Star Wars Galaxies Trial

[thecrazyd]

The total revisioning of Star Wars: Galaxies was put into effect. You can now try it for free for 10 days from GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/starwarsgalaxiesstarterkit/download.html?sid=6139165&q=star%20wars%20galaxies).

Keep in mind, this is not the Star Wars Galaxies you have played before. Give it a shot before you post the standard "WoW is invincible" rhetoric.

[Evil Avatar]

Keep in mind, this is not the Star Wars Galaxies you have played before. Give it a shot before you post the standard WoW is invincible rhetoric.

Unless they changed the graphics, it is still the same game.

[Nite_Moogle]

WoW is invincible!




/flee

[Voodoo]

What is the improvement to Galaxies that the revisioning brings?

[thecrazyd]

Unless they changed the graphics, it is still the same game.
Ummm.... that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard.

*EDIT* No offense intended... sir.

[reimomo]

Unless they changed the graphics, it is still the same game.

/boggle


Voodoo,

Don't have it in front of me, but they basically
1) slashed the classes down to a total of 8 or 9, including 1 crafter class with 4 subdisciplines. THere used to be 20 some combat classes, and 9 or so crafting classes.

2) redid the combat system. Again. Supposed to be quicker paced than before. This includes new camera control.

3) totally hosed long time subscribers with jedi chars. Jedi = bye-bye, and anyone can choose "force sensitive" class at character creation to run around in a dress and play with a lightsaber.

No clue what its like. I do know they announced this dramatic change 1 day after releasing a new expansion focused around.... Jedi! Good ol' SOE. There was an offer for a refund on the expansion on the SWG site, but it seems they've removed that.

[Phades]

Ummm.... that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard.

*EDIT* No offense intended... sir.

I agree. By that logic that logic then Anarchy Online or Everquest 1 is the same game it was at launch and I assure you it is not.

[XenonCJ]

/boggle


Voodoo,

Don't have it in front of me, but they basically
1) slashed the classes down to a total of 8 or 9, including 1 crafter class with 4 subdisciplines. THere used to be 20 some combat classes, and 9 or so crafting classes.

2) redid the combat system. Again. Supposed to be quicker paced than before. This includes new camera control.

3) totally hosed long time subscribers with jedi chars. Jedi = bye-bye, and anyone can choose "force sensitive" class at character creation to run around in a dress and play with a lightsaber.

No clue what its like. I do know they announced this dramatic change 1 day after releasing a new expansion focused around.... Jedi! Good ol' SOE. There was an offer for a refund on the expansion on the SWG site, but it seems they've removed that.wow that sounds deliciously horrible, are you serious? Are these the changes to "make it cool" for the xbox360?

[gojira]

Any SW:G players out there want to give us their opinions on this? The inside skinny, as it were...

Heck, any SW:G players out there at all? ;)

[thecrazyd]

I dig it. Most fun I have had in a MMO. But then again, I don't usually like MMOs.

[sickfallout]

Anyone out there have a faster mirror? I'm a whore for free MMORPG trials.

[reimomo]

wow that sounds deliciously horrible, are you serious? Are these the changes to "make it cool" for the xbox360?

Haha, no clue. In theory, it could actually be a positive change. At this point, nearly half of the SWG playerbase has a jedi anyway. It really has turned into 1 big game of jedi vs. bounty hunters. I'm sure its horrible, don't get me wrong. Just now sure how much worse it could possibly be.

If anyone else has a morbid fascination with this MMO, you can get the same file (SWG_Trial) from www.fileshack.com with the free registration, along with 5-8x the bandwidth gamespot puts out for its free subscribers.

[Savok]

Ummm.... that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard.

*EDIT* No offense intended... sir.
I'll second that with as much offense as I can muster.

Jesus Christ you say some fucking stupid things Evil.

[agentgray]

I thought that dude off of Goldeneye was invincible?

[BleedTheFreak]

Unless they changed the graphics, it is still the same game.

When I first read this I thought it was just another flame-bait post by some rabid WoW fanboi, then I saw later when someone quoted it that Evil said it, and did a double take. This is a pretty strange statement coming from EA, perhaps I mis-understood his class of gamer.

I can see what this statement is trying to get across, that while the rules may be different, it looks the same (like ass, if I remember the beta right), but I thought WoW wasn't nearly as nice looking as FFXI at first, and after playing it this last year, can safely say it's a whole WORLD better then the craptastic group-jerkoff that is FFXI. So, maybe a new player-friendly SW:G is something that bears looking into?

