Star Wars Galaxies

[E W Dawson]

I recently purchased this game and had a few questions (mainly the basics: how do I buy better equipment? how do I advance? How do I have fun?).

Does anyone else on these boards play this game? If so, would you mind helping me out and maybe even getting together in-game?

Thanks for the help

[Sea Tyger]

Sandar Nanier
Kauri Server



I'm actually heading out to the SF Zoo with my children today, but I'll try to post a little on the game later on (or tomorrow, since I'm on leave then, too ).

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

I used to play SWG. I quit after 2 months since I found this game much too flawed. I've have ALOT of experience playing MMORPG and I say it ain't worth.

BUT, if you want fun, well you simply go out and kill creatures/NPC's to gain Xp. You can also craft, although if you do I recommend strongly against crafting Droids. Party'ing is nearly required on the advanced worlds. You buy better equipment from other PC in their shops, although sometimes you can find some decent equipment on the normal bazaars. Once you get enough xp you can go see the NPC trainer in town and train the skill OR find someone willing with the skill you want who is willing to teach it to you.To gain cash you should take search and destroy missions, that way you can gain xp AND earn some credits.

SWG had all the right elements IMO but most of it was poorly created (like Musiciens/Dancers). The PvP in SWG is laughable unless you enjoy button mashing.

I do admit that my information is old and maybe things have changed (I doubt it, my gaming guild says its still poor).

What kind of MMORPG have you played in the past? If you like EQ like games then this should be a pleasant experience. However, if you prefer Shadowbane (even with all its flaws) like games then I'd strongly suggest looking into future releases of City of Heroes, Realms of Torment, Lineage 2, and Dark and Light (not sure on exact name). If you want some info on some of these games, I can get some off my guilds website.

Oh and before I forget, if your a Die-Hard SWG Fan then disregard what I said. You will love this game.

[E W Dawson]

Sea Tyger, I look forward to your reply.

Lt.Khrys Antos, this is actually the first MMORPG I have ever played. After several months of thinking about, I decided to give it a try even though it received poor reviews. I have been struggling with the game for the past couple of days and I figured I should at least learn how it is supposed to be played before I pass final judgement. However, initial impressions are not that encouraging. As you can tell by my questions, I am practically completly lost as to how I am *supposed* to play this game. Of course I am a Star Wars fan, but I don't think that will be enough to sway me over to this game, though.

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

Originally posted by E W Dawson
Sea Tyger, I look forward to your reply.

Lt.Khrys Antos, this is actually the first MMORPG I have ever played. After several months of thinking about, I decided to give it a try even though it received poor reviews. I have been struggling with the game for the past couple of days and I figured I should at least learn how it is supposed to be played before I pass final judgement. However, initial impressions are not that encouraging. As you can tell by my questions, I am practically completly lost as to how I am *supposed* to play this game. Of course I am a Star Wars fan, but I don't think that will be enough to sway me over to this game, though.

Aye I felt exactly the same way when I started and its common to most MMORPG. The first month is really the most important one, if you get hooked on something then your going to rave on why you didn't get the game faster.

Try www.allakhazam.com and go into the SWG section, very useful guides, forums for your questions and so forth.

[E W Dawson]

Thanks for the site. It has brought up one question so far, though: can you have your character automatically perform tasks like harvest. In one of the guides it was mentioning the merits of such a tactic (i.e. it takes up server space). How do I do this?

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

Originally posted by E W Dawson
Thanks for the site. It has brought up one question so far, though: can you have your character automatically perform tasks like harvest. In one of the guides it was mentioning the merits of such a tactic (i.e. it takes up server space). How do I do this?

That depends what you mean by automatic. If you mean automatically hopping into the game and being able to harvest then no. You need to first find a vein and harvest it using whatever the series of keys it is to activate the function.

Now you could create a scripted program in order to make your character automatically do the same actions for hours on end. However, most if not all companies frown on third party programs and in fact SWG has designed into it alot of nifty ways to screw up such a program such as varying menu screens, special events, and lots of okay'ing. First thing before doing anything repetitive go into your options and deactivate options which have anything to do with crafting. Specifically any which add extra Accept steps into the process. It speeds up the process, but leaves you open to more mistakes on your part.

[E W Dawson]

I don't know, guys. I just can't seem to get into this game. Aside from the Star Wars-themed skins, this game dosen't seem very much like Star Wars to me. Where is the grand adventure? Where is the epic sturggle between the Empire and the Rebellion? Where is all the cool Star Wars tech like speeders and starships? I know starships comes out in an expansion but what about speeders? I thought they were already added. Perhaps it is just me, but scouring the country side to kill creatures and gather resources dose not seem very much like Star Wars to me. Am I missing something?

