A few years ago, the guys from Penny Arcade decided to do something nice for kids at Seattle Children's Hospital. They put a call out to the gaming community to prove that all the ills of the world are not caused by video games. To prove, in fact, that gamers are pretty decent people. They asked for donations of toys, cash, and time to give these kids a good Christmas holiday. The results were nothing short of spectacular.
The Child's Play charity has grown to include hospitals around the world. Being in a hospital over the holidays is tough on these kids and it's our chance to help spread some good cheer to them. This year there are more ways than ever to donate to Child's Play. If you're not already volunteering time, gifts, or money to a worthy cause this holiday season, why not send a little joy to the world in this way? Nothing speaks more to the spirit of the season than putting a smile on a kid's face.
Jonric: Why will this content update will appeal to current subscribers, and why might the game be of interest now to those who've never played or stopped?
Jake Neri: With each Chapter, we are seeing progressively more and more people on our Test Server playing the new systems and content. We are pretty confident that the current players will love Chapter 4 because their feedback from playing it on the test center is telling us so. Our forums have been filled with really useful information, and the guys at Sony Online Entertainment have been able to use it to tweak the development of the features. It's actually a cool process to watch.
The wait is over! We know you've been starving for another episode and now you may partake in the feast that is Episode 64. While on a short vacation MrBubble stopped by the SOE offices in San Diego. What for? Did he survive? Was he brainwashed? He’ll answer all of these questions, and more!
While MrBubble was busy charming SOE employees into giving him cookies and gummi worms, Yivvits made a breakthrough in his never-ending quest to figure out those broken shaders/textures. That’s not all, he’s also been playing another game and it isn’t CoV.
Also this week, we cover a ton of random topics including gems like: more things we’d like to see fixed in SWG, Count Dooku’s opinions on various things, and MrBubble’s longing to be a fairy (in EQ2).
Phone support for account and technical support will be closed on Wednesday, December 6th.
Account and Technical Phone Support will be closed on Wednesday, December 6th. Phone support will return at its normal hours 10:00am through 7:00pm PST on Thursday December 7th.
Account and Technical Live Chat support will remain available during its normal hours Monday through Friday, 10:00am through 7:00pm PST at http://station.sony.com/chat
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Our Account and Technical Support knowledgebase is always available at http://station.sony.com/kb
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Real life first name: Cindy
Forum handle: Jannae
Main Character name: Raene Cedco
Server: Tarquinas
Player Association: Wraith Squadron (WSQ)
Where in the real life world do you live? Birmingham, Alabama
How long have you played Star Wars Galaxies? I have played since June 2003, and I have not stopped yet!
What other MMOs have you played? None to speak of, this is the first one for me.
What type of work do you do? I am an Administrative Assistant for a non-profit agency.
How long is your typical gaming session when playing Star Wars Galaxies? Normally, it averages about two to three hours a night during the weekdays and four to six hours on the weekends. I have had to cut back my time recently due to wedding planning, but once we are back from the honeymoon, it will be back to the late nights in-game and all day and night on the weekends.
What does a typical Star Wars Galaxies day consist of for you? As soon as I log in, I will check and answer my mail. I am the Mayor of Spirit, Tatooine, co-leader of our player association, a leader of the Rebellion, a member of the Jedi Order, and hold a seat on our Jedi council… so I tend to get a lot of mail. On a busy day, I will usually have a couple of meetings with players wanting to get advice, give me their thoughts about a topic for the next Rebel meeting, pitch an event idea, or want me to help with a role-play event. Depending on what the guild is doing, I sometimes head out for some PvP or to help guild members with quests.
What was the race and profession of your very first character? My first character was a human female scout/medic.
What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? I tend to like role-playing games the most. I have tried most of the Star Wars games out on the market but Star Wars Galaxies is my home now! Surprisingly, my friend and my fiancé got me into Star Wars Galaxies, and now I am more involved in the game than they are.
