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.

Hot Topics: More Festival of Love Hate

Star Wars, by nature, is a classic tale of good versus evil set in a fantasy environment, arguably science-fiction, but perhaps not by literal definition. The characters and concepts speak to people of all ethnicities, ages and beliefs as it both abstracts and clarifies the story details so as not to appear merely a reflection of current real world issues.

Star Wars is also about fun and excitement; the unknown and fantastic, full of twists and turns and unexpected revelations. From the tale of a farmboy who saved the galaxy, to the realization that two droids could have as much personality as any other character, to the literal muppet who made us believe he really was a master of the mystical Force, Star Wars has always had the ability to immerse us in this galaxy of make believe and tell us a tale that we're willing to believe.

To be certain, not all delvings into the fantastic were so well-received. Beloved by some, but hated by others, the Ewoks might be considered a blight on the Star Wars genre; one that may only be trumped by the general discontent saved for Jar Jar and his gungan brothers. (Were there any gungan girls, incidentally?)

Say what you will, Star Wars has always managed to pull through and be one of the most successful franchises in the history of our planet despite mixed reviews by the harshest and most demanding critics: the fans. It has made successful ventures beyond the movies and found audiences and profit in novels, television, video games, comic books, action figures, board games, clothing and more.

Which brings us to the current Star Wars MMO and the specifics of the Ewok Love Day Festival ongoing. Rather, I would suggest we pull back a bit and take a larger chunk of some of the recent additions - however temporary - there have been to Star Wars Galaxies.

Beyond the Festival of Love, we have had the Jabba-sponsored Moon Festival, and the Wookiee's Life Day event. All were conceived, designed, built and implemented for the sheer enjoyment of those who took part. And isn't Star Wars about having fun? Is that not enough to qualify any for inclusion in a Star Wars game?

The Empire Strikes Back was not only about Yoda, nor was Return of the Jedi only about the Ewoks, or The Phantom Menace about Jar Jar. But more and more, it appears that Star Wars Galaxies is based around these fun little events that do nothing to advance the story, build the drama or immerse the players. Meanwhile, the Battle of Hoth is nothing more then a recurring dream that feels more like a roleplaying game within a roleplaying game, spies receive an unbalancing update, engineers are still forgotten, and Imperials and Rebels waltz arm in arm amongst the colorful and nightclub scene that the hive of scum and villainy has become.

SOE needs to draw more then tiny tidbits from the movies and media to develop SWG. It is not sufficient to point at Ewoks - those cannibalistic little devils - and note how cute they are, thus basing an entire event around them while crushing out any last vestiges of canon in one swift stomp. It is not enough to suggest that Jabba is jovial simply because he is overweight, and thus may enjoy sponsoring costume parades. It is not enough to put wings on any character simply because there is iconography in the real world that suggests that this might mean "love".

Go and have these events. Clearly they are well-received, and they should be. None are required, nor are any so prevalent that they should affect other styles of gameplay. But do not forget that Star Wars ISN'T just about fun and light-heartedness. There is a severe and gripping battle for freedom ongoing; a struggle against tyranny and domination that has victory dangling from a thread. While presents were being crushed by candy-loving stormtroopers, an innocent world was being enslaved by the Empire, never to be heard from again.

We must find that world and immerse ourselves in its story.

Hot Topics: Gameplay Senator

After months without having a SOE-annoited Gameplay Senator, nominations have finally gotten underway to fill this position.

The centralized location for this process can be found here. This thread contains links to the various nomination threads created by the candidates.

And the winner shall be...? Does it matter? Yes, to a degree it does. While SOE may not fully believe or utilize the Senator system, it does not mean that no good can come of it. I personally think that players who support the process and set-up have made some noted progress despite the "firewall"-type design.

SOE has gimped the senator system by preventing polls for gathering data. A potential senator must therefore rely upon reading posts and weeding out what is and is not gameplay related.

Personally, I would appreciate a gameplay senator who would...

• Push for overhauls to the GCW,
• Passes on the PvE for Artificial Intelligence
• More tactics and strategy in combat
• Less heroics and collections
• Integrating crafters back into their proper role
• Penalties for death
• Optional credit sinks with a return on the "investment"
• Less "free credit printing", and
• An adherence to canon for EVERY feature going forward.

Any senator selected for the job needs to arrive without personal agendas and speak on behalf of the community.

He or she would be expected to frequently pen up the topics, open the discussion to ensure accuracy, present the topics via the official channels, then report back the responses.

I see no reason why a senator needs to create solutions for the current problems as they are not in the role of designer or developer, but rather a representative through which concerns and problems are aggregated in a meaningful and consistent way to be presented to SOE in an expected and timely manner.

And I also feel that senators should be given the right to create polls on the forums - even though that only collects a percentage of player data since not everyone partakes of the forum experience. Such a tool would at least give Senators the ability to get a sense of their shared community in a way that is not possible for any member of said community. (Otherwise, what's the point, really?)

Good luck to the potential candidates.

Hot Topics: Roller Coaster Servers

Pick one. That's right. Or just throw a dart. Heave a stone. Spit in the general direction. Do so, and you're likely to hit another post about the state of the SWG servers. As I type this, the login server is the latest victim... because why should only one galaxy be affected?

I got to a count of 14 posts before I both lost interest in the tally and decided that it was already significant enough to consider this a "Hot Topic" worthy of the planet of Mustafar that graces the back of the logo used.