Except I'm boycotting SOE for that rootkit shit, so nvm. ;)

[Heretic Machine]

Unless they changed the graphics, it is still the same game.

I'm guessing you're looking forward to the PS3...

[spacerat100]

do you need a CC# for this "free" trial? I hate that shit where you gota go though the trouble of calling them and being on hold for hours...

[Evil Avatar]

Ummm.... that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard.

*EDIT* No offense intended... sir.

None taken. However, it was one ASS ugly game before, so changing the game mechanics might make it interesting for a new player or someone who had tried it and given up, but for me it looked like such crap that I couldn't stand to play it in the first place.

Unless they change how the game looks to something closer to a game created sometime after the Playstation 1, they can change the gameplay mechanics all they want and I still won't be tempted back.

They are trying to patch an amputation with a tampon here...

[thecrazyd]

None taken. However, it was one ASS ugly game before, so changing the game mechanics might make it interesting for a new player or someone who had tried it and given up, but for me it looked like such crap that I couldn't stand to play it in the first place.

Unless they change how the game looks to something closer to a game created sometime after the Playstation 1, they can change the gameplay mechanics all they want and I still won't be tempted back.

They are trying to patch an amputation with a tampon here...
You can never be too carefull with you red names...

So you think the graphics were the worse thing in the game? Doesn't gameplay matter at all to you? You know... what you actually play?

[spacerat100]

soo... yes/no need a CC to activate?

[reimomo]

soo... yes/no need a CC to activate?

No CC. I did forget about that SOE Sony rootkit bullshit. Hmmm, torn now. Poke SWG like roadkill until bored or unistall...

[Heretic Machine]

However, it was one ASS ugly game before

...Your computer must suck ASS Evil. Because generally speaking, the graphics were one of the better elements of the game. The animations on the other hand...

[DeadPixel]

I don't always agree with Evil (on many things), but this one I have to say he is dead on. SWG looks like crap. Not only that, the animations are horrible too.

Oh well, too little too late, just let it die already.

[thecrazyd]

I don't always agree with Evil (on many things), but this one I have to say he is dead on. SWG looks like crap. Not only that, the animations are horrible too.

Oh well, too little too late, just let it die already.
Have you tried it? I would assume you are talking out of your ass, but I can't be sure.

[Zeal]

World of Warcraft has already won. It's over.

ACCEPT YOUR FATE.

[Evil Avatar]

So you think the graphics were the worse thing in the game? Doesn't gameplay matter at all to you? You know... what you actually play?

That is obviously important, but when a game looks as amateuristic as Star Wars Galaxies did (the words coyote ugly come to mind), it is impossible to play it long enough to find out if there is a good game lying somewhere under all that ugly.

I think EverQuest II had pretty much the same problem. EverQuest II was the "generic fantasy game" and Star Wars Galaxies is the "generic sci-fi game".

All the models look like they were created by first time 3D studio authors using nothing but some generic template model and then spending a little more than an hour making them look kind of like Star Wars would look like if it was made by one of those kids attending a television art college.

A game needs a "style". "Generic" isn't a style.

What little I played of Star Wars Battlefront - the models looked about 1000% better than SWG.

[eatme]

That is obviously important, but when a game looks as amateuristic as Star Wars Galaxies did (the words coyote ugly come to mind), it is impossible to play it long enough to find out if there is a good game lying somewhere under all that ugly.

I think EverQuest II had pretty much the same problem. EverQuest II was the "generic fantasy game" and Star Wars Galaxies is the "generic sci-fi game".


Absolutely. SOE has some serious fucking problems in the art department. My proposed fix: fire the art director. Then, fire him again. Then, go to the other studio (Austin), and fire that one. Except, he just left. Fire him anyway. Then, fire the people who were supposed to fire him after they saw the dismal shit he authorized for EQ2.

Maybe I'm overreacting. *looks at some EQ2 screen shots* Nope. That shit is fucking dismal.

I'm still downloading SWG, because I'm excited about the combat changes. Consider it research.

[Exodus]

You know what would kick ass? getting the asian artists from lineage 2, because we all love hot female elf ass around in a game looking sexy in barely anything wielding whips and swords...
whips.. now is that the part of me that wants to be dominated speaking?...

oh why do I listen to the voices in my head... why oh why...

[Bushido]

You know what would kick ass? getting the asian artists from lineage 2, because we all love hot female elf ass around in a game looking sexy in barely anything wielding whips and swords...
whips.. now is that the part of me that wants to be dominated speaking?...

oh why do I listen to the voices in my head... why oh why...


Im listening to those voices and I like what im hearing.

[TrackZero]

When I first read this I thought it was just another flame-bait post by some rabid WoW fanboi, then I saw later when someone quoted it that Evil said it, and did a double take. This is a pretty strange statement coming from EA, perhaps I mis-understood his class of gamer.


Yeah, well Evil isn't exactly what you'd consider a "moderate". If gaming was politics, he'd be an extremist in whatever he likes/hates. ;)

Just be thankful he doesn't review games on the site (at least none in my recent memory).

[TrackZero]

That reminds me, I have the Star Wars: Galaxies collectors edition buried in a corner somewhere, haven't opened it since launch day.

Ah, what fun that was. Logging into the game for the first time, being left with zero direction of where to go. Going to fight my first rodent and finding that all I needed to do was choose "attack" and let it sit there hit/missing like some bizzare MMO version of Final Fantasy (how hard is it to shoot a goddamn rat with a blaster, seriously?). Logging out, cancelling, taking the game back to EB and being told "sorry, you opened it, we can't take it back". Good times.

Anyone wanna trade games for it? I'm looking for any good PS2 titles someone wants to unload (since I only have Shadow of the Colossus in my collection thus far). Then again, don't even know if the games serial number will let someone else use this copy of the game....

[Paltry]

christ guys graphics are a very important part of any game, i love how us self righteous hardcore gamers like thinking they dont matter but come the fuck on, stop kidding yourselves

[Evil Avatar]

Yeah, well Evil isn't exactly what you'd consider a "moderate". If gaming was politics, he'd be an extremist in whatever he likes/hates. ;)

Just be thankful he doesn't review games on the site (at least none in my recent memory).

I'll be reviewing a LOT of Xbox 360 titles over the next year until the Playstation 3 comes out. Then, I'll probably heap a lot of attention on the PS3 for a while.

However, my "writing" days are about to return. I'm not going to let bapenguin and Everlost_MI have all the fun.

[DeadPixel]

Have you tried it? I would assume you are talking out of your ass, but I can't be sure.
Assume all you want.

I played it before the space expansion, in fact I still have my SWG box sitting right on the shelf next to 5 other MMOGs. While I would agree that graphics do not define a good game, I simply stated that I'm with Evil on this one. This game looks terrible.

SONY, please let this one die along with the Matrix Online, learn and move on. Besides, those San Diego SOE developers are sure looking grim when I run into them at lunch at the food court.

[NeuroMan42]

I played SWG up until the release. I may give this a try, because I could not stand the way the game was originally. It was basically EQ in space, and after playing EQ for such a long time before SWG I was sooooo not impressed.

[Derella]

The graphics were never a problem for me. What destroyed SWG was the bugginess and the fact that it was Star Wars, at least for me. SWG was like playing a fantasy MMO, set in the Star Wars mythos. Except you didnt do anything that was really Star Wars-y... You crafted items, or killed helpless animals, or danced in a cantina.

It would be next to impossible to create a Star Wars MMO that accurately portrayed the tone of the setting.

[Steve_Erhardt]

Does this trial include the space combat stuff? Because that's what would interest me in SWG. If not... M'eh.

[Taco]

Maybe SOE should just hire EatMe as a consultant to fix the graphics up. No BS, just the truth and the fix all in one ;).

I don't play any MMRPG's now, but I did play a good amount of EQ2. Liked the game, but yeah, Evil's take on the generic graphic "style" is pretty spot on.

[Derella]

Maybe SOE should just hire EatMe as a consultant to fix the graphics up. No BS, just the truth and the fix all in one ;).

I don't play any MMRPG's now, but I did play a good amount of EQ2. Liked the game, but yeah, Evil's take on the generic graphic "style" is pretty spot on.
IMO, SWG's character models look better than EQ2's... At least humans look like humans in SWG, and not like lumpy, stoned, mutants. Hideous looking characters was one of my main reasons for quitting EQ2. That, and it was boooooring.

[Ernst_Jager]

I wouldn't play this just because SOE loves to screw their subscribers every chance they get.