What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other then playing Star Wars Galaxies? I am active with the Alabama Star Wars Syndicate, a statewide Star Wars fan club and costuming group. We have helped with movie premiers, conducted fundraising for various charities, and assisted with event enhancement. I am also an avid reader, like to write non-fiction, and enjoy dog shows.
What is your highest level Character in Star Wars Galaxies? My highest-level character is level 90.
What race and profession is your main character? My main character is a human Jedi.
What do you like the most about the profession you have chosen for your main character? Jedi is a huge part of who Raene is. I like the up-close nature of how the Jedi fight; it really puts you in the center of the action. It also gives me the chance to role-play the role of Jedi by having her either withdraw from a fight or engage, depending on the situation.
What faction is your main character? My main character is a Rebel.
What is your favorite player owned ship? I love my yacht.
What is your favorite ground vehicle? I love the skiff. I can pack a whole group into the vehicle and get the team from point A to point B easily.
How did you choose your main character's name? I have been writing Star Wars fan fiction for quite a number of years now. Raen was the name of the daughter of my main character, Jannae. I had already created Jannae on Lowca, so when I moved to Tarquinas, I tried to get the name Raen. It was already taken so I named her Raene.
Which professions in Star Wars Galaxies have you NOT played? I have not played a smuggler yet. I am tempted to create one.
What is your favorite expansion? I have to say it was the Trials of Obi-Wan. I am, however, partial to Jump to Lightspeed since it gave us the Ithorians and I do love my dancing Ithorian, Lim-Ham.
What is your favorite planet? Naboo is my favorite planet. I love the feel of the planet and the music.
What is your favorite NPC? My favorite has to be the Bith Band in the Mos Eisley Cantina.
Which expansion do you like the least? Rage of the Wookiees is my least favorite.
Which planet do you like the least? Kashyyyk is my least favorite planet.
Which NPC do you like the least? I do not think there is one that I like the least.
What is the most credits you have ever spent on purchasing a single item for one of your characters? I spent a little over 2 million credits on a data screen, the flat panel green one.
Do you have an item you no longer use but keep around for nostalgic reasons? If so what is it and why do you keep it? I kept Raene's armor she wore during the time she was a tera kasi master and swordsman, as well as her hammers. Those items are what helped me through the force village grind and put me into the Jedi trade.
What do you like best about Star Wars Galaxies? I like the fact that I get to create my own personal corner in the Star Wars universe. I am such a Star Wars fanatic that this is the closest thing to being able to be a true part of the saga.
What do you get out of playing Star Wars Galaxies? I love the sense of community we have on Tarquinas. The friendships we have built over the years in this game are incredible. When I log into Star Wars Galaxies, it is like coming home from a long trip.
Describe your best experience playing Star Wars Galaxies? It is hard to choose my best experience playing Star Wars Galaxies. It would have to be between kneeling at the shrine to start the path of the Jedi, my in-game wedding (all the Imperials and bounty hunters tried to stop it), the Trader Days event at the Darklighter estate, or the night my guild presented me with my in-game wedding gift for my real life wedding.
Do you run or work for a Star Wars Galaxies Fan Site? No, but I wish I did!
Each week, we take a memorable quote from the Star Wars films and scramble it.
You can assume:
* All the letters from the quote are present
* All punctuation from the original quote is included (periods, hyphens, etc.)
* Capital letters from the quote are still capitalized
Your mission, should you decide to take it is to decode the quote by unscrambling it and posting your answer.
Here is this week's scramble:
2 characters, 4 lines of dialogue
o s c s d m e e e a k o r e s a l o r t e t f m e n u d r d n r y d l e t o e y e Y e i e C e i e e a d e G r h n d p m r L h o t a w e m t b a A v c e u r n w t g h o a i t a a s n t y d d f n n a R b h t a l q n a e i a u o h u p m h c e i C g i v e t c d o d r H r r e m h I c r i y u I t s u u o r f a h t e b o h e o m m n m u m s e e o r s n o h h o e r o h i s r o h t n b e a s i s e i d i t r o t s l h a u e n o T s o e c s s r r s i L t e w..,..,,.,..