Jedi. No Jedi. Armor. No armor. NGE. Pre-NGE. Decay. No Decay. Divide the community any way you like, but I think we can all agree that server downtime is no fun, nor is it acceptable with the frequency it's been happening.

Go ahead. Dash on over to the Game Play Discussion forum and have a look for yourself. The natives are restless and they've a right to be.

Hot Topics: Inactive Veteran Accounts

Several topics floating around our favorite GPD involves things such as elder rewards, titles, defunct names, abandoned houses and other things associated with older accounts - inactive, reactivated or otherwise.

A very troubling aspect of the Free Character Transfer promotion is the fact that many names will be unavailable for transferees when they arrive on their new server home. While SOE has provisions to rename these toons, oftentimes the name is no longer used; perhaps even years old after the previous name owner cancelled their account.

While a name change may not be the worst thing in the world, it underscores a problem that SOE has when dealing with these long gone accounts: the refusal to let go and allow the current subscribers the chance to inherit the game and help it grow.

To this, I offered the following response:

This game will forever be stuck in a holding pattern if we continue to cater to non-paying subscribers and mollycoddle cry-babies who threaten to cancel whenever discussions turn towards significant and necessary changes.

Making difficult decisions is what defines a leadership. SOE has to realize that a good bulk of those dormant accounts are going to remain that way in the current global economy situation and with an ever-increasing number of competitor products in the MMO market. SOE should cut loose where appropriate and take care of the subscribers it has, not the subscribers that it lost.

I despise when things are done half-arsed; this is something that should have been considered. And while we're at it, stop counting non-subscribed months towards veteran rewards. It defeats the entire purpose of the reward program.

It is not an easy decision to alter and/or remove such information, but a failure to gratify the current subscriber base will lead to more dormant accounts that clog up the name table and the landscape.

Hot Topics: Server Transfers

With only two weeks to go, the Free Character Transfer Service is one of the hottest topics to be found. From questions to concerns to conspiracy theories, the "FCTS" is going to be the first major change in 2009 and could very well dictate the game through to 2010 and beyond.

Much like yesterday's Thought of the Day, there are calls for additional character slots: a third, fourth or even a pay-for-slot service similar to City of Heroes.

Without rehashing yesterday's "thought" entirely, I feel it's a poor idea - even worse then the second slot. Of course, it's too late to take that back. We have two and now we're stuck with it.

It's these "second generation" MMO mentalities that teach us that we should have multiple toons. These are the same mentalities that find the fastest, cheapest way to achieve any goal; the mentalities that want instant travel, no species bonuses, no penalties for death, and certainly no form of decay.

As much as SOE has conditioned the players to have a whine on deck, the players have conditioned SOE to know that if they make any significant change (even for the better) that pitchforks and torches are within arms length, and the cancellation button is even closer.

What a bunch of crock, especially considering that almost all other MMOs on the market feature even more restrictive systems. Rather then embrace the freedom that SWG offers, we handcuff ourselves to it so that neither we nor they may stray too far from the path that they settle upon with tiny tugs and outright shoves.

The Server Transfers will become an even hotter topic before it's all said and done. I feel for all involved. I feel it will get worse before it gets better.

Hot Topics: Appearance Tab

The latest Friday Feature makes official the inclusion of the Appearance Tab into Star Wars Galaxies. Naturally, this becomes a Hot Topic instantly.

There is the predicted lashback coming from the PvP "community" who are afraid that people will be running around Restuss ("Recess") in pink Hawt Pants, but actually be wearing a full set of capped RIS armor.

So what? Why would anyone assume that people are not fully prepared for battle regardless of how they might appear? If you're in a combat situation, you should be as prepared and ready as possible and assume the same of your enemy. Get over yourselves and enjoy this new and welcome addition to the game.

In regards to immersion... sure, pink hawt pants on an Imperial may look (and be) ridiculous, but more folks are going to put together some official looking outfits that will enhance everyones experience. Just ignore those tools that feel the only way to play a game is to ensure everyone is looking at them acting like morons. Just ignore them and they'll not affect your time in the game.

The Appearance Tab is great news; and "early next year" can't come soon enough for Chapter 6 to drop. (And let's not forget the expected fix to the female eye wear as well.)

I submit that Chapter 6 be called: "Attack of AdeptStrain". The guy is on fire and should be given all the free time in the world to enhance the game.

Meanwhile, go thank Valara for this latest Hot Topic.

Hot Topics: Free Character Transfer Service

Another new feature of the site: Hot Topics! This feature will attempt to pick one of the latest hot topics going on in the SWG universe.

Suddenly, the TCG loot battle takes a back seat to the Free Character Transfer Service. Today, SOE announced the full server lists and much of it comes as a surprise!

So it seems as if a lot of low-populated servers are on the destination list, which is the fuel for the confusion and surprise. But after giving this some thought, it does make a degree of sense.

If the idea is to eventually close down the servers that aren't on the target list, there will need to be room to move the remaining toons. Having some low pop servers on the target list ensures this, I believe.

Another shocker is the fact that new toons will be able to be created on the servers marked for transferring off of. I'm not so sure this is entirely fair to new players who would not know that they're about to join up on a dying server.

The server lists seem set in stone according to Valara. One thing is for certain, it's going to be a busy 2009 for SWG. Could I be wrong about server merges? Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell, and that time will be sometime in Spring 2009.

Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts.