Nothing new to report on the SWG side of things. I am however spending a great deal of time preparing for my wedding coming up! I am getting my marriage license today after work. Every day this is getting more and more real 
I’m also working on getting a tour of SOE on my Honeymoon. Hopefully I will be able to. It would be good to meet some of the people I talk to often and also see what the business atmosphere is like.
I’m very excited to be getting married. It’s only 18 days away!!
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies
I’m updating my combat ent right now. I tried out a Combat Ent that didn’t use the pet, but the long battles ended up returning some very low DPS compared to with a pet. I’m doing really good at controlling where my pet goes and keeping it alive so I think I’m going to keep using a pet.
I’m deciding against stacking offense right now. I think I’m going to see what I can do with the rest of my defenses and go offense second. I’m already able to stack a ton of Dodge and GB so I might see where that gets me. We’ll see.
In addition, I’m also going to work on getting more pets and grinding them up to 90 and see how I do with those types of pets. The cat has worked wonders for me but I want to try some more, namely a spider and the Spined Rancor 
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: Combat Ent, SOE, SWG
It appears there are a lot of mixed reactions after the Fan Faire announcements. This is to be expected really, as every Fan Faire tends to lead to the forums exploding and the /quit threads to resurface more often.
It’s pretty much impossible to please everyone. This should be very obvious, especially in an MMO like SWG. Because there are so many sub-sections of the player base, it makes it difficult. We have RP, Space, PVE Combat, PVP Combat, GCW, Social, Crafting, City Management, Questing, Solo, Group, Grinders, Casual, etc. Coming out with any update will have the praises and the displeasure from much of everyone. I could see it would be extremely difficult as a developer to keep your head up while making a system or update in this game. You work long hours to get something huge into the game, only to have it blasted by the player base. Not saying everyone hates it, but true to customer service anywhere else, the spoken people are the ones that are complaining about something and very rarely will you get a call thanking you for the service. It’s expected to be good, so when it doesn’t appease to the customers, there’s backlash.
Now, with that said, I want to dive into some of the key points from Fan Faire that mean something to me: Chronicle System and GCW.
The Chronicle System is a new system to SWG coming out later this year (after the Engineer Update). The system is being designed to allow players to generate their own quests from pre-existing locations, bunkers, and enemies. The players will be allowed to create their own text, use voice-overs (including Vader), and process. For example, you create your own quest and call it “The Master Hunter”. You then can have the questers go out and kill rare mobs such as Ancient Krayt Dragons, the Gorax, Sher Kar, etc. and you control the order, and in the end, depending on how you design the quest, the player can receive certain rewards. In turn, you receive experience for creating these quests depending on difficulty, and you can earn unique rewards. This system acts like Politician and you will be allowed to level without having to respect out of your current profession.
To me, this system sounds like a great addition. I know many people are seeing it as the players doing the developers work, but our developers are small in number, and we have some extremely talented players in our game. Some of the RP’ers that can create some great stories will have a chance to bridge the gap between the RP’ers and non-RP’ers. This will also allow some people to make some great events for their guilds as well. Having the ability to create a mission set for your guild to complete using already existing elements in the game will add replayability to many areas and could have a positive spin to the game. I know we will not know for sure how it will play out, but I feel this will be a great addition to the game. Will it be a saving grace? Not at all, but it is something completely new to SWG so I will certainly give it a chance before bashing it completely. Heck, I am already in works of creating a Drama Entertainer Quest for all those Combat Ents out there to test their might!
The GCW discussion at Fan Faire was straight and to the point: Include everyone, It is important, No Promises!
I think one of the things that needs to be made clear is that we WILL see a GCW update soon. Maybe not this year, but it must be made 100% transparent that a GCW update is coming. The community has spent a great deal of time discussion the possibilities of the GCW and what it means and what it does not mean. I consider it a victory for the community for us to get the PVP update we got. We know that GCW =/= PVP and we have pushed to get that attitude that used to exist away. To me, the PVP update was something to hold us over for the time being in addition to more PVP content. I think it was a year ago that Blixtev stated that there will be no PVP or GCW update any time soon. The community pushed hard and we finally received acknowledgment that there is something that will be done to this important aspect of the game.
Many players have written novels on what they feel the GCW system should be or as some have stated HAS to be… But I trust the devs to know exactly how to handle the situation and do it right. I appreciated reading that the GCW will not be pushed out as a messy polish over what exists. They want to do it right and know it’s important to the game and for us. Everyone needs to read the slides that were presented at Fan Faire, which are also posted here – http://mastercosmo.com/2009/06/26/soe-fan-faire-swg/ (And a HUGE thanks to Senator Jod for keeping us all updated! /bagel for you). The developers presented a general layout they wanted to shoot for. Obviously everything is subject to change, but to get the best feedback, take what they have said and go from there. Post on the boards and keep the discussions constructive! We have a chance to have a great GCW system added for us all to enjoy, but they need to have the support from the community.
