Anyone here ever dabble with Star Wars Combine? http://www.swcombine.com/
It's a online role playing game set in a non canon star wars universe. I used to play a lot but took a several year break from the game. Recently however I decided to play again. So have any of you heard of this game?
Never heard of it. I tend to shy from MMO games but I did play a bit of the SWRPG back in the late 80s/early 90s. It's free, I might take a look at it.
I played for a while some years back, but it did not appeal to me very much.
W8t,
can you give me a short overview how this game is played? Interested in it, but if this is one of those RPG games where you just write your story in a forum, I dunno...there's a game based on G.R.R. Martins Fire & Ice but I didn't see the 'game' in there actually, just writing...but SWC seems to be something different. Just tell me what you like about it :)
Hiimori and I played Urban Dead for quite some time and we liked it, so if this is comparable...
Hi Grim,
SWC is unlike your standard online RPG games where you have to collect something or level up your character through repetitive tasks. It is definitely not a 'write your story in a forum' either although you can use the RPG forums to communicate with other members of the galaxy. See here for my example: http://www.swcombine.com/forum/thread.php?thread=62970&page=0
For quickly getting into the game and developing your character it is recommended that you join a faction. By joining a faction you have access to ships and vehicles that you can use to travel the galaxy while you perform assignments for the faction. Assignments vary from shuttling people or things around, building facilities or items in factories, bounty hunting, etc. But the main goal of this game seems to be accumulating wealth by whatever means you can think of.
What initially attracted me to this game was interaction with other players in order to achieve goals. The social community is not that bad although it has seemed to change a bit since I originally played several years ago. I'm not seriously playing this time. I'm more curious on how things have developed since I left.
Here is the galaxy map:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.swcombine.com%2Frules%2Fthe_universe%2Fgalaxy_map%2FgalaxyMap.php%3Fmode%3Dhigh%26amp%3Bpolitical%3D0&hash=f39d43a4036b85d74a5f0415e3551a47b986589f)
The galaxy is divided into sectors, and each of those little dots represent a solar system filled with planets to explore. Flying in hyperspace is a time consuming event however and like all actions in game takes up real time. So for example, depending on your ships hyperdrive performance it takes at least 4 real world days to fly from one side of the galaxy to another. Even more if you have a low rated hyperdrive ship. This mechanic is one of the things that put off a lot of players. If you are looking to jump into action and get instant gratification then this game is not for you. SWC requires somebody with patience and a little imagination.
I'm flying a Pursuer Enforcement Ship:
http://www.swcombine.com/rules/?Gunboats&ID=114
QuoteFlying in hyperspace is a time consuming event however and like all actions in game takes up real time. So for example, depending on your ships hyperdrive performance it takes at least 4 real world days to fly from one side of the galaxy to another. Even more if you have a low rated hyperdrive ship. This mechanic is one of the things that put off a lot of players. If you are looking to jump into action and get instant gratification then this game is not for you. SWC requires somebody with patience and a little imagination.
Oh, that I find interesting...giving a feel of commitment to do things...using real time is certainly a 'tool' to offer a certain immersion, meaning to what you do in a game. Ok, will check this out and let you know...chances are if you recommend it, that I will like it ;)
Did you ever try Darkspace?
That was an extremely fun indie MMO that's still running. The gameplay was similar to the old Starfleet Command series games except there are three factions and Darkspace actually has a fully realized "metaverse" of multiple star systems that the three factions fight over. A good variety of warship types and even constructors for creating resource collectors and bases. The resource points are spent by teams for most everything.
Pretty cool system, although it's been around since 1999 and I think the gfx only had one update a few years ago. I had lots of fun in big space fleet battles, vying for ownership of the worlds in each contested system. 8) I'd be in multi-player heaven if they could afford to create a second version with a new gfx engine. They're still updating the system, however, and I often plan on jumping back in when I see an update notice in my email. The game mechanics are pretty damn fun if you want a mix of tactical spaceship warfare and 4X-like strategy mixed in a multi-player environment.
There is a fair bit of learning curve, however; moreso than when I first played years ago since much has been added. Luckily you start off at a lower rank and your ship classes are limited to Frigates and maybe repair ships & such. So you often take the role of a Scout or Support for a bit until you rank-up. Being a team-based game, tips are easy to find in chat.
It's free-to-play for a number of rank promotions, last I checked.
http://www.darkspace.net/
I have very fond memories of starting off as a noob Ensign, commanding a Troop ship. It was quite an art being able to set my Jump Drive nav system so close to an enemy planet that I risked colliding with it while coming out of Jumpspace, but pulling it off so well that the enemy's response time would be limited before I could achieve proper distance to land troops and hopefully get back out before their warships arrived in firing range. 8) Also all the big ongoing fleet battles were pretty crazy. I wonder how many regulars they still have doing that stuff?
@Grimnirsson
I'm sure you will like the game. We seem to have the same tastes. ;)
Check it out and play a while. If you decide you like it let me know. Our characters can work together unfettered by the time separation of warp space since orders take a while to execute in game anyway.
@Nefaro
That looks like a pretty good game. Seems like it is far more fast paced that SWC however the ranking system in Darkspace seems intriguing. Ok I'll have to give this one a try over the weekend! Thanks for the link. 8)
Quote from: W8taminute on November 20, 2013, 06:38:44 PM
@Nefaro
That looks like a pretty good game. Seems like it is far more fast paced that SWC however the ranking system in Darkspace seems intriguing. Ok I'll have to give this one a try over the weekend! Thanks for the link. 8)
Yeah. I'm downloading it now, too. Been a long time. I had thought that Eve Online would be similar when I eventually tried it but EO is more focused on the individual character and/or corporation grinding out credits. The mechanics of this one is more like a galactic warfare thing with more militaristic goals and well-defined factions fighting each other for planet (and therefore resource) ownership.
I just hope the graphics are still passable. It looked good back in 2000-01 when I played quite a bit, and I know that some of the updates added all the widescreen resolutions and some extra gfx effects so hopefully it's enough. Of course, much of the info is relayed via all the HUD symbols overlying the 3D and Nav Map views so my concerns are only skin deep. ;D
I'm pretty jazzed on checking it out again after seeing the update message in my email. Will have to post some about it's current gameplay when I get oriented once