Crowley's Blog of the Week
11/04/11
Yet Another Letter to the Community
For me to say that this week has been absolutely crazy would be an understatement, perhaps the understatement of the century. There has been a lot going on: Community unrest, miscommunication, miscontrued statements, and more rage than I ever thought possible. The bottom line is that this week was freaking crazy.
Through all the craziness, rage, finger pointing, misunderstandings, and miscommunication I was absolutely dumbfounded by what came from it. "What came from it", you ask? Clarity, communication, a sense of working together, and hope. Not necessarily in that order but they came nevertheless. I've been a part of a lot, and I mean a lot, of gaming communities and never has anything so positive and hopeful come from anything done in those communities (positive or negative).
Communication. Communication came in several forms: Twitter, emails, phone calls, SKYPE conversations, etc... There was communication, via Stephen Reid on Twitter (@Rockjaw) that SWTOR Fansites need to send an email to fansites@swtor.com in order to be an official fansite. Something that we thought happened here at SWATH Radio but obviously did not, that has since been rectified, but there are/were a lot of fansites that just didn't know that's what needed to be done. Hopefully this blog, as well as our front page link to the Corellian Run article, will help facilitate this step that every SWTOR Fansite should take.
A Sense of Working Together: While there were a lot of peope who were "turned off" and even upset by SWATH Radio Episode 666 there was still a sense of coming together in the community for the good of the community. While some just saw this as fansites and podcasts coming together to qq about not getting an invite to BioWare's Second Fansite Summit we knew we came together to try to show that the "little guys" deserve a voice. While that may have gotten lost in the rage that's what it was all about.
Hope: After Episode 666 I was contacted by someone at BioWare. I won't say who or how because the conversation we had was private and between us. I will say that it was a great conversation...absolutely a phenomenal conversation. During the conversation my concerns were heard but was better than just being heard is that they were addressed and talked out (in a very civil manner I might add). I walked away from that conversation feeling 110% better about everything I raged about. Not only that but I felt better about the SWTOR Community. It isn't just about the "big" sites. It isn't just about the "little" sites. It's about all of us. I have high hopes that everyone in this community will have a voice! I want to thank that person from BioWare (you know who you are) for taking the time out of their busy schedule to talk with me, set my mind at ease, and clear up all miscommunication and misinformation. That is a testament to BioWare's commitment to community! THANK YOU BIOWARE!
Clarity: Clarity is a funny thing because you never know when it will come to you and it sometimes comes when you least expect it. This was one of those times. Through all the rage, the anger, the miscommunication I found myself floating in a sea of uncertainty. Would we last in the SWTOR Community? Did I want to last in this community? Did the community want me to last? The answer came to me very clearly in that moment of clarity: It doesn't matter. I don't mean that in a flippant way; I mean that I love Star Wars, I love BioWare, and I love this community...the rest just doesn't matter. I have fun doing this, a lot of fun. I enjoy the friends I've made and look forward to making more. If people enjoy this site and our podcast then great. If people don't enjoy this site and our podcast well...I guess I'll just WORK HARDER!!!
11/02/11
A Second Letter to the Community
As many of you know by now there were a lot of us who were upset at some things that BioWare has done and/or said in the last couple of days. We even held a roundtable podcast to vent our frustrations. I want to use this blog to clear up any misconceptions and give the community our (SWATH Radio's) official statement on the matter.
First and foremost I want to congratulate each fansite that was selected to go to BioWare's Second Fan Site Summit. You have earned it! Enjoy the time you have in Austin. Be sure to get the rest of us tons of info!
Secondly I want to make sure that everyone knows that I love BioWare. I love their games and I can't wait to play SWTOR. Also that I love the SWTOR Community. I believe we each bring something different to the table. I have said it before but this is the best gaming community I've ever had the priveledge to be a part of.
Now I'd like clarify our position. I am not upset that SWATH Radio wasn't chosen to go the Second Fan Site Summit. Do I feel that BioWare missed a golden opportunity to get some of the smaller fansites involved? Absolutely. Bringing back 8 sites that went to the first one just doesn't promote a "community" vibe from BioWare, instead it promotes (in my opinion) a "good 'ole boys" club vibe. I can appreciate the rapport that BioWare has with some of these sites but BioWare certainly could've bolstered some of the smaller sites by inviting more of them.
I am very dissappointed with how BioWare handled this situation. Specifically with Stephen Reid and his comments on Twitter directed at SWATH Radio. His comments came across as condescending and elitist. I felt like we were called to the principal's office. When I created this fansite I followed all of BIoWare's directions. I sent the appropriate e-mail to ensure we were in "compliance". (That said, it is not outside the realm of possiblity that I just can't follow directions and/or sent the email to the wrong address.) I was never told, anywhere, that to be "official" another e-mail had to be sent to another e-mail address. Stephen Reid went on to say that a website has to be "good", implying that ours wasn't, and that "they" (BioWare) wouldn't "roll out the red carpet" once they received an e-mail. For someone who is basically a "PR" guy Stephen Reid did not act very professional.
To add insult to injury that same night David Bass explained, on Mos Eisley Radio, that BioWare chose the fansites (that were selected to go to the Second Fan Site Summit) based on "post launch success". This meant that BioWare doesn't think other fansites or podcasts will last. Again, not very professional.
