Is Galaxies Fun?

[GForce]

I was just wondering if star wars galaxies was worth the money? I have a Custom AlienWare computer, and I just wanted to know if Galaxies was a good game.

 

Thanks

[Wraith 8]

well depends on what you are looking for.

 

i for one LOVE this game. there are others who play it and dispise it for everything it stands for i have heard peoples complaints about this game because of small details.. or something was in the game that was NEVER in the movies or books

 

i just love the fact that i can walk about the plains of naboo and see hurds of kaadu's grazing.... or walk from wayfar on Tattooine and see a big ass palace rising in front of me.... or when i walk across Corellia and come close to Coronet and see the large sckyscrapers.....

 

all and the fact that i met a lot of new friends. talk a lot.. have my own guild with Jan and Setsuko.

 

i love the views.... the diversity.... the friends...... the battles.. the groups..... i love it if i didnt step back now and then this game would swallow my life i swear it

 

Corzip Dinn

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

The only thing good about this game is the community. If you can put up with the crashing, poor customer service and major in game bugs - get it, if you cant, wait.

 

 

 

DMUK

[Rado]

DarthMaulUK

 

You are a real piece of work. The game is not that bad. I have never crashed; maybe you should upgrade your pile of crap called a Computer. The bugs have been being fixed at good rate and I am enjoying the hell out of this game. I see all your posts and wonder why you waste your time with this game and this forum if you are so unhappy. Just move on to another game and take your negativity with you.

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

Ok rado lets get one thing straight.

 

You wont know this but I have spent over £400 on unneeded upgrades on my PC to 'play' galaxies.

 

So you are one of the lucky ones to not have any problems. If you check the Official website Tech Support forums, you will find thousands of people with the same problems or different ones.

 

Im only playing because its Star Wars - the ONLY reason. Had this been any other game, it would be in the bin.

 

As for my 'crap' PC I currently have

 

2400 XP Athlon

1 gig ram

9700 pro graphics card (latest drivers etc)

 

and tried everything to get this working. And, after 3 weeks - i did. No thanks to Sony Tech support. All Sony could offer me for a reason was because my RAM sticks didnt have the same serial number.

 

Sony deserve ALL the bad press on this game as poor people are PAYING to beta test an unfinished product.

 

People deserve to know both sides of the coin and that SW Galaxies if far from perfect.

 

It was the same with Everquest, the same with Planetside and now with Galaxies. Sony are NOT learning from their mistakes but whilst they have fools like me, i guess they dont need to.

 

The best thing in this game is the community, which is the only thing holding it together

DMUK

[Rado]

Well, I never played EQ but I have read post after post that say SWG opening has been so must better then EQ opening. I can say SOE/SWG have fixed a lot of bugs and still every few days offer another nice and small patch which is nice for the 56k connection users like me.

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

My boss plays EQ and has for 3 years and calls SW Galaxies.... Everquest in Star wars drag

 

DMUK

[Rado]

Yes, Im not talking about game play i was talking about the releasing of the game.

[Gershin]

I for one think the game is awesome. The community is great, the gameplay has its qwerks with empty waypoints and some other things, but overall the game is awesome. It runs smoothly on my fairly crappy computer and I think the setup is very nicely put together. You'll hear a lot of complaints. However, from the people who are actually getting somewhere, you'll hear nothing but praise.

 

On a side note, you wasted a lot of money on that computer. No offense, just that you could have built a custom computer with that same performance for about $600 cheaper at the least.

[Jan Gaarni]

DMUK, my sis has the exact same setup you just listed (granted, there is alot more to a computer than that, I know ) and she has never crashed as far as I know. Her computer is a Dell, prebuilt and setup according to what she chose to put in there. It was originally with only 256 mb (now upgraded to 756 mb), but I played SWG on it when I first got it a week after release (cause my own wasn't finished upgraded yet) so she let me borrow it over the weekend.

 

Anyways, not entirelly true. She got the cheaper version of the 9700 card, but she got better framerate (around 15 in cities I think it was, myself down in the 8-10) than I have. I have a 9700 Pro, but a lesser CPU (AMD Athlon 2000+ (1.6 GHz)).

Theoretically, you should be able to run this game better than her.

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

Originally posted by Gershin

 

On a side note, you wasted a lot of money on that computer. No offense, just that you could have built a custom computer with that same performance for about $600 cheaper at the least.

 

I live in the UK where we pay over the odds for things. A high spec PC that costs for example $1000 will cost around £1000, or $1500 roughly.

 

 

I dont understand why i am having problems. Like i said, it took me 3 weeks just to be able to play. My PC is more than enough to handle the game but i have alot of problems. Most of it is routine now.

 

The main reason why I am so angry is because Sony customer 'support' is useless. My ticket was first lost (2 week wait) then a further 2 weeks of emailing my dxdiag over and over and over... they then blamed my ram (very lame Sony) then they said my PC could be too hot (lame again Sony) they then said i have to put in a new ticket ( another week).

 

Since then, I have lost 400k worth of products, in addition to the various crash to desktop issues. I am not alone and all people want to know is WHEN. When will it get fixed.

 

Already in the UK these online paying games are being laughed at with PC Gamer saying on the delay of EverQuest 2 (quote):

 

' It can't be down to the beta testing, as we all know that gamers fork out the first six months subscription for that privilege'.

 

And a recent update on Galaxies saying ' Along the way there are bugs - big bugs - balancing problems, a failing player driven economy and long, long walks across uninspiring lands.

 

And yet, come 6am I'm sitting in my pants (underwear) bartering with a Wookiee. 'What the hell are you doing' asks my girlfriend.... 'This is Star Wars, woman!' i answer. She doesnt understand either!

 

How true that is! Its funny how Sony are behind nearly all of these games that have these problems.

 

DMUK

[Rado]

Well, let me ask you, what MMORPG has launched without any bugs or problems??? Also tell me what game that is NOT a MMORPG that has no bugs???

 

It's just too hard to invest this kind of money in a game to work out all the bugs before any money is comming in. If you where in charge you would do the same thing as well. I don't mind playing this game and feeling like I am paying for beta, because I see all the hard work going into this game and all the nice changes that is really making this game more and more enjoyable. I would rather be playing NOW then still waiting for all the problems to be fixed and the priniting of all the games and shipping.

 

If you really have this much bad taste in your mouth about SWG then just cancell your account for a while. I promise that I will write you and let you know when then game is PREFECT and ready to meet your standards. Oh by then we all will be so far along then you will be complaining that you are so weak and can't enjoy the game because there are too many high ranked class in the game.

[Uh-Oh]

Originally posted by DarthMaulUK

And yet, come 6am I'm sitting in my pants (underwear) bartering with a Wookiee. 'What the hell are you doing' asks my girlfriend....

DMUK

 

Your wookie *sniker*

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

Oh Rado

 

You just dont seem to get it.

 

I am so happy that you are fine playing this game but theres thousands who are not.

 

No game is perfect but there is no excuse for a game to repeat the same bugs over and over but under different names.

 

You like the game - good

I hate the game - good

 

Until Sony fix it, I will make sure people know the problems they can MAY(not will) have.

 

And if the Gaming press have already picked up on this, it all can't be smelling of roses now, can it?!

 

DMUK

[Gershin]

The reason behind your lag problems is very simple. It rests in the location of the servers. In Diablo II there were USEast, USWest, Asia 1&2, and a Europe Server. The servers on SWG are only USEast and USWest servers. They have no foreign servers. So, even if you have a high speed connection, it'll run like you have a 56k. If you have a 56k, may the Lord have mercy on your soul. Nothing is wrong with computer...it's the server locations.

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

I do account for that fact. But alot of americans are having the same problem.

 

With mor and more joining everyday, this was always going to happen - but with the right investment, it shouldnt happen too much.

 

Lag is bottom of my complaints league at the moment ;-)

 

DMUK

[EsahC]

I dont mean any disrespect to ANY of you guys but when it comes to problems and hardware I dont think you guys really know what your talking about.

 

Yes Ram,CPU, video play a MAJOR role in how a game performs on a computer. Your leaving out several things however.

 

For one, configuration. I mean computer configuration, just because its up and going like microsoft says it should be, doesnt mean that its running its best.

 

2nd would easily be your MOTHERBOARD, you can have the greatest video card and 1gb of ram and the fastest CPU and if you do not have a GOOD quailty 'take advantage of everything and your mom' motherboard then your performance will be TAXING.

 

3rd is opperating system.

 

Let me give you an example

 

My cousin has the game and I will be getting it soon, I borrowed it from him because his computer wasnt playing it.

 

I have;

#1

Asus A7n8x Delux (Nforce2 chipset)

2000+ Athlon XP

1Gb 3200 ddr

Geforce4 MX 400 128mb

Windows XP Pro Sp 1

 

and I have a;

#2

Abit Nf7-s (Nforce2 Chipset)

2400+ Athlon XP (barton core) 333mhz

1.5Gbs 3200 ddr

Geforce4 MX 440 128mb.

Windows XP Pro Sp1

 

Computer 1 runs galaxies PERFECTLY, very little slow downs in 'large' cities I noticed and this is with the graphics pumped up way high.

 

Computer 2 however doesnt run it as well, it will become rather choppy. So whats the deal then? Both boards are pretty damn new on the market, how can the more powerfull perform WORSE than the weaker one?

 

Well look in the area of configuration. I have manually tweaked and optimized my Asus board to run almost PERFECT with the hardware that is in it. Both run windows XP fully updated. But the difference is the settings INSIDE of the OS's configuration that allows me to get the correct amount of power out of machine one that I should be getting. Now if I did the same thing on Machine 2 I wouldnt see much of an improvement. WHy? I do not have liquid cooling, the barton chip runs UNBELIEVEALY hot. I mean cook your self seom bacon and eggs but dont let them catch on fire hot.

 

Overheating is a problem in alot of computer, remeber the more that goes on the more the card and CPU/Ram/ect have to work, therefor kicking out more heat.

 

DMUK's problem could be any of those, and do not thing of upgrades as useless bro, you may not use them NOW but you will be glad to have them later on.

 

DMUK give me a status report on your exact hardware/setup and I think I can help you. If you are running windows XP, goto http://www.tweakxp.com. They can give you alot of usefull pointers on how to get the most out of your computer, and how to giveyourself a winning configuration.

 

Keep in mind some computers have problems with Spool. Spool is a process that is related to your printer. (On or not) Some machines running 2K/XP have horrible game performance because of spool. If your not printing anything, turn it off.

 

I guess my whole point if you can make it run good. If you know what to do.

[Wraith 8]

if you dislike this game so much.. why do you continue to play and come here and bitch about it?

 

just asking.....

 

cause im from the netherlands....

i play on the starsider server.. a VERY busy server.... the times i have lag is when im onlint around midnighttill 3 am my time.. and i walk around theed or coronet.... then its lag time for me... but what do you want? over 200 maybe 300 people walking around in one city... all with different systems and internet connections.... its gonna lag

 

bugs.... i dont see any bugs.... ok the trade window goes sometime...... other then that... nope got no bugs..

 

customer supprt.. well i didnt have any problems so dont know how that is...

 

.... i dont see the problem

 

-Wraith 8-

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

i will see what that tweak thing does.

 

You are another lucky one Wraith.

 

If only I knew what causes my problems.

 

As mentioned, I work for a games publisher in the UK and have run galaxies on every single spec possible - as we test specs prior to releasing a game.

 

It worked on some and not on others. However, everyone is forgetting that Lucasarts/SOE released an unfinished game and as such, deserve all the critics for doing so by putting money before gaming experience.

 

Why do I play? Like ive said several times, because its star wars and because of the excellent online community - nothing to do with SOE.

 

Take time out and check the official website Tech support forums and you will see I am not alone as theres thousands of people have various problems with no help or are being given stupid advice by the CSRs.

 

People deserve to know both sides of the coin...You say the game is fine....I say its not. Both stories ;-)

 

Currently, I am nailing down my problems as it appears to be routine and even with 1 gig ram i still have the same problems I did with 512

 

To put it into simple terms, its like getting a mobile telephone, paying monthly for it but you can only use it when it feels like working.

 

I have tried and tested every single way to get this game to play properly turned off most of the graphic settings but most of the problems occur when loading information it seems.

