First Jedi Player Unlocked In Star Wars Galaxies

mr_don't writes "TheForce.net reported today that the first appearance of a Jedi Initiate has occured in the PC MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. The allakhazam.com Star Wars Galaxies Community Pages state: 'Monika T'Sarn of the PA Combine on the Intrepid Server unlocked her force sensitive slot today. Akinom T'Sarn (her FS character) is the first player confirmed Jedi Initiate in all of Star Wars Galaxies.' Here is a pic of the new Jedi." We recently ran a story on lack of player Jedi in SWG.

Comments

Yup, it's made by Verant.

[EvilBastard]

OK, as far as I can see, it goes something like :

1) Make a character. Max it out.
2) Camp a rare drop item from a rare spawn that everyone else wants.
3) It tells you to delevel, and max out another character of class $random
4) Camp a rare drop item from a rare spawn that everyone else wants.
5) It tells you to delevel, and max out another character of class $random2
6) Camp a rare drop item from a rare spawn that everyone else wants.
7) It tells you to delevel, and max out another character of class $random3
8) Camp a rare drop item from a rare spawn that everyone else wants.
9) It doesn't tell you what to do. You just max out 2 other classes and hope that's them
10) (Possible) Visit every location.
11) Max out a serious number of tradeskills
12) Camp some rarespawn items for the lightsabre
13) Make the first step of the lightsabre to make the Training Sabre.
14) Camp some more items for the real lightsabre.
15) Do the final combine, and it's bugged, and doesn't work.

Meanwhile, over on Ebay, SWG Bria ~Force Sensitive Jedi Slot~ Jedi characters are up for sale for $510.00

Damn I'm glad I never started that game. I wonder how Luke had time to do all that between making runs out to Toshi Station for power converters.

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[the Man in Black]

Maybe I'm all alone, but IMO, the appeal of the Star Wars Universe is the Jedi mythos. This is why every other Star Wars licensed game to date has allowed you to "Use the Force" in some way shape or form (even the Atari Empire Strikes Back game. Anyone else remember that?).

THIS game on the other hand seems to want me to pay $50 + subscription fee specifically to be a supporting cast member. It wants me to be Stormtropper #3 or Rebel Infantry #9. It's 300,000 subscribers in, and now it has ONE "possible" Jedi, that now everyone in the game will be trying to kill. This just doesn't seem like my idea of a good time.

But maybe I'm missing the appeal. Can anyone clarify for me?

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[dougmc]

Maybe I'm all alone, but IMO, the appeal of the Star Wars Universe is the Jedi mythos. This is why every other Star Wars licensed game to date has allowed you to "Use the Force" in some way shape or form

Is that true? I don't think the original Dark Forces did, and certainly games like Tie Fighter didn't ...

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[Daemonicus]

I've never seen MMORPGs to really be any fun at all. I played Asheron's Call for about a year and a half but have not much to show for it. I played Dark Age of Camelot beta and played for 3 monthes and quit finally after the class I was playing never got finished. I played Asheron's Call 2 beta for a while, I was fun but pretty vague on help people get places. I even beta tested Shadowbane, which I thought would meet all my hopes in a MMORPG. Again, I was let down. Poor graphics and gameplay ruined any shot at it. But, I have found a game that I love. Savage: Battle for Newerth is an amazing game. It mixes FPS and RTS to make for a great game. It's all online and it costs all NOTHING to keep playing after you buy it. They even have a demo were you can play 2 levels with the humans as much as you want.

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[fraudrogic]

I'm pretty sure that there is more than one possible jedi slot available. You just have to do an enumerable amount of work to get the slot. From what I understand, the person who got the first slot deleveled like 3 times, only to have to remaster one of the professions he let go.
Whoever has that much time to spend on the game has got to really step back and look at his/her life. It takes an enormous amount of time to do what this person accomplished. For what really? Nothing. A game shouldn't be an extension of your life. It should be a temporary release from reality.

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[Lightwarrior]

> ...and certainly games like Tie Fighter didn't ...
Well, that's not really accurate. The Defender of the Empire expansion for TIE Fighter allowed you to become part of a secret club, advancing along in the ranks until you became "The Emperor's Hand". The advancement featured a little cut scene were someone (presumably Palpatine) shot your arm with Force-lighting, giving you a purple tatoo indicating your rank within the club.

And, arguably, the only pilots to survive THAT many runs in a shieldless snubfighter MUST be force-sensitive.

-lw

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[kisrael]

And, arguably, the only pilots to survive THAT many runs in a shieldless snubfighter MUST be force-sensitive.