See, I'm not upset about not being selected. Not at all. I am upset over the insulting manner SWATH Radio and other fansites were treated by the BioWare Community Managers. Will this stop me from continuing to blog, podcast, or update this site? Absolutely not. Will this stop me from buying, playing, pwning, or (hopefully) loving SWTOR? Absolutely not? As of this moment I am over it. We will surely talk about this on Episode 13 of SWATH Radio but there will not be any venting. It's done and over with.
I wish ALL SWTOR fansites the best and hope they succeed. I wish BioWare and SWTOR the best and can't wait to play! I wish the SWTOR Community the best and look forward to many more years of being a part of it!
09/25/11
A Letter to the Community
For this edition of Crowley’s blog I’ve decided to do something that I’ve never done before, something that will certainly upset some people. Now, I’m no stranger to controversy or speaking my mind but something tells me that this blog may seriously upset quite a few members of the SWTOR Community but I feel like I must be the voice of reason. That said, I’m not one who kowtows to any sort of establishment or one who sucks up to anyone. I prefer to speak my mind and lay it all out. Enjoy.
Dear SWTOR Community Members:
I absolutely cannot believe what I’ve been hearing for the past day and a half. I am shocked. I am upset. Most of all I am embarrassed to be a part of this community; a community that I have been so proud to be an active member of the past few months. I am absolutely astounded at the rage and, dare I say it, idiocracy I’ve seen and heard spewed over the last 48hrs. To this once wonderful community I say, “Go fuck yourselves!”
Let me start by addressing those who did not believe that BioWare would release SWTOR this year. BioWare had been very clear that their “target window” for releasing SWTOR. Despite BioWare’s stating and re-stating this there were many in the community who doubted BioWare would, in fact, release SWTOR in 2011. Some of these naysayers pointed to “breadcrumbs” or the reading of tea leaves or just plain disbelief in what BioWare continually said would be the case. Once BioWare announced the release date of SWTOR as 12/20/11 some of these naysayers went out of their way to defend their comments and predictions. Some said that December is close enough to 2012. Unless my calendar is off the 20th of December falls within the “target window” of holiday 2011. These naysayers need to just admit they were wrong and move on. They gave an opinion, (some) backed it up with “facts” and for that I respect them. To try and spin this any other way then “I was wrong” is just ridiculous.
Next we have those in the SWTOR Community who were upset that we actually received a release date from BioWare. WHAT?! Are you kidding me? Why are people so upset that they actually received a release date? According to them it’s because the community “didn’t see it coming”. Stephen Reid, Senior Community Manager for SWTOR, had said some time ago that the community would “see the train coming”, meaning that the community would know that a release date is coming before they actually announced it. Now people are upset over this?? WHAT?!!! Please tell me you’re all kidding. No, no they’re not. There are some in the community who seem to be genuinely upset by BioWare not, “putting the train on the tracks”. These are the folks that I just don’t understand at all. I can understand skepticism and I can understand trolls but what I can’t understand is fans of the game being so upset that BioWare didn’t somehow “lead up” to a release date. I thought, or maybe just hoping, that our community was better than this. To me this is bitching just to bitch. These folks can get bent. There are certainly other things to bitch about other than “we got a release date”.
Lastly we have those community members who love to troll. Not two hours after the announcement of the SWTOR release date the community on the SWTOR forums lost their minds. The forums went from “When will SWTOR be released” or “Give us a release date already” or “Please, for the love of God give us a release date” to “I don’t think SWTOR will be ready by the release date”. Really folks? Really? You spend months and months bitching about not knowing when the game will release and as soon as you find out you immediately turn on those who gave you the release date. Talk about finicky. I probably should have seen this coming though. It doesn’t matter what game you play, you will always find people who just aren’t happy about anything.
This letter isn’t directed towards any one person or any one group. This letter is intended to make you think. To make you look at what you’ve said or written and evaluate why you did it. Did you do it because you believe your own bullshit? Did you do it because you actually think that somehow BioWare didn’t do something they said they would on purpose or to hurt you personally? Did you do it just for the sake of doing it? Or did you do it because you just didn’t know better? For the sake of my sanity I hope it’s because you just didn’t know better.
-Sincerely,
Crowley
09/14/11
I have decided that there needs to be a rebuttal to Mayor Dimbo’s article “Bread Crumbs to Spring 2012” which can be found at www.keyboardheroes.ca In this article the Mayor of SWTOR lays out the reasons why he believes Star Wars The Old Republic won’t be released until sometime in the Spring of 2012 and I feel that it’s my responsibility to give an opposing view! Here it is:
I am an avid sports fan. That doesn’t mean that when my team(s) loses I go into a drunken rage. What it means is that I follow my team(s), listen to analysts, and do my best to stay informed about the goings on of my team and their opponents. My favorite sports teams are made up of human beings. In fact, sports analysts and my teams opponents are made up of human beings too. What does this mean? It means that they all make mistakes. Sure, there are times where the analysts get it right but there are also times that analysts get it wrong.
Dimbo’s article points out that some of the analysts for the Dallas Cowboys completely blew it by saying that the Cowboys would go to the Super Bowl last year; instead, the Cowboys went 6 – 10. So I submit to you the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls. Every analyst (and their mother) said the Bulls would win the NBA title and guess what happened? The Bulls won 72 games and won the NBA Championship. Every analyst (and their mothers) were 100% right. How does this relate to Dimbo’s article? Did the analysts who picked the Cowboys to win “lie” to everyone? Did they analysts that picked the Bulls to win tell everyone the truth? No. They made predictions based on their opinions. I don’t think people lose credibility based on opinions…people lose credibility based on their actions.
