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robiwan
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1035 Posts |
 Posted - 30/06/2008 : 08:15:49
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Producer Note (27.06.2008)
Hi Folks,
It has been a while since my last note and a lot has been happening. First and foremost is Star Wars Galaxies hitting its five year anniversary. This important milestone sets SWG apart as one of the longest running MMO's in existence. I hope everyone is enjoying the parades and the Imperial and Rebel celebrations. Despite our less than stellar first attempt at getting the event going, I think it has turned out very well now that it is up and running. We will be keeping the event going for quite a while so that as many folks as possible can attend the festivities.
Chapter 10 has been out in live for a couple of weeks and I am pleased with the response. There is little doubt that the Meatlumps are a different kind of Star Wars characters, but I think the Themepark with its many puzzles and scaling content are a great addition to the game and should add to the content path not only for the mid level player but for the veterans as well. I still think the Meatlump King is one of the coolest models we have in the game. The artists and designers had a lot of fun with this chapter.
Game Update 5 should be hitting the test centers next week. There is a lot to test in this update with the big additions to the munitions crafting system so I ask that everyone with an interest in crafting get over to the TC's once this goes up and really put it through its paces and give us plenty of feedback. We also have a bunch of updates for Beast Masters, including the Creature Dye Kits which will allow folks to hue their beasts to their own specifications.
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.
Finally I would like to talk about some changes here at the Austin Studio of SOE. I was named the Director of Development for Austin, overseeing all of the dev teams here including SWG and our DC Comics online project. In order to ensure that Star Wars Galaxies gets all of the attention its deserves, we have brought on board a new Producer for the project, who will join Calcipher in managing the development team moving forward. Christopher Field (handle Dotanuki) is extremely knowledgable of the Star Wars universe and has worked in the games industry for some time. In his first month he has been amazing in getting down to business and taking the reins of the team and I am very confident he will be a great addition to the game and the community. I will let him introduce himself below. I have very much enjoyed being the Producer for this project and my new role gives me continued oversight over Star Wars Galaxies moving forward so you will not be losing me that easily, but please join me in welcoming Chris to the team.
Once again, Happy 5th birthday Star Wars Galaxies!
Lorin W. Jameson, Director of Development, Sony Online
DeadMeat
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Star Wars is something that I love and have been very passionate about since I was a child. I am obviously a huge fan of the films. I am also a collector of all things Star Wars, from Hasbro action figures to high-end Master Replica prop replicas. I play, or have played, most of the Star Wars video games available as far back as The Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600.
I was lucky enough to work with the brand once before as the Star Wars Producer at THQ Wireless where I managed production of all their products (games, ring tones, wallpapers, video, MMS, etc). It was an amazing experience that afforded me the opportunity to work with some brilliant people at both Lucasfilm and LucasArts. Having the opportunity to create new and exciting Star Wars products for other fans is the best job I ever could have asked for. But working with Star Wars isn’t really a job, it’s a privilege. Up until now, that has been the highlight of my career.
I feel extremely fortunate to now be given another opportunity to work in that galaxy far, far away! My first month as the Producer of Star Wars Galaxies has been excellent. The team is great to work with; they are very knowledgeable, talented, and they are all big fans of Star Wars themselves. I feel right at home.
It will be my pleasure to help the team bring you the highest quality Star Wars content possible.
Christopher S. Field
Producer, Star Wars Galaxies, Sony Online Entertainment
“Dotanuki”
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I have waited and planned and built my strength for fifteen thousand years. I have evolved. It is time.
(Omnius Evermind)
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Feyd'Rautha Saresh (Medic, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera), Robe Saresh (Force Sensitive, Rebel Alliance, Europe-Chimaera)
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robiwan
Moderator
1035 Posts |
Posted - 30/06/2008 : 08:16:24
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Otazky a odpovede:
Q: Do you have any feel for how long the delay to GU6 might be? Nothing specific is possible, I understand, but there's a big difference between a couple of weeks and a couple of months..
And are you dead set on keeping the Empire Day festivities in their current form, with AFK players and repeat selections clogging up the badge ceremony?
A: I don't have an exact time for delay as yet. We have a number of risks (challenges) that I want to be sure that we have addressed to ensure success of Echo Base before I am comfortable that we will be successful. Once we have those risks mitigated, the team can shake loose some more dev time for an update.
Though imperfect at this point, and subject to a fair amount of griefing by players, I think the event will run plenty long such that it will not be a problem for very long, so there are no plans to reimplement how the event works at this point.
