MasterCosmo

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.