To make a short point, I think the whole Zombie’s in SWG is a bit nutty… But I do know that nothing means more to Dotanuki than the Horror genre so I trust that he will have a heavy hand in this release and make it fun. I know it’s being based off of an EU book so I can’t say it’s not Star Wars exactly, but it’s certainly stretching it. Hopefully it will be a nice addition to the GMF coming out around the same time. I think I’ll leave it at that.
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: SWG, SOE, GCW, Fan Faire, Chronicle System, Zombie Wookiees
Currently I’m funding this site and my Photobucket account. I had to upgrade my accounts to handle all the bandwidth and storage I’m using for images especially. All my graphs and charts are hosted by me and it’s getting expensive. If you have a dollar or two you’re willing to donate to help me fund my accounts to keep providing you all information I have gather over the years, then you can do so here.
If you can spare the funds then you have no idea how appreciative I am. Once things settle down in my life and I get my bearing again I might be coming out of retirement We’ll see.
Thanks again!
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: mastercosmo, SWG
As I receive updates from about 10 different sources, I will be compiling the information here! Check back often over the next 2 days! The times are listed, but I am not sure what time zone they are referring too. I am assuming PDT, but we will see. The Times are PDT, so I will show all the times in EST below
Friday’s expectations – TCG (1pm), New System announced (5pm), GCW panel (6pm), Collections & Quests (8pm), Smed’s speech (10pm).
TCG - Thank you Senator Jod!
The TCG Panel is talking a lot about the latest release of the Agents of Deception. There are many more scenarios and cards, not to mention the highly desired (and highly despised) Loot Cards!
http://twitpic.com/8h8bw | http://twitpic.com/8h8dm | http://twitpic.com/8h8jl | http://twitpic.com/8h8po | http://twitpic.com/8h93d | http://twitpic.com/8h9eq | http://twitpic.com/8h9vh | http://twitpic.com/8h9×7 | http://twitpic.com/8haga
Secret System! – Chronicle Master Profession (Jod to the rescue again!)
A new profession that you gain XP by creating quests using NPCs and iconic characters of your choosing. You save the quests and allow others to complete them and rate them. The better the rating the better your XP reward is. You gain special items and rewards depending on how well you do.
http://twitpic.com/8i01a | http://twitpic.com/8i072 | http://twitpic.com/8i0g3 | http://twitpic.com/8i0ko | http://twitpic.com/8i0sg | http://twitpic.com/8i0xv | http://twitpic.com/8i0y2 | http://twitpic.com/8i1bz |
GCW - Again, Jod is the hero of the day
GCW update is NOT guaranteed. They are considering it and want player feedback. They do NOT want novels written on what they should do. Keep the feedback coming
Concept encompasses all aspects. Additional NPCs to areas controlled. Entertainers entertain to keep morale up. GCW from ALL galaxies combined for score. Neutrals can participate!
http://twitpic.com/8i8hj | http://twitpic.com/8i8ii | http://twitpic.com/8i8mg | http://twitpic.com/8i9eo | http://twitpic.com/8i9fn | http://twitpic.com/8i9jd | http://twitpic.com/8i9kq | http://twitpic.com/8i9ml | http://twitpic.com/8i9oj | http://twitpic.com/8i9qp | http://twitpic.com/8i9t7 | http://twitpic.com/8i9u4 | http://twitpic.com/8i9vb |
Events – Thanks again Jod
Panel seems to just talk about the events current and past. Nothing new aside from scrapped ideas. We might see these systems evolve more every year.
http://twitpic.com/8ifpq | http://twitpic.com/8ifz7 | http://twitpic.com/8ig11 | http://twitpic.com/8ig2n | http://twitpic.com/8ig92 | http://twitpic.com/8igdz | http://twitpic.com/8iggj | http://twitpic.com/8igjo | http://twitpic.com/8igmy | http://twitpic.com/8igt1 | http://twitpic.com/8iguw | http://twitpic.com/8igz9 | http://twitpic.com/8ih30 | http://twitpic.com/8ihc2 | http://twitpic.com/8ihdp | http://twitpic.com/8ihft | http://twitpic.com/8iho6 | http://twitpic.com/8ihu1 | http://twitpic.com/8ihxd | http://twitpic.com/8iia7
Content - Woot Jod
A heroic Jewelry box is finally in works! Kashyyyk revamp might be in the future. Cybernetic legs and torso are coming. New Droids are coming too!
http://twitpic.com/8ims5 | http://twitpic.com/8imx1 | http://twitpic.com/8infd | http://twitpic.com/8inje | http://twitpic.com/8inlx | http://twitpic.com/8inok | http://twitpic.com/8inrr |
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: Fan Faire, GCW, MMORPG, SOE, Sony, Star Wars Galaxies, SWG
Well it’s been a while since my last post so I felt it was time to post this.