[Grimgrock]

Absolutely. SOE has some serious fucking problems in the art department. My proposed fix: fire the art director. Then, fire him again. Then, go to the other studio (Austin), and fire that one. Except, he just left. Fire him anyway. Then, fire the people who were supposed to fire him after they saw the dismal shit he authorized for EQ2.


and for your viewing pleasure, I bring you these inspired quotes from a great movie...


We apologise for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have
been sacked.

We apologise again for the fault in the subtitles. Those
responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked
have been sacked.

The directors of the firm hired to continue the credits after the other
people had been sacked, wish it to be known that they have just been
sacked.

[didragondi]

I don't make any assumptions regarding this except about my bank account: I am not rich. Free games rock hard. Guild Wars is FREE! And pretty fun to boot; not sure if its better than WOW or SWG, but I would not know..return to point one for clarification . It may not be WOW but I hear it is better than SWG. Given that, I scratch my head at subscribers to all other MMORPG's.

[Taco]

Simple really. Guild Wars is a good game that is not a MMRPG. I think I've heard this argument before :).

[bean19]

I just wanted to mention that I started "craptastic" about 5 years ago. I am glad that others have taken up my contribution to the language.

[thecrazyd]

Assume all you want.

I played it before the space expansion, in fact I still have my SWG box sitting right on the shelf next to 5 other MMOGs. While I would agree that graphics do not define a good game, I simply stated that I'm with Evil on this one. This game looks terrible.

SONY, please let this one die along with the Matrix Online, learn and move on. Besides, those San Diego SOE developers are sure looking grim when I run into them at lunch at the food court.
Oh, ok, so you haven't played the game in anything even resembling its current state. How about you hold off on your opinion until you have something relevant to say?

[Demo_Boy]

OK does this demo install the Sony Rootkit crap on your system? Cause I'm trying to avoid compromising my system.

I would try this but no way unless I know for sure that theres no sony rootkit crap in it.

[Roc Ingersol]

I just wanted to mention that I started "craptastic" about 5 years ago. I am glad that others have taken up my contribution to the language.
yeah, and paris hilton started 'thats hot'. :rolleyes:

[Discobob73]

World of Warcraft has already won. It's over.

ACCEPT YOUR FATE.
"FOR THE FORSAKEN!"

[Steve_Erhardt]

I just wanted to mention that I started "craptastic" about 5 years ago. I am glad that others have taken up my contribution to the language.
I'm pretty sure Evil and I were using that back in high school, and it wasn't new then, either. ;)

[Sophism]

However, it was one ASS ugly game before, so changing the game mechanics might make it interesting for a new player or someone who had tried it and given up, but for me it looked like such crap that I couldn't stand to play it in the first place.

We must have been playing a different game. (http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=309660)

Yup, definitely a different game. (http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=326486)

The change is a horrible one, but graphics have not been a problem for me at any point.

WoW is fun, but more like Minesweeper is fun. That's why the rest system works...small doses are actually encouraged by the game.

[Savok]

Hate to say it but support Evil's thing of it being ugly. Not only does it look early PS2 but the creative energy is completely lacking.

[reimomo]

News flash... swg still blows. Tried the trial out for a bit. the 3.5rd person camera thing works out alright, and combat clicks along at a good pace. you can still run backwards and shoot directly behind you, so melee people are screwed in combat. The trial is decent, but short. I feel sorry for any newbies to the game who think the rest of hte universe will be full of non-scripted quests like the space station.

If SWG had been like this on day 1, maybe it would have eventually turned into a decent game. too little, too late.

Does this trial include the space combat stuff? Because that's what would interest me in SWG. If not... M'eh.

Yes, you get some space combat.

EDIT:
Although graphics do not a game make, I have to back Evil up just a bit here. SWG and EQ2 have the most soulless high poly graphics I've ever seen.

[Sophism]

Hate to say it but support Evil's thing of it being ugly. Not only does it look early PS2 but the creative energy is completely lacking.
Early PS2 (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/previews/image/gameday2001/gd2001_22.jpg)

SWG (http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/655/655516/star-wars-galaxies-trials-of-obi-wan-20051003050112023.jpg)
Another SWG (http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/643/643702/star-wars-galaxies-expands-again-20050819014156473.jpg)

For reference, here is an XBOX360 shot. (http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/657/657699/gun-20051011111024639.jpg)

Which one does SWG have more in common with?

