tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59736037537161102782024-03-16T01:11:56.654+00:00Galactic Antics | The ramblings of another Star Wars gaming bloggerGalactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.comBlogger308125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-3309706123636556162023-08-09T12:21:00.060+01:002023-08-09T12:21:00.144+01:00Nine: And so, the time has come...<p style="text-align: justify;">...to say goodbye.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I created this blog nine years ago today, I had no idea how long it was destined to last. I had previously tried creating a blog a year prior, although it had very little longevity and I lost interest after writing three posts. I remember thinking it would be quite fun to focus a portion of that blog's energy around specific characters and their activities, like gushing over an Inquisitor's new ship, and so on, although that didn't come to pass ultimately. I even tried creating my own version of the character portrait frames as part of the aesthetic, something I'm <i>very </i>glad didn't survive beyond the conceptual phase!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, I hadn't quite abandoned the idea of blog-writing entirely, and a few months later <i>Spawn of the Dread Master</i> popped into existence. Through it, I got to interact with several members of the blogging community while getting my thoughts about the game out and about. It was really quite good fun, and I have some excellent memories from this blog's tenure.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, there comes a point when everything reaches its end. It's nice to think that something has the potential to go on forever and ever, but in practice it often can't or shouldn't work out that way. In some regards, I feel very fortunate; considering my track record for various projects, that what is now <i>Galactic Antics</i> even managed to reach its <i>first</i> anniversary without collapsing is incredible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To reach nine? Wow. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm choosing to pull the plug on this blog now rather than try and help it through another year or more simply because I've always believed in ending things on your own terms. I'd rather give this blog a proper ending rather than let it just die, and I'm genuinely concerned that when it comes to <i>finding</i> things to write about and subsequently getting my thoughts on paper, my current success rate with fleshing out a post concept will result in the blog just dying on its own with no send-off.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Plus, it feels right that it should be put to rest on the same day and even <i>the exact same time</i> my first post was published. Oh, yeah, pulling out all the poetic stops with this one!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since I had been intending to end the blog today, for the past few weeks I had been trying to hash out some posts that I either always wanted to write or those which were relevant to my current interests. Needless to say, I was unsuccessful, but I will provide a short summary of what I would have <i>liked</i> to write about with each below!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Favourite Music in <i>SWTOR</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This one has been in my "I must write about this some day!" list for <i>years</i>. As someone who is big into soundtracks such as <i>SWTOR</i>'s, it seemed logical that a post about this would be right up my alley.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet it never got written, because I felt absolutely <i>terrified</i> about inadvertently getting out of my depth. I enjoy music, but I could never dive into the themes, the melodies, or provide any substantial thoughts or feelings about a given piece of music other than saying "it's cool, I like it" and variations thereof. It's disappointing to almost be paralysed in such a manner regarding something that I <i>love</i>, but it is what it is.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of pieces of music I would identify in such a post, the list would include the following:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSN12LP0U4M">A War of Heirs</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJOERDcQd8w">Alderaan, the Throne</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF7ROkpzQ1c">Balmorra, the Forge</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEb4jkWRabk">Clash of Destiny</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAWDeWTlMjc&list=PLiJsK_sFeeKygEepqlUoXIBwcyeGfXrXx&index=10">Coruscant, the Capital</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L70PEfBip7U">Hope, the Republic Trooper</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcDj_CBG68o">Peace, the Jedi Consular</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQBxW18zXzg&list=PLiJsK_sFeeKygEepqlUoXIBwcyeGfXrXx&index=68">The Clairvoyance of Aryn Leneer</a></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think some of these largely became my favourites courtesy of repetition, allowing the tune to get stuck in my head. Notably, part of <i>Hope, the Republic Trooper</i> would play on loop during the end to Act I aboard the <i>Justice</i>, and since that was the very first Act I conclusion I saw and it happened to be really quite long back in the day, it ended up sticking. That's also not the mention the music that plays when the trooper leaves a space station or planet with their ship, which is second only to the consular's in my view.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The consular <i>definitely</i> cheats, however, by making liberal use of the frustratingly-unreleased music that accompanies Obi-Wan's arrival to Utapau in <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>. That's a beautiful piece of music and I am sorry that we have no official avenue to accessing it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Others, such as <i>Balmorra, the Forge</i> and <i>The Clairvoyance of Aryn Leneer</i>, I fell in love with the first time hearing them, especially as the opening 50 seconds of the former accompanied Imperial characters' visits to Balmorra from day one. In general, <i>Balmorra, the Forge</i> is a brilliant piece to represent the theme of Balmorra as this war-torn planet, where it is your job to help tear things down further before eventually building it back up again. That last minute and 12 seconds is absolutely <i>glorious</i>, and is well used in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTZxrB3RqRk&t=1s"><i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i> launch trailer</a>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have a particular soft spot for <i>Alderaan, the Throne</i>, courtesy of its almost medieval-evoking harpsichord. It creates a very strong mental image of civility and elegance, and honestly would probably fit a generic fantasy game very well outside of the <i>Star Wars</i> brand. It's just such a lovely piece to accompany the peaceful landscapes of Alderaan.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are some pieces of music that I really like that were never officially released, either on <i>SWTOR</i>'s youtube channel or via the Collector's Edition CD, like the rendition of the <i>KotOR</i> theme that plays during Revan's grand entrance at the end of <i>Legacy of the Rakata</i>. While some videos do exist of the ripped music files, I cannot in good faith include them officially on this list.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have absolutely loved listening to the music of <i>SWTOR</i>, and I look forward to hearing what new pieces they have in the pipeline for future content.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>A Gut-Feeling Comparison between <i>SWTOR</i> and <i>WOW</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This one has tried to take several different forms over the past couple of months. Obviously, my take on the latter game is going to be heavily biased; I'm new to it, I've been used to what <i>SWTOR</i> has done for almost twelve years, and my idea of what makes a game fun and compelling will be very different to a lot of the typical <i>WoW</i> playerbase.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With that in mind, the latest iteration of this post would have looked at things I ultimately loved about how <i>SWTOR</i> handles things compared to <i>WoW</i>. This would touch on the incredible alt-friendliness, something which <i>SWTOR</i> feels increasingly like it was ahead of its time with, lack of emphasis on "short-term" current content, and viability of so much of the game courtesy of level-scaling compared to what <i>WoW</i> does.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For example, the middle category of those three would touch on how <i>WoW</i> loves to have cycles of new activities or various 'seasonal' dungeons for its playerbase that may or may not include gear upgrades, then introduce something new a short while later that may give better gear, causing some of this earlier 'new' content to just become abandoned even if only two months old.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's just so baffling to me that this is just how things <i>are</i>. I mean, I know things also become fairly quiet in <i>SWTOR</i> once people get all they want from it, but the game does at least <i>try</i> to encourage you to go back to older daily zones, and at least because their rewards are mostly timeless (i.e., mainly cosmetic) that doesn't render them <i>redundant</i> if starting them afresh with newer characters or as a new player!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, I tend to find that in the case of the Mythic+ dungeons, where eight dungeons at a time are made available in difficulty-scaling mode that can increase up into the +20s, having such a concentrated focus actually makes it <i>harder</i> to memorise stuff. Within <i>SWTOR</i>, I know I don't need to fret about <i>working</i> on memorising stuff, as I've been doing flashpoints and operations for <i>years</i>, and because they're all scaled up to our level it is quite easy to just go and <i>do</i> them. In <i>WoW</i>, because you have to memorise <i>so much</i> in such a short space of time, that paradoxically makes it easier to <i>forget</i> about things if you have to take a break of even a week or two.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It doesn't help that there's <i>so much more going on</i> courtesy of the "affixes", which give different challenges each week, so there may be some weeks where you don't need to worry about 'extra' stuff and can just focus on the proper dungeon mechanics themselves, and other weeks where the affixes present a significant difficulty upgrade for whatever reason. I get the feeling that I'll finally have cracked which dungeon does what, where, and <i>when</i> by the time the season ends and another eight get set up. Not fun.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, that's right, I'm finding reason to complain about an MMO churning out multiple significant updates in a short period of time. MMO players, always finding something negative about the grass which we don't realise is greener, huh?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's also much less onus on just keeping up-to-date with a character in <i>SWTOR</i>, because you can just get gear <i>and level up</i> regardless of where your character is in the story. Sure, someone like me who has all their characters caught up to the most recent story is in the unlucky position of always having to repeat the same stuff in short order, but someone who has ten, twenty characters, all of whom are spread out story-wise? There's a lot of variety there for what you can <i>do</i> and how slowly or quickly you want to progress any given character through stuff.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Heck, there's a guildie of mine in <i>SWTOR</i> who hasn't even <b>started</b> <i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i> on the vast majority of his characters, and has never seen beyond the earlier parts of 4.0's storyline despite being max-level with several characters and a frequent contributor to endgame progression and fun casual content. I can't say I blame him, given the quality of a good portion of the content that succeeded <i>Rise of the Hutt Cartel</i>'s various storylines, but it's a stark contrast compared to <i>WoW</i>, where if you want to get a character to max-level and geared up, you need to have access to the new expansion's area or group content and will be steered towards doing the new stuff even if you're halfway through the previous expansion's content. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Essentially, I think what I'm getting at is that I'm not a huge fan of how <i>WoW</i> focuses so much on making each of its newest expansions, events, or areas relevant until a new one comes out and they essentially abandon what came before compared to <i>SWTOR</i> trying its best to keep the <b>entire game</b> relevant somehow. <i>WoW</i> is <b>massive</b>, but it feels <i>tiny</i> at the same time due to just how much stuff is just... irrelevant beyond a certain point. Even trying to level through an old expansion kicks you back to doing the 'actual' story the moment you hit a certain level (which, as of the latest patch, is now level 61, and before that 60 and 50). That's not a good look in my book.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, this comparison is really what's hurting my long-term potential for <i>WoW</i>, and why I do not believe I will be investing in any future expansions unless things change drastically. I love having the option to flit between multiple characters in <i>SWTOR</i> and use them for whatever I want to, as they all have the same rating gear and I know how to use them to a good standard. There is much less <i>effort</i> involved in focusing on a given character, and it subsequently doesn't feel as much of a waste to focus intermittently on different characters if you're having trouble deciding which one you enjoy most.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's certainly a risk in <i>WoW</i> that you can feel like you've made a 'mistake' in switching mains and losing needed time and opportunity to gear up another character. This is also not helped if this realisation coincides with a once-thriving zone now being abandoned, depriving you of decent and casual access to upgrade materials and the like. That isn't a fun feeling at all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I may have a fair number of issues with <i>SWTOR</i> and what it's doing, but I will always define it as "my" MMO simply because I have far fewer <i>long-term</i> issues with its core gameplay and values. Sure, <i>BioWare</i> kept us in the dark a lot of the time, and chances are that will continue under <i>Broadsword</i>, but at the same time I'd rather <i>not</i> be faced with the knowledge that this or that piece of content will only be relevant for a couple of months, if that, before something new comes in before it even gets released. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'll take 'timeless' content, where in theory you can come along to it any time you like and still get the exact same experience as you would have done on day one, over stuff like that <i>any</i> day.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>What my "Ideal" MMO would be</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Having played five MMOs, I've seen a fair number of features across them that I really like when compared to similar features in other games. Thus, it seemed like an idea to try and highlight what these features would be and combine them into one big ideal MMO.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this is a <i>massive</i> concept, and it can't be denied that a number of the things I like would be impractical except if money were no object. I mean, <i>SWTOR</i>'s story delivery in terms of origin stories, and fully-voice-acted cutscenes, and treating classes as characters rather than vice-versa is probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. It's absolutely <i>fantastic</i>, but we know from experience that it quickly became something that not even <i>SWTOR</i> could keep going to a great extent for very long.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other features I would have identified beyond quest and story delivery would be the customisation features seen in <i>Neverwinter Online</i> and <i>The Elder Scrolls Online</i>, where the outfit and dyeing systems blow <i>SWTOR</i>'s out the water with things like dyes that can be applied in any order to an outfit and even <i>weapon</i>'s available colour slots (a maximum of three) rather than being a pre-packaged deal of two dyes that are occasionally released alongside a reversed variant. It seems like such a small thing <i>to</i> call out of all the features possible, but designing a character and their looks is incredibly important to me, so of course I have to prioritise it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Definitely would pick the alt-friendliness of <i>ESO</i> and <i>SWTOR</i> in terms of gearing characters. <i>ESO</i> needs to learn more about alt-friendliness with things like mount training, but then I guess they wouldn't profit from riding lessons sold on the Crown Store as much... </p><p style="text-align: justify;">World-design would be <i>ESO</i>, hands-down. <i>ESO</i> is by far the prettiest MMO I have ever played, and courtesy of many town NPCs having unique looks and even names their towns also feel the most <i>alive</i> of any MMO I have ever played, with <i>WoW</i> following behind. Heck, the NPCs even have different voiced dialogue, both with other NPCs and directed at the player, depending on your quest progress. That's pretty swish, even though some lines <i>do</i> get tiresome. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Dragons, in your own homeland! Praise Vivec! THE GUILD HAS NEED OF YOU, COMRADE! Oh, just shush, you lot.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise, in terms of core gameplay it would have to be more akin to <i>SWTOR</i> and <i>WoW</i>'s<i> </i>style than the actiony style of <i>ESO</i> and <i>Neverwinter</i>. I found myself absolutely <i>loathing</i> the action gameplay when I tried raiding and harder difficulty dungeons in <i>ESO</i>, and when it came to<i> SWTOR</i> in some form with <i>R-4 Anomaly</i> I just noped out of there very quickly. I'm sorry, I play these games for <i>fun</i>, and having to be aware of when to move, where to move, constantly doing stuff on the move, etc. etc. just isn't fun <i>to me</i>. I may have a ton of respect for players who can play these games well, but I have no interest in imitating them even by choice.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When I tried <i>Jedi Survivor</i> I promptly pegged it down to the lowest difficulty, as the parry-dodge-block style of combat just isn't what I live for. I'm happy I didn't pay for that game (courtesy of <i>EA Play Pro</i>, I didn't <i>steal</i> the thing; it's not even worth that!) given that I stopped after about six or so hours, and no, "it gets good after <i>x</i> hours" is not an excuse for forgiving dire gameplay in the first few hours, especially when it's not good enough to make up for a dragging storyline.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Getting sidetracked. Point is, I'd pick anything <i>but</i> actiony quick-reflex gameplay.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Funnily enough, aside from combat and content structure (raids, dungeons, etc.), the latter of which is shared to the letter by almost <i>all</i> of these games, I actually don't know if there's anything I would actually pick from <i>WoW</i> that no other game does...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion and Farewell</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, here we are. The end.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">These past nine years have been good fun. I have enjoyed nursing this blog through the years, and I'm grateful to have given myself the opportunity to start anew after my prior attempt.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Would I want to pick blogging up again? I can't say I would at the moment, at least not until I get over my current struggles with actually writing things to a satisfactory standard. Indeed, to prove that point, this is actually the second time I have written this post out in-full due to my not liking the original "final" draft.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If I were to create another blog at any point in the future, it would be more general and just be used as an outlet for anything that comes to me on any subject. I firmly believe that the days of maintaining a specialist blog, even one with a theoretically wider scope, are behind me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of how rough things <i>have</i> been over the past couple of years in particular, I have very much loved being a part of the wider <i>SWTOR</i> and blogging community. I hope people have enjoyed reading my various thoughts on what's been going on in <i>SWTOR</i>, and even though I may no longer be jotting them down I will still be paying close attention to what does go on in the future. Those of you reading other <i>SWTOR</i> blogs will likely see me cropping up in their comments sections from time to time, so I'm not going to fade <i>entirely </i>into obscurity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's been fun. Thank you all for sticking with this blog for as long as you have, and for now: </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Farewell, and may the Force be with you.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-27297125654998401512023-07-14T15:33:00.001+01:002023-09-24T01:11:01.900+01:00Ranking SWTOR's Expansion Patches<p style="text-align: justify;">In my last post, I talked at length about my favourite individual story update from each expansion. While I discussed certain patches which launched an expansion, none featured in the list itself, with each expansion instead being represented by an update that came out during their lifespans.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the most part, this is because I tend to find a lot of expansion patches themselves relatively lacklustre, at least in terms of story content. A few of them have brought in changes to game systems that I really like, and some I do enjoy the story of, but thus far no single expansion has provided both a story I really enjoyed and really great new or updated features and the like in one package.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once again, this post will be completely ignoring the version of the game that launched with 1.0. The sheer breadth of content that came with the released game, while lacking in endgame, is quite simply unparalleled when it comes to the rest of <i>SWTOR</i>'s story content. It's thus unfair to really include it in the same category, as that launch content still holds up really well; far better, in fact, than several storylines that we've seen come out throughout the years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On with the show!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#1: <i>Rise of the Hutt Cartel</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a complete package, the 2.0 patch-cycle is still my favourite. There was just so much of everything released in a decent amount of time; <i>Galactic Starfighter</i>, strongholds, three new operations, two new daily zones, six new flashpoints and a new casual-friendly flashpoint mode, the revised Ranked PvP feature, and so on. Really, the only thing that felt it was lacking somewhat was warzone content, as 2.0 only introduced a new huttball arena, but to be fair <i>SWTOR</i> has never really been great at producing new PvP arenas of any kind.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">2.0 itself had quite a muted launch in terms of new features. It brought with it the achievements system, which was good, but that was pretty much it really. It helped that a lot of 1.0's patches had introduced some very welcome quality-of-life features, so 2.0 itself could afford to spend less time on that and more on its actual content, with 2.1 soon providing dyes, the appearance designer, and the long-awaited cathar species.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">2.0's storyline took us to Makeb to deal with the Hutt Cartel, and tried its best to replicate <i>SWTOR</i>'s original philosophy with both factions having their own distinct parts to play that presented a complete picture when aligned against one another. While Makeb itself was quite painful to level through, particularly once one reached the Cartel Mining Mesa location, its story stands strong as a really good example of what the <i>SWTOR</i> story team were capable of doing, and it's a shame that even with 6.0 and 7.0 both having their own faction-differentiating stories we are likely never to see another Makeb-style story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ah well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of group content, 2.0 brought in one new operation, <i>Scum and Villainy</i>, and bumped up <i>Terror From Beyond</i> to level 55 to provide players with more things to do than just beat up Styrak. It also took four base-game flashpoints (<i>Athiss</i>, <i>Cademimu</i>, <i>Hammer Station</i>, and <i>Mandalorian Raiders</i>) and gave them level-55 hard modes, which was very welcome given that it wouldn't be until 2.3 that we got the Czerka flashpoints.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were also two galaxy-sprawling quest chains in the form of the macrobinocular and seeker droid quests, with the former also bringing in treasure-hunting for rare items such as outfit pieces and speeder components. These are both decent storylines, with the seeker droid questline continuing the Dread Masters storyline and introducing Imperial players to Darth Acina before she became Sith Empress, and the macrobinocular questline introducing The Shroud to both factions. Jedi Master Cedral Gend, meanwhile, has not been seen since.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The thing I liked <i>least</i> about 2.0 was the Makeb staged weekly questline, something which I'm very glad has not been repeated since. I quite like my daily zones to have a rigidity to them, so you can formulate a good route to complete missions in a way you enjoy, and weeklies like Makeb's thus don't end up being enjoyable to me. Fortunately, Makeb proved to be something of an oddity, with future daily zones (with the exception of Iokath) returning to providing some form of consistency.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#2: <i>Onslaught</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I highlighted 6.2 as my favourite story update from the 6.0-era, I realised after posting it that I could <i>almost</i> have considered 6.0 itself for the position. As mentioned above it provided the first <i>properly </i>faction-differentiating story in an expansion launch since 2.0, it provided a <i>phenomenal</i> revision to a crud system from the previous expansion, and it really went all-out with making gearing alts incredibly easy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So what wasn't to like?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well... let's start with the story. On the surface, it all seems fine, as the Republic story on Onderon starts after the Imperial version, with the latter filling in gaps for the former, which would have been perfect if it had just stopped there. However, 6.0, unlike 5.10 before it, really began leaning heavily into the game's story now being set in an alternate timeline depending on which faction your character is a part of. 5.10 worked very well in this regard, as I remember a lot of people interpreting the final choice for Imperial players about Gnost-Dural's fate not mattering as Republic characters clearly come and rescue him come-what-may.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If only...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">6.0 did away with any notion of the two factions' stories aligning, as not only can Imperial players help King Petryph succeed in his attack on the city of Iziz and destroy the Republic fleet, but they can also kill Petryph <i>and</i> Senator Deja Nebet, both of whom would feature in the Republic version as well. So, categorically, an Imperial perspective could render a Republic playthrough <i>impossible</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have to say that, looking back, I am disappointed that certain characters haven't really appeared since despite 6.0 setting them up as big players. Supreme Chancellor Galena Rans appeared at last, but disappeared soon after. The new Dark Council has only been represented post-update by Darth Krovos, Darth Xarion, and Darth Norok (depending on your choices), and 6.0 itself would potentially remove up to <i>four</i> Dark Council members from appearing in future content.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Darth Savik can be killed by saboteur characters when Malgus chokes her for letting the Republic fleet escape, Darth Anathel can be killed by an Inquisitor for stealing their seat, and Darth Vowrawn and Darth Shaar can be killed by Lana on the Commander's orders for letting their personal ambitions grow too great on Mek-Sha. In this latter case, even when Darth Vowrawn is the Councillor, not Shaar, Shaar <i>still</i> gets removed from play by being killed alongside him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have a shedton of respect for the amount of options the writing team are able to flag up in subsequent updates, but I do believe they are making things much, <i>much</i> harder for themselves with all this variance. It's why we've never seen a "State of the Galaxy" update since 5.10, as Charles Boyd himself acknowledged that it would be impossible to provide an objective look at things with how many different and significant choices players can make now!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Uggggh.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Storyline aside, I feel 6.0 itself was a <i>reasonably</i> solid expansion patch. <i>Galactic Renown</i> improved on <i>Galactic Command</i> in many ways, although I missed the additional rewards you could get from <i>Command</i> crates, and the <i>Nature of Progress</i> operation was <i>decent</i>. This patch also brought in level-scaling for older content, with everything bar <i>Nature of Progress</i> and 6.0's first flashpoint <i>Objective Meridian</i> being locked at level 70, but that was okay at the time because Veteran's Edge still made it so that improving your gear still resulted in better performance in scaled content.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That is, until it was removed from master mode operations with no prior warning in a later patch. <i>Sigh</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Crafting also turned into an absolute <i>nightmare</i> with the sheer number of materials you had to farm. The silly thing is, <i>BioWare</i> prided themselves on making crafting relevant for endgame for everyone, and yet it was just infinitely faster to farm gear by running flashpoints and operations than it was to craft. It was just such a palaver, and I really hope when crafting is <i>eventually</i> updated in the current game, whether it be in 7.0 or 8.0, that they return it to a more straightforward process.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I wasn't a <i>huge</i> fan of the story on either location, Onderon and Mek-Sha were decent additions to the game. I really love Onderon's aesthetics in particular, and it has since become another daily zone I like to revisit every once in a while. I'm still a bit peeved Republic players can't fully explore Mek-Sha properly as one zone is locked behind an Imperial heroic phase, though...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#3: <i>Shadow of Revan</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Shadow of Revan</i> launched as a horrifically buggy mess, preventing the main story from being completed unless you were very lucky as I was and it just <i>about</i> worked, but looking back at it I feel it does hold up <i>reasonably</i> well. The first impressions were rough, but now we've had time to get used to the things subsequent expansions have done they don't feel all that bad. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">For example, I remember being really thrown off by side missions just having a pop-up with accompanying dialogue from the quest-giver, but at least the vast majority still had our characters speak after the fact! Compared to 4.0's <i>KOTOR</i> style conversations, where our characters are mute, I'll take 3.0's side quest design any day!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While the larger beats of the storyline for <i>Shadow</i> itself were identical across both factions, I absolutely loved the individual class story missions that <i>BioWare</i> were able to work in. They still hold up really well as well, and I especially loved the Jedi Knight one in particular. The wider story was <i>alright</i>; it just didn't work fantastically well compared to how the <i>Forged Alliances</i> storyline had set it up. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of group content, 3.0 launched with two operations, two new flashpoints, and bumped-up hard mode versions of the <i>Forged Alliances</i> flashpoints. <i>The Ravagers</i> and <i>Temple of Sacrifice</i> were notable for being the first "hardmare" operations, in other words an operation which had no nightmare mode, and where the hard mode itself was made harder to compensate. They're <i>alright</i>. I really enjoy them in story mode... not so much in what is now veteran mode.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">3.0 also did away with the skill trees, replacing them with Disciplines which automatically granted certain abilities - including new abilities that replaced a pre-existing ability with spec-specific functionality - and provided a new, more flexible, way of speccing passives via Utility Points. This system lasted in this form for several patches until 7.0 replaced it with its more streamlined concept, so despite a lot of people really disliking the change it ended up having a lot of longevity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>BioWare</i> also introduced a bunch of passive group buffs, so that every class now had something unique to bring to the table. Whenever certain abilities were used by a spec, an accompanying buff or debuff would apply to the target which would increase things like damage resistance, healing taken, or damage taken from abilities of certain types, or reduce stats like accuracy. I still really like this change.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The generic storyline mightn't have been much cop, but I still really like what 3.0 introduced in terms of features.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#4: <i>Legacy of the Sith</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hear me out.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Legacy of the Sith</i> was incredibly short with its storyline, sure, but it avoided the pitfalls of 6.0's story by making both factions' stories reasonably separated. With the exception of being able to come across a captured Arn Peralun and Colonel Wen Gallo as an Imperial after completing that version of the story, neither storyline completely contradicts the other in an irreconcilable manner. The storyline that came with Manaan's daily zone <i>did</i> have the two factions' stories contradict one another with one character being killable or converting to serve the Empire, but that didn't come with 7.0 itself and it has no direct impact on the main story <i>anyway</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I really did enjoy the Manaan storyline for what it was. It was nice to return and explore how the selkath felt about the Republic or how the war was driving the Imperials to mine every ounce of kolto they could. It was just a nice distraction from everything to do with Malgus and the mandalorians, and a reminder that even with the "main story" going on, this is still a galaxy at war and that cannot be brushed under a rug even with other things going on.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'll take storylines like this any day over <i>Keeping Up with the Valkorions</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.0's big thing was the introduction of combat styles which, despite several grievances about a handful of abilities now being optional or removed altogether, I feel is very, very welcome. The ability to spec a trooper to be a sniper, or a Sith Warrior as an assassin, and so on just adds an extra level of variety to the game as a whole, as if somebody really loathed both of the trooper's original advanced classes, suddenly they can have their trooper be a tech spec they <i>actually enjoy</i>! Huzzah!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.0 also launched with one new flashpoint and undid 6.0's scaling nightmare with everything else. <i>Ruins of Nul</i> was <i>alright</i>, although insanely difficult when it first launched. Oh, and it was bugged for a lot of people as well with the final fight! Yay...!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Real-talk, though. 7.0 was short and missing content, yes, but ultimately I cannot blame <i>BioWare</i> for that, nor do I believe they were lying about their intentions for what they had planned. It's fairly obvious that something somewhere went <i>wrong</i>. Whether they lost people to other <i>BioWare</i> projects, reducing their already limited manpower, or things proved far trickier to sort out than they had planned, something clearly forced their hand and they had to compromise as best they could.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's something <i>BioWare</i> have never really been good at, as we saw throughout 5.0 while they were still trying to shake off the content they had hoped to tell in their original plans.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So no, I will never blame <i>BioWare</i> for "lying" about 7.0. It didn't work out as announced, but just because something is announced and doesn't come to pass that way doesn't make it a <i>lie</i>. If they'd have <i>known</i> it wouldn't have worked and still announced their plans, that's a different story. I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt here, especially with how much work they had to put in between 7.0 and 7.1. Something went wrong, and full credit to them, they've done their best to fix it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, I do have some legitimate issues with how 7.0 itself went about things. Content difficulty spiked massively, to the extent where groups who in previous expansions were able to finally start clearing content like veteran mode <i>Scum and Villainy</i> or <i>Terror From Beyond</i> now found themselves running against a brick wall. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While 7.0's gearing inherited the alt-friendly nature of 6.0's "get one character to <i>x</i> gear-rating, and items of that gear-rating will drop if possible" system, <i>getting</i> to those gear-ratings the first time was an absolute slog and it's only with recent patches that the limits on item-rating depending on difficulty have been lifted outside of 338+ gear. 7.3 finally made it so that you no longer <i>needed</i> to do dailies to upgrade ops or PvP gear and could actually upgrade it just by completing the relevant activities. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, they seemed to treat 7.0 as "the grinding patch", as they had seen that people were happy to grind in 6.0 and designed their new systems to be the next evolution of that. Here's the thing, though; grinding in 6.0 was <i>universal</i>. No matter what you did, you would eventually get to getting 306-rating drops. 7.0 taking this concept and adding the extra layers to it in terms of there being virtually no mix-and-match between gear from different sources just made things <i>too</i> grindy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Crafting is still in limbo, and it's not clear yet how <i>BioWare</i> will go about adding new updates, or even when. Even if they do, they may actually face some pushback now from the elite players who cleared the hardest content with 6.0-era augments about how 7.0-era augments will make things "too easy", because apparently even the slightest of change will make things "too easy" for certain people.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have to say that I do find myself kinda missing <i>Galactic Renown</i>. Having an eternal levelling bar just added a certain <i>je ne sais quoi</i> to the whole thing, although I do acknowledge that with how 7.0's gearing system was designed <i>Renown</i> wouldn't have worked at all well. Still, its absence is noticeable, and testament to how much they improved upon <i>Galactic Command</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The thing is, I can't really classify 7.0 as a <i>bad</i> expansion patch. The combat styles functionality is wonderful, and shakes up every aspect of the game's content in a new and welcome way due to the new variations one can get. Grinding gear was a pain, but it was still designed with some degree of alt-friendliness in mind. There are definitely things that feel like they don't work, but it's hard to know how much of them are because of 7.0 or because of adjustments made because of how people played 6.0.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For example, the biggest issue to me that came with 7.0 itself was the content difficulty spike. It felt like <i>BioWare</i> had seen the armies of powertechs and marauders in high-end content throughout 6.0 (even if just because the difficulty of the content all but required it) and just went "okay, so all teams clearing master mode raids are running with these specs!" and made it so that when they scaled the content up, it really benefited from having these classes present. Certainly, <i>R-4 Anomaly</i> released with boss fights that required mobility, high defensive potential, and solid offensive output.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So is that a 7.0 issue, or a follow-on issue from 6.0 that happens to be a part of 7.0? I have no qualms about decrying the difficulty spike, as I feel it is a terrible part of this expansion, but I also don't blame <i>BioWare</i> for looking at the metrics from the previous expansion and potentially scaling everything around them. Never mind the fact that certain boss fights like Hateful Entity were and still are only doable with powertechs, powertechs, and powertechs...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As much as I was disappointed <i>R-4</i> got delayed, I think on reflection had it actually launched with 7.0 it would have dragged 7.0 down on this list if it had come in as difficult as it ended up being. I really do not understand how the developers believe that thing is a group-finder difficulty operation...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#5: <i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">When discussing a couple of these expansion patches, I've made it clear that just because I consider an update's story lacklustre doesn't mean it can't still be salvaged by good new features if I really like them. <i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i> should logically follow in that same vein if I were being truly objective. However...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's hard to be positive about the story that began with 4.0. I'll start with the chapters as a story element. For the first time through, they worked <i>fine</i>. They were beautifully animated in terms of cutscenes, the characters you got to meet were good fun, and they felt like <i>SWTOR</i> was really taking advantage of the new films to revitalise its image and go all-out for providing solid story content. That was great to see.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Once</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One thing I have always admired about <i>SWTOR</i> compared to other big MMOs is that it actively encourages you to create and use alt characters. You <i>can</i> just play one, sure, but you'll only get a complete picture of <i>everything</i> if you have at least one from each origin story, as all class stories provide a good amount of backbone to the game and as mentioned Makeb's story is only complete when you put both Imperial and Republic perspectives together.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i> is a tedious slog to revisit, not helped by the fact that the chapters just keep on starting one after the other. That was fine as a gimmick for the first nine, and it wasn't noticeable for subsequent ones as long as you played them when they first released, but coming back to it... yeah, I <i>loathe</i> how it just keeps on pushing you forward rather than allowing you to take a break. I'm trying hard to keep this to 4.0 itself, but since <i>all</i> chapters, even 5.0's, use the auto-play function that 4.0 introduced I feel it is fair to use it as ammunition in this context.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm so pleased we saw the back of that when 5.0's story ended after only (hah!) twenty-five chapters. Can you imagine getting a fresh character through up to <i>forty-eight</i> chapters, each forcing you to sit through a loading screen and / or back out of the next one's first cutscene whenever you felt like a break?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">More than this, though, if it weren't for 4.0 completely and utterly nullifying all playable characters save for the one you yourself are playing, we wouldn't be in the situation we are now with alternate timelines. Granted, the storyline of 4.0 as an expansion didn't <i>really</i> go too far with this, as it kept things mostly self-contained in terms of always dealing with Zakuul, so most of my frustrations in this regard is now being directed at patches 5.2 and 6.0 in particular. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, 4.0 set the stage for what would follow and I can't quite let that go. It's just such a big issue with the game's story nowadays, and I wish there was a way to somehow undo it all and start anew.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's a shame, really, because I really do like a number of the concepts <i>behind</i> Zakuul. I like the pantheon of gods, I kinda like the isolationist nature of its people in terms of being kept unaware about the wider galaxy. Characters like Senya and, yes, Koth are characters I quite enjoy being around. I just... didn't really like how much it tried to railroad us into caring about this new empire and stopping it, when all <i>I</i> wanted was to go back to the Republic and try to fix things there rather than create some stupidly powerful Alliance.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and 4.0 launched with no new operations or flashpoints, with the closest equivalents being the Star Fortresses. I loved the level-scaling meaning that rather than up to six flashpoints being relevant there were suddenly at least twenty, but in terms of actual <i>new</i> stuff... yeah, the Star Fortresses were <i>incredibly</i> disappointing and, again, tedious to repeat on subsequent characters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Added to which, this expansion launched with something called "High-Priority Target Hard Modes". This was a process whereby each week a specific hard mode operation would be selected, and that operation would drop the highest rating gear in the game. Awesome, right? Well... it came at a cost. See, during this time nightmare raids themselves would drop <i>no</i> loot, so while this system was fantastic for more casual groups as it meant they could gear up with NiM gear in advance, your progression team would get nothing for setting foot into NiM itself. This would be fixed a couple of patches later.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Sigh</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know that this being below 7.0 will likely raise a few eyebrows, especially with how casual-friendly 4.0's wider changes were in comparison to several of 7.0's, but honestly 7.0 has a major advantage over 4.0 as far as I'm concerned; its story was simply more of what I <i>wanted</i> to see. 4.0 really did a number on <i>SWTOR</i>'s story prospects, and we're still feeling its effects all these years later even now we've completely moved on from everything released in this expansion, and even with a bit of guff here and there I'll gladly leap upon <i>anything</i> which is more of interest to me than otherwise.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm sorry, but I have to be biased here. I <i>loathed</i> repeating <i>Fallen Empire</i>'s launch (and future) content on additional characters, yet I didn't mind repeating <i>Legacy of the Sith</i>'s launch content because of that greater variance. I may have issues with the story as it is now, but the issues there are wider than anything 7.0 <i>itself</i> did, and many of them have roots in how 4.0 tore up the foundations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thanks, 4.0.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>#6: <i>Knights of the Eternal Throne</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">5.0 was in many ways cursed from the start. <i>BioWare</i> still had the rest of their story to tell, but because the majority of the playerbase <i>loathed</i> the chapters, they had to wrap up far, <i>far</i> quicker than they had intended to. As a result, the 5.0 story feels incredibly rushed. While it tries to provide satisfactory endings to characters like <i>SCORPIO</i> it's very noticeable that they wouldn't have wanted to tell these stories in this manner. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This would plague <i>BioWare</i> for the majority of the expansion, as they hadn't originally planned on providing the content they ended up having to deliver. It's hardly any wonder the uprisings just ended up being mostly repurposed environments with very little story, as they were quick and easy to produce. Meanwhile, the first operation since 3.0 wouldn't be announced until 5.2 and even then that was released bit-by-bit with master mode being in limbo until right at the very end.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All that aside, let's look at 5.0 itself. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There... really isn't a lot that's positive about this expansion in its earliest form. The story was <i>okay</i>, if only because it was nice to finally see the back of Valkorion. The second chapter in particular is <i>incredibly</i> frustrating story-wise, as Acina proves to be a complete idiot in taking us out with no reinforcements accompanying us. She's the Sith <i>Empress</i> for goodness' sakes! Otherwise, I don't feel any chapter comes close to matching any within my top five for <i>Fallen Empire</i>. They're... <i>fine</i>. Nothing special.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gearing was relegated solely to the brand-new <i>Galactic Command</i> system, an endless-levelling system which would grant a crate when a level was reached, and that crate would contain a random gear-piece of a random quality. If I remember correctly, it was originally intended that the crate would have a chance of containing another class's set gear before it was mercifully changed to just being relevant to you.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so I have no qualms about using a character to get gear for another, but it shouldn't come at the cost of <i>not</i> getting gear for the character you're using. That just defeats the point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There was simply no loot otherwise. No flashpoint loot, no uprising loot, no warzone loot, no operation loot... you get the picture. This was also the first expansion that saw the removal of Expertise, thus making PvE and PvP gear the same for all intents and purposes. Sure, it meant that everyone was in the same boat, but it was one <i>heck</i> of a rocky boat!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sure, things improved, but it was not a pleasant time to be playing. RNG with no ability to counteract it, like being able to buy an item you were still missing, is always deeply unpleasant, and for a time that's what we had to contend with. It would have been <i>fine</i> if there were alternatives, like being able to buy a PvP version of relics of a certain type, like you could even in <i>7.0</i> to keep you going until you got your coveted raiding version or whatever, but no, gearing in 5.0 started out as <i>just</i> RNG.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The uprisings ultimately ended up being quite forgettable, and that's largely because they lacked a lot of what made flashpoints really <i>interesting</i>. There wasn't a lot of setup behind what was going on, and ultimately we <i>still</i> don't know how they factor into the grand plans of 5.0's big bad, if indeed they're actually meant to!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned in 7.0's blurb, I do have a lot of sympathy for the developers whenever things clearly go wrong and they have to make compromises. They ended up covering a lot of ground in the almost three years that 5.0 went on for, and it's clear to me that they were making up for 4.0's lack of content in this regard. Indeed, they even added updates to <i>GSF</i> in patch 5.5, including the first new map since patch 2.6!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, everything good they subsequently did unfortunately leaves 5.0 itself looking really quite sorrowful in comparison. It's a shame they had to make compromises, and I'm pleased they were eventually able to recover. Were I rating these expansions in their entirety rather than just the patch that launched them, 5.0 would just manage to climb above 4.0 for its efforts to redeem itself. Unfortunately, I am not looking at the expansions in this manner.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh well.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I acknowledge that I have quite a lot of biases negatively impacting how I feel about certain expansion patches. I know a lot of people genuinely do love <i>Fallen Empire</i> and its content, but honestly I feel no love for it whatsoever. Sure, level-scaling was great, and easily the best feature the game had ever seen added prior to combat styles, but I just <i>cannot</i> bring myself to forgive 4.0 for doing what it did with the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">5.0 showed us that an expansion that has a very rough start can recover and ultimately lead to great things, just as 6.0 showed us that just because a feature was terrible in one expansion doesn't mean it can't be made better. I feel a lot of that reflects in how 7.0's launch content and systems are evolving, and honestly I am very much hopeful that 8.0 manages to pull what 6.0 did after 5.0 in terms of community feeling.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's out of my hands, of course, and I am very interested to see what the team is capable of doing now they are hopefully no longer at risk of losing people to other <i>BioWare</i> projects. We shall see what we shall see.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-56381358606555020292023-07-14T00:51:00.008+01:002023-07-14T01:20:41.558+01:00My Favourite Story Updates From Each Expansion (So Far)<p style="text-align: justify;">When it comes to expansions in an online game, <i>SWTOR</i> has had a fair amount of variance with the content it would offer in its own expansion patch-cycles. Some, like 2.0 and 5.0, would deliver the expansion's entire themed story in the very first update and then <i>immediately </i>(or at least quickly) segue into something new, and others, like 4.0 and 7.0, stick with the intended theme all the way through.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For updates like 2.0 and 5.0, you run into a situation where you're logging in with the game's splash-art proudly telling you that you're off to put the Hutt Cartel down or wrestle with Vaylin for the Eternal Throne, when actually you're past all that and are now dealing with Czerka and whatever it is that's going down on Copero. However, especially as far as 2.0 is concerned, this breadth of content also helps the galaxy feel far <i>bigger</i>, as there's much more going on than <i>just</i> chasing down one man's plans or seeing how separate stories become entwined.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For updates like 4.0 and 7.0, the story <i>should</i> feel more streamlined as it's all part of one big story, but that presents another problem entirely; if the story <i>doesn't work</i>, and that's all you've got, it's going to leave one heck of a sour taste. 7.0's glacial story content release presents a further problem with this, that being that stringing people along for months if not years before things come to light can go wrong very, very easily if the payoff isn't deemed satisfactory.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do prefer having more variety of stuff to do, but there's no denying that the 2.0 model in particular wouldn't work as well nowadays. Back then, we were just another player in the galaxy, with no power-base to speak of, and it was easier to slot us into some inconsequential stuff as a main story update. That's not to say that inconsequential stuff can't still happen now that we're the Commander of the Alliance and powerful higher-up within Task Force Nova and the Hand of the Empire, like with the Feast of Prosperity, but it's much more of a side thing than an actual <i>story</i> update.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's funny in that regard to compare <i>SWTOR</i> to the occasional stuff that <i>World of Warcraft</i> does. <i>WoW</i> likes to do a lot of "cutesy" stuff, which can often be fun, but I really don't think that would translate across well to <i>SWTOR</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"What do you <i>mean</i> the next story update involves helping a clutch of turtles survive on Rishi? I'm the <i>Alliance Commander</i>, slayer of Valkorion, ally of Mandalore herself, and the one who's going to kick Malgus's butt! I can't do something as <i>meaningless</i> as this!"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, I'd definitely be up for helping turtles survive on Rishi if ever that does become a thing. I may never be able to make up for unintentionally killing Speedy, but if I can help some survive in their honour, I'll feel a little bit happier.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, the point of today's post is that I intend to look back over the various expansions - including the base-game - and talk about my favourite story updates that came with each one. This will not just involve my talking about the story content each patch delivers, but any extra things they added if I deem them important enough.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am including 7.0 in this despite the fact that we're still partway through it, because I'm still intending to bring this blog to a close next month, so I'm not going to be able to comment on 7.0's grand finale. I might as well address my current favourite update in this expansion while I'm giving myself the opportunity!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On with the show!</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: center;"><br />~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Base Game: Patch 1.5 - <i>HK-51 Activated</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Foreword: I am discounting the <i>actual</i> 1.0 content itself, as not only do I feel launch content cannot be classifed as an "update", but I do not feel it fair to put all that content in the same category as subsequent updates within this or even really any era.</b> </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">1.0 didn't have an <i>awful lot</i> by way of actual tangible <i>story</i> stuff between launch and 2.0, at least not as far as single-player content goes. Full credit to them, they doubled-down on producing a fair bit of group content, including two full operations (and the remaining four bosses of a third), a warzone, and group-heroics within two brand-new daily zones, but the story that came with them was piecemeal; the quests set things up and provided closure at the end, but that was about it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, throughout all of this they established a plot-thread which would carry over into the next expansion; that of the Dread Masters' campaign to wage terror across the galaxy. First overtly hinted at with the Republic conclusion to <i>Karagga's Palace</i>, the <i>Explosive Conflict</i> operation openly confirmed for both factions that the Dread Masters were going to be the next big players on the scene.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But both of those were both to do with operation quests, something which at the time the average casual story player would not have been able to access as easily as they can nowadays. The only content relevant to this story thread which was designed for everyone to be able to access by themselves came with patch 1.5 and the brand-new daily area, Section X.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Dread Masters themselves don't actually feature, but this was a decent continuation from the last time we saw their forces in <i>Terror From Beyond</i>. Their plan to seize the Aurora Cannon was never really expanded upon in any <i>great</i> detail, but it was still quite a fun heroic to do. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The real meat of this update came with the first brand-new companion: HK-51. Unlike the threat of the Aurora Cannon, an army of HK units is a much more impressive and serious threat which showed the resourcefulness of the Dread Master's forces and provided quite a tangible presentation of the sort of power the Dread Masters hoped to acquire.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The HK-51 questline is quite long and repetitive once the excavating begins, but I love it for two reasons. Firstly, the <i>Theoretika</i> portion remains to this day one of my favourite parts of any quest-chain. Secondly, I loved how it actively made you use your alt-characters to farm for select components. I'm learning more and more now I am involved with <i>World of Warcraft</i> just how ahead of its time <i>SWTOR</i> was with how much it leaned into alt-friendliness even in the early days - although it has come leaps and bounds since then - and this aspect of the questline, while still frustrating, was still nice to see.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 1.5 was a nice way to highlight the threat the Dread Masters posed, as until this point we'd largely seen them imprisoned and using mercenary forces and mostly fellow Sith to progress their goals. With this update, we'd seen how extensive their regular army could be, and helped to deprive them of yet more forces by preventing them from securing the HK droids. It set the groundwork nicely for what was to come.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Rise of the Hutt Cartel</i>: Patch 2.4 - <i>The Dread War</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have to say that this was a close toss-up between 2.4, patch 2.7, the first patch to bring us <i>Forged Alliances</i> content, and patch 2.10, which concluded <i>Forged Alliances</i>. Patch 2.4 narrowly wins out because it provided a satisfactory conclusion to the Dread Masters arc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 2.4 brought us a new daily zone, complete with a reasonably extensive quest-chain, and not one but two operations released at the same time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Until Oricon was released, daily zone story content (if there was any) was limited to just a wrapper quest introducing you to the zone. CZ-198's story, meanwhile, was not to do with the actual daily zone itself, but the flashpoints which accompanied it. Thus, Oricon set an early standard for several future daily zones. Sure, the story missions were ultimately just the dailies with some extra requirements, but at least it meant that by the time you had unlocked the daily missions you already knew most of what you had to do.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There was also a notable instance of optional group-content completion being acknowledged by the story, something which has never really been seen since. Completing <i>Scum and Villainy</i> in its entirety would yield an alternate line from Dread Master Raptus acknowledging your hand in the death of his fellow Dread Master, Styrak, on Darvannis. This honestly still stands out as a really good way of integrating relevant content while still providing a generic line for those players who never completed that operation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Please excuse me while I resist slagging off patch 5.9 for failing to do the same when a seventh machine god is discovered if the player's character has killed all six others in <i>Gods from the Machine</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, Oricon did have one really quite major snag from a lot of players' perspectives. Until now, an operation was kept separate from the main story, being almost entirely standalone save for the thread running through all of them up to this point. With Oricon, completing the story of the planet opened up another story chain; one which involved completing <i>both Dread Fortress</i> and <i>Dread Palace</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This may seem very hard to believe for players who joined in recent years, especially with how frequently both <i>Dread Fortress</i> and <i>Dread Palace</i> are being run each week, but back then this was a quite significant issue. Since operations were nowhere near as 'open' in the types of rewards casual players could get as they are now, there was quite a major pushback against being 'forced' to do operations just to complete the story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Full credit to <i>BioWare</i>, they listened. While it was too late for both of these operations, subsequent operations with the exception of <i>Gods from the Machine</i> were treated as more standalone. Even <i>Temple of Sacrifice</i>, featuring an arguably more 'canon' confrontation with Revan than the alternative seen in the solo-friendly quest chain alternative, did not need to be completed to see the conclusion of the <i>Shadow of Revan</i> storyline.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm given to understand the operation path was bugged anyway at launch, so, erm... that's not <i>great</i>...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">From my perspective, <i>Dread Fortress</i> and especially <i>Dread Palace</i> quickly became two of my favourite operations. I especially loved the theming of the Masters' private arenas where we do battle with them, and the climactic battle with the Dread Council still holds up really well. I also can't move on without specifically acknowledging the fight with Dread Master Calphayus. If anyone was wondering where I got my moniker "Calphy" from, this is where!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...although that is definitely getting awkward since people in my guild started referring to Calphayus <i>himself</i> as "Calphy". I might deserve a slap or two every once in a while, but hearing "kill Calphy" occasionally on TS does make me quite concerned...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, patch 2.4 delivered a satisfactory end for the Dread Masters. Considering that they were the game's first recurring big-bad, I'm pleased that while they did have several operations themed around them that they didn't feel <i>too</i> overwhelming. That they were killed off in a mid-expansion patch honestly still surprises me, but I'm pleased that they weren't kept around to be the 3.0 bosses. Ending them when they did felt just right to me.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Away from the actual story content, patch 2.4 also brought in 4v4 arenas in PvP, replacing 8v8 in the ranked PvP format. Unlike normal warzones, which had elements of objective play alongside the opportunity to play deathmatch, the arenas are <i>purely</i> about deathmatch. It's hard to say years later whether their introduction was truly a success, as I know a lot of people really disliked the removal of 8v8 ranked and the arena format being so small made it very easy to single out "weaklings", but at the same time a really <i>good</i> arena match (by which I do not mean "just stomping your opponents into dust") could still be enjoyable.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since ranked PvP has now been abolished altogether, arguably with PvP seasons we have seen the return of 8v8 ranked in some form. That it took 8 years for arenas and warzones to share the limelight in their entirety, and largely only because of combat styles making it much harder to manage ranking scoreboards effectively, suggests that despite all the initial misgivings a lot of it still did work?</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Shadow of Revan</i>: Patch 3.2 - <i>Rise of the Emperor</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, 3.0 had only so many patches. 3.0 was a horrifically buggy mess which couldn't be completed for many people until a month later, 3.1 gave us master mode <i>Blood Hunt</i> and <i>Battle of Rishi</i>, and patch 3.3 just gave us a new playable species and a new stronghold.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, I feel patch 3.2 kinda claims this spot by default!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Real talk about the 3.0 patch itself for a second here. Horrific bugs aside, I really didn't mind it all that much as an expansion patch. It improved upon 2.0 by not being as wildly inconsistent between certain areas in terms of mob difficulty as Makeb was, and it being set across two planets provided a bunch of variety. At the same time, the shift away from animated cutscenes for side-missions to voiced mission pop-ups felt like such an unexpected curveball as that's just not what <i>SWTOR</i> did!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite the rough first impressions, I can't hate it. It gave us some wonderful missions like the class story snippets that still really hold up.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 3.2, <i>Rise of the Emperor</i>, took us to Ziost to pursue the spectre of Vitiate as he continued to enact plans unknown. Vitiate's got nothing on Malgus, is all I'll say. We reunited with Lana and Theron, for what I sincerely hoped would be the final time, and put our minds to wresting Ziost from the clutches of the mad Sith Lord.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, a lot of this Sith Emperor business really feels confusing looking back. We know now that Vitiate, as Tenebrae, used <i>ZILDROG</i> to drain the life from everything on Nathema rather than using his own power, so how did he do the same to Ziost? Was that just residual power from the machine god, or something else? However, at the time it was certainly an impressive feat and the cutscene showing Ziost's death is still really quite down-heartening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of other stuff this patch brought us, it finally brought us the Outfit Designer, as well as a new daily zone and associated instanced boss. Ziost's daily zone quickly became one of my all-time favourites, and is still a zone I visit quite frequently. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Colossal Monolith, meanwhile, started out as a quite infamous boss. Firstly, it dropped an exclusive 204-rating mainhand weapon, which was greater than the highest rating dropped in 3.0's other raiding content, Revanite, which was 198-rating. Secondly, it launched bugged so that it was <i>easier</i> to complete than intended. Thirdly, because <i>BioWare</i> locked the daily zone of Ziost away for six days when 3.2 first launched, they ended up having to ban several players who found a way to boundary-break their way across and access the boss.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, it's certainly inventive, and at least required more effort than the Ravagers exploit that lasted for weeks, but I certainly don't blame <i>BioWare</i> for acting as they did.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...yeah, there really isn't a lot one can say about anything about 3.0's story updates. I mean, 3.0 itself gave us Disciplines, hooray, but as with anything first impressions are very important. By the time 3.2 came out, the oddities that started with 3.0 were just kinda ingrained, and thus it didn't feel as odd to get into the first time through.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bit of a rough justification for picking this update, but then 3.0 was a rough expansion!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Knights of the Eternal Throne</i>: Patch 4.6 - <i>The GEMINI Deception</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Much with with how patch 2.4 was close to being beaten by patch 2.7 or patch 2.10, patch 4.6 has its own close competitor; patch 4.4, <i>Profit and Plunder</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The chapters introduced with these patches, after which the respective updates are named, still hold up really well as the strongest of the initial sixteen chapters. Sure, <i>Profit and Plunder</i> was ultimately just a side thing, but it was a <i>fun</i> side-thing, and Gault and Vette had superb chemistry throughout the entire thing. <i>The GEMINI Deception</i> arguably had the biggest "<i>what the f**k</i>" moment in the entirety of <i>Fallen Empire</i>, but in a fantastic way, and those cutscenes still hold up really well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, what makes patch 4.6 win out is largely the fact that it introduced some nice quality-of-life character perks. This was the update which saw the arrival of summonable personal and legacy cargo bays, something which is <i>incredibly</i> useful if in a raid and needing to grab something like an extra bunch of stims or - in an alarmingly high number of cases as far as one of my guildies is concerned - <i>gear</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, yes, starting with the chapter.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The GEMINI Deception</i> follows on from the mandalorian chapter about <strike>Denova</strike> Darvannis, where we retrieve the <i>GEMINI</i> Prime unit and intend to use her to take control of an Eternal Fleet ship. We're accompanied by the totally-not-up-to-something <i>SCORPIO</i>, making me wonder where the flip T7-O1 had been all this while, and hijinks ensue. We're also reunited with Tai Cordan and Admiral Zasha Ranken, two reasonably popular characters from prior storylines, which was nice to see.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, the biggest twist of this chapter came with the reveal of <i>SCORPIO</i>'s grand plan. What is it with characters and having grand plans? Next we'll discover that our own characters have a grand plan that's being kept secret from us! Anyway. I won't spoil what <i>SCORPIO</i>'s grand plan as shown here was, but I will say that with how things evolved in <i>Knights of the Eternal Throne</i> that things really went odd quickly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then again, 5.0 was another one of <i>SWTOR</i>'s rough expansions so I can forgive them a <i>little</i> bit here. The transition doesn't feel well telegraphed, but then they weren't expecting to be rushed the way they were when they wrote this chapter.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 4.6 sadly didn't contain an Alliance Alert. I think this was meant to be the patch where Zenith returned and would have had us destroy the Nar Shaddaa Star Fortress (...again?), and ultimately I am pleased this Alert never came to pass as it was originally intended. There are only so many times one can tolerate doing a Star Fortress.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Never again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By far the biggest thing about patch 4.6, however, was the event that started to mark the countdown to <i>SWTOR</i>'s 5-year anniversary; Dark vs. Light. This was a <i>biiiiiiig</i> checklist of activities to complete with brand-new characters, including completing all flashpoints, all chapters of <i>Fallen Empire</i>, infecting players with the rakghoul virus, and so on. It was basically one big celebration of everything and anything that had been released at that time, and it was reasonably decent fun.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For those who never had the opportunity to take part in it, this event was so named because it actually <i>did</i> pit the forces of the light against the forces of the dark. They tracked the progress of characters of both alignments, and used the resulting metrics to provide a determinant reward. If the light side won, players who reached a specific reward tier would receive chiss Jedi master Dazh Ranos as a companion. If the dark side won, those same players would receive zabrak Sith Lord Darth Hexid as a companion. Almost predictably, given how enticing the reward of a chiss companion was compared to a zabrak who players already had access to in some form with Akaavi Spar, the light side won.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since then, Hexid and Ranos have been made available to players who weren't able to participate anyway, but I'm fine with that. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I wouldn't mind seeing this event return in <i>some</i> form, as unlike with Galactic Seasons which is constantly shifting each and every single week, with Dark vs. Light at least you could spread things out over the course of its duration and do things in any order you pleased. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 4.6 felt like quite a refreshing update to get during the 4.0 era. Its chapter was decent, it provided some very welcome QoL features, and it also gave players something reasonably fun to do for quite a while afterward. Very few complaints from me about this!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Knights of the Eternal Throne</i>: Patch 5.10 - <i>Jedi Under Siege</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned above, 5.0 was another one of <i>SWTOR</i>'s rough expansions. Having clocked that people mostly really didn't like the direction the story was going or how it was being delivered seemingly at the cost of actual new group content, <i>BioWare</i> quickly binned the intended outline for both subsequent expansions, which would have followed 4.0's pattern almost to the letter), and delivered a quick nine-chapter-only storyline which wrapped up the remainder of the story started with <i>Fallen Empire</i> in short order.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, they weren't done there. While on the surface it can easily be believed that the traitor arc that started in patch 5.2 and concluded over a year later in patch 5.9 was its own beast in its entirety, it's also quite apparent that the awkward nature of its delivery was because <i>BioWare</i> intended to tell this storyline more naturally through the chapters. With the removal of the more detailed delivery method and a shift to telling it through flashpoints instead, this would explain a lot of the general clunkiness of story content for the majority of 5.0.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm still classifying this storyline as separate from <i>Eternal Throne</i>, however. While it was almost certainly going to be told as part of the wider Zakuul storyline in its original iteration, we'll never know how that would have panned out and what order things would have gone in. With how things ended up, the storyline is ultimately detached from the storyline that 5.0 opened with. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Effectively, once patch 5.9 had come and gone, <i>BioWare</i> were almost entirely freed from the shackles of what they had wanted to do and had to clumsily repurpose. With patch 5.10, they had a golden opportunity to show off what they could do when they were <i>really</i> getting going with something fresh.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Enter <i>Jedi Under Siege</i>. Honestly, patch 5.10 is so different in feel from pretty much everything that had come before it for the past two years during the 5.0 patch-cycle (5.0 itself lasted <i>almost</i> <i>three years</i>!) that it felt more like a mini-expansion than it did a part of the stumbling 5.0 patch-cycle. It was <i>glorious</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This patch took us to Ossus, where a Jedi colony had been operating in secret throughout the war with Zakuul. An Imperial strike team has discovered the colony, however, and so for the first time since the 2.0 patch-cycle both factions had their own distinct roles to play in the storyline. Republic players would defend the colony, while Imperial players would attempt to dismantle it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Along the way, new and returning characters would play a part. Jedi Master Gnost-Dural made his appearance in-game to much applause from yours truly, and companions Archiban "Doc" Kimble, Jaesa Willsaam, Jaesa Willsaam (yes, the second mention of her is intentional), Khem Val, and Nadia Grell made their returns as well. Doc, Khem, Nadia, and one of the Jaesas even had appearances in the Ossus story proper (although Khem and light-Jaesa only appeared for their respective player-characters) rather than just featuring in an Alliance alert!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there were the new characters. Jedi Knight Tau Idair received a rather lukewarm reception when compared to the Imperial Major Anri, but I was quite happy with both characters. It was quite fun to see Major Anri's attitude contrasted with her original boss, Darth Malora, and the chemistry with her soldiers was well-showcased. They all pale in comparison to General Daeruun, though!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, it can't be ignored that this is the patch which returned Darth Malgus to the game's storyline. It's strange to think that, especially with how things are evolving in the current game's story, every single big story update (in other words, an <i>x</i>.1 or <i>x</i>.2 patch) since 5.10 besides patch 6.2 has involved him or his plans somehow. Even patch 7.2, which was otherwise about the mandalorians, hearkens back to his machinations and getting a previously independent storyline tied up in his story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This doesn't in any way harm patch 5.10 in my eyes. 5.10 still stands tall as hands-down my favourite update released in recent years, simply because it started something new and gave characters from both factions something distinct to do without treading as heavily into the personal-timeline guff that some other faction-differentiating stories have done. It was, in some regards, a reminder of what the game <i>was</i> like when you could accurately place where each of your characters was while another character was off doing stuff, as they weren't clashing with one another as they would now.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ossus as a daily zone is also really quite good fun. I don't rate it as highly as Oricon or Ziost, but I still really enjoy it. Oh, and it also had the first datacrons since patch 3.0! How cool is that?!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This update also included master mode <i>Gods from the Machine</i>, after a period of uncertainty whether it would actually come or not, and released the first gear set which had only the slightest of ties to the tedious Galactic Command system. I'm still baffled how they thought crafting via doing master <i>Gods</i> was the fastest way to earn 258-rating gear, given that I know several guildies who earned it in a month or so just via Ossus...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The biggest thing by far that this update included was the updated guild system. Guilds could now unlock the maximum levelling, reputation, and now command bonuses irrespective of member count by levelling up, and various powerful perks could be slotted into the guild ship such as boosting endurance in all but master mode operations or improving critical chance for crafting. The guild ship could now even have a <i>set bonus</i>!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, patch 5.10 was just <i>wonderful</i>. Excellent storyline, very good location, wonderful characters, fun daily missions... even with some quite annoying bugs, very few of which fortunately prevented the game's story from being completed, the whole is just too good for me to pass up on, especially compared to what came before...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Onslaught: </i>Patch 6.2: <i>Echoes of Oblivion </i>(and <i>Spirit of Vengeance</i>)</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Much like the 3.0 patch cycle, the 6.0 patch-cycle doesn't have a lot to talk about when it comes to 'big' patches. Granted, this was the expansion where <i>BioWare</i> sat down and revised how patches would be numerated; if it contained a story update, it would only have one decimal point, like patch 6.2. If it was a minor update, but still contained stuff like a new event, it would have two decimal points, like patch 6.1.4.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, there were only four 'big' patches in 6.0's lifespan: 6.0 itself, 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3. The <i>COVID</i>-19 pandemic interrupted things a fair bit, but it is likely that if it weren't for this change in numeration, patch 6.1.4 which contained the Feast of Prosperity might itself have received a 6.2 denomination. We'll never know, but regardless from this point forth this is why it takes months for a 'big' patch to be released, where previously a CZ-198 scale update was itself denoted as such a patch.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Were 2.0 or 5.0 to be released with this philosophy I don't doubt they'd both be a fair bit shorter in terms of 'big' updates.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 6.2 was originally only meant to include the <i>Echoes of Oblivion</i> storyline, which entailed us finally putting an end to the biggest bad of <i>SWTOR</i>, but due to the delay because of <i>COVID</i> <i>BioWare</i> combined it with what would have been 6.3; the first part of a new storyline focusing on the mandalorians and their place in the galaxy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, I can totally get why some mandalorians are unhappy with Shae. She can't even remember which planet she was on during Chapter XIV of <i>Fallen Empire</i>! She's unreliable!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, it feels like with 6.0 <i>BioWare</i> took the opportunity to rid themselves of every last element of <i>Fallen Empire</i> era content that they could. The Alliance was formally removed as a major player, either being absorbed into the Empire or the Republic or becoming just allied with them while still its own thing. Kira Carsen, Lord Scourge, Tharan Cedrax, and Zenith, the last four companions to still be returned outside of Tanno Vik (RIP) and Lord-Zash-Khem-Val, came back throughout the course of the entire expansion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">6.2, meanwhile, touched on the biggest outstanding element of the <i>Fallen Empire</i> story; the body of Tenebrae. We'd killed Valkorion in <i>Eternal Throne</i>, and that still holds true even with his return in this update. It transpires that Tenebrae carved a plague into his flesh which would take hold of any who tried to destroy it, creating a replica of who he was at that time within their mind until he was strong enough to consume the host and be reborn. This is where Satele Shan has been since patch 5.9, as she found Kira and Scourge who were in the thrall of this plague; they subsequently passed it onto her and her students, and our job is to make sure Tenebrae doesn't kill them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even though we reconvene with his more familiar visages of Valkorion and Vitiate, the emperor we meet in <i>Echoes of Oblivion</i> is very much his own character. We also meet back up with certain other long-gone characters, such as Vaylin, who is given a new lease of life by somehow being able to take control of one of Satele's dead students, Darth Marr, Meetra Surik, and Revan, and together with Valkorion's remaining family and the spectres of those whose lives he ruined, we put an end to Tenebrae once and for all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Spirit of Vengeance</i>, meanwhile, introduces us to Field Marshal Heta Kol, who has marshalled together a bunch of mandalorian clans and led them in open revolt against Shae's leadership. We've only just seen the second part of this story in patch 7.2, with the implication that patch 7.4 might be part three. Y'know, discounting little cutscenes in other story patches that further the plot but don't really.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike <i>Echoes of Oblivion</i>, which is a chapter-style solo instance, <i>Spirit of Vengeance</i> is a flashpoint. It's... alright. It's hardly one of my favourites, but it's also quite some way from being one of my least favourites.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, there's still so much we don't really know about the mandalorians and Heta Kol, and while this flashpoint is an <i>alright</i> introduction to them, we're only introduced to one of Heta's lieutenants personally - Bask Sunn. Durn Wynnward and Tyrus Brokenblade appear only in three cutscenes with Heta, and have only had speaking lines in one!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and Heta herself has changed both armour colours and voice. She was revealed in concept art with red-and-gold armour, then came to the game with green-and-red armour, and now is back to red-and-gold as she should always have been, and we have no idea why her voice actress changed. Fortunately it happened only after <i>one</i> instance of her appearing, so while it was noticeable she also wasn't established enough that recasting her shouldn't have been too difficult.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Shae may be unreliable, but at least she's consistent!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Patch 6.2 also introduced the login rewards calendar. Compared to how other games do it, I really like how <i>SWTOR</i>'s version operates; it is not possible to <i>miss</i> rewards, as the calendar is not tied to any given day, week, or month, but rather how often you yourself log in. If you take a break partway through week three of your third calendar, you'll still find yourself logging back in at that exact same point whenever you come back.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most annoying aspect of it is the seemingly random nature of the calendars appearing. I think I must have had almost fifteen versions of the <i>Strength in Allies</i> calendar by now, having completed my tenth last year, but I'm still only on my seventh <i>Aggressive Negotiations </i>calendar, despite not having seen that for at least three months!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ah, well. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All in all, while I have misgivings about the mandalorian story, I feel patch 6.2 was reasonably solid. <i>Echoes of Oblivion</i> was decent fun, although the last fight can be very tedious for specific classes.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Legacy of the Sith</i>: Patch 7.3 - <i>Old Wounds</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This should come as little surprise given how much I gushed about it in a previous post.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Compared to prior story updates, which focused almost exclusively on the longer aspects of <i>SWTOR</i>'s current story chain, 7.3 only touched on them very briefly before sending us off to Voss to make nice with the Shrine Restoration Initiative to learn more about a prophecy made by The Three.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And honestly, it's just a really nice update. It's nice to see a follow-up to the Voss storylines we've seen over the years and to actually get more of the voss-gormak alliance that was ever-so-briefly seen in 5.0's first chapter, and the missions they give you are quite nice as well. I really quite liked the cantina quest and the tour-guide quest in particular.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While Malgus and his frustrating unknown plans feature in this update as well, I have to give major props to Jamie Glover for his phenomenal acting in this update. You can read multiple different things into Malgus's sudden change of behaviour, whether it's genuine regret or acting to bait us into supporting him, but regardless Glover's acting was <i>flawless</i> in that moment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The other thing which was really nice about this update was the flashpoint <i>Shrine of Silence</i>. I really enjoyed having a flashpoint which was actually just another thing to do rather than an integral part of the story, and I look forward to seeing more done like this.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, I really wouldn't mind getting more small-scale story updates done in this manner. Send us to Alderaan, please!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's not a lot else to say about this update, to be honest. It was short but sweet, and in the current seemingly-endless guff about Malgus and the mandalorians I'll <i>take</i> short but sweet gladly.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And there we have it. My picks for favourite big story-based updates from each expansion. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I find it noteworthy that a number of them are associated with repeatable content that I really like, whether it be an operation, flashpoint, daily zone, or combination thereof. Quite honestly, that's what I really like about what a lot of <i>SWTOR</i> does and did throughout the years in terms of having distinct activities. For example, compared to MMOs like <i>ESO</i> and <i>WoW</i>, most of its daily zones being a series of repeatable missions that do not change, rather than a bunch of alternating daily quests of varying kind and difficulty, really helps certain updates stand out compared to others. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's not to say that I can't appreciate content which is more limited. My love of 7.3 is more because it just feels so refreshing compared to 7.1 and 7.2 that it's hard <i>not</i> to appreciate it, even if 7.2 objectively delivered more actual <i>content</i>. First impressions are also very important for a game update, something which still really harms 3.0, 7.2 itself, and the early patches of 5.0 while <i>BioWare</i> were still trying to make Galactic Command work.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... yeah. I try to be fair when looking across all of these, but I still have a very sour taste in my mouth when thinking about how certain updates <i>were</i> when they launched or how much I dislike certain daily zones. I should point out in the interest of fairness that Section X is one of my least favourite daily zones, but I still chose patch 1.5 as my favourite big story update from that era as I feel the concepts <i>behind</i> the daily zone were just enough to pull it to the fore.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Plus, let's be honest, 1.0's post-launch content was not <i>exactly</i> meaningful a lot of the time. It was early days, but it still tried its damnedest to do what it could. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of all of these updates I've specifically highlighted, my favourite would actually still be 2.4. 5.10 is <i>excellent</i>, and is my favourite in recent years, but I have to give credit to patch 2.4 for delivering a daily zone <i>and</i> two new operations in one go, something which we've only seen done once since in patch 3.0. For what was merely a middle-of-the-expansion game update, 2.4 provided a strong conclusion to a long-running story and laid the groundwork for future daily zones in terms of associated story delivery. That's not bad going.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not to mention the introduction of arenas and reformatting of Ranked, something which <i>BioWare </i>were ultimately able to stick to their guns with all the way up to patch 7.2. That's some good longevity right there.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-22097446550917021662023-07-10T22:18:00.004+01:002023-07-10T22:19:53.931+01:00Passage of Peace, Past<p style="text-align: justify;">Galactic Season 4 is finally in my rear-view mirror at last. Despite my growing reservations about Galactic Seasons as a concept, I have ended up dutifully doing my part each time, although by now the process feels incredibly formulaic and in dire need of another rework.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The trouble is, it doesn't feel like there isn't a lot they <i>can</i> change to me. The objective system works well enough, and it's always nice when something that in recent years has been kind of neglected like a comparatively obscure world boss gets featured. Much like the introduction of level-scaling, I like how that particular aspect of the whole thing makes older content both relevant and actually involving. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">My appreciation for what <i>SWTOR</i> has done over the years has grown exponentially since getting involved in <i>World of Warcraft</i>. That game honestly feels <b>horrifically</b> dated compared to what <i>SWTOR</i> has going for it at times.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Galactic Season 5 has up its sleeve to try and make things different. Honestly, the thing I would like to see be looked at or removed entirely, even if just for this upcoming season, is the seasonal reputation track.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A new reputation track is a pretty safe option to add as a new grind. It keeps people tied to specific content or areas for a while if they want shiny rewards from a reputation vendor, and with seasons it's just another thing to add to the checklists for specific weekly objectives and achievements. However, since the seasonal reputation is entirely tied to a currency you receive for completing seasonal objectives or killing foes, that <i>can</i> result in quite a big grind depending on what you do if you wish to stay afloat.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes, that's easy. If you're the sort of person who happily pugs flashpoints and story mode operations like no tomorrow, you'll likely end up swimming in the stuff. If you are a progression raider who spends half their week working up to a final boss and not necessarily killing it, and that's the only group content you do, that's an entire sector of content where you're effectively locked out of gaining currency for.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not even the Jawa Intel feels like it helps a great deal while out killing foes on daily runs if that ends up being your main source of income outside of objectives. Sure, it <i>does</i> help, but the drop rate on the things is still really quite woeful. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">PvPers, meanwhile... okay, so it's been a while since I've <i>done</i> a PvP match and associated weekly, so maybe they've changed this, but I don't believe there's any way for them to earn currency just from doing PvP.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and even if you do get an absolute shedton, you're still limited to a 5,000-per-week reputation cap. Again, I get it, they have to stretch it out somehow as completing 100 weekly objectives for the achievement will take fifteen weeks minimum, so completing the reputation track six weeks before that isn't something I feel the developers are happy to let people do. Unfortunately, this does mean that if you start working on the reputation "too late", even by just a week, you're completely screwed and have no chance to complete the track in time to complete the relevant achievements.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The thing is, I <i>can</i> get why they've done it this way. It's clearly a hangover from the original design of 7.0's content: encourage players to do as much of everything as possible in order to maximise their gain of relevant stuff. However, there is a <i>very</i> fine line between people feeling "encouraged" and people feeling "forced", and in this regard I can definitely sympathise with PvPers in particular who care enough about seasons to complete everything, as their favourite activity may well yield nothing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All of this is why I feel the seasonal reputation tracks require a rework. Just a slight one, it doesn't need to be massive, but I would like to see things change.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most immediate thing I can think of would be to increase the source of currencies. Adding them to the PvP daily / weekly boxes if they aren't already there would allow those who only do PvP to maintain a steady income without needing to go elsewhere. Operations are trickier, in that while I would perhaps like to see them spread the currency tokens across bosses much like tech fragments are, that may lead to certain operations (looking at you, <i>Scum & Villainy</i>) being a better source if only by a couple, up to a few, tokens. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">At least all operations of a certain type and difficulty giving the same amount from the last boss <i>is</i> fair, even if it means those who <i>just</i> do progression raids without killing the final boss miss out on currency.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, I would like to see an option added for players starting later than others to "catch up" with the reputation if they would wish. I don't really know how feasible this option is, as there has been no indication that the developers can even <i>allow</i> the weekly cap to be adjusted on a personal basis. Added to which, there would also need to be a system in place to detect which players would be relevant for a catch-up mechanic.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If it <i>is</i> possible, I would like to see a multiplier-system be introduced. Let's say a player who is still at the lowest tier in week five is allowed access to a token which temporarily increases the weekly cap by a factor of 1.75, in other words up to 8,750, increasing to a factor of 2 in week 6, and so on. Any tokens that player activates during this time are <i>also</i> multiplied by that same factor. This would, in theory, allow them to use the same number of tokens to reach the original weekly cap as before, but still at potentially a fast enough rate to complete the track in time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It might not even be possible to begin with, in which case pipe dream, but I'm just trying to think of ways that the developers can make this particular grind feel less annoying the later you come to it. I mean, sure, at the end of the day you're not going to get <i>everyone</i> through, but I do feel sorry for everyone who does come to it late, or believes they're fine until they get a rude awakening that <i>oh no you're not</i>, and by then there's nothing they can do.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thirdly, there is also the option to have the objectives <i>themselves</i> drop reputation tokens rather than just currency. Make it so that the 8-pointers drop a large blue, and the 12-pointers drop a purple, and you're away. By all means, continue to have the currency as a backup option, as it would still be required to allow players to keep earning the reputation, but then maybe that <i>itself</i> needs a rework. Rework the jawa, make it so that he'll sell a reputation trophy of your choice from <i>any</i> inactive season to you for various jawa scraps, and you needn't continue adding seasonal currency after seasonal currency.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It <i>would</i> be nice to cut down on that. Remember when their goal was to reduce the number of currencies we had to minimise confusion? 7.0 says "hi!".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fourthly, and easiest of all, <i>make the dang things cheaper</i>!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In all seriousness, I really wouldn't mind it if with GS5 we saw the removal of the reputation track, even if just for one season. I don't really know what its replacement could be in terms of achievements, although since each companion has a specific activity associated with them as a weekly objective, maybe they could make it so that you had to complete that activity a certain number of times during the season.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Or maybe just... <i>don't</i> add a new achievement for the sake of it if there is no reputation track to do. Just leave off with earning level 100, the 100 weeklies, and the umbrella achievement for both. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If they do end up adding seasonal reputation tracks with each successive season and we don't end up with a break somewhere along the line, I really hope we get a change in the current <i>status quo</i>. It's been fine enough for the time being, but there have been some serious flaws exposed throughout the last three seasons that could really do with being addressed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Trouble is, I don't really think there's a lot they're ultimately going to be <i>able</i> to do. I'd love to be surprised, though.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To bring this back on-topic for my finishing GS4, it was... <i>alright</i>. I still feel that Amity hasn't done <i>quite</i> enough to beat <i>PH4-LNX</i> as my favourite of the companion, despite my own disappointments about how Fay was handled, but he was decent enough. I do miss being able to dress up the seasonal companion like you could Altuur, but I get why they've shifted to full-body-and-outfit customisations, and at least with Amity they actually did a <i>full</i> unique costume rather than just the gloves as they did with Fen.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, I say "gloves", but really they were just his hands with a glove texture appended on. That's <i>SWTOR</i>'s aliens like duros for you. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't really know what, or who, I'd like to see next. Amity fulfilled my previously-expressed wishes for a faction-specific soldier <i>and</i> a Force-user in one go, but I'd still like to see something that feels like it's quite <i>special</i> at some point. Fen, Altuur, Fay, they're all in some regards representing the neutral underworld, when there is <i>so much potential</i> for more.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'd still <i>love</i> to see us get someone whose role in the galaxy actively <i>clashes</i> with at least one of the factions, rather than someone who fits in no-matter-what. Give us a disgruntled Imperial soldier, a Sith, a Jedi, someone who <i>doesn't</i> necessarily plug-and-play. It could be really interesting to see how a character of a specific faction <i>responds</i> to their situation, whether it involves us helping them feel better about continuing their role now that warfare has broken out if you're of the same faction and loyalty as they are, or maybe even convince them that there <i>is</i> more to life than just being the same-old-same-old and to break away from their former ties if you're of the opposite faction or are a saboteur.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Heck, some of the best stuff in <i>SWTOR</i> comes when characters with specific dichotomies enter into dialogue with one another. Lana and Gnost-Dural's conversation prior to <i>Objective Meridian</i> still stands out in my mind as a really good interaction between two people of different origin and alignment, and even though the Alliance can be allied with either the Republic or the Empire as well as its own thing, it <i>is</i> still presented as maintaining some of its prior neutral elements.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But what is the point of that if the writers aren't actively trying to find opportunities to explore those elements? In general, it would be <i>really</i> interesting to get some feeling about how your personnel are feeling, like maybe some updated ambient conversations like the ones you hear as your alliance specialist influence grows, just so we <i>know</i> how our current personnel are feeling about potentially fighting their loved ones.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's certainly still quite fertile ground. I hope to someday see it explored, and I feel a seasonal companion would be a decent way of going about things. We shall see what we shall see.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-39186071257327874722023-06-27T18:07:00.006+01:002023-06-27T18:38:18.450+01:00Broadsword, Part 2<p style="text-align: justify;">I haven't really posted about my thoughts on <i>SWTOR</i>'s rumoured move to <i>Broadsword</i> since my last post on the matter, and that's mainly because... well... what was there to say? It's all so unknown, whether it actually would move at all, whether it would go to somebody else, and what sort of impacts that will have. I will happily theorise about in-universe stuff until kingdom come, but something like this, which is actually meaningful?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">No, there's just no point getting caught up in "what this will <i>really</i> mean!!!" for the game and the community. What will happen will happen.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, earlier today after a couple of posts by Keith Kanneg acknowledging the rumour and answering some general questions about it as best he could - I mean, he's <i>never</i> going to convince those who've already decided this is the game's final death knell, is he? - we finally have official confirmation that <a href="https://blog.bioware.com/2023/06/27/bright-future-for-swtor/"><i>Broadsword</i> is indeed taking over the reins of <i>SWTOR</i></a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">These posts echo a general feeling I have seen from ex-<i>SWTOR</i> developers and those more in the know about <i>BioWare</i> and such things; that <i>Broadsword</i> is better-handled to carry an MMO forward than <i>BioWare</i> is. I mean, <i>BioWare</i> are not a bad game studio, nor are they a bad studio when it comes to crafting stories, but an MMO is not a game that <i>BioWare</i> is traditionally best at running. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With a game series like <i>Mass Effect</i>, mechanics and gameplay are on the whole secondary to the story. That's not to say that they aren't important, but you tend to remember characters and dynamic moments in the storyline more than you do how a particular class plays. Doubly so for <i>Knights of the Old Republic</i>, the gameplay of which has aged <b>horrifically</b> while the story still holds up well. An MMO, on the other hand, often ends up being far more <i>about</i> the gameplay than the story, as people spend so much more time just doing <i>stuff</i> once they've done all the story, whether that be daily zones, PvP, raiding, etc., etc. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The point is, unlike a traditional single-player game like <i>Mass Effect</i> or <i>Dragon Age</i> which is one-and-done, with DLC as an additional extra thing to invest in if they're asked to or want to, with an MMO you've <i>got</i> to do a lot more stuff on a regular basis. Sure, <i>BioWare</i> <b>have</b> proved capable of doing this; the 2.0 patch-cycle stands out as a prominent example of what the company could do for the game at its strongest, and since then no expansion or patch-cycle has ever really come close to repeating its sheer volume of content in a similar length of time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not envisaging for a second that <i>Broadsword</i> will be able to instantly turn things around and make every subsequent expansion like 2.0. However, if certain rumours are correct and <i>BioWare</i> were using the income from <i>SWTOR</i> to bump up other projects more than they were to improve <i>SWTOR</i> itself, then not having this drain <i>will</i> be immensely beneficial somewhere along the line. After all, everything costs money, and if <i>BioWare</i> weren't investing nearly as much money into <i>SWTOR</i> as it needed... honestly, I don't see how things <b>can't</b> improve.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Truth be told, I'm honestly more scared for <i>BioWare</i>'s future than I am <i>SWTOR</i>'s. They haven't had a lot of big successes recently, with <i>Anthem</i> and <i>Mass Effect: Andromeda</i> both being disappointments financially. Sure, they had <i>Mass Effect Legendary Edition</i>, but that was <i>just</i> a remaster; impressive, yes, but if you've already played the full trilogy several times over there's nothing really new there that you couldn't experience second-hand.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Point is, with the next <i>Dragon Age</i> and <i>Mass Effect</i> games still being worked on and nowhere <b>near</b> release, that suddenly puts a <b>shedton</b> of pressure on <i>BioWare</i> to get them right. After all, they won't have <i>SWTOR</i> to keep them afloat anymore, so if either of these games fails in <i>EA</i>'s eyes... I honestly don't see <i>BioWare</i> surviving.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I really hope it does continue to persist, however. It's had some wonderful games throughout its time, and it would be sorely missed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For <i>SWTOR</i>, however, I am very much looking forward to seeing what this move will result in. Even if it takes a while for things to manifest, it's nice to think that things are looking relatively positive now it can actually flourish without anything holding its investment opportunities back. I wish everyone with the current team well, both those moving to <i>Broadsword</i> and those who are sadly being left behind and needing to find their way. I'm really hoping those folks can find new work in good time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Until the future, then. Let's see what it holds.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and we also have news that the next Galactic Season is coming with the next patch, which was previously stated as being towards the end of Summer. Another instance of a Galactic Season starting roughly a month after the previous one ends. Joy.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-66373924675121073952023-06-14T18:07:00.005+01:002023-06-14T18:49:41.864+01:00Thoughts on 7.3: The Good, the Bad, and the Eeehhhhhs<p style="text-align: justify;">A new story patch is out, and of course I have to offer my thoughts on it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.3: <i>Old Wounds</i> follows immediately on from Ruhnuk, and both us and Shae Vizla are seeking answers about Nul and her datacron from Darth Malgus before it potentially gets too late. We're also invited to Voss, as Sana-Rae and Arcann finally have answers from the expedition we sent them on towards the end of 6.0.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's a fair bit to cover, so let's get started!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Good</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Story</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">7.3's storyline is a good solid chunk of <i>stuff</i>. We finally begin to get answers about Nul, even if the nature of the holocron frustratingly still eludes us. Turns out that she was originally a Jedi before being captured by Sith, although it's handled in such a way that the Jedi don't come out entirely sympathetic either. For all intents and purposes, Nul's story highlights Malgus's comments about the injustice of both Sith and Jedi calling the shots for as long as they have been and how that should change.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, speaking with the benefit of knowing what happens 3,000 years later, it's clear that not much <i>does</i> change in the long-run, but it is certainly possible for a short-term and massive change to the <i>status quo</i> as dictated by Malgus.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of Malgus, I have to doff my proverbial hat to Jamie Glover. Malgus in this update is a combination of how we've always known him, from grand posturing to dismissing the trivial concerns of those who legitimately do not understand his work, and something completely new and unforeseen. Exhaustion.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After Shae fails to get the information she desires from Malgus about the location of Heta Kol - to be fair, while he is aware of her, it sounds very much like he wasn't actually planning on her being a part of galactic affairs, something which Shae seemingly refuses to accept - Malgus just sounds so <i>defeated</i>. Like this is his life's goal, people keep on getting in the way, and he's legitimately concerned that he will live out the rest of his days and the galaxy will just keep on being the way it has always been. To make matters worse, the one person in the whole galaxy who might have understood him... is his enemy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If it's purely acting, and he's merely attempting to drum up sympathy for him, it's <i>phenomenal</i> acting on his part. I may not particularly like dealing with Malgus, but that moment there really did hit home. It's worth considering that Malgus is in his 70s, with his broken body held together by bolts and wiring, so even if he is stronger than many other Sith, he is ultimately still just an old man potentially nearing his twilight years. I can't blame him for feeling that his life's work is ultimately going to end up being for naught, nor can I blame him for trying to use that trick if it ultimately ends up being so.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most interesting thing about Malgus comes not from our discussion with <i>him</i>, but with the new representatives of The Three on Voss after all is said and done. They highlight two things: firstly, that while Malgus "dreams", he is in the process of awakening <i>something</i> that will bring great chaos to the galaxy; and secondly, that if he <i>dies</i> then the chaos will come all the sooner. <i>BioWare</i> are hardly subtle about foreshadowing potential plot-points, so while part of me thinks this is just that Voss being dramatic, another now believes that this will end up being the final dramatic twist of 7.0: Malgus either dying outright or having his life fall in our hands.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All we know for sure is that at some point this expansion, we will be presented with a significant choice, and this will determine the path going forward. I can't see this being anything <i>other</i> than the set-up for 8.0, as it's unlikely that such a big decision will lead to anything other than an expansion-level event. We shall see what that decision is when the time comes, and what impact it is likely to have going forward.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On Voss itself, meanwhile, we get a nice little catch-up with both Arcann and Sana-Rae. Arcann, of course, feels the weight of Nul's corruption as he knows all too well what his father's influence could do to people, and Sana-Rae ends up revealing that she's basically become an outsider herself. The Three apparently didn't mind her helping outsiders while the war against Zakuul was going on, but now it's over and she's still helping us, they legitimately cannot understand why she is not returning when she should. Thus, by voss tradition, a voss mystic who does not return when needed is effectively shunned by The Three.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's an interesting addition to Sana-Rae as a character, as it shows that she's putting her ties to the Alliance before her species' own traditions, but it does very little to make the voss seem sympathetic. Not that they already weren't suffering from haughtiness before this update, of course...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The gormak, however, come away <i>really</i> clean from this update. While a few of them do side with Czerka as a result of the still-fragile trust between the two once-warring factions, ultimately Czerka (of course) still end up being the bigger villains. The gormak are treated as honest, if easily manipulated, and the voss honestly come away feeling the worse for wear by essentially allowing this lack of trust to fester without bothering too much to try and fix it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately for both groups, that's what we end up doing. It's nice that a decent part of this update actually has us try to patch things up <i>before</i> the story wraps up, rather than ending the story and <i>then</i> unlocking the joint efforts missions as most other zones with repeatable missions are. It's also nice to get an update on the voss-gormak alliance and see it actually kinda-working-out even with the bumps, so again I must say that I want to see more of this elsewhere.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">How about Alderaan? <i>Hint</i>, <i>hint</i>.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Interpreter's Retreat</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the complete mess that was Ruhnuk, with its navigation troubles and at times ridiculous mob pulls, the Interpreter's Retreat is a <i>very</i> welcome breath of fresh air. No confusing tunnel networks, no annoying mob groups, just a nice easy-to-traverse area with relatively stress-free combat opportunities.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The extra and repeatable missions aren't too bad, either. I really quite like the daily in the gormak cantina, and it's nice to see a race that the base-game tries its damnedest to present as savages actually get their chance to shine and show how civilised they really can be. Wonderful stuff.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Shrine of Silence</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After years of getting flashpoints that are the end-point of the newest story, or indeed are the central focus of the newest updates, it feels <i>so</i> nice to finally get one that's just another thing to do rather than a key part of the new story. Honestly, it makes you realise just how much you miss that concept of a nice and completely self-contained flashpoint with no other story elements required to understand it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The fights themselves are also quite interesting, with two notable mechanics which I have seen before in other MMOs now working their way into <i>SWTOR</i>. You have the circle that grows in phases on the first boss, Tantrum, and you have the inverse-circle where the safest part is right by the boss (and is often but not always followed by the inverse) on the bonus boss.