Thoughts of the Day

It's time to catch up on a few thoughts all at once. I feel that to be blunt and hardline is the way to do it. There are numerous issues floating around on the official forums as a result of the recent Fan Faire announcements regarding SWG and its direction. Not surprisingly, a few older issues were drummed up as well since it's "Welcome Back a Whiner Month".

There really ought to be some sort of collection reward for the paying subscribers as we survive these free veteran months. But I nearly digress. Let's have at it, shall we?

Zombies

Stupid. Yes. Stupid. But cross-promotion is good. Assuming that there will be some adequate cross-promotions. But content is indeed content, and anything is better then nothing. At least a starving man would say so upon receiving a loaf of undead bread. And face it, battling such monstrosities during the Autumn months is far better then playing trick-or-treat for Jabba.

And no topic of what "should" or "should not" be included in SWG would be complete without bringing up February's debacle of equippable wings. And so...

Wings

Stupid. Very. Defend them if you want by referencing angels from the moon of Iego (I think), or Geonosians or how people in Star Wars would put on costumes much as we here on Earth might. But the fact remains that these are Ewok wings. EWOK wings. See, Ewoks... well, they don't have wings.

It was a poor idea then, and it's a poor idea now. But let's all just get over it. What's done is done. Rather then cry about the past, let's try to formulate a lesson to help improve the future.

Chronicle System

This has the potential to deliver some of the most immersive, canonical and enjoyable Star Wars content in all of the six years of SWG. I'm rather looking forward to seeing this in action and hope that the developers don't slap on their infamous time and/or money sinks in order to help produce a chronicle. Set free the creativity and empower those who are willing. And please, for the love of all that's holy, test this thing from one side to the other and ensure that the ability to exploit it in any way, shape, or form is squeezed out before the system is rolled out, only to be partially rolled back and dumbed down because of a few jacktards.

GCW

Is it here yet? No? Good. Seriously, let's take a little time and get it right. It's been far too long, so waiting a few months to ensure an exciting system isn't too much to ask for. And let there be continued updates going forward. Evolve the GCW and allow players to have direct control over the direction of the war. If we're going to be stuck in this time period, it will be necessary to ignore some canon. Establish exactly what that entails so that we can get on with some meaningful GCW.

And for those who say Star Wars isn't only about the GCW. You're wrong. Sorry, but you are. You and your toons may choose to not partake, but that doesn't mean the GCW is not the central story element to this era of the genre. Everyone will get updates and content regardless of their preferred style of play, but the GCW should always be the top priority going forward. It's the game we all signed on for. It's the name on the box (or he digital download).

Free Month for Veterans

Okay. Go ahead. Get it out of your system. Zombies. Flying Ewoks. Broken voice chat. Lag. Empty servers. Full servers. TCG loot. Still no GCW. Zombies again.

Look, either subscribe and learn to play, or just stop wasting everyone's time - yours included - and go find something else to obsess over.

Friday Features

Just be quiet about them already. That is all.

Oh Yeah... TCG Loot

They haven't affected my gameplay at all. Still. Eight months back, I said it would. I helped with the leading of the charge on the forums; raging against the loot. Rah! Go team! Win!

I was wrong. It's a sideshow and a money grab. I really could care less about it. Well, that's not entirely true. I'd like to see some of the code re-used for non-TCG systems, such as the Nuna egg-laying mechanic. Or the house pets in general. Wouldn't it be nice if Engineers could make droid greeters, too?

But then, the TCG would be grabbing less money.

No Expansions

Good. And bad. The publicity would be nice, but getting all this free content is a pretty good deal. You know what... scratch all that. I'd gladly pay for it if it meant bigger and better things for SWG. New subscribers, new game systems, new adventures. Where's my checkbook? My credit card?

All things being equal - and I know it's not - a SWG expansion would completely kick tail.

Starsider Lag

Upgrade your rig and stay away from Eisley. Starsider population is not even a fraction of what it was five and a half years ago.

Battlefields and "Non-Combatants"

Yeah, battlefields are open to anyone. But if you're a crafter, just stay out. Seriously. If you didn't PvP with your toon before because of your profession, don't start with battlefields now. The idea isn't to win shiny toys and badges or other treasures. The idea is to win. Either contribute to the success in a meaningful way, or get out of there and let someone else have a chance. Go wait your turn for the forthcoming GCW system. I'll be over here waiting with you, if you'd like.

Development Plan

I'm happy to see one. Engineers are getting some love. Chronicles will be exciting. The zombies will fill in some space. And then there's the (hopefully start of many) GCW update(s). It actually feels like the game is alive and well; certainly not in maintenance mode. The sky isn't falling at all. How about that?

That's about all I have for now. Just a raw, blunt, and highly-opinionated rant. Nothing more. The game is doing alright, all things considered. Seriously though, I'm just going to go ahead and say almost everything hinges on the GCW update(s). Yes, I'll lump on the pressue and try to frame this off as the most important thing to hit the game since the NGE.

It either works as a functional and meaningful GCW system, or it will turn out to be the fix for lag.