Dimbo goes on, in his article, to lay out “bread crumbs” as to why he believes SWTOR will not be released in 2012. He does a great job of sourcing his material, giving accurate quotes, and showing accurate dates that things were said by the developers at BioWare. Dimbo does such a great job that, from a certain point of view (thanks Obi-Wan), it appears that Dimbo may be on to something. Could Dimbo be right? Could SWTOR not come out until spring 2012? Sure he could be right. Dimbo could be absolutely right. But when you look at those “bread crumbs” from another perspective Dimbo could be dead wrong too.
I could go through each one of Dimbo’s “crumbs” one by one and look at them from another perspective but instead I’ll just give you the perspective and let you, the reader, make your own opinions. Developing a game, especially one as massive as SWTOR, is kind of like the future. Always in motion. Things change, timetables get moved around, deadlines are moved, and content is added and removed. During this process items or ideas that may have been “true” at one time may not hold true later on.
An example of this would be the Beta Test Weekends in September. BioWare “promised” the SWTOR community that every weekend in September they would invite more and more people into the beta test. After only one weekend of beta testing in September BioWare said that they were putting the beta testing weekends on hold and were going to release a new build of the game. Somehow Dimbo felt that this meant something has gone terribly wrong and BioWare had to take back their “promise” of beta weekends in September. According to Dimbo this is just another example of BioWare “lying” to the community.
Let’s look at this from another point of view. BioWare invited several thousand to participate in the first (and only) Beta Test Weekend in September. BioWare was going to hold off on putting the new build out for testing until October. But what if all the feedback that BioWare got from their initial weekend of testers was great? What if the testers said, “This game is great!”? BioWare would then have to make a choice, wouldn’t they? Delay beta testing so they could put out an even better build of the game and possibly upset some in the community (DIMBO) or continue “as planned” and possibly miss their release window due to delayed testing of the new build.
BioWare doesn’t intentionally lie to its community. An MMO of this size is a living, breathing thing. It takes on a life of its own. Just like sports teams do. If the NBA listened to the analysts in 1995 they would’ve just crowned the Bulls at the start of the season and not even played. If the Dallas Cowboys listened to the analysts last season would they have even shown up for every game? If the SWTOR community listens to naysayers and doomsayers like Dimbo won’t we all just be perpetually suspicious of anything BioWare says or does? Instead, I submit that frustration with a situation does not mean anyone is “out to get you”!
08/26/11
The last few weeks for us SWTOR fans has been, well, excruciating. It’s been unbearable. It’s been down-right awful. There have been a couple of reasons for SWTOR fans to feel this way and I sincerely hope that I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’ll try to hold back my rage as I explore why, at least, I feel this way.
The first reason is that we still don’t have a release date. Yeah, now I’m one of those guys. The big joke seems to be that SWTOR won’t release until 2012. Sure, we’ve all seen the “Holiday 2011” but how many of us really think we’ll see SWTOR before January or February of 2012? I don’t think there are a whole lot of us who think that. BioWare and EA are so scared of a buggy launch that they’ve limited pre-orders. They also seem to be scared of their competition. What? Why? Really? Where’s the faith in your own product? *SIGH*
The second reason, which ties into the first reason when you think about it, is that for the last three weeks BioWare has given its fans some really crappy “updates”. Two weeks ago we got the obligatory “Fan Friday” update. Well, I love “Fan Friday’s” and all but you can’t really say that’s an update. It’s a day where BioWare celebrates its fan base (as well they should) but it’s certainly no update about the game.
Last week SWTOR and BioWare were at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. Sure, BioWare took home “Best Online Game” (what does that even mean for a game that hasn’t launched yet?) and we had some nice reveals. We got to see HUTTBALL (which I totally love! I’ve already got my guild’s Huttball jerseys on order!) and we got to see the beginning of the Eternity Vault Operation. Great reveals at a great gaming convention. So what was our update for last week? Huttball. Again. Great…we got to see the exact same video we already saw at Gamescom. Thanks.
This week for our “update” I was expecting something different. I knew we wouldn’t see another Fan Friday so soon. I also knew there was no way in hell we’d see Huttball, again. I thought for sure it would be some great video or some game mechanic we haven’t seen yet. I was wrong. In fact, I was way wrong. We got to see the Eternity Vault Operation…again. Oh, they threw in the beginning of the Operation for us; hell, they even through in a whole 20 seconds of footage we haven’t seen before…but out of the almost 10 minute video we’d seen over 9 minutes of it before…the week before…at Gamescom. It’s like BioWare isn’t even trying anymore.
Now, one might think that because we aren’t seeing more consistent updates that maybe the game just isn’t ready. Maybe the game isn’t going to launch this year. Surely if they were only a couple of months away from release we’d see better updates, right? Right? RIGHT?! At this point, as fans, we can only hope that BioWare is going to give a huge announcement on Sunday, August 28, at PAX Prime in Seattle. If we don’t get some kind of huge announcement I may just pull my hair out. Of course, when that huge announcement turns into next week’s “update” I may just pull my hair out anyway.