I became Game Play Senator last July. After a couple months, I had to drop out because I felt I was limited to too few hours of game time to be the best asset for the community. I knew I could do better, but I didn’t want to hurt the community because of my life obligations. I bowed out of the Senate around September. In November, my computer basically gave up on me and stopped working. It took me until around Christmas to get a new computer from Dell and get back into my world. I was still active on the forums during this time and did what I could to help everyone.
After finally getting up and running, I jumped into SWG and was bombarded with emails, and things I had to test. I realized over my time without a computer that I was no longer enjoying SWG for what it was. It became a job to me through no ones fault but my own. Over the last 2.5 years, I began to log in and get to work after just being at my job all day. I would work my ass off to test everything, and come up with the guides that everyone uses. I am proud of my work on SWG, but I lost the game I once played.
I appreciate that people come to me with questions all the time. I’m happy to be able to help them with everything. I know when I start up a game and have questions, I’d rather talk with someone I trust to give me the right answer than deal with the forums sometimes and get sent all over the place only to find out they were just messing with me. I know there are players out there that look up to me and respect me for what I do. I am very happy to help them. I’m happy that I have been made into an asset for SWG over the years and I have left a mark in many gamers experiences. I’m not claiming to be the greatest SWG player ever, but many people make me feel like I am when they tell me how much I’ve helped them. No, I don’t let that get to my head and act cocky. That’s not me. I just wanted to say to everyone that I have appreciated all the thank yous, the confidence, the appreciation, and the support over the years. Like I have been saying all along, if I make a guide and 99% of the people find it worthless, there’s still that 1% that I was able to help and that was enough for me.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the MasterCosmo that once was is about to retire. It’s not because I don’t like helping people, but it’s because I have lost that escape and enjoyment factor in one of the greatest games I have ever played. After working 40+ hours a week, taking 16 credit hours, and spending every spare minute working on guides, tests, etc for SWG, I’ve been missing out on the greater points of the game. I often feel like many people are just expecting me to work on a guide instead of appreciating the fact I actually do it for no gain other than to help people. Not trying to feel sorry for myself either, I’m just trying to work out my feelings.
I will still be there on the forums to help and make an occasional graph here and there, but it’s time for me to let others step up and work out the finer, nerdier, aspects of the game. It’s time for me to step into Mos Eisley and enjoy it like I did long ago. It’s time for me to start playing the game I have loved over the years more than over analyze it. It’s time for me to rebuild those friendships I once had with people in game that I lost due to having to work on testing instead doing an instance or PVP’ing.
I wanted to say a special thanks to those that have been a good friend to me over the last 3 years especially:
Thank you everyone for your dedication and support over the years as I went on a rampage through the mechanics of the game. I feel the current senators and players out there have a good grasp on what’s out there and can take the work I did to a whole new level. Hopefully I have been able to make your SWG experience a worthwhile one and helped you learn a bit about the game that you didn’t know before. Thank you everyone.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some gaming to catch up on.
-MC
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: gaming, mastercosmo, MMO, MMORPG, Senate, SWG
It finally happened. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I still didn’t ever want to see this headline… “GM Files for Bankruptcy” is plastered across a local newspaper’s website. The words are burning into my head now. I do not work for GM, nor does anyone I know. I have no stock in GM, I don’t work for a dealership, but I am an American Citizen and my life is completed affected by this.
I don’t care who you are or what you do, GM plays a huge part in your life and the problems they face will hit everyone. Every business will suffer because of this. I honestly cannot think of a single company out there that will not be touched by the fall of GM. No, GM is not closing it’s doors completely. They will survive this and thrive in the future. The problem is the people that are suffering from this company. The many plants, the thousands of dealerships, the thousands of suppliers and millions of employees working from these suppliers are all facing the possibility of losing their jobs, their houses, their families, and their lives.
It is hard to watch so many families that do everything for their families have to suffer with the reluctant anticipation of their companies either filing for bankruptcy themselves or closing their doors completely. So many people are living paycheck to paycheck, that this worldwide pandemic is going to ruin so many lives… It’s heartbreaking. People are going to have no expendable cash, people are not going to be spending money where they don’t have to, so every business will be suffering.
