SWG Changes: The "New Game Enhancements" From a Veteran Players's Perspective
There is a lot of negativity in SWG now with the "new game enhancements" that were sprung on the community. While I do not want to undermine the game -- I want the game to be great! -- I do feel like readers deserve some attempts at objective reviews. I am not immature (age 45, a practicing physician), and I certainly hope I am not short-sighted, as some glowingly positive reviewers have suggested of those who are not thrilled with the new game. And I expect a mmorpg to evolve, so change is expected.
But the new changes are a complete change of game genre, not just changes to the particulars of the game. Unfortunately, this change does not compete well with other games to which it is now similar. It is now sort of an action/FPS hybrid. The development team has been fairly open about the fact that they are trying to emulate WoW in many ways. The amount of lag and the quirkiness of the interface make this combo fairly difficult to manage. Blizzard makes WoW work very well. SOE and LA have not found their stride with SWG. They will not be luring many WoW players away with this latest attempt.
No mods for the interface are available or even allowed. Most people I have spoken with about it (and I agree) find the new interface much more difficult to use, and more of a hindrance than an improvement.
There has been an effort to include more characters from the movies, and more movie related content, which is done pretty nicely from what I have seen thus far. Established players do not have access to much of this, however. It is largely concentrated in the new player tutorial, which is unavailable to established characters.
The degree of freedom you have to interact with in the galaxy, define your character as an individual, and pursue your own type of play-style, has been diminished rather severely. Professions available down by 75%, no respec'ing to a different profession without deleting your stuff, and no "hybrid professions," all former hallmarks of SWG that set it apart in mmorpgs, to my knowledge.
Advancement by questing (directed content) is now available to lower level characters. Again, this seems aimed at competing with WoW, the market leader. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to higher level characters in established areas of the game environment, so they are wanting at the moment. High level quests are available on the new expansion, but are otherwise lacking. And the new expansion is pricey: $30 for one planet and about 30 quests.
Crafters and entertainers, two professional areas that made SWG so diverse and interesting, have been largely marginalized in this update... so much so, in fact, that many foresee the elimination of these professions, much as bioengineers and creature handlers, rangers, and scouts (to name a few of the many deleted professions), saw their particular area of interest disappear.
The game has a more "magical" mechanic now, also. In days gone by, a medic needed medicines in their possession to treat battlefield injuries. Now, he can heal and area with a spell-like ability. Same for Grenades... none need be in inventory for a commando to use this "ability." I find this incongruent with trying to be "realistic" to allow suspension of disbelief and immersion in the game. throwing a grenade you do not have is just bogus.
Learning new skills has also been simplified... you just mysteriously learn them now, rather than the previous mechanic of actually having to find someone to train you. This is not immersive for me.
So should you try SWG? Well, there is a free 14 day trial coming available. I would strongly urge you to use that as a way to see if you want to get involved in SWG, rather than purchasing the game to start. There are dire predictions of a total collapse of the game, and frankly, SOE and Lucas Arts have done an incredibly poor job of community relations and customer service over the long term with this game. But there are still may players enjoying the game at the moment, so with a free trial, you can't really lose anything but a few hours of your time.
Best of Luck!