Friday, July 31, 2009

Vincer's Journal: Infestation

Some time ago, I made an alliance with the leader of the hidden, underground village in the Myyydril caverns, and specifically earned the trust and favor of their leader Chief Kallaarac. My mission of tracking down the forged credits, led me to the Kashyyyk system so I decided to visit my friend to exchange information.

The Chief was distraught at a recent turn of events. The dangerous urnsor'i beetles had multiplied in number and were threatening to overtake their peaceful way of life. Without even thinking twice - something I came to regret - I volunteered to stop the beetle's advance.

Little did I realize how complete their migration was. Already they were laying eggs in the caverns that lay just across the bridge from the village. Unprepared for their - shall we say - motherly instincts to protect their young, I was overwhelmed and forced to retreat.

The chief's concern and alarm were clarified.

I enlisted the help of a medic from Tatooine, an old friend of my daughters. If sheer firepower would not be sufficient, perhaps her use of poisons as well as her timely application of bacta kits could be enough to stop the infestation.

The Chief was delighted to learn that this line of thinking was correct. Working closely with the Wookiee leader, we thinned the beetle's numbers, destroyed a good portion of their eggs, and even located and destroyed their Queen. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the resources we took from their carcasses; especially the purple cut gemstones that infrequently could be found.

With the village saved, we both made use of the Mystical Stone to find our way back out of the caverns, and not empty handed at all. As it turns out, beetle parts sell for a pretty credit at the Wookiee Trading Company.

But the gems? We kept those for ourselves.

(OOC) Perhaps you would like a chance to relive this adventure, recommended for a group of level 75s.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SWG Thought of the Day: Good

Good, to be honest. Jedi wear armor. That's how it's supposed to be. Now, time to get the rest of the Jedi canon in order to make the most of the profession.

Vincer's Journal: Tracking Contraband


Following reports from Alliance High Command of counterfeit credits, I took it upon myself to see if I couldn't locate how they're being distributed around the galaxy.

Naturally, the Alliance gets involved in some - shall we say - shadier dealings that may or may not make use of such fake currencies, but if the trafficking of such forgeries are not carefully regulated, potential holes in Alliance security appear.

I began on Naboo, just outside Deeja Peak. A band of pirates had set up an encampment nearby. These pirates are amateur at best, with no real chain of command nor skills to speak of. And while I may yet be completing my training for the Rebels, I had no trouble infiltrating and locating some of the information I needed.

I was also quite shocked to find that these pirates were also transporting foodstuffs from the Outer Rim, fruit that has been tagged as forbidden; and yes, there's probably a joke in there somewhere, but I'm too wrapped in the mission to make one now.

All Rebel agents are advised to continue tracking down these pirates and any they may have associated with. Orders are to contain these falsified credits before the Alliance's involvement is compromised.

Monday, July 13, 2009

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.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Download Rebo: SWG Musician Companion v1.0.0

The first version of the Rebo: SWG Musician Companion is now available for download.

Download Rebo v1.0.0.

Instructions
  1. View the Requirements and Read Me, located below for your convenience
  2. Launch Rebo from either the desktop shortcut, the start menu, or by locating the installation directory and double clicking on Rebo.jar
  3. Select the instrument(s) you wish to hear, the song and flourish and click Play.
  4. The track(s) will Stop automatically when completed or click Stop to end play immediately
  5. The Jam and Compose tabs will be in subsequent releases and will allow you to mix and match flourishes as the song plays and also load and create macros.
Read Me

------------------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-----------------------

- Java virtual Machine 1.6.0_13
- Microsoft XP or Vista OS
- Star Wars Galaxies (not required, but it helps!)

-----------------------
WHAT'S MY JAVA VERSION?
-----------------------

Visit the following site to discover your current
Java version.

http://www.javatester.org/version.html

-----------------------
UPGRADE JAVA VERSION
-----------------------

If your Java version is not up to date, visit the
following site to upgrade your virtual machine.

http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

-----------------------
KNOWN ISSUES
-----------------------

- Certain tracks in Star Wars 4 have glitches that Rebo is not correcting for

-----------------------
WINDOWS VISTA
-----------------------

If you are experiencing trouble using Rebo while under
Windows Vista operating system, it may be due to the User Account Control.

To Disable User Account Control, go to the following link for instructions.

http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm

If you would prefer not to disable User Account Control and are still
experiencing problems using Rebo, try unintalling from the default
location and re-installing Rebo into your login's Documents folder. This
is located under C:\Users by default.

If you continue to have problems using Rebo under Windows Vista, please use
the contact information found below and explain your situation.

-----------------------
REPORTING BUGS (LOG)
-----------------------

If you discover a bug while using Rebo, please use the Contact
Information section below to send a private message. Please
include as much information as you can in order to help
facilitate the fix.

-----------------------
CONTACT INFORMATION
-----------------------

Please use the Star Wars Galaxies forum to send a PM.

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/pm/sendTo.m?user_id=15942

Rebo: SWG Musician Companion

Here's a preview of the beta version of Rebo, a standalone utility for SWG entertainers. Look for a downloadable version soon.