08/15/11
What? You want MORE of my money? Don’t I already pay a monthly subscription? These are things one might say when an MMO comes out with microtransactions. Downloadable content, micropurchases, microtransactions…these are but a few of the names that companies use to get more money from their customers. Is it right? Is it wrong? How do they fit into SWTOR?
There are a lot, and I mean A LOT, of free to play mmo’s out there. In fact, some games that start out with a pay-to-play model have dropped the monthly subscription in favor of a free-to-play model. Why? With some games it just makes sense. If a game has a low subscriber rate it makes fiscal sense to drop the subscription and add in microtransactions instead of the monthly fee. It allows players the freedom to choose the content they want to play or use in the game. Players love choices! I love choices!! I love “free” even more.
In the above scenario I have no issue with microtransactions. It allows player flexibility, not just in game, but also in their pocket books. The revenue a company makes off these smaller transaction fees gets rolled back into the game in the form of more content and more choices. It’s a win-win for both the player and the company.
Now, let’s say you play a game that has a monthly subscription. Should the company ask you to pay for more choices and more content using microtransactions? Should the company allow access to new outfits, mounts, story arcs, or weapons at a premium above and beyond the monthly fee? I understand why some companies do (Cryptic, I’m looking at you) but does it make it right?
Hell no. I find it ridiculous that any company who charges a regular monthly subscription to play a game would ask their subscribers to shell out a few more bucks every few weeks for the latest content. I don’t care if it’s new armor, pretty weapons, furry pets, or fast mounts. I’m already paying $15 a month to play a game set in fluid world. You’re already asking me to shell out more money for expansion packs (that, I get and gladly do) but to make me pay extra so I can have the cool new stuff is ridiculous.
Will SWTOR have microtransactions in it? Unfortunately, I’m going to bet on “yes”. Those of us who pre-purchased the Collector’s Edition of SWTOR are going to be allowed access to what’s called the “Collector’s Store”. Now, there’s been some discussion about how giving some players access to this “store” is unfair…and it probably is, but I’m not complaining because I spent $150 on the CE. I don’t think the “Collector’s Store” is going to be anything grand and give certain players access to anything that would tip the balance of gameplay. I do, however, believe the “Collector’s Store” is going to sell cosmetic outfits, weapon skins, and mount skins. In order to be “fair” I’m sure that BioWare is going to everyone an opportunity to purchase the same things using microtransactions. Again, I have to ask, “WHY?” They have our money. I gave it to them freely, of my own accord, willingly even. But, just like most companies out there…they love our money more than we do.
Microtransaction, for better or worse, are here to stay. They make free-to-play games better. They allow the freedom of choice for players. Microtransactions serve a purpose in the MMO industry. The issue I have is that I don’t believe they have any business being in a pay-to-play game. None.
08/05/11
What’s the release date of SWTOR???? That’s the question that most of us have been asking since we found out BioWare was making a Star Wars based MMO. This question has gotten even more attention at the beginning of this year. Speculation swirled around the internet about a Spring ’11 release. Not until Comic-Con did we get a release window, Holiday 2011. What? Really? A window? Nothing in concrete. Nothing solid. Just a window that BioWare is optimistic they’ll hit. But why not a hard release date?
The answer was, at first, not so easy to come by and not all of us bought it. The reason that was speculated by most, and seemed to be confirmed by some of the “higher-ups” In EA, was “competition”. We were told that EA and BIoWare were concerned about other MMO’s releasing expansion packs or patches for their games in order to minimize their subscriber loss. Sounds legit, doesn’t it? Hell, even I bought this line for a while. When BioWare and EA did not give us a release date during E3 this year this was the reason people pointed to as to why.
Now that the pre-order of SWTOR is available is “competition” still the reason we haven’t seen a release date? The industry standard is 3 months between pre-order and release date, but it seems BioWare may not go by the industry standard. “And why not?” you may ask; because they want a smooth and bug free launch of SWTOR. Is this a realistic goal?
To be honest, I can’t think of one MMO that has had a 100% smooth and bug free launch. Not a single one. Of course, this might be due to the few MMO’s I’ve played at launch, but I’d like to think that I am “in-the-know”. When MMO’s launch they experience server stresses that down their servers for hours at a time, long wait times to connect and play, glitch graphics, broken quests, and on, and on, and on the list goes. If this is the case then I have to ask the question, “Is the wait worth it?” Well, is it?
We won’t really know, for sure, until launch day. That being said there are a couple of things we can look at and do our best to extrapolate an answer. The first is the “limited” number of pre-orders. While I’ve not been able to find a definitive number of available pre-orders we do know that SWTOR pre-orders are breaking sales records. Even with the sales records BioWare, more accurately EA, swears they expected this. Yeah, right. Secondly we can look at the staggered launch of SWTOR. There are certain areas of the world, “Red Zones”, that can’t pre-order SWTOR. Sure, they can’t pre-order it, but they can still order it from the US or Europe AND use their credit card to pay for it. At this time BioWare says they will not block IP addresses or credit card numbers from the “Red Zones”. Sooooooooo…why the hell are you even doing a staggered release???