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

Originally posted by E W Dawson
I don't know, guys. I just can't seem to get into this game. Aside from the Star Wars-themed skins, this game dosen't seem very much like Star Wars to me. Where is the grand adventure? Where is the epic sturggle between the Empire and the Rebellion? Where is all the cool Star Wars tech like speeders and starships? I know starships comes out in an expansion but what about speeders? I thought they were already added. Perhaps it is just me, but scouring the country side to kill creatures and gather resources dose not seem very much like Star Wars to me. Am I missing something?

Welcome to how I felt several months ago in Jordan when they allowed me to get ONE game. I chose SWG and got screwed...

Excluding the name and windows the game does not feel like StarWars in my opinion. Be glad you have found this out before having spent too many hours playing a character or been billed for another month of playtime. Lots of good MMORPG out there;
check www.pker.org for info on some of them. And remember that ALOT of the people there are naysayers and overall idiots who wouldn't know a good game if it crawled up their pants and bit 'em in the arse. You can always wait for WoW if you liked the Warcraft series.

[Sea Tyger]

And, yet, I've had a completely different experience.

Sure, you start out as a minor character, and have to do a little grinding to get to where you're going.

If you're looking to be a jedi ace right out of the box, then you should buy Knights of the Old Republic. You're not going to get that here.

I started playing about 3 days after the game came out. I loved creating things, building my skill up to become a smuggler and master the artisan profession. I also had a blast hanging out in the cantina and playing music as a diversion.

After about 6 months of work, I've nearly mastered smuggling (the profession itself needs some work, but it's still rather fun to play), I've worked my way up through the ranks of the Alliance (I'm a second lieutenant, which requires the expenditure of over 20,000 faction points, which I earned through performing missions against the Empire).

I use my technical and manufacturing abilities to build up my wealth, so that I can buy my own starship when the expansion comes out. I build my own speeders (sometimes for sale ), and love to travel around Corellia (and occasionally to other worlds).

Now, I went into the game with a purpose (stated above), and much of the fun is working toward that goal. Honestly, the combat part is the least appealing part of the game...mainly because I'm not in an area that promotes heavy grouping, and I just don't feel like spending the credits to go planet hopping all the time.

Perhaps the best part of the game is the association I'm in. We're strictly rebels, and we occasionally go hunting other PC-created Imperial bases. Nothing like giving the Emperor a black eye here-and-there. Of course, we also have to defend our own bases from time to time (my city, a stronghold, has four bases).

Yes, there's a lot of work involved to get somewhere in the game, but, I think, it's worth the effort, especially if you can find a good association to join and take advantage of the social aspects of the game.

This isn't EQ, where the primary purpose is to play mindless hack-and-slash encounters...you have to build towards your goals, and your goals can be as diverse as the galaxy itself.

Well, there you have my opinion.

[Lt.Khrys Antos]

Another game I've been following, you may like it too Seatyger:

http://burningsea.com/

That is...if ya'll like pirates!

[E W Dawson]

Sea Tyger, how does the smuggler profession work? Is it land-based smuggling or are starships involved? How does working in a Rebel organization like the one you described work? Do you actually fight other, player-based Empire organizations?

How does building things work?

How do I get one of these speeders you are talking about?

Lt.Khrys, thanks for all the game suggestions. I figure I will give Galaxies a little longer (at least until my current trial month is over); it seems I have a lot to learn about the game. The Middle Earth online game due out this Fall is peaking my curiosity, though. Perhaps it will capture its subject matter better.

[Sea Tyger]

Starships aren't involved yet. That comes out in the first expansion (due out either later this year or early next year). I'm really looking forward to it.

There are four facets to smuggling:

1. Spices: Smugglers make and distribute all sorts of illegal spices, which ehance physical and/or mental attributes for short periods of time (5-10 minutes, depending on the spice)...with some mild side affects (downer at the end of the enhancement period).

2. Slicing: This ability allows smugglers to open otherwise magnetically locked containers, alter computer terminals (important when trying to shut down an enemy base), and augment weapons and armor (which is illegal).

3. Dirty Fighting: This is a class of skills that is pretty self-explanatory. Smugglers can feign death, delay enemies with a panicked shot (think Han chasing the Stormtroopers in the Death Star, only to turn the corner and find a couple dozen in front of him...that shot before he ran was a "panic shot"), stun opponents with a low blow, and one more that escapes my memory at the moment (I'm at work).