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The one gripe I really have with this flashpoint is that the bonus boss is actually part of a <i>missable</i> puzzle. When unlocking the first boss door, if you take all three lights to the first shrine you completely bypass the opportunity to unlock the secret shrine, something I was not aware of until I first tried it with some guildies in master mode. I sat back and let them figure it out as I was trying to stay silent on things like mechanics and secret achievements for their benefit, but since I had only ever done it the secret way even on the PTS I was unaware of what we'd miss out on until they solved it the 'right' way. I stepped in and informed them that the bonus wasn't showing up in doing it that way, so we reset the instance.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, I don't <i>mind</i> a flashpoint puzzle, but I do feel it's a bit odd to restrict a whole other boss behind completing it a certain way. That's the sort of thing <i>ESO</i> does, and... no, don't try to be <i>ESO</i>, <i>SWTOR</i>!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Eeehhhhhs</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Mandalorians</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In amongst all of this, we're treated to a follow-up cutscene of how Heta and her forces are recovering from Ruhnuk. Sa'har tries, and initially fails, to help her brother Ri'kan use the Force, showing that she still has compassion for him even if he rejects her attempts. After all, Heta found him, Heta showed him freedom, that has to mean she has his best interests at heart more than his sorcerer sister does, right?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...right?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, Heta once again proves that she's only interested in those who are able to get what she wants without showing any signs of weakness. She summarily executes Dar'manda forces if they're present alongside Bask Sunn for their trick on Ruhnuk, presenting him as the reason she lost even if the machinery <i>wasn't</i> used on her (she can't look weak herself, of course), and deliberately ignores Ri'kan's attempts to muscle up close to her when announcing who among them will be privy to her full plans.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So once again, much like the end of Ruhnuk, we get the idea that Ri'kan feels more and more displaced by his sister. She got taken by the Jedi. <i>She</i> found Heta's newest weapon. <i>She alone</i> gets to know the full plan alongside Heta. That's <i>gotta sting</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The reason why this is in the "Eeehhhhhs" section is because this just feels like wrapping up loose ends more than actually revealing anything meaningful other than Ri'kan's Force-usage being linked to his pure rage, which we already saw in the <i>Disavowed</i> trailer! The Dar'manda were honestly never going to be a force in Heta's army going forward the moment Bask Sunn made his offer in 7.2, so this 'twist' again just feels like mopping up more than anything.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Plus, again, this is just more "the plan, the plan". <i>Get on with it</i>. For goodness' sakes, if we're still waiting to find out what "the plan" is when 8.0 gets here...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Tau and Rivix</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the brief preview of 7.3 given in the developer stream, you'd think that Tau and Rivix would be key characters throughout, right? They're in 7.3 for about five minutes, first shown duelling each other for the remnants of Nul's lightsaber, before then bringing it to us and kickstarting the conversation with Malgus.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then that's it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, it's still good to see them, especially as this is the first time Rivix appears for Republic characters (not that we ever get to see him with our own characters, of course), but this is just another expository cutscene which we have no involvement in and is just bringing us up to speed. As Shin noted in <a href="https://swtorcommando.blogspot.com/2023/01/showdown-on-ruhnuk-uneasy-story-thoughts.html">this blog entry</a> these are honestly something of an oddity in a game that's meant to be telling <i>our</i> story. At least this isn't as egregious as the Mandalorian example, as the hilt does play a part later on, but still...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yep, no "Bads" I can think of to note down!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, 7.3 is a <i>really</i> nice update. The story is of decent length, even if most of it is running around the retreat doing the joint efforts missions, but it still works well enough. The plot-thread about Nul's holocron is just getting more and more tiresome, and I really hope we get some <i>actual answers</i> soon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm now <i>really</i> interested in seeing where Malgus's story goes. As mentioned, his slumping and almost defeatist attitude is really quite disarming in just how <i>different</i> he is to his usual self, and Jamie Glover <i>really</i> knocked it out of the park there. While I originally wanted to see a flashpoint surrounding the breakout, I can now honestly see us freeing Malgus and teaming up with him in an attempt to wrest the datacron from Heta's hands. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seems like the sort of outcome that would fulfil both the "...nothing lasts forever" comment regarding his and ours continued enmity and the warning about how Malgus <i>must</i> live. That last bit certainly suggests he'll be fighting again sooner rather than later, and with us in the immediate vicinity. Quite what all that will result in, and when, remains to be seen...</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-38276679026921910482023-06-11T22:50:00.009+01:002023-06-11T22:57:04.582+01:00Contemplating 7.3, Galactic Season 4, and Gaming Apathy<p style="text-align: justify;">After all the recent hubbub about <i>SWTOR</i>'s future, the news that <i>Old Wounds</i> would be launching on the 13th of June is very welcome. It's <i>roughly</i> when I expected it to be, as when the PTS went down towards the end of May I stated that I could maybe see it due a fortnight later (in other words, the 6th), so a week later is still pretty close to my original estimations.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In the meanwhile, I'm just chugging along with the latest Galactic Season, and am almost at the end point now. Certainly, I no longer need to worry about maintaining a consistent income of Notes of Reflection each week, as once I hand in those which I accrued this past week I'll only need a couple of hundred more reputation to hit the cap. Yes, I could always pop the reputation boost tokens and get it done on Tuesday, but I know from experience that the persistent nature of the 24-hour long buff (i.e., it cannot be clicked off, and it <i>doesn't</i> tick down when logged out) bugged me the last time I tried it so am not keen to repeat that again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Besides, I'd only use it to boost <i>one </i>token. All that, when just waiting seven days would do just fine?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, once that's done it's just focusing on the last 23 objectives then that's this season done and dusted at last.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At that point, I don't really know what my plan is. I have noticed a growing sense of apathy towards not just MMOs but video games in general these past couple of months. Notably, when <i>Jedi: Survivor</i> was on the horizon, I just felt... nothing. Sure, I watched a few of the gameplay fluff videos explaining what was what, but I honestly felt no real pull. As a subscriber to <i>EA Play Pro</i>, it is a game I would get access to through that, so I acknowledged I would at least give it a go, but I had no real desire to actually <i>buy</i> the thing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And indeed, it didn't stick the landing as far as I'm concerned. The original game, <i>Fallen Order</i>, was <i>okay</i>, but as the sequel got nearer and nearer I honestly just felt I didn't <i>need</i> to see the crew in action again. I was quite happy with the open ending of the original, and I have to say I just didn't feel much excitement for a sequel even back then.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm finding the same sort of thing about the new game that's just been announced, <i>Outlaws</i>. I mean, it <i>looks</i> pretty, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not feeling much excitement about it. It doesn't help either that it's an open-world game, and those are extremely personal taste. I have to say that my experiences with the tedious design of <i>Mass Effect: Andromeda</i>'s open world environments really haven't endeared me to the concept, although to be fair <i>MEA</i> has a fair number of annoying RNG quests where you have to hunt certain items in enemy camps, and there is every chance that you can scour the entire map and come back to the camp you cleared first and find the item has spawned there again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... I don't know about anything game-related at the moment. I'm still keeping going with <i>SWTOR</i> and<i> WoW</i>, because I have some very good friends who I'm enjoying playing that content with, but beyond that... I'm just not feeling very much excitement about games. I don't know quite what's responsible for this, but something in my brain this year has flipped. Maybe it'll be temporary, maybe it's the start of a more long-term thing, I don't know.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I think I'm trying to say about all this with relation to <i>SWTOR</i> is that I'm glad that 7.3 is coming next week, because it falls in the window where I'm still actively wanting to engage with it. I'm sure I would have come back to it were it to launch after I'd finished seasons, or at least prolong my probable post-seasons game break until after I'd seen all I wanted to see with the newer update, but it being imminent works very well indeed as far as I'm concerned.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, I still have three-and-a-bit weeks to go until I reach the end of Galactic Season 4. Anything can happen during that time, so I'm not committing to anything until that point. In the meanwhile, my plan is to take things as they come and go from there. What will happen will happen.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-60727529958051190332023-06-06T22:52:00.005+01:002023-06-06T23:04:42.209+01:00Broadsword<p style="text-align: justify;">7.3 is being launched in "the next couple weeks", but in the meanwhile IGN has completely upstaged the announcement by prematurely revealing that <i>SWTOR</i> may <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-the-old-republic-development-third-party-bioware">soon be moving to a new developer</a>: <i>Broadsword Online Games</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I must admit, I had never even heard of this company before this news broke. I believe I had heard of <i>Ultima Online</i>, but I certainly couldn't have told anyone whether it was an MMO or an online fighting game like <i>Mortal Kombat</i>. Regardless, neither this nor its fellow <i>Broadsword</i> game, <i>Dark Age of Camelot</i>, seem to match <i>SWTOR</i> in terms of philosophy. Notably, both games have more emphasis on PvP.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As for what this means for <i>SWTOR</i>, it's far too early to say for sure. Needless to say, the news was met with doomsaying on the subreddit (but what else is new there?), and the IGN article was quick to say that the move would include more than half of the team currently working on <i>SWTOR</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's the nitty-gritty details which are the unknown quantity. Things like voice-acting deals, exactly where the story team are in developing the rest of 7.0, philosophy regarding difficulty and types of group-content, and how future crafting updates may be handled; all of that is quite unknown how a new studio will manage things compared to <i>BioWare</i>, and as a result it's also unknown how much that could potentially <i>change</i>. Granted, with half the current team and a former <i>BW</i> employee who worked on <i>SWTOR</i> as the head of <i>Broadsword</i> if it moves there, there is always the likelihood that several changes will not be any more significant than they would usually be.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean, how many times has <i>BW</i> itself shaken up the formulae for gearing, content difficulty, and all that? They seem to have shaken things up to a drastic degree for the past four expansions, and it is quite possible that whatever the <i>BW</i> team might potentially have been planning already for the inevitable 8.0 will still come to pass under new ownership. One thing you can guarantee is that even if what a new developer produces is actually something that <i>BW</i> came up with before the move that the former will get the blame if it goes wrong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's an interesting piece of news nonetheless. If a move does go ahead, I'm curious to see exactly what comes of it later down the line, especially the closer we get to a new expansion. I for one find it rather a strange concept to move a game to a different studio when the team is possibly only halfway through a current expansion, so I wonder now more than ever just <i>when</i> 7.0 is meant to be drawing to a close (we do at least know that 7.4 <i>is</i> still planned to go ahead, however!).</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-22419655228246719252023-05-20T19:27:00.004+01:002023-05-21T21:21:58.193+01:00BioWare's Revised Flashpoint Philosophy<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Shrine of Silence</i>, coming with 7.3, brings with it a shift in how <i>BW</i> have been delivering flashpoint content in recent years. Ever since the <i>Shadow of Revan</i> prelude, <i>Forged Alliances</i>, every flashpoint released has been a part of the "critical path" of the story. That means that in order to continue or outright conclude a given story, a flashpoint <i>must</i> be done to advance it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This in turn resulted in flashpoints having much more of a scripted element than they did before. Sure, there was the odd cutscene here and there in the original bunch, and a few thereafter, but the bigger cutscenes were almost always at the end. Starting with 5.0's <i>Crisis on Umbara</i>, solo-story flashpoints had various decent-length cutscenes present at various points throughout the entire thing to convey plot updates.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, with 7.3's newest flashpoint, that philosophy is reverting back to how a lot of flashpoints <i>used</i> to be; <i>Shrine of Silence</i> has its own story, completely independent of anything else going on in the Interpreter's Retreat, and it does not need to be completed in order to conclude the rest of the story which is coming with the patch. This seems to be <i>BW</i>'s goal going forward for the immediate future, and I am curious to see where it leads.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The biggest question I have to ask is; is this going to be their new philosophy for <i>all</i> flashpoints going forward, or just a select few? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I certainly wouldn't mind more flashpoints dealing with 'extra' threats, as it makes the story on whichever planet we're visiting larger than just what we're asked to deal with in the moment. A flashpoint being more of an "oh, by the way, while you're here..." thing also feels much more 'old-school' than the more recent method of using them as a story vessel, which in my view <i>is</i> welcome.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But at the same time, I also wouldn't like to see flashpoints be removed from the crit-path <i>entirely</i>. Much in the same way as they can expand a story with 'extra' stuff, they can also be used quite effectively to show off the power of a story-critical character in a way that can be seen again after the solo-experience in an expanded and more dangerous format. The alternative, of course, is the development of more chapter-like environments as seen in 6.2's <i>Echoes of Oblivion</i>, and... yeah, I'll take more flashpoints over those!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, with certain characters already being recurring antagonists and some being set up as <i>new</i> recurring antagonists, continuing to add flashpoints as a crucial part of a given storyline will inevitably lead to certain bosses being defeated in group content time and time again. I mean, Republic characters already face a certain Sith Lord as the final boss of <b>three</b> flashpoints!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I guess ultimately my main curiosity about what this means for the <i>immediate</i> future of <i>SWTOR</i>'s story is what format Malgus's inevitable break-out will be delivered in. I have always been hopeful that we would see that in flashpoint form (just... maybe with one of the rescuer's inner circle as a boss rather than Malgus again...), and this news doesn't entirely derail my hopes that we will see it as such. I still feel that a flashpoint set on either fleet would be <i>really</i> interesting and fun after almost twelve years of just knowing them as passive hubs, and I really wouldn't like this potential to be squandered by them instead resorting to a solo-only phase.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unless that was always to be the plan, of course, but then that's a wasted opportunity if ever there was one!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving away from a solo-story instance of course brings in extra problems; for players who aren't interested in group content and have neither the skill nor the gear to complete a 'proper' story-mode instance, this will most definitely not be an ideal move even with healing pods and the return of the Jesus Droid in <i>Shrine</i>. It's of course not my place to comment on whether I believe <i>Shrine</i> is particularly complicated, given my exposure to harder content, so I'll say nothing more and move on.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have to say that all this reminds me of what they've recently been doing for the operations. Issues with flashpoints being a part of the critical story were eventually addressed by the introduction of solo-mode flashpoints, but other than the <i>Temple of Sacrifice</i> instance there is no such workaround available for operations. This was particularly problematic for <i>Dread Fortress</i> and <i>Dread Palace</i>, which were needed to complete the Oricon story in-full.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, arguably starting with <i>Ravagers</i> and coming back in force with <i>Nature of Progress</i> and <i>R-4 Anomaly</i>, <i>BW</i> just decided to make the operations an 'extra' thing to do on their planets as well rather than an actual <i>conclusion</i> for their storylines. <i>Gods from the Machine</i> kinda went backwards a bit on this point; while it is not <i>required</i> to go in and kill the six gods to conclude the Iokath storyline, completing the operation is the only way to gain full closure for what happens, especially given that just finding <i>TYTH</i> alone was a <b>big</b> deal for all three factions in play.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So we're now potentially entering a time when <i>BW</i> are treating both of their main PvE group-content instances as somewhat separate entities from the ongoing storyline. It's going to be rather difficult to adjust to if it <i>does</i> become a major thing rather than every once in a while, but I can't deny that I am curious to see the results!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My major concern with their new philosophy, regardless of how many flashpoints it is due to apply to, is that they don't end up making these 'extra' flashpoints like the uprisings in terms of how really forgettable they were. Granted, the uprisings themselves don't really make an awful lot of sense, as they were just a bunch of instances created for the sake of giving players <i>some</i> group content in the vein of star fortresses before they got back to focusing on flashpoints with 5.4, so their stories weren't that well-established on the whole.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I suppose that is one major advantage of appending them to something already going on and just expanding it slightly. It doesn't <i>need</i> to make sense in the grand scheme of things; it just has to make sense within the instance <i>itself</i>, and that arguably is why the uprisings feel like they failed. They <i>tried</i> to make sense in the wider picture, but in so doing didn't make an awful lot of sense within the instances themselves, and we also don't really know if they were meant to tie into the Order of Zildrog or not!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am definitely curious to see what <i>BW</i> does for its future flashpoints. I hope that we will continue to see them be a part of the crit-path, but I can also appreciate that this will be something of a breath of fresh air.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-52290084537992459872023-05-12T23:45:00.003+01:002023-05-12T23:46:50.653+01:00The planets I would love most to be updated with new areas<p style="text-align: justify;">With the news that 7.3 would be taking us to a brand-new area on Voss, the fourth planet after Corellia, Belsavis, and most recently Manaan to receive an extra landing zone, one has to wonder what other planets would make for good secondary areas if <i>BW</i> were to add them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are a handful of benefits to returning to a planet rather than always being shunted off to new ones. Primarily, you can have a new story that continues or perhaps even concludes elements of stories from the base-game, allowing players to see how that planet has moved on in the years since we left it behind without needing to change things on the original planet instance itself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I still remember a lot of the changes made to the game to improve its flow in 4.0. Imperial Alderaan got chopped and changed quite a bit!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A new area also opens itself up to more exciting opportunities that would be very difficult to fit into an existing area, especially for universal faction-neutral entrances. A flashpoint or perhaps even a raid instance springs to mind; something that a single player or a group can pop along to that's tailor-made for that area. Then you have the bog-standard of weekly missions and potentially a reputation track, just to give people some reason to keep coming back to explore.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, with this in mind, here are my picks for planets I'd like to have the opportunity to revisit at some point in the future:</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: center;"><br />~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Alderaan</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Big shock! Cal has selected their favourite in-game planet as the first option! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This list is alphabetical, I swear!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so I do have more legitimate reason for selecting Alderaan as the top pick beyond my pure love for it (and the alphabetical nature of this list!), and that surrounds its planetary storylines.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our efforts on Alderaan surround our respective faction's attempts to help or hinder the civil war on Alderaan. The Empire, of course, wants to put their puppet, House Thul, on the throne, while the Republic are doing their best to aid House Organa repel their rivals. The Jedi Consular plays a key role in attending a summit between all houses, and everyone has the opportunity to depose the mad king, Bouris Ulgo, from the throne.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After that, it all goes silent for the next, what, eight years in-universe? The next we hear of it is from Choza Raabat, who confirms when you first meet him to help take down the Star Fortress that the houses put their differences aside to help resist the Eternal Empire. I don't remember if he ever confirmed that anyone in particular took the throne, but since this is a plot point that heavily depended on whichever faction dethroned Bouris and whichever Panteer ends up supporting I wouldn't be surprised if it was just neatly moved away from. Again, silence after that point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, here we are, what, five in-universe years after that point, and it would be wonderful to get a meaningful update on where things are at. Since <i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i>, <i>BioWare</i> have really gone all out in making our characters' personal decisions have more significant impacts on their own personal galaxies, so... what would <i>this</i> mean for Alderaan?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I can quite easily see us returning to Alderaan and having an actually <i>meaningful</i> impact on the planet's government for the immediate future, whether it be actively sabotaging peace talks and getting a certain house ostracised or actually being truly responsible for deciding which house the next monarch belongs to rather than it just being by proxy. There is a lot of room here for the personal variations that <i>BW</i> are very keen on putting into their stories, and I can see them having a lot of fun with it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Decent amount of wiggle-room for saboteur activities as well!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I can't deny I would much prefer a 'straighter' story continuation for Alderaan that <i>didn't</i> result in all of our characters seeing different outcomes, I think the time for that kind of story sadly is no more. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It would doubtless be interesting to see what became of the various houses and the nobles we helped (imagine a trooper reuniting with a now-healthy Markus Thul!), so regardless of the path they go down I'm sure I'd be all over returning to this storyline if they were to do so.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Hutta, Korriban, Ord Mantell, and Tython</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was announced early on in 7.0 that the plan is / was to take us back to these planets for some new story content to revisit our characters' roots, and while it would be interesting to return to a potentially visually-remastered version of all these locations, it would be wonderful to get newer areas with stories specific to the classes that started there.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not really sure what there would be to do on Hutta, although I'd love to meet the new head of the Hutt Cartel at last. Ord Mantell I can see there being something to do with the separatist movement if it decided to rear its head again. Korriban, maybe there's a new Sith Academy and the overseers are wheeling our Sith in to gauge its worthiness, allowing inquisitors a chance to play the role of Harkun to a group of wannabes if they really wanted.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For Tython, I'm not really sure, since we don't <i>really</i> know what became of the current Jedi Temple. If it gets destroyed or heavily damaged, I can maybe see us being tasked to find a location for a new one, same with a new Forge if <i>that</i> also got damaged, but I'm not really sure how that could easily be split between knight and consular. Hmm.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, I would love to get the options to explore different areas of these locations and get actual content that refers back to our base classes somehow at the same time, even if just for one quest. Rishi's class snippets are, after all, still some of my favourite post-vanilla content to have been released, and I would love to get something similar again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm very interested in learning more about what <i>BW</i>'s plans for us to revisit these planets may eventually consist of. I really hope they haven't been delayed indefinitely for whatever reason and that we will get to experience them during this expansion, but time shall tell.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Makeb</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... we kinda just left Makeb in its semi-exploded state. Does anyone really know what became of it since...?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm beginning to notice a bit of a theme with a couple of these planets. The story I would like to see on them is to do with how the planetary governments have adapted to the current <i>status quo</i> and what impact we as players can have on things. Eh, I guess it's what happens when a bit of the story focuses on that concept!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, I am legitimately curious to know what has happened with Makeb. Have the refugees returned to it, doing their best to resettle if after the Hutts' occupation, or has it just been left alone all these years for fear that the reparations are only temporary?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since the Empire is able to supply entire fleets with Isotope-5, logic dictates that the planet <i>is</i> still stable enough to mine from, so even if we as players can have little to do with helping or hindering the people of Makeb and their attempts to resettle, surely striking at the heart of the Imperial war machine somehow would be a story worth telling. Actually make the Republic the <i>aggressors</i> this time, don't just leave us as always being invaded by the Empire!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It probably could work, as long as there are no long quest chains to do with mining platforms again!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Ziost</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ziost is an interesting case, as we have <i>technically</i> already experienced two different versions of it already. The 'living' version, where we pursue Tenebrae and attempt to stop him, and the 'dead' version, after Tenebrae has already consumed it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So what would be the point of returning? The answer to that lies in the form of another planet consumed by Tenebrae; Nathema.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After the death of Tenebrae's 'contemporary' self in his guise of Valkorion, life returned to Nathema, causing long-dead plants and trees to blossom and for the void-like atmosphere to return to normal. The same is likely true of Ziost, which could possibly be in the early stages of rebuilding.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This does, however, pose two problems for a new area. Firstly, of course, this would present by far the biggest dissonance between the state of the planet as it exists today and the hypothetical newer area. Planets like Corellia, Belsavis, and Voss of course have an established aesthetic which is kept in their newer areas, and Manaan at least <i>tries</i> to replicate its own established look while adding a lot of quite frankly ugly scaffolding. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ziost, however? You could easily hop from a dead, lifeless planet that looks like it'll never, <i>ever</i> recover, to a flourishing world with a slowly rebuilding society, and back again like there was no tomorrow. I know that <i>SWTOR</i> kinda keeps its current planet instances frozen in time with the exception of when the Star Fortresses were added to six of them, but this really <i>would</i> be a bizarre phenomenon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second issue is... what story <i>could</i> you tell? With a planet like Alderaan, it's fairly obvious; Alderaan is still a relatively major player in the galaxy and House Thul coming to the throne for real would give the Empire an actual foothold in the Core Worlds, something that could really present a credible threat in the current state of things.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ziost, however? A story isn't <i>as</i> obvious other than the rebuilding of society and the formation of a fledgling government. I guess one could say that that would be the perfect <i>carte blanche</i>; rather than wanting to stick purely with the Empire - y'know, after <i>their Emperor himself</i> consumed the planet - they could try to create a more neutral government to reflect how heroes of the Republic potentially helped - or tried to help - during the incident, and that would be the driving force behind the new story; the Empire obviously wouldn't want the Republic to gain a foothold in their space, nor would the Republic likely want to lose the opportunity to really be a force for good in helping a devastated planet rebuild.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Plus, while it has been seven or eight in-universe years since Tenebrae consumed Ziost, it has only been three years since his death. Would that really be enough time for a fledgling government to be set up, if indeed anyone's actually discovered that Ziost is inhabitable again?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have questions about <i>how</i> it could work, but I cannot deny that I really would like to see how Ziost has regained life much like Nathema has.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I should state as a disclaimer after all of this that I am, of course, not opposed to continuing to get new planets added to the roster, as <i>Star Wars</i> is one big, vast galaxy, and paradoxically I do feel that returning to certain locations time and time again does make the galaxy feel a <i>lot</i> smaller. That said, since <i>SWTOR</i>'s timeline is constantly evolving along a strict narrative and we are much more involved in the planets in this game than we are when watching a movie or television show, I feel there is a lot more wiggle-room in returning to a planet here than there are in other parts of the franchise.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hey, at least you can focus on more specific parts you find interesting, even on a planet like Tatooine, and explore things at your own pace. There's a lot to be said for not always being subjected to certain locations and constantly expected to care for them. </p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is just a short little list of the planets I would like to see most, and can see the more obvious story beats for. That's not to say that I see no reason to revisit other planets that aren't mentioned, like seeing how Balmorra and Taris are faring after their respective storylines have concluded; these are just the most obvious ones <i>to me</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also have to acknowledge my bias against Zakuul here. I'm sure that, if they wanted, <i>BW</i> could come up with an interesting story and reason behind visiting Zakuul again but, honestly, after <i>Fallen Empire</i> and <i>Eternal Throne</i> I am still just so sick and tired of dealing with that blasted world that any notion of revisiting it would not elicit much by way of a joyous response from me. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Returning to planets I <i>would</i> like to revisit again, funnily enough, prior to 7.3 Voss itself would have been on this list. Indeed, I have touted it as a planet I would like to revisit in at least one previous blog entry. Much like the upcoming update, my interests lay in seeing how the Gormak and Voss are co-existing following the siege by the Eternal Empire, and I am thrilled that a decent part of the story, as well as the follow-up one-time and daily missions, are focused on that somehow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So maybe, just maybe, I may get my wish some day with at least one other planet on this list. Who knows?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">How about you? Which current in-game planet(s) would you like to see get updated with a newer area to visit?</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-13660606659364139112023-04-23T19:59:00.006+01:002023-04-23T21:36:03.002+01:00Leaving an MMO Behind: Putting Personal Issues with Galactic Seasons into context with leaving 'The Elder Scrolls Online'<p style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks ago, I made the point that I still wasn't <i>entirely</i> happy with <i>SWTOR</i> in terms of its continuing to find ways to introduce grinds, and that I was worried about how that would impact my love for it. I know for a fact that I am a long way away from saying "no, I'm done" with the game, but it is still really interesting to put my issues into context with another MMO I've been playing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the past five-and-a-bit years, I have been involved with <i>The Elder Scrolls Online</i>. It's been a fun experience, and the game is hands-down one of the most <i>gorgeous</i> games I have ever played. Yet it's also proving to be more and more difficult to really say I "enjoy" it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've always found its combat clunky, which is a fairly damning thing to say about <i>any</i> game, but I keep on being drawn back to it by its aesthetics and just how 'alive' the in-game world feels. However, the past couple of years within <i>ESO</i> have highlighted to me that, while I am okay with some changes that will happen, I'm only okay with them up to a certain point. Case in point, abilities.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Abilities in <i>ESO</i> tend to adhere to one of two resources; stamina and magicka. It used to be that an ability that cost magicka would deal more damage and / or healing based on not only your maximum magicka but your spell damage as well, and vice versa for stamina abilities with stamina and weapon damage. All abilities require XP to be pumped into them, and can be 'morphed' into one of two different forms at a certain point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At which point, more XP is required until the new version of that ability reaches its maximum level.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A little over a year ago, <i>ESO</i> introduced hybridisation. This made it so that your abilities' damage or healing scaled from your <i>highest</i> resources and damage values, not just the one which adhered to their cost. Suddenly, any character could use <i>any</i> ability and weapon type effectively, and the <i>meta</i> shifted to a very restrictive set of recommended builds.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, if your magicka-based ability was now dealing less damage than its stamina cousin, you would have reason to completely respec and thus need to grind out more XP to level your new ability. Multiply that by as many abilities as were affected by this, including entire skill trees like weapons you may not have had reason to use before!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm really glad that I never really got into raiding properly in <i>ESO</i>. I remember <i>trying</i> it last year, and I really disliked how the options I 'had' to spec my character with clashed with how I had characterised her, and that goes a <i>long</i> way in terms of turning me off from this sort of thing. That's also not mentioning the impact different set bonuses have on things, and the efforts and grinds required to acquire those...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, these changes have really tarnished my former love of the game. Sure, you can still <i>play your way</i>, but if you want to actively get involved with raiding or endgame dungeons, that environment is now much less forgiving for non-hybrid builds, and you'll always get the sense that you could be doing this little bit more to help your group clear this difficult fight if you'd spec a certain way. While that feeling may have been prevalent before, it certainly feels much more invasive from a casual perspective than it did, and is one reason why I've long abandoned any interest in doing group content.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Due to its comparative simplicity, it doesn't take nearly as much time to readjust to changes in <i>SWTOR</i>. At least in this game, an ability doesn't need to have its own XP pumped into it to raise its damage or healing, thus necessitating extra work if that ability suddenly becomes 'obsolete' for whatever reason. That's not to say that it doesn't <i>take</i> time to readjust; it just isn't nearly as much.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It also helps my case that I genuinely do feel a love for the combat and general gameplay of <i>SWTOR</i>. You know what you're getting with your class in this game, and while there is some variance within a given spec, you're not going to lose any sense of combat style identity. The general gameplay is just much more my thing, and something I don't think I'll ever really lose appreciation of.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The end-result is... I've felt like I've been done with <i>ESO</i> for quite a few months. I still <i>do </i>log in nowadays, just for doing the daily for the new card game, but I really don't see myself continuing to have it installed for much longer. It's a shame to walk away from it, but... I don't see there being any real point to keeping playing. It's been a fun ride, but it's time to go.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know what sort of changes would have to happen in <i>SWTOR</i> for that same feeling to really apply in the same way as it has in <i>ESO</i>. I may dislike seasonal systems and the intensive work that is all but required if wanting to complete <i>everything</i>, but it's not like that is how the game <i>itself</i> is. You can pace yourself with everything else, and I believe the ability to do so more with seasons would solve a fair amount of my ill-feelings. As things are right now, I don't feel comfortable even taking a <i>week</i> off from engaging in seasons until I've done all I can.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, in <i>SWTOR</i>, things do tend to come and go, so it's entirely possible that this time next year I will have zero misgivings about things. <i>ESO</i> tends to be much more static in terms of how things 'are' with its systems, so it's more difficult to see something changing drastically for the better if they're not in a <i>fantastic</i> state. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's not to say that things <i>don't</i> improve, but the differences are nowhere near as drastic as they tend to be in <i>SWTOR</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I feel my time with <i>ESO</i> is coming to a close at last, its decline has really made me realise that the issues I have with <i>SWTOR</i> are, on the whole, minor. Sure, they feel big to me, but putting galactic seasons into context... it's just a <i>side thing</i>. It's frustrating how much "fear of missing out" applies for the extras like reputation and the other <i>meta</i> achievements, and it also doesn't help that GS4 has come so soon after GS3 which no doubt is inflating the issues.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, it's not like GS4 <i>is</i> the game. It's just something else to do, with just some very frustrating elements. Hopefully, they get toned down eventually, but for now... I just have to grin and bear it. </p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-92189997986266989272023-04-14T14:50:00.007+01:002023-04-15T15:38:33.941+01:00Queue Wars Celebration: Redux!<p style="text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw2UH0VguRYtv2AYo19W2UUxpM2mlTLCW7zjAbuANja1hOXTatnVtM-w_KZVfW_bpbko2fRhsS_rxh3cXxiY6saPucLlnTlZAQgrJ478ULjVJs0JagbtkCsfAzkkWIx0TOG1UvtEd4YKEAVfUqgb001MoKQ9Km6ackoJqH88y0w_-rrPvn30N6GdTsTg/s512/swca23-eur-logo_(1).png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw2UH0VguRYtv2AYo19W2UUxpM2mlTLCW7zjAbuANja1hOXTatnVtM-w_KZVfW_bpbko2fRhsS_rxh3cXxiY6saPucLlnTlZAQgrJ478ULjVJs0JagbtkCsfAzkkWIx0TOG1UvtEd4YKEAVfUqgb001MoKQ9Km6ackoJqH88y0w_-rrPvn30N6GdTsTg/s16000/swca23-eur-logo_(1).png" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><i>Star Wars</i> Celebration returned to the UK last week for the third time, last being here in 2016 (and before that, 2007). I attended the 2016 convention, and came away with a not-too-positive impression.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">This was due to numerous factors, all of which were due to bizarre flaws in the management of the thing.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Firstly, if you wanted to attend a panel and weren't guaranteed a spot unless you had a VIP pass (if that's even how that worked back then), you had to queue up each morning for wristbands. Trouble is, because people literally brought sleeping bags with them to queue overnight, those wristbands were snapped up very quickly. The only thing I was able to attend by way of panels in 2016 was the cosplay competition, as all the "big" things had of course gone already.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Secondly, when it came to photo opportunities, they only had one photo booth and its queue was in between the autograph sections and the special celebration store. This meant one of two things. Firstly, if a celebrity was delayed for whatever reason, even if just getting through "just a few more!", that slowed everything else down. Secondly, the poor staff had to cope with tonnes of ambient noise, and they had no technology like megaphones or "you are x minutes away" boards to help.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Ironically, the celebration store queue did have those boards. Priorities?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Thirdly, and let's be honest here, there really wasn't a lot going on for Star Wars at the time. Yes, <i>The Force Awakens </i>had been released a few months prior, <i>Rogue One</i> was due to come out later that year, and <i>Rebels</i> series 3 was also on the cards. That was pretty much it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Compare that to 2023. We've had four further films throughout those years, <i>Mandalorian</i>'s in full swing, <i>Clone Wars</i> and <i>Rebels</i> have both ended officially, <i>Andor</i>'s first series aired to an incredible response with its second series much looked-forward-to, Ahsoka has her own series upcoming, <i>Bad Batch</i> is doing very well, we've had Hayden and Ewan back as Anakin and Obi-Wan in <i>Obi-Wan Kenobi</i>, and that's not even mentioning the numerous other projects coming in 2024 and beyond!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Point is, as far as exciting new or recent stuff is confirmed, 2023 had a lot more going for it than 2016 in terms of activity potentials.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Indeed, back in 2016 I actually ended up calling the whole thing quits after the second day despite being eligible to attend through all three. Granted, I had some extra incentive as I had an invitation to attend a friend's birthday meal, but even without that I think I still would have said enough was enough. With limited opportunities to even glimpse a 'big' panel wristband unless it was already attached to someone's wrist, there just was not enough there to justify staying.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Roll on 2023. What's different, and what's stayed the same?<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~~~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Like last time, I bought tickets for all days, although I was unable to snag a single ticket encompassing all days like I did in 2016. They had sold out VERY quickly, and I was in one of the earlier batches in the virtual queue! My parents both requested tickets for the Friday again, just to check it out, before spending the rest of Easter weekend around London.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Given how much more stuff has been announced since 2016, I was hopeful that I would find enough to do and thus avoid sitting around waiting in the middle of nowhere again. Hmmm. About that...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The most obvious differences between now and 2016 was that they had done away with the wristband system. Instead, with some exceptions (more on this later), all panels and stages were on a first-come-first-served basis, so even if you arrived to the ExCel centre at 12pm you could still have a <i>decent</i> shot at getting into some panels later on depending on how many people were already queuing early. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The exceptions to this were the five biggest panels on the Celebration Stage: <i>Ahsoka</i>, <i>Bad Batch</i>, <i>Kenobi</i>, <i>Lucasfilm</i> showcase, and Sequel Trilogy Villains. These were opened up to the attending public as a raffle, with the prize being theoretically guaranteed seating. With Jedi Master VIP tickets also having guaranteed seats at all panels and photo shoots and autographs potentially happening at the same time, a winning raffle entry still could be wasted.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Essentially, if you were neither a VIP nor a raffle winner, you were bang out of luck for attending unless you could get to a stage where it was being streamed to, of which there was no guarantee either! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">It's hard to say which system is fairer. I mean, with wristbands these went VERY quickly, so if you couldn't get to the centre in good time because of bad traffic or your train or bus was delayed, tough luck. At the same time, if a good number of people couldn't make the panels they'd <i>won</i> because an expensive photograph was scheduled at the same time, I don't know how easy it would have been to convey that there actually were standby spots if previously it was announced there were none.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Certainly, I was one such person hit by a schedule clash, and I'm really curious to know how many others were in a similar position...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Show Floor</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The show floor in 2016 included a dedicated prop display area for <i>Rogue One</i>, VR booths and drone flying displays, and a well-sized booth for EA games to showcase <i>SWTOR</i>, <i>Galaxy of Heroes</i>, and <i>Battlefront</i>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">All of that was absent this time. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">While there were some props dotted about, like a couple of daily-rotational costumes, including Nien Nunb and an ewok specifically from <i>Rise of Skywalker</i>, by the Celebration Live! stage, most things were just mock-ups for the sake of photographs. Impressive mock-ups, but mock-ups nonetheless.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Understandable, but... c'mon. <i>Ahsoka</i>'s coming up, we're in full swing with <i>Mando</i>, <i>Kenobi</i>'s been and gone, and <i>Andor</i>'s done well with its first series... you couldn't have had one prop display area to showcase those...? Granted, I am biased in my love for these sorta things, but this seems like a massive wasted opportunity.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">There was absolutely no video game presence at all, whether it be VR based or traditional console / PC or mobile based. Okay, fine, <i>Survivor</i> got delayed, <i>Battlefront II</i> just kinda... is... but there's that<i> Hunters</i> game, <i>Galaxy of Heroes</i> is still going, and I <i>think</i> there's a certain game that's now been going for eleven-and-a-half years. Just... why weren't they there, y'know? What a place to get new players!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The drone thing was apparently a waste of time in 2016, so not surprised it wasn't there, but at least it took up a hall! There was just so much empty space in the halls leading up to the main body of the show floor, and it felt like there could have been more!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I did like the fact they had a dedicated kids stage this time, which even Ashley Eckstein got involved with at least once! That's nice. Really helps to get the kids involved and having fun, especially given how much <i>Star Wars</i> is for them as much as it is for us older generations.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Some things, of course, remained. Droid builders were back, <i>LEGO </i>and <i>Hasbro</i> of course had their booths, and the Celebration Live! stage was much bigger this time around. Of course, there were also all the stalls selling merch dotted around, cosplay groups advertising themselves, etc., etc.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">What was new was the <i>FUNKO!</i> store. This was really quite sizable, and was the first official store you'd come across. I don't much understand the appeal of those... things... but apparently they're popular enough to warrant a lightspeed lane!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">With regards to the photo and autograph sections, they were no longer right next to the show stores, but the autograph queues were quite close to the Live! stage... and of course there was a lot of whooping and hollering. Thus, depending on which queue (or overflow queue, depending!) you were in, the staff still had to holler to even stand a chance at being heard.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">On the plus side, they at least had three separate photo booths rather than just the one, with each having six queue lines rather than one long snaking line. That, at least, must have been easier to manage, surely!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">What certainly wouldn't have been easy to manage was the sheer volume of people. At times, it felt like trying to wade through a brick wall, except some of the bricks are very fragile if bumped into or stepped on. There were many Padmé cosplayers, many wearing some absolutely beautiful dresses, and I can only imagine the stress those poor people must have been under in large crowds with the sheer number of opportunities for people tread on the hem of the dress, dirty it, maybe rip it...</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Not a pleasant thought!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">This was especially bad around the eateries, not helped by seating areas in the central column taking up a large part of the general surface area. That's the last thing one needs, for some Mandalorian to be tripped up and next thing you know their meatball marinara sub is now decorating Han Solo's jacket.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Fun.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Returning to the actual show floor for a spell, there were two displays I was looking out for: Droid Builders and Cosplayers of the Old Republic. Since the <i>SWTOR</i> team couldn't make it, they had sent the Cosplayers table team some pins and signed key art to give away, so of course I had to get some of that action!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">However, I really struggled to find the latter booth. Wi-fi was absolute dreck in the ExCel centre, but even if I had known the table number that wouldn't have helped due to the layout (not everything had a visible number...). Ultimately, I found them quite by chance on the Saturday when leaving the Droid Builders display, and secured the faction pin. Huzzah!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmAUB18Ds5Y1rRT-pfkENID2E72s8tkhBY3OFsm4kT2KjqLqq3aDPcFHfC-4P1USR2EaC80IKj9ciTFtIfDezbtO1A5oXvvRGWxSxl4M_xxpfBL86vFMcxaetiChyLDv9YnoZnM08oKHE5QI4TZbmpUzYFLzC3gM-oDhdhVgnD1iWLdsCNXHeVAk4GA/s6750/HK%20T3%20T7.png"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6750" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmAUB18Ds5Y1rRT-pfkENID2E72s8tkhBY3OFsm4kT2KjqLqq3aDPcFHfC-4P1USR2EaC80IKj9ciTFtIfDezbtO1A5oXvvRGWxSxl4M_xxpfBL86vFMcxaetiChyLDv9YnoZnM08oKHE5QI4TZbmpUzYFLzC3gM-oDhdhVgnD1iWLdsCNXHeVAk4GA/w640-h381/HK%20T3%20T7.png" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Droid Builders display was, of course, brilliant. So many R2 units (including the 17th official iteration of R2-KT herself), but there were other droids there as well; pit droids, B1 battle droids, a droideka, but the highlight was seeing T3-M4, HK-47, and my boy T7-O1. Amazing stuff!</span></p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">On the whole, apart mainly from Droid Builders, things felt surprisingly underwhelming in this regard! Not that 2016 provided an awful lot more, but they were just generally more interesting.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Celebration Store</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The celebration store in 2016 didn't have a lot of memorable products, from what I recall. I genuinely don't know if I ever did buy anything from there or if my mother and I just looked once and that was it. They'd likely sold out of a lot of the good stuff even on day one, and we were rather late to it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This time around, there was at least a lot more interesting stuff, although it also helped that it was the very first thing we did this time. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A beautiful throw that we just couldn't justify (and not just because of the price; £80), a glorious set of drinking glasses (£70!), and so on. I settled on the wonderful exclusive bag, a celebration t-shirt, a scarf (more versatile than a throw at least!), a fridge magnet, celebration pin, and an exclusive </span><i style="color: #222222;">Kenobi</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> pin set. The bill came to £150, largely because the bag was £42...</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I mean, it's nice, but not £42 worth of nice!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">My father bought a "Galactic <strike>Antics</strike> Antiques" t-shirt, representing Luthen Rael's business in <i>Andor</i>. I should point out that my father has not seen any of the <i>Star Wars</i> shows - he just got it because he feels like a galactic antique.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Of all the shirts to buy...!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I was able to get back into the store queue on the Sunday, due to being let in to the centre itself proper 25 minutes early. A good number of things had, of course, sold out, like the £42 bag and all but two of a very nice mug that I didn't notice on Friday - unless it wasn't put out until Saturday.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Certainly, there was one very prominent new item which wasn't there on Friday but I had seen around on Saturday. A truly lovely cardigan from Ashley Eckstein's <i>Her Universe</i> line, themed around Ahsoka. Even though I'm not an Ahsoka super-fan - I do like her well enough, she's just not in my top 5 - I simply could not resist picking this up. It's beautiful, it's a wonderful material, and I wouldn't have been shocked if it was over £100.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJDFzQPEnsZeFivXcsantVwrOQcSsRxfxFeM9J3fR_7erNqKK3CLn2efH2u4SfGyzMk6ZsKqKyWJTiL9CUyGP_DKx-c9otxDz4W9Od4Qs1Rm68eEpah3Vo27cXUOR3e8sJQyeGPCrYe6BRTw741R8vYSTudqd1VxwICZdQQsoBEJnwdRRnrp5-wzJng/s4000/20230409_184926.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJDFzQPEnsZeFivXcsantVwrOQcSsRxfxFeM9J3fR_7erNqKK3CLn2efH2u4SfGyzMk6ZsKqKyWJTiL9CUyGP_DKx-c9otxDz4W9Od4Qs1Rm68eEpah3Vo27cXUOR3e8sJQyeGPCrYe6BRTw741R8vYSTudqd1VxwICZdQQsoBEJnwdRRnrp5-wzJng/w360-h640/20230409_184926.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">As it is, it was only £65! Still a tad expensive, perhaps, but better value than I was anticipating!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I also picked up a couple of posters, although annoyingly only one was sold in a tube. The other one was just being rolled up by the chap at the table, although he at least commented that if you bought both the tube could accommodate the second as well. Still a silly setup.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">So altogether my shop total came to £235. Not toooo bad compared to what some will have spent (the cashier we spoke to on Friday commented that someone had spent £700 in one go earlier - it hadn't even been open a full hour!), but still a bit overinflated.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">£42 for a bag. £42!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Photographs and Autographs</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In 2016, I booked a photo opportunity with Mark Hamill, but looking back I wish I also had one with Carrie Fisher. Alas, that's how these things go. B</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">ased on Carrie's passing, I chose to focus mainly on getting photographs with actors who I would regret missing out on if, for whatever reason, this was to be the last opportunity I would get to get one. Anything can happen, to me and to them, after all!</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">With that in mind, I purchased photos with Billy Dee Williams, Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, and - purely as a self-indulgence - James Arnold Taylor.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">C'mon, I couldn't avoid a chance to meet the voice behind Colonel Korrd and Plo Koon! Obi-Wan as well, I suppose.