When you look at these two things I’m not sure BioWare is going to achieve their goal of a “smooth and bug free” release. There is going to be server issues, latency issues, broken quest issues, and probably plenty of more issues that just can’t be foreseen. I hope I’m wrong and I hope that the launch of SWTOR sets the bar for other MMO releases; I’m just not holding my breath. Regardless of whatever launch issues SWTOR has, I have no doubt that I will be playing SWTOR for years and years to come!
07/28/11
For my LATEst (sorry for the lateness) Blog of the Week I wanted to talk a little bit about community. Now, I don’t mean the community you have in your neighborhood or even the community you have within your guild. I want to talk about the community you find within MMORPG’s.
Gaming communities can be a strange and wonderous land filled with the greatest pleasures on earth or the most sadistic and twisted nightmares your mind can imagine. Why? In short because gaming communities have (sometimes) millions of people of all walks of life. Everyone and anyone can join the gaming community. The question is, “Is everyone welcomed into the community”?
The thing that drives me most crazy is when I join an MMO and I feel like an outsider. It’s not that I don’t try and make friends. I do. It’s more that the community doesn’t like “outsiders”, or the community doesn’t like people who play on “PvE” servers, or the community doesn’t like players who choose to play a certain “class” in the game. There are many reasons why a community doesn’t make people feel welcome and none of them are good reasons. In fact, it’s just wrong.
What I’ve found, so far, with the SWTOR community is something different than what I’ve found in most other MMO communities I’ve joined. There’s a sense of partnership; a sense of actual community. We obviously do a SWTOR podcast. In other communities if you didn’t start doing a podcast first then you just weren’t welcome. When it came to the SWTOR community we were welcomed with open arms. We were so welcomed that it feels natural and comfortable to reach out and network with other fansites and podcasts. It’s great.
Apart from the podcasting aspect of the community the “Guild” community seems to be the same way. One for all and all for one! Even if the guild is from an opposite faction there seems to be a sort of camaraderie. This seems to go for most guilds. Not all, but most. This is something that is refreshing to me as a gamer. Instead of having to listen to false bravado and a lot of chest beating I’ve listened to people actually communicate with each other and try to make the community better.
I understand that when SWTOR is released there’s going to be rivalries and the occasional disagreement between players and guilds; but based on what I’ve seen of this community so far I have to say that those moments will be few and far between!! May the Force be with you!
-Crowley
07/17/2011
So as I sit here pondering where to start my thoughts go back to my first foray into online gaming and how I was thrust into starting my own gaming guild. It wasn't as if I had made a conscious decision to do so but, alas, that is where I found myself. I had no clue as to what I was doing, as some guilds never do, but I had another disadvantage. I have the uncanny ability to piss people off and the even better ability to not give two drops of monkey piss but hey, that's part of my charm.
I had literally been playing Final Fantasy Online for less than a month. I had joined a guild (they were called Linkshells in FFXI) a friend of mine was in. It had about 20 members and was growing pretty fast. We all got along great, until one night when a guild member logged on who hadn't logged on in a few months (which is normal in the online gaming realm so get used to it). This member took great offensee to pretty much the entire clan's vocabulary and general direction we were going.
Since I had quickly befriended the guild's leaders I was promptly informed of our offenses. When I explained my position, as well as the rest of the guild's, the leaders sided with us (for those curious, our position was we will not be censored on a game as we're censored enough in real life). The guild leaders set up a meeting. This couldn't be anything but good, right? Wrong.
The guild leaders vacillated back and forth, trying to appease both parties. I was the only one speaking my mind (as I'm prone to do) but receiving private messages from everyone else in the guild that they agreed with me. The person who took offense and brought it to the guild leaders attention confronted me during the meeting and things just went downhill from there. I made the decision to leave the guild...everyone but the leaders and the one who took offense followed. And that's how it all started.
From that ordeal, coupled with my experience in starting guild's in other games, and joining various others, I have learned a few things about starting a guild. I'd like to share those things with those of you who are thinking about starting a guild or have already started a guild.
So you want to start a gaming guild? Good for you. There's nothing more rewarding then starting a successful gaming guild! There's also nothing more disappointing then starting a guild only to watch it fail. Hopefully this blog will help you along your way.
The first thing to remember about starting a successful gaming guild is the four D's. Dedication, decision making, diplomacy, and delivery. With these 4 tools in your "utility belt" it will be hard to fail.
1. Dedication: Starting a guild takes time. It takes the willingness to submerge one's self in the game(s). Your guild isn't going to just spring to life. You have to recruit, advertise, and otherwise spread the word about your guild. You have to know what you're talking about or you won't be taken seriously by your team or by other guilds. You have to cultivate the culture of your guild. What direction will you be taking? What will you focus on? How will you focus on it? This could take days or even months. If you've come up with it in an hour don't expect your guild to succeed. Successful guilds have been around for years and keep a following and always recruit. Dedicate yourself to your cause!
2. Decision making: What you focus on as guild or how you distribute resources is your decision. How your guild comes to decision is your decision. Whatever your guild does and how it proceeds in any situation is ultimately your decision. You should always ask for feedback from your guild members. I would suggest some sort of command structure because, let's face it, even the most hardcore of gamers has to sleep at some point. Make sure you have people you trust making decisions when you're not around. Get their feedback. If you know how everyone feels about a certain topic I would suggest you follow it...unless you feel it will be a detriment to the guild. This brings us to my next point.
