missions a day as well(for the xp bonus), you come to the end of legacy and the kashyk quests you can do solo (there are still major issues with level 70 quests having level 80+ elites in mydryyl amongst others) , you end up in the dead area at around level 65 or so.

(Ive just done this)

So I would suggest if the intent is to fill the quest gap, you are aiming a little low.

A: I think there is some wiggle in that zone, but I think we will error towards the lower end on it and try and add some higher level content as the end as well. The goal is to add some quality content in the mid ranges and I hope to go broad on that range.



Q: Chapter 9 looks very good, and I just have a few questions for you.

1) Will you be redoing the Spy and Smuggler update soon? You can see quite clearly the difference between these updates and the current Jedi/BH updates. Spy and Smuggler needed the most attention in terms of bug fixing and balancing and our updates did very little to fix either.

2) I noticed you mentioned a new meatlump quest for chapter 10, do you have any information on the crafter revamp planned for that chapter?

3) What are your plans for future chapters? More importantly, where do you see this game in 12 months time?

A: I think I discussed some of this above. I have no crafter revamp planned for C10.

In 12 months I see the game as solid and fun and still with plenty of room for improvement and growth. It would be easier predicting the state of the US economy 12 months in the future.



Q: I'm all for adding more content for those players at lower levels, but does this mean no new heroic?

I was under the impression based on previous Producers Note that we could expect one each chapter.

A: We have more Heroics planned this year, but for the goals I outlined a new quest line is the best approach.



Q: My main concern with the Jedi update is the effect on us Jedi with pets.I have not seen ANY Dev posts saying that they are taking those with pets into account when allocating points.

Please assure us that you are not making pets non-viable with Jedi.

Please.

A: Playing a beast master will always require some trade offs withing your expertise. At this point I do not see the Jedi trade-offs as more dire than the other profs, but I would encourage you to make your arguments in this regard in the Jedi update threads to be sure any specific concerns you have are heard.



Q: Great update. Always fantastic to get a summary from you on the state of the game and what to expect for the future. Valara gave us a heads up that Droid Commander was not slated for Ch10, and I completely understand that you need to do what you feel is best for the game.

Can you give us your current thoughts on the DC concept? Have you changed gears on wanting to do it? Do you feel it is going to be too big of a task for the team?

A: I love Droid Commander and definitely want to do it. Its is a big system to implement so I have moved it forward in the schedule to ensure that it has plenty of design and implementation time.



Q: I think I discussed some of this above. I have no crafter revamp planned for C10.

In 12 months I see the game as solid and fun and still with plenty of room for improvement and growth. It would be easier predicting the state of the US economy 12 months in the future.

A: Credit stimulus package confirmed!



Q: Oh also DM, any word on GCW heroics - I know we pestered you guys about this a while back when heroics were in their infancy. Is this still a possibility for the future?

A: Definitely possible.



Q: Can you please tell us where Heroics fit within this plan? It seems as if the plan has changed with them, and for many of us it is Heroics which have changed the end-game of SWG and are one of the main reasons we play. In the last Dev chat it was said that approval was gotten for using movie locations, etc. from LA, and this has many people very excited.

It seemed as if we had to wait 2-3 months between Heroics, but if one is not included with Chapter 10 then that time frame will increase a lot. So, will we get one more heroic this year? Two, three? This content is very important to many of us, and if it's not going to be flowing into the game at regular intervals (each chapter) as was originally brought forth, it would be really helpful if you would update us on what to expect so we are not disapointed.

Thank you,

A: As I said, we are not doing one for C10, but we certainly will continue to add Heroics this year. They are just a wonderful game mechanism and allow us to do highly scripted and wonderfully challenging adventures. I think we have kept good pace with the Chapters so far. It has only been a little over 2 months since C8, but these do take time to do well, and I do not want to lower the quality bar. That is why we are doing the update tracks as well in order to keep stuff coming while we bang out high quality content.



Q: Hey DM,

While we have you here, could you peek at the Alternative inventory tab for appearance only thead and maybe see if you could give us some feedback if it's possible or not. With 32 pages of support already, a lot of us would really like to see it added.

Thanks

A: I think it is cool myself. We are doing a little prototyping on it. You never know...



Q: Deadmeat,

Are there any updates you can give on the plans to add "sections" of new planets to SWG? Has lucasarts approved your plans?

kind regards,

A: We have made definitel progress here and Chapter 11 is looking very cool indeed.