I live in Michigan and I watch how crazy things are getting. It’s sad that the only good thing going on in this state right now is that the Detroit Red Wings are 2 wins away from winning the Stanley Cup again. After that, there is nothing here. Yes, Michigan is at fault for focusing only on the auto industry, but the people that live here and work their asses off for their families are doing nothing wrong. Why does this always happen to the good people?
Things are turning ugly in many ways. I used to drive Nissan’s since my dad works for them, but I just made my first car purchase: a Pontiac G6. I’m happy I did in many ways, but one particular way is because of how angry people are getting at foreign car drivers. I have heard from many people that drive foreign vehicles that they are being threatened, run off the road, received physical damage to the vehicles, etc. This is what is happening. This is the reality of the situation. We’re at an economic war, and there is no winner.
I hate the government for their way of handling this. I hate the ignorance that many people have towards GM and the auto industry. I hate to watch the good people lose so much. I don’t see an end to the hardships anytime soon.
I am graduating in December and being encouraged by my school and state to stay in Michigan and rebuild tomorrow. To me, there is nothing to stay for besides family. There is nothing “good” to come out of this other than the rich stay rich. There is nothing here for me anymore. I have no reason to stay and plan on leaving as soon as I can. I never thought it would be this way but that’s the reality and I cannot sit and wait for something to happen.
Good bye Michigan.
Combat Roll Analysis: Dodge
Reference: Combat Roll Analysis: General Overlook
The Dodge combat roll is a defensive roll that will stop the incoming damage from all incoming damage except for AOE. In the order of operations, Dodge is rolled before any other combat roll. If Dodge does roll, the attack ends and 0 damage is dealt.
The main stat on your statmod tab is called ‘Combat Defense: Dodge’. The ‘Dodge Chance’ modifier bit has a ratio of 8, meaning your Exotic Mods will have a maximum value of 4. ‘Dodge Chance’ can also be made into Powerups that can get around 12 – 14 ‘Dodge Chance’. How your ‘Dodge Chance’ value is converted into the ‘Combat Defense: Dodge’ Percentage starts off as ‘Dodge Chance’ / 10 and the return decreases the higher you stack the ‘Dodge Chance’ modifier.
Diminishing Returns Chart to follow soon after lunch.
The modifier ‘Dodge Chance’ is subject to Diminishing Returns, however it is difficult to stack this value high enough to show any affect. You can also stack the core stat modifiers Luck and Agility. For every 1 point of Luck, you receive a return of .0033 ‘Combat Defense: Dodge’. For every 1 point of Agility, you receive a return of .01 ‘Combat Defense: Dodge’. This bonus will be displayed on your statmod tab. This is the way to avoid Diminishing Returns.
I will break away from a straight break down to give you my personal opinion on this modifier. I feel it is one of the best defensive modifiers, but stacking it is difficult. I strongly urge you to NOT stack ‘Dodge Chance’ exotics nor the Powerups. The reason for this is because stacking Agility instead gives you a lot more for your investment. One exotic mod of ‘Dodge Chance’ gives you a 0.4%, where Agility gives you a 0.35%, but it also gives you Evasion and Parry as well. You will not notice the 0.05% drop, but you might notice an increase in defensive ability when you raise all your defensive stats from agility at the same time. You don’t have to follow this idea, but in my opinion, it is best to stack Agility instead of ‘Dodge Chance’ on your exotics and powerups.
The combat log will display the Dodge roll similar to this format:
To be noted
Strengths of Dodge
Weaknesses of Dodge
Ways to Increase Dodge
Professions Strong Against
Professions Weak Against
Professions Best to Stack it With
Professions Hardest to Stack it With
Summary
Posted in Star Wars Galaxies | Tags: Combat Roll, Dodge, SOE, Star Wars Galaxies, SWG
Another long day today, but not as bad as last week. Today, work was just dragging… Every time I looked at the clock it started going backwards… I managed to get out of work and run and get my hair cut though, so that was pretty sweet. I feel pretty.
I’m waiting at my school now for one of the Professors, or the Head of the Department. I’m going over what is expected for my senior project so I can get a jump start on it now and hopefully have a less hectic work load next semester. This is the shortest (and cheapest) semester at LTU in the Fall. I’m only taking 12 credits, and luckily that is all I need to graduate! yahoo!
interjection – Some girls just walked passed me and they were checkin’ me out. Save me from the dorky girls Dana
I was sad to learn that this is the last House episode of the season! AHH! What am I going to do now?! There’s no way I’ll be able to force Dana to watch LOST with me so I guess I’ll have to play Free Realms with her instead It’s a Win-Win for me.
