The NGE - A Necessary Evil

The NGE - A Necessary Evil

It has been nearly a month since the NGE (new game enhancements) went live and the apparent fallout is still continuing. At first it was veteran players frantically scrambling for the panic button (the cancel subscription one!) but now other news outlets are voicing the supposed reality of this situation. What remains to be seen, amidst all of this, is whether or not the game is really going down a path it cannot return from. That concept is ridiculous to say the least.

After the NGE was first announced many veteran players pronounced that the sky was indeed falling – I didn't realize Chicken Little played Star Wars Galaxies! This idea seemed rather obscure in more ways than one: the only people who had the opportunity to try out the NGE were either developers or media persons who attended the 'announcement event' in Austin, Texas. Needless to say, 99% of those who were complaining did not fit either category.

Despite this, the whining didn't stop. It even continued into the beta stages of the NGE and this is an incredibly unfair accusation, even more so then complaints after the initial announcement. What needs to be understood is that beta is a testing phase. Most, if not all new things introduced in beta will not work as intended. Why? It's beta, plain and simple. So any complaint you heard from players after a day or two of 'testing' the game has no credibility whatsoever.

Fast forward to the release date of the NGE and the whining certainly did continue. This is the point where the complaints are given some credibility as near everyone has tested [the NGE] or surely will in the coming days. That doesn't mean, however, that many of the arguments against the NGE are valid. What needs to be separated is criticism out of anger and criticism out of objectivity. I wish to present a view of the latter on near every gameplay mechanic that the NGE touched. Compare that to what was commonly 'whined' about and I assure you the difference will be startling.

Combat, or the lack thereof

It is no secret that Star Wars Galaxies' combat system has been incredibly insufficient even on an average MMORPG scale. I can remember playing the game in the first few months of release and it was bland and boring. The most common (and really the only viable strategy) was comprised of spamming (or repeatedly pressing) the same skill shortcut over and over. Inevitably, players ended up watching the battles instead of taking part in them.

To counter this apparent problem there was the introduction of the first, often dreaded, combat upgrade. It wasn't since the Jump to Lightspeed beta that I saw so much discontent on an upgrade that will benefit the game tremendously. Interestingly enough, just like the NGE, there was many proclamations that the game was going to die because of it, but it didn't.

What is very important to note about the combat upgrade is all it did was bring Star Wars Galaxies in line with current MMORPGs in regards to combat. Even early in the beta process (and I was a part of that) to the retail version, I could see the drastic improvements. The noticeable ones were the lack of spamming skills, no longer could players incapacitate themselves from using skills and 'god-mode' was gone. But this seemingly wasn't enough, at least as far as Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and LucasArts (LA) was concerned. They wanted something better. They gave us the NGE.

There is one very important point about the NGE that needs to be made known in regards to combat: it no longer feels like an MMORPG, but an FPS. Locked-on targetting that so many of us are used to in the average MMORPG is gone. Simply clicking a skill (or more than once) is gone as well. Players must repeatedly press the left click button on their mouse to initiate their auto-attack – if that is not FPS-esque then nothing is. With these important characteristics in mind, is this acceptable?

The answer to this is always twofold no matter how you think about it. On the one hand the answer is no, this is not how an MMORPG should employ its combat systems. This group could argue that combat becomes overly simplistic (it is to be noted though that there are other attacks besides auto, but it is not nearly as deep as other MMORPGs) and is too reliant on manual labor as opposed to actual skill. Alternatively, many do like combat this way and do advocate it strongly because it feels like Star Wars. Take into consideration that most Star Wars characters (save Jedi's) use blasters of some sort. Accordingly, most Star Wars titles that had any success relied upon FPS. So in order to attain that Star Wars feel this kind of combat is necessary.

SOE and LA are going in the Star Warsy direction and no one can blame them. Do I personally like the combat system? At first I did but now I'm having second thoughts, but that does not matter. What is most important is that the developers have attained a true Star Wars feel. At the end of the day that will bring them in the most possible subscribers.

Profession Reduction

Star Wars Galaxies was once touted as one of the most innovative and deepest MMORPGs because of the sheer amount of professions that were available to adventurers of the galaxy. It seemed for almost any play style imaginable, there was many profession choices. This resulted in a very deep and complex game that many enjoyed immensely. With the NGE came a reduction in professions to a mere nine – it is understandable that many are upset.

Over the years one would think that the Star Wars Galaxies player base would have learned their lesson in regards to balancing but some players haven't done so. When the game launched, it offered around thirty professions and that number grew to thirty-two or so. While there was a lot of variety in these choices it also produced a very unfortunate problem: balancing and improving individual professions became very difficult.

Balancing has been one of Star Wars Galaxies largest problems over its life, especially in regards to player versus player (PvP). No reminder is necessary for anyone who remembers early on in Star Wars Galaxies when the Riflemen / Combat Medic template absolutely destroyed anyone who opposed them. Then there was a later issue of Jedi versus Bounty Hunters and the latter always succeeded. Even with these examples the surface has not been scraped yet: most [combat] professions did not even scale in comparison to the others previously mentioned. Simply put, thirty-two professions were almost impossible to balance.