Q: Thanks for the hard work DM.

Odd though. Were well into the 2008 year and we still havent heard anything on population issues. Besides a few tidbits devh posted, nothing.

I know chapter 10 is supposed to help with the grouping issue, which is a good step, but still doesnt help alot if there is NO one to group with.

A: Thats just it...There are lots of folks to group with, but they can't find eachother easily. I watch the populations on servers all day long, and there really are lots of folks online on almost all servers. But its a big galaxy. I want to find ways of helping people who want to group to get together. What more is there to say really on population? Shutting servers down does not bring people together. I want to focus on things we can add to the game to solve this issue.



Q: Looking good so far, DM. But a few questions...

1. Has Stratics contacted SWG for an interview concerning CH 9 yet? The reason I ask is the players on the West Coast that have regular 9-5 jobs rarely, if at all, have a chance to join in on the conversation. Personally hoping for March 31st...

2. Is there any chance at all for another Bug Bash after the profession passes?

3. Can you please tell us what will be going on in Chapter 80? j/k...hehe

A: We should be having a new stratics chat soon. Valara would know better. We are using the update track to address bugs going forward as the big 'Bug Bash' last year did not work out from a community perception point of view. If you read the notes for the game updates you will see we address a lot of issues during those releases and we will continue to do that.



Q: 1. Has Stratics contacted SWG for an interview concerning CH 9 yet? The reason I ask is the players on the West Coast that have regular 9-5 jobs rarely, if at all, have a chance to join in on the conversation. Personally hoping for March 31st...

A: We're working on scheduling the date now; it looks like the House of Commons chat for Chapter 9 will be sometime in April. We'll post more info as soon as it's scheduled. SMILEY:)



Q: What really interest me is will there be any type of meta game, game where players will actualy compete one faction agains other. With this War display path is set so that bases can have numerical values and be measure of succes of each faction. Lot of players offered very simple yet chalenging ways how to put better use of such game systems. This is not lot of coding just creative usage of already existing game systems.

Will there be META GAME?

A: Well...I would question the 'not a lot of coding' statement, but I do gree that there are some systems that could be leveraged for a meta game. But even these types of systems have to be well thought out, fair, and non-exploitable. I think we can agree that poorly balanced or short sighted implementations are worse than no system at all. I personally would love a GOOD meta game myself.



Q: DM are you aware that the number 1 issue of the Jedi Update was expertise yet nothing is being done to the general tree. How can you up date the expertise as the top prority of the jedi community and ignore half of it?

On a completely unrelated note, have you thought of bring more interaction into the encounters, with semi cinematic episodes at the begining, end or some point through. As it stands we start them with a stationary NPC with some dialogue, cut some people up and run around and then finish it with nothing more said or done than you have been awarded a token.

It would be nice if on the ISD some Stormtroopers terned up to take over control of the star destroyer. Or after defeating the tusken king citizens come out and fire works go off. Or even better if during the missions things happen that we can watch that add to the plot, that you arent having to prepare buffs or the like but we just get to watch an add to the atmoshere. Maybe even something like the cinamatics when you enter Mustafar or as happened when you escaped the space station in the CU days. Some voice overs and voice talents would also be nice. Just things to add to the experience and help people feel part of the encounter and not just for your part you have been awarded one token.

A: I think we are doing the right thing by focusing on the paths at this point. It is in scope and ensure that we do a thorough job with time for feedback.

Cinematics, voiceovers, etc. would be nice...But then again, they are really just fluff. I think we are focusing correctly on playable content.



Q: Anyone else notice him completely dodging the GCW posts other than saying he has not plan for it?

Give us one good reason why your not working on the GCW. I'll even accept "I don't feel like it."

A: Every community in this game wants attention. I wish I could always answer each one by saying exactly what they want to hear at every moment. I have said we have plans for the GCW. I am sorry that it is not what we are working on now. I am not sure what I can say beyond that which wouldn't be BS. I can be honest without repeating myself over and over again I would hope.



Q: DM,

What are the current plans for Player Cities & Politician? I know we're in the cycle but I'm not sure if they'll be treated as one or two separate things. Currently there's been no communication dispite several threads discussing ways to handle the problmes they're facing. We've hit a point where all we're really doing is rehashing the same exact conversations. We need some word on what's coming. "Your on the list.", is a little too vague for where we're at.