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Booking the photographs was alright, if of course expensive. I chose to focus all of them initially on Saturday and Sunday, although had I known then how exactly the event as a whole would be run I would have done things differently. I</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">ndeed, this is what led to the schedule clashes I mentioned earlier. I had secured seating for the Villains and <i>Kenobi</i> panels, but my photo with Ewan was scheduled at the same time as Ian's panel, and my photo with Ian was scheduled at the same time as Ewan's panel.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I am not making that up. It really played out that way!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Fortunately, I discovered it was possible to rearrange photo slots, and I was able to move all bar Ewan's (who had sold out) and Hayden's (because I felt the original slot for him worked okay) around. So Ian and Billy were now one after the other on Friday, and James was on Monday.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">In retrospect, I should have chosen a different day again for James, as this became literally the only thing I would go in for on the Monday. Ultimately, it was a wasted venture anyway, as he had to cancel for an unspecified reason! Ah well. I do hope that if his absence was illness related that it wasn't anything like <i>COVID</i> - I know at least one person caught it over the weekend who had been there.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Everyone who I did manage to meet was, of course, lovely, although due to Ewan being in the midst of filming and therefore needing to remain healthy, the crew had to wheel in the Social Distancing R2 Unit for all his photographs. That wasn't a problem; it was just a bit of an oddity, albeit a necessary one!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I had also arranged to get my first ever paid autograph: a special lithograph from <i>Obi-Wan Kenobi</i> which would be signed by both Ewan and Hayden. Expensive, yes, but since only 75 people could get this done over the weekend and the artwork was itself beautiful... I would regret passing up on it while still having the opportunity to get it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUIxiUjoVjsVT5eojspsZ6HbjhF-iSy7TyLRjCXXf18ph238PNMCDvijg1PEaqSvXpGslOzSoaTA_ScfYm_vLicLRhQ0MyqhDZXL23_vxKLxC-BFtxNnsTS0WudQ5bcFcDM07RvQm8cmm6yXKQCU33dHRld00lL3NXwNRixnPcUR-L--Utit5iPQi_w/s800/596937e4-9de6-4c1f-9a4b-afac002b01cc.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUIxiUjoVjsVT5eojspsZ6HbjhF-iSy7TyLRjCXXf18ph238PNMCDvijg1PEaqSvXpGslOzSoaTA_ScfYm_vLicLRhQ0MyqhDZXL23_vxKLxC-BFtxNnsTS0WudQ5bcFcDM07RvQm8cmm6yXKQCU33dHRld00lL3NXwNRixnPcUR-L--Utit5iPQi_w/w640-h480/596937e4-9de6-4c1f-9a4b-afac002b01cc.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I have yet to frame mine, the generic "what it'll look like" image will have to do!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Admittedly, this did upset my hopes of getting into a panel dedicated to looking back at 40 years of <i style="background-color: transparent;">Return of the Jedi</i>, but... well. I know which of the two I'd cherish more!</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">There were, of course, others there who I could have booked stuff with if I wasn't trying not to overbook myself. Ashley Eckstein, Dee Bradley Baker, Michelle Ang... </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">In terms of names I'd love to catch if ever they showed up at events I could make, that list would definitely include Daisy Ridley, Natalie Portman, and my absolute favourite of the Doctors and Huyang's voice actor, David Tennant. Sadly, as alluded to above, Carrie is no longer an option, as she's someone who I'd have loved to have met. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Ah well. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">While I don't much like how I turn out in photographs (I hate how chubby my face is from certain angles!), I'm still very pleased to have met all these individuals and to have recorded proof of it!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Panels</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">When booking the tickets initially, I commented that it was my hope that, compared to 2016, there would be more 'big' panels and that I would be able to get to at least one.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Not that the smaller panels aren't worth attending; in 2016, there was an excellent one at a side stage where the droid builders for <i>The Force Awakens</i> went over how they filmed BB-8 using numerous physical puppets and rigs before building the "red carpet" one that actually moves as in the films. Fascinating stuff, especially for a panel which many would dismiss because "oh, it doesn't have a wristband".</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">But there was still a feeling of sadness that I didn't get to experience a "proper" panel outside of the cosplay competition (which was fascinating, though!), especially in my first celebration event. Sure, it left something to come back and try again for, but still would have been nice to experience, right?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I mentioned earlier that schedule clashes prevented me from attending two such panels in the end, but I am still proud to have attended two 'big' panels nonetheless; <i>Andor</i>, and the aforementioned <i>Kenobi</i> panel.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Both of these panels were preceded by a rather bizarre pre-show event, which lasted about 30 minutes. The hosts, two DJs, invited people on stage at numerous points. About 30+ Narkina-5 prisoners flooded the stage prior to the <i>Andor</i> panel - complete with chants of "one way out!" - and every Obi-Wan present at the <i>Kenobi</i> panel hoisted themselves on the high ground before the audience.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><i>Every</i> Obi-Wan. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">It was something of a joy seeing the gobsmacked faces of the many Kenobis present as Ewan himself strode in front of them all, inspecting them and turning to the audience nodding in approval.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The bizarre part came with the audience "games", with a t-shirt as the ultimate prize. The <i>Andor</i> pre-show had eight audience members partake in a pose-off competition (notable poses being "Constipated Hux", "Like a Bantha", and the winner, "BEN SWOLO"). The Kenobi panel had four cosplayers (Rex, "Bluena" [as named by the cosplayer] the twi'lek slave saved from Bib by Boba and Fennec, Leia, and a 7'2" Imperial officer) doing a dance-off.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The Imperial officer won through a stripping act, although fortunately he didn't get to do what "BEN SWOLO" did and pull off his entire top half!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The <i>Andor</i> panel was a first-come-first-served one, and even when turning up 50 minutes early they were already starting on the second queue block. Since the pre-show is 30 minutes and started ten minutes after the doors opened, we were only waiting ten minutes before they let us in. Not too bad, then!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I absolutely loved this panel. Hearing Tony Gilroy, Kathleen Kennedy, Diego Luna, John Gilroy (producer / editor), Toby Britton (art director), Michael Wilkinson (costume designer), and Nicholas Britell (composer) just have so much love for the project was incredible. Diego and Michael's enthusiasm in particular was infectious!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">We also got an exclusive teaser trailer for series 2. Don't worry, no spoilers, but I was pleasantly surprised to get one. They're further along in production than I thought!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I got to the <i>Kenobi</i> queue earlier than anticipated. I was due to have a photo with Ewan from 11:40, but as I always do I turned up early just in case, which resulted in me being done a full 30 minutes before my group was even meant to start! So</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> I then headed downstairs, a full two and a half hours in advance, and joined a throng about four-dozen strong. Sure, it's a fair amount of time doing nothing, but at least I secured a spot nice and early.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOD8NyX1CDb6IBJsx-zB3YsIceX8aT1Jna4G-vCgHLhlA7gl3gMjC76EgzDWFDhpzMdk767fR0UGQlHDwIcbUCocIC9lt2rFwE7kpWkvmJ7B_RLLjilBQKvF8C2hLRLEjyVDCTiQHOKt6TGoHIoNhzTxrA4E_oMOqep0U6hNoyFCTwdPMbKxmhAow5A/s4000/20230409_134019.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUOD8NyX1CDb6IBJsx-zB3YsIceX8aT1Jna4G-vCgHLhlA7gl3gMjC76EgzDWFDhpzMdk767fR0UGQlHDwIcbUCocIC9lt2rFwE7kpWkvmJ7B_RLLjilBQKvF8C2hLRLEjyVDCTiQHOKt6TGoHIoNhzTxrA4E_oMOqep0U6hNoyFCTwdPMbKxmhAow5A/w640-h360/20230409_134019.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The panel was, again, incredible. Deborah, Ewan, Hayden, Indira, and especially Vivien were just so enthusiastic about it all, and the audience reaction to Vivien was phenomenal. I'm really pleased she hasn't suffered the same treatment poor Jake Lloyd did. There was also quite a touching moment where Indira mentioned how much she enjoyed working with Moses, earning the absent actress a loud round of applause, which was lovely.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was also very nice getting to see each of the attendees' favourite scenes and hear them talk about them. Kenobi first seeing Vader (Deborah), Tala standing up to Reva (Indira), Kenobi talking to Leia about the family he remembers (Vivien), the end of the big fight between Vader and Kenobi (Hayden), and Kenobi saying farewell to Leia (Ewan). Wonderful stuff.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Before anyone gets jealous of panel attendees potentially receiving exclusive information about series 2, nothing came of that except Ewan expressing a hope for something extra. Personally, I hope we do not get a second series as the one we have now just about worked; a second would be very hard to justify as you can't have Maul or Vader, and without any reason to leave Tatooine unless Leia gets captured again we'd just be stuck on that planet all the time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">So, no, thankfully no evidence of any further <i>Kenobi</i> series exists. Enthusiasm from the cast and crew gets you some way, but if the base foundation is shaky, very few people will come away happy. Better to leave people wanting more rather than to make them wish they'd have stopped earlier.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">At least, that would be my philosophy if ever I would be lucky enough to get involved with television or film production.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">While I was disappointed to not have the opportunity to attend other potentially interesting panels, I am really pleased I got to see these two; of all the panels they ran these would have been my top two to aim for.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Cosplay</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I seem to have developed a bit of a habit of costume-spotting at these events. This year and in 2016 I went around, noting down all the costumes I saw and how many there were, just because I was curious to see how popular certain characters were.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Last time, the most popular character I saw by far was Rey. It's highly unlikely that I didn't accidentally count some people twice, but I counted 108 of our favourite scavenger-turned-Jedi. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">This time around, the most popular individual character was Obi-Wan Kenobi, owing no doubt to both the return of Ewan but the recent Kenobi show. I stopped counting costumes past 75 this time, so ultimately I have no idea how many Kenobis there really were. A lot.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">It also didn't help that there were lots of people just in generic Jedi robes, many of which could have been trying to be Kenobi with whatever they could get cheapest, rather than being their own character or some other notable Jedi. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I mean, you're always going to identify certain characters from a distance. Clone Wars Kenobi, a screen-accurate Episode III Kenobi, Rey, Ahsoka, Boba Fett... you won't ever need to look too closely to figure out who these people are trying to be.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">You can't really assume whether the person with Poe's jacket who just passed you is trying to be Finn or Poe without seeing what colour undershirt they have on (if they're even trying to be in character rather than just wearing the jacket, of course!) or if that nondescript Jedi is meant to be Kenobi, Mace, or Qui-Gon without seeing what saber they may have. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Not everyone will be able to present a screen-accurate representation of a character, and with how universal the appeal of these characters is you will of course get people of varying genders, ages, skin colours, etc. portraying them, so there are multiple factors which will go into being unable to identify specific characters.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">That's not to mention the sheer number of generic costumes thrown into the mix. There were dozens of Mandalorians, and depending on how many "Jedi" were meant to be Obi-Wan they're either in first or second place overall. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The surprise contender came in the form of the Narkina-5 prisoners. Again, hard to tell if people were trying to be Cassian, Kino, or Melshi, so best to leave them as generic. The 30 or so who turned up to the Andor panel was one thing, but there were yet more of indeterminate number in the hall outside as there was yet more chanting at a couple of points.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Oh, and a couple even turned up barefoot, even when coming from their hotels. That's dedication!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Discounting those characters who numbered 75+ or were just too hard to count reliably, the top ten this year is as follows:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">1. Rey Skywalker: 63</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">2. Padmé Amidala: 59</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">3. Leia Organa: 55</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">4. Anakin Skywalker: 42</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">5. "Sith": 33</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">6. Ahsoka Tano: 32</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">7. Rebel Pilot: 31</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">8. Imperial Officer: 28</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">9. Luke Skywalker: 25</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">10. Han Solo: 22</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Of course, this is based purely on characters that I<i> saw</i>. There were plenty I'm aware of that I never got to see in-person, like Lana Beniko. Si</span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">milarly, I never </span><i style="color: #222222;">saw</i><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> any Mace Windu cosplayers, although I did see a few purple sabers waving in the air at the Celebration Live! stage. Again, without knowing </span><i style="color: #222222;">for sure</i><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> what they were wearing alongside the purple saber, it's impossible to know if they were in-character or just carrying a purple saber (even if it was Mace's) because it was their favourite colour blade.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Happily, I did get to see some <i>SWTOR</i> representation in person; I passed a Havoc Squad trooper and simply had to get a picture of Darth Malgus. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kZRBcF7_ts3f3HlAaattqWZI3InjgFvHpKYKgudyJAg1N1gCGytbpQo8tXcPrsG-9t3YaORc6xGbQ1GQp2A73J8n_GTzs48fTAklomr_EUcFVrxq5JXTYHbQt46lTKTOBZQD_fimf30KQC04c04Hf5r4L8VJOJOUsZdSaHT_VevkHlLW7378qhSMsA/s4000/20230408_121917.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kZRBcF7_ts3f3HlAaattqWZI3InjgFvHpKYKgudyJAg1N1gCGytbpQo8tXcPrsG-9t3YaORc6xGbQ1GQp2A73J8n_GTzs48fTAklomr_EUcFVrxq5JXTYHbQt46lTKTOBZQD_fimf30KQC04c04Hf5r4L8VJOJOUsZdSaHT_VevkHlLW7378qhSMsA/w225-h400/20230408_121917.jpg" width="225" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Excuse me, Lord Malgus?" is certainly not something I was anticipating ever getting to say...</span></p></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Among the more creative costumes I saw were the intro crawl (someone wearing a black dress dotted with stars and with the A New Hope intro crawl emblazened on it), sand (of course queuing for a photo with Hayden), and a Luke with a "Seagulls! Stop it now!" Yoda backpack.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I was also struck by a good number of people using "creative minimalism" to decent effectiveness, like someone dyeing their hair in blue and white stripes and tying and arranging it so that it was resembling Ahsoka's lekku as best as they could do. It's little things like that that I just love, y'know?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I was also pleased to see many children get involved as well, and there were several dressed up as jawas, Jedi, Leias, Reys, Mandalorians, and stormtroopers among others. Indeed, all three of the First Order stormies I saw were young kids.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, I just loved seeing how much all of Star Wars was represented in costume form. All eras, all media, very few things were left out. I don't believe I saw anything from Visions, though, but the High Republic, <i>Doctor Aphra</i>, <i>Rebels</i>, <i>Clone Wars</i>, <i>Andor</i>, <i>The Mandalorian</i>... so many things beyond the films got some love and it was wonderful to see.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">~~~</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">It strikes me just how... international... all this was. Obviously, <i>Star Wars</i> has no boundaries, but it was still just so nice seeing people from the Americas, central Europe, and even as far as New Zealand, come to this event alongside those of us who are UK-based. Obviously, depending on where you live, these things may never happen close to home, so if you want to get to one you really have no choice but to travel, but it was interesting seeing how many people just keep on doing these events.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Really, the biggest takeaway from these events is that, much like the Force, <i>Star Wars</i> connects and binds us all together, and Celebration is just the place where everyone can just let it all out. </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This was only my second, and I have no intention of it being my last, but I think if I were to attend again there are a couple of changes I would make.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Firstly, if I were to attend all days again, I would look to get VIP. I had actually tried to get it this time, but all of these tickets had sold out within 30 minutes of the virtual queues opening. I'm happy to have actually got into a couple of big panels this time, but it is something of a gamble buying any other type of ticket across all available days. After all, on the Monday this time all I could have done was have the photograph taken, and that ultimately never came to pass!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Secondly, celebrity meets. It was good to meet more than just Mark this time, but I wouldn't want to meet too many. 5 opportunities felt about right as a maximum, but I don't think I'd try my luck with such a number again. All depends on which ticket I can get, though.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">As for whether I would ever actually be confident enough to attend in-costume... I really don't know. There are certainly characters I'd like to cosplay as, and I do have an Obi costume from about eleven years ago... it's not spectacular, though, and my body is hardly costume-fitting at the moment.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">So I don't know. All depends on multiple other factors I can't really control.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Unless my fortunes change drastically, I shall continue to attend these only while they're in the UK. The ExCel Centre isn't great, but at least it's relatively easy to get to for me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">So that was <i>Star Wars</i> Celebration 2023! Overall, I do think it was slightly lesser in quality than the 2016 one, but I do think they made some very important improvements in certain places. Ultimately, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">I can't forget that 2016 allowed me to meet some very good friends from my guild and the blogging community in real life, so that aspect will <b>always</b> overshadow most other things that happens in any future conventions!</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Regardless, whenever the next one in the UK is, I shall endeavour to be there, likely queuing away once again!</span></p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-24800335098845033982023-04-04T20:24:00.005+01:002023-04-04T20:49:10.387+01:00Galactic Season 4 - Further Thoughts<p style="text-align: justify;">In my last post, I made it clear that I wasn’t factoring in
my feelings of burnout in my assessment of the fourth Galactic Season. Instead,
I was trying to look at it from as unbiased a perspective as possible, since it
cannot be denied that burnout has a <i>very</i> noticeable impact on one’s
willingness to engage with certain systems.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having had a few days to think about things since that post,
I wanted to jot down my unfiltered feelings on the season as things stand right
now. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~~~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While I finished GS3 in early February, a full month before
the actual season itself ended, GS4 has come <i>far</i> too soon for my liking.
Even with a gap seven weeks between my finishing the previous season and this
current one starting, the break was nowhere near long enough to be properly
enjoyable. Granted, some part of that is because even when ‘done’ with seasons
you’re still seeing its UI pop up all over the place, so you always get some
sense that it’s very much active until the end.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While I do not participate in anything like progression
raiding or PvP – truthfully, I entirely avoided making any progress whatsoever on
the first PvP season! – which helps eat into the time I have available in a
given week, engaging with seasons for 14-and-a-half weeks still takes the wind
out of my sails for a bit. Some cooldown time is <i>incredibly</i> important
following that time, and whether the downtime was seven weeks or three weeks,
the downtime between GS3 and GS4 has just been far too short.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, largely courtesy of GS3, I was leaning towards
taking another extended break from the game. I have quite happily settled into
a regime of not playing too much, following on from the numerous posts I made
on that subject last year, which I am very happy with, but even with that focusing
on just doing a collection of bits and bobs for a good three months is quite
some task. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alas, courtesy of the seasons’ current fondness of introducing
some measures of FOMO with its exclusive “do everything!” achievement rewards,
taking any form of break is a risky endeavour. Sure, at this point it’s
probably <i>fine</i>, it’s still early days after all, but since this season
seems to last a good week or two <i>less</i> than prior seasons (most are 150+
- this one <i>started</i> with 139 days to go!), one cannot really enjoy
a ‘true’ break for very long.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And, sure, nobody “forces” any of us to complete everything,
it’s all optional. It’s still a far more pleasing result doing everything prior
to a season’s end than missing out on, say, a reputation faction which is
incredibly painful to grind for when relying on mob drops alone. As I’ve got at
before, woe betide anyone who comes to any of these seasons “too late” to
actually make meaningful progress on a reputation track before the season ends.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Plus, until we know for sure whether or not <i>BioWare</i>
actually intend to re-run any seasons, even if just as an add-on of sorts to a
future season, we have absolutely no idea whether or not everything that gets missed
out on will become available again in future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So, yes, all this <i>is</i> optional… but it’s a right
bloody nuisance if it’s <i>not</i> able to be completed for whatever reason.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I guess that ultimately, my concern is just what all of this
seasonal nonsense means for my love of this game. I get that grinding is part
of an MMO, of course it is, but there’s a massive difference between running
the same daily zone or flashpoint for the hundredth time because it’s a
personal favourite and <i>having</i> to run them because it’s one of the things
to be ticked off on certain weeks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Honestly, that was one of the things I really disliked about
the early 7.0 days with flashpoints and weekly zone missions all being
restricted to a select few. Fortunately, those have been undone – even if the
result is admittedly more painful for Galactic Seasons when queuing randomly
for flashpoints. Sure, the others were still accessible <i>somehow</i>, but the
game was still telling us “no, no – you don’t do what’s fun for <i>you</i>, you
do only what we’ve selected for you!”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I still eagerly await the day when operation missions return
to the way they used to be. I get that they’re the way they are now because of
how important they were for gearing and <i>BW</i> didn’t want everyone to do the
last boss of EV every single week for a crate, so I’m not envisaging a return
to the old system while the current gearing systems exist. It would just be
nice to have all weeklies accessible again regardless of week.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, I do acknowledge that certain world bosses
being part of the seasonal rota means that they actually get some love, whereas
previously they had been completely and utterly ignored outside of the
occasional guild event and the Feast of Prosperity. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As you can probably tell, I’m conflicted. On the one hand, I
really like seasons for reintroducing <i>some</i> stuff to the playerbase, but
on the other I really don’t like having several options for what I would choose
to do <i>for fun</i> basically ruled out as meaningful activities other than
potentially for getting kills with the season companion whenever that objective
pops up or for grinding any required Conquest points.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Plus, sometimes you just want to have a quiet week for
whatever reason, and having little choice but to fit in with a crowd doing the
same activities as you can be very much counter to that mindset. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m just glad that GSF isn’t part of the PvP seasonal
system, to be honest. I only tend to hop into it whenever I really feel like
it, itself something of a rare occurrence, and I think I would stop doing GSF
during those twelve weeks altogether if it was. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~~~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I say, all this is just unfiltered. It’s a confused,
jumbled mess, because honestly that just sums up my feelings of seasonal
systems at the moment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I am dubious of <i>BW</i> having much capability of drastically
shaking up the core system again, much like how they did with GS2 after GS1 as,
disillusionment and the like aside, I feel that the current system is pretty
much as good as they can make it. The extra stuff like the reputation tracks etc., those definitely need some reworking now.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sure, they <i>can</i> reduce the number of available weeklies,
but that would only worsen the feelings of restrictiveness that occasionally
arise. Sure, they <i>can</i> put more weighting behind the points offered by
each weekly, thus being able to both reduce the number required each week and
still keep ten open, but that would make it worse for the odd few weeks where
there aren’t any “bad” objectives, and it wouldn’t be a good look only having
50% of the available objectives be completable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So… apart from maybe spicing up some of the available
objectives like having a 5 / 5 split between completing both warzones and
arenas or introducing more generic objectives like “complete any flashpoints in
activity finder”, I don’t really see there being much they can realistically do
to shake things up going forward. The system works – it’s just easy to become disillusioned
with something the more times one repeats it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, things aren’t as bad as the <i>Knights of the
Fallen Empire</i> / <i>Eternal Throne </i>days yet. It would take something truly special to return to how tedious <i>those</i> expansions were in retrospect...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Still, I’m finding myself questioning more and more how much
these rather intensive periods are impacting my love of <i>SWTOR</i>. I don’t
see Galactic Seasons being a catalyst for quitting altogether anytime soon, but
it certainly isn’t great that my first thought upon finishing a season is “great,
I can take a much-needed break now…”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Oh well.<o:p></o:p></p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-67291292397241320882023-03-31T22:12:00.005+01:002023-04-04T20:25:05.425+01:00Galactic Season 4 - Early Thoughts<p style="text-align: justify;">Galactic Season 4: A Passage of Peace is upon us, less than a month after the previous season ended. We do at least now understand <i>BioWare</i>'s intentions for any given season's release cadence - each aimed for an <i>X</i>.<i>Y</i>.1 patch - and it is just unfortunate that 7.2.1 has come so soon to GS3's end. During Total Galactic War just under a fortnight ago, it was very noticeable on Darth Malgus that numerous guilds were flagging, and it is quite possible that burnout from the end of both GS3 and PvP season 1 were responsible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There may be other factors behind it, of course, but I am curious to know exactly what impact both seasons really had on the playerbase. While I myself finished GS3 back in early February, I was glad to have an excuse to stop doing stuff. Funny to think that one can just mindlessly do <i>stuff</i> for weeks or months without much question, but with Galactic Seasons 14 weeks can pass <i>really</i> slowly. I guess it's just the extra layers of having to do <i>specific</i> things rather than settling into a more unfocused regime?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, in my assessment of GS4 as it is at the moment, I shall be putting aside all thoughts of burnout and just trying to be as fair as possible in my assessment of things.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Companion</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Amity is our newest seasonal companion, and honestly I really don't know how to feel about him. I mean, sure, we finally get another human male Force-user companion to keep Arcann and, technically, Arn company, but the design choices made with him are... <i>very</i> weird. Okay, sure, cost-cutting measures mean that the chances of a fully-voice-acted companion happening anytime soon are slim, but I do find Amity speaking selonian to be... I dunno. It feels weird that he should be able to speak it exactly as they do (courtesy of reusing pre-recorded stuff), complete with accent and hissing sounds, but maybe it could work? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The next thing is his look. Okay, so I wasn't anticipating a lilac or green-haired sorcerer from a bizarre other-worldly realm, but Amity's aesthetics are really quite weird nonetheless. Granted, they do come up with <i>some</i> reason in his story for him to be clad in full armour without the option to even hide his helmet, but I really do question why he decides to stick glaring lights on his robes in his later customisations. The extra spine, fine, I can get why <i>that</i> would perhaps be necessary given his history, but for someone who encourages meditating, the lights seem counter-productive if ever he decided to encourage meditating in a darkened room.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"Feel the darkness pressing in on you. Feel its calming aura..."</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"Amity, I can see your robe's lights through my closed eyelids!"</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"..."</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, on the list of things I'm not so sure about, his pacifist nature makes pretty much <i>anything</i> involving combat with him seem very bizarre (not as much as his "kill 2,500 enemies achievement", as a guildie of mine pointed out, which is the highest number required for such an achievement in the game!). He does at least say that he's willing to fight if he must and doesn't want to instigate fights, but it still feels quite wrong to have him out-and-about and happily killing things. At least he doesn't say "did I mention I'm a pacifist?" all the time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the flipside, I do very much like the concept of the Messengers of the Cold Moon, the faction that Amity essentially represents and who are responsible for sending him on his pilgrimage. A neutral organisation dedicated to helping the galaxy's "ordinary" Force-sensitives without forcing them to commit to the ways of the Jedi or Sith? That sounds <i>very</i> interesting, and honestly I wouldn't mind meeting more members of this organisation in the future. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I also really like how, in ambient conversations aboard your ship, a Jedi or Sith character can have unique lines about how their views on the Jedi / Sith way of life contrast with Amity's own very strong views when he brings them up. Really nice touch, that, and it brings some additional value to having him across both factions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... yeah. Not really sure what to make of Amity quite yet. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how my opinion on him evolves, but at the moment I would place him roughly between <i>PH4-LNX</i> and Fen in terms of my favourites of the four. Altuur's staying right at the bottom of the list.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Rewards</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Galactic Season 4 introduces the usual range of cosmetic items we've seen since season 2. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The unique creature mounts, the Odux, are quite frankly hideous in my opinion. I really don't like their giant noses, and it is quite bizarre seeing the bantha animations without a lot of shaggy fur hiding its limbs when it walks. The new korreali are... okay. They're about as fine as I would expect a single-seat korrealis to be, and I probably would cite them as my favourites of the tech-based seasonal mounts we've seen thus far.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Aratech Advanced weapons are, so far, my favourites from across all four seasons, just beating out those from GS2. While I don't much like the colour of the special named ones, I am pleased to see them cutting back a bit on the laser-sights which have become awfully prominent, even if there are still an awful lot of glowy lights. I'm not a fan of things like that, I must admit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The armour sets both look pretty swish, although sadly their chestpieces don't look <i>entirely</i> versatile. I've done some playing around in the preview windows to see if I can find any better belts than the included ones, and very few options - if indeed any - seem to fit exactly the same way. That's an issue I've begun developing with some big-ticket cartel market items over the past couple of releases - the more specialist something is, the harder it is to use in a wider context. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased that we <i>are</i> getting some more detailed stuff, but I also think there's a lot to be said for keeping to a generic structure as far as possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As themselves, these armour sets are probably my favourite from all four seasons. From a purely versatile perspective, I still feel that the GS3 armour sets win out. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The final reward to touch on is the Mek-Sha stronghold. I... I can't really say I like it. I mean, sure, it's sold as a warehouse, and it is indeed a warehouse, but I also don't like how it doesn't have much that could resemble an office as pretty much all of it is open-plan. I was intrigued to see what it would be like, potentially as a place for my hunter to set up shop in terms of negotiating contracts (since otherwise she'd be inviting people into her Nar Shaddaa home... yeah, I don't think so!), but sadly it doesn't look like it's fit for even that purpose. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh well.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Miscellaneous</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Following the PvP seasons, which added the objectives panel to the seasonal panel itself, the Galactic Seasons objective panel has <i>also</i> been moved to the seasonal panel.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">From a pure, unbiased, perspective this change does make a lot of sense. After all, it frees up the Conquest pane entirely now, and it keeps things entirely in one place irrespective of which season type is active. However, it's also currently quite annoying from a muscle-memory perspective, as I still flit to the Conquest pane to see what's what.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike the previous two seasons, I've noticed that the Notes of Reflection - the special currency required to gain reputation with the Messengers of the Cold Moon - do not have a weekly cap. I mean, I don't see a <i>lot</i> of people consistently getting to 200 / 200 being an issue, especially given how tight-fisted mobs are in handing them over in regular content. That said, I do think this is a decent move for those who are prolific in completing group content and <i>are</i> more likely to hit the weekly cap on a reasonably consistent basis. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not entirely sure what sort of meditations Amity puts us through whenever we visit any of the planets which have a shrine, but my goodness are our characters pathetic when it comes to meditating. Two minutes, <i>oof</i>, better have a ten-minute break before I continue! Arbitrary wait-timers are always going to be a thing in an MMO, I get it, but this does feel gratuitous to the extreme.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mean... this is just another Galactic Season, at the end of the day. We've seen four of them now, the past two and this one all sharing the same structure and mostly-similar objectives, and it's just... here we go again. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sure, they <i>have</i> improved on the actual characters of the companions, and it is nice to not have the stories of <i>PH4-LNX</i> and Amity connected, either with each other or with Fen or Altuur, for some reason or other. Honestly, I really don't get the desire in general to connect as many things as possible into one big complicated or silly story. Standalone stuff works fine, it really does!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm very curious to see how GS5 differs. GS4 might have had <i>some</i> changes introduced based on the feedback (most likely the removal of the weekly cap is one such change), but it was also probably too far in development for it to have any real meaningful impact. Regardless, I think things have definitely improved in small places over the past couple of seasons, and I am interested to see how things develop from here on out.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-74812367912492421202023-02-01T20:35:00.005+00:002023-02-01T20:40:32.812+00:00Musings on Personal Goals<p style="text-align: justify;">It has been some time since I last provided a general update about my feelings regarding <i>SWTOR</i>. As the number of posts since December will doubtless indicate, I am feeling significantly better about things than I was for most of last year, and I am also happy to say that I have settled into a decent balance between time spent in-game and outside of it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have had two main goals on my mind throughout the past couple of months:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Firstly, <i>Luck of the Draw</i>. When Galactic Season 3 was on the horizon, I was initially deeply sceptical about my chances of completing the season in-full, that is to say all 100 levels plus all <i>meta</i> achievements. Still, I reasoned that it was at least worth giving it a go and see how I felt about it, since as I have expressed before it is rather easy to start these things "too late" and subsequently miss out on all rewards, etc.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite my initial reservations I am happy to say that I ultimately stuck with it, although I am still thinking that the current setup requires a bit of a shake-up going forward. I suspect that the novelty of farming reputation tracks for 12 - 14 weeks every time a season crops up will have worn off in quite a big way if they repeat it <i>ad nauseam</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, it is done, and now we wait to see what sort of things GS4 entails. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, character-gearing. When 7.2 launched, I unlocked the ability to buy 332 mods using gear from a couple of Columi and Thyrsian crates I'd saved up prior to the patch, and subsequently went on to upgrade all my characters' earpieces, legendaries, and relics up to 332 as well. I told myself, and voiced this plan to others, that I wouldn't get the 336 gear; no longer being involved in progression ops, I don't <i>really</i> need gear of higher rating than 326, although higher gear is still almost always useful.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, a few weeks later it settled in that the longer I put <i>off</i> upgrading gear to its highest potential outside of R-4, the more painful it would be <i>to</i> upgrade it beyond 332 when the time came. It was already going to cost me 360 OP-1 catalysts <i>per character</i> to upgrade earpieces and relics to 336 from 332, and if we eventually get the option to upgrade Rakata to 340 that's a further 120 catalysts per gear piece on top of that.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So my current goal is to get all characters up to 336 rating, although of course for the time being the highest legendaries can get to is 334. I only have one more character-pairing to go, that being my hunter-smuggler duo, and I'm hoping that I can get at least one of their three required pieces as loot from a veteran mode op. Every piece is, after all, 120 catalysts saved, but if needed I will of course splash out if I get back up to 360 catalysts before that point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alongside this, I've also been getting each character their own separate set of tacticals. Each character already had their own main and off-hand weapons, so I've further reduced the number of items they need to send across to their partnered-character by at least one, but I imagine this is where things will stop. It's far too costly to source legendaries for all characters, at least while I still need them for upgrading the few 332 legendaries I have left, and crafting augments is too much of a palaver at the moment to get full secondary armour sets for them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, only a few more pieces to get then I'm done with this goal as well. After that, who knows? Maybe I will decide to start splashing out on alternate legendaries. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not too sure that's a serious concept, though.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-59546409954688044102023-01-28T00:26:00.004+00:002023-01-28T00:30:40.458+00:00Perpendiculars of Grey<p style="text-align: justify;">The Gree event is probably my favourite of the original <i>SWTOR </i>events that are still in circulation today. I don't really feel that the BBA week suits anyone other than my hunter - hopefully for obvious reasons - and I've never really gotten over my distaste for rakghouls as a concept.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do still kinda regret missing out on the first rakghoul event, though, but since exams took priority ultimately it was a necessary loss.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Gree event, meanwhile, is just... serene. You aren't dealing with horrific creatures or scumbags across the galaxy, but instead just seeing a bizarre research project in progress. Even the instanced boss, Xenoanalyst II, is hands-down the most pleasant raid boss in the entire game - it acts more like a laboratory professor dealing with its latest batch of test subjects and wanting to see how they react to certain stimuli than it does a 'traditional' boss, even celebrating its defeat as it still meant it gets decent research.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, while it has been out for almost ten years now there have been a couple of things I haven't been all that invested in. Firstly, the PvP aspect. Sure, the original purpose for Ilum was this big open-world PvP planet and this is <i>BW</i>'s attempt to pay homage to that, but I've never really been one to seek or incite fights. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, the additional world bosses, Gravak'k and Surgok'k. Sure, I'd killed them a handful of times on Harbinger, but the times when organised groups for the two bosses coincided with my being available were very far and few between, even within my own guilds. The ability to transfer to The Red Eclipse at least meant that I was in guilds that were active and more <i>likely</i> to kill these bosses, but again it just seemed very rare when something actually could and would happen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, I managed to acquire ten kills of Gravak'k and nine for Surgok'k. It would have been ten for both, were it not for my abstaining in protest at my guild's actions on one such evening in 5.0. We'd killed Gravak'k and headed over to Surgok'k's cave to find an Imperial team gathering to kill it. Our tank for the evening charged in, followed by the rest of our group, effectively stealing the boss from under them. I stayed back by the entrance of the tunnel, still mounted, doing nothing but watching the Imps run past me. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm sorry, but I tend to take a very negative view on actions like that.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The end-result of not focusing a lot on these aspects of the event is that I still lacked the Gray Perpendicular and Blue / Red Octagon legacy titles by the start of 2023 while many of my peers had had them for years. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Well, finally, I have acquired Gray Perpendicular at last.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was a bit of a weird thirty minutes, to be honest. On the Tuesday (24th), someone put in Imperial Ilum chat that they were seeking group members for a Xeno kill, and I promptly signed up. They pulled together a group of 13 including themselves in the end, and then it became very clear that the group leader unfortunately didn't quite understand what they were trying to do.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unable to get any more than 13, they announced boldly ten minutes after the group had started that the plan was to do 16-man veteran mode for a chance at the Red Sphere. Now, veteran mode Xeno has historically been one of the hardest bosses <i>to</i> pug due to its DPS checks, and 7.0 ramped it up a fair notch even with higher gear now being accessible. A group of 13 stood no chance, especially as the group only had one healer and one tank.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A good number of people traipsed into the instance, assuming it to be set for 16VM, when it wasn't. They were asked to leave when a couple of the others tried and failed to enter, but the group leader still didn't set the phase even when asked. However, the ops leader never set the phase properly at all. Best guess is that they'd never learnt how to, which <i>is</i> fair enough I think. <i>SWTOR</i> doesn't actively teach you how to do such things outside of the read-only tutorials which most seem to just gloss over or forget about, so if you've never had to actively do it and only see others do it, I can understand not knowing what to do about it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To top it all off, whether it was because the group was proving more trouble than it was worth or they just fancied doing the daily while it was there, they kept the group waiting and went off to the the Gray Secant daily. This understandably ticked off a good number of people, with at least one threatening to quit. They passed leadership over to the solitary healer (who, incidentally, didn't realise they <i>were</i> the only healer), and left.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So after about twenty minutes' general confusion, we remaining 12 headed into Xeno SM at last. It went well enough, although a couple of people needed to be taught about the consoles while the fight was active, and afterwards someone asked if we could go and do the other bosses. Fortunately, nobody left so we had enough to make it a feasible venture, although we acquired a thirteenth member anyway.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gravak'k was messy, but we got it down without wiping. We did lose most of the group, though. Surgok'k was straightforward, with no deaths whatsoever, and finally... it was done. Gray Perpendicular unlocked. I'm not intending to actually <i>use</i> the legacy title but it's still nice to just own it, y'know. I wouldn't have made a post about it except for just the rather unusual circumstances behind my tenth Surgok'k kill. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do hope that ops leader managed to get into a Xeno VM group after all that without much hassle.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-84719472467379224312023-01-16T14:26:00.005+00:002023-01-24T11:43:55.361+00:00An Overdue Perspective on... Galactic Seasons<p style="text-align: justify;">The Galactic Seasons have been available for almost two years now, having started in April 2021 (how time flies!) and yet I haven't really commented on them except in passing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is because, until recently, I feel that I haven't been in the best position <i>to</i> comment on them, at least from a fair perspective. Season 1, <i>The Stranger from Kubindi</i>, was an interesting concept marred by horrific execution. Season 2, <i>Shadows of the Underworld</i>, shared top-billing with the sheer grind of early 7.0 and that really coloured my perspective of the whole thing. Season 3, <i>Luck of the Draw</i>, therefore, is the first season where I feel I can approach the system and offer a mostly-unbiased view of it all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, I shall of course be touching on both prior seasons as part of my assessment of the system as a whole. After all, the system changed so much between the first two systems that it would be remiss not to comment on where it improved and where it might have become more tedious.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On with the show!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Basics</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each Galactic Season follows the same pattern. Taking the form of the rather common battle-pass system, each season presents players with 100 levels. You earn progress by completing various objectives, either weekly or daily, and along the way you unlock various rewards. Most rewards are entirely cosmetic, but sprinkled among the mix is a decent sum of Cartel Coins. More on this later.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The seasonal calendar has two tiers; one for all players, the other for subscribers alone. Compared to other games that possess such a system, I feel this one <i>just about</i> works. At least you don't need to pay through the nose <i>just</i> to access the second tier, although your own mileage may doubtless vary on this point depending on how necessary or even feasible an ongoing subscription to <i>SWTOR</i> is for you. You can, of course, pay through the nose just to buy out various levels (if you wait long enough, this also works with credits), although one can't deny that's useful as a catch-up mechanic if absolutely necessary.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Each season is somehow themed around a companion, who is the first reward that all players can claim. The extent of the theming has varied massively between seasons. The first themed not just various cosmetic rewards around the companion, but also some objectives as well. The second and third thankfully leave the objectives as more generic, and keep the theming solely to the cosmetics.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Because the seasonal-reward progress is server-specific, this inspired a <i>lot</i> of people to take part in the seasons rush across multiple servers. Those Cartel Coin grants I mentioned? Yeah, you could previously get up to <b>4,000</b> CC per server. 5 servers, 5 seasons, boom, <b>20,000</b> Cartel Coins. It still required a lot of effort, especially in the first season, but it was very lucrative and almost certainly not something <i>BW</i> foresaw.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a result, <i>BW</i> whacked the CC granted down to 2,000 per server, which I think is entirely fair. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have little issue with people wanting to complete the seasons across multiple servers if they find it fun, challenging, or just because they want something extra to do if they view completing it once is easy enough. On the other, I feel that doing it specifically to gain that 20,000 CC essentially for free was ridiculous, so I am pleased to see the sum whacked down even if people like myself who only do it on one lose out in the process.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I know, I know, I said I would offer a <i>mostly</i>-unbiased perspective on seasons. <i>Mostly</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With that said, onto the specific seasons themselves.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Season 1: <i>The Stranger from Kubindi</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first Galactic Season introduced us to the first kubaz companion, the sniper Altuur zok Adon, and the entire season was themed around kubaz culture where possible. Since insecticulture is a big enough thing on the kubaz homeworld to warrant a codex entry about it, this meant that a lot of the objectives involved killing bugs. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and these objectives were all completely random. Each week you would get a pool of eight dailies and four weeklies, from which 50% would be plucked each daily or weekly reset and distributed out to all players in a random pattern. You and your friends might have got lucky and received the operation weekly together, or less than half of you might have received it. Not even re-rolling the objectives helped, as you might still get a weekly that wouldn't align with everyone you want or need it to.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I should also stress that during this first season, the important objectives were all daily-based, and if I recall correctly you had to do two each day. This, combined with the rather finickity nature of re-rolling objectives, meant that you could get the same set of objectives multiple days in a row.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ouch.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All-in-all, the first season at its core was a complete mess. The cosmetic rewards were <i>alright</i>, but not spectacular in my view, although it was nice to get two new strongholds. The companion, Altuur, is commonly referred to as something like "Captain Squeaky" by one of my guildies; at influence 50 he shoots up to near the top of the crew skills list (only 2V-R8 and Akaavi Spar sit above him), so whenever he sends companions out on the character who he focused on during that season, Altuur's squeaks feature very prominently.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do occasionally see Altuur be used by players, moreso than his direct successor, since he provides a 10% damage boost as part of his kit regardless of spec. <i>SWTOR</i> players and their maximising of companion DPS, I'll never understand it...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Season 2: <i>Shadows of the Underworld</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second Galactic Season introduced us to totally-not-Cad-Bane-inspired duros gunslinger companion, Fen Zeil, and reintroduced veteran players to the Shadow Syndicate. This used to be owned by Godoba the Hutt and features pretty prominently in the Imperial story on Nar Shaddaa, so it was nice to see how it had evolved over the past... what, 16 years in-universe?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This season tore down all but the basics of the Galactic Seasons system - the calendar with 100 levels of various rewards - and built it all back up from scratch. Gone were the randomised objectives with a strong focus on daily toil. Now, all players shared the same ten weekly objectives (although the tenth is a subscriber exclusive), of which you had to complete seven, and the single daily objective transformed into earning 25,000 Conquest points. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">These new weekly objectives ranged in type and complexity. They ranged from the easily-soloable side, such as killing 25 enemies without a companion present or killing 100 enemies with the season companion by your side, to the more challenging group-only options like killing specific world bosses like R8-X8 and Dread Pirate Karvoy. It's a good variety, although some weeks do tend to be more tedious than others, but these all being weekly means that you can pace yourself how you please. You can do all seven in one day, or spread them out so that you can do one a day if you wished. It just works much nicer than it did in season 1.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Furthermore, this season also introduced what I refer to as "extra-credit" objectives. In the first season, once you hit or bought out to level 100, that was it. Season 2 introduced various <i>meta</i> achievements, such as reaching rank 100 and completing 100 weekly objectives, and a brand-new reputation faction. Progress with the faction was earned through turning in Underworld Syndicate Plans to an NPC affiliated with the Shadow Syndicate. These USPs could be earned by completing weekly and daily objectives, looting the final bosses of flashpoints and operations, and as loot in open-world combat. You could also buy a special "Jawa Intel" consumable from a jawa in the Cartel Bazaar on fleet, which could be used to increase the drop-rate chances of USPs, although since this costs 500 purple jawa junk... not entirely cost-effective unless you still have literally thousands to spare from the 6.0-era.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Completing all of these <i>meta</i> achievements (including hitting Legend rank with the reputation) during the season earned you extra exclusive rewards, including a legacy title and a unique customisation for the season's companion. More on my feelings about all this further down.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I feel the cosmetic rewards were again just pretty much "okay". Nothing really stands out to me, although I have since made use of one of the dye packs and the bracers from the first cosmetic set in two of my characters' outfits. Fen Zeil himself is... kinda meh, really. I didn't really like how his story intertwined with Altuur's the way it did, as it didn't really feel organic. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But hey, he's Cad Bane, so he's so awesome, right?</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Season 3: <i>Luck of the Draw</i></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The third Galactic Season introduced us to simultaneously the most interesting but also most disappointing companion seen thus far; <i>PH4-LNX</i>. Formerly a <i>GEMINI</i> droid, she has now been repurposed into a croupier droid and employed by an organisation known as the Gambling Authority and Management Entity, or G.A.M.E.