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| [Jun 17, 2003, 2:45 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments |
A press release
on The Star Wars Galaxies Website (thanks Jody Overstreet and SWG
Warcry) has a release date for the Star Wars MMORPG as well as a description
of the game's subscription plans. Here's a bit: LucasArts and Sony Online
Entertainment Inc. today announced Star Wars Galaxies: An
Empire Divided, the highly anticipated initial installment of the first
Star Wars massively multiplayer online (MMO) game series, will release
June 26, 2003. The Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
online fan community now exceeds more than 500,000 registered members.
At launch Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided will
offer four subscription plan options: Month-to-month - $14.99; three months -
$14.00 per month; six months - $13.00 per month; and 12 months - $12.00 per
month. By subscribing to any of the latter three plans, players can expect
savings of up to 20 percent over the month-to-month rate. Star Wars
Galaxies: An Empire Divided has a suggested retail price of $49.95, and
includes a 30-day subscription to the game. A special collector's edition, which
includes a book of game-related art, in-game wearables, pewter figurine, lapel
pin and patch, and a signed manual, will be available for a suggested retail
price of $79.95.
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| 211. |
Re: SWG has failed... |
Jun 23, 2003, 17:51 |
Troll |
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Thanks for the informative post. As a former MUD and constant CRPG player who has not yet decided to go for any of the graphical MMORPGs so far, I conclude that I should keep waiting. Maybe in five or so years technology and game design will be far enough along to make this sort of game entertaining for a larger demographic.
There seem to be a few basic flaws with MMORPGs in general:
First, one will never have the player focused story and feeling of individual accomplishment as in a single player game where the entire gameplay is focused on that. Every single one of the thousands of users cannot be made to feel special. That is why you all have to start by doing boring stuff like countless random encounters.
Second, one also doesn't have the feeling that the people who are high level have gotten there because they have some sort of admirable skill, such as a Q3A player who is able to clean out a level or a Warcraft3 player who is able to maintain his standing in the top ten of a worldwide ladder. These other multiplayer games most certainly don't make all the players feel special either, but they motivate because one aspires to build one's own skills rather than simply accumulate the experience points of one's alterego. The only thing that can be said with certainty about a high level RPG player is that he has been playing for a long time / spent a lot of money.
The social aspect is the only redeeming element in my eyes that one doesn't necessarily find in other genres, but there are enough free social places on the net (IRC, usenet, forums, MUDs, etc) to make one think twice before paying a monthly fee for it.
I disagree with your post in one point: Jumping is not the feature that is missing, it is the walls that are too small. Clearly, the wall is there so you are prevented from going across it for some obscure reason.
If the wall was meant to be scaled, perhaps jumping across it would be the commonly accepted game mechanic, but it is rife to be replaced by more true to life sorts of context sensitive climbing animation (see for example Splinter Cell). Jumping was fine in Super Mario and is fine in Olympic sports games, but it needs to yield to more sensible options just about everywhere else.
(Edited spelling)
This comment was edited on Jun 23, 17:53. |
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