*Note: Edited posts are excluded from being able to get the Descrambler title
Believe it or not, there is still an active and dedicated community of gamers who have resisted the call of Azeroth. Instead, they call the cities and planets of the Star Wars universe home. For all those gamers, this little nugget of goodness is for you.
LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment today announced that Chapter 4: Armed and Ready for Action is now available to Star Wars Galaxies subscribers. Chapter 4: Armed and Ready for Action is the latest in a series of updates that Star Wars Galaxies subscribers will automatically receive throughout the remainder of 2006 and into 2007, as part of their regular subscription to the game.
To date, four of the Star Wars Galaxies professions have benefited from the new Profession Expertise System, and with Chapter 4: Armed and Ready for Action, the final three combat professions (commando, spy and medic) will see the system introduced for them as well. In addition, commandos will receive a powerful new battle boost as they rack up enemy casualties.
Chapter 4: Armed and Ready for Action introduces Profession Expertise System for Commandos, Commando Kill Meter Power Boost, Profession Expertise System for Spies, Profession Expertise System for Medics, and In-Game Rewards.
It's good to see the LucasArts Galaxies team continuing their support of the game with legitimate updates such as these. The game might border on tedious at times, but surely the legions of fans are appreciative
New Poll - Chapter Four Print News | Mail News | Category: Site Features With the launch of Chapter Four we've decided to ask you, our readers, "What's Your Favorite Update In Chapter Four?". Let your voice be heard in our new poll on the side of the site.
The holidays are upon us and that means that’s a busy time for all of us, including Vault staff. We know that usually you look forward to Quest Updates every Thursday to help you through your grinding and creature slaying. Unfortunately due to the time of year we always can’t keep up with the busy workloads that life may through at us.
During the month of December you’ll find quest updates being done once every two weeks rather our regular weekly update schedule. Fret not because the holiday season means that we can bring you new and interesting holiday related content as the weeks go on.
Everyone at Star Wars Vault wishes you a happy holiday season.
SOE Seeking Holiday Stories Print News | Mail News | Category: Community SOE is seeking holiday related SWG stories. If you're planning a holiday event or just have a holiday related SW story send it in to them. They'll be featuring it in a special site feature sometime in the coming weeks. We've got the full submission details below:
• Make sure that “Holiday Stories” is in the subject heading of the email!
Please present this specific info (in the following order), inside the body of the email:
List your forum handle, your in-game name and your galaxy .
List the name of your holiday event and the date you threw it.
If your holiday event is happening as part of a regularly scheduled event (such as cantina crawl, let us know so we can highlight your event!
Include you holiday event story (no more than 800 words).
Don't forget to attach those screenshots! Limit: one or two.
• The images you send us must be in one of these f ormats (.bmp/.jpg/.gif) and should be no bigger than 400k. If you have multiple images you may send them as a .zip which should not exceed 1.5mb. Please try to make your screenshots as high quality as possible!
• Please note that all material submitted must be reviewed. If we have any questions, we will contact you. We'll pick the best holiday stories submitted and include them in our feature.
• Remember to keep a copy of these materials for yourself as we will not be archiving them
Chapter 4 Has Arrived Print News | Mail News | Category: Developer Comments SOE has released Chapter Four, the latest update to Galaxies. This update includes a new Commando and Medic expertise system as well as a new gift - Holopets! Check the rest of this article for the quick details or click "read more" for full notes.
Chapter 4 Major Features
• New Commando Expertise System - The commandos are the heavy weapons experts in Star Wars Galaxies and the commando Expertise System gives them the power they crave. Commandos will be able to take advantage of new weapons, attack abilities and group buffs. Commandos will receive new weapons including all types of grenades and heavy weapons. And, since the Commando is a master of armor and demolition the primary commando tree offers the ability to control the timing of remote explosives through expertise like “Remote Detonator” and to increase accuracy/radius through “Flash Bang” and “Angled Shrapnel”. Plus, the commando expertise tree also includes new armor buffs, de-buffs, DOT attacks and heals. The second expertise branch, the assault tree, focuses on heavy weapons, grenades, and stat enhancements. Commandos will become extremely powerful adversaries and even more valuable allies! Click here for more information on Commando Expertise.