While I'm not thrilled to see DC pushed back, I'm glad to hear that its still in the works for this year. Heat or not, the addition of leveling content in the mid-level range has been needed for quite a while now no matter what anyone else says. As for Smuggler, saying we got the short end of the stick would be an understatement. Sit down and actually engage the Smuggler community as you've done with the other communities that have seen their updates. At this point, they're owed atleast that much. A quest to fix a game imbalance was a poor call.

A: Politicians and Cities will be the subject on an update. They will be handled in the same way as the other constituencies, starting with the Senator's 'Top Five' list. We will probably have to figure out where to do the update threads for these but that is the only difference I can think of at this point.



Q: DM,

Since I think you might still be trolling this thread I'm going to post this...

A few months ago I asked you about allowing elder jedi to transfer their [UNLOCKED SLOT] character from one galaxy to another while retaining that status. This was your reply:

This is something that we will be working on in the next couple of months.

If you have any updates on this I'd be very happy indeed.

A: At this point I do not. We have honestly been focusing on the LFG system from a systems perspective. I know I have to let DevH look at it some more.

A: Like I said before on this, we have a pretty good idea of all the nuts and bolts that need to be twisted to make this happen. It's just a lot of nuts and bots that would need to be twisted.



Q: Hi Deadmeat,

I have three questions, if you'd be able to answer.

The PvP collections are pretty good GCW additions (I also like the upcoming war terminal), but is there anything else you can mention specifically about the GCW? Especially concerning the usefulness of player bases?

Also, will there be any implementation of a cross-server "centerpoint" planet/instance this year?

And lastly, is there any consideration for possible mini-games this year? Like dejarik and what-not.

A: Player bases have a number of problems that we have tried to deal with in many ways and none have been particularly effective. Many of the GCW systems are negatively effected by the amount of collusion in the game.

We are looking very hard at cross-server instancing. It has a number of substantial technical problems, but it is my favorite approach to new PvP content at this point.

Nothing firm on new mini-games.



Q: Just curious...

When do you think you will add Gardening, or another Non-Combat Expertise? I was really looking forward to Growing some Plants for Personal Use and Decoration. Do you have any Plans for other Expertise Tabs that are completely Non-Combat?

A: Gardening is the most likely new, large-scale system for non-combat players, and as I said, it just probably will not make it into the schedule this year. I can point to a number of systems we have added recently however, that while not as grand as gardening, have certainly be aimed at non-combat players.



Q: DM are there any plans of extending the space content ?

I'm extrememly curious if it would be possible to add frigate-sized ships - we do have a nebulon-B firigate near endor station. Other then that I'd like to know if it would be possible to research an idea of PIRACY. Disable a ship, board it - load into a ship interior instance.

A: I would submit that the ISD instance was pretty close to that concept. Beyond that I do not see mixing space content and ground combat quite as closely as that. It would present a number of very difficult challenges. The idea is cool no doubt, but definitely not for this year.



Q: Is there any chance you can dedicate a chapter to upgrading servers? the lag on most 'heavy' servers is simply unbearable, I'd be willing to dedicate even 2 chapters of content just for some sort of upgrade.

A: Heh...I feel your pain there.

Great sig by the way. SMILEY



Q: Why bother responding if your not going to answer the question?

A: Sorry...There are no plans to have a chapter devoted to upgrading servers.



Q: DM,

Is there any chance the GCW will get addressed in a manner similar to which the professions are being addressed in the near future?

There's a couple issues such as "base clubbing", planetary control not functioning correctly, ticks not being consistent, that are long overdue for a fix, that if fixed would vastly improve GCW gameplay IMO.

What I'm looking for is a few key issues with the GCW (some of which are mentioned above) to be addressed in roughly the same timeframe that the professions have been addressed thus far. Basically, high priority fixes and enhancements that should *hopefully* not require a lot of work, but would improve gameplay greatly.

A: The GCW will be part of the update cycle.



Q: Are there plans on adding new professions this year? (sorry had to ask)

A: Nope.


I have waited and planned and built my strength for fifteen thousand years. I have evolved. It is time.
(Omnius Evermind)
---------------------------
Feyd'Rautha Saresh (Medic, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera), Robe Saresh (Force Sensitive, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera)


Edited by - robiwan on 25/03/2008 08:17:43
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