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The concept of Fay being a repurposed <i>GEMINI</i> droid is rather interesting. After all, we never really learned what became of the Iokath tech once we were done there, as it just kinda got... dropped. For good reason, of course, but that's not to say that something interesting mightn't still come from it all. Fay herself still desires to be a combat analysist as that's what she was built to be, but that also clashes with her new programming, and it's through us that she gets to live the life that she views as truly "hers". It's quite a deep story for a droid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, Fay being a droid model that we have seen before and in <i>droves</i> is also quite disappointing, not least because she continues the trend for the companions speaking alien gibberish. I get it, it's a cost-cutting measure, but it would have been great to hear her speaking Basic a little bit, and temporarily cutting out the gambler terminology, as her story progressed - a sign that the "real Fay" is starting to come through after being buried for so long.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But alas, she's just another alien voice. Shame. At least her story doesn't <i>directly</i> intertwine with either that of Altuur or Fen, but since she was once owned by Godoba there is just the <i>faintest</i> connection to Fen. That sort of level of connection, I don't entirely mind, but still makes things feel a bit too small for my liking.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Season 3 reutilises the same system as introduced in season 2; G.A.M.E has a reputation track, you once again earn an exclusive legacy title and companion customisation by completing <i>meta</i> achievements, all that stuff returns. The main differences this time around are that you earn the reputation trophies by talking to Fay herself rather than a separate NPC G.A.M.E representative, and that the open-world drop-rate for the G.A.M.E Analysis Modules seems to have been reduced compared to the Underworld Syndicate Plans.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seriously, even with Fay out as and when required, I would consider myself lucky if I even saw <i>one</i> Analysis Module drop on a given planet. That said, my newest Warrior, Avsa, saw <i>several dozen</i> drop on Taris, and Taris <i>alone</i>, while she was doing her class story there, and she didn't even <i>own </i>Fay or have Jawa Intel active! I couldn't quite connect the dots for that one - it wasn't as if Taris was somehow highlighted in an objective during that week...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One of those things, I guess?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Compared to the previous seasons' cosmetic rewards, I feel season 3 has the best armour sets by far. They're not overly-flashy, but are instead just a relatively casual and everyday-looking set of clothing, and I feel certainly the jacket looks amazing. Almost reminiscent of young Han Solo's main look from <i>Solo</i>. The weapons and mounts continue to be a miss as far as I'm concerned, although that's mainly because I don't like the colouring used for the weapons. The actual shells themselves do look decent, but the colours just put me right off them.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>"Extra-Credit"</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Keeping this in its own section to prevent it from overshadowing my views on any particular season.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When last I commented on the "extra-credit" objectives, my comments were made from frustration. As mentioned above, season 2 shared the limelight with the early days of 7.0, which were quite involving. Once I had finished the season, I looked back and realised just how liberating it was to be done with it all, and I know now that I had got sucked in "too deep" to the various goings-on without really knowing it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Without such frustrations impacting me today, here are my more untainted views on the whole thing:</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, I don't mind them introducing these "extra-credit" things. It gives you a reason to engage with the system even when you hit level 100 by any means, so even if you give into instant gratification and pay to complete the calendar on day one you still need to engage if you want to get every reward.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, that itself is also something of a problem. A lot of games prey on the concept of "FOMO" - fear of missing out - and while the concept of seasons has always leant itself to that in some form, it's this which comes closest to it. Season 1 lacked any form of extra-credit, so if Altuur is put on the vendor, a player who missed out on his season can just buy him and earn all associated achievements and the like. There'd still be stuff they'd <i>miss</i>, but achievement-hoarders wouldn't be permanently locked out of completing the full set of S1-based achievements.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with season 2, you <i>do</i> miss out on achievements if you come to it too late. You cannot earn the exclusive legacy titles or the special companion customisations, and for a time <i>BioWare</i> were planning to permanently render the reputation tracks inaccessible once a new season had been introduced. They later went back on this and have implemented a means to allow a player to earn any season currency with the relevant companion(s) summoned, but the drop-rate on those things is <b>far</b> too slow to generate any semblance of decent reputation gain.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike every other rep track in the game, which has a weekly limit of at least 12,000, those introduced with seasons have a limit of <b>5,000</b> reputation. As a subscriber in a guild higher than level 64, this will take you a <b>minimum</b> of 11 - 12 weeks if you make very careful use of the +50% reputation booster that you can get from login rewards. Otherwise it's 14 weeks+.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I get entirely why <i>BW</i> has made these rep tracks as lengthy as they are. After all, completing 100 weekly objectives takes a minimum of 15 weeks (14 full weeks + two objectives in the 15th), so the two align pretty neatly in that regard, provided the reputation gain isn't boosted, of course. But still, it taking double the amount of time to hit max-rep than it does to hit max-rep even during the season itself isn't ideal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't even want to <i>consider</i> how long it'll take a player who have missed out on season 2 or 3 altogether to get to max-rep once they can buy those companions and start earning the currency that way. That's going to be a <b>lot</b> of combat that player sees each week. Additionally, Jawa Intel only works for the active season's currency...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I don't object to the 100-weekly achievement, I do think that the reputation factions for seasons need another look. I'm not entirely sure what they can do without upsetting the balance they designed it around, but it depends entirely on how strictly they want to hold themselves to it. It might be entirely possible, after all, for them to scrap the weekly objective for earning reputation with the faction and replace it with a new generic one, in which case they could afford to experiment more. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We shall see if they decide that anything needs adjusting!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I like the core system of Galactic Seasons quite a bit, especially with the majority of the changes introduced with season 2. It started out as being very tedious, but has since shifted into something that's relatively easy to focus on without going overboard too much.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this is something where others' views may differ. I myself hold quite a different opinion on the worthwhileness of completing seasons on other servers compared to many other players, for example, although I do respect the incentive behind <i>some</i> players' reasoning for doing so. I still remember how burned out I felt after season 2, although that was due to other factors, and I do not wish to repeat that feeling anytime soon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There are definitely some improvements that I feel should be made to the system as it is right now. The reputation aspect ideally needs some tweaking, but I feel it shouldn't take an awful lot of restructuring to get it "just right". </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The companions... well. We already have so many companions as it is, but I do wish that there was more variety. All three of the current ones have been tech-based and are not affiliated with any faction other than their own, which I feel is a shame. It would be quite nice to get a defector from either the Republic or the Empire, whether they be soldier or Jedi / Sith, and for their story to differ depending on your faction and / or alignment. The defector could be made to see how their original faction has changed, gradually bringing them back to sympathising with it, or they could be twisted further down their chosen path. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It could work, and it would be really interesting to get multiple different perspectives of the same character!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As things are, I am <i>relatively</i> happy with the system. I do wish there were more robust "catch-up" mechanics in place for those who come to a season late for whatever reason, and I am wary of more and more seasons just adding so much more elements that people can miss out on. Then again, maybe they'll get to season 10, stop adding new ones, and re-run them all again or something.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't see it happening, but who knows?</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-47486841555601496272023-01-01T00:21:00.000+00:002023-01-01T00:21:07.716+00:00The Advantage of Shorter Storylines<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Legacy of the Sith</i> attracted a fair bit of criticism when it launched with a remarkably short storyline. Granted, this was also largely because there had been a fairly major part of the expansion delayed until August, but the resulting expansion has had many refer to 7.0 as an "expansion" in quotation-marks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm reminded of a comment I saw reviewing 7.0's launch, deriding it for being too short to be worthy of a tenth anniversary, and that only a campaign totalling "20 hours at least" would have been acceptable. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is true that other MMOs are capable of releasing large story updates which do take a fair bit of time. <i>The Elder Scrolls Online </i>has released several chapters - their version of expansions - over the past few years, each with at least 20 hours of content. This is not including the four dungeons that may provide extra context for the goings-on or the small zone DLC that provides its own story and, over the past four years, an epilogue to the story started with the first annual update.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>World of Warcraft</i> of course puts out <i>massive</i> expansion updates, with each individual zone released being the equivalent of at least medium-sized planet in <i>SWTOR</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not familiar with how <i>Final Fantasy XIV</i> handles its expansions, so for the interests of fairness I shall be leaving it out.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, neither of the games I mentioned has to put nearly as much effort into the voice-acting compared to <i>SWTOR</i>, which must pay forty-eight voice actors in all three languages just for the main classes <i>alone</i> every time an update comes out that involves our characters in a more robust manner than just rolling out the <i>KotOR </i>overlay. They <i>can</i> afford to spend more money and time on building large worldspaces and flooding them with short bite-sized quests that are mostly quite basic in structure.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's not to say that <i>SWTOR</i> hasn't experimented with the <i>WoW</i> formula. Rishi is by far the closest we have come to seeing a <i>WoW</i>-style quest system, and I'm honestly so glad they never tried to repeat it. The quests were numerous, but they were also incredibly short and ultimately many of them could just have been part of longer quest-chains, as is more traditional-<i>SWTOR</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, there is one quite significant advantage to shorter quest-chains. Replayability.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SWTOR</i> is perhaps unique among all MMOs in that you are actively encouraged by the game itself to play more than one character, even within one faction. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>WoW</i> has different factions, sure, encouraging its playerbase to roll at least one Alliance and one Horde character if they want to see how some of the major stories differ. <i>ESO</i> tries the different factions route as well, but because of how they've set questing up eventually <i>all</i> characters will have the option of exploring and completing quests in the other alliance zones as if they were created as those factions. The only major difference, beside class and race, is just what level(s) your characters may be when they first explore them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SWTOR</i>, which has historically tied classes to character in ways very few MMOs really have before, therefore has a unique incentive to rolling new classes. Your bounty hunter may see the same general quests as your Sith inquisitor, but both hunter and inquisitor have their own independent storylines to complete as well, giving each their own unique perspective.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is where the shorter questlines in later stories start to become more of an advantage. Thinking to my alt-characters in <i>ESO</i>, even though I have enjoyed playing them I also baulk at taking them further into the story than they already are. Not only do I already know exactly what's going to happen, but it's also quite a significant time investment. Doing a map that takes 12 or more hours to complete once is fine. Doing it twice, more annoying but still somewhat bearable.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Doing it for every single one of your characters, especially if you have over half-a-dozen? No, thanks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SWTOR</i> has certainly done its bit for introducing the grindy tedious-to-repeat storylines that can easily take a full day or more to complete. <i>Knights of the Fallen Empire</i> is a prime example, as not only do you get subjected to the endless chapter-after-chapter phenomenon (<i>just let me take a breather, alright?!</i>) but you also have a lot of <i>other</i> stuff to do as well. Alliance alerts, Star Fortresses, the Eternal Championship, on and on it goes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, after <i>Fallen Empire</i> it seems <i>BW</i> learned a much-needed lesson. The traitor arc is still a pain to repeat due to how out-of-left-field it all seems, but at least you can take your time with it more and aren't forced to back out of an annoying cutscene and / or endure a forced loading-screen without a moment to catch your breath.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sure, if you have only <i>one</i> character in <i>SWTOR</i>, all this is probably fine. It certainly all seemed fine to me the first time I did <i>Fallen Empire</i>, after all, but back then we only had nine chapters, and I had only taken one character through it. Ten characters later, and the novelty has <i>far</i> worn off. Even years later, I still find little-to-no enjoyment in the majority of chapters, and even the ones that I used to love I mainly spacebar through unless there's a scene or two I particularly enjoy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yes, the stories nowadays are far shorter than they were in some prior expansions, but I honestly don't mind that. It makes it much less of an ordeal to get alts and new characters caught up to things than it used to be - at least, once you get them past some of the lengthier aspects of the storytelling. Certainly, had 5.0 <i>and</i> 6.0 both followed the <i>Fallen Empire</i> formula as they were intended to, I for one would be much less tolerant in getting characters through them than I am. At least 5.0's nonsense culminates in <i>Jedi Under Siege</i>, which is still my favourite storyline since Imperial Makeb. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As a case-study to illustrate my point, I turn to my newest Sith warrior, Avsa. Created earlier this year because I realised just how much her predecessor's permanently-gappy codex entry (admittedly, due to skipping large parts of content to avoid the slog of <i>Fallen Empire</i>) was bugging me, she had been resting on her laurels the past few months while I grappled with my uncertainty about my investment in <i>SWTOR</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A little over a week ago, spurred on by <i>finally</i> discovering an aesthetic that 'clicked', I resumed proceedings with her at last. She was still sitting at the very start of Act II, having not even gone to Nar Shaddaa to interrupt the SIS meeting, so still had a fair bit to go. Within that week, she completed every significant storyline left open to her, including the HK-51, Lorrick, and Czerka storylines, with only the original Shroud, Seeker Droid, and operation questlines left open to her because I need to get into groups for those.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKn48eeNfhMyUtC_LgbeIrPvdRZ_69DTq6gci7hPh-Y01UaLY_FgJE4TmvkFKsgyT1WNbzFei-bRNCg7icvOOg1iM8_urAsU4cenWMFkYWm-F8lIen3dScM9mz0dJ5YdPEXTLKn9gKt4ouAok1YevFU5fydOOa9CfWSznwnoVCkhcaNsVel023Hfe4qw/s3840/Star%20Wars%20%20The%20Old%20Republic%20Screenshot%202022.12.23%20-%2019.29.16.83.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKn48eeNfhMyUtC_LgbeIrPvdRZ_69DTq6gci7hPh-Y01UaLY_FgJE4TmvkFKsgyT1WNbzFei-bRNCg7icvOOg1iM8_urAsU4cenWMFkYWm-F8lIen3dScM9mz0dJ5YdPEXTLKn9gKt4ouAok1YevFU5fydOOa9CfWSznwnoVCkhcaNsVel023Hfe4qw/w640-h360/Star%20Wars%20%20The%20Old%20Republic%20Screenshot%202022.12.23%20-%2019.29.16.83.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This screenshot feels so very empty without three other players. Sorry, Quinn, you just don't compare.</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Unlike with the veteran mode flashpoints, I can't find a way to solo an operation. Not complaining about that in the slightest, however!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A week, that's all it took, and some expansions took less than a full day to complete in-full (I say, noting that just before the turn of the year, she completed Iokath-through-Ruhnuk in a single day, thus finishing the bulk of 5.0 and the entireties of 6.0 and 7.0 as it is right now within 12 hours). I should also state that, as is tradition with my characters now, throughout all this time she's also been fully-exploring planets, doing every quest open to her, finding all the matrix shards, and completing all Alliance alerts (except Lokin's) and Star Fortresses, so she hasn't <i>just</i> been rushing and only doing the purple quests.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A single week. And a day.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And I <i>love</i> that. It isn't a considerable slog to get a fresh-faced character caught up to everyone else, requiring a full day or more to do even the first part of each released expansion as you might see in <i>ESO</i> or <i>WoW</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm sure that there will be those people who look at my example and say "yes, that's it, that's the problem!", and I really do have to question just <i>how</i> these people choose to play their games. I get that there are a lot of people who just like to sit down and <i>grind</i> something endlessly. Heck, in <i>WoW</i> there were people getting to nigh-max reputation with the factions in the new expansion within the very first week, and that's not a simple feat in the slightest.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So I'm sure there are a lot of people who would <i>love</i> to have the opportunity to have something 'big' to grind for in <i>SWTOR</i>, no matter the cost involved. To take several characters on a long, twisting story path that would have them question who they are and what their place in the galaxy is again over several hours, just like <i>Fallen Empire</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm most definitely <i>not</i> one of those people. I don't mind story content taking <i>some</i> time, but there is a fine line that must be drawn between "just right" and "too much". I don't deny that, at times, <i>SWTOR</i> hasn't even reached the "just right" line, looking at it from a purely up-to-date perspective. That is to say that this is ignoring alts, freshly-rolled characters, and even entirely new players themselves; just looking at characters who were already caught up and ready to get started with the newest content. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I for one find that games can sometimes get 'too big'. Throw in enough story that takes a lot of time, and it becomes a very daunting prospect to just do that much. I feel, for example, that the most recent <i>LEGO Star Wars</i> game fell into that trap by including just so much side-stuff that needs to be done alongside the main campaign, whereas previously they were just a fun little adventure in whichever universe they were set.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have exactly one character in <i>ESO </i>who is caught up to almost everything the game has to offer - the exceptions being quests for the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild since she is not that sort of character (I have done them on others, so I haven't missed out <i>entirely</i>). Knowing how big the gulf is already between her and the next-closest character, and being all to aware of just how much bigger it is likely to get should I continue on with that game in the new year, I just feel no incentive to getting anyone else caught up. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not when I know how much time I already had to put in just to get <i>one</i> character up-to-speed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, my singular max-level character in <i>WoW</i> has only completed the <i>Dragonflight</i> story (to be fair, she was one of the new instant-68 dracthyr evoker characters), so still has content from nine other major releases open to her. And that's a <i>lot</i> of content to even consider starting the path for. Sure, questing will be quick in many of these places, since level-scaling at max-level isn't a thing on a permanent basis in <i>WoW </i>so everything (even in previous dungeons and raids...) dies in one hit, but I don't think that makes it any more <i>fun</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">If anything, that just makes it seem more tedious; not even the core gameplay in the majority of these instances can provide any meaningful enjoyment...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I acknowledge that this perspective would be very different if I only had one character active in <i>SWTOR</i>. I imagine that the shortness of the content would be all the more obvious, and therefore I would be joining those complaining about it, asking for longer stories for every update.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As it is, I genuinely don't mind it. A short storyline makes it much less tedious to repeat across several characters, although the repetitiveness of even something like Ruhnuk sets in pretty quickly. At least Manaan, Mek-Sha, and Onderon offered different perspectives based on faction, something not even <i>Shadow of Revan</i>, the last expansion prior to 6.0 which provided different versions of each cutscene between factions, did in any meaningful capacity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That all said, I wouldn't object to getting <i>somewhat</i> more-substantial storylines in the future, although I would <i>never</i> want to see a return to <i>Fallen-Empire</i>-style content. Maybe even something like that wouldn't seem as much of a slog if there wasn't so much extra stuff, or if the chapters didn't continually run into one another meaning that you could actually start them in your own time rather than having to back out almost every time if you just wanted a break.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As long as any future story remains convenient to replay across several characters, irrespective of faction, I'm happy for <i>BW</i> to try anything once.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-38338005624808979932022-12-21T17:15:00.007+00:002022-12-21T17:47:28.405+00:00Thoughts on 7.2: The Good, the Bad, and the Eeehhhhhs<p style="text-align: justify;">As I have expressed before, I'm not a big fan of Mandalorian-themed stories at the moment. They are rather over-exposed, being prominent in no fewer than four television shows across the past decade and having a sizable presence in <i>The Old Republic</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All that is fine if you are a huge fan of the culture, and the sort of exposure they're getting would, I imagine, be idyllic if you've always been a huge Mandalorian fan. I, however, am not. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Alas, with Mandalorians now becoming a prominent force in the main storyline of <i>The Old Republic</i>, this is one instance where I cannot just put said content to the side and focus on the stuff that does interest me more. Patch 7.2 continues the storyline started technically back in 6.0 before 6.2 really got going with it; the growing rift between Shae Vizla - Mandalore the Avenger - and several clans who are disgruntled with her leadership and uniting under one banner.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Last time we saw them, these clans had united behind she of the inconsistent voice and armour colour, Heta Kol, and they attacked <i>The Spirit of Vengeance II</i> - Shae's flagship - in both a show of force and in a successful attempt to steal the banner of Clan Cadera. After that, they disappeared to parts unknown. Well, now we've <i>found</i> said parts unknown, and it's time to take the fight to them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Along the way, courtesy of the Digging Deeper story update with 7.1, we're also being treated to more story about the Kateen siblings. Sa'har's brother, Ri'kan, being in-league with Heta Kol was a twist that really caught me in particular off-guard, and it succeeded in giving me something of an anchor point to be interested in where that element was going. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there's also the new PvP season, something which I have not yet had any personal experience of, and some new and exciting indications for <i>SWTOR</i>'s future.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All-in-all, while 2022 might not have started well for <i>SWTOR</i>, it's certainly trying its damnedest to end it on a bang. What are my thoughts on all that we got this patch? Read on and find out!<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Good</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Ruhnuk: The Main Story</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ruhnuk's main story is short, but it packs one heck of a punch. The cinematics in the latter half are absolutely gorgeous, and even as someone who doesn't particularly care for either Shae or Heta the fight between the two was truly a spectacle to behold. The setting, the music, just how the crowd pounded their chests and feet to create a drumroll effect... so much good there.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also learned a lot about Ri'kan Kateen, which is very welcome. When we first saw him, he looked like he might have been a prisoner of the Mandalorians, but then he just waltzed up to Heta herself with no trouble, indicating that he was far more than just a guest. Indeed, it's revealed after the main bulk of the story that he's actually a member of her inner circle, albeit one who's a bit rough around the edges. A powerful bruiser, but seemingly not much of a decent tactician.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's also because of him that the Ordo brothers lost their sister, Layla. It's going to be interesting to see how their grudge potentially affects the story going forward, as you can guarantee that Sa'har would want to see her brother saved when the time inevitably comes for her to see that what he's doing isn't right at all.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The most interesting thing that happens with the Kateen siblings' dynamic is right at the end. Ri'kan is obviously all too happy to use his sister and Nul's holocron to further his own ends, but his reaction to Heta taking her away from him to discuss the finer specifics, just leaving him with the instruction to ensure that nobody disturbs them, reveals something far more.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It seems that Ri'kan still holds a grudge against Sa'har for being deemed "more special" than he was by Denolm Orr. To see Heta do exactly the same thing must be awakening all sorts of resentment towards his sister, and it must hurt to feel that his coveted position is at risk because - once again - his sister just happened to steal the limelight, albeit through no real fault of her own. Considering that Ri'kan has failed Heta at least once and has been shown to be quite rough in combat, one has to wonder if Heta views him as a liability now that war is approaching fast. She needs weapons, not soldiers like him who don't always come through.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's definitely going to be interesting seeing how the Kateen siblings' dynamic evolves as the story progresses. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other moments in the story are interesting as well. During the duel between Shae and Heta, you can allow the leader of the Dar'manda following the rogue Mando, Bask Sunn, to keep using a sonic disruptor on Shae and ensure that she loses the fight in return for the Dar'manda supporting you instead. This does actually lead to Shae losing the duel, thus shaking the faith of other clans, and I am intrigued to see what this choice may result in.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's also wonderful to see Torian Cadera get his own moments in this storyline, considering that he can be killed in previous story content. <i>BioWare</i> has always struggled with giving determinant characters a decent spot in the limelight, including back in the <i>Mass Effect</i> series, and while Torian only really has one moment to truly call 'his own' (standing before the flag of his clan, now destroyed), it's still great to see him feature quite heavily. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Akaavi Spar also gets her own spot in the limelight, including briefly becoming a companion in the final main story mission if Torian is dead, and it's great to see her again. Heck, both Torian and Akaavi are the first base-game companion characters to feature on a loading screen since T7-O1! How cool is that?!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The one main disappointment I have about the main story is that we see nothing of Tyrus Brokenblade and Durn Wynnward, the other previously-identified members of Heta's inner circle. They feature briefly in 7.1, but they're completely absent here, not even getting a cameo aboard Heta's flagship. I imagine we'll be seeing at least one of them be a major force in the next story update focusing on the civil war, but it would have been nice to hear their thoughts on how things have gone or been going following Ruhnuk.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">All-in-all, I've been very happy with the main story of Ruhnuk. While I can't claim to have been fully behind <i>everything</i> that happened, it was certainly much more interesting than I believed it would be, largely due to Ri'kan and Sa'har. I'm so pleased that we were able to actually have something of a decent conversation with the latter, even if it would always have amounted to nothing both because of Shae's interventions and Sa'har's own goals preventing her from leaving Heta's forces behind for now.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking forward to seeing how her story evolves!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Technical Developments</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">While I myself am not colour-blind, I have been hoping that <i>SWTOR</i> would eventually introduce a colour-blind mode in some form for quite a few years now. It's becoming more of an industry-standard, so this was just one in a few ways that <i>SWTOR</i> has been dating itself quite horribly. Fortunately, along with another large UI overhaul, 7.2 has introduced a colour-blind mode at last.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I can't speak for its effectiveness, of course, but I hope that it makes a world of difference for those who need it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In more universal news, Keith Kanneg posted the other day that <i>SWTOR</i> was not only moving some of its hosting capabilities to the cloud, but that the client itself is <i>finally</i> being updated to 64-bit! I'm not much of a technical guru, so I don't quite understand the full differences between 32-bit and 64-bit, but even I can see that the more time goes on, the greater the likelihood that 32-bit support will just be phased out entirely. <i>SWTOR</i> moving away from 32-bit increases its theoretical longevity by quite some margin as a result.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Performance on the PTS version of the 64-bit client seems pretty solid, and I am hopeful that with both of these changes <i>SWTOR</i> will be a fair bit more stable. Time shall tell!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Eeehhhhhs</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Ruhnuk: The Epilogue</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">For the most part, the main story of Ruhnuk avoids all of the things I tend to take issue with when it comes to Mandalorians; a tendency to fixate on being "true" Mandalorians, using Mando'A phrases, and characters just being insufferable pricks because they're Mandalorians and that's just how they are.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cue the epilogue content. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We're tasked with helping Shae's cousin, Lane Vizla, clear out the remnants of Heta's army, particularly clan Ha'rangir. Claiming to descend from one of Mandalore's gods, this clan is basically the pinnacle of arrogance when it comes to Mandalorians. Indeed, it's suggested that the reason that they follow Heta is because she indulges their claims (even if just for her own gain) while Shae doesn't. Their leaders, Kur and Arla, are both exceedingly annoying and it feels <i>so</i> good to give them a good putdown.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is also the first time that basilisk droids feature in <i>SWTOR</i>'s story. These droids have a long history in the <i>Legends</i> timeline, and as a result tend to be fairly popular among the Mandalorian fanbases. There were more than a few requests for a basilisk mount before patch 6.1.2 delivered one to the masses on the Cartel Market.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">These are essentially the equivalent of critically-endangered animals. The creators attempted to destroy their own planet when the Mandalorians attacked, succeeding only in devolving themselves to a primal state, and the knowledge to build them is thus not widely known. Kur's plan to strip down the few machines he has found and build an army of apex basilisks is the equivalent of a rich despot buying up as many Sumatran tigers as he can, forcing them to live in various cages so that they'll fight, and keeping the survivors as his loyal pets because they're the strongest of the lot. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once all is said and done, you can either kill Kur - sacrificing the few droids he has left since the idiot decided to strap bombs to them - or let him escape and save the droids. One always survives in either instance, being deemed "small" by Lane, and we're allowed to keep it once it gets patched up a bit. I'm guessing that this thing will be a companion, because <i>BW</i> probably won't be able to resist giving the diehard Mandalorian fanatics a chance to fight alongside a basilisk for the first time ever.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This epilogue feels like the writers compensating for a lack of 'traditional' Mandalorian storytelling in the main story and just shunting as much of it as they can think of into one quest-chain. It's easily the least-interesting part of the whole storyline as far as I'm concerned, and I'm pleased we didn't get more of that during the main story.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>The New Map</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">With 7.2, <i>BioWare</i> continued with the UI revamp that they began with 7.0, this time focusing on the map. Now, I had been foreseeing a revamp to this ever since whichever patch brought in the new galaxy map; the <i>GSF</i> icon had been shunted up to make room for the map icon, and it was clear that it was never designed to be anywhere other than resting on the curve of the minimap. There was a noticeable hole, as the inverse curvature of the old <i>GSF</i> icon was now exposed.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So I'd kinda been hoping they'd do something new to fix that, and with 7.2 they've delivered a new minimap and customisable interface bars. I like the latter, but was a bit surprised that the signal indicator was turned "off" by default. Easy thing to fix.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The new minimap has the ability to expand into a pop-up overlay, displaying the local map of whichever area you're in without anything like a mission tracker, instance-switcher, or anything else that the original map possessed. The original map is still there, but by default it is tucked away behind the new keybinding of ALT+M.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't mind them introducing a new overlay, and I do quite like the concept, but I'm not a fan of them changing the keybinds by default - especially as this also affects the <i>GSF</i> map which is at the moment irrevocably tied to ALT-M. Not even changing the keybinds around so that M once again opens up the original map helps, but <i>BW</i> has acknowledged this as an oversight so they will be introducing a separate keybind for the <i>GSF</i> map in future.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm also not too fond of how the overlay is <i>just</i> your local map. There isn't any option to expand it to show the world map, so if you're using the overlay to navigate your way around, say, a new planet with confusing tunnels and the like, you can't use it to click through the tunnel map layouts to find out where this exit or that exit comes out. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, the old map does still exist, and I just switched the keybinds of the two. I don't <i>mind</i> the overlay, but it can never replace the original for sheer functionality.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>The Bad</u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><u>Ruhnuk: The Daily Zone</u></p><p style="text-align: justify;">First impressions are very important, and I have to say that the first impression Ruhnuk as a daily zone left on me was <i>rough</i>. This has to have been the roughest first impression that a daily zone has left on me in <i>years</i> - not even Iokath seemed as bad as this one!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so, to break it down. Ruhnuk is already quite confusing with its layout, but in places it's also swarming with mobs of varying difficulty. There are a couple of daily missions which require you to visit some of these locations at least twice during a standard run, whether it be running through a tunnel to click on a console to then have to return to it to transmit data after clicking more consoles, or running back to an earlier part of that same tunnel to continue a mission's objective before running back up to higher ground to, again, transmit data.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Then there's the fun of one daily in the quarry asking you to go back to the waterworks when you might have already <i>done</i> the dailies that were in the waterworks beforehand. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, it's... it's not a fun one to do. Even once you formulate a rough structure (I always made sure the waterworks were the final destination, for example), you cannot avoid making repeat visits to one of the areas. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The mobs are also fairly brutal at times. I don't know whose idea it was to give three of the four gold mobs and one of the silver mobs knockbacks, but I loathe them for it. Getting a pull with two of those mobs together isn't fun in the slightest. Oh, and I've also found about six times now that sometimes I would engage in combat with one group of mobs and a nearby one would decide to join in as well, just out of the blue.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fine if they're all standards / weaks... not if they're golds and silvers. Uggggh.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The relic quests really do help with this; the jet pack opens up shortcuts, allowing you to skip a large part of the running to and fro for the transmitting of data, but they're also incredibly tedious to do the first time through. Oh, and they don't work that well when in groups, so I hear.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's something of a shame, as Ruhnuk <i>itself</i> has a lot of potential. The main world boss, Kithrawl, is a decent fight, and I like the hidden boss Tiroxe (whose presence and achievement feel like a culmination of eleven years' worth of puns about Trapjaw and Dash'roode), and some of the dailies <i>are</i> okay... but it's also by far one of the most tedious zones to do in-full.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I definitely won't be returning to it for casual runs unless I really need to.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do like that the boss of the Strongest Links heroic, Rubassa, is the same Rubassa who appeared in the recent short story starring Shae Vizla, "<a href="https://www.swtor.com/info/news/article/20221209-0">Snare</a>". You don't really think about NPC bosses having their own character or story for the most part, so it's fun to see one appear elsewhere for a change.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have avoided touching on the PvP season in any of these sections because of my lack of exposure to it. I don't want to say if I think it's good, bad, or eeehhhhh with no real grounds for it other than my feelings. That said, I will just offer my thoughts on it in general without committing it anywhere in particular.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been keeping an eye on the PvP revamp in general, and I do like a fair bit of what <i>BW</i> has done, but I also feel no real attachment to the idea of a second seasonal thing. Galactic Seasons is mostly fine because at least that's generic and focuses on a lot of things even in a single week, but a seasonal thing based on one singular activity is quite a daunting prospect.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Especially given that to maximise gains of the new PvP seasons token in this first season, you'd have to do both the arena and warzone weeklies <i>25 times each</i>. It's a massive undertaking, and I wish everyone doing Galactic Seasons on multiple servers alongside a full-on PvP season focus the very best of luck with keeping their sanity intact.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's the sort of thing which I am wary about joining in on, because while I'm fine with just sitting down for a week and grinding the ever-living crap out of a daily zone like Ruhnuk to ensure that that's it, done-and-dusted, I can move on quickly, a season encourages a far more long-term focus even if you're not maximising your token gains. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">And that's why I'm just keeping away from it for now. 7.2 has successfully reconnected me with <i>SWTOR</i> in a way I wouldn't have thought possible back with 7.1. Heck, even in the week leading up to its launch I was genuinely questioning how invested I really was with the upcoming update. It might be a temporary thing, but I'm not knocking it - I'm pleased that it <i>was</i> more interesting than I feared.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But at the same time, I also know that it's in moments like these, when you're riding that high, that "just seeing what it's like" can lead to full-on investment and, worse, addiction. Now that I'm done with Ruhnuk apart from turning in the mountain of rep trophies I have saved up, I'm happy to just take more of a backseat, see how things go between now and the new year, and maybe then I'll reassess where I stand about things.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't want to jump into something like the PvP season "too early" if I am to get involved with it. I'm trying to be careful to not do too much at the moment, but I'm hoping that if things do settle down then maybe I'll be able to focus quite casually on PvP again. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Time shall tell!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, I really like the parts of 7.2 that I have experienced. As mentioned above, it's reawakened a joy I haven't felt towards <i>SWTOR</i> for a long time, which I attribute to the Kateen siblings' story more than anything. I'm genuinely really interested to see where those two end up and how things progress - especially as now the Mandalorian storyline is done for now, we'll be returning to Malgus and the ever-increasing likelihood that he'll break out of prison...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The negatives I have with it, for the most part, are just personal taste. I have expressed before how refreshing I found characters like Rass Ordo among the Mandalorians, and I was pleased that the main bulk of 7.2 featured very little of the tedious (to me) parts. Of course, they were there eventually anyway, but only in an epilogue so it doesn't take too much away from the more interesting parts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The daily zone of Ruhnuk is easily the worst bit of the whole patch at the moment. It's something of a shame, as most of the recent daily zones had been successes as far as I was concerned; it has been a long time since anything has fallen as far in my evaluations of these areas as Republic Section X...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The news of further technical developments are also really interesting, and I am excited to see them come to fruition. Certainly, the 64-bit client is going to be a very popular move, and I hope it means that the game has given itself a few more years of life than it might otherwise have had.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The future certainly looks more promising now than it did at the start of this year!</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-10354221870228247332022-10-29T18:00:00.000+01:002022-10-29T18:00:09.641+01:00Adventures in Orlando<p style="text-align: justify;">Before I begin talking about the main subject of this post
proper, let me take you all back in time a bit.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m old enough to remember the first time DVDs were released
commercially. I remember going into our local Sainsbury’s branch with my mother
and seeing a whole stack of blue boxes, each containing a silver DVD player and
five accompanying DVDs. I can’t quite remember what all of them were, but I
know for sure that two of them were <i>The Full Monty</i> of all things and a
truly dire adaptation of <i>James and the Giant Peach</i>. Since when were
giant mechanical sharks and underwater undead pirates part of the story?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since my family and I had quite a lot of VHS tapes, the
transition to DVDs was relatively slow at first, although the advantages were
immediately apparent. For one, no longer was there a need to rewind after
finishing watching a film. For another, DVD menus opened all sorts of benefits,
such as scene selection and bonus features. Finally, there was the increased
portability potential. Cars were being produced which had in-build DVD players
and screens on the backs of seats, providing passengers new entertainment
opportunities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While my family never owned a car with an in-built player,
we did own a portable DVD player which we strapped to the back of the driver’s
seat for me to watch during long journeys on the way to various holiday
destinations. With the number of times my family goes on holiday, it saw a <i>lot</i>
of use prior to around 2014 or so when we stopped using it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the films that we would take with us in the early
days was <i>The Lion King</i>, which to this day is still my favourite animated
film. I was the sort of person who liked plugging in not only the main disc but
the disc containing bonus features as well, and in this instance the bonus
features contained an entire section themed around the Animal Kingdom Park in
Walt Disney World.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Young me was transfixed. Firstly, this thing looked like <i>an
entire country</i>, not just one part of a theme park. Secondly, since the only
Disney park I knew about at the time was the one in Paris, this was also the
first time I realised that there were other Disney parks around the world.
Granted, this did seem confusing at first; after all, if Disney was French, as
I thought at the time, why would there be parks in America, let alone even
bigger ones?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Retrospectively, I do find it amusing that my young mind had
effectively normalised the concept of foreign language dubs for films due to
this misunderstanding of Walt Disney’s nationality.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If this section on the DVD was designed to advertise Animal
Kingdom Park, it did its job; the dream of visiting Walt Disney World had
firmly planted itself in my mind. The issue, of course, was that it was very
difficult to <i>justify</i> doing so for several years. Sure, there were things
we could have found to do, but it’s a lot of money to just <i>gamble</i> on
whether you can find things to do for a long enough time to make it worthwhile.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Things got kicked up a notch when it was announced that an
entire section devoted to <i>Star Wars</i>, known as Galaxy’s Edge, would be
opening within the Hollywood Studios Park. Suddenly, there wasn’t just <i>Star
Tours</i>, which we had done a few times in Paris, but an entire array of
specialist themed shops, eateries, experiences, and additional rides in the
offing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Time continued to pass on by, and around 2019 the idea to
visit Orlando was floating around as a serious prospect. We even popped into a
Virgin Holidays branch to pick up a brochure. Nothing came of that, however,
and I’m very glad about that considering that the very next year the <i>COVID</i>-19
pandemic hit.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Again, we waited, this time to be sure that nothing would
emerge to interrupt potential plans again, and in late 2021 we begin
formulating plans for 2022 with the help of the ever-reliable Trailfinders.
Initially, we were looking at a December holiday due to the timings working out
best for us around then, but it soon became apparent that for a first-time trip
out there, December is one of <i>the</i> worst times to go. After some mulling
around moving it to February half-term 2023, one of us suggested looking at
October half-term 2022. We checked everything was a-okay with my parents’
workplaces, booked the hotel and one of two days out in wider Orlando, and we
were sorted!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To begin with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">See, there are multiple layers to organising a holiday in
Disney. You may be booked into a hotel, but that’s just step <i>one</i>. You
then need to look at the website or download the <i>My Disney Experience</i>
app, where you’ll have the options to reserve parks whenever you like (assuming
there’s availability), and 60 days before you go you can start booking
restaurants and certain special experiences. This is also where you can buy
Genie+, the revised Fast Pass system, with options to start booking rides
opening at 7:00am each day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is where things got a <i>little</i> bit confusing. My
family and I are not exactly what you would call technologically adept. As the
most adept member – and even then, that’s being generous – it was up to me to
try my best to co-ordinate and link my parents’ accounts to the app so that
we’d all see the same things, and that took a good amount of time due to quite
confusing layouts and all sorts of hoops the app has you go through. It was all
sorted in about thirty minutes, but it wasn’t a fun thirty minutes for any of
us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, for some reason people within the UK cannot
use the app or the website to book experiences. I learnt from reading a forum
thread of people griping about this that one way around this was to use a VPN
to connect to somewhere in America, and <i>that</i> would allow you to book
without phoning in. I can confirm that this does work, but since I’m paranoid I
still ended up changing my Disney password upon doing this <i>just in case</i>
the VPN wasn’t as secure as it claimed to be.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were done with everything we could have wanted to be done
with by the time September arrived. All we had to do was wait again until
Thursday the 20<sup>th</sup> of October.<o:p></o:p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How this post is going to work from this point forth is that
I’ll be covering various things like hotels, park details, and dining basics
before then launching into a day-by-day breakdown.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To begin with, though, a bit of background about me and my
family.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We’re not exactly what you would call theme park or <i>Disney</i>
aficionados. The last <i>Disney</i> film any of us saw in cinemas that wasn’t
part of any pre-existing franchise was 2007’s <i>Ratatouille</i>, although that
was only my mother and I. So apart from <i>Toy Story 3</i>, <i>Star Wars</i>,
and <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i>, all awareness of post-2007 films can be
considered null and void.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For theme parks, we have previously visited the Disneyland
in Paris – I want to say three times? – with the last visit again being 2007 as
part of a trip organised by the school my mother works at and, even then, my
father and I were just accompanying as family members. That’s not to say that
we don’t find <i>some</i> enjoyment in theme parks; we have been known to visit
the UK’s Legoland in Windsor several times, mostly due to my lifelong love for
the construction toy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As you’ll go on to discover in greater detail, we are not
thrill ride enthusiasts, nor are we the type of people desperate to do every
ride imaginable. If we can find something that we enjoy and get on and off in
good time, we’re content. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Right, that’s the boring parts out the way, on with the Disney
stuff!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsQOs3kRaXJDpkbOLfrVuxb38-sgnGL4sZAeezW9nUXE54q3F5GQsh6GVrJ9hbX7C9U3C_4clY3fPc1otw_gyCGQy-T-YPLz6UPqPyoRATKaZtqdMTvicFH6V479hnclcXf5IV5I46efJAWc9HPCEODeuEExtYNmQM2nlATDuSGdCzhoDdDIPC2X-yw/s4000/20221026_095813.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsQOs3kRaXJDpkbOLfrVuxb38-sgnGL4sZAeezW9nUXE54q3F5GQsh6GVrJ9hbX7C9U3C_4clY3fPc1otw_gyCGQy-T-YPLz6UPqPyoRATKaZtqdMTvicFH6V479hnclcXf5IV5I46efJAWc9HPCEODeuEExtYNmQM2nlATDuSGdCzhoDdDIPC2X-yw/w640-h360/20221026_095813.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Hotel</u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We decided to stay within the Animal Kingdom Resort. There
are two lodges within the resort, Jambo House and Kidani Village, and we chose
to stay in Jambo House. We booked a savanna view room, as we acknowledged that
if we had gone all that way and had a view of the pool or the parking lot due
to instead securing a cheaper room when the room opposite might have seen a
giraffe every day, then we would have instantly regretted it.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsDcZ1CCj9epAVJH3xzt6GnI35JWYbqTOUOCtKak5eFwQWbU5XcKh85EkFezUeLX3YIrDxLUnHABp6bWadDJMK2aKIkDnGD2qMjrTHUKs-SmS8G8E2_vYZKHLv_8fMjdtkl4V2rNfMlcAICWZOnXaRLrOmDKYbbANTX4Dwq4Ws6vF__sy4-MEvs1Iww/s3264/20221022_144003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsDcZ1CCj9epAVJH3xzt6GnI35JWYbqTOUOCtKak5eFwQWbU5XcKh85EkFezUeLX3YIrDxLUnHABp6bWadDJMK2aKIkDnGD2qMjrTHUKs-SmS8G8E2_vYZKHLv_8fMjdtkl4V2rNfMlcAICWZOnXaRLrOmDKYbbANTX4Dwq4Ws6vF__sy4-MEvs1Iww/w640-h360/20221022_144003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As one would have hoped for a resort of a five-star-rating,
our room was top-notch. Plenty of space, the bed was comfortable, and the
shower must have been simultaneously the most spacious and the best quality
unit we have ever known. There is only one thing that would have made the room
even better than it was, and that’s a physical copy of a list of animals we could
have seen in our section of the savanna. There is a list online but, as you
might have gathered above, I much prefer trying to detach technology from
things as much as possible. Ah, well.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWwWf9r8CdF_d0rvdeMPvM7ONobcjDwYUui96zAM2Cfzi3ONxpMbprpdx2amzmerVqoE_UDj2lCM68blMuyDky_6iLqFNaPP7reZdBSpC6YV8ACjrLC34RvJq9RbBd-iE7emhXsHaD9vPrIiGMqXl0FXMmqrV27067TNtATVZzbTefJqkEb6G6sGH1Q/s4000/20221022_160217.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWwWf9r8CdF_d0rvdeMPvM7ONobcjDwYUui96zAM2Cfzi3ONxpMbprpdx2amzmerVqoE_UDj2lCM68blMuyDky_6iLqFNaPP7reZdBSpC6YV8ACjrLC34RvJq9RbBd-iE7emhXsHaD9vPrIiGMqXl0FXMmqrV27067TNtATVZzbTefJqkEb6G6sGH1Q/w640-h360/20221022_160217.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">From our hotel balcony, we have seen Ankole-Watusi cattle,
crowned cranes, Grant’s zebra, impala, and reticulated giraffe. Indeed, on our
very first night we saw the four male giraffes on our section gathered just
outside our room, which immediately made us feel that we had made the right
call in going for this room.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXV0M1s8XvKnqSZrsQNpCiPj_VGWh_dgPdkf53b587GgDXNnsSGX1Ltm461qRS004HnfWsb6R7p3RA-6fwIUKgHbDFCsA1uk2QfRZow3EmL08dursSs5hWhqor1gP8FMIWlZWhwz-Xk07Dz9oaH0G41VTbY4p9YuTFxBImax42i0Wo3uO6gXL4ZJicg/s3264/20221021_083041.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXV0M1s8XvKnqSZrsQNpCiPj_VGWh_dgPdkf53b587GgDXNnsSGX1Ltm461qRS004HnfWsb6R7p3RA-6fwIUKgHbDFCsA1uk2QfRZow3EmL08dursSs5hWhqor1gP8FMIWlZWhwz-Xk07Dz9oaH0G41VTbY4p9YuTFxBImax42i0Wo3uO6gXL4ZJicg/w640-h360/20221021_083041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The rest of the hotel itself is excellent. Jambo House has
three restaurants, one giant pool, and a decently sized gift shop. The lobby,
shop, and main entry / exit are all on the second / third floor, with dining
options on the ground / first floor. Fortunately for us, our room wasn’t too
far from the lobby at all, being but a floor and a corridor away as well as
being relatively close to the stairs and elevators, so we had maybe a
two-minute walk at most to get to places.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There was also mercifully very little by way of overt <i>Disney</i>
stuff. Sure, the room had an engraved faux stone bearing a stylised scene
representing the presentation of Simba and a picture of the famous sunrise from
the start of <i>The Lion King</i>, but that was pretty much it outside of the
gift shop and the restaurant we used for breakfast and a couple of other meals,
The Mara, broadcasting a series of <i>Disney</i> cartoons (including a <i>bizarre</i>
set of “safety smart” cartoons starring Timon and Pumbaa, focusing on things
like safe tech use and washing your hands) from a television. At least it was
silent and not blaring out for all to hear!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately for my parents, having me in tow meant that
any hope they might have had of visiting the two ‘big’ restaurants in the
hotel, Boma and Jiko: The Cooking Place (hilariously mistyped as The <i>Cookie</i>
Place in a special Disney World guidebook we had bought) were dashed. I’m not
exactly an easy person to find suitable food for…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Dining</u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are two types of restaurants located in both the
hotels and the parks. The first is quick-service, which is basically fast-food.