3. Diplomacy: Yes, I'm going to talk about diplomacy. If you'd like your guild to succeed and have your members spread the word of your guild then you have no choice but to be diplomatic. Now there's a couple of ways to do this. The first way, and the way I'd suggest, is to hold frequent guild meetings. Ask for participation and listen to what your members are saying. If you get a special request, and it's within your power to grant, try to make it happen. For example, if someone needs a special item only dropped by a certain type of mob, try to schedule a time for the guild to help out. If you have conflict within your guild the above will work as well...as long as you follow number 2 and make a damned decision.
The second way to go about diplomacy is to not give a damn. It's your guild, run it how you see fit. This works for certain types of guilds like end-game guilds or specialty guilds (PvP guilds for example). If you're not one of these guilds then I wouldn't suggest this approach.
4. Delivery: You need to deliver the goods. It's your responsibility to make sure your guild is happy, participating, getting along, and successful. If your guild fails then it's probably your fault. Examine what you did. How did you react to certain situations? How active were you? How dedicated were you? Did you listen to others? Did you ask for input?
I'm certainly not going to guarantee that if you follow the "4 D's) that you'll have a successful guild...but you will have a lot of fun and probably make more than a few friends along the way.
07/09/2011
As I sit here pondering my gaming experiences over the past 25+years, I find that some of my most memorable and my most hated experiences are centered on the same type of gaming genre. Online gaming! What makes these experiences so good or so bad? Was it the game? Was it something I did? Or was it something more out of my control? Online gaming can be a wonderful experience, but it can be a nightmare as well.
There are different types of online gaming. I remember a time that when you wanted to play a game, let's say DOOM in this case, with a friend you had to jump through hoops just to set it up. Anymore, anyone with an internet connection and half a brain can play online with players from all over the world. When you enter online gaming there are some things to consider before just jumping right in: Do you want to play with others or do you prefer to "solo"? Do you want to join a group or start a group? Do you have the time to dedicate to a group? Once you've made your decision it's time to start.
In this week's blog I'll be examining the "Do you want to join a group?" aspect of online gaming. When you've made the decision to join a group it shouldn't be made lightly. Never ask to join a group without doing your homework. Besides, one should be asked to join a group and you shouldn't be reduced to begging for a spot. When a game launches most groups recruit heavily and it shouldn't be a problem. If you're jumping into an online game a little bit later then, in my opinion, you have the advantage. When joining an established game and looking for a group, do your homework! Ask a potential group questions! Are they competitive? What do they focus on? Do they help their members? How many members do they have? In most groups there's a system for dividing in game "loot", ask what it is. Ask other players outside the group if they, the group, have a reputation and what it is. Once you've done this then you're ready to make your decision.
Now that you've joined the group you have some responsibility. It is up to you to be as active as you can in the group. Nothing will drive group leaders crazier than someone who joins their group only to never be online or never be available to join in group activities. Talk to the group! Interact with others. The more you make yourself available and active the more you'll get out of your online experience! If you're asked to take on some responsibilities in the group, again, make sure you have the time to do so. If you take on more-than-you-can-chew then the odds are you'll piss someone off. There's nothing worse than getting kicked out of a group because you didn't hold up your end of the bargain. On the flip side, there's nothing worse than joining a group you shouldn't have.
If you join a group and find that it's not what you expected then it's up to you how you want to leave. My suggestion is to contact the group’s leader and explain why you're leaving. Now what I've done in the past, when leaving due to a personality conflict, is to cause more conflict. Why? Because the leader had said one thing and done another. When this happens to you, I would again suggest you bow out quietly and go to work on finding a clan or guild that is better suited to what you're looking for. Remember, what you put into your group is what you'll get out of the group. -Crowley
07/04/2011
I’ve been hearing from some of my friends that, “SWTOR is just a carbon copy of WoW.” “SWTOR will never be a WoW killer. It’s over-hyped and everyone will be disappointed with it and go back to WoW.” “SWTOR is just a WoW clone.” I never said my friends were smart, did I? Regardless if EA wants to compete with WoW it is going to compete with WoW. The question is, “Can SWTOR hold its own long enough to be a WoW killer?”
Let’s look at things objectively for a few minutes. When you look at WoW you have to acknowledge that it’s the “king of the hill” of MMO’s. It currently has around 11 million subscribers. That’s an insane number!!! I don’t care what kind of PR department other companies have; no company will ever match that in the first year of a games release. Probably wouldn’t match that number after two years of a games release. WoW certainly didn’t. WoW, like a lot of MMO’s, had a tumultuous release. WoW suffered from server issues, lag time issues, graphical bugs, etc… They’ve since turned WoW into a very polished game with all the bells and whistles that fans have become accustomed to. SWTOR isn’t going to have that right off the bat. Do I think it’s going to be a rocky release? I certainly hope not…but those are famous last words, aren’t they?
At this point I could start talking about the millions and millions of fans that the Star Wars franchise has around the world or the amount of money they rake in annually on merchandising compared to WoW. Instead I want to focus on what is going to set SWTOR apart from other MMO’s, including WoW. I want to look objectively at some of the features you’ll only find in SWTOR and why I think it’s going to make it stand out as a great MMO.
First I’d like to start with the story. Bioware is known for their immersive stories. Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon’s Age are just three examples of games that Bioware has woven great story arcs for. While reading forums and other blogs almost every time “story” is the first thing listed as what is going to set up apart SWTOR from other MMO’s.