Graphics are not SWG's problem. Lack of content and horrible developer direction are a lot closer to the truth.

[Tia]

Early PS2 (http://ps2media.ign.com/media/previews/image/gameday2001/gd2001_22.jpg)

SWG (http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/655/655516/star-wars-galaxies-trials-of-obi-wan-20051003050112023.jpg)
Another SWG (http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/643/643702/star-wars-galaxies-expands-again-20050819014156473.jpg)

For reference, here is an XBOX360 shot. (http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/657/657699/gun-20051011111024639.jpg)

Which one does SWG have more in common with?

Graphics are not SWG's problem. Lack of content and horrible developer direction are a lot closer to the truth.

Gun is the ugliest game on X360. Every review complains about it.

That being said, SWG graphics are not ugly as in low poly (though they are far from impressive in that aspect). They are more ugly in a boring mind numbing poke your eyes out sense.

Oh by the way, I was lead to beleive SOE gives refund to whoever bought the last expension... is that true?

[Derella]

I just finished running through the trial with two different characters. It didn't make me want to play.

And for the record, the graphics didnt look anything like the shots you linked, Bionic. It's possible that my x800 cant keep up with a 3 year old game though...

Edit:
The run animation in the game was probably the worst I've seen in a long time.

[Savok]

Early PS2 (http://playstation-2-cheats.com/dw9.jpg)

The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.

[Sophism]

I just finished running through the trial with two different characters. It didn't make me want to play.

And for the record, the graphics didnt look anything like the shots you linked, Bionic. It's possible that my x800 cant keep up with a 3 year old game though...

Edit:
The run animation in the game was probably the worst I've seen in a long time.
I'm on an X800, so that shouldn't be a problem. 3.2 ghz, 1 gig RAM. Nothing spectacular hardware-wise, but that's what my graphics in-game are.

The animations are early-PS2 caliber at best. Those that are even implemented, that is :rolleyes: Reload animations have yet to be put in, so you just randomly stand perfectly still every fifteen seconds or so for a bit.

Don't mistake my disagreement with the "analysis" of the graphics with disagreement that the game is balls. Oh, it's balls. But not because of the graphics.

[bean19]

Information on the Trial

I just downloaded and played this. Impressions:

-Fast download and install considering this is an MMO - I was up and playing within an hour. Faster than I expected.

-The first thing you notice is that they have featured Star Wars characters. Han Solo saves you from a space station that is under Imperial control. You get to fight alongside him. This is really fun.

-The combat IS much faster and much more fun. You aim blasters and press the attack key. Cover helps you get missed as shots that would otherwise hit your feet miss. Melee characters are very exposed (I found out later as I selected a Jedi), but deal greater damage. To use special skills, you select the skill from your skill bar and right-click.

-Missions work a lot like the mission system in WoW. You get a speech tree from NPCs that explains the mission, but to the right are the requirements of the quest and what rewards you will recieve upon completion. That's very nice. Also, the old waypoint system from SWG still works, so finding out where to go is simple.

-It still looks decent, if not great on my PC. However, that is to be expected. I know that the graphics can be made to look excellent on a good PC, but it tends to still be a computer hog. The AI in the game is still really bad. Mobs sometimes see you and shoot you through obstacles, the AI sometimes won't see you 5 feet away (which is a necessary evil sadly as they pack all the mobs in so tightly together and otherwise melee would get torn apart). So big technical issues that have plagued EQ, SWG, and EQ II persist.

-It doesn't take long before you are sent on missions in space. At first, this worked fine, but after going to space a few times, I started to encounter crash errors that have completely stopped my ability to play the game. So, I won't buy the title until this is fixed. No use playing a game you can't play. The crash repeated itself after 3 boot ups. I simply can't load in to the space area. Maybe this is a server side crash, but the error boxes indicate a client side crash and a Full Scan did not fix the problem.

So, neat improvements (so far) and I'd totally invest again. . . except it isn't stable at all. I played for less than 2 hours and encountered a repeatable crash bug that locks me out of playing. . . My character is "in space" and thus without being able to load up space I cannot progress.

Going to roll up a bounty hunter and try to see how far the new mission system goes. My understanding is that the changes only last until like level 10 and then it's back to hunting womprats ad nausiem until they add in more of this really good new content. I don't want to spend $15, play for a week, and then have to wait 3 months for the next portion of the game to be fun.