I was wondering...is "snubfighter" a Star Wars term or is it drawn from earlier maybe real world material (same way the physics are drawn from WW2 fighter planes...)

Re:Yup, it's made by Verant.

[dougmc]

The advancement featured a little cut scene were someone (presumably Palpatine) shot your arm with Force-lighting

I thought about that, but you're not using the force ... it's being used on you. And since it's an expansion, it's not really part of the original game anyways.

And, arguably, the only pilots to survive THAT many runs in a shieldless snubfighter MUST be force-sensitive.

I guess in the Star Wars Universe, things like `luck' and `Reload last saved game/restart level' are always based on the force, right? :)

And actually, you didn't have to fly that many missions before you got upgraded to a better ship. Once you played all of the expansions, most of your missions were in the Tie Advanced, Tie Defender, Assault Gunboat and Missile Boat -- all of which had shields. The Tie Fighter, Tie Bomber and Tie Interceptor were used a lot less overall.

How about X-Wing? I don't remember any force usage there ... even when you attack the Death Star, you had the attack computer, but no `use the force!' button ...

And you totally ignored the original Dark Forces. THAT is the game where you really should have had some force powers (but of course they saved that for the sequel, where you got them all. I guess if you include the sequel, then yes, Dark Forces let you use the force. But that's a bit weak ...)

It seems to me that Star Wars games where you get to `use the Force' in some tangible way are pretty rare ... but all the recent ones do (assuming you count SW: Galaxies, where only a tiny % of the users can `use the force') so the odds are getting better.

How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Trillian_1138]

I can think of two main possibilities for how the first force-sensitive player (note that she's not actually a Jedi yet) will affect the SW:G universe.

The first posibility is that it attracts new users, and drives current users to play more. The idea of actually being a Jedi will once again be cool enough to increase the userbase and allow people to see past the problems in SW:G. (Note this is not a rant about SW:G. I haven't played the game. But, like ALL videogames, EVER, it does have some problems. I'm not judging or reviewing SW:G...)

The second posibility is that it will, in the long run, piss people off. How, you ask? Others have pointed out in the past that SW:G has something no other MMORPG has had before: A specific class that is "better" than all others. EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, the forthcoming WarCraft MMORPG, all classes and races will be 'equal' from the standpoint that, while some are better at magic, some at melee, some at crafting, there isn't one class that is undeniably "cooler" than the others and can kick their ass. SW:G has a built-in aristocracy.

All MMORPGs, even borderline ones like Diablo, have people who have been playing obsessivly since the game came out and, whether from cheating or simply playing the game a helluva lot, have a disgusting amount of hitpoints, armor that can survive anything, and a weapon that will defeat anything. But a force sensitive player who hasn't even gained a single level is going to be "cooler" than a master dancer. It's an interesting situation that Sony has gotten themselves into.

(The third possibility, which I'm ignoring, is that it won't change a damn thing...)

Personally, I think a little of both will happen. Just the posting made me look again at SW:G forums and reviews, and think that maybe I should finally take the MMORPG plunge and join up. On the other hand, I can see people getting bored with the game quicker if they've poured their time and energy into becoming a medic or dancer or whatnot, only to feel useless when a Jedi walks into the bar.

Regardless, I DO have to compliment Sony for not allowing everyone to become a Jedi right off the bad. Because, obviously, that's what everyone would do. But regardless of the 'math' you see sometimes concerning how many Jedis there 'should' be in SW:G, obviously not every single person should be a Jedi. That would just be silly. So if Sony can keep up a ballance, and keep the game enjoyable (or, if some of the games detractors are right, make the game finally be enjoyable after another patch or two), I'll be impressed.

-Trillian

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Anonymous Coward]

The second posibility is that it will, in the long run, piss people off.

I couldn't think of a worse game structure for a casual player. I suppose it must be nice for them to reward the truly hardcore, but what about the 95% of players who don't play for 6 hours every day and don't have the time and effort to put into reaching insane levels?

If I was playing SWG, I'd try to organise some sort of resistance - get a group together using regular characters to gang up against any Jedi characters and set a precident where people don't *want* to be Jedi or nobody will help them and they'll get repeatedly mobbed in PvP combat.

If there are Jedi, where's the Empire?

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Echnin]

Keep in mind that it takes a HELLUVA long time to get a Jedi character.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Echnin]

Thanks. ^_^

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Fruny]

f I was playing SWG, I'd try to organise some sort of resistance - get a group together using regular characters to gang up against any Jedi characters and set a precident where people don't *want* to be Jedi or nobody will help them and they'll get repeatedly mobbed in PvP combat.

