You’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
Over 18 months have passed since Star Wars Galaxies ceased to be the Combat Upgrade and became the New Game Enhancements.  When that happened, the good game that was SWG was destroyed.  This I believe is the shared view of a large percentage of the players who were around to experience the game through all three of its incarnations. The whole history of the game has been documented many times and a good account can be found on this very website. Here is my take on the past and the present.

Life before the combat upgrade was truly magical. Skill Trees and 280 unique professions meant that everyone was different. Combat was epic and sometimes it took place over many days. It was so exciting that if you heard that a duel was taking place in Coronet starport, you would drop what you were doing and head there so that you could circle the fight and shout ‘Ooooh, aaaaah’ like demented children in a playground. Crafting was so complex and immersive that you had to attend a 3 year course in your chosen subject and submit a dissertation before you could reach master. Everything was cheap in those days too. You could pick up a set of Composite armour with 80% resists for 300 credits. Everywhere you went you would see Creature Handlers and Bio Engineers sitting in camps offering you pets for free. There were literally thousands of Rangers and Scouts who were more than happy to milk a Sharnaff for you.

Everyone loving each other and having a good time. Coronet Cantina in the old days

Yes, life was a glorious utopia back then. We all knew each other. Nobody cared about being uber. All we wanted was for everyone to be happy. Bounty Hunters invited Jedi to their homes for tea. The Rebel Alliance called a truce with the Imperials and Darth Vader used to take Luke to watch football matches every Saturday.

Thankfully, my rose tinted glasses were destroyed by decay so I remember things a little differently to other veterans. While I feel an affinity with all the PreCU elders and the times we shared, I don’t actually share the general consensus that the old days were the best times.  People hated the queued combat system, the fact that you could chain commands and go and get a drink while your toon defeated a lair of creatures. People also complained that the game was too easy. Don’t be fooled by anyone telling you that the game was hard back then. The months preceding the CU were the easiest I can remember. Things were tough at first I agree. But that was because the servers were young and resources weren’t mature enough to give good armour and buffs. It had nothing to do with game mechanics. Forums were packed with calls to improve things. Unlike the NGE, the CU was born out of overwhelming public demand.
 

I HATE YOU SOE!!

I hated the CU. I was the toasted cinders of Anakin Skywalker lying on the banks of Mustafar whining ‘I HATE YOU!’ at SOE. I took part in the riots and I still have a toon on Chimaera called CombatUpgradeIsCrap. The CU sat for two weeks on TestCenter and was unanimously panned by all. I think the biggest shock for most of us was the fact that it made it into live. People hate change. I hated the fact that my big fat ‘I win’ button was removed. The CU was hard, really hard. However, after a few weeks of crying, flaming and sulking most of us got on with the game.

I took some time off from SWG to look after my newborn son so I missed the impact and early fallout of the NGE. I still find it hard to understand the whole chain of events that lead from an online experience that contained untold layers of diversity becoming the big, steaming turd sandwich that was presented to the community. I can imagine the vast amount of pressure that must have been placed on the team to increases subscribers but I find it hard to grasp how the proposed changes could solve all the problems. Wasn’t there anyone around SOE at the time that looked at the NGE and said out loud ‘What a load of poo! We can’t go live with this’. I read through some of the things that were said and done by the team at that time with complete disbelief. It was like the entire SOE/Lucas Arts SWG department were high on Neutron Pixies. The attitude shown to the understandably annoyed existing players was of complete contempt. The entire episode was one massive PR disaster after another and it’s little wonder why people are still angry to this day.

Isn’t it time we stopped being angry though? Many of the people who were steering the SWG ship into the icebergs are no longer here. Many of the players who left are back. The old days aren’t ever going to come back but I don’t miss them for a second. I miss the players. But how can we expect to see them again when so many people are so keen to slate SWG on every game forum on the Internet? If you compare this game to the one presented to us 18 months ago, you’ve got to admit that it’s got better. I’ve just read through the bug bash list that is going into live today and it’s just amazing. It’s like one of the old publishes.

I’m not asking anyone to become a rabid fan boy. If I spot something that I don’t like I’ll whine and whinge and cry like Anakin at a seconds notice. I’m asking the community to treat SWG like a little sister. We should still bicker and fight tooth and nail internally, but the minute someone outside of the family starts attacking her – we should defend her with all our energy. WoW may have the numbers but I for one would rather play a Rodian scoundrel than some sort of Elf/Pixie dude that casts faerie spells in raids that you have to wait hours to join. We are cooler than them at the base level. We shoot guns, we use the force, we fly ships and we live in houses. We play in a universe dreamt up by George Lucas and designed by Raph Koster. This is the bantha ’s nuts and YOU know it.

Game design guru, beard wearer, pie eater. Raph Koster – The father of SWG

Of course, for the people who really can’t let go, there is the SWGEmu. In case you don’t know – there are a few projects set up by ex-players who intend on using the SWG client to connect to their own server. This server will contain a mock-up of how things used to be in the old days, essentially giving you access to a pre-CU server. I have to admit that I’m interested in this, but purely as a software developer. I’d like to take a look under the bonnet and see what has been done (I assume the source code will be made available). I don’t want to come over all negative, but I don’t have much hope that any of the projects will ever be a success. Here are my reasons:-

1. All the emu’s seem to have developers with huge ego’s who frequently fall out with each other and start up rival emu projects. Seriously, these guys are the IT equivalent of Elton John. I’ll be amazed if any of them will get finished.

1. Secondly, I don’t believe anyone will have the means to fund both the hardware and software requirements to host a game like this. SOE have a hard enough time with performance and they run things on decent kit.

 

1. Thirdly, when the actual code is finished, the intent is to let people set up their own servers. This means that some guy will be the god of your server. He can mess with your stuff, kick you out and basically make your life hell. Close your eyes for a second and imagine the sort of person who has access to a server capable of running SWG. I’m thinking Comic Book guy from the Simpsons.

1. Assuming that the project is a success. I think I’d get bored after a little while. I might mess around with my skill trees and do a few UnarmedHit3’s on a MOB but I’m not sure how long this will hold my interest.

 

One of the SWGEmu development team starts another splitter emu project

My biggest problem is that I think the SWGEmu project has become a quasi-religion for some people. A lot of ex/current players are putting far too much hope in it. The SWGEmu God is an angry, unforgiving Old Testament deity and this religion refuses to allow them to accept the official game is moving on and improving. I’ve a gut feeling that when this porcelain god does materialize, it’ll be a massive let down. The good news is that the LucasArt’s and SOE legal teams will put them out of their misery before you can say ‘PreCUFTW!’

Take care of yourselves readers, I guess that’s what you’re best at.
SuperFurry – 27th July 2007
Email me: SuperFurryGalaxies@hotmail.com