Star Wars Galaxies

Just a thought....

How many former STAR WARS GALAXIES developers now work at BiOWARE? here is why I ask...Why not give the Players the best of both worlds? Why not make a new game that has the option of a great STORY DRIVEN approach and combine it with all the best elements of the pre-CU SWG SANDBOX game? Here is why I think it could be very possible that the BiOWARE / LUCAS ARTS secret project could be just that

1) I have been hearing rumors that in 2006, The BiOWARE CORP recruited a number of former SWG game programers and development staff. They did this about the same time LUCAS ARTS and BiOWARE went into business with each other.

2) If it is true that parts of the original SWG DEV TEAM were picked up, then it is very possible that the "SECRET PROJECT" is not only a STAR WARS game, but it also could be quite like the old Pre-CU set up. A pre-CU game with the BiOWARE signature STORY TELLING approach.

If BiOWARE intended to create a typical BiOWARE product, why not keep all the tallent in house? It's one thing to go after game developers to help with the increased workload, but what makes SWG DEVs so special? Let's say for a moment I wanted to recreate certain elements of the original SWG game. Who better to bring in than the people who made the first one? If my goal was to make a SWG 2...these are the people I would want helping me.

This is why I think the typical BiOWARE game may not be a lock at this point. It is very possible the LUCAS ARTS is going after the HARDCORE former SWG players. It is possible that LUCAS ARTS is happy to get 250k to 500k in SUBs.

Think about it...those 300k formor players were very loyal to the pre-CU game. As long as they had the old game intact, they were in for the long haul. You could count on their sub fees for years on end. It's also important to point out that many of those hardcore players had multiple accounts. I know I had (3) three and many in my guild had (2) two or more. I don't care what you say, THAT IS DAMN GOOD MONEY.

What  LUCAS ARTS and BiOWARE need to understand is that WoW is a freak accident that won't be repeated. The truth is WoWs sub numbers are down and many players are looking for something that requires a bit more thought to play. People want a challenge and a great SANDBOX STAR WARS game could meet those needs.

If you want WoW numbers than you must give players something they can't get from WoW. Give the people a game in which you have all the WoW elements that make it appealing to the typical WoW Player base. But then take it a step further by adding.....

1) A Skill based system

2) No levels

3) Player Housing and Cites

4) The Great BiOWARE story telling engine

5) DX10 grade Graphics that look more real than cartoon

6) Let People have the option to living out their own adventures

7) Open Planets with few or NO instancing

8) Real Deep Space with ship combat Like EVE only with full interiors

9)"EUPHORIA " Driven NPCs with super Ai

10) Player Driven Economy with ITEM DECAY

11) Complex Crafting...the best items in the game come from Crafters.

12) Best items and components needed by crafters come from PVE and RAIDING.

If LUCAS ARTS and BiOWARE really want to knock WoW on thier ass, then they must do something different. If players want a WoW like game...THE WILL GO PLAY WoW! Why would players leave WoW to go to another game just like it? THEY WON'T...why leave when you already have an established toon on a game you already like and have paid for?

Give us what we want....The best elements of all the games we love!

I completely agree, for another star Wars MMO to work it needs to be done right. I actually think that if SWG was released a good year after WoW it would have been better off, because it would have been so different from WoW and obviously more polished from all the extra development time, that it would have made a large market for itself, and put skill based games back on the market.

Sadly it was just a bit too early for its time,

-Jive

there isnt a big demand for futuristic mmo and if they do come out with another one then they should be prepared for a smaller player base, that is if they want to placate to a massive crowd.

Originally posted by lupisenparis

there isnt a big demand for futuristic mmo and if they do come out with another one then they should be prepared for a smaller player base, that is if they want to placate to a massive crowd.

I think there is a larger audience for a well done sci-fi based mmo than what many may believe.  Star Wars really lends itself perfectly as it is a good blend of sci-fi and fantasy.  The problem is, of course, making one well.  Anarchy Online was a joke of a game, Tabula Rasa had had much promise before they scrapped everything and went with what thye have, Planetside was well received for it's day then SOE screwed it over, MxO was another joke of a game, and SWG had had over 200k subscriptions and could have grown that number had SOE had even the slightest clue of what the hell they were doing.

On the graphics side I do realy hope its not photo-realistic or something but I dont want cartoony graphics either.  I just want it to look good but creative.  I like the grainy look in some games like Mass Effect or movies like 300.  Something that looks kind of like Gears of War but in Star Wars.

1. there is a large demand for sci-fi... it just hasnt been done "right" yet... well E&B was... but take a look at the largest all time grossing movies. they're sci-fi.

2. why, oh why, would they just go and recreate something that was already there. i'm not trying to hate or anything, but its time we realize that its not coming back, its not going to come back and they're not going to give into it.

plain and simple, theres just not enough cash to be made in a pre-cu SWG. every company is about the bottom line. there are NO companies left out there that make video games for the gamer. it doesn't happen, it doesn't exist, and those companies that start up that try to be loyal to the player-base are there soon after bought out by someone who has little care for the people who fill their wallets so they can fill their bathtubs with 300$ champaign.

why would they hire on people who worked on SWG? well i don't know, if i own a bakery and i want to get into making deli sandwiches etc, then am i going to hire on people who don't know what they're doing? or am i going to hire on people with experience from panera bread? personally, i'm going to hire people who know wtf they're doing.

WoW's numbers were not a freak experience. They had multiple games prior to there launching of WoW and if you played starcraft you played warcraft and if you played diablo you played wow.

yes, right, SWG has a great backing of the star wars universe but a lot of people, such as my mother, don't play video games but love the movies. a lot of the fan-base IS older, and a lot of the player-base IS older as well. When i played most of the people who played were older then me and I'm 24 atm. so yeah.

Listen, it doesn't matter what you do... WoW brought in a lot of people because of the reasons listed above. The truth of it is, is that MMO's aren't for everyone and anyone... WoW was for everyone... it brought in people who never played video games... hell, most of the people i played with were first AND last time MMO'ers... hell they were first time gamers... past bejeweled.

What companies need to do is go out there and build the best god damned video game they can. Bioware is capable of that and is WELL known for MANY years because of their past RPG's and have always had a very devoted fan-base and a near-perfect record.

Now they have people on board with MMO experience, they have the backing of a LARGE company whos bottom line IS finance and they KNOW Bioware can deliver.

If Bioware is smart, and if EA is smarter... they'll build up there own IP and do it from the ground up... besides... that way people wont walk in with tons of expectations, set by rules and guides they cant deliver.

Uh no. The highest grossing films are not Sci-Fi.  They're, oddly enough,  historical romantic dramas (commonly referred to as chick flicks)

Companies hire developers for their talents not to copy their previous failures.

It's very unlikely Bioware will recreate WoW with lightsabers.

It's equally unlikely Bioware will use any elements unique to SWG .

The Bioware MMO may not even be Star Wars related.

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Originally posted by zymurgeist
Uh no. The highest grossing films are not Sci-Fi. They're, oddly enough, historical romantic dramas (commonly referred to as chick flicks)

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ok. yeah... i can see that. however as a male i prefer to think that sci-fis are some of the highest grossing movies... stupid me and my testosterone.