Some people have been asking me when I will write my next SWG guide. Well it won’t be long. School is out and I already have most of my data, so I will have time to write the Dodge guide very soon!
There have been some exciting discussions about the next Game Update for SWG. The PVP update is looking really good and I cannot wait to get more info and for it to hit Test Center! Having persistent buffs through PVP death, new weapons (a cold AOE HW to boot), new armor, battlefields, spy nerfs… Heaven! Finally something to encourage some PVP.
Free Realms has been a blast though. I am almost a lvl 20 Blacksmith. In fact I’m going to get lvl 20 after I finish writing this as I wait for my professor. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m hoping to collect all the recipes to make my grind through combat easier, and more fun
The wedding plans are going okay. It gets more and more stressful as time goes on. From having a list of like 50, to 200, to 180, now back close to 200… /sigh. I was reading through my “Grooms Survival Book” and it basically stated that the parents of the bride and groom tend to forget that the wedding isn’t theirs. My parents are inviting more people that I have invited… I didn’t even invite any of my friends other than those standing up! We ran out of room and money… There were a couple people that I feel I have become good friends with through online that I never met before that I wish I could have invited. I’m not sure how well that would’ve gone over with everyone else, but really I consider these people good friends of mine and we talk beyond the game. I guess it’s not so rare anymore to have good relationships with people you’ve never met in person. Yay for tele-communicating and gaming! I’m honestly looking forward to the Honeymoon more than the wedding now. The reason is becuase Dana and I have both been under enormous stress for so long with school, life, work, and everything in between. We’re going to get away for almost a week and just relax and enjoy ourselves for the first time since I can’t remember when. We’ll have to learn how to take it easy all over again. Good thing San Diego has a lot of fun to offer!
My next update will probably be the Dodge Guide so keep your eyes open!
Take care everyone
Posted in Life, Me and Dana, Star Wars Galaxies, Uncategorized
Yesterday, what I was hoping to be a Happy Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you), turned out to be a stress filled and sad day.
My fiancee and I have a friend of a long time, whose dad just passed away on Monday. It totally hit both of us as a shock. This dad and granddad was the nicest person. He’s one of those dads of a friend that you really like and love going to see. He has a contagious laugh and heart of gold. He was battling a lot of heart issues in his life, and it ultimately took him in his sleep.
I am happy that he did live long enough to see his youngest daughter have the cutest baby in the world and get married before it was too late. It makes it hard because he was basically a “go to” or second dad to my fiancee. He was always so caring and supportive, losing someone like that in life is hard.
When we were going through our wedding list, there were a few people on there I knew couldn’t go because of health issues, but he was the last person I would have thought to have passed away. Yes he was older (in his 60s), but it always seems to happen to the nicest of people…
I worry about my friend as she is not taking things well at all. She’s getting very quiet and unresponsive. I know my fiancee is extremely worried and doing all she can to be there for her and the family.
I also had to finish one of my classes yesterday night, and with this news on my mind it was a little difficult to focus. I did get 100% on one of my lab assignments that I threw together last minute so that made me happy at least. The project was to simulate a printer queue in C++ that ran 1600 cycles and each cycle had a 62% chance to generate a print job, and each printer had a 6% chance of breaking. We had to make a priority queue for the print jobs that were waiting also. At first it seemed a bit beyond what I felt I could do right now, but once I sat down and thought about it, I was able to get a solid foundation in no time.
The final exam was rough. The teacher normally has tests that are pretty straight forward and easy to understand and run with. These questions were for some reason a lot harder and took a lot of work. Maybe it was because of everything on my mind, but I’m worried I didn’t do too well on the test. I’m not really worried about the class though. I have 820 out of 820 points so far, so if I end up with anything other than an A in the class, it’s because my final was Bantha Fodder.
Today is Cinco De Mayo and my company opened a new facility down the road that had an open house and party. I had Baja Fresh and it was really good. I never went there before but it certainly was worth it. Good thing I happened to line up in the front near the food. The light was so long that by the time I got my food and ate everything, The lne barely moved!
I hung around a few other interns and we joked around a bit about things and talked about school, LOST, and our future plans. We were going to wait for the shuttle to take us back to our facility, but we decided to walk back because it was a nice day out. It was about a half mile to a mile walk.
Now I’m getting ready to take my next final exam: Archetecture and Assembler… Tough class with a teacher that really knows his stuff but doesn’t really teach well… I’m worried this class is going to ruin my chances of graduating with Highest Honors. We’ll see though.
Posted in Life