Q: First question for the new producer
You have said you love star wars - and i think its fair to say that after all the changes the game has seen what we have left are some pretty hardcore fans
with that in mind those that are still around enjoy the game but are sick of the chronic population issues some servers have
what are your plans to address this
A: I am aware that some folks have concerns about population issues.
This is something that we are looking into and have plans to address.
DevH is working on something now that will hope will address your concerns in the future.
Q: Is there any space content planned for Chap 11?
Maybe something along the lines of protecting/ destroying the fleeing rebels in the Hoth System?
A: We don't have plans for space combat in Chapter 11, but it's a great idea.
Q: Thanks for the Producer's Note!
Is it clear if the Hoth instance will be PvP, PvE, or a mix of both? Also are usable vehicles in the instance likely, or is it too early to tell for sure if that will work out?
A: At this point in time it's strictly going to be PvE.
Q: Hey DeadMeat, what sort of new features are you adding for the Hoth battle? Can you give us a hint? SMILEY<img src=" /> Maybe pilotable vehicles like ATATs or snowspeeders? Is the battle inside Echobase as it is seiged by the Empire or at the main battle outside or both?
A: There are going to be things in Hoth that you've not seen before in Star Wars Galaxies.
The battle will be both indoors and outdoors.
You will be able to play as a Rebel or Imperial.
It's going to be excellent!
Q: Dear Producer (whomever it is going to be now):
I must admit that, while change is good, change on an annual basis for a project like Star Wars Galaxies is not. It takes months for the new folks to get up to speed, compared with beta-veterans who still play this game. This re-arrangment of leadership is concerning to a person who has spent so much time and money on this game.
I do want to thank Mr. Jameson for his efforts over the past few months. Certainly I thank him on a personal level for looking into the return of the trophy creatures, which have made their comeback after a 2.5 year absence in chapter 10. I also want to thank him for his efforts in listening to the player base regarding adding much needed space content.
Now I wish to pose a couple of questions and comments:
1) "Hoth terrain and battlespace": Does this mean the instance will have ground and space elements?
2) Delay of update 6: AWESOME DECISION! Yes, make sure Hoth is trouble free before moving on to other tasks.... what a perfect segue into my next question...
3) What progress has been made to the instance transition bugs? The most notable example of this is Exar Kun re-entry. It seems that DevH's efforts to reduce the time to restart the crashed process from 5 min to 1 min were not effective in making it any easier for folks to work around the bug, because folks are still getting perma-locked out. I would argue that these bugs break the game for flagship content. If you are betting that Hoth will finally deliver that starwarsy experienced guaranteed to make all vets returned, i suggest that elements of the team help Shadowbrak to fix the bug for good, since leaving the #1 CS ticket among heroics unfixed will not keep those returning players for long.
A: 1. Ground only (indoors and out).
2. Glad you can see that we're doing everything we can to make Hoth the amazing experience it needs to be.
3. We have addressed some issues, but I'm not personally sure that everything has been worked out. We will keep looking as issues are reported.
Q: Welcome Dotanuki a few questions here for you or anyone else that might be able to answer them.
1. Server populations what is being done about this?
2. Any chance of SWG seeing more developers, programmers, artists hired on to the team to help with the constant problems of having to prioritize resources as much as you do?
3. Any chance we well see a return of the PVP damage modifier? It seems like most classes are doing more and more damage and PVP battle times are being reduced more and more. It is getting to the point where a lot of people dont think its worth the time it takes to buff up and get ready for battle only to die in 2 seconds time.
A: 1. Addressed in an earlier post.
2. The team is very solid in its current state. We do not have additional hiring plans in the immediate future.
3. We don't have any plans to bring back any PvP damage modifiers at this time.
Q: Oh, another thing - usually these Producer notes have given a long look ahead.
But right now, theres nothing other than GU6 and chap 11 - can you share anything about beyond that, what's being conceptualized right now? And if you say Droid Commander, can you share more details on it? What about the GCW update - that getting pushed to next year?
A: Droid Commander is still planned as Chapter 12. As we get closer to working on that we'll release more details.
We have other cool events planned for the latter part of the year as well. In fact, we'll be celebrating a holiday that we've not celebrated in years past. We're actually planning that out right now.
Q: With a lot of Art time going to the Battle for Echo base, what are your thoughts of that being used for a Hoth PVP Instance? You could make a lot of people happy by making a PVE Instance and then have a PVP Instance too
A: I agree that PvP would be cool. That was actually being discussed today.
Right now though, this is not part of Chapter 11.
Q: How are you going to introduce this instance without changing the timeline of the game? Or are yall changing the timeline of the game?
