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Star Wars Galaxies producer's letter talks galactic civil war, Officer updates

Jef Reahard — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Wars Galaxies

Despite the old "make love not war" saying, Star Wars Galaxies' January producer's letter is making both, and it's also crammed full of update news for a galaxy far, far away. Tony "Teesquared" Tyson talks about various high-level design concepts currently in the works for SWG's galactic civil war system, including player city invasions, space-based scenarios, and balance issues.

There's also a sizable update for the Officer profession in the works, including a new melee special ability, increased viability for carbine users, increased troop strength, and the oft-requested ability to equip Mandalorian armor.

Teesquared also mentions upcoming Galactic Senate nominations, tweaks to the game's bazaar, and the Ewok Festival of Love which kicks off on February 10th and runs for a month. This year's festival features new storyteller props, a new badge, and new rewards to tickle your fancy.

Last but not least, new veteran rewards are on the way, the Tyson says they favor function over form this time around. "One will have something to do with profession respecs and the other will be resource related. And they will be tradable in case none of those ideas interests you," he writes.

Star Wars Galaxies producer's letter talks galactic civil war, Officer updates originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Guild Counsel: Let's take a power trip!

Karen Bryan — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Guilds, Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous

Ah, ranks! There's nothing like the highly structured, caste-like system of guild ranks. Even when ranks aren't a feature in the game, guilds will still sort their members into tidy ranks, like member, alt, officer, and the all-important Guild Leader (with a capital G!). A metagame ensues, and it often resembles an episode of My Super Sweet 16, with everyone elbowing in to curry favor and receive his gilded stamp of approval. But what exactly do those guild ranks mean, and why are they so important to people? Let's take a look at ranks and see why they actually can be important (but not the way most view them).

Continue reading The Guild Counsel: Let's take a power trip!

The Guild Counsel: Let's take a power trip! originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower?

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Today we want to know one very simple fact from you: Are you a leader or follower in game?

Are you the take charge, "Follow me into the gaping maw of hell, gentlemen!" figure who grabs the reins of every situation? Do you get disgruntled when a group sits around, twiddling its thumbs because nobody can make up his mind? Are you a guild master, an officer, a raid leader or even a community leader for your game? Do you enjoy creating teams and being the one calling all the shots? Does being a leader even give you a heady rush of power?

Or are you a laid back, "You guys decide what we're going to do and I'll do it!" gamer who likes lining up behind someone else? Is it less stressful being a follower because you can just play without having to worry about organizing and figuring things out too often? Is your personality just incompatible with being the go-to guy or gal? Would you much rather have someone take care of the big details so you can enjoy the smaller things in life?

In MMOs, are you a leader or follower?

The Daily Grind: Are you a leader or follower? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: Leadership tips from a former roleplaying raid officer

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Tips and tricks, PvE, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

"Roleplaying" and "raid" both in the same sentence? Blasphemy! Yet, that was my position back in World of Warcraft, and I certainly roleplayed while participating in PvP and massive PvE (almost akin to raids) in The Matrix Online before its demise. Before all of that, I was a roleplaying guild leader in Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Online, so I've been around guilds for a long, long time.

If there has been any constant throughout my long string of positions as guild leader, linkshell leader, faction leader, and raid officer it has been thus -- leadership is tough. Sure you can surround yourself with raid guides, memorize every battle perfectly, and be wearing the most epic of epic gear, but if you don't learn how to work with others then you're most likely doomed to fail.

Raiding and multi-man content means working as a team, and that means someone's got to step up to the plate to take the reins. Leading a group or raid isn't easy, but I can tell you that it's well, well worth it. To that end, if you're just starting out on the path of leadership or are looking for a few tips to help out your raiding group, I think I might have some advice for you guys.

(Editor's Note: Sorry about the glitch! Part 2 is now available!)

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Leadership tips from a former roleplaying raid officer

Anti-Aliased: Leadership tips from a former roleplaying raid officer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Star Wars Galaxies releases update 7.1 to live servers, includes dancing Ewoks

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Patches, News items, Star Wars Galaxies

This morning marked a small update to Star Wars Galaxies as the development team updated the servers to the new update 7.1.