Unless I misread it, I believe characters created in the "force-sensitive slot" suffer from permanent death, though the slot itself is reusable. You might even be able to attack them if they flaunt their Jedi-ness.

That should help keep the numbers down :)

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Kulic]

While most people would agree that Jedi are cooler than other character classes, Jedi are not everyone's cup of tea. Sure, you're going to get the hardcore players running around as Jedi and Dark Jedi, but will the average players want to play as these classes?

Keep in mind that apparently force sensitive characters can only learn Jedi skills (yes, I RTA). This means that they are fairly easy to identify (well, at least anytime they aren't hiding - but you won't see them changing people's hair), and this coupled with the bounties on them will make them hunted. Sure they're cool Jedi, but now them are characters who have groups out hunting them, and they suffer permanent death.

I don't think that the average gamer will feel too jaded when you start seeing Jedi being taken down all the time, while everyone wants their character to heal them, change their appearance etc. There is a place for everyone, and Jedi aren't going to be running all over the place. Besides, you can be sure that the Dark Jedi will also be thinning the numbers ;)

What is more likely to change the balance in-game will be the refinement of the process of unlocking the force-sensitive slot. I'm fairly sure that this still won't be something that you can do in 2 days, but will still be doable in the long term even if you only play a few hours a week (keep in mind that you are paying a subscription fee here).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that yes the Jedi are cool, but they have their own problems, and a lot of people are happy to just stick to their dancing etc and not have all of these additional problems (a lot of people play games to relax, you know). Seeing as it has taken months for the first force-sensitive slot to be unlocked (and there are still no Jedi), I am fairly confident that there will not be hundreds of Jedi running around any time soon.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[gl4ss]

take a look at the picture..

especially on the chat boxes

"i've killed 2 han solo"

"i've killed 10 so far"

so, make your assumptions on how anything you do affects the world from that...

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Captain Chaos]

If you look at the picture again you will see that the one player said they killed 2 solo, not 2 Han Solo. Which means that character killed 2 of whatever creature they are referring to without help from anyone else.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Sentry21]

Basically, you're suggesting what has happened in reality for thousands of years - getting jealous of power, and mobbing those who have it because of fear or envy.

I find it really interesting how MMORPGs reflect our basic human natures in so many ways.

--Dan

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[bigbigbison]

I went over and read the forum posting and in it they say that when the jedi appeared everyone got a message from Vader encourageing them to go hunt down and kill the jedi, so it seems that there is a system that encouraged what you suggest.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[slevin]

That is a really interesting thought. This sort of behavior could reflect real human behavior throughout history. In all cultures, we have repeatedly persecuted those who are too different. If players decide that the rare Jedi is too special, then it is quite possible to imagine that the Jedi players will get abused for being what they are -- kind of like the X-men universe. I for one am very excited to see what happens. While the MMORPGs may not be perfect (or even close) to the real world, they still serve as a reasonable microcosm of human behavior. I think in the years to come sociologists are going to have a field day with this sort of stuff. Ultimately, these worlds could really serve as wonderful testing grounds for new economic/socio/political threories. Who needs a Marxist revolution in the real world when you've got Everquest?

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[MMaestro]

Basicly, yeah your right. But with that logic the second part of your logic, '[...] mobbing those who have it because of fear or envy.' can also be identified with newbie killers.

Simple reasoning, they don't want newbies to eventually become stronger than them.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[kherr]

The second posibility is that it will, in the long run, piss people off. How, you ask? Others have pointed out in the past that SW:G has something no other MMORPG has had before: A specific class that is "better" than all others.

There already is an element of unbalance in the game. Bounty Hunters get a vicious attack (eyeshot) that kills players dead in a hurry and there's no way to effectively heal during the fight. I've seen player imperials with two AT-STs, which have like 70% resistance to all attacks. Plus armor. Plus massive hit points. Plus each shot from an AT-ST does over 1000 damage, which is about 50% more than a player typically has when 100% healthy.

That being said, these things don't really affect the ordinary user. If you don't join a faction or duel others you don't have to worry about these things. It's impossible to run around killing just any player in SWG. I'd say Jedi are going to be marked for death as well as sought out to join parties for missions and attacks on imperial bases. Except a force-sensitive character has to start from scratch and from what I've read can only train in Jedi skills. So you won't see a Jedi Bounty Hunter or even a Jedi Droid Engineer.