A: We're not changing the timeline. It's going to be very self-contained and not linked to the game world like our other Heroics.
We're are happy to be able to present this very popular moment in Star Wars history.
Q: Any plans to ever change the drop rates on certain collection items, notably holos?
It just doesn't make sense for the most played profession in the game to be the most difficult to gear up well.
A: We've looked at the drop rates and the item is working as designed. People do acquire them every day.
This is certainly one of the more rare items in the game though!
Q: Any news on the Spy update?
The echo base thing is good and all, but if my profession isn't even viable enough to compete in there then why bother?
A: We have plans to do some more Spy additions in Update 6.
That is still the plan.
Q: Dotanuki do you currently play SWG? Have you played SWG in the past? What have you accomplished if you are/have been playing this game?
A: I have certainly spent a lot of time playing Star Wars Galaxies lately. SMILEY
I am definitely a noob though.
I do have a good deal of game experience though (playing them and working on them).
Q: Congrats on the promotion DM. Welcome to SWG Dotanuki. (**edit**, what are we going to shorten that to.. D.?)
Dotanuki, you say your a big star wars fan. Then you know how important the GCW should be. Currently, the GCW is very poorly implemented and kind of ruined by a huge easily exploited system. Can we hope to see some changes to the GCW & the base system that might alleviate some of the friction between PVE'ers & PvP'ers while being fun and engaging at the same time?
A: We still hope to address PvP in a future update, though I can't tell you for sure which update that is going to be.
Q: First off to Deadmeat - Thanks for your efforts as Producer during your tenure.
Now, Dotanuki..
You've given us a great description of what it is to be a Star Wars fan - And I am certain many of us are enthused by this - It's long past time we got a fan of the Genre at the helm.
With all due respect to former Producers, one thing we've always seemed to lack is a "Vision" of what the game IS, and where it will be heading. It's always been as if the team can't see ahead more than a few updates.
So, I will ask the hard questions here - feel free to answer as best you can.
1. What do YOU (as a fan AND Producer) believe that SWG should offer it's players?
2. How do you plan to offer that belief to players?
3. Is Community view and advice important?
4. Will you put a toilet in the living room if told to do so?
5. What ONE thing (a change or addition) do you think would improve SWG in the view of the MMO community?
I look forward to your answers.
A: 1. SWG should offer players compelling Star Wars content that makes them feel like they're part of the Star Wars universe. Most of all, it should be a fun game to play. I would hope that SWG has something to offer for all play styles. Whether you enjoy leveling up, Heroics, crafting, casual play, etc... it should always be enjoyable.
2. I think I have a good idea of what casual and hardcore fans would like to see in a Star Wars game and the kinds of things they would like to do. Obviously both the team and community are helpful in focusing those ideas into SWG-specific actions.
3. Of course.
4. Not a chance.
5. I think our community will be very excited about one of the new gameplay additions that is coming in Hoth.
Q: Congrats to DM for the promotion! I'm looking forward to seeing how DC Online turns out. Really hoping for the best there.
Welcome Dotanuki! You're in for one hell of a ride. As a Developer, I invite you to place a house in Galactic Senate City on TCPrime so that you can become a bit more aware of the issues the Player City system is having.
And while I don't really want to throw a damper on the Battle of Echo Base (c'mon you know you all stomped around in the snow as kids pretending to be Luke, Han or a Stormie...), I am rather dismayed that it's going to cause GU 6 to be pushed back. The Player City system has become broken and inaccessible in its intended ways in it's current form. On most major servers, it's impossible to even get started going by the mechanics of the system. Game Update 6 was supposed to look at and address this system. Instead, we're now left waiting for an update that will hopefully get us back to a working level which is something we've not seen as a community for going on three years now.
Like I said, I'm sure that the Battle will be great and hopefully the promise of getting it right will work out this time but I'm really disheartened to read that the Game Update are being suspended in favor of it which is what a lot of us where afraid would happen.
A: I appreciate your invite.
We will definitely get to Update 6 and Player City issues are still on the list.
Q: Any word on the 5 year vet rewards.
A: This reward will roll out with Update 5.
Q: Hi, could you do something your predecessors haven't done in 5 years and add some weapons that fit the timeline we're in, and were actually seen in the films like these:
A280 Blaster rifle, often used by rebel troops around the battle of Hoth.
Dlt-19 Blaster rifle used by Imperial troops all through the films.
A: We were discussing one of those weapons just yesterday.
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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)
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Producer Note (27.06.2008): GU5, C11
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