 

Example

 

When i first load up, i get to the 'Long time ago' part - crash

reload - get to loading objects...to the very end - crash

after a few more crashes i then get the game to load.

run to the same spot (no matter how i approach and yes, i have to go there, its my store) and crash.

 

I was killed yesterday when i crashed out, got back in being given the death blow, for it to crash again.

 

If there is a CSR with a brain you know of, plz let me have it as I and everyone at work can't figure it out..apart from blaming it on an unfinished product. (and if anyone argues that fact, you havent a clue what you are talking about)

 

DMUK

[Rado]

Well, heres the deal after reading your POST, I do believe you have a HARDWARE PROBLEM of some kind. Sounds like your CPU is running to HOT or your Ram is not getting enough Voltage. I have seen this many times in computers with rebooting problems or games crashing. This has nothing to do with SWG/SOE. There was another guy that posts here asking what your computer setup is and I would also like to know?

 

I see you posted this about your PC:

 

2400 XP Athlon

1 gig ram

9700 pro graphics card (latest drivers etc)

 

I have owned many AMD computers I built and they are good machines, but they run SO HOT. Also make sure your CPU and RAM Voltages are set right. Also check your CPU temp. What mobo(mother board) do you use?

 

Goto http://www.amdforums.com/ to help with all AMD/AMD mobo setups and lots of knowledgable people there to help you with your computer. I use to post there all the time and get help and give help. WE WILL GET YOU UP AND RUNNING SMOOTHLY!

 

Here is another thing you can try to test to see if it is really your computer(hardware) and not SWG(software). Try to install SWG on another computer and see if your problems go away. You have to know someone else that has a good enough computer to use just to test it out for a day or so.

[EsahC]

Before I disagree with Rado, is this a crash to the desktop? Or does the computer stop responding all together?

 

Its HIGHLY unlikely that his ram is not getting enough voltage, this setting is so sensitive that if you changed it even .01 of a volt on some version of DDR, it just plain will post with ram errors. Although Iam not writing it off as impossible, Iam writing it as improbable.

 

DMUK, what motherboard/Chipset do you have? Like I said, give me all your info and I WILL help you. My cousin had the same problem and I stuck with him untill we figured it out (Video card complications with his chipset) [Changed the drivers to a 'custom' tweaked version]. Rado mentioned about overheating as I did so I know he understands the importance of cooling so posting here and having us both converse about it will get your problem fixed faster than SOE can.

 

:-)

[Rado]

Yes, I understand that the Ram voltage might be sensitive but if there is too much voltage than can cause the ram to get to hot and make the pc start doing crazy stuff. If the voltage is to low then it can cause programs to crash and sometimes make the pc reboot. It could be so many different things...

 

 

DarthMaulUK

Are you over clocking your PC? Do you know your BIOS setting?

[Neon Vampyre]

I still reckon that the game's beta stage should have been a bit longer, even by just a month or so...

[Gershin]

Here's my problem EsahC...I'm just gonna call you Chase if you don't mind.

 

See, there's a Dell named Richard...and well, I don't know Dick about computers. So, if you could tell me what to go to in order to find all that motherboard/chipset info. I'd gladly tell you what my operating system is running so you can help me get peak maximum performance. Thanks

[EsahC]

Ok here we go,

 

hold down the windows key and hit the break key. Or just right click on my computer and goto properties.

 

A System Properties box will pop up. Right below the buttons on teh right hand side there is text giving info about your computer, at the top it will say something like

 

System:

Microsoft Windows XP

Professional

Version 2002

 

or something to that effect, thats how you find out which OS your using.

 

to find your motherboard info

 

For windows XP,

 

Goto the Hardware Tab, click device manager, open system devices (turn the + key into a - by clicking it) Now the easiest way to do this is to take a Screen Shot, its the button right to the right of the backspace key. Or it is on my anyway.

 

After you SS what is in the system devices tab, goto MS paint, and open it. Then goto edit,Paste, it will paste the picture of the screen shot. On it will be the info for your motherboard, post it on here or send it to my email and I will help you.

simpleownage@hotmail.com

 

If you have Windows 98/2k/ME

 

Goto system properties and look for device manager, and then repeat the above steps.

 

simpleownage@hotmail.com