SWG Thought of the Day: Holiday Madness!

Another real life holiday, another in-game event. Enough is enough, really. Sure, it's nice that we've got something new to do, if only for 24 hours. (And for what it's worth, I like the exclusivity; the small window of opportunity.) But just once... no, actually I mean more then once; quite often; and at no set interval... I'd like to see some in-game events that have absolutely nothing to do with real life holidays and absolutely everything to do with the fantasy world of Star Wars.

Not one to sit back and and make wild demands only, I present a few ideas to chew on.

• AT-ATs march on Anchorhead. Double GCW rewards for Special Forces, plenty of combatant opportunities including specific missions for both varieties of GCW involvement.
• Geonosians attempt to gather DNA samples from Rancors near the Science Outpost on Dathomir. The Witches aren't none too pleased leading to a battleground between the two. Choose a side!
• Valarian gathers her loyalists together to blow up Jabba's spaceport facility. They set charges and then steal into space. Jabba, meanwhile, calls on his best smugglers to intercept them in the orbit around Tatooine.
• The Queen of Naboo hires entertainers to perform at a Theater on Theed. The audience will have different demands depending upon the time of day. Those successful shall receive temporary items that color the entertainer hologram performers.
• The Rebels are in dire need of supplies. Crafters need to gather specific resources, craft items needed by the Alliance Requisition branch of the Rebellion and find a way to deliver the goods to any one of numerous random rendezvous points.

Did You Notice: Waypoint Macros

Did you notice that you can create multiple waypoints at once by using a macro?

I needed to create numerous waypoints out of one of the SWG Collection Guides that can be found on the forums. For some reason, getting the copy/paste to work into the chatbox was fruitless. What to do; what to do, indeed?

I found that I could paste the waypoints into a new macro, then trigger it to create all the waypoints at once. Not to shabby! Within a few minutes, I was out and about, collecting rare weapons and armor around Corellia.

I even came to a location I've never seen before. In the western mountains of Corellia, within swoopbike distance from the Rebel Base, I came upon a strange structure guarded by mercenaries and a Sullustan who claimed to be a fallen padawan.

Forced to fight the unexpected lot, my droid Jones and I cleared them off. Turns out there is a pile of bones at the top that hides the remains of a Rebel; probably the last one who found the strange structure before I stumbled upon it.

That sort of thing is still what puts SWG so far ahead of the competition; that to this day a Beta 3 player can still be delightfully suprised at finding something new.

Waypoints macros and Sullustan fallen padawans? So... did you notice?

SWG Idea: Improving the AI

To say this game has Artificial Intelligence is a gross exaggeration. Very few PvE opponents in this game present any form of tactical challenge. (You are free to insert an appropriate PvP joke here, if it pleases you.)

Aside from knowing when to fire off a heal and when to close up the store and run from the aggro, combat in SWG is little more then two very large numbers each informing the other how much to subtract; first one to zero loses.

If your toon is properly equipped with level-appropriate weapons, armor, and expertise, you should have absolutely no trouble defeating any single opponent (and likely a few of his buddies) of similar level. Add in some entertainer, medic, or officer buffs and the game fails to deliver any sort of combat worth talking about later over drinks at a cantina.

Without increasing the difficulty - because that just perpetuates the continued passes over the player professions - how can we make combat more engaging and less "target lock, button mash" oriented?

First thing to do is to categorize the potential PvE opponents. Despite the names, the following terms apply to both creatures and NPCs. For simplicity's sake, we will refer to all PvE opponents as "creatures".



BUT FIRST!

It is VERY important that the game provide visual clues and information that can be used by players to learn how the AI is operating. For example, if a certain creature in a mob is unique in that it acts in a Support combat role, it should become evident to the experienced player that this creature will perform that combat role.

It should not be guesswork beyond the initial encounter (or for those who simply refuse to learn how the gameworld is reacting to them.)

This point cannot be stressed enough, as the goal is not to surprise the player but rather provide them with an additional level of detail and combat immersion from which they can learn and adapt their tactics from.

Read and Discuss: How Can We Improve the AI?

SWG 101: Placing a Vendor

If you are one of the crafter professions, you will gain access to placing a vendor to sell your wares. Once you qualify for placing a vendor (Level 7), follow these simple steps.

1. Enter a structure that you own or have admin to
2. Locate the structure terminal and bring up the radial menu
3. Select "Create Vendor"
4. You will be presented with a few screens where you choose the type, gender and name of the vendor.
5. Once complete, the vendor will appear in your inventory. Hit "I" to bring up the inventory and find the vendor.
6. Bring up the radial menu on the vendor and select "Examine". Check the vendor and ensure it has an appearance that you are happy with; you cannot change the appearance. If you do not like the appearance, you can delete the vendor and return to step 2.
7. Stand in the location where you would like the vendor to work from.
8. Bring up the radial menu and select "Drop Vendor"
9. If you do not like the location you chose, target the vendor and type "/pickup". Return to step 7.
10. Use the vendor's radial menu and select "Initialize..." to activate it.
11. The vendor can no longer be moved from its spot, but you can rotate it around using /rotate yaw n, where n is a number of degrees to rotate the vendor.

Congratulation! You have placed a vendor. This concludes the basics, but you should not stop there. It is important that you pay maintenance on the vendor. There are other functions that allow the vendor to be customized to your tastes, but those are beyond the scope of this most basic guide.

Good luck on your new venture, and may the credits come quickly!

Hot Topics: The Complete Community Codex of the Storyteller System

Leyah has contributed a tremendous guide to the powerful storyteller system. Already off to an informative start, it promises to expand into something that should be kept only a click away for anyone who is serious about being a storyteller.

Visit the guide now and leave your support for it to be a sticky link.

SWG Thought of the Day: Loyalty Repaid?

The veteran reward system falls short of its intended design of rewarding players for their continued loyalty since they don't disqualify non-paid months. So just what does SOE do to thank players for their loyalty? Should they even?

SOE is a for-profit company, so their desire to maximize their revenue is to be expected. I do find it disconcerting that they have deviated from their original business plan and model in regards to Star Wars Galaxies in order to achieve the maximum bottom line.

At some time, within the last decade, SOE and LA sat together and hashed out a plan to make a really cool and complex MMO based on the Star Wars intellectual property. With dollar signs blinking in their eyes, they went to work and delivered on that plan. Say what you will about the original release, it generated interest and subscriptions.

Combat Upgrades, NGEs, ill-advised implementations of Jedi, and the like could not truly bring the game to its knees despite those who persistently duck for cover from falling skies. The reason that SWG has been able to weather the storms that SOE inflicted could be attributed to the fact that said changes were at least within the realm of the original business plan: Make a Star Wars MMO.

I do not need SOE to reward me with gifts for my loyalty. I do not expect them to personally address all of my needs and wants for my toons. I do not expect them to grant me free playtime, additional slots, or fancy titles.

But I do need SOE to return to the business plan that brought me to their doorstep in the first place. Make a Star Wars MMO about life in the galaxy post-Battle of Yavin. The Rebellion has proven that they are a capable force. The Galaxy is at war. The Empire is divided.

Deliver this to me and you shall continue to have my loyalty.

Sarlacc Snacks: Fourth Feeding? Crap!

So I select just the right meal for the discerning palette of the baby sarlacc, but then what do I see? Yeah, the little gauge on the side that tells you how many feedings the thing has had is down to one. One?!

Well, it's a known issue. I think there's a post somewhere from Jaskell claiming that a patch is on the way. But I should go on record and say that this is the first time I really expected crap from SWG and didn't get it.