4. Underworld: This skill set is the one that really needs to be fixed (there are a number of issues with the abilities provided by the skill, as in a couple are useless, and the others have only limited application). When SOE introduced the "Imperial Crackdown" (where Imperial officers and Stormtroopers will occasionally stop PCs to search them for contriband....like spices, slicing equipment, and sliced armor and weapons ). If they find stuff on you, they'll shoot you and kill you (happened to me once so far). Smugglers were given a background ability, based on their Underworld skill, that allows them avoid "Imperial engtanglements" more often. SOE is supposed to be looking into the smuggler profession, to see if they can improve the skill sets that need it.

Player Associations: The breadth and scope of a PA is really up to the association members itself. Some are commerce groups, others are alighed with either the Empire or the Rebellion. Most are associated with a player-created city that they use as a base of operation.

My group, "Elite Republic Squad," is dedicated to the Rebellion, and expends most of its enery promoting the cause (which includes participating in monthy storyline competitions that actually affect the direction of the Galactic Civil War). We frequently are called upon to help allied guilds defend their bases (and also we're often defending our own), or attacking player-owned Imperial bases. It's a blast to go on raids, even though my character really isn't a "fighter" in any sense of the word...smuggler's are primarily support personnel in player-vs-player combat (Stormtroopers are much better combatants than my character is, so I generally just try to get away if I'm targeted).

Crafting items requires crafting tools (the type depends on the equipment you're creating), resources (raw materials) and the schematic for the equipment itself (which is learned through skill increases). You can craft individual items, or, once you have enough skill and access to a factory, you can create a manufacturing schematic and build dozens or hundreds of units (maximum of 1000 per single schematic). I currently make some of my profits through mass producing spices in lots of 300-500 and sell them on a vendor I operate in my city.

Speeders are bought and sold, just like everything else. SWG is based on a PC-driven economy (you can't buy anything from server-controlled NPC vendors), so prices will vary, based on the server and planet. Of course, if you become a master artisan, then you can build your own (which is what I do ).

[E W Dawson]

Sea Tyger, thanks for the explanations. There is a lot to this game that I was unaware of. Still, all of it does not exactly come accross as "Star Wars." I do understand the multiple levels of appeal of this game, though.

In regards to the player association you are a member of, how does your group organize raids? I assume you prearrange a gathering time and then proceed from there. Are your raids very organized/tactical. What about the opposition; are they other players or are they NPC run bases? How is the Galactic Civil War playing out? Is there any connection to movie events like the destruction of Alderaan or the battle of Yavin?

Could you tell me more about the upcoming space expansion? Is it simply going to be a flight-sim added to the game or will it provide more than simple ship-to-ship combat? Like smuggling, for example; will you actually be able to smuggle illicit cargo and attempt to avoid player and NPC controlled patrol craft? Will you be able to move about your ship (assuming it is large enough to have cabins and passageways) kind of like a moble player-owned building?

I think I might create a character on your sever and see if I can meet up with online, if that is ok with you.

[Cpt. Lundgren]

Another SWG player here, and having semi-active characters on all of the European servers

I must say that I enjoy the game a lot. Much more than I enjoyed EQ. Also, I think they have nailed the setting quite good. The common citizen probably didn't notice the war that much. And in SWG you are playing one of the small people (I don't think TK-421 ever considered himself a part of an epic struggle ) However, they would probably have gained a lot if they had set it to right after Return of the Jedi, insted of right after A New Hope.

But yes, there is a lot of badly design choises. Somehow did the Creature handler profession from Ultima Online get mashed in, while droids still are mostly useless. And I think someone running around with an outlawed Droideka would feel much more Star Wars than someone running around with a rancor (running away from a rancor, that is a completely different matter )

Something else that probably broke the game balance was the choise to make the AT-ST a player owner pet, and then trying to balance everything up to be able to match it. It would probably have worked much better of it was a guild owned vehicle

Something however that I don't feel is broken is the entertainer tree (dancers, musicians and image designers). The skills are quite amusing, and watching my girl friend helping someone out with a new hair cut, or improving their looks a little bit, is really enjoyable. She is at the moment trying to get into the tailoring as a complement.
A caveat is that the cantinas is full of entertainers who is just running an AFK macro while spamming "Plz tip me Plz Heal me" Just scratching the surface of the dancing forums shows what is possible to do as a dancer, but it seems like the good ones avoid the crowded places.

When it comes to the Space expansion am I almost clueless. The only confirmed information I have is that they are planning to make it twitch based, so it sounds like the player skill will be more important than the characters skill. I just hope the ships will be player built with the possibility to rebuild them... "It doesn't look like much kiddo. But I have done a lot of special modifications myself..."

But what makes me curious is why the only servers where the empire is in mayority, is the european ones Must be because we prefer to see ourself talking with an british accent