SWG: 5 years

26th is the 5yr mark for an MMO that has at different times been defined as the best and worst of MMOs.

I've kept at least 1 account active for most this time and it seems like it's been longer than 5 years. While it's showing it's age now it's definitely getting more refined and if you dont hold the past against it is actually a fun game. So Kudo's to SOE for getting people in on the project to actually turn it around another 180 back to fun... With that said, f*ck you for the NGE

Today they're starting the celebration on the servers.

How's the population on servers nowadays? About a year ago I played a trial (14 days I think) and it felt pretty much like a solo experience. Maybe the server I picked was dead...

I play on Bloodfin and while it's not A2B like it used to be, there's still steady traffic at all the main ports.

There are a alot of near ghost servers Bloodfin and Bria seemed to be the two most popular when I was playing a while ago. Steer very clear from eclipse as it seems everyone else has too.

wow! and I thought this game was dead. Nice to hear that people still play it though.

Has it only been 5 years? I still get a little teary eyed whenever I hear the music from the character screen....the anticipation of loading.

I have yet to find any mmo that captured me the way that did in its prime.

CrashedHardrive wrote:

There are a alot of near ghost servers Bloodfin and Bria seemed to be the two most popular when I was playing a while ago. Steer very clear from eclipse as it seems everyone else has too.

I lead one of the largest Rebel guilds on Eclipse (we have hit the 500 player limit). It isn't over populated, but I wouldn't say it is needing.

I mainly spend my time in SWG leading the guild. The game was great, and they have done a lot of neat things to it in the past few years, but I just can't get into the game with games like AoC and such out there.

peacensunshine wrote:

Has it only been 5 years? I still get a little teary eyed whenever I hear the music from the character screen....the anticipation of loading.

I have yet to find any mmo that captured me the way that did in its prime.

One of the reasons why i keep going back. is that after spending so much time there our city buildings feel like home. All the other MMO's i've played for extended period never could do that.

I am downloading the 2 week trial client now. I have very fond memories of SWG, and am interested to see how it has changed. I haven't played since before the NGE.

OldMud wrote:

I am downloading the 2 week trial client now. I have very fond memories of SWG, and am interested to see how it has changed. I haven't played since before the NGE.

Let us know what you think. Lot of changes out there to soak in.

Wonder if my Jedi is still alive... I quit before the Space portion of Star Wars was ever put in Galaxies... Hell I wonder if Scylla is even still around. To this day I still think SWG had the best player trade and building system ever developed in a game. If only I didnt have to kill 80,000,000 rabbits to get to my first Jedi skill...

PAR

par wrote:

Wonder if my Jedi is still alive... I quit before the Space portion of Star Wars was ever put in Galaxies... Hell I wonder if Scylla is even still around. To this day I still think SWG had the best player trade and building system ever developed in a game. If only I didnt have to kill 80,000,000 rabbits to get to my first Jedi skill...

PAR

Well Jedi are now a selectable (from lvl 1) profession and are no where near as cool as they used to be. You are lucky enough that since you were a jedi before the NGE you will be an elder jedi basically you get a special robe and crystal, but they are nothing special really. The trade system is still pretty cool, but there have been a lot of tweaks to it...some good and some bad. It's worth going back to if you want to see if it's still a game you enjoy. For a lot of returning vets however it leaves a sour taste in their mouths. I will say that the current dev team is definitely trying to revitalize the game.

They desperately need to upgrade the entire graphics engine, and their server hardware.

Was pretty cool I logged in and saw the Millenium Falcon fly in and Chewie, Han, Lea all got off.

Well I have spent some time running around in game now. Once I was able to find my old Station login info, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my old characters were still there after 4 years or so of not logging in.

Of course, when I logged in, I was greeted with the "choose your profession" screen. I must say, even though I knew it would be there, I was somewhat bummed to see Jedi as a selectable character class.

/GrumpyOldManOn
I remember the buzz surrounding Jedi at launch. The idea was that they would be extremely rare, with only a limited number per server. They were also supposed to be incredibly tough, to the point where it would take a concentrated effort by several people working together to take them down. To top it off, the Jedi had permadeath if killed. Gone. Kaput. No cloning. I thought this was an amazing idea, and I eagerly anticipated seeing the first of the Jedi.

There was also the mystery around how exactly one unlocked the force sensitive slot. Folks eagerly explored the planets, looking for ancient ruins or holocrons that might give clues to the path to becoming a Jedi. There were a lot of great theories floating around as to how this might work. Nearly all of which were better, in my opinion, than the way Jedi were actually implemented.