There is also the problem of improving professions and Smugglers know all about this. For about a year or so the developers exclusively focused on advancements to both Jedi and Bounty Hunters. It ended up that those two professions were the most popular but that does not mean others should be neglected entirely. Rangers and Smugglers are two really good examples of neglected professions. Once again, thirty-two professions will do this to you.

By reducing the number of professions from thirty-two to nine a lot of variety and a sense of individuality seems to be gone but in the long run it will benefit the game immensely. On the one hand, the Galactic Civil War (the major facet for PvP) will be much easier to balance with only nine. It is to be noted that the Galactic Civil War cannot be 'alive' unless a profession balance across the board is maintained and the NGE will do this. In addition, with the restricted number of professions it is much easier to improve them on the whole. No longer will Smugglers wait half a year for any sign of an update; it will happen on a regular basis.

Thus far I have highlighted the two major components of the NGE which I feel has and will forever benefit the game in the long run. These changes will allow Star Wars Galaxies to be a competitive title in a market where competition is fast, furious and unrelenting. Despite this, I will not end this editorial here. There are a number of sore spots that I have with the NGE and they are primarily in the form of lore breakers and lack of caring for veteran players.

The lore and how it was compromised

 There are a number of things that any game based on the Star Wars universe needs and one of them is Jedi. If Star Wars Galaxies was made in the eighties – so without the influence of the last three films – one may be able to get away with no playable Jedi and all would be good. But this is not the case. The last three movies, though very well done, have invigorated many current and potential players with the idea of playing a Jedi. It is no longer just a “this would be nice” feature but a “I must have” one instead. In my estimation, the developers did not do a good job at approaching this.

What we all need to keep in mind is that Star Wars Galaxies is based off the original trilogy timeline, that is the Galactic Civil War. Jedi's are not visible, save those who were fortunate enough to see Darth Vader, and those that still exist are in hiding for fear of Lord Vader's wrath. With the mass infusion of player Jedi's that the NGE provides this is no longer the case. As I play Star Wars Galaxies I often ask myself “am I really playing Star Wars Galaxies in the Galactic Civil War time frame?” I always answer no to this question, despite the answer being yes.

What the development team never understood and it is reinforced by the NGE is that Jedi's should not be visible. I will allow for player Jedi's to exist but I don't want to see them. This is the Galactic Civil War for goodness sake and visible Jedi have no place in it. It is incredibly difficult to become immersed in the Star Wars world – and this is very important for the game to succeed – when Jedi's are running around everywhere. The NGE embodies this monumental failure.

Veteran players – do the developers care?

If anyone lost everything in the NGE it is the veteran playerbase of Star Wars Galaxies. The developers will never admit it but the NGE acts very much like a restart. They looked to the success of recent games like World of Warcraft and realized they would never attain success remotely close to what they had unless the game changed dramatically. So that's what they did.

Unfortunately as a result of this process veteran players got the short end of the stick. In most cases their characters were 'destroyed.' By this I mean the individuality was destroyed, everything they had worked for was gone. They had played a game for two years that they truly appreciated and liked. Then one day the developers decided to change all of it and as a result 'screwed' the veteran players.

Many people reading this editorial may not quite understand where this argument is coming from. So I will use an example to help clarify the argument. Imagine you are used to watching your favourite sports team that you are passionate about on a big 42” inch plasma TV with an HD box. For two years you are used to this and enjoy it immensely. Then one day, for whatever reason, you are reduced to a 15” TV, with no HD. The TV is still there so you can follow your favourite sports team, but it's not the same.

That, my friends, is the feeling that the veteran players are going through right now. They feel 'betrayed' and are very angry their game is gone. Many of them will leave and never look back. One can only hope for the sake of the game that the developers are successful in bringing in new blood.

In closing

The NGE brought in a lot of necessary changes – hence the title of this editorial, 'The NGE – A Necessary Evil' – but one question this writer must ask is: was too much changed? I often answer this question with a yes. Personally, I did not find the combat system – the main mechanic that was changed in the upgrade – to be so lacking that a radical change was necessary. It was not Star Warsy, no one will deny that, but it was not broken or flawed to the point that a change was necessary, far from it. This is not to say, however, that the change was bad.

We all have to live with the fact that the NGE is here to stay. No matter how much we hope that somehow the changes would be reverted, it is hopeless. Even if such a change was made, it would signal the beginning of the end. So we cannot harp on what the game could have been, or was, but what it is now. When the curtain falls at the end of this drama I think many people will look back and say it was a change for the better.

But that is still a long ways away. Both SOE and LA are banking on a fresh influx of new players to make this game successful, long term. That said, it is far too early to judge whether or not that has happened. I would imagine by March or April we will have a good idea of how that worked out. If not by then, definitely by SOE's and LA's presentation at E3 will tell the tale.

If you like the NGE then by all means play to your hearts content, it is a very well done system and meets many Star Wars needs. If not, then move on. Those currently playing enjoy it immensely and nothing is accomplished by sticking around and whining. Rest assured, whether you are from one crowd or another, the game will have the last laugh: this necessary evil will bring it the success it sorely needs.

Posted by ? at 2005-12-22 10:07:40

nice