I don't think the casual player will notice, except to maybe see some activity around a Jedi once in a while. Which is just like the universe of the movies.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Goo.cc]

Actually, I'm surprised that in the Star Wars films that Jedi, in general, are not hated or at least disliked due to their elevated, god-like status. The Jedi in films one and two also display a certain amount of arrogance.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Allen Varney]

"Balanced characters" is a convention, not an unbreakable natural law. In paper roleplaying games some very well regarded RPGs, such as Ars Magica, consciously abandon the principle that all character classes should be equivalent in power. (In ArM, for instance, mages totally rule, and everyone else is basically support.)

And you know what? Players still have fun. Players still play the "inferior" character types. Because in these games it's not about maximum firepower, it's about roleplaying. You can have fine roleplaying experiences in these classes that you can't have as a top gun. So, lo and behold, these games survive.

I could easily imagine a similar ethos prevailing in SWG.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, you're right.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[swillden]

Actually, I'm surprised that in the Star Wars films that Jedi, in general, are not hated or at least disliked due to their elevated, god-like status. The Jedi in films one and two also display a certain amount of arrogance.

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that by episode IV, there are only three left. One is a vicious psychopath who maintains his existence by throttling anyone who bothers him, the other two are reclusive hermits.

Oops, forgot the Emperor. Four, then, two of them vicious psychopaths.

Nahh, that reasoning gives Lucas far too much credit.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[Lshmael]

Overly simplistic reasoning. They kill newbies because it is easier than killing mature players.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[bugnuts]

For a non-player, you have good insight. I'm a player in SWG, and the first part has already happened. People have been playing more, trying to unlock a force sensitive slot.

The second part doesn't really apply. You get three deaths or so, and two more when you reach master. After the fifth, your character gets reset. This is a great equalizer.

Re:How will this affect the game as a whole?

[danila]

1. You hate a Jedi.
2. The Jedi says: "You don't hate me. You love me. You want to have sex with me."
3. You no longer hate a Jedi.

Am I the only one who would have...

[zenintrude]

immediatly set up that account for auction and began work on making another Jedi, keeping the creation secrets to myself?

Re:Am I the only one who would have...

[antin]

Well I think if you sold the only jedi in the game they might cotton on to it...

I wonder if she actually knows how she unlocked the jedi? Like does it tell you what the successful steps were, or is it just "voila! you are now a jedi for completing an unknown series of steps"?

Re:Am I the only one who would have...

[xSauronx]

if you had so little to do that this is how you spent your time.

not to troll, but how is someone being a jedi in a game newsworthy? i thought the general consensus was that this game wasnt that great anyway.

I still want a XvsT remake...

Don't forget: Lucas has final approval

[Farscry]

In the interview with one of the producers on IGN, they stated that before making announcements, they had to get approval from Lucasarts.

Basically, SWG has to conform to Lucas's vision, and based on what we've seen in the movies, that means that the odds are more likely that once there are "enough" jedis, people will start unlocking Ewok slots instead of Force-sensitive slots.

And who's going to pay for an Ewok character auction on Ebay? ;)

Re:Don't forget: Lucas has final approval

[zenintrude]

And who's going to pay for an Ewok character auction on Ebay?

Furries

*shudders*

Diablo?

[AvantLegion]

Dialbo is not a "borderline" MMORPG. It is not "massive". It also does not have a persistant world (or worlds). It only has persistant characters.

Not only that, but Diablo is only an RPG in a very loose and generous application of the genre label.

Diablo is "online click-click-click game with persistant characters." p.

Re:Diablo?

[zenintrude]

Diablo is "online click-click-click game with persistant characters."

I believe the phrase you're grasping for is "online dungeon crawl" or "rogue clone"...

Re:Diablo?

[shione]

hack and slash is another term for it.

Re:Diablo?

[Trillian_1138]

That's why I said "boderline." Because you're right, it only losely fits each of the letters in MMORPG, and doesn't have a persistant world. But the point I was making, that simply by leveling up and getting better armor (whether in Diablo or EverQuest) the ones who play more are going to be 'better' than the ones who don't. This isn't surprising, and there's nothing wrong with it. If you play more and have played longer, you'll be better and have cooler stuff.

But the point I was making, about SW:G, is that in addition to simply getting cooler skills and items by virtue of leveling up and killing higher level monsters, the Force Sensitive slot creates a character _type_ that is, even at its lowest level, "cooler" than any other character type.

Diablo wasn't a pefect example, not really being an MMORPG, but it still is valid for what I'm talking about, if only because the characters are persistant.