And I had to walk to school. Uphill. In the snow.
/GrumpyOldManOff

After choosing my profession, I poked around in the menus and found a rather unimaginative feat tree, and spent my skill points (the game somehow decided I was level 31). This is another thing I miss; the original skill trees that didn't use any notion of character level. It was a great thing to be able to spread your talents out in any way you saw fit.

Other than that, running around Naboo was a blast from the past. The music especially brought back a lot of good memories. After a while, I received some in game mail from some rebel wanting help with something. Ah, the "new mail" sound! How I looked forward to hearing that when I logged in. It usually meant I had made a ton of credits selling my minerals on the bazaar.

I pulled up my datapad, and found some of my old waypoints. It was odd seeing the waypoint beacon glowing over bare ground where our guildhall and houses once stood. Also in my datapad were my old pets, which I couldn't call up, I assume because I didn't train those feats high enough. I was able to pull out my old Probot though (pre-nerf, thank you very much), and gave him a little exercise for the first time in years.

All in all, I would have to liken playing SWG again after so long away to meeting an old friend that you haven't seen in years. You're glad to see them, but you've grown apart, and after a few minutes of awkward conversation, you realize that you just don't have a lot in common anymore. I would welcome a reason to love this game again. Maybe a Star Wars Galaxies 2, incorporating all the lessons learned in MMO design in recent years? Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

The auto leveling is based on how many professions you had mastered with the old system.

What is there to even do in the game anymore? I have two lvl 90's on eclipse but I wouldn't know what to do in the game anymore. Does PvP still take place? What fun is there to be had besides roleplaying your own fun?

CrashedHardrive wrote:

What is there to even do in the game anymore? I have two lvl 90's on eclipse but I wouldn't know what to do in the game anymore. Does PvP still take place? What fun is there to be had besides roleplaying your own fun?

There's a bunch of Epic/Hero quests and themeparks available out there for the 90's. PvP still happens.

ranalin wrote:
CrashedHardrive wrote:

What is there to even do in the game anymore? I have two lvl 90's on eclipse but I wouldn't know what to do in the game anymore. Does PvP still take place? What fun is there to be had besides roleplaying your own fun?

There's a bunch of Epic/Hero quests and themeparks available out there for the 90's. PvP still happens.

Hmmm are the epic/hero quests easy to get groups for with the current population status?

I think I will download the trial again and this time roll on Bloodfin and see how that goes. I'm sort of back to Anarchy Online and that reminded me how much I love sci-fi themed games.

Ok I broke down. I resubbed for at least one month. Anyone on the eclipse server? I have a cl 90 dark jedi and a master musician that possibly needs a home. They are both currently Imperials.

KillTrash wrote:

I think I will download the trial again and this time roll on Bloodfin and see how that goes. I'm sort of back to Anarchy Online and that reminded me how much I love sci-fi themed games.

let me know your characters name and i can give ya some goodies.

I rolled a Commando named Igrainne on Bloodfin. I'm still level 9 but I have finished all quests in that station and tomorrow I will get started with the pilot missions before I head out to the real world.

Wonder if my Jedi is still alive... I quit before the Space portion of Star Wars was ever put in Galaxies...

Perma death jedi?

MaverickDago wrote:
Wonder if my Jedi is still alive... I quit before the Space portion of Star Wars was ever put in Galaxies...

Perma death jedi?

They took that away before the CU even showed up.

Big thanks to ranalin for hooking me up with a house and a bunch of furniture last night!

I'm enjoying the game so far. I will end up buying the complete package today and play that alongside raiding in Anarchy Online, since I reached max level last week.

Since I've never played before NGE, I don't have that bad taste in my mouth after all the huge changes. The game feels outdated but I think it will be fun hanging around people and locations from the movies.

Almost downloaded the trial to get some Star Wars fix satisfied. But I didn't.

karmajay wrote:

Almost downloaded the trial to get some Star Wars fix satisfied. But I didn't. :)

Graphics keep getting rustier around the edges, but its a good place for a SW fix.

19$ for the Station Pass is a good deal. You get all SOE's games that way.

ranalin wrote:
karmajay wrote:

Almost downloaded the trial to get some Star Wars fix satisfied. But I didn't. :)

Graphics keep getting rustier around the edges, but its a good place for a SW fix.

19$ for the Station Pass is a good deal. You get all SOE's games that way.

Yeah, but then I'll have to try *ugh* Vanguard again.

And the run is over. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35452/Sony_Online_To_Shut_Down_Star_Wars_Galaxies.php

SWG is going to be shutdown in December.

Has there ever been a third party MMO server blessed by the original developer after they've shut down their own servers?

I think the problem you'd have with that is the Star Wars license. I don't see Lucas signing off on something like that.