Second up is SWTOR is the first fully voiced MMO! Thousands of hours of voice acting has gone into this game. Talk about a “game changer”! No other MMO is fully voiced. Sure, there may be some elements of “voice” in other MMO’s but nothing on the scale that SWTOR is doing.
Third is the “companion” system of SWTOR. Here’s where I think it really starts getting interesting and where you’re going to’ find out who “fan boys” are and who aren’t. I recently had a friend tell me that in WoW there is an area where you get some companions that you have to have in order to complete certain quests. That’s all well and good but again, the scale of SWTOR is doing is unheard of. Your companion in SWTOR levels up with you. Your companion does another job (tank, healer, dps, etc…) during quests. Your companion can even craft for you, because honestly, did Darth Vader craft his own boots and cape?
Fourth is just the amount of money that EA has thrown at this game. Reportedly its $300 million budget is the largest budget ever for an MMO. No other MMO has ever had this much cash thrown at it during its development. What’s that mean? We all hope it means a very immersive and polished game at launch.
I know this isn’t going to sway “fan boys” to our side. I know we’re going to hear from those so loyal to WoW or other MMO’s that they won’t even give SWTOR a chance. Does it matter? Absolutely not. With over 1.5 million signed up to beta test and many more dedicated to the Star Wars brand there’s no doubt that SWTOR will enjoy a financial success at launch. The amount of money invested in this game ensures that Bioware wants to succeed for a very long time. Will SWTOR be a “WoW killer? Not at first, but maybe in a few years. -Crowley
6/27/11
Let’s face it folks, there are people out there who would rather play a game solo than play with others. Is it because these players don’t play well with others? Is it because these players don’t like team-based tactics? Or is it because these players hate getting shot in the head by a 10yr old? Regardless of the reason players like to play solo the question of, “Should players who prefer to play by themselves even play an MMORPG?” Well, should they?
To be honest, I don’t really see why not; nor do I see what it matters if they do or not. To put it into the context of gaming companies, specifically Bioware and Star Wars The Old Republic, it doesn’t matter to them either. Everyone is going to pay the same subscription rate if they play solo or they play with a guild. Solo player’s money spends the same as team players money. So it only makes sense for gaming companies to try and find a balance, in game, for solo and team players.
So does Star Wars The Old Republic strike that balance? Will solo players get as much enjoyment out of the game as team players? We won’t know for sure until the game actually releases but we can look at some of what we DO know about the game to make a guess…or at least I will attempt to.
Star Wars The Old Republic, like most MMO’s, have a “questing” system. Some of those quests, we can assume, will be able to be completed without the help of other players. Other quests may require a certain number of players to complete; however, with the “Companion system” it may be possible for a solo player to utilize his “companions” (computer controlled allies) to finish these quests. It could be argued that this takes the “fun” out of an MMO, but I say, “to each their own”.
Bioware has also stated that just by following the “class specific” quests that a player can achieve the level cap. So, is Bioware “catering” to the solo based players? Absolutely not; they are, however, catering to a wide range of players. This “wide range of players” includes first time MMO players. The reason for this is pretty simple when you step back and think about it, the Star Wars name. The Star Wars franchise reaches out to a multitude of different people, from gamers to readers to movie goers. It makes sense for them to make a game that first timers and solo players can pick up and enjoy too.
I know some of you are saying, “What about Operations and Flashpoints?” Players who prefer to play solo and not engage other gamers willingly give up these opportunities. Gear, experience points, and other higher level “loot” just aren’t as important to these players as story is; and Bioware is KNOWN for their story telling ability! Besides, just because a player “solo’s” it doesn’t mean you won’t see them in a PvP arena. There are many ways these types of players have to “gear up”.
Solo player does not mean that these players won’t occasionally ask for help, seek out a guild, or interact with the community. What it means is that they prefer to play the game without having to find or create “parties”. There’s nothing wrong with that and, as I’ve shown, Bioware and Star Wars The Old Republic support that style of gameplay. -Crowley
6/20/11
This week’s installment of Crowley’s Blog of the Week was going to be on the similarities between Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek: Online; that was until RyantheGr8 brought up some very good points during the “A Conversation with RyantheGr8” segment on this week’s SWATH Radio Podcast. What he said (you’ll have to listen to the podcast if you want to know what he said) really got me thinking. MMO’s are like cars. Sure they all have four wheels, a steering wheel, windows, and brakes but that’s where the similarities end. It all comes down to upgrades in cars or the details for MMO’s. It’s the “details” or “upgrades” that is going to separate TOR from the pack.
Let’s be honest for just a few minutes before diving into the actual “details” that TOR is going to bring to the table. Bioware is known for the immersive and great storylines. From Knights of the Old Republic to Neverwinter Nights, to Mass Effect Bioware does a great job telling immersive and great stories. Electronic Arts has the capital (money) to throw at TOR. With their bankroll they have allowed Bioware to do things that other MMO’s just couldn’t afford to do…until now.
Something you’ll find in TOR that won’t you find in other MMO’s is their “Companion” system. It allows you to choose a number of NPC’s (Non-Player Characters) to be with you during your journey. This is unheard of in other MMO’s. Most MMO’s give you “pets” but all they can do is follow you around. They don’t interact with you or your opponents. In TOR your “Companions” can not only interact with you, by giving you their opinion on your actions, but can also craft for you. WHAT?! That’s right, you don’t have to craft things yourself, and you can just send your companions out to do it for you. Your “Companions” will even carry out your orders while you’re offline. No other MMO can boast anything close to that.
Another “upgrade” in TOR is that you get your own ship, no matter what class you choose. Now, there are other MMO’s that let you have your own ship. For example, Star Trek: Online let’s you have your own ship, but TOR takes it to a whole other level. In Star Trek: Online you can get to walk around your ship. Yeah, that’s great but that’s all you can do. There is no interaction with anything. Now, while all the details aren’t out yet we know that TOR is doing at least one better than ST:O. In TOR your ship acts as your “home base”. Your crafting station is there along with all your companions. To give a fair comparison this particular “upgrade” is like comparing leather seats to Corinthian leather!
There are many other “details” of the game play that I could delve into but the last one I’ll cover is CHOICE. No matter if you play for the Republic or the Empire your character is going to be faced with choices they have to make. The choices you make earn you either “Light Side” or “Dark Side” points. Some MMO’s give you a choice, sure, but it doesn’t affect the overall story of your character…in TOR, it does. Let’s say you play as a Jedi, one of the choices you’ll come across is when you defeat a Sith do you kill him or spare him. This choice will have a profound impact on YOUR PERSONAL STORY. If you spare the Sith he later shows up as a Jedi and helps you. If you kill him (my personal favorite) you won’t have any assistance later on. This is just one example of how the choices you make will directly affect you.
In conclusion, when you start looking at all the little “details” Star Wars: The Old Republic have compared to games like Star Trek: Online, Rift, or even the juggernaut World of Warcraft you start to see how different they really are. The picture that begins to develop is one of a sleek, stylized, and polished product. Comparisons will surely be made between SWTOR and its competitors and when you see them you should remember this: A Dodge Charger is a nice car. A BMW Z4 is a nicer car. A Bugatti Veyron just has all the bells and whistles anyone would ever want. -Crowley
6/13/11
As I sit here typing the first installment of SWATH blog; E3 is going on over 1,800 miles away in Los Angeles. Every gaming fan in the world watches E3 every year to find out about their favorite, upcoming games. Star Wars: The Old Republic fans are no different. In particular, this year, SWTOR fans were hoping to hear a release date get set for the game. Unfortunately we don’t always get what we want.
Thinking of release dates, especially for MMORPG’s (massive multi-player online role playing games) a few things hit me. The first is that the company behind developers (EA, in this case) wants to release the game as soon as possible. Secondly, the developers/studios (Bioware, in this case) don’t want to release the game until they are happy with it. Thirdly, there are two types of gamers: Those who want the game NOW, NOW, NOW; and those who will wait patiently for the game to be released. So in this battle of release dates, who is right? To answer this question let’s examine the reasoning behind each.
The companies behind gaming developers would absolutely love nothing more than to release a game of SWTOR’s magnitude as early as possible. Why? These companies love your money more than you do. The more money they make the more games they can crank out from their gaming studios (developers). From a purely business standpoint the more money a game can bring in the more money a company shareholders make…and the sooner, the better. A release date allows their marketing division to ramp up excitement about a game and usually involves some sort of pre-order system; again it’s just another way for them to make money. Not that this is a bad thing, especially for SWTOR. The amount of money EA has spent on this game already is staggering. They want a release date as badly as some gamers do!
The developers/studios on the other hand are the “artists” behind the game. From concept to music to graphics these guys poor their hearts and souls into the games they make. The experience of a game is paramount to the amount of money to be made, at least in the minds of most developers. Sure, they want to get the game into the players hands but, more importantly, they want the game to be as good as they can make it before handing it over to the players. There’s a certain sense of honor and pride developers have when it comes to their games…and understandably so. A release date puts developers on a clock. A release date puts the pressure on developers to get their game ready before that release date passes. This can hurt the creative process and has brought about some really bad game releases. I don’t think I need to list any here because every gamer has experienced a bad release or two. If there’s no hard release date then the developer isn’t under as much pressure to just pump out a game that doesn’t live up to their standards or original vision for their game.
Gamers are a completely different beast altogether. Sure, there are those of us who want SWTOR released NOW! In fact, a release last week would be better! We all see those forum posts that just make our skin crawl. “Where is the release date?” “I can’t live without a release date soon!” “Stop working on cinematics and release the game!” I can sympathize with these folks. No, really. I can. I too want to play SWTOR badly. I want to jump right in with these folks and make my case on the forums for a quick release date. We just want to play it!!! However, there are gamers who want the game to be polished. These gamers want to see a fluid and deep game that will keep them entertained for years. They want a game that is finished. I can see this point of view as well. There’s nothing worse than spending my money on a game only to find out that it was a rush job. Whether that means server issues, lack of end-game content, or graphic bugs doesn’t matter; what does matter is that the game didn’t live up to expectations. It’s the most horrible feeling in the world.
So, in the battle of the release date who’s right? All of them are. Without companies and gamers “pushing” developers to release a game title the game could languish in developmental hell forever. Without developers and gamers “pushing back” against release dates gamers would find themselves extremely disappointed with titles. In the case of SWTOR, sure I want to play it last week, but I’m more than content to wait patiently and know that I’ll be rewarded for my patience with a MMORPG that will be amazing! -Crowley