-Trillian

Nonsense!

[AvantLegion]

Jedi players in SWG are not due until March 7th!

Re:Nonsense!

[will_die]

Something changed.
Because of the lack of people repaying for the game and even less joining the game they needed to do something to try to keep people in. So they changed from the original "We will provide no clues, everyone has a chance." To a "Here is what you need to do, provided you want to camp."
That changed the predictions from next year to a few week from when they did it.

Re:Don't forget: Lucas has final approval

[vjmurphy]

"And who's going to pay for an Ewok character auction on Ebay? ;)"

Are you kidding? A single Ewok with a sling can take down legions of Stormtroopers: you'd be the most feared character in the Empire.

What's up with her waist?

[Chuck Chunder]

She's going to snap in half.

SWG Jedi characters are here...

[EvilXenu]

...and it only took, what 4 or 5 months? Sheesh. I guess that's why I bought Jedi Academy -- I was a Jedi immediately after installing the game. Talk about your instant gratification! Yep, that's me! Always taking the quick and easy way. And... and...

<ominous voiceover>
You... like your Father... are now.... MINE!
</ominous voiceover>

Next story on this topic...

[dpdawson]

The First Jedi Player In SWG Hunted Down And Killed

What an idiot.

Youve been reading to much Ayn Rand

[michaelggreer]

Youve been reading to much Ayn Rand, my steely-eyed copper magnate.

Linux users...

[Spoing]

Nope, Star Wars Galaxies does not run under Linux natively or with Wine or Transgaming's WineX.

The list of Star Wars games that do work (if you don't mind a little tweaking) or have a chance to work are;

Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Star Wars Insiders Guide

Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns

The Phantom Menace

Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith

Galactic Battlegrounds

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

Rebellion

The devil is in the details, so take a look before leaping.

Wine (main branch, not Transgaming's) has made some substantial updates over the past few months to support DirectX function calls.

Hmmm

[Goo.cc]

This sounds interesting but I can't see running Windows just to play it. As for the game, this is a milestone. Other interesting milestones should be:

First full jedi
First full Sith
First combat between a Jedi and Sith

sad

[Lepruhkawn]

I have no interest in buying a Star Wars game where becoming a Jedi is extraordinary news.

Re:sad

[will_die]

The reason for the big press releases is that SOE needed to do something to keep people paying and maybe get some new people to purchase the game. Also the game is just being released in Europe.
People are leaving and have left the game so much that it some major cities are now ghost towns.

Freak Sucks to be a Jedi

[Herkum01]

Well now we have the first Jedi, in SWG, they are supposed to be UBER-character in the game right?

*BBBZZZZTTT*

The first jedi has turned into a freak show, everyone wants watch and follow them around. Look at this! Would you want to be a Jedi with this mob around you? No wonder all the Jedi are hermits hiding in the farthest reaches from everyone. Or maybe she will go to the dark side and start killing everyone. At least we know why they become so EVIL!

So what next?

[obeythefist]

Now that there's an (almost) jedi, I think most of the jealous wannabe-jedi bounty hunters will kill off our good little initiate to see if a) she stays dead and b) she really does become a glowy ghostie.

All that effort just to become a lab rat!

Re:Umm..

[kc78]

I'm actually wondering if these people even earned this. They did two major undocumented patches and suddenly there are more than one jedi innitiates running around. Seems a little fishy to me.

Jedi in SWG

[Nohbi]

First I'd like to state that I have not played this game. However, in the Star Wars Extended Universe force sensitive people are rare and during the reign of the Empire they were hunted down either to be killed, like most of the Jedi during or after the Clone Wars, or have their loyalty linked to the Emperor, as with Mara Jade and the Emperor's Hands.

The appearance of any force sensitive would probably have the empire hunting for the for one reason or another, espeically if they make a name for themself as a force sensitive, and espeically if they are a non-human.

As for light saber colour, it appears that it is mostly dependent on what crystal is used. So a light force user or a dark force user both can have red sabers, it's just easier to tell if all baddies have red sabers and all good guys any other colour.

Now I think I'll go buy the game

Re:fake

[bugnuts]

Dark jedi are implemented. Color is dependent on the materials used. The screenie is not a fake.

It is possible to make a fake screenie by changing the textures of a sword to be a lightsaber (although only you will see the lightsaber). But that's not what was done.

Zzzzzz...SNKK! What?

[Atario]

She opened her sensitive slot??

Uh? Oh...never mind.

Zzzzz....