You place your order for cooked food at a counter, with the potential options
to pick up pastry and yoghurts instantly depending on location, and then go and
collect it when it’s ready. The second is table-service, which is a more
traditional restaurant. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Quick-service restaurants cannot be pre-booked, so it’s
entirely luck-of-the-draw if you can even find a seat if you’re in a park on a
busy day. Fortunately, it’s possible, and even recommended by the staff, for
you to find a table first and then use the <i>My Disney Experience</i> app to
order food, so there is a way to potentially guarantee you can find a seat <i>before</i>
placing your order. Cutlery and plates in all these locations are disposable,
which can make it ‘fun’ depending on what you order and how hard it is to
pierce and cut with plastic forks and knives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While you are encouraged to book seats at table-service
restaurants 60 days in advance, they are still happy to take people turning up
– it’s again just luck-of-the-draw when you’ll be seated. Almost all our
evening meals were within table-service restaurants, with the only exceptions
beyond the day of our arrival being days when we were unable to guarantee what
time we’d be back or had something organised in the evening at the lodge.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ll be covering each of the park restaurants during the
day-by-day section, but I’ll take this opportunity to cover our hotel’s
quick-service restaurant, The Mara. Cooked breakfasts weren’t always options,
depending on which park we were doing (more on that in a minute), but the
instant-serve options were more than decent. Indeed, my mother and I quickly
agreed that their croissants were the best we have ever had outside of France.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We go to France <i>an awful lot</i>, by the way, so that’s
quite some feat!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The lunch / dinner menu was <i>alright</i>. Not special by
any means from my perspective, although my parents quite liked the braai
chicken flatbread, but it filled a hole when it needed to so no complaints
there. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The final things to mention are the reusable mugs offered
for sale within the resort. For $21.99 (before tax), you can get a mug that can
be refilled for free in any quick-service restaurant within any resort you were
staying at (and any you visited at another resort), allowing you infinite
access to soft drinks, water, and even hot drinks during your stay. Since an
individual drink costs about $4 (again, before tax) you’d need to use them four
or five times before they’ve paid for themselves, but if you’re only in a
resort for a day or two at most it’s <i>probably</i> not worth the investment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The mugs themselves are <i>okay</i>, although we found that
the tops showed signs of weakening almost immediately. Fortunately, they
haven’t cracked… yet.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>The Parks</u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are seven themed parks within the confines of Disney
World: Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, Epcot, ESPN’s Wide World of Sports,
Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon. Blizzard Beach and
Typhoon Lagoon take turns opening depending on the time of year, so effectively
there are only six to consider. There’s also the non-theme park shopping
village, Disney Springs, where we enjoyed most of our table-service evening
meals.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone after the intro
blurb that our main two targets of these parks were Animal Kingdom and
Hollywood Studios, and these were the only parks we made deliberate plans to
visit more than once. We reserved Magic Kingdom for one day as well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our tickets allowed us the option to “park hop”. This is a
system that allows guests to visit multiple parks in one day, with park-hoppers
being able to enter their second park after 14:00, provided they have already
visited their first reserved park (so you couldn’t, for example, choose to skip
on Epcot in the morning and cheekily sneak to Hollywood Studios in the
afternoon). We made provisional plans to park hop to Epcot after a half-day in
Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom after the second half-day in Hollywood
Studios.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As you’ll read later, we ended up changing plans somewhat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As resort guests, we were able to enter parks half an hour
before their official opening time. This varies from day-to-day, as each park
has different opening times each day; some days, a park has its full opening at
8:00, other times at 9:00. This is why cooked breakfasts at The Mara weren’t an
option on some days, since if we needed to be gone from the hotel before 7:30,
when cooked breakfasts start being offered, that’s a non-starter immediately.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our main plans for each of the days were as follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li>Friday 21<sup>st</sup>: Animal Kingdom</li><li>Saturday 22<sup>nd</sup>: Animal Kingdom</li><li>Sunday 23<sup>rd</sup>: Kennedy Space Centre</li><li>Monday 24<sup>th</sup>: Hollywood Studios</li><li>Tuesday 25<sup>th</sup>: Universal Studios</li><li>Wednesday 26<sup>th</sup>: Magic Kingdom</li><li>Thursday 27<sup>th</sup>: Hollywood Studios</li><li>Friday 28<sup>th</sup>: Animal Kingdom and departure</li></ul><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Transportation</u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you don’t drive around Disney World, there are various
options you can take. Taxi companies like Mear’s, Uber, and Lyft are available
for hire (including the, in my opinion, <i>brilliantly</i> named “Minnie Vans”
operated by Lyft in conjunction with Disney). Depending on which resort you’re
staying at, you can use unique options like sky cars, boats, and monorails.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise, there are the buses, which are meant to be every
20 minutes. These apparently get something of a bad rap, presumably from people
who like getting from A to B quickly and with as little delay as possible, but
for our purposes they served us very well indeed. There was only one occasion when
I would say it really let us down, but that was for an attempted park-hop and
it proved a better decision to call it quits there and then anyway.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We made use of Mear’s a couple of times and a Lyft once
whenever transport was required to get to another resort, Universal, and Florida
airport. These were decent enough, and I’m quite pleased we were able to keep
costs low by only doing them so often rather than relying on them each day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’d still have quite liked to have been in a Minnie Van just
for the sake of it, but it’s a fair bit costlier so ultimately not worth it,
probably.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 0: Thursday the 20<sup>th</sup><o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our flight was booked for early afternoon UK time, which
proved to be a useful time. Neither I nor my parents slept very well, so we
were grateful to not have to be up at 4:00am to get on a taxi.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While we were held up by quite some time while waiting to check
in at Gatwick due to several dozen groups being allowed through in front of us
due to their flight departing imminently. I can understand one or two groups
turning up so close, but <i>several dozen</i>?! Ugh. Happily, we were able to
get a table at the Gatwick Nando’s immediately upon arrival there due to a
reservation not turning up, so we were able to get a proper meal before
take-off.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I alluded to previously, I am a <i>very</i> picky eater.
I like simple things with very few mixed textures, so I basically never touch
meals offered aboard aircraft except for any accompanying cheese or biscuits if
I know them to be to my liking. A good meal before take-off is something that I
absolutely need to have as a result.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The flight was smooth and uneventful, although I was only
able to get around an hour’s sleep, if that. Still, can’t complain too much. It
got us there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We arrived at the hotel around 8pm local time, which wasn’t
too bad. We checked in, inspected the room briefly, and immediately headed down
to The Mara so that I could get a bite to eat and so that we could buy the
reusable mugs. After some confusion with the menu – there’s one outside but it
isn’t as up to date as the one online is, and the ‘real’ menu is by the counter
– I ordered a plate of chicken tenders. They were alright, albeit a little
tough, but it filled a hole.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 1: Friday the 21<sup>st</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This was the first day we had arranged to be in Animal
Kingdom, and it just so happened that this was also the day when Animal
Kingdom’s early access was open at 7:30am. We didn’t plan on buying Genie+ to
access the lightning lanes, instead opting to just use this day as an
orientation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Upon entry, the first thing we did was head straight for the
Africa section and the Kilimanjaro Safari. This is a short (around 20 minutes)
miniature safari, where you board a safari truck and are taken around the
park’s savanna and some enclosures which can only be accessed in this manner.
The savanna hosts animals such as eland, giraffe, waterbuck, and zebra, with
multiple other grazing species as well, while the enclosures house hippos, nile
crocodiles, rhinos, and lions. Basically, anything that’s safe to let wander
among the trucks is out mingling on the plains while anything that’s dangerous
is sensibly kept away from everything and everyone else.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoCzajcJlqsu-HMAB3KrEYiN2rlVty_3Y8Ji6qFdCU4ZzcEfAwF0SoF86fyapErJ-zwyu0ECPeWZ1Yyx6k7PtmXt0cU2ZUGQRnBuKBak_sqEQjqU4ATOmajTfk_AOkoCbspY_ulmi9Ie_hXLN7pYzqlH5iWn_Frew4oNJKq43ZoF7lzZM-YGZmULlkg/s4000/20221021_100112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoCzajcJlqsu-HMAB3KrEYiN2rlVty_3Y8Ji6qFdCU4ZzcEfAwF0SoF86fyapErJ-zwyu0ECPeWZ1Yyx6k7PtmXt0cU2ZUGQRnBuKBak_sqEQjqU4ATOmajTfk_AOkoCbspY_ulmi9Ie_hXLN7pYzqlH5iWn_Frew4oNJKq43ZoF7lzZM-YGZmULlkg/w640-h360/20221021_100112.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We ended up queuing for about 45 or so minutes, which proved
to be the longest amount of time we would spend in a queue all holiday.
Ultimately, I would say that this queue time was <i>just about </i>worth the
wait, although I wouldn’t want to be queuing for much longer (truth be told, I
personally don’t think anything’s worth queuing for 60 minutes, even if you know
what you’re about to experience). Fortunately, this queue is also well-shaded
so if you are left queuing for long at least you’re kept <i>mostly</i> out of
the scorching Florida sun.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once off the trucks, we entered the nearby Gorilla Falls
walk. After passing some colobus monkeys and a building containing insects that
we weren’t much interested in, we entered a <i>glorious</i> walk-through aviary.
We have a static caravan on a campsite in France which is barely a five-minute
drive away from one of the best zoos in Europe, <i>Bioparc de Doué la Fontaine</i>,
which has some superb walk-through aviaries. The little aviary in Gorilla Falls
wasn’t anywhere near as spectacular as some of theirs (Doué does have the
biggest walk-through aviary in Europe, after all) but it was easily one of the
better ones we’ve been in. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the name suggests, Gorilla Falls features gorillas as its
main feature. They were alright, I guess, but any potential repeat visits would
mainly be to see the aviary again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then headed to a bird display called Feathered Friends in
Flight. It was decent enough for what it was, but again given our history with
seeing phenomenal flight displays “decent” wasn’t entirely satisfactory for us.
They did at least bring out a harpy eagle at the end, which we had never seen
before, and there was some <i>decent</i> humour among all the stuff that
clearly indicated it was done with kids in mind, but not an experience we would
look to repeat. Shame.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another disappointment was the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which
featured tigers and another walk-through aviary. Compared to the one in Gorilla
Falls, this aviary was rather drab, so while it was nice to see a decently
sized tiger enclosure, ultimately this would not be something we would look to
repeat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After this, we tried and failed to secure seating at a
quick-service restaurant called Pizzafari, so we elected to retreat to Jambo
House and have lunch at The Mara. Having discovered just how good their
croissants were at breakfast, I elected to have a couple more instead of
anything warm. Then it was back to the hotel room for an afternoon doze.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For tea we were off to Springs for the first time, so we
took the opportunity to arrive early and just look around. I had a couple of
things on my “looking-to-buy” list, including some form of hat (since my head
is too big for <i>most</i> hat sizes sold in the UK) and a Nala plush, while my
mother had agreed to buy a pair of Minnie ears for her line manager’s daughter.
We couldn’t find anything satisfactory on this outing, but it was still
interesting to see what was being sold.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PY2_OzyihT2pA5EAr7QmIPvg3kUrpCtk9HEIbkd8YP22cJ3jGLCDUkVMYK-vjO0q44kOvRFk_Ak5t0bAsEoWJ9-cyRHFDG4B5OpZ-ihZD4OaWA7H7ATGgwR4rqHRW8lO7GogMbWqoPKA0EyqqW9-a1eVZ06gaufho7d1cKv_N7csl_u_E-SE7FkZsQ/s4000/20221026_184058.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PY2_OzyihT2pA5EAr7QmIPvg3kUrpCtk9HEIbkd8YP22cJ3jGLCDUkVMYK-vjO0q44kOvRFk_Ak5t0bAsEoWJ9-cyRHFDG4B5OpZ-ihZD4OaWA7H7ATGgwR4rqHRW8lO7GogMbWqoPKA0EyqqW9-a1eVZ06gaufho7d1cKv_N7csl_u_E-SE7FkZsQ/w360-h640/20221026_184058.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After a quick hop into an outpost selling merchandise from
Galaxy’s Edge (mostly curiosity, but I was also keen to see if a certain item was being sold after being announced earlier this year…) we passed by Springs’ <i>LEGO</i> store, and I quickly noted
that the Chewbacca statue standing outside it in a group alongside Kylo,
Phasma, Rey, and a Sith Trooper looked <b>very</b> unimpressed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60-th_7WqF2D91YMaXitm8QsuG_tr945ID58F086oduk_Lj_frtDlj2Nd5fSB3FcHkA5CnLqo02wbwDqP8OqPX39COHZ8JQ2nXfO1QTbysuIWBXTWXTp7kPzi0HzIEjVT90FjnvI6xHWrvnAx2CSb5WBVj56hyIr3wj9pc_D7x8yCf5Hj6051D-gBpQ/s3264/20221021_184049.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60-th_7WqF2D91YMaXitm8QsuG_tr945ID58F086oduk_Lj_frtDlj2Nd5fSB3FcHkA5CnLqo02wbwDqP8OqPX39COHZ8JQ2nXfO1QTbysuIWBXTWXTp7kPzi0HzIEjVT90FjnvI6xHWrvnAx2CSb5WBVj56hyIr3wj9pc_D7x8yCf5Hj6051D-gBpQ/w640-h360/20221021_184049.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then it was off to find the Raglan Road pub. This was an
establishment taking design and food inspiration from an Irish pub. While I
cannot verify its veracity in attempting to mimic an Irish pub specifically
design-wise, the interior was very comfortable and looked very authentic as an
old-fashioned pub that you certainly could find within the islands of Britain
and Ireland.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The food was top-notch. I had a <i>spectacular</i> plate of
fish and chips, my mother a plate of bangers and mash, and my father a chicken
pie. We all agreed immediately upon finishing that Raglan Road had set the gold
standard immediately. Venue was fantastic, food excellent, service commendable,
and it even had the added benefit of the entertainers who were treating us to
Irish dancing and music being genuine Northern Irish folks rather than American
actors.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I would happily revisit Raglan Road again should I return to
Orlando, provided it’s still operational of course.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 2: Saturday the 22<sup>nd</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For our second day in Animal Kingdom, we elected to buy
Genie+ to access the lightning lanes for the first time. It was a Saturday, so
of course the American schoolkids were out and about today, and thus things
were busier than they were the day before.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ve touched on Genie+ a bit above, but now that we’re into
the days when we were starting to use it, it’s time to delve into it a bit.
Genie+, as mentioned above, is the retooled Fast Pass system. You purchase it,
you select your ride, and it gives you the nearest available slot with an
hour’s window to arrive in. You can only select one ride at a time, and most
(if not all?) rides you can only use a lane for once, but once you’ve clocked
into that ride with your ticket, you can immediately select the next. Of
course, depending on which ride you’re trying to book and how popular it is,
you could be completely paralysed waiting until the evening and unable to use any
other lightning lane.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At that point it just becomes easier to queue normally,
doesn’t it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alongside the Genie+ lightning lanes are individual
lightning lanes, which are separate from Genie+. These are for specific “big”
rides that you can pay fast pass access for independently, so you can stack up
both kinds of lightning lanes if you wanted. Unlike the regular lightning
lanes, these do offer you specific time slots you can <i>roughly</i> aim for,
although depending on the popularity of said ride you can find your time
changing (including <i>completely selling out</i>) between selecting the
closest window and going to the checkout. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iRJ9HWpagc__jcnzJhMLh4K2aLgoqicLzWmikN-PHLG3XhwIrMv_fBghncokXGJKRPNtFu7rhUq_MSsz1XqQsK-mZU7M-6wye2yu397QBqYeZb3Rqvuc16zAgHcJYVr8EEhyqgTIfUC9NCHej6Kgs860PEu9vNqhZWWL7Yj1k6gs4jShQie3DIbL_Q/s4000/20221022_090400.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iRJ9HWpagc__jcnzJhMLh4K2aLgoqicLzWmikN-PHLG3XhwIrMv_fBghncokXGJKRPNtFu7rhUq_MSsz1XqQsK-mZU7M-6wye2yu397QBqYeZb3Rqvuc16zAgHcJYVr8EEhyqgTIfUC9NCHej6Kgs860PEu9vNqhZWWL7Yj1k6gs4jShQie3DIbL_Q/w640-h360/20221022_090400.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiers-E6Bt6Ka5KkLURs73bVsqDdPYKsCXDav9AMXbo68lPpNWCq10z30JuMuj6oELhWY4W9_X4n2v0e6hgzgQAzDg8Fz_0usnJ1uRHfFIetMyYzlP0fDASo75JKMxp1MyKznjipaQaPiWl6tAEcKDZBZoWbvzf-seiY3vEPDrbjXmQOIFL9yUxfpDQlg/s4000/20221022_090651.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiers-E6Bt6Ka5KkLURs73bVsqDdPYKsCXDav9AMXbo68lPpNWCq10z30JuMuj6oELhWY4W9_X4n2v0e6hgzgQAzDg8Fz_0usnJ1uRHfFIetMyYzlP0fDASo75JKMxp1MyKznjipaQaPiWl6tAEcKDZBZoWbvzf-seiY3vEPDrbjXmQOIFL9yUxfpDQlg/w640-h360/20221022_090651.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were able to secure an 8:25am – 9:25am window for
Kilimanjaro Safari, so we went and did that quickly. Compared to the first
safari, this one was much better – not that the first could be termed “bad”,
but our guide on the second gave new and more information about the animals we
were seeing, and they also got closer to our truck than they did the day
before. There was also a moment where a giraffe chose to stand next to a roadside
cliff in a spot that was a few yards away from the cattle grids, so we had to
wait about 15 minutes for it to decide to move on, during which time one of the
other passengers noticed a wild hawk
sitting on a log and pointed it out.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ll use that as an excuse to say that one thing I had
really been looking forward to was seeing what sort of wild birdlife we might
be able to see out in Florida. I was open to seeing anything, of course, but I
really hoped we’d get to see a bluejay and a cardinal. I <i>think</i> I saw a
cardinal briefly on the 21<sup>st</sup>, but I’m not too sure. It was certainly
a small red bird, but it didn’t stay still long enough for us to see it clearly!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Apart from the hawk and cardinal, other wild birds we saw
out here throughout our holiday were egrets, herons, ibis, turkey vultures, a black
vulture, bald eagles, and even a couple of flying flamingos! Yay!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the safari concluded, we booked ourselves into the
Kali River Rapids ride, which was short but also <i>very</i> wet. Fortunately,
we had brought some decent waterproof ponchos out with us, so while the other
guests in our boat got rather soaked, we managed to stay relatively dry all
things considered.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then booked into something called the Animation
Experience which was offered at a conversation-based section of the park
accessible only by train. This was a short 30-minute session where an official
Disney animator would guide you through the process of drawing an iconic
animated animal character, although they do provide you with a starting
outline. Each session offers a different character, and the character in our
session was Shere Khan.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Would I have preferred a character from <i>The Lion King</i>?
Absolutely, but Shere Khan’s still a character I like and, crucially, is one
that all three of us could identify if asked. Considering just how many
characters that there are in the Disney library, it could have been very easy
to get more obscure (from our perspective) characters like Louis, Flotsam, that
pig from <i>Moana</i>, etc. etc.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This done, we made a second (and this time successful)
attempt to eat at Pizzafari. Since the small pizzas must come with a side like
a small salad or a mandarin, my parents ordered one larger salad between them,
bolstering it with my side salad, while I had a pepperoni pizza. It was
pleasant, and easily the best meal at a quick-service restaurant I had
throughout the holiday.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHWDr3YKDWdo9od8yeoL55LFz4eTTpbaK0fCVAnVWLbFv60q2yL1bBMuj0eHbH00U0ax_qmVq6yRRWUrqyDuHj2KntBp3TAYqB8twhr3PBHB0tvhrYKDvyGsAFEbOnSUrv_BxHBgRXm8b3VPrMhNbeFhceiYbGQSnWu-jiwJgP7rO3oKAQlS92Rx0Yg/s4000/20221022_132458.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHWDr3YKDWdo9od8yeoL55LFz4eTTpbaK0fCVAnVWLbFv60q2yL1bBMuj0eHbH00U0ax_qmVq6yRRWUrqyDuHj2KntBp3TAYqB8twhr3PBHB0tvhrYKDvyGsAFEbOnSUrv_BxHBgRXm8b3VPrMhNbeFhceiYbGQSnWu-jiwJgP7rO3oKAQlS92Rx0Yg/w640-h360/20221022_132458.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then booked into a show called Festival of the Lion King,
which was a live re-enactment of songs from the film dressed up as celebrating
the story of Simba. It boasted some phenomenal singers and dancers, while the few
animatronics that featured were very impressive. Simba was fantastic!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Afterwards, we tried to park-hop to Epcot, but a delayed bus
combined with aching feet caused us to decide to just retreat to the hotel and
see if we could do Epcot another day. As is the way of things, a bus to Epcot
turned up three minutes after we left the queue, with a second one not two
minutes behind that one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Oh well. It was the right decision to head back to the
hotel, I feel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For tea, we were actually heading back to the park we had
left earlier. Rainforest Café is represented by two different establishments in
Walt Disney World; there’s one in Disney Springs, and another (the largest in
the world, apparently) is just by the entrance to Animal Kingdom.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Rainforest Café is one of two restaurants within Disney that
my family and I have eaten at before, in Paris, although I cannot remember much
about that other than I had a yellow t-shirt bearing the image of Nile the
crocodile from its store. The experience was… bizarre.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfJ63xCXychEu7TEXcPwfRmSaLmbqDc8UXI3tVvLzCSs8XW_vFdgdbpo0LNMvcIcmhMDO0DY40-me5TIVidGXtBJGMiFP8oM3oJIiRv83i7pRAsV5DJKKXMP-yJo1l4q6HfKrsOCV27_fGlwjfO4y3DnMXzbE_jva-Bm5WQOa5Ku7DJ8yJNkakjYAdQ/s4000/20221022_180115.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfJ63xCXychEu7TEXcPwfRmSaLmbqDc8UXI3tVvLzCSs8XW_vFdgdbpo0LNMvcIcmhMDO0DY40-me5TIVidGXtBJGMiFP8oM3oJIiRv83i7pRAsV5DJKKXMP-yJo1l4q6HfKrsOCV27_fGlwjfO4y3DnMXzbE_jva-Bm5WQOa5Ku7DJ8yJNkakjYAdQ/w640-h360/20221022_180115.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Aesthetically, Rainforest Café lives up to its name. Its
interior is done up to look like a ‘proper’ rainforest, complete with vines,
trees, and flowers everywhere, and dotted throughout the restaurant are
animatronic chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas, leopards, snakes, and tigers. We
were seated next to an artificial waterfall, which was <i>loud</i>.
Additionally, every 30 minutes the ceiling lights flash and a ‘thunderstorm’
happens, so it’s not the place to eat if you want a quiet, civilised dining
experience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even the staff get in on the action. Whenever someone orders
an item on the menu known as the Sparkling Volcano, its service is announced by
the waiter shouting “VOLLL-CAAAANOOO!” at least twice, sometimes accompanied by
others in their wake, applauding the dish’s journey. I counted twelve volcanos
being delivered in our section of the restaurant, so that was a lot of
“VOLLL-CAAAANOOO!” shouts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had a lovely burger, although the chips weren’t exactly <i>great</i>,
as did my mother (hers was with BBQ sauce, an option I briefly considered
before electing to keep it safer), and my father had some fish and chips. We
left just as the third thunderstorm began, not quite sure what to make of the
entire ordeal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA-bjpKvIw8">At least we didn’t try to visit all 19 establishments across the US and Canada in 21 days…</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 3: Sunday the 23<sup>rd</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This was the first of two days which would take us outside
of Disney World, as we were going to Kennedy Space Centre. You can’t exactly go
all that way and <i>not</i> do it, after all, how many other places can you
visit that are actively involved in going to space?!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This was our earliest start, as we were required to be at
another Disney resort (the Swan & Dolphin) by 7:10am for a pickup. Of
course, the coach didn’t get there until almost half-past. After picking up
several other tourists, off we went. Our tour guide, and some other passengers,
pointed out the odd few gators that were on the side of the road as we neared
Kennedy, but it was during this trip that my mother and I saw the flying
flamingos. Had we been at a different angle, or on the other side of the bus,
we would never have seen them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alligators cannot compare to<i> that</i>!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since guided tours are no longer allowed there, our tour
guide had come up with an advised schedule of places to visit, but my family
and I all took one look at it and disregarded it instantly. I stated earlier
that we’re not ‘big’ on finding rides to do. That’s not to say that we don’t<i>
enjoy</i> rides, but we’re not people who will happily do a ride just for the
sake of it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is relevant to Kennedy because they’ve recently opened
a big building called Gateway which houses three simulators. It wasn’t made
entirely clear to us whether there were more things in there that weren’t
simulator-based, but we weren’t too keen to gamble in finding out. Instead, we
bypassed that building and headed to the Atlantis Space Shuttle building.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZS7RmMUmFc-glTvOiytBBfkkYJbVUP3aBDoS-8tS3y_EEFdSGjK7Zk54aWp5jXB62EJEBCn5Pu-dEYzljq_lEs9yM52ppbVOm_Yi9gMCY7EFzgM7TIGNnDmh1fn-pD4FpceZBr5s61DTLS2LJ-exDfzqB5-3MhsJ4uRn28BylUs7QMei--vNW9-Ydg/s3264/20221023_102743.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLZS7RmMUmFc-glTvOiytBBfkkYJbVUP3aBDoS-8tS3y_EEFdSGjK7Zk54aWp5jXB62EJEBCn5Pu-dEYzljq_lEs9yM52ppbVOm_Yi9gMCY7EFzgM7TIGNnDmh1fn-pD4FpceZBr5s61DTLS2LJ-exDfzqB5-3MhsJ4uRn28BylUs7QMei--vNW9-Ydg/w640-h360/20221023_102743.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fun fact! Did you know that a “space shuttle” is not <i>just</i>
the white rocket-cum-glider that gets propelled into space atop the giant
orange fuel pod? We didn’t! We’d just always been led to believe that the rocket-glider,
which is known as the orbiter, was the shuttle, but that’s really the name of
the <i>entire</i> thing, fuel pod and booster rockets included.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There, that’s some education if you didn’t know that fact
already!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Atlantis exhibition was incredible, and it was great to
be able to get up close to the orbiter. We were able to hop onto the back of a
guided tour, which did admittedly start two minutes early, which was
fascinating – did you know that the black sections are mainly made up of <b>124,000</b>
little black foam panels, each of them injected by hand with water-repellent? Fascinating
stuff!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since it was part of the wider exhibition and not just by
itself, we also checked out the “Shuttle Launch Experience” simulator, which
was quite fun. The simulator really rotates 90-degrees vertically, so you can
experience the take-off like you would while in an orbiter, and it was very
impressive. These simulators are phenomenal at emulating momentum!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was in the Atlantis gift shop that I finally found a cap
that could extend big enough to fit my head, so I now have a <i>NASA</i> hat.
Yay.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV47RP8G3WYIj1gp3po0GK_Z4C3rXuIggFP4Xio7xBWks44JrzeEJ8dMdatSY8wBad5CkJlgm-mfZvJBBUZ9Cgp40eBoBgg-kN2zs6zKeZP9lu0XdSwz3IKuEYXpf58FZTZU-1fFJcFHbAgbGPW5acdXTxCXGdz4CWZm_eYmrbuz8VH8WYgHFYEI73OA/s3264/20221023_124531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV47RP8G3WYIj1gp3po0GK_Z4C3rXuIggFP4Xio7xBWks44JrzeEJ8dMdatSY8wBad5CkJlgm-mfZvJBBUZ9Cgp40eBoBgg-kN2zs6zKeZP9lu0XdSwz3IKuEYXpf58FZTZU-1fFJcFHbAgbGPW5acdXTxCXGdz4CWZm_eYmrbuz8VH8WYgHFYEI73OA/w640-h360/20221023_124531.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then boarded a bus to go and see the Apollo / Saturn V
building, as well as have some lunch, and it was great to see both a flight
control room and an actual Saturn V rocket, split into its various stages. Lunch
was alright, although signage could have been improved: there are two counters,
one for a custom-made sandwich, and the other for quick pick-ups like chicken
strips, hot dogs, and burgers, and you would be forgiven for thinking that you
had to go via the sandwich counter to access the other.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and the sandwich counter was <i>really</i> slow at
serving customers as well. Joy!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Back at the main complex, we paid a quick stop to the rocket
garden before heading to buy some ice creams while waiting for a talk by a
former astronaut named Mark Lee. His talk was fascinating, and I can only
imagine what it must be like to be someone who has been to space four times.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After all that, it was time to head home. The tour guide had
brought some DVDs in the form of a <i>Shrek </i>boxset for the kids to enjoy
while on the journey, so for the first time in well over a decade we watched
the first <i>Shrek</i> film. No iconic “Some<i>body</i> once told me” moment,
though, as the guide evidently forgot or didn’t realise that if you leave a DVD
menu idle for long enough, the film starts playing, and it was on mute until
about twenty minutes in.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ah, well. There are worse ways to pass the time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Back at Jambo House and The Mara, I just had a couple of
croissants again. My father had a braai chicken flatbread, and my mother had a
Caesar salad if I recall correctly. It filled a hole.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 4: Monday the 24<sup>th</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The time had come to visit Hollywood Studios and Galaxy’s
Edge. We bought Genie+ and secured a <i>Millennium Falcon</i>: Smuggler’s Run
slot between 10:50am and 11:50am, and I had attempted to secure an individual
lightning lane option for the big ride, Rise of the Resistance, only for the
opportunity to be snatched away almost instantaneously. It had booked <i>that</i>
fast.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Still, we headed in just a short while after early access
opened at 8:30am, early enough that Star Tours only had a 5-minute standby
queue. Against advice from my mother, who was keener that we get to Galaxy’s
Edge, we hopped in and got to experience the updated Star Tours experience for
the first time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If, like me, your only experience with Star Tours was in the
past, here’s what they’ve changed, at least in the Orlando version. RX-24, the
pilot in the original version, has been retired, his place taken by AC-pilot
droids such as AC-38. Of course, shenanigans occur so AC-38 isn’t the <i>actual</i>
pilot – that job befalls an unfortunate C-3PO, who was onboard performing
maintenance when the take-off systems engaged.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The experience takes you across journeys inspired by the
most recent films, so you visit Jakku during the <i>Millennium Falcon</i>
chase, can encounter Kylo Ren, help the Resistance out on Crait or Exegol, etc.
etc. Upon exiting the ride for the first time, I remarked that they had missed
a trick; the ride seemingly always stopped in Batuu, the planet Galaxy’s Edge
is themed around, and Star Tours is still located outside of it. Of course,
they couldn’t relocate the exit to the new park, that’s just obscene given the
distance, but a later ride also revealed that there was <i>another</i> ending
which lands you back in the same spaceport the ride began from so, ultimately,
I can entirely forgive that aspect of things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It's not like it was purposely built to be the way it is and
still miss out on delivering a ‘proper’ entry to the main park or anything. Who’d
do something like that, eh?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then entered Galaxy’s Edge and were confronted with the
prospect of a 90-minute queue for Rise. If you can recall the first queue time
I mentioned for the Kilimanjaro Safaris, you’ll realise that this never came to
pass; we were in and out within 50 minutes, and the ride’s a good 10 – 12
minutes!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvriZAmlbrUGyPlL8y6ZgGq5Xp5vnkVo2FQ4I0ROnLolsU4P0Lm9hIvnwNCYzAI6usqXbDI1IrxjL9dGMWKwmdcGQEecbSzJ62hY-qBDj5PYx2lmABny1nwaAIP2xtFioGaWippF54kWC3gLJsBHdaLkWYrKCJFN_bTZhTyPbgeBKphcmWHFX4Mz7lg/s4000/20221024_091059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxvriZAmlbrUGyPlL8y6ZgGq5Xp5vnkVo2FQ4I0ROnLolsU4P0Lm9hIvnwNCYzAI6usqXbDI1IrxjL9dGMWKwmdcGQEecbSzJ62hY-qBDj5PYx2lmABny1nwaAIP2xtFioGaWippF54kWC3gLJsBHdaLkWYrKCJFN_bTZhTyPbgeBKphcmWHFX4Mz7lg/w640-h360/20221024_091059.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Rise of the Resistance is easily my favourite ride from any park I’ve ever been in. To break down the series of events:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The ride-goers play the parts of Resistance recruits,
en-route to a secret base helmed by General Leia Organa. After getting a
briefing from Rey (Daisy Ridley’s image brilliantly being projected to look
like a very convincing hologram!) and being introduced to Lieutenant Bek and
fan-favourite pilot Nien Nunb, you board a transport piloted by animatronics of
the latter two characters. You’re escorted off-planet by a replacement <i>Black
One</i> (since the original was destroyed in <i>The Last Jedi</i>) and a couple
of other T-70s, with Oscar Isaac reprising his role as Poe Dameron.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUXVG2ZbhChW15RVSQNL5dVyenTM8LD5sOdQdAEuDluAzw5KoayVRf8fEN99b8uBh-wrJuwESwiCPA5cmdiVrvXUokxUfcxZysthWfjitrXQpMfosudzURLhDPKkyBkalorHJeQhBBEctfK4sqKrX3wAzI1Z1rHRJ_BcRnaY-eOGgR697PgCK1n4MEw/s4000/20221027_091712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUXVG2ZbhChW15RVSQNL5dVyenTM8LD5sOdQdAEuDluAzw5KoayVRf8fEN99b8uBh-wrJuwESwiCPA5cmdiVrvXUokxUfcxZysthWfjitrXQpMfosudzURLhDPKkyBkalorHJeQhBBEctfK4sqKrX3wAzI1Z1rHRJ_BcRnaY-eOGgR697PgCK1n4MEw/w640-h360/20221027_091712.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Your transport encounters First Order TIEs, which destroy
the red shirts accompanying Poe, and you’re caught in a tractor beam that drags
you back into a hangar. The transport doors open, and rather than the opposite
doors to the side you enter opening to make it <i>appear</i> that you’ve moved
when you really haven’t, the doors you just entered through open again and you <i>really
have moved</i>. You’re now in a First Order hangar, complete with dozens of
animatronics dressed up as stormtroopers and cast members representing harsh
First Order officers barking orders at you, their prisoners.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05-jhPbvbEovOlLT3jGudGWWw-NN1guOIyNItCQ39cNbQhsZ_A86bzcpYQ88V-NDL-QV00FMkoA1phuyETlud5fgj6vv3cHKDBSTowkMDB5WoBNhYq_75vKTQtbAbCewKOBQ2eE_gglj2rAYMVv0b76ZQcE_uaAmMM-VO319xkVrJM9ifVa_52cHiuA/s4000/20221024_091505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi05-jhPbvbEovOlLT3jGudGWWw-NN1guOIyNItCQ39cNbQhsZ_A86bzcpYQ88V-NDL-QV00FMkoA1phuyETlud5fgj6vv3cHKDBSTowkMDB5WoBNhYq_75vKTQtbAbCewKOBQ2eE_gglj2rAYMVv0b76ZQcE_uaAmMM-VO319xkVrJM9ifVa_52cHiuA/w360-h640/20221024_091505.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This must be the <i>best</i> ride to be a cast member on.
You get to be rude and obnoxious entirely within character, so if ever you get
frustrated at someone you can’t break any “happy smiley Disney employee” façade
in griping at them. They take you to a cell, and after a projection of General
Hux and Kylo Ren plays (Domnhall Gleeson returns as Hux, but I don’t know for
sure who portrayed Ren – he’s in his <i>Force Awakens</i> look the entire time
despite having ditched it by the time this is set) where they announce they
will get the location of the base from you, the cell wall is “cut away” and
you’re freed by cast members representing Resistance members.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">They direct you to two carts, each piloted by an R5 droid,
and John Boyega's Finn, undercover as a stormtrooper, contacts you to announce the strategy
from here on out. Your droids will take you to elevators that lead to escape
pods, and then you’ll head back down to Batuu. Of course, things don’t go
exactly to plan…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I won’t go into too much detail of what happens after this
point (seriously, <i>go experience it</i>) but it’s really good fun. It’s
fast-paced but doesn’t feel <i>too</i> fast, and there’s an excellent moment
towards the end once you do get aboard the escape pod. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We left Rise of the Resistance having thoroughly enjoyed the
experience. We did acknowledge there and then that we were fortunate, and I
overheard one chap telling his family that he had been queuing for it for 90
minutes once, and it had been a “long” 90 minutes. To be in and out within 50
was, comparatively, phenomenal.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsyxeiI4LLjm0t59kFNuCEBviDkJ0icT_7QBVzlHE9PAsaPX5u2_ASVHsCfeoyuT5QPwv3HfzqkOAEynxbR-YGvUuD6Gm6j73ib884iF52FVumk5fUHM5A0p9UBIbEADwnmZx_P8unnJ0V9KTYltxaS5PyB7uStPFZ0HxeFkyCGR-2LDC3OrTbQDphA/s4000/20221024_093936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsyxeiI4LLjm0t59kFNuCEBviDkJ0icT_7QBVzlHE9PAsaPX5u2_ASVHsCfeoyuT5QPwv3HfzqkOAEynxbR-YGvUuD6Gm6j73ib884iF52FVumk5fUHM5A0p9UBIbEADwnmZx_P8unnJ0V9KTYltxaS5PyB7uStPFZ0HxeFkyCGR-2LDC3OrTbQDphA/w640-h360/20221024_093936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We had some time to kill between getting off Rise and
heading to the <i>Falcon</i> ride, so we walked through the bazaar before
coming across the to-scale replica of the <i>Millennium Falcon</i> herself that
takes pride-of-place in the main part of the park. She was beautiful to behold,
and this was also the first opportunity we had to take advantage of our ticket
having Memory Maker built-in – this meant that we could sidle up to an official
Disney photographer and, using one of our tickets, link the photos they take to
our account so that we could access and download them later. So, we now have
photographs of ourselves in front of the <i>Falcon</i>, which is brilliant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Although time was coming up to check into the <i>Falcon</i>
ride, I insisted that we stop off via Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, which is
one of several shops in the area. This is where you can get things like
holocrons (the Jedi one has Obi-Wan’s message from <i>Rebels</i> playing), some
costume pieces, and other miscellaneous items from, but there was one thing I
had eyes for.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">See, this shop sells something known as “legacy
lightsabers”. These are lightsabers which are based on the films and TV series,
even paying enough attention to the concept art for Asajj Ventress’ planned
return in <i>The Clone Wars</i>, from which her lightsaber was repurposed into
the second half of Maul’s lightsaber in series 7, to sell two versions of the same
saber, one with a red crystal, the other with a yellow crystal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When planning our visit initially, I had no intentions of
buying anything significant in this store. After all, I already had an Obi-Wan
Force FX saber from a few years ago, so no reason to invest in another version
of it, and while I love Leia’s saber from <i>The Rise of Skywalker</i>, I don’t
think I love it that much. So, no, no lightsabers for—<i>waitaminute</i>
they’re adding Plo Koon’s lightsaber to the line-up, <i>and</i> in time for our
visit?!<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nQENskYCO4iLiaCcgnrv3NukgD5A1yYVVvwoKNn-sH3FBot_eCy1G1EVqAkTc29J4UT06zwq3_A6NT6U1AbkhafSiCUsM95iPv4UambA649gUR0yXTWBXET0Xi9jc5-AA8mfnchMMuQQBmeLC9j_qCFWopDw9_A72ZNYOWmByB_XU24XmXNwjR5m8g/s4000/20221024_154654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nQENskYCO4iLiaCcgnrv3NukgD5A1yYVVvwoKNn-sH3FBot_eCy1G1EVqAkTc29J4UT06zwq3_A6NT6U1AbkhafSiCUsM95iPv4UambA649gUR0yXTWBXET0Xi9jc5-AA8mfnchMMuQQBmeLC9j_qCFWopDw9_A72ZNYOWmByB_XU24XmXNwjR5m8g/w640-h360/20221024_154654.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Even if this saber weren’t Master Plo’s, this design has
always been one of my favourite hilts from the prequel era. I remember fondly a
toy <i>Hasbro</i> saber from the <i>Attack of the Clones </i>range that was
meant to be Mace Windu’s, but it was either put into production <i>before</i>
the design for his lightsaber was finalised or that design was too hard to
replicate, as the hilt was instead based on the design worn by Samuel L.
Jackson during <i>The Phantom Menace</i>, that being the same basic design as
Plo Koon’s.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It's therefore great to be able to purchase a more
realistically scaled, metal, and blue-bladed version of the hilt, and it being
Plo Koon’s specific hilt (unique for having the blue bits around the emitter
ring) is just the icing on the cake. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfm_ro1uiWVEZpvyXM05vUpfk4VF-A2YX61TmPhPi0dblE2cWLW4nkNGbp9kGF9c936FeqsAKD7a7w2j9hvG7XxXwD6r3QsYRODI3z_OwMCg0IuB4povuZ-Y4GVPpMgPkpIn3s88sLsjEUufa5rJbZdSi9ypCi42LXV417_63RaHNsWIsCQ1Xfj3DwbA/s4000/20221024_100935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfm_ro1uiWVEZpvyXM05vUpfk4VF-A2YX61TmPhPi0dblE2cWLW4nkNGbp9kGF9c936FeqsAKD7a7w2j9hvG7XxXwD6r3QsYRODI3z_OwMCg0IuB4povuZ-Y4GVPpMgPkpIn3s88sLsjEUufa5rJbZdSi9ypCi42LXV417_63RaHNsWIsCQ1Xfj3DwbA/w640-h360/20221024_100935.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That done, we finally made our way to the <i>Falcon </i>ride,
which is an interactive ride where ride-goers are hired by none other than
Hondo Ohnaka to fly the <i>Falcon</i> on a mission. I don’t know if there are
different ones, but the one we went on has you steal some coaxium from a
shipment.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How it works is that there are six guests per ride: two
pilots, two gunners, and two engineers. Each person has specific things to do,
which basically amount to “hit button / pull switch” when prompted, although
things will still happen even if you don’t do the things when prompted.
Notably, we entered hyperspace despite the main pilot (unfortunately for her,
my mother) not noticing the iconic lever lighting up.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I <i>miiiiight</i> have taken advantage of my position of
co-pilot (seemingly as far as the ride was concerned, at any rate; according to
the layout in the films, my position was main pilot) and pulled it the second
time. C’mon, it’s like one of <i>the</i> most iconic things that you can do.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, this was not a ride that we felt was worth a
repeat. It’s the sort of thing where if you’re a larger family group you can
guarantee that at least a couple of people will be doing something different by
organising the order in which you queue beforehand, but in a smaller group
where you’ll be paired with other people it’s much harder to predict how things
will play out. The pilot job is easily the most desirable, so I can see some
really hardcore fans wanting to do it until they land that role, but otherwise…
yeah. Fun to do once, and that’s about it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Hondo animatronic was really good, though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having some time to kill, we booked into an immediate
lightning lane slot for Star Tours, which mercifully was different from the
previous one, and went and had some lunch. It was passable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then it was back into Galaxy’s Edge for the first of two experiences
I had booked for myself: the Droid Depot. Here, attendees can build either a BB
or an R-series astromech using a series of parts. I opted to build an R-series
droid, having already done some research to find out what pieces were available
in what colours. There was a purple R2 dome I liked, and since none of the
black, blue, or red body parts would have worked well with it (in my view), I
chose a simple white body and set of legs.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf63YXqgpU5i2ivvTu19Jh5v5MFWhscBfcI6I3hoi6AZJX-NeZaNRm8KN0d0RvsW5Bjm3oGi4Ul6DczCKHMIxozdaAsxeHLP15fAQtl9vm83oIh7WsL7NJt9Gm66LFz1T9VHhUcp_TO6KJtemKBNYdAmwQWlkSM8K-Y3XEZNbJ8Oca1g0ijaDe55AyIA/s3264/20221024_115839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf63YXqgpU5i2ivvTu19Jh5v5MFWhscBfcI6I3hoi6AZJX-NeZaNRm8KN0d0RvsW5Bjm3oGi4Ul6DczCKHMIxozdaAsxeHLP15fAQtl9vm83oIh7WsL7NJt9Gm66LFz1T9VHhUcp_TO6KJtemKBNYdAmwQWlkSM8K-Y3XEZNbJ8Oca1g0ijaDe55AyIA/w640-h360/20221024_115839.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How all this works is that, once checked in, you are given a
basket and told to stand by a conveyor belt where the main parts of all droids
are going past. You may see several C-series, R-series, or BB-series parts go
past before you find even your first piece. I was quite lucky in that I had
everything but the middle leg sorted within a minute, and three minutes later
three white middle legs showed up.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Always the way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then it was off to a build station, where you are guided in
the process by a cast member. Here, you can also pick up side panels for the
legs and the interface arms, although again you can only get white, red, and
blue bits for free. Extra panels (including those which are included on the
droid by default) in different colours can be bought for an additional fee, and
since there sadly were no purple options, I chose metallic pink.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLUsty_8HukLJzmcrY1GD3gVcf9ZgBUxy3r0IT64WpUyp6vTu3ViNqJWgvF8KMOxF-GN9EoiZfwQVDENXUQSl2s5li1ZKosqIB73I3bpAlFEjSHJwrF4OYJFuOrLIVInG-T8vl3bA1rex1hfh768QIz7TimUEv4lbbEfFnAQ0mKQrXUX1oy_SM7jVlA/s4000/20221024_154539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLUsty_8HukLJzmcrY1GD3gVcf9ZgBUxy3r0IT64WpUyp6vTu3ViNqJWgvF8KMOxF-GN9EoiZfwQVDENXUQSl2s5li1ZKosqIB73I3bpAlFEjSHJwrF4OYJFuOrLIVInG-T8vl3bA1rex1hfh768QIz7TimUEv4lbbEfFnAQ0mKQrXUX1oy_SM7jVlA/w360-h640/20221024_154539.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It works better than the blue and metallic green options, at
least! Silver bits might have been interesting, but probably too close to the
white…</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once this was done, we had a good hour to wait until the
second experience. We just sat somewhere <i>relatively</i> shady and observed
all that was going on. During this time, I overheard a group of people
complaining about the staleness of the current films’ era (since Galaxy’s Edge
is purely about the sequel trilogy, it’s not the sort of thing you can escape
from if you aren’t a fan of the films, so this debate is probably on a lot of
people’s minds) and opined that the story of <i>The Old Republic</i> was more
interesting. One chap even name-dropped Vitiate, which was fun, although – it must
be said – dangit, Vitiate, <i>you’re dead</i>, stop getting everywhere!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Time rolled around, as it does, and it was time for the
second experience: Savi’s Workshop. This is where you build your very own
lightsaber, and the experience couldn’t be more different than Droid Depot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In Droid Depot, you may be left waiting in a long queue
while people register and are taken to select parts for their droid(s) on an
individual basis. It could easily be that building the droid is the shortest
part of the whole thing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With Savi’s Workshop, you go in as a group, so you’re
waiting with others, not just <i>for</i> others, and the experience itself is kept
quite tightly timed. There is very little world-building within Droid Depot,
which makes sense as a droid is quite utilitarian, but with Savi they have this
entire backstory for how the proprietors have been gathering bits and pieces of
lightsabers to continue the legacy of the Jedi. Heck, they even allow you to
select a red crystal (although the current canon lore suggests such things aren’t
possible without bleeding the crystal first… yeah, it’s confusing) because, except
for Kylo Ren, red crystals being synonymous with the dark side is considered
history.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Back in 2005, I owned a “build-a-lightsaber” electronic toy.
This basically amounted to a tube with batterys and a bulb that you slid various
parts onto to create a hilt. It even came with different crystals, although
these only impacted the sound, not the colour of the blade which was defined by
one of three colour wheels you could rest on the light source. I was anticipating
this experience to be similar, and it <i>mostly</i> was.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When checking into the experience, you are asked to look at a
parts list. There are four ‘archetypes’ of saber you can choose from, each with
enough parts to (in-theory) build two distinct lightsabers. They are Peace and
Justice, Power and Control, Elemental Nature, and Protection and Defense (<i>sic.</i>).
Since these parts are mostly all represented in <i>Jedi: Fallen Order</i>, I
had had plenty of opportunity while playing that game to identify my favourite
aesthetic, and I went with Elemental Nature.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q5JMwWhfL4VymlJG_Sk9qodUEiBj10RtpX6cfP15hkS0kHcpRYF9rMeic6eEzm9BGLw1v_7tiBXwlc1z_GOyxXGxIMsULyYWjQ5NIo1XhRKXdjLS5_uYUXy7zvfOCcgTnbK6_UC9bBGbI2exddfnbzUfFG2Mq54DcQI7TfWIEi1s6bzOzDtkjh7vcA/s4000/20221024_154647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q5JMwWhfL4VymlJG_Sk9qodUEiBj10RtpX6cfP15hkS0kHcpRYF9rMeic6eEzm9BGLw1v_7tiBXwlc1z_GOyxXGxIMsULyYWjQ5NIo1XhRKXdjLS5_uYUXy7zvfOCcgTnbK6_UC9bBGbI2exddfnbzUfFG2Mq54DcQI7TfWIEi1s6bzOzDtkjh7vcA/w640-h360/20221024_154647.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annoyingly, things don't align quite as perfectly as they should: after this photo was taken, I was at least able to get the <i>majority</i> of panels aligned, but it's still not centred to the switch... oh well!</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When your chosen parts are delivered to you, the first thing
you are allowed to do is select your crystal; blue, green, purple, or red. I
chose blue. You slot this in, build the switch around it, and begin screwing handgrip
sleeves around it, capping the relevant ends with pommel and emitter. Then your
hilt gets inserted into a long tube resting by your workstation, you press the switch,
and you see the blade that your hilt just got attached to ignite.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All this is very clever, and I love how they were able to
come up with a way of making the crystal you choose define the colour of your blade
(you can, <i>of course</i>, buy another if you don’t get the crystal you wanted
or fancy an alternative). Is that RFID tech, or whatever it is? Regardless, it’s
so cool to experience that moment in the flesh and I would encourage everyone
reading this to at least look up a video of that moment if you haven’t already
experienced it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This done, we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon
slump before we were off to Springs again. Sadly, my meal wasn’t quite as nice
as I had been hoping; City Works Eatery & Pour House is a nice
establishment, especially if you’re a fan of alcohol – they have 80 beers on
tap! – and my parents thoroughly enjoyed their meals, but the burger I ordered
sadly wasn’t quite as I like them. I don’t like onions within my beef, and
maybe I missed that it had them, so… yeah. I won’t hold it against them, as I
know how easy I am to put off.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Before I move on to Tuesday, I want to provide a little
summary of my thoughts on Galaxy’s Edge. <o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5Ll-rrMw2cRLAuYMs4j_e5dZ6TQx3mDmBUp5L7C7OsZmb9RvoEVD1pD-dH5JLPn4C0IeUWBvIn4cD6oQIaHynAL9WUVCn26ACsATPezYNxxPm3PeGcbP0bHzd5TPpPIBE-f9zBOiucmp6Bfzj6XC5sNuHtiu-rQkBHpPmucKdPCtl95j1yjAm10UQQ/s4000/20221027_094814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5Ll-rrMw2cRLAuYMs4j_e5dZ6TQx3mDmBUp5L7C7OsZmb9RvoEVD1pD-dH5JLPn4C0IeUWBvIn4cD6oQIaHynAL9WUVCn26ACsATPezYNxxPm3PeGcbP0bHzd5TPpPIBE-f9zBOiucmp6Bfzj6XC5sNuHtiu-rQkBHpPmucKdPCtl95j1yjAm10UQQ/w640-h360/20221027_094814.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Aesthetically, the park is glorious, of course it is. It’s so
very alien compared to the rest of Hollywood Studios, and just seeing a T-70,
RZ-2, TIE Echelon, and of course the <i>Falcon</i> parked up is incredible. You’ve
also got various droids dotted around, particularly at the depot, as well as
speeders. The themed food I’m sure is okay, but when I looked at the menu there
was very little there that I thought I would be comfortable eating, so we gave
that a pass.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was quite fun to see Chewie, Rey, the unique Galaxy’s Edge
character Vi Moradi, and a couple of stormtroopers patrolling around. No Kylo
that I saw, though. Shame. Honestly, the weirdest thing about it to me was just
the bizarre clash with the in-universe time frame that the whole thing has. The
park itself takes clear inspiration from <i>The Force Awakens</i> given the <i>Falcon</i>
has her rectangular radar dish and Kylo has his full shawled look, but Rey’s in
her <i>Last Jedi</i> look (albeit with her <i>Force Awakens</i> hairstyle) and
there is also as mentioned an RZ-2 A-wing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Rise of the Resistance is the most bizarre by far. This is set
between <i>Last Jedi</i> and <i>Rise of Skywalker</i>, as Rey, Finn, and Poe
are all fully-fledged members of the Resistance, and yet <i>Black One</i> is
still intact, as is Kylo’s helmet, and again Kylo’s in his <i>TFA</i> garb. I
get that they must try and keep everything together and not have too many
things out-of-place with each other (I can see some kids being confused why
Kylo’s look changes between Rise and seeing him in the park, for example), but
it is confusing when trying to put everything together in-universe. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was asked by my guild to report back on whether I felt it
was underwhelming and over-expensive as reports had indicated, and my feelings are
as follows:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Underwhelming:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now, here, I don’t feel I can provide a satisfactory answer
to this report. I’ve concluded that the most likely candidates who have
reported feeling this way are <i>probably</i> any of the following types of
people:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li>Anyone who visited before Rise, back when Smuggler’s Run was
the only ride.</li><li>Anyone who expects to be doing multiple rides in short order
(i.e., 30-minute queues at most).</li><li>Anyone who likes rollercoasters most of all rides.</li><li>Anyone who wants the park to be focused on anything other than
the Sequel Trilogy.</li><li>Anybody who hopes that Galaxy’s Edge is a day-long enterprise
or would almost certainly leave something to come back to.</li><li>Anyone who doesn’t like an absolute onslaught of gift shops
(seriously, there are <i>so many</i>).</li></ul><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you are any of the above people, I can <i>completely</i>
understand why you would find Galaxy’s Edge underwhelming. It’s not the sort of
thing you’d be able to structure an entire holiday around, as even if you get
into the longest queues for Rise and Smuggler’s Run, you’d still be done within
three, four hours, not counting experiences or time spent shopping.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">From our perspective, Galaxy’s Edge felt just about right. We
never felt bored or uninterested, even during the times when we were just
sitting down for a good while. There’s just so much to soak in, and if you’re
the sort of person who is just content to get on something you enjoy in
moderately good time the rides are perfectly okay. Rise is phenomenal, although
again I wouldn’t want to be waiting for much longer than 45 minutes, and since
we had another day booked into Hollywood Studios, we all agreed it was worth
doing again when we returned.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Over-expensive:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now, here, I do agree with the sentiment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The thing to consider with taxes in America compared to the
UK is that the final price of product you’re buying will only be calculated
once you’re at the checkout. The price you see on websites, menus, and shelves
is all <i>pre</i>-tax. So, a droid that costs $120 ends up costing almost $140,
and so on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here’s how I would break down the value of the items I
purchased, which came to about $650:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Plo Koon legacy hilt: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Excellent</i> value. Post-tax, this came to $180, which (at
the moment!) is around £154.99. For context, the currently available roster of
Force FX lightsabers (which are <i>basically</i> the same thing) are all over
£200 on uk.hasbropulse.com – the cheapest being a Darth Revan one for £249.99 (although
one is listed as sold out for £215.99… confusing!) and the most expensive being
Luke and Obi-Wan’s hilts both for £299.99.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Getting an exclusive hilt that has only ever been replicated
by independent companies like Ultrasabers for almost £100 cheaper than even the
cheapest Force FX saber seems like an absolute bargain to me. £300 for a
lightsaber… <i>yeesh</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Droid Depot: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My droid, R2-JN4, is adorable, but she was also easily the
worst value purchase in my mind. It doesn’t help that there is nothing really
to compare it to of a similar size and function, unlike the lightsabers, so
maybe it’s not as bad as I feel it is.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To break it down, the droid herself was $140 post-tax, but I
also purchased a bag and a (in retrospect unnecessary) personality chip, both
of which brought the total cost of the droid herself to $207, or around £178. The
bag was a useful purchase, to be sure, as it meant that R2 could travel back
with me as hand-luggage, but I do feel it’s very cheeky to ask people to buy it.
Savi’s Workshop provides carrycases for its sabers for no added cost!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The little accessory pack of panels for $13 was decent value
for what it was, I feel, although again I’m still a bit disappointed they weren’t
done in purple. At least they did the droid dome with purple parts!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Savi’s Workshop:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Considering how expensive some of the Force FX sabers were
as listed above, getting a personalised (in as much as you can call a saber
that likely dozens of people each week replicate in some form “personalised”)
lightsaber for $247, or £212, doesn’t seem too bad. Even the additional
crystals you can buy, retailing around $20, aren’t <i>too</i> bad considering
they’re a neat bit of kit and even outside of the lightsaber can be an
interesting conversation piece.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, unlike the Droid Depot, I would say that if the
cost is inflated because of the experience, I would say that it’s worth it. It
feels much more impressive and should end up being memorable for good reasons rather
than because you had to wait 20 minutes for a 10 minute build and not much else.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Plus, the Elemental Nature hilt I chose has some aesthetic
similarities to my favourite lightsaber hilt in <i>SWTOR</i>, so that’s an
extra plus!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All-in-all, while I would agree that Galaxy’s Edge can be
horrendously overpriced (I say, having spent almost $700 across just five
receipts; imagine what an entire <i>family</i> could rack up, with meals, costume
bits, all the kids getting droids…), I am not personally of the opinion that it
is underwhelming. I can see why people say it is, and I would like there to be
more added, but it seemed just about the right sort of size for us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Universal Studios, on the other hand…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 5: Tuesday the 25<sup>th</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">…<b><i>definitely</i></b> hit the “underwhelming” button on
us. <b><i>Hard</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so, <i>Harry Potter</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Growing up, <i>HP</i> was an on-and-off love of mine. I grew
up loving the books, fell a bit out-of-favour with the franchise around the
time the <i>Goblet of Fire</i> movie released, but found myself re-engrossed in
it with all subsequent book and film releases.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Which, of course, makes it hard to really come to terms with
how things have developed outside of the main books. A disappointing spin-off
franchise that makes some <i>very</i> questionable decisions here, real-world
issues surrounding the author there, and <i>Potter</i> has taken a severe
nose-dive in recent years. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I will always love the main series of books and films for
what they were to me growing up, but ultimately it is time to move on. I’m not
going to make a grand spectacle of it, since after all I am but one person, but
I think it is best for my peace of mind that I do just retreat from it and hope
that eventually things die down.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, it also would have felt a bit of a shame
to go all the way to Orlando and not at least <i>see</i> the <i>Potter</i>
section of the park. As a behind-the-scenes geek for films and TV shows, the Warner
Bros. studio tour is something that I absolutely loved (seriously, I <i>love</i>
film exhibits – I’m not sure if <i>Star Wars Identities</i> is still going, but
I heartily recommend everyone reading this to go to that if it is!), so I was
keen to at least see how an ‘actual’ replication of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade
would compare to what I had already seen.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To begin with, the entire experience ticked me off because
it <b><i>really</i></b> missed a trick. Remember how I said how disappointing
it initially seemed that Star Tours ended on Batuu without spitting you out
there, and how I could forgive that because it wasn’t purpose-built for that
effect?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What’s the first thing any serious <i>Potter</i> fan will
tell you about the brick wall that leads to Diagon Alley? It’s at the back of
the Leaky Cauldron pub. How do you get to it in Universal? Just through a very badly
indicated hole in a wall (seriously, you could walk past it and just mistake it
as a nook with a fun exhibit or something inside) with any entrances to the
Leaky Cauldron being inside Diagon Alley itself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I get that they wouldn’t want thousands of people each day
crowding through the eating area of the Leaky Cauldron, but why not dedicate a
special large section purely for queuing that still had the authentic feel?
Just feels like a massive missed opportunity there, as all this <b>is</b>
purpose-built and otherwise tries its damnedest to seem authentic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Diagon Alley itself is <i>okay</i>. It doesn’t compare at
all to the studio tour, largely because it lacks the “wonder” factor about how
they got all that from set to screen. This is purpose-built to be a spectacle, and
for anyone who hasn’t done the tour I can 100% get the “wonder” factor existing
for them, but it did absolutely nothing for me. We got ice creams at Florean
Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, which were decent, and again just sat and
watched the world go by.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Unlike in Galaxy’s Edge, where you are strongly encouraged
to pre-book for droids and lightsabers, I don’t know if it’s even possible to
do so for Ollivander’s, which had long queues snaking out the door as people
were waiting their turn. It’s something of a shame, as it would have been quite
interesting to see inside, but it wouldn’t have been worth the queue just to
turn around without buying anything and say “well, that was interesting, off we
go!” as we certainly would have done. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At this juncture, I’ll talk about the rides which Universal
offers. For the most part, Universal is a much more thrill-ridey place than Disney
World, with multiple rollercoasters and other such thrill rides packed quite
close together. There are a <i>handful</i> of non-rollercoasters, such as a Dr.
Seuss themed rapids ride, but that’s pretty much it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For <i>Potter</i>, there was only one thing that can be considered
a “ride” which wasn’t thrill or rollercoaster-themed: the Hogwarts Express. You
board it at a <i>decent</i> facsimile of King’s Cross, and on your journey your
cabin window projects a video of you leaving the station (<i>so</i> surreal to
see the London skyline in America…) and travelling across the country up to
Hogwarts. Along the way, you pass iconic locations and a couple of characters
even appear at points.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Robbie Coltrane’s passing not so long ago made any of Hagrid’s
appearances harsher in retrospect, and I think his sudden appearance in the
transit journey proved too much for the poor woman who was sharing our compartment
with her family. I also believe that the high popularity of the Hagrid-themed
rides Flight of the Hippogriff and Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure was due to
people using them to say “goodbye” to Coltrane.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5-_quYYgw-px54YS_nQzBzcOxwo83uE2H-wInn2M1wp-zTGE9EkQ_hPtKk12rD9hh5pkA5w6Echp6_jQjmNMhibZQyIxtiGAGvqT3eOwFukQHxlaKNRcjOLxFgVptOxzapjW5jRYqLqTCZt0DjbEQBrgS_80TEPMDtPC1aT3cLPLsK0fnT7EcpiWwA/s4000/20221025_104819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5-_quYYgw-px54YS_nQzBzcOxwo83uE2H-wInn2M1wp-zTGE9EkQ_hPtKk12rD9hh5pkA5w6Echp6_jQjmNMhibZQyIxtiGAGvqT3eOwFukQHxlaKNRcjOLxFgVptOxzapjW5jRYqLqTCZt0DjbEQBrgS_80TEPMDtPC1aT3cLPLsK0fnT7EcpiWwA/w640-h360/20221025_104819.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Hogsmeade was <i>surreal</i>. It’s themed around the singular
scene in the <i>Prisoner of Azkaban</i> film, which means that you enter a
village <i>bedecked in snow</i>. In <i>FLORIDA</i>, at 28-degrees Celsius. <i>What
the flip</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KtZns5sP_bqR1VuDo0YBL370vYr1Rx3hubQplsDLOec6YD1x5uF22nSlQlO1iCV3W7N-co82fhFEF1qNojYB4HjQJ2mas24U2voRx1id8zbcOfkfnKR2mVYSl05PZw6RNXJNJcnPlw6e69sGcIP5ytQozwXYU9hr1EjWYm36N_MWnGWgARIu8j1HnA/s4000/20221025_105412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1KtZns5sP_bqR1VuDo0YBL370vYr1Rx3hubQplsDLOec6YD1x5uF22nSlQlO1iCV3W7N-co82fhFEF1qNojYB4HjQJ2mas24U2voRx1id8zbcOfkfnKR2mVYSl05PZw6RNXJNJcnPlw6e69sGcIP5ytQozwXYU9hr1EjWYm36N_MWnGWgARIu8j1HnA/w640-h360/20221025_105412.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since we weren’t actively interested in any
non-Hogwarts-Express rides, there was only one non-stage-show option open to
us; walking through the Hogwarts castle that had been constructed and then
hopping off just before the ride proper. This was an alright experience, and I
liked the mock-ups of Dumbledore’s Office and the Defence Against the Dark Arts
classroom, but… yeah. I’m pleased we weren’t queuing for more than 25 minutes
for <i>that</i> experience.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We hopped back to Diagon Alley for lunch in the Leaky
Cauldron, where my tolerance for apps invading everyday life finally reached
its end. Much like we did in the Disney quick-service restaurants, we found a
table and began ordering on the app. So far, so good.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then my account refused to save our card details. Multiple
times. Uh-oh. My mother was able to save the card to an account she had just
created, which I signed into on my phone, and we were off again! Except that it
took an age for the app to connect to the little “scan here!” thing on the
table that denoted which number we were (82), with no direct option to input
the number or scan the QR code, instead scanning by vicinity alone!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, it was only after cancelling our attempt to do this
that the app <i>finally</i> provided a way to input the number directly, so at
least it took pity on us. It then took 30 minutes for the food to arrive, which
my parents described as “not-good-quality pub food”. My fish and chips were good,
however, so I was content.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Now, remember that list of people who I said I can imagine
finding Galaxy’s Edge disappointing? For the <i>Harry Potter</i> part of
Universal, I’m invoking the inverse of the “anyone who likes rollercoasters most
of all rides” category; if you <i>loathe</i> rollercoasters, even small ones,
this is <b>not</b> the park for you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And that, to me, is a shame, as <i>Harry Potter</i> lends
itself quite nicely to other potential rides that aren’t coaster-based. How
about a <i>Knight Bus</i> simulator like Star Tours? Or a nice slow dark ride
where you’re taken around the interior of Newt Scamander’s suitcase? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The thing to consider with <i>Harry Potter</i> is that, while
adults love it, it is first and foremost a <i>children’s</i> franchise. Based
on what I’ve seen of the rides at Universal, I would say that very few of the rides
are kid-friendly, especially <i>young</i> kids. If you have a young family of Potterheads,
with the eldest being six or seven, good chance that <b>three of the four main
rides</b> in <i>Potter</i> are out of your league. Maybe all of them, depending
on whether your children like coasters in the first place!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Compare <b>that</b> to Galaxy’s Edge. Rise of the Resistance
has a <i>handful</i> of scary moments for children, but nothing as potentially frightening
as a rollercoaster. Smuggler’s Run is bound to be great fun for kids, with all the
pushing of buttons and flicking of levers that they’d get to do! Star Tours’
humour is all-age-friendly, and again has <i>some</i> scary moments but not
that many!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Point is with <b>all</b> these rides, if your children are
okay with simulated momentum and shakes and judders, they are approachable by all
sorts of people from many age groups. You wouldn’t see my mother dead on even a
medium-sized coaster, and yet she absolutely loved both Star Tours and Rise. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To have a <i>Potter</i> themed park and to provide very few truly
all-age-friendly options feels, to me, like a <i>massive</i> misstep. I know it’s
Universal, and it’s what they like to do, but there absolutely needs to be
more.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and the walking tour of Hogwarts needs improving. The
fact that you must queue as if you’re getting on the ride and then bail feels
clunky. Why not have a purpose-built line for non-riders just so they can walk
around of their own accord? Keep them absolutely separate so that they can’t queue-jump,
but you risk having to queue for upwards of <i>an hour</i> just for the sake of
seeing a handful of rooms and that’s it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I don’t know if the ride takes you through other places such
as the Great Hall, but if it does, why not allow walkers to see bits of <i>that</i>
as well? Sure, not as much, but just a little bit, y’know?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not quite the farewell I would have wanted to give to the
franchise, but it satisfied a curiosity that otherwise would have been left hanging.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What <b>was</b> overwhelming, however, was the sheer
presence of Hallowe’en-themed stuff. Within the UK, Hallowe’en is mercifully rather
small-scale (although it has been getting gradually bigger over the years…),
but in the US it’s of course quite a big thing. We bought special <i>Coca-Cola</i>
mugs that could be refilled for free at refill stations (they did a <i>lovely</i>
infused-lemon variant of the Cola drinks!), and rather than the quite pleasant
if uninteresting designs that are usually offered, we got quite naff ones with
monsters plastered over it, promoting some Hallowe’en nonsense thing the park
does.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The cups themselves aren’t half-bad, and they certainly seem
far more robust than the Disney resort ones. I’m given to understand that
Universal manages to one-up Disney in greed, though, by having two different refillable
mugs that can’t be used interchangeably – one for the hotels, the other for the
park. Sneaky bastards.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were back at Jambo House for longer than we thought we’d
be, so we decided to investigate the pool for the first (and only) time during
our stay. It was lovely. Even though there were plenty of people there, it didn’t
feel busy due to its size, and the temperature of the water was very welcoming.
A thoroughly pleasant experience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After tea at the Mara, we hopped on a shuttle to Kidani
Village, the other lodge within the Animal Kingdom resort area, where we were
due to board a night-time safari. This was another one of those special
experiences you could pre-book, although unlike Droid Depot and Savi’s Workshop
(where you paid when you arrived), this you had to pay for up-front.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We checked in, boarded the truck, were provided a
night-vision scope, and we were off! The truck took us around two of the six
savannas that could be seen from the Animal Kingdom lodges, including the one
we could see from our room, so it was great to get another view of it. We got
up close to the cattle, giraffe, wildebeest, and zebra, and it was a fascinating
experience. My family has been on actual safaris in South Africa, in the
Kariega reserve, but never had we done anything <i>at night</i> before, so this
was an entirely new experience for us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We would happily repeat the experience if the opportunity
arose, I’m sure!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 6: Wednesday the 26<sup>th</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Magic Kingdom time. It had to be done, didn’t it?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This park had the biggest indication that Hallowe’en was
right around the corner, with pumpkin decorations around the entrance and in
the plaza near Cinderella’s castle, but it fortunately wasn’t too overwhelming.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Like Saturday and Monday, we purchased a lightning lane and
made good use of it. The first ride we booked into was a long-time nemesis of
mine from Paris: Pirates of the Caribbean.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Overall, I do remember the Pirates ride <i>relatively</i>
fondly, as the animatronic parts were funny and it was quite well put-together
with the mock-up ports etc., but there was one part I <i>hated</i>. As a child,
I wasn’t massive on log flume rides on the few occasions I rode them. Pirates
upped the ante considerably by having a slide… <i>in the dark</i>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To say I loathed that bit would be an understatement. I was <i>terrified</i>
by that ordeal, not helped by the fact that I <i>swear</i> the Paris ride had
two of those slides, not just the one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Roll on 2022, when I’m older, bigger, and still no less
unnerved by log flumes, and it was time to confront the dark slide again.
Ultimately, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I remembered, and at least the
Florida version only had one such slide. How anticlimactic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then it was off to encounter another haunting presence from
Paris, a ride which is easily one of Disney’s most famous and – depending on
your point-of-view – cutesy or irritating rides ever produced.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s a Small World.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m pleased we lightning-laned that one, as having to queue
for 20 minutes for It’s a Small World is not something I have any desire to do
while I possess my adult mentality – somehow back in the 2007 Paris trip we
managed to find an unoccupied lane next to everyone else queuing and get to the
front of it, to which the chap at the gate could only comment “well played” (in
French, of course).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So, we boarded the little boat, and off we went, the song
taunting us as we got ever closer. <i>My god</i> what an earworm that song is.
It’s still going in my head. Always… always…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Amusingly enough, the ride made absolutely <i>zero</i>
effort to disguise the fact that it was clearly in a large warehouse once
inside. Looking up to the roof, you could <i>clearly</i> see hundreds upon
hundreds of black soundproof panelling lining the walls and ceiling, with no
attempt to hide it all above a fake sky or whatever.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I guess they don’t expect that guests on the ride to be able
to see much further than several feet ahead of them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One thing I do remember fondly about the Paris It’s a Small
World ride is that they have Slinky Dog about halfway through it. Looking up
the dog in question nowadays, he’s <i>terrifying</i>, but I was still curious
to see him for the first time in 15 years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Much to my disappointment… he wasn’t there. Oh well. Disneyland
Paris 2037 here we come, I guess…?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then hopped over to Mad Tea Party, a teacup ride, where
we found that the teacups were so narrow that our legs were basically
interlocking together. We’re not small people by any means, and I really do
have to wonder if there are restrictions against passengers of larger girth
boarding the ride…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We then hopped to a Dumbo ride, which was pleasant enough. There’s
a certain enjoyment one can get from just doing a simple, straightforward,
ride. It was certainly more pleasurable than the lunch we had immediately
afterward, which took an age to come and was lukewarm when it did.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Yet even <i>that</i> was more pleasurable than the Buzz Lightyear’s
Ranger Spin ride we tried next. We lightning laned it, as we had all the rest,
but we were <i>still</i> in a 20-minute queue. The ride’s car, which you could
spin so you could fire its laser guns at targets, was hard to control, as mine
didn’t seem to have a ‘stop’ to it so would constantly spin back on itself if
it was on an incline. Additionally, they also kept stopping approximately every
two minutes due to some error or other.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Blech.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaGg8X-bjG3D8O21n-5A_aQ3g5nebx-agh-LxTaFZoHLmmXYxrVpbP9UhrjxZffUdZu6Lxtf5lW_r3Z-7ypFNga-WgdDeTIwcakg3aVTI2KS8R_7rjHoT5MSlaYz62VcAz49ZAVGFenvWF1iiOA0Fk7a68STG3ZmMuqV8c3TOs9paA2ebsNUt8wZgKg/s4000/20221026_145348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2250" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaGg8X-bjG3D8O21n-5A_aQ3g5nebx-agh-LxTaFZoHLmmXYxrVpbP9UhrjxZffUdZu6Lxtf5lW_r3Z-7ypFNga-WgdDeTIwcakg3aVTI2KS8R_7rjHoT5MSlaYz62VcAz49ZAVGFenvWF1iiOA0Fk7a68STG3ZmMuqV8c3TOs9paA2ebsNUt8wZgKg/w360-h640/20221026_145348.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At this point, my father separated off from us as something
had come up at his work that he needed to fix (despite instructing people not
to bother him during the week… always the way, huh?), so my mother and I <i>finally</i>
park-hopped to Epcot. We booked into a lightning lane for Soarin’ Around the
World, which I initially feared would be a more extreme version of Star Tours
(and it certainly seemed like it would have had enough room to facilitate steep
drops at times!) but ultimately it was okay.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The sea base aquarium at Epcot was decent, too, although
they only had a handful of tanks. This was where Epcot kept its manatees and
dolphins, among many large rays, turtles, and other fascinating marine life, so
it was nice to see them again – although the manatees weren’t in a very wide
tank at all…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After agreeing that Epcot was nice to see but ultimately not
worth more time than we spent there, we went back to the hotel for an hour
before we were off to Springs again. This time, we were dining at Splitsville
Luxury Lanes, which, as its name suggests, was a bowling alley. My hopes to get
a game of bowling in for the first time in years didn’t come to fruition,
sadly, but I did have a very nice pepperoni pizza.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We followed this up with a stop at the Salt & Straw ice
cream shop, which did all <i>sorts</i> of fascinating flavours, including a
soon-to-disappear exclusive option called “Red Chili Curry & Makrut Lime
Crispy Rice” that my father tried a sample of. We floated the idea around of maybe
revisiting it the next day if we had room after our final evening meal of the
holiday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My mother was also finally able to snag a pair of Minnie
ears that she deemed satisfactory during this visit to Springs, so that was one
item off the shopping list ticked off. I hope that her line-manager’s daughter likes
them!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 7: Thursday the 27<sup>th</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our second visit to Hollywood Studios initially seemed like
it was off to a bad start. Rise of the Resistance’s queue had looped around to
the MuppetVision 3D just outside of Galaxy’s Edge, but that’s only because the
ride itself hadn’t opened yet. The queue itself was only about ten or so
minutes longer than the previous queue when all was said and done, so it still
wasn’t too bad. Risking bordering the “not worth queuing for” queue-time,
though.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I made one last visit to Dok-Ondar’s shop, bought a purple
crystal for my lightsaber as an alternative, we said goodbye to the <i>Falcon</i>,
went and did Star Tours again, and we were back to the hotel to start packing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We were in the park for just about two hours, and we still
feel like it was time well spent. Better to get back packing in good time than
waste unnecessary time trying to find something to do for the sake of it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For tea this night we were booked into the second of two
restaurants we knew from Paris: Planet Hollywood. I can’t remember much about
the Paris one, but the one in Florida definitely lived up to its name, as it
had props and costumes from all <i>sorts</i> of films showcased in
window-displays throughout the entire restaurant. Chewbacca costume here, part
of the <i>Death Star</i> there, Jim Carrey’s Riddler costume over there, etc.,
etc.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There was also a large projection playing videos and the
like, including the occasional sing-along. My parents were greatly amused by
the song that many cricketers (and footballers, now they’ve pilfered it, the
bastards) will recognise, <i>Sweet Caroline</i> popping up early on, followed
not ten minutes later by <i>Livin’ on a Prayer</i>. A Taylor Swift song passed us
all by, but we were also treated to <i>YMCA</i> and <i>I Just Can’t Wait to be
King</i> before we left, which was nice.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Planet Hollywood impressed us instantly because it was one
of only two restaurants in the entire Springs complex to seat us the moment that
we arrived rather than making us wait (the other was Splitsville), <i>and</i>
we arrived thirty minutes before our scheduled arrival time! So, we couldn’t be
much happier about that, and the food was good too. I would rate it
joint-second alongside Rainforest Caf<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">é</span> behind Raglan Road.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Disney Springs was… overwhelming, really. There was an
absolute <i>shedton</i> of designer label stores, so if you wanted something “normal”
you really weren’t going to find it there. It was… an experience, to be sure. Of
the eateries, I would revisit Raglan and Planet Hollywood, maybe visit the
Springs Rainforest instead of the Animal Kingdom one, but probably not stop by
any of the others again.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Day 8: Friday the 28<sup>th</sup></u><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our final day! We packed up, left the luggage with the hotel,
and went in a bit later than we usually would do to Animal Kingdom for one last
visit. We went straight for the safari, in what was <i>easily</i> the least
pleasant queuing experience we’ve had. It was still around 45 minutes, so no
worse from the first timewise, but this time it was <i>humid</i>. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Uggggh.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Still, the safari itself was decent, placing in the middle
of the three.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We did Pizzafari for lunch again, which still proved decent,
then on the way back I hopped off the bus at Kidani Village to pick up a Nala
at last. See, there were dozens, I mean <i>dozens</i>, of Simbas of various
sizes available around Animal Kingdom and in Springs… but the only Nalas were
small ones that were being sold in the lodges in the AK resort.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Shame, I would have quite liked a decently sized (not giant,
of course!) one. There’s always Amazon. I would have regretted failing to pick <i>something</i>
up, I’m sure!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After waiting for a couple of hours, we managed to barter
entry onto a different Mear’s bus than the one we booked (the bus that arrived at
the time we were expecting ‘our’ bus was really very late, so who knows how
much later the other would have been?!), and we were off to the airport.
Compared to Gatwick, it was <i>super</i> quiet, and unlike Gatwick they also
had a special priority queue for our class of World Traveller Plus! Result!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The flight was uneventful, and unlike the previous one I
managed to get a good amount of sleep throughout it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Thus ended our Florida holiday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">~~~<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Conclusion</u></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are quite a few questions one needs to ask about a big
holiday such as a Disney trip.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Was it worth it? Were there things you didn’t get to do that
you’d have wanted to do? Was anything worth repeating? Would you ever want to
go back?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Was it worth it? To us, yes. We got to see a different side
of life, and it was fascinating just to see the sheer <i>scale</i> of it all.
With Paris, once you’re in Disneyland, that’s it, it’s just Disneyland. With
Disney World, you still must traverse parts of seemingly non-Disney-territory
within Florida just to get from place to place, and the amount of territory
that Disney owns is <i>immense</i>. Considering my history with always wanting
to go there, I have to say that Animal Kingdom lived up to my expectations, as
did Galaxy’s Edge within Hollywood Studios.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Were there things we didn’t get to do that we’d have wanted
to do? Yes, Jungle Cruise. On the Wednesday, this was one such ride where
lightning lanes extended into the late evening, and while we could have braved
the (apparently) 55-minute standby queue, we also felt that doing so would eat
too much into our lightning lane potential, so we just neatly moved on. Always
the next time!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Was anything worth repeating? The fact that we did
Kilimanjaro Safari and Star Tours thrice, Rise of the Resistance twice, and
that I’ve commented on my fond appreciation for three of the restaurants should
tell you that, yes, there are things that we did that I consider to be worth
repeating. Whether or not I would do Magic Kingdom or Kennedy again… depends on
if I’m by myself or traveling with someone next time. If I’m by myself, no. If
I’m with someone who’s never been to either, or a special fan of them, then yes.
Universal is where I would draw the line, however.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Would we ever want to go back? I don’t imagine my parents
would, fun though they found parts of the holiday. I’d certainly be up for it,
but not anytime in the immediate future – with Epcot, Universal, and most
likely Magic Kingdom and Kennedy out of the running, that leaves a <i>lot</i>
of time to potentially fill if nothing really major gets added to Galaxy’s Edge
before I can find that opportunity. There are the everglades, , opportunities
to swim with dolphins, and there is a Legoland out there…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Not</i> SeaWorld, I can tell you that much!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, with one or two exceptions, we very much enjoyed
our time out in Orlando. Collectively, my parents and I are all agreed that the
day in Kennedy was the most interesting due to just how unique it all was, although
there was plenty of stuff across Animal Kingdom that we enjoyed a lot as well. Galaxy’s
Edge was spectacular, and I very much look forward to seeing how they choose to
develop things further there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The thing that absolutely fascinates me about it all,
though, is just… it’s so very different. We’d never get anything like this in
the UK. You’re lucky if you can find one really good safari here in the UK and,
even then, it’s still painfully obvious that it’s just taking you through
fields with <i>some</i> effort to try and make something interesting out of it.
Disney World has the space and the resources to <i>put</i> that effort in, and
still do so much more, and then even <i>more</i> on top of that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You really do need to see it to believe it. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also, fun little tidbit before I end the post. While waiting
at the departure gate at Gatwick, a family group turned up shortly after former
prime minister Liz Truss resigned (fantastic timing, Liz), which we informed
them about the moment they sat down. That same family ended up sitting next to
us at the Orlando airport, with the mother hanging the lampshade on the whole
ordeal by commenting that they were waiting for us to deliver another bombshell
of news about another resignation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It's a small, small, world indeed.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdk1ngFv7RazbRKmaF6j3CPAqvHi-snZKcQnVH1fV3yRQ2nrh5IqEaDl-aIgymjuD6rEmK4rrzly1lKSEbJP-aatpb7CaQuwxCgmpWEtedi9V_7_BLVeo7fkyY1h8uiX8UfZThg7-F-NHpUf4IX2M2ilmArgjT1RY6_M6tsBmnvW7LHOWCv0711Y6m7w/s5513/2022-10-24%20-%20Disneys%20Hollywood%20Studios%20-%20Millennium%20Falcon_10.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3675" data-original-width="5513" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdk1ngFv7RazbRKmaF6j3CPAqvHi-snZKcQnVH1fV3yRQ2nrh5IqEaDl-aIgymjuD6rEmK4rrzly1lKSEbJP-aatpb7CaQuwxCgmpWEtedi9V_7_BLVeo7fkyY1h8uiX8UfZThg7-F-NHpUf4IX2M2ilmArgjT1RY6_M6tsBmnvW7LHOWCv0711Y6m7w/w640-h426/2022-10-24%20-%20Disneys%20Hollywood%20Studios%20-%20Millennium%20Falcon_10.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-38466147856279580342022-08-28T10:30:00.013+01:002022-08-30T21:33:18.890+01:00Pulling Back (Again)<p style="text-align: justify;">Five weeks ago, I logged back into <i>SWTOR</i> for a "trial week", to see if I could break back into it in some form again.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Five weeks on, I am on the verge of taking another extended break (once TGW has been and gone).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have mentioned previously that I had made it my goal to reduce the amount of time I was spending on playing games. I am normally not very good at sticking to goals that I set myself, as I have the mental fortitude of a plate of jelly when it comes to actually committing to a lot of things, so I was perfectly well aware that I would make this bold statement about how I was <i>definitely</i> going to stop wasting as much time on this game, only to keep on playing it all year and beyond with as much gusto as ever.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Turns out, it's actually been much, <i>much</i> easier to stick to this plan than I first thought.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, so to break down how my thoughts have evolved over the past five weeks:<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>1) Raiding.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned a couple of posts back that it was probably "best" that I stick to more casual stuff rather than anything serious, since if there was any risk that the serious raiding would continue to contribute to my ill feelings about this game it was wisest to avoid it as much as possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately... that wasn't quite possible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Story modes are in a bizarre place for a lot of people. The old legacy SMs, with the sole exception of Gods from the Machine which is still very hectic, are very easy to complete and are often described by several guildies as "boring" and a "complete faceroll". I have to step in every single time this comment comes up, reminding them that - as experienced players in fully-augmented 330 gear - that's kinda what story modes <i>should</i> be to them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, I do acknowledge that as 340 gear <i>eventually</i> becomes more accessible, it's going to get even more insane than it already is...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of challenge, how I like to view things in group content is thus:</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Story mode:</b> accessible to everyone, irrespective of skill level or class.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Veteran mode:</b> requires more experience than story, but not providing too much of an additional challenge.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Master mode:</b> requires a high level of experience with classes and mechanics, but should still be more than accessible after gearing up from veteran modes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At the moment, story mode (on the whole) is pretty much the only operation tier which sits <i>bang</i> on the money with my ideas of how it should be. I remember doing a Dxun SM run (after the recent nerfs) where one of the healers opined that story modes should present <i>some</i> form of a challenge, and while I do get that view I also have to ask; why? If players want a challenge, there are more modes accessible to them for that - as the baseline tier that anyone can access via activity finder, why <i>force</i> players to encounter a challenge that might put them off this content altogether?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Granted, said player (at the moment) is only taking part in our casual social Saturday raid nights, which do tend to be story mode more often than not, so I can understand why he'd be asking for more of a challenge when he's not likely to see much more than veteran EV / KP anytime soon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, now that I've laid the groundwork for how I feel story modes should be, many people who have been raiding since 7.1 will know <i>exactly</i> where this leads.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">R-4 Anomaly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A couple of weeks before R-4 launched, a fellow officer stated that it was his intent to take the social team into the new op the very first week, once the progression teams had cut their teeth on it a bit. Having read a <i>little</i> bit about the feedback for the first two bosses from the PTS, I immediately stepped in to say "no, that's too soon". The small handful of social-only players we have are not bad players by any means, and our social runs are often peppered with progression-tier players, but it was evident from this feedback that even our full progression teams would struggle a bit with the first two bosses.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, it took our progression teams a good part of their first evenings to get those two bosses down, and it was only on the following evenings that they were able to get past boss 3 and up to boss 4.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And it's boss 4 where things <i>really</i> kick off. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It took two weeks for all three progression teams to kill her. On story mode. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is entirely down to two phases which are <i>far</i> too punitive for story mode.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Firstly, Recursive Blast. This is a chain knockback that links four players together and knocks them directionally proportional from the previous target. The first player gets knocked back from Dominique herself, then the next player gets knocked back from that player, and so on. This can get <i>really</i> hectic, as a bad angle can catapult one player in the chain off the gantry, and that in turn can result in the next player being knocked <i>into thin air</i> and glitching out. Additionally, anyone within the accompanying yellow circle <i>also</i> gets knocked back, even if they don't have Recursive Blast!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, if anyone gets the annoying bug where they see a character is stuck face down on the floor, it takes about two seconds for the yellow circle of Recursive to update whenever they move. I saw that on our sage healer on Sunday night, and we seemingly kept standing on each other with our circles as I legitimately could not tell where or even <i>when</i> he was moving until his circle jumped.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fun.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Recursive Blast is also immediately followed by a mechanic called Force Blast. This is easily avoidable, provided you know how - you just have to have someone standing directly next to her. So if you have a team of melee DPS with one healer up top next to Dominique and you're too slow killing the attractor and the healer gets knocked off the gantry by Recursive Blast... you're getting hit by Force Blast.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is basically a one-shot, as it hits you with four to five successive blasts of high damage. I had been pulled in to help the first team that got up to Dominique, and Force Blast was what wiped us for the majority of that evening. I twigged that nobody was up top next to her during that time, so suggested maybe sticking the tank up there since they're not necessary for the attractors and maybe she needs to have her attention directed on someone specific, but we didn't have time to investigate that as an option.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps we should have done, as the raid leader then spent the next couple of days calculating all sorts of ways to counter Force Blast. Shield at this time, take this passive, do this, do that. I should state at this juncture that in new story modes, we go in blind for the first week, so if a mechanic happens that requires a specific thing to be done, it won't be the sort of thing a team will be aware of until they've experimented a bit. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This led to a marvellous moment with the third of our teams to reach Dominique, as on their very first pull they managed to work out the <i>ARIA</i> positional mechanic after accidentally failing it twice, and they still managed to get through to the Recursive Blast phase in what was <i>easily</i> the best first pull any team of ours had. It was wonderful to watch that on stream having seen that first-hand, since my heart was absolutely racing - would they get through it before Dominique powers up? They did, and they managed to get her down to almost 30% before the Recursive phase killed them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, it's the burn phase which is the absolute <i>killer</i>. If you have high DPS, you're going to be fine, as you can burn Dominique down before the bigger adds show up, and those adds play a <i>significant</i> factor in what sort of things can and will go wrong. The Reapers, for example, slow their target to a crawl - and Recursive Blast is <i>still</i> going out during this phase. Imagine it, a melee DPS gets Recursive, is stuck under the boss at a bad angle and is shunted far away, so the next player gets punted off, and so on and so forth.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If the big adds do show up, it's a massive race against time for your group to be able to burn Dominique down before those adds kill you. If your DPS isn't high enough - let's say one of your DPS is stuck floating below the gantry - you're dead. I should also state, before some wise-arse "helpfully" points this out in the comments, that our teams <i>do</i> take in five DPS. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is story mode. It's in activity finder. If a seasoned capable-of-making-good-progress-in-master-mode raid team struggles to complete it, <i>how the heck</i> can a random hodge-podge group of strangers, whose members may be able to pull 14k DPS <i>at best</i> stand a chance?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's not even beginning to think about veteran mode. IP-CPT, <i>the first boss</i>, is so insanely difficult with the DPS check that teams are taking in <i>six DPS</i> and no tanks. And if you think the DPS check is the most difficult thing in that fight, oh-hoh, you've got another thing coming. That floor pattern is <i>crucial</i> to learn for veteran. In story, it's a nuisance, but you <i>can</i> afford to build up stacks if you're too slow in moving or get trapped by a giant red circle.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In veteran, you die the <i>moment</i> you get 5 stacks. You need to know where to move, when to move, where's safe, where's not safe, where to take your giant grenade - there are <i>two</i> of these in veteran now - and so on, all to avoid taking any stacks for as long as possible. This is arguably the closest <i>SWTOR</i> has ever been to an action-oriented MMO like <i>ESO</i> or <i>Neverwinter</i>, where red circles and other positional mechanics are even more abundant, and due to de-sync and various other issues in this game, it's <i>horrific</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And yet... there aren't any other options remaining, at least not if you want to get better gear. Sure, they reduced the health pool of legacy ops bosses' health by at least 10%, but that's not going to make <i>that</i> much difference on a fight which was previously insurmountable for whatever reason. Even if it did, you'd just be going in for the sake of doing <i>something</i> rather than because you'd get something from it other than a sense of pride and accomplishment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Until further notice, all gear higher than 330 is tied to VM R-4A. We've always known that R-4A would bring in higher gear, and previous concerns about content difficulty have been assuaged (or at least <i>attempted</i> to have been assuaged) by promises that "better gear is coming". It took five-and-a-half months to get here, it's <i>insanely</i> difficult to even make good headway into getting that better gear, and if you can't get past that first boss or guarantee getting a lockout from another team for boss two... that promise is meaningless. I myself tried to replicate that assuaging when someone mentioned how difficult IP-CPT looked, and in retrospect that was a <i>massive</i> misreading of the entire situation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I wish I could say I was a stranger to that particular tendency.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now, yes, eventually they will add crafting, and <i>hopefully</i> that will start to provide a means independent of R-4A to start getting 332+ gear if they keep Rakata and the rest at 330 from here on out. At the same time... sure, that'll make the legacy master modes more accessible, and it'll help <i>a bit</i> with the DPS check on IP-CPT, but we're talking two, three, maybe four or more months down the line <i>on top</i> of the five-and-a-half month wait for this patch for the promise of "better gear" to start trickling down in some meaningful capacity to players like me and the majority of those in my guild who aren't going to reliably benefit from Watchdog lockouts.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As I mentioned in my previous post, I do firmly believe that higher difficulty content should <i>not</i> be kept exclusive to the top-top % of players, as eventually... that'll just make the pool of available players smaller and smaller until there's nothing left. This is also one of the downsides of the PTS, as, sure, people can go and test R-4, but... what sort of players, what sort of teams, are doing that? Not the casuals who are the ones most likely to suffer it in activity finder. No, it'll be the hardcore progression players who do SM once, if at all, and then <i>immediately</i> begin work on VM.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet... if these are the only people actively going to <i>test</i> this stuff, what else can <i>BW</i> really do? They won't have any other feedback before it launches beyond "this is too easy, make it more challenging", and so that's the only thing they have to go on. Who cares if the forums are now full of people complaining about the difficulty? <i>BW</i> listened to the testing feedback, so they clearly know <i>exactly</i> what their player-base wanted all the time!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's fairly cruel by my standards, but honestly, I have just had <i>enough</i> of dealing with the stresses of progression and all that entails with where things are right now. And, unfortunately, it's had a negative impact on how I feel about the rest of <i>SWTOR</i>, and it's made me want to avoid even our social nights for the time being. Will I get over it? I'm sure I will, but it still hurts knowing that something that I have enjoyed for the past few years is... not as welcoming as it once was. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have enjoyed seeing master mode raids, clearing them, laughing about silly moments with the team and members I have got to know and love... and at the moment, the game is dangling that content above my head, saying "it's not for you anymore!". I hope this is just a blip in how <i>BW</i> are going about things, because I really don't want to believe this is how they'll be going about things from now on. I'm hoping that all the feedback they've had about how even veteran modes are now so much more difficult than they were before will have opened their eyes to the fact that the hardcore raiders <i>aren't</i> the only raiders in the game looking to have a meaningful raiding experience.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not <i>too</i> hopeful, however, given that this patch cycle of difficulty comes after 6.0, where they had a knee-jerk reaction to the top-top % disliking Veteran's Edge in master modes and removed it. It took a full expansion for them to rectify the changes they had made, and I fully anticipate them repeating that again this time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I do hope they at least nerf R-4 SM <i>before</i> 8.0, however.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>2) Story.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Digging Deeper was a nice little story quest, and I am intrigued to see where certain elements go, but on the whole I am still not <i>at all</i> invested in Malgus. We at least now know that he's looking into the Children of the Emperor, perhaps suggesting that he wants to make an army of thralls (imagine the results of <i>that</i> if he gets hold of members of the Alliance!), but there's no guarantee that's actually what he's planning on doing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, dangit, Tenebrae, you're <i>dead</i>. Stop having even an indirect presence in this game already!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Mandalorian stuff was never really of interest to me as, y'know, Mandalorians <i>definitely</i> aren't over-saturated in <i>Star Wars</i> at the moment, but linking Sa'har's story to them was something I didn't see coming. <a href="https://swtorcommando.blogspot.com/">Shin</a> and I have previously discussed that we'd find it fun if Carrick or Vaiken stations were to be attacked in a Flashpoint while Malgus gets freed, and at this point it seems <i>likely</i> that Sa'har could encourage Heta Kol to send a force of Mandalorians to free Malgus to help unlock the secrets of Nul's holocron - he sure seems like a trustworthy guy, I'm sure nothing could go wrong!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, I've always been kinda surprised that neither of the hub fleets have been under threat for the past eleven years, not even during the Zakuul invasion where everything else seemed to change. Well, now that the big-bad of the game himself, <strike>Tenebrae</strike> Malgus is imprisoned there... golden opportunity, I feel!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...in about a year's time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sorry, cruel comment again. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In all honesty, though, I really don't like how this expansion is shaping up to be all bits and pieces of vague information, especially as (something that I didn't realise until Shin <a href="https://swtorcommando.blogspot.com/2022/08/digging-deeper-story-thoughts.html">pointed it out</a>) our characters have had very little agency with the current events. Malgus is here, go do this, come to Elom, be told this, go ask Malgus this, blah, blah, blah. Sure, we're off to Ruhnuk next, but if we end up being more than just tools in the Mando civil war I'll be very surprised. I'm certainly not expecting us to have any meaningful interaction with Sa'har just yet, although if we do more than catch a brief glimpse of her and call to her, I'll be happy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And since this is now all shifting back to Alliance-centric stuff, <i>it's mostly all going to be the same</i>. <i>SWTOR</i> had done this even before 4.0, but they at least knew to create noticeably different contexts in every cutscene between factions even if the overall result was the same. On Oricon, the Empire might still free the Republic survivors, but it's done because Lord Hargrev feels they'll be useful assets in the fight rather than because "we must save our soldiers!" as it could easily have been by having Imperial players see Imperial soldiers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet because we're dealing with the same characters like Kira, Lana, Scourge, everything they say is <i>largely</i> going to be the same regardless of which character you're on. Sure, the little bits with Gnost-Dural, Tau, Rivix, etc. are going to be different, but these are sadly few and far between in the grand scheme of things. Everything else must eventually coalesce into dealing with the same significant players.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I have never really gotten over the fact that each of our characters is essentially living in an alternate timeline once they get past <i>Fallen Empire</i>. It's one thing for companion characters, people who are personal to us, to be different within the Alliance. It's another thing for entire planetary and even <i>galactic</i> storylines to be different, since of course if you're playing an Imperial Alliance Commander... the Republic Commander and all they do can't exist. Lord Tarnux dies on Mek-Sha at the hands of the Republic Commander, but to an Imperial Commander he's alive and well and even holding Arn and Gallo hostage at the end of the Manaan storyline, as their scheme has failed in this version of events.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Nothing quite tops the whole Acina / Malcom situation, which can completely change who sits at the head of the Empire. If Acina dies on Iokath, as Republic loyalists and Imperial saboteurs will see, then Vowrawn sits on the throne. If Malcom dies, then Acina still reigns. Incidentally, we no longer have any tangible consequences to Malcom's death (it originally led to Jebevel Madon standing down as Supreme Chancellor in favour of Galena Rans, but now that's happened irrespective of your choice on Iokath!), so this entire situation feels <i>very</i> one-sided.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... yeah. There are certainly things I am looking forward to exploring more of from what we've seen, but it has to be said that, much like with 4.0 and most of 5.0, my interests lie beyond the story <i>BW</i> are telling. Manaan was short, but it was very nice to get a reminder of the actually <i>interesting</i> stuff going on in the wider galaxy...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am <i>still</i> pissed off that we didn't even get to see Madon <i>once</i> before he was replaced by Rans.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>3) Other stuff.</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned earlier that I had made it my goal to cut back on the amount of time I was spending playing games. This is because I am, at long last, trying to expand my horizons and explore things that I have had an interest or passion in, alongside trying to find employment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To get the last bit out of the way, still no luck. Flinging out applications to various retail stores, but no bites yet. I imagine there are quite a lot of people trying their luck at the same time, to be honest...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the other stuff, I showed off artwork I had produced in a previous post of BB-8 and a (very surprised) Darth Vader, and I have been enjoying keeping going with that. I'm quite pleased with where my skill level currently is, but I do of course have more to learn. Nothing to show off this time, however. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, however, the thing that I'm <i>most</i> proud to say is that I haven't directly spent money on cartel coins or crowns or anything like that for an entire month. I have often flippantly commented that I have a spending problem with MMOs, and while I'm not in a <i>bad</i> place financially, I have come very close to being overdrawn with my debit account on some months.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I should state at this juncture that I'm currently 'living' on a £450 / month income - that's allowance from family combined with Universal Credit. Just so people don't think I'm spending <i>thousands and thousands</i> - I'm not, but with occasional food purchases, subscriptions, and other direct debits, it's easy enough to burn through at least £200 of that a month before any luxury purchases are considered. I <i>really</i> need a job.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So... yeah. I'm happy with that. Sure, I can justify spending <i>some </i>money on a game each month, but (while it won't matter all that much once we get to October) it's still nice to cut back on the sheer amount of expenditure on unnecessary 'stuff' that I was racking up relative to my 'income'. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yeah, October's going to be... <i>expensive</i>...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As much as I don't feel aligned with <i>SWTOR</i> at the moment, I still feel a considerable amount of attachment to it, largely due to the community I am part of and the friends I have come to know through it. I doubt I'll be walking away entirely anytime soon, but it's not <i>great</i> that I'm going to be taking a second break so soon after my last. I don't want to guess if this one will be longer or shorter than the previous one, as anything can and likely will happen. I'm giving myself this last week, to help where I can with my guild's efforts with TGW, and maybe just freeing myself from the concerns of progression-related nonsense for even a fortnight will be enough.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't really know where I would like things to go from here, realistically. It's unlikely that we'll get 7.2 much before November at this rate, and even if that does bring in better gear with crafting I for one am unlikely to want to focus on it. If all I want to do is log on to do social night each week, I certainly won't ever need more than I have, and full 330 is <i>plenty</i> already for that.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's assuming I don't suddenly feel the urge to jump back into progression content. That's... that's unlikely to happen before 8.0, I would say, based on my current feelings towards the currently inescapable meta that the difficulty of the higher-end content is presently lending itself towards.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">But you never know.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-50354288012729482042022-08-13T16:00:00.012+01:002022-08-13T16:00:00.165+01:00Meta This, Meta That<p style="text-align: justify;">In any game with a competitive edge, there is always some aspect of a meta build or setup. Commonly referred to as "flavour-of-the-month", this is what leads to certain characters, classes, races, builds - you name it - rising to prominence for a set duration before either being nerfed or being replaced by a new meta following buffs.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For example, in <i>SWTOR</i>, Commandos enjoyed a notable period of being flavour-of-the-month in PvP when 5.0 introduced their reflect and amazing self-healing potentials, while Sentinels have always enjoyed a position somewhere in the top DPS classes for many patches. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's the sort of thing which, as players of these games, we kinda have to acknowledge isn't going to ever go away. There will always be a meta. That's fine as long as it can, on the whole, be ignored.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, it's the times when it really <i>can't</i> be ignored that can be infuriating.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SWTOR</i>'s raid content, on the whole, has tended to be fairly lenient over the years. As long as you can play a class well, you should be able to enter the majority of content with it. There are a couple of specs, notably Balance, which can be very clunky to apply to certain difficulties of content, but that's more down to how they're built than the numbers they're capable of pulling. That's a real shame, as Balance is an absolutely wonderful spec.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With 6.0, where all content outside of Nature of Progress were scaled to level 70 compared to the maximum level of 75, things changed just a tad. To begin with, things were fine; Veteran's Edge might have made things "too easy" for the top-top % to be happy with, but it at least meant that even when scaled, gear still had a major impact on performance in master mode operations. Additionally, at this point a lot of this content is so old that it should be made a bit more accessible to other players, else master mode progression raiding will just die out. There are only so many times one can tolerate needing to progress through Scum & Villainy <i>again</i> from scratch with all the headaches that entails.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, since all of 6.0's content was <i>built</i> with Veteran's Edge in mind, the sudden removal of it in 6.1 meant that a <b>lot</b> of that content subsequently became too difficult. My raid team had cleared up to the Terror on our first night in TFB a week prior to this change, which, sure, <i>can</i> be seen as excessively easy, but consider what happened the following week once this change had been implemented.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We couldn't get Writhing Horror down <i>at all</i>. This one change meant that we had gone from enjoying a decent level of success that would be expected of players of our level of experience and playtime, to suddenly finding a roadblock with boss one. Sure, we did get her down a week later, but it became clear very quickly that we would have our work cut out for us from this point forward. <i>BW</i> did bolster stats in master mode again shortly afterward, but it still wasn't enough as the content was still tuned higher than that bolster. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now, to put some context to the situation here, my guild is not one that insists that all of its progression raiders bring the highest DPS or healing class available. We do have some players who like jumping around to various characters depending on fights (or just because they fancy bringing a certain character along), but as long as our players enjoy playing a class and can play it to a level that allows us to make good headway, that's good enough for us.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This therefore set us somewhat at odds with where the meta was starting to shift from this point forth. The best fight I can set as an example would be the Hateful Entity in S&V master mode. We gave it a good go in 6.0 with a team of good players, getting at least a third of its health down, but eventually it just proved too taxing and we walked away. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We learnt shortly afterward that the commonly-accepted strategy for that fight was to just stack your group full of Powertechs as your DPS. They would all share their Rebounders to mitigate the incoming damage and use Hydraulic Overrides to negate the knockbacks as much as possible. If a fight is so insanely tuned that you have to resort to such a specific team-composition to get it down... something has gone hideously wrong.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even in 'normal' MM fights it became clear that we'd have to resort to adopting specific strategies just to get fights down. Returning back to Writhing Horror, the best way to get it down was to take at least one Shadow tank in, as they would stealth out at the tank-swap, meaning that no babies would spawn in for the group to deal with. Granted, it's not the most OP Shadow tanks have been - at the start of 5.0, they could literally <i>one-shot</i> the boss the moment the first tank-swap mechanic happened. One ability, <i>boom</i>, boss dies. Additionally, for the longest while, the best way to tank Operations Chief was to shimmy-and-shake behind the pipe and line-of-sight the majority of his attacks.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Both of these have since been patched out, and you know what that means for Horror? It means that to have the best shot at killing it in 7.0, you would just stack your group with high AoE DPS classes and burn those adds down on top of the boss. No dealing with the flower mechanic as intended, just group those adds up and burn them down. In a way, it's still ignoring the mechanic like before, but it just seems ridiculous that still, after all this time, you shouldn't execute the fight "properly".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The case of the Horror in this patch-cycle is just one indicator of how silly things have been with 7.0. The content has been so difficult for the past five-and-a-half months that if you aren't running with a specific setup and with very skilled players behind all those characters, you will have very little chance at clearing that content. This impacts a vast number of the fights in master mode and even a couple of veteran mode fights. According to parsely, <i>IZAX</i> VM hadn't been cleared once prior to 7.1, and even now it doesn't look like any teams have managed it. Gods From the Machine is thus the only operation in the game at the moment that no group has seemingly been able to clear beyond SM.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even with the new operation, it's clear that there is a strong degree of meta. The first boss in VM is currently forcing groups to take in teams consisting solely of DPS and healers. Sure, the others beyond that are reportedly easier, but the lengths a team has to go to to even stand a <i>chance</i> at getting past the first boss... it doesn't fill me with enthusiasm. Never mind how Dominique seems to encourage bringing in classes that can reliably negate the knockbacks and mitigate incoming damage even in SM...</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Granted, as bad as things can be in <i>SWTOR</i> right now, it does have some way to go until it matches the sheer lunacy of the meta in <i>Elder Scrolls Online</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This past year in <i>ESO</i> has seen player builds become increasingly homogenised. For context, unlike in <i>SWTOR</i>, classes have only a limited degree of class identity, since any character of any class can be magicka, stamina, wield any type of weapon, wear any weight of armour, and be any kind of role. With a change earlier this year to make it so that damage of all kinds scales with your highest offensive resources, this means that now magic characters can wield swords, daggers, axes, etc. with as much if not better effectiveness than they could a staff, and they can now just pick any ability as long as they can sustain their resources properly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"What's the significance of that?", you may ask. It lies in the achievements. While in <i>SWTOR</i> only Nature of Progress and R-4 Anomaly have challenge achievements, most if not all veteran raids and even dungeons in <i>ESO</i> do, including no-death, timed runs, and completing a special "hard mode" version of certain fights (basically, imagine setting foot into a VM run where you could opt to turn a boss into its MM equivalent). The hardest achievements in this game are the trifectas - no-death, timed run, and hard mode all in one go. If your best shot to complete these achievements is to spec your character into a hybrid build, you can be damned sure that you'll be encouraged to do so. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Bear in mind that this can, and likely will, involve hours of grinding specific content to get as many of the "right" pieces as possible and, with how often <i>ESO</i> releases new sets, you may find yourself doing this every couple of months rather than once every two years or so if certain new sets or items are deemed "good" enough. I think at the moment healers are encouraged to collect about five or so sets for raiding, corresponding with their fellow healers before each raid to see which set they'll be wearing to provide specific benefits to the group. This is even before you consider what classes those healers are, which adds a further layer to proceedings.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was initially quite dismissive of the extremes of this practice - "you don't need to force yourself to do this", I remember saying to one guildie who complained about it - but after investigating it myself... yeah, I can see why they <i>do</i>. My main character over there, a Templar, can pull about 55 - 60k on a dummy in her full magic build, the one I've always used forever. After acquiring the right skills, weapons, etc. to adhere to a "meta" version of that same build, that DPS increased to 75 - 80k. That's at least an increase of +36% DPS, and even then that's still on the <i>lower</i> side compared to what these builds can pull (current record is about <b>140k</b>, but that's <b>very</b> extreme; a lot of builds are in the high 90 - 110k range). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sure, in an actual raid that DPS will be around half of what it is on the dummy, but still; one of those builds will effectively be being carried in a raid, while the other is pulling its weight more effectively. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The closest comparator I have to that in <i>SWTOR</i> is my beloved Sage. I run a decidedly off-meta build with her Legendaries, having opted for Dynamic Force and Force Training even though the meta recommends Gathering Storm and Unmatched Haste. The difference between the two builds on a dummy parse is less than 10%. Is GS / UH a better pairing? Undoubtedly, based on the numbers, yes. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I can still more than pull my own weight in group content with the off-meta build <b>and</b> I am not lumbered with a playstyle I quickly grew to dislike immensely throughout 6.0. Win-win, as far as I'm concerned.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's the problem that I have with content strongly encouraging you to adapt to a meta build or group setup for group content. It's one thing if you're <i>just</i> shy of the required DPS or survivability checks because you're running with a group that differs from the ideal, but it's another if you're not even left with a decent chance of clearing that content as a result. What can you hope to do when even your apparent best is not enough?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet that's where things have been for the past few months. If you're a meta-chaser who enjoys being able to play numerous classes to a high standard and surround yourself with players who feel similarly, good chance this is the sort of thing you really like. To players like myself, however, this sort of thing feels incredibly tedious and just makes me question what enjoyment I really derive from these games anymore.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It also makes it really difficult to incentivise new players joining in with harder content, as there is a <b>lot</b> for them to understand before they can really get involved. I've said it earlier, but this content really should not be an extremely exclusive club, only open to the top-top % of players. If it remains so for a considerable length of time and enough of those players leave... eventually this level of progression raiding will just die out altogether. It certainly remains at risk of doing so the harder it becomes for newer players to be introduced to it, and that seems to be the way <i>BW</i> are going about things at the moment.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I recently rolled a new Sith Warrior, just to remind myself that there <b>is</b> more to <i>SWTOR</i> than fretting about whether or not certain content can be cleared. I'm thankful for the communities I've been a part of in both <i>ESO</i> and <i>SWTOR</i>, because without them... I'm this close to just calling it quits for MMOs altogether just to escape the almost overwhelming presence the concept of meta has at the moment.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-79655594670047597082022-08-11T00:00:00.018+01:002022-08-14T20:57:00.029+01:00The Confusing Nature of SWTOR's Recent Operations Storylines [R-4 Anomaly Story Spoilers]<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>SWTOR</i> is known for incorporating story threads of varying lengths in its operations content, with frequent connections between other operations and planetary storylines. For example, the Dread Master storyline concludes in Dread Palace, but this is actually the <b>eighth</b> part of a long storyline that begins all the way back with the Belsavis planetary storyline, with the planet Oricon being the only other part of the chain which is set outside of an operation instance.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In recent years, the trend has shifted to operations being more of their own thing, with any connections being between the instance and the story of the planet they're set on, and even then the connections might not be deeper than surface-level. For example, Ravagers is connected so loosely to the story of Rishi that you do not need to complete the planetary story quests to get useful context to understand what's-what. Your stopping the Ravagers does not depend on you having (in-theory) stopped the Nova Blades first, while the Nova Blades' presence is not noted to increase if you clear The Ravagers first.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Otherwise, Temple of Sacrifice follows on directly from Yavin IV's wider story, and Gods from the Machine follows on from Iokath's wider story. Point is, since Dread Palace ended the Dread Masters arc, operations have not been connected together for many years. That is, until 2022.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the culmination of Nature of Progress, if you spare Trey Adelair, you are treated to the revelation that not only did the AI of the Dxun research facility, <i>ARIA</i>, invite the trandoshans to the facility in the first place, but that she somehow escaped. Immediately upon hearing that, I guessed that it would lead to another operation's story, although seeing how convoluted 6.0's story became after that point in opening several doors that may not be explored for many more months to come, it was also perhaps reasonable to believe that following <i>ARIA</i> would just be another one of those "potential" stories.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The newest operation, R-4 Anomaly, does prove to be a direct successor to Dxun, but the connections are not <i>quite</i> as important as <i>BioWare</i> initially makes it seem. You can only pick up the quest if you've completed Dxun, suggesting that maybe Trey Adelair - who you can kill - makes an appearance if he survives, but he's nowhere to be seen. Best guess is that Mex, who you <i>do</i> meet in person after only seeing him as a holo before, mentions Trey's fate if he dies, but since all of my characters thus far have spared Trey I am in no position to confirm. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Not even knowing how the Nature of Progress operation concludes is <i>entirely</i> useful here, however. Sure, it at least sets <i>ARIA</i> up when she returns, but there's really very little that <i>directly</i> depends on clearing Dxun. Indeed, R-4 continues a trend that was previously seen with Gods from the Machine - that trying to make sense of the actual ongoing story in the operation itself is very, <b>very</b> confusing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For Gods, the best that I have managed to work out is that <i>SCYVA</i> is keeping the final boss, <i>IZAX</i>, asleep. Because she doesn't want him to be awoken, lest he strikes out and brings about a new galactic holocaust, she encourages the rest of the godkin to kill the invasion team before they get to her. Of course, they fail, and we kill her, resulting in <i>IZAX</i> awakening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This then leads to <i>SCYVA</i> helping us at points throughout the final fight, since she evidently sees it as her duty to prevent <i>IZAX</i> from escaping Iokath, and indeed she is a crucial ally throughout.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, this is <b>barely</b> explained in the instance itself. In the <i>IZAX</i> fight, she speaks up about how she's created drones and the like to help us, yet it's not explained how she survived the previous encounter. Considering that her "death" woke <i>IZAX</i> in the first place, could she not have just created a backup program that was dependent on her "actual" death, and not just the death of her chassis?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So for the most part, the team is left with this voice just saying "do this, do that" but never exactly <i>why</i> we're doing this and doing that beyond "it'll kill <i>IZAX</i>". It's all down to implication, which can be fine... but there's a difference between audience interpretation and being left clutching at straws to make sense of several disparate elements. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That said, for some reason there are many lines within the <i>IZAX</i> fight that do not play. I'm wondering if <i>SCYVA</i> had some extra lines in the fight that would help to explain exactly <i>why</i> she's around and still helping us, but if only <i>IZAX</i> is rendered mute then the lack of full context behind <i>SCYVA</i>'s defection is apparently <b>intended</b>. Not helpful.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving on to R-4 Anomaly, the setting itself is established fairly well. It's a Sith research facility constructed around the mass shadow generator, when three Sith Lords followed hints provided by <i>ARIA </i>following her discovery hiding amongst Sith Relics by Lady Dominique. That in itself is not a significant problem, as it does at least set things up reasonably well. Admittedly, I had initially been under the impression that it was a Czerka facility, not Sith, but it's at least established for definite in a Codex entry and not left to (mis)interpretation for all time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, where things begin to fall apart a tad is with the actual stuff leading up to Dominique in the operation itself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To begin with, <i>ARIA</i> seemingly speaks with two voices. When she speaks up the first time, it's in a much deeper voice which is immediately not "her", and yet Mex is somehow immediately able to identify her (<b>update:</b> note that this comes <b>after</b> he claims that he can only see us, not hear us - so how can he hear <i>ARIA</i>?). I first thought that this was a case of the actress for <i>ARIA</i> being recast between 6.0 and 7.1, much like how Heta Kol was recast. Yet partway through the watchdog fight, a facility survivor speaks up, and her voice is much more familiar...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The reason for why <i>ARIA</i> speaks with a deeper and noticeably harsher tone is not given, but after many mental gymnastics my belief at the moment is that, if it truly is her, she was impersonating Lady Dominique (or her new AI partner; I'll get to that in a minute) to 'pacify' the watchdog. Best guess is that in-universe, the watchdog would probably be a lot more deadly if it believed that its master wasn't watching over it, indicating that something had happened to her. Hence, the impersonation. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Since watchdog apparently turns up to help Dominique in veteran mode, this certainly indicates that the dog is a very loyal 'creature' and wants to know that its master is safe and well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However, this also assumes that somehow <i>ARIA</i> was able to lock Dominique and her fellow Sith out of the system, as <i>ARIA</i>'s is seemingly the only voice that we hear of the R-4 inhabitants outside of boss rooms. If it was just Dominique by herself, this would perhaps be a reasonable assumption, as a gifted AI is going to be very difficult to work around.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Yet <i>ARIA</i> isn't the only AI on the station. Another AI, named <i>EVE</i>, is mentioned just as you approach the mass shadow generator, and her presence is <b>completely</b> unexplained. Was she the AI integrated into the facility, much like <i>ARIA</i> was on Dxun, or was she an AI found within the mass shadow generator? All that's stated in a Codex entry is that Dominique tried integrating with artificial intelligence, and based on the mechanics of the fight and how <i>ARIA</i> is helping us, it's apparent that this AI is <i>EVE</i>. We learn literally <b>nothing</b> else about her, with her in-operation introduction coming literally out of nowhere in an expository speech by <i>ARIA</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">If <i>EVE</i> was the station AI, how can <i>ARIA</i> seemingly lock her out, if that really is what has happened? Surely she would have greater priority in the system than a 'stranger' AI? I can therefore only assume that <i>EVE</i> was an AI integrated in the mass shadow generator, explaining quite nicely how Dominique can tap into its power so effortlessly and where <i>EVE</i> disappears off to when the two separate. Also, were Dominique's extensive cybernetics (including her hands, legs, and apparently even her <i>throat</i>) part of her before she started the experimental merging process, or did they become a part of her afterward?</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Update:</b> I'm now of the opinion that 'mean' <i>ARIA</i> is an impersonation of <i>EVE</i>. Additionally, to add to the confusion, <i>EVE</i> describes <i>ARIA</i> as a "copy-error" when telling her to buzz off in the final fight, and we have absolutely no idea what this means. Joy!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On top of everything else, Lord Valeo was meant to be the operation's third boss before he was cut. It's possible that extra dialogue would have been implemented that would provide a more seamless transition between 'mean' <i>ARIA</i> and chirpy 'normal' <i>ARIA</i>, and maybe explained more about <i>EVE</i>. As it is, it just goes from 'mean' <i>ARIA </i>to her providing help happily with little justification other than "I can't explain now".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Or ever, as it turns out.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once all is said and done, in the closing cutscene you seemingly never learn what became of <i>ARIA</i>. Did she escape yet another facility, perhaps embedding herself in Jaca's ship's computer? Was she destroyed during the fight with Dominique, or was she another casualty of the station exploding? She just disappears during the fight after slicing the two conduits, and that's the last we see of her, although she does at least provide hints for how to use the Grey Swarm detonators to advance the fight. After that, <i>poof</i>, gone, seemingly forever.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, and we also never learn why she invited the trandoshans or what she sought by escaping. Maybe she felt that her talents were restricted by being a 'mere' facility AI in a Czerka station, or she just really disapproved of their morals, and so invited the trandoshans to cause chaos, hopefully stop Czerka being Czerka, and escape unnoticed to a hopefully kinder master? This would certainly synchronise with her helping us to kill Dominique once she realises that she's inadvertently helped her to find a(nother) galactic superweapon. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Until we know for definite, my belief is that she chose to go down with the facility to atone for the chaos and the deaths she's caused. She's certainly racked up a bit of a body count!</p><p style="text-align: center;">~~~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, this sort of thing is still fairly rare among all the operations. Most of them are set up very well either through earlier storylines (Dread Masters being dangerous and ancient Sith Lords who have been terrorising the Republic for centuries before going their own way with Vitiate's supposed death) or being simplistic and easy to follow (a pirate mutiny leading to the vengeful captain finding another crew to get his own back). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Story elements within Gods, R-4, and the conclusion to Nature of Progress are more vague than they need to be, and considering how intricate a lot of <i>SWTOR</i>'s stories have tended to be, that is disappointing and at times infuriating. I feel that the Gods case is still the worst example, since that's still not entirely clear to me even four-and-a-half years later. I'm hoping that any subsequent operation stories will be more concise and easy to follow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Additionally, the Gods case still ticks me off because there was a golden opportunity for <i>BioWare</i> to tie it into the main story with 5.9's Nathema Conspiracy flashpoint. You discover the existence of <i>ZILDROG</i>, the last surviving machine god from the Zakuul pantheon, and your only reaction is "there's another machine god!". Even if you've cleared the <b>entirety</b> of Gods, that's the only reaction you get. No "we stopped the rest, we can stop this one, too!" or anything of the like, which, considering how integral the pantheon of gods had been to several of the prior updates, just makes it seem like the game doesn't want to give you closure about your accomplishment in killing the rest of <i>ZILDROG</i>'s kin.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is especially disappointing since <i>BW</i> have previously demonstrated the ability to reference operation clears in later story content: on Oricon, Dread Master Raptus has three different lines to cover the death of Dread Master Styrak. The first two are generic "the Empire / Republic slew our brother" lines to provide context if you've never cleared Scum and Villainy on a given character, but if you <b>have</b> cleared Scum, Raptus specifically states that <b>you</b> slew Styrak. Would it really have been too much to ask for just <i>one</i> extra bit of dialogue per character in Nathema to reflect on the other gods dying? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Even though Nature of Progress and R-4 aren't connected together all that well, I am pleased to see operations being connected again. That said, I don't think there's much else <i>BW</i> can really get out of the Czerka story following this, unless they decide to bring <i>ARIA </i>back for a "surprise, I lived!" moment and somehow find something to build from there. I kinda hope they just leave it here, to be honest, but we'll see what happens.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I just hope that they add in just <i>a bit </i>more additional context to these goings-on in future. It'd be nice to not feel a bit lost with story elements of content, y'know?</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-67508699476270489842022-08-09T13:00:00.004+01:002022-08-09T13:00:00.291+01:008<p style="text-align: justify;">Another year, another milestone.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fun fact, until last week I had convinced myself that this year would actually be this blog's <i>ninth</i> anniversary, not its eighth. I'm not too sure exactly when I first thought of it like that, but it's certainly been in my head for a good few weeks, as most things that I dwell on are.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, eight years is still worth celebrating. This blog is definitely on its last legs by now, and I have kept it alive a good few years when it could have died several times beforehand. That said, I have decided that this next year will be the last year for <i>Galactic Antics</i>. It's been a wonderful little passion project throughout the years, and I have got to know some really lovely people through it, but it's time that this blog begins to face the long-awaited curtain call at last.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I may refer to the blog rather derisively as a "rust-bucket", but I have enjoyed working on it a fair bit over the years. While I was not inexperienced with being "out there" on the internet prior to its creation in 2014, having hosted numerous webcomics on a separate forum through 2007 to 2011, it's been a wonderful confidence booster in being able to keep an online project active for longer than a single year before moving on, either to a successor or to different things altogether.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So even if it isn't going to reach the "ideal" of a tenth anniversary, hitting eight years and ending on its ninth is not something I would have considered a likely outcome all those years ago. It's been great exposure to creating and running a website, something which I will need to look more into again in the near future once I pull my finger out a bit and focus more on my prospective career options.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's been a fun ride, and of course it isn't over yet. With everything else going on, I don't know what sort of things I'll be touching on over the next twelve months, but since there are more than a couple of things I've been meaning to touch on over the years that I never got around to writing about, I imagine I'll try to incorporate those in the line-up somewhere.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once again, thank you all for reading this blog, and here's to the next and final year of <i>GA</i>. I'll be sure to try and make it as good as possible.</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973603753716110278.post-72154766897425985082022-08-03T00:23:00.006+01:002022-08-03T00:34:38.976+01:007.1: Initial Impressions<p style="text-align: justify;">So, after almost six months, here we are at last! 7.1 is out, and I've been a fair bit busy with it thus far.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The main thing which has been preoccupying me has been helping my various alt-characters catch up to 330 gear, and for this the introduction of mods has been an absolute godsend. It was, admittedly, a bit of a palaver actually getting all the mods sorted, but that's mainly because it wasn't initially specified that if you wanted the equivalent of full Rakata 330 gear, you'd need to disintegrate an item of artifact 330 <b>and</b> an item of prototype 330, not just one piece of the former.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Still, it's done now, and after some acquisition of some extra tech fragments all of my character pairings (Agent / Trooper, Consular / Inquisitor, Hunter / Smuggler, and Knight / Warrior) now have at least one pair of 330 legendary implants and a tactical to share between them as well as their armour, relics, and earpieces, with only the rare occasions that my knight needs to go sage or my smuggler needs to go back to being a gunslinger being the only times where they will need to pilfer items from a different character.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Although, now that completing the Implant Destiny: 330 achievement means that legendary implants are cheaper to get to 330 than they were before, that likely may not be the case for very long!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's pretty much all I'm concerning myself with for gear at the moment. Unlike several of my fellow guildies, I'm not setting my sights on 334 implants anytime soon. At the moment, my feeling toward raiding is that it's probably best if I focus purely on the casual scene and not commit to anything 'serious', which is also why - despite signing up for one of 'my' team's raid weeks for the first time in a while - I've set myself deliberately on bench for all three nights.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Hey, if I were on the team and somebody who hadn't been around for weeks just showed up out of the blue once the new raid was on the horizon, expected and was given a spot over someone who had been there far more consistently, and then decided to bugger off again soon afterward, I certainly wouldn't be too impressed!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Seriously, though, I feel it is not my place to "barge in" at this point. It's infinitely more important that those who are likely to stick around on a consistent basis get immediate priority, and it's not like I won't ever get the chance to see the new op. I'd like to see it, of course, but I'm in no rush. Time has rarely been in short supply for me over the past couple of years, something which will change at some point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Job hunt still continuing, by the way.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For now, I'm happy to be around as and when needed. That said, I feel I've once again fallen into the trap of doing "too much", especially this past weekend, so I'm definitely not keen to let the past few days become the norm. I need to find a happy medium, and suffice to say I haven't succeeded yet.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I really liked the 7.1 story update, short though it was, and while we still know frustratingly little about Malgus' plans the last few beats of the Digging Deeper mission set up some things which I am interested in seeing more of. I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Manaan daily zone is... well... <i>big</i>. There's a lot going on, with a couple of missions per area, but it's also very tight-knit, to the extent that it's very easy to accidentally pull something without realising, which can be an issue given how tedious some of the mob groups are. The daily missions I have done on Repside are decent enough, but they're nothing special, and I feel it's a massive oversight that these dailies reward neither daily resource matrices nor tech fragments.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's a certain irony about the Manaan daily zone being the reason behind the original name of the resource matrices when the missions in the actual zone itself yield none.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Republic NPCs in the story arc are okay. Wo Kasto is, I feel, a nice follow-up to Colonel Gallo, being distrusting at first but gradually offering you his begrudging respect and opening up more about his past at times. Minn Ishkah is quite a conniving character, always keen to try and present herself as an aid to the Selkath while always trying to find some methods of undermining their trust - once again, no wonder the Selkath don't trust the Republic!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm intrigued to see what happens in the Imperial story arc, but I expect it to be much the same in terms of functionality. Go to area 1, do quest, go to area 2, do quest, go to area 3, finish story arc. It's a novel concept in <i>SWTOR</i> to do this style of questline in a daily zone, and it seems almost <i>Neverwinter</i>esque - the only difference being that you don't need to do weeks of grinding on Manaan to unlock the subsequent quests and / or areas.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, that's how 7.1 is going for me thus far. There are some things I really like, and other things I'm curious to see how they evolve or function. I think I would be reasonably content to just let things stall where they are here if that's what I decide to do, as I've finally got my characters up to speed with an equal gear-rating and have also thus negated the need to worry about keeping up with currencies of many different types all the time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But anything can happen going forward!</p>Galactic Anticshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12414162698665967228noreply@blogger.com1