Christian has provided us with a preview of SWG. He had been beta testing it and now the Non Disclosure Agreement has been lifted.
"Awhile ago I promised an article on Star Wars Galaxies ( SWG ) describing what I have been doing in the game, and finally as the release date approaches rapidly, the Non Disclosure Agreement has been lifted.
So, here we go................"
(click read more to view the entire article)
Extended Text
I "Borrowed" and account from a friend who was given multiple accounts, not really be accident, but because he downloaded the game and then was given a disk in the mail with a letter stating that he could pass the second account on to a friend. He chose me because I expressed interest in the game.I took the 2 hours to download and patch the game from the Beta site and patiently waited while the game set itself up. Finally when everything was done I was ready to enter a Universe that I grew up loving.My first reaction to the game was one of Awe......it had to be the most visually stunning game I have ever seen. I will note here that most of the graphics STILL had not been finalized and that things were still not setup to perfection, but all the same I was stunned by what Sony and Verant had done. Characters were crisp and clean and the world was not quite as "Cartoony" as I thought it would be.
The problems started when I went to move around to explore. The interface was clumsy to use and difficult to play. You have to pan and scroll with one hand on the mouse and move direction with a hand on the keyboard. While with me being a fan of First Person Shooters, this was not really a problem, but people who have not played this game will have a difficult time with this configuration. I started to move my way around the starting missions (all must be completed prior to entering the game) and completed them with ease. The game itself leads you around and was not difficult to follow after getting your feet wet.
The missions guide you through the basics of game play including trade screens, weapon use and interfacing the game itself. While the missions were very intuitive, you have to deal with the Empire every step of the way. If I remember correctly from the Movies, the Empire, while controlling almost every facet of the universe.....well, the Rebels also have their own training facilities as well. If you want to play as a Rebel in the future, you are going to have to deal with the Empire first. This just doesn't seem right to me, but maybe it is just nit picking.
Once you complete the start-up missions you have your choice of planets to move to, to start your life as a citizen in the game. I personally chose to go to Corellia since I was playing a crafter.
Big Mistake.
I chose one of the busiest systems to start out in. While this was not really a bad choice since I want to peddle my wares, I was confronted with paralyzing lag that would only register on every fourth to sixth screen. This is totally unacceptable in a MMO of any kind. Life or Death in these styles of games depends on whether or not you can survive long enough to level your character. If you cannot move, or if every time you hold down the movement key you "warp" to the other side of the game, well, you get the picture. This is intolerable in a game play situation since you need full control of your actions.
I will admit that in Beat the Developers are going to do EVERYTHING they can to stress out the servers to see what they can handle. This might have been the case during the week I struggled though the game.
The interface was quite clumsy and difficult to use as well. Now I will note that the game can be fully customized to settings of other MMO's that are out there, but what if the person wanting to play has never played this style of game? That person is almost totally out of luck and is stuck with the interface as it is. Bad design in this instance might cost them in the long run.So, with lag the way it was, the game being unplayable I decided to exit the game. You know what? For the life of me, I could not find the exit game button!
I actually had to reset my computer to be able to exit.
First rule of Beta testing is to follow the KISS method of game development. KISS stands for Keep It Simple Stupid! Even simpler, make a game that even a person Drunk half out of their mind can play it. Verant seems to have forgotten what this is all about when they built this game.
There are no Ships to fly yet, 3 vital characters have been deleted until a later time and you cannot create player run cities. The last being a vital development for this game since people would like to build their own communities and run their own corner of the world, or Universe, whatever the case might be.
In summary, I would have to say that this game is not ready to be released yet. There is still way too much confusion about how the game is to be played to make it even remotely fun at this point. I would have to say that only Experienced MMO players need apply. In this games current state it will not do that well without some major interface fixes, hype will only take it so far.
Highs:
-Beautiful Graphics
-Near perfect start-up routine for introduction to the game.
-Highly customizable characters
-Multiple races with class and race specific bonuses.
Lows:
-Monster computer required to play
-High speed access needed, 56k people will feel like they are on a 486.
-The "Delay" of game elements remove some of the lustre form this game.
-So much Hype and not enough substance at this point (addition packs to come later....at a cost)
Rating:
5 out of 10 in current state
Direct competition (Similar Style of game):
- Earth and Beyond
- Eve Online
- Everquest
- Ultima Online
- 27 lesser known games
Monthly Payment Options:
Month to Month - $14.99 USD
Three Months - $14.00 USD
Six Months - $13.00 USD
One Year - $12.00 USD
- NOTE - This makes this game the most expensive game on the market to play.
Computer used for test:
AMD XP 2700+
Nforce2 Motherboard
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro
Cable Modem
Acer 99sl 19" CRT,