7.1 doesn't mark any major changes coming to the galaxy -- instead it focuses on just a few fixes and updates to the game. The bounty hunters and officers will enjoy having the restrictions of armor expertise removed, so they aren't stuck in battle armor or assault armor.

The main update, update 7, added in the Ewok Festival of Love to celebrate the Valentine's Day season. All the standard fixings of food, chocolate fountains, and dancing Ewoks are back for another appearance, and this year you can even play Cupid! In addition, update 7 provided some really hefty changes to the spy class, but we'll leave that for you to read over.

Star Wars Galaxies releases update 7.1 to live servers, includes dancing Ewoks originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Changes to the Officer class highlighted in latest Star Wars Galaxies video

Michael Zenke — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Patches, Star Wars Galaxies

Game Update 5 to Star Wars Galaxies went live earlier today, but there have been a number of changes to the game over the last few months. So much so that Sony Online Entertainment wanted to be sure we understood some of the most drastic changes to the Officer class. Previously a competent ranged DPS stand-in, the Officer is now a highly specialized aggro management and group organization mechanism.

Check out the video for full details on these class changes. They include several methods of redirecting mob attention where the Officer wills it, a unique rally point ability that allows players to teleport right back into the action, and the ability to 'toggle' buffs onto the group for ongoing benefits. As per usual, the video is below the cut.

Continue reading Changes to the Officer class highlighted in latest Star Wars Galaxies video

Changes to the Officer class highlighted in latest Star Wars Galaxies video originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online

James Egan — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Tips and tricks

Warp Drive Active podcaster Winterblink is a man who's got everything, apparently. And too much of it, scattered throughout his hangars in New Eden. It's a common problem in EVE Online, particularly for players who roam a lot throughout the galaxy. Mission runners, ratters, and adherents of most any trade or livelihood in the game accumulate a lot of random assets, individually of low worth but which can hold substantial value when seen as a whole. Unfortunately, what Winterblink describes in his blog gets even worse when a player uses containers to organize their possessions by category across multiple stations. The contents of those containers cannot be viewed remotely; one has to be docked in that particular station to see what's inside.

Winterblink decided he couldn't handle the clutter anymore and shared the most efficient way he's found to deal with it all, step-by-step. He also had a good idea about having a container that only has the modules for his preferred ship fittings. Slowboating all over New Eden to consolidate his assets worked out for Winterblink. But this writer found that the negligible value of his junk and the time lost consolidating it wouldn't be worth the effort, and opted to ruthlessly destroy a fair amount of it, rather than collect and reprocess or resell the odds and ends. The slash-and-burn approach works for Tech I modules, but once ships and Tech II of anything enter into the picture, Winterblink's way is best. Especially in that he opted to reprocess the materials rather than trying to sell them all on the market.

Continue reading Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online

Winterblink: asset control and consolidation in EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Previews for Star Wars Galaxies Game Update 4

Michael Zenke — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, Classes, Patches, PvP, PvE, Star Wars Galaxies

The next big patch coming to Star Wars Galaxies is Game Update 4. It's a systems tweak, aimed squarely at addressing community issues with the Commando and Officer classes. SWG's community manager Valara dropped into the forums this week with previews for both sides in the chain of command. What's really interesting is that she includes the 'top five issues' list that each classes' senator have been maintaining. Senators are player representatives for one facet of the game, and these top five lists are the biggest issues facing each class at any given time. Valara then offers up changes coming in the update that directly stem from this list.

For example, the preview of Commando changes lists "Address issues with heavy weapons, including design, DoT complications, and UI interference" as one of the top five community issues. This is the response to that concern on the 'in the works' list: "Investigate issues with heavy weapons including DoT applications and UI interference. Add a new cold elemental weapon." Similarly, the preview of Officer changes has "Leadership abilities such as /sysgroup and /rallypoint need to be re-introduced." The update's response: "Investigate the addition of system group messages and rally points; rally point may grant group members a new buff for meeting at the rally point. Investigate Supply Drop." Both of these threads have several visits from developers as well, making for a very interestinv conversation about these class issues. For more background on the Commando's DoT problems, check out the thread entitled the history of Commando DoTs for more details.

Previews for Star Wars Galaxies Game Update 4 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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