• Introduction of the Kill Meter Power Boost - Now, when Commandos go into battle the kill meter starts ticking. The kill meter amplifies your power with each kill up to a maximum of 50 kills. But, if you stop fighting it decays over time – there's an incentive to keep fighting the good fight! Click here for more information on Commando Expertise.
• New Spy Expertise System - The Spy Expertise system takes undercover over the top. The first tree is the Spy specific tree called Covert Operative. It allows the Spy to improve all aspects of being stealthy including a new speed burst, “Burst of Shadows” and to deal damage from stealth through two new combat abilities: “Ambush” and “Snipe”. The second tree is the Spy general tree and contains items that strengthen armor and survivability, traps and damage outside of stealth. Through this path the Spy can acquire skills like the new heal, “Cloaked Recovery”, and the ability to remove poison damage over time effects like “Run Its Course” which removes all DoTs. Plus, the spy will become harder to detect and will become better at detecting others. Check out the new spy skills, if you can find them! Click here for more information on Spy Expertise.
• New Medic Expertise System - The medic will also receive new abilities. The new abilities will reinforce the medic's role as the primary group support by allowing them to build healing/enhancement, debuffing/crowd control and effect cancellation abilities. The thrust of both new expertise trees is on improving the Medic's ability to keep their group safe and strong and/or keep their group's enemies suppressed and wishing they were dead. Key new abilities include the single-target heal, “Bacta Grenade”, and the super-heal, “Bacta Bomb”. Enemies will be contained using skills like the “Serotonin Boost” and the uber-cool power, “Stasis Field”, which essentially functions like a straight jacket preventing the target from taking or dealing damage. Now, being a medic is more than just healing - it's a strategic component of combat. Click here for more information on Medic Expertise.
• Chapter 4 Gift: Holo-pets : Upon logging in during Chapter 4, you will receive a Holo-pet Data Cube and Emitter that can be placed inside your house. When the holo-pet emitter is deployed and a data cube is inserted, a holographic pet will wander a small area in the room. Holo-pet emitters and data cubes aretradeable. Trade them with your friends! Click here for more information on Holo-pets.
Easing our way back in after a week off this is what we talked about:
What ya been doing
TC Experiances
NGE 1-year anniversary
Expertise thoughts
We have two poll questions of the week this week. One for Spy's and one for Medic's. Do you guys like what you are seeing from the Expertise? Check out the TGR Homepage and vote. You can leave your reasons why you voted the way you did in this thread
Currently the Event Team (aka "me") is focused on providing event support to player-run events. I would like to see more random events, but that requires resources (aka "people") that I've never had. I used to run the droid and tusken invasions as often as I was able, but in reality, I wasn't able to affect enough servers often enough at peak times in a reasonable amount of time to make much of an impact on the multiple galaxies. Supporting player events provides a good mix of player-community and visibility for the resources needed to make it happen.
I am always exploring options that can bring the classic "Live Event" type content back to the servers, but in the foreseeable future, I don't see it happening. CSRs will sometimes run creature spawns (an example of which you posted above), but this is more of a fun diversion than a cohesive plan, so I can't really call that a viable option at this stage, though I hope to see more of this in the future, so that's a good thing.
As for pre-programmed events, holidays, special event tools, space event concepts, etc; all current development is focused on the core aspects of the game and not on events, so any programming/design ideas would have to wait as well.
Double Deal should now correctly find its secondary target.
Garaunteed critical chance will work on both of Double Deal's targets.
End of the Line will double the damage of critical hits and it will double the damage on both of Double Deal's hits.
Inside Information does not have a requirement for purchase (no longer needs Innocent Cargo).
For research/possible change:
Fan Shot should not use weapon range for its attack. This was fixed. However, the range is very low. I'll look into increasing it.
