Initial review from a skeptic

[Sinclare]

I've been playing since M59 and to be perfectly honest no game had ever lived up to expectations after M59. The big ones like UO, EverCrack, AO, EnB.. (mind blank; can't even remember them all now) all had fatal flaws. In UO it was unrestricted PK'ing that killed my experience, EQ was just plain boring unless you belonged to a huge guild and were willing to sink your whole life into it, AO held incredible promise and eventhough I could live with the bugs they just kept "rebalancing" the scout/adventurer class till it was usless, and EnB was a really good idea with horrible customer support + balancing issues + no content.

 

When I picked up the game at EB the guy tried to sell me a "guide" (which is kinda dumb since you can get anything you want with a search from google anyway) and I told him that on the off chance it stayed on my hard drive over the 30 day free period that I "might" consider it.

 

So, I had very poor expectations comming into this game. I had read reports of gaping holes in content/features + hordes of bugs. However, I am happy to report after a "FULL" weekend of testing that I am more hopefull than I have been since M59 closed it's doors. The following are the main points both postive and negative which I have to make about the game and which anyone considering purchase should read:

 

Let's get the negative out of the way first:

1: (minor issue) I've found it hard to understand the effect of stats on your combat effectiveness and crafting skills. Other than action pools do your stats actually affect your accuracy/dmg?

 

2: (annoying but minor) Several little bugs need to be squashed. For example, sometimes on the planet map my survey waypoints get "Stuck" (ie. won't move as I keep surveying). Usually when this happens it is actually just not syncronized with the SWG server because when I try to delete waypoints or create them my map doesn't update. After quiting and reloading however all those waypoints I made show up. Another bug with the map is that I have only been able to rename my waypoints 1 time. When I click to rename the waypoint the box never shows up to put in the new name. This means I have to remember which waypoint is for the specific resource I need to go mine.

 

3: (minor) I haven't been able to figure out the "difference" in weapons. For example, in crafting a carbine and a blaster they both come up with pretty much the same stats. Do they actually do anything different or have advantages? I don't know.

 

4: (more than minor but not major) I really don't like the mouse control setup. It's fine as long as you don't have to click a menu or accept a group invite. At these times you have to do a CTRL+ key to open a menu then you can move your mouse around freely. It get's more annoying in high traffic/lag areas when someone is trying to trade/train you.

 

5: I would like a little wider selection of stuff you can make as a crafter. Perhaps more models of weapons, perhaps more weapon powerups, perhaps musical insturments for entertainers, perhaps some kind of "Pit" trap for dangerous animals so that you could kill them at your lesiure if they wandered in. Don't get me wrong, there is a LOT of stuff to craft but I would like a little more

 

6: In some respects taking samples of ore for hours on end does get a bit boring. I would like something to do while I'm waiting for my pool to recover. Perhaps a planetary raido channel equipped with each scout camp where you can listen to entainers for some minor (less than in person) regenative effects. I spend 80% of my time out alone so it would be nice.

 

7: Why can't items that are bought on the universal trading system from another planet be delivered to you for an extra charge + time delay? Come on now, do I really have to travel to Tantoine to get what I want? (Actually, there is a plus side to this so it's not a big deal. The plus is that the stuff you sell mainly sells locally and you can build a local rep for making goods stuff.)

 

8: For GOD SAKE how the heck do you BAIT a FISHING POLE. I've tried meat from fresh kills, I've tried baked goods, I've tried cooked meat, and someone told me that it has to be foraged food that scouts find so I fnally get my forage skill and it doesn't work either!! It's driving me nuts cause I want to fish!! Little undocumented stuff like this is annoying (and there are a lot of little undocumented things). I mean it shouldn't take a master scout to be able to bait a fishing hook!

 

Ok, perhaps I'm easy to please but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Ok, now for the good points:

 

1: (MAJOR) - I love to RP the lone wolf/scout/adventurer type. This is the reason games have such a hard time living up to my expectations. They always nerf the fun things about this type of class (crosses fingers and knocks on wood) . I am very happy to report that SWG really caters to me in this respect. The worlds are HUGE. I get to go explore to find resources and it really feels like I'm exploring, I get to go hunting for hides/bones/meat and it really feels like I'm hunting, and it actually feels like you are having an impact on the game! Grade A+

 

2: (MAJOR) - Single Character Servers + no Phat Loot that only lets the leet power games get the good stuff + no ingame vendors competing for your business. In all the other games I've played it always came down to a couple ubber guilds who could kill the uber monsters, get ubber loot, and domminate. Then even at the low level crafting (if it worked at all) you had to compete with NPC vendors who ofter sold stuff just as good and were more convient to use. The way the system works in SWG you really feel like you (the little man crafter) is having an effect, playing a role, and gaining a rep. A+ for this!

 

3: (MAJOR) Granted I'm not the most social person in the world and I RP that way but this game really rewards social behavior. You HAVE to go to a medical center to get healing and often wind up having a good conversation with the DOC. You HAVE to go watch/listen to entainers and it's really a lot of fun + you often make social ties with the ones you like. You HAVE to find someone for training (unless you got lots of cash to blow on trainers) and once again you often end up adding these people to your friends list! Then to put the icing on the cake it's all mutually benifical! You get healing - the DOC gets exp, You get enterainment - the entainer gets exp, You get Training in skills + save a butt load of cash - the trainer gets some kind of leadership points! A+ for this implementation.

 

4: (MAJOR) Overall the best implemented PVP enviroment I've seen and it really adds to a Star Wars atmosphere. Granted I'm not a big Star Wars fan but certian areas really feel that way. One city on Naboo always has fighting going on between factions, laser blast flying everywhere, people dying left and right. It FEELS like war (or more appropiately civil unrest where factions are competing for domminace). The icing on the cake here is that you don't have to worry about getting griefed. If you just want to craft/explore or just watch then it's up to you! Grade A+

 

5: (MAJOR) People are for the most part friendly and helpfull. This refers back to point #3 because the game actually encourages good behavior rather than imature behavior. As long as they are not busy and you are not rude, almost anyone you ask is willing to answer a question or help you out in some way. Many craters (me included) often give away stuff just because we are practicing or crafting skills, miners often share locations on good ore deposits, and I haven't experienced or seen one single case of kill stealing (it just isn't necessary as there is plenty of game to hunt and the planets are so huge that if you go out in the wilderness you won't see another living soul for hours at a time)

 

Overall I give this game a B+. As long as they don't start some kind of major NERF campaign (like AO), they do fix the bugs in a timely manner, and keep adding content, then this game as a very good chance of staying on my hard drive far past the 30 day period.

 

Wow that was more long winded than I expected. Well, people do need to know so I guess that makes it ok.

[toolfan]

awsome read and great impressions that you gave on SWG.

[chindi_demos]

Yeah , nice to see an impartial post with good and bad impressions.

 

With regards to fishing bait , i've looted some from npc corpses before and it is listed in inventory as "bait" or "fishing bait".

The icon was a jar with some insects in it. Also i think i've seen it for sale in the bazaar before.

Cheers.

 

Chindi

Former and future resident of Bestine (Ahazi).