My suggestion: Check out the trial, but wait for updates. It's free, and the gameplay really has been improved considerably. I haven't tried upping my graphical settings yet, as I am always a performance first person and I was testing other stuff today, but so far it looks pretty good.

I'd hold off on a purchase or at least do more research and find out how far the gameplay improvements have been implemented thus far. This may be a great game to look at early next year. The fact that there are crashes one day after a major Publish may not indicate that the game is still poorly supported technically, and could instead just mean a fart in the space server or some other space related bug that gets a hotfix. Lots of stuff still unknown.

[UnderHero5]

Well, I've wanted to try SWG for a very long time. I heard a lot of bad things about that, that's what kept me from buying it. I'm glad they finally released a free trial (been waiting for years)... now I can finally stop wanting to play try this piece of garbage.
Man it's bad.

The game crashed 3 times in the course of a couple hours.... for apparently random reasons. Just walking around... boom, crash.

The gameplay, from what little I could play, was horrible. The graphics weren't THAT bad, but animations were VERY bad.

Definitely not a game for me. I don't think I can take any more standard, run of the mill MMORPG's. Especially sub-par ones like this.

I'm glad I can finally stop wondering about it : )

People actually PAY to play this game?... wow.

[kickmybum]

This may be worth picking up again. I'll have to check it out this weekend.

[bean19]

Much too unstable to purchase. I was fairly stable with my Jedi (until the repeated crash bug from trying to pilot), but with the spy I rolled up (to get a feel for blaster combat and because spies are cool.) I crashed regularly and without any apparent reason.

I'm crashing more frequently than I even did in the extremely buggy beta of this game. Crashes should be rare. . . like you might experience one once/month. . . not multiple times in a single play session.

Maybe this is what happens when you change code over and over and over and over. I bet they have thousands of little bugs that are very difficult to diagnose. Also, given the random nature of the crashes, I'm guessing they are caused in part or completley by other people's actions.

Anyway, uninstalling. I'll look at this again in March or so. Hopefully, the good content will be added in to level 40 or so by then, and they'll have fixed the crash bugs. I remember playing SWG for hours and hours without a single crash a few months after release. The fact that getting to play for 5 hours in a row without a crash was a treat says a lot about how far other MMOs have come as far as stability. Meanwhile, SOE continues to hack out poorly tested code with impunity.

[eatme]

Wow. I know it's tough to test on all possible configurations, but crash reports shouldn't be this widespread-- they don't sound system specific. That's just inexcusable.

If SWG wasn't dead already, they're killing it off now. Why would you squander the little bit of publicity you can still get on the game with a demo that permanently turns off potential customers?

WoW isn't just winning because of the Blizzard name. It's almost winning by default. Can't anyone else execute?

[bean19]

Wow. I know it's tough to test on all possible configurations, but crash reports shouldn't be this widespread-- they don't sound system specific. That's just inexcusable.
I agree. This is a shame too, because pounding the left-mouse key to fire a blaster or execute melee attacks is pretty exiliarating. The gameplay is actually quite good. . . when it isn't breaking. I think they could have revitalized the franchise with a solid execution here. It pisses me off that I can't play, so that shows I'm interested. :)

Btw, I have one of the most run-of-the-mill video cards in existence. Currently sporting a Radeon 9800. If they can't support one of the most frequent chip sets, that says a lot. . . actually it says it is probably not client related at all, as this would be just incredibly stupid and the game has been out too long to be having client crashes. Almost definitely a server/net code issue or a problem relating only to the trial edition code.

WoW isn't just winning because of the Blizzard name. It's almost winning by default. Can't anyone else execute?
Well, I'd argue that WoW is winning by being super accessible, catering to casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike, delivering solid gameplay and updating regulary (if not frequently).

City of Heroes/City of Villains is probably the closest competitor in quality, but they scare off a lot of customers with frequent and really not necessary nerfs. . . plus they don't create good endgame content like WoW does. Even the runner up in quality isn't competitive with WoW in this regard.

So yes, WoW is definitely making a killing based off poor competition, but I wanted to point out that it isn't just the Blizzard name that is doing it. They deliver on the gameplay too.

[Bushido]

They are still using the paying customer to beta test. The NGE are wicked I refused to play the original SWG for its lackluster gameplay. Hit attack go get a sandwich. The originals Devs were CRACKWHORES. This new guy has a brain in his head.