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Post-Anniversary, Star Wars Galaxies Analyzed

Posted by simoniker on from the meesa-intrigued dept.

Darniaq writes "Sony Online's PC MMO Star Wars Galaxies has been out a year, as of late last month, when the official anniversary celebration occurred. But what's new? What's different? Grimwell Online has a in-depth analysis charting what's changed, what's good, and what's not, in SWG. They argue that, for folks who played it early on and left in despair or disgust, a lot has changed. However, it's still very much a game for roleplayers and those with dreams of moisture farming." Interestingly, the author explicitly suggests: "If [you] previously got burned out or annoyed enough to quit, now's a good time to re-subscribe."

6 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Ugh.. by Idealius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The point is that it's been more than a year since I was "screwed" initally.

    I'm sorry but to be a year behind all of the die-hards (combined with my initial distaste of being out of ~50$ for a game that promised more than it gave) is more than enough for me to pass on re-subscribing.

  2. contradictions... oh the contradictions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    this excerpt from the article contradicts the slashdot post: Role-playing is still just as rare. Not that I expected anything else. At least folks talking politics or sports isn't so far out of character here as it would be in EQ. Small consolation.
    the slashdot post:"However, it's still very much a game for roleplayers and those with dreams of moisture farming."

  3. The more it changes, the more it stays the same by servognome · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I quit about 4 months into the game out of boredom. I put up with server crashes (Eclipse was notoriously down), broken recipes, broken quests, broken everything, then just got bored. The little Star Wars Galaxies is still on my desktop, and I still pay the monthly fee. Every month or so I log back in, say hi to my fellow guild mates (probably the main reason I even try playing). I enjoy the game for a few hours, checking "all the new content" finish the content in a few days, and run into the same boredom that made me leave before.
    It's really difficult to admit, because I wanted to love this game so much, but the whole structure just feels so flawed. All the fixes really haven't enhanced my gameplay experience. It wasn't the bugs that brought the game down, lots of people put up with them, it was the whole design of the game that makes it boring.
    SWG really had a chance to be huge, they haven't had new high profile competition. That is coming in WoW and EQ2. If the Lightspeed expansion doesn't work out, then I doubt it will ever become anything other than a mediocre also-ran MMORPG.

    --
    D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
    1. Re:The more it changes, the more it stays the same by sheared · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You pay the monthly fee and don't actually play the game?

      Could I send you my home address and have you (and thousands of others just like you) mail me $15 a month? In return I promise to bore you just as well as Star Wars Galaxies! Really!

  4. Roleplaying? by Roshin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "However, it's still very much a game for roleplayers and those with dreams of moisture farming."

    I'm sorry, but I never saw anyone who even attempted to roleplay during my stint in SWG. I eventually quit out of mindcrushing boredom, nothing else.

  5. But... by Ath · · Score: 3, Insightful
    When I first started playing SWG about 1 month into the game, it was my first real attempt at a MMORPG. Yes, I was warned that they are time sinks and life stealers. But I had the time during that period and decided to give it a try. Maybe, with a Star Wars environment, it could be pretty fun.

    I do not want to suggest that my experience is the same as others. Many people love SWG and MMORPGs in general. They like the time commitment, the "grinding", the combat systems, crafting, etc. In the end, I had to face the same question that I read in a review. Is it fun?

    I realized that I was not actually having fun. Instead, I was trying to achieve something in an artificial world that gave me no satisfaction back. In single player games, I compare it to a fiction book. I follow the story, actively participate to a large extent, but I know there is an end to the whole experience. With a MMORPG, there is no end, there is rarely any aspect of a story, and my active participation is almost entirely meaningless.

    God knows I spend a lot of time playing computer games. I am not suggesting I consider them all wastes of time. However, when I finished Splinter Cell or Operation Flashpoint, I felt like I had been part of something more real. In a MMORPG, most of the environment depends entirely on others.

    Yes, I had a lot of fun the first time I was in a group and we killed a Rancor. Yes, I had a lot of fun the first time I killed a Rancor myself. But when I could walk around killing any group of Rancors I found, the fun just ended. And it was at that very moment that I realized I could have more fun doing something else.

    Does everyone have to feel the same way? Absolutely not. If that is your thing, enjoy it. For me, the answer to the question was finally clear. No, it was not fun.