AN SOE_EMPLOYEE_1 SAYS "THIS IS THE COMBAT UPGRADE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR"

Word comes to me today of a protest on the SWG Bria server regarding the impending combat upgrade. For, you see, regardless of how much SOE is saying players are loving the new combat upgrade -

(from an SOE generated email)

Don’t take our word on how much fun these changes add to combat – try it yourself!

Player Comments from Test Center About Combat Upgrade:
“I love the combat upgrade .”
“I enjoy the new look of the hot keys, adding images was a great idea....”
“The new cooldown timers are much easier to understand.”

(Thanks for the words about the smaller, less controversial changes. Here's your free month of play)

- there are still quite a few of players who would rather see the existing combat system rebalanced rather than playing the proposed system that has been eloquently described as "OMG. suxxorz!!1!". And by "quite a few" I mean many. Many many.

So, today saw the creation of a last ditch effort from the unhappy players for their pleas of reconsideration to be heard and answered. Unexpectedly, SOE did answer. However, it was not the happy words of care that was the response. Nor was it the time-tested acknowledgment then refusal to budge. Instead SOE GMs responded by spawning a bunch of droidekas and sending them into the crowd to help disperse it (read: kill people).

Of course, if it wasn't for a helpful chap (thanks, Tale) I wouldn't have known about this protest. For, you see, SOE is currently doing is damndest to delete any threads pertaining to the protest on the Bria boards.

Instead one opponent to the CU asked if SOE would try to buy off unhappy players with something shiny.

Answer: Yes.

Which is just great if what I'm hearing about xp being cut by more than half in the CU publish proves to be true.

Comments

[D-0ne]

But Raph is a Dev and design GAWD! I mean give that guy a brand like Star Wars and LOOK OUT! Why we're talking MASSIVE FUN! Millions and millions of customers over night! Wait. That's not what...

(Then came along a game called Worlds of WarCraft and Lucas Arts and the rest of the gaming world found out what could have been.)

[Paulo]

Combat Upgrade just destryed a great game. Animations are poor, melee moves that were so close to real, very cool, are a big joke now, jedi lost their best moves too. Sony said this CU would diversify professions, but now 50% of the combat professions are Bounty Hunters. Ppl just can't grind alone anymore, groups are good and fun but when u want to, not because u depend completely on it to play any time either u want or not. Not to mention new jedis grind, how to grind in group if u will get vis and cant defend yourself agains BHs? Many friends of mine are canceling accounts and i will too probably unless there are sme major changes in the game. Not to mention all our work building a template, time, money, i didnt bought this game did u?

[Azhrarn]

Apparently SoE is continuing its policy of delete-and-ban on its forums for anything that criticizes any of the still-major issues, design flaws and bugs that compose the CU, which should be more accurately be referred to as SWG2, Ever-WoW Beta. And according to some who have continued to patronize SoE games and use their forums, this delete-and-ban policy has become a cross-forum thing. So those who post in an EQ forum anything that has to do with SWG2 that is not complementing and celebrating a job well done on SoE's part can look forward to a forums ban and a deletion of their post.

This is consistant with my experience as a former SoE SWG customer. I say former because more than the CU itself, the way it was rushed onto live long before it was ready and SoE's CS and dev handling of customer concerns, complaints and outright distress convinced me it was time to take my money elsewhere. Had the CU been properly implemented, including sufficient closed and open beta to balance and debug it, I might have been more willing to weather the changes and attempt to adapt to the different game they were substituting to the one I'd bought.

That's something you will hear from many of the age 30+ departees from the game, which is by all accounts still bleeding customers as people give up and cease to have any delusions that SoE is listening or is going to fix any of the major issues that make the CU unplayable for many.

[Otec Lightstrider]

I've played this game since the beginning, and I loved it then, love it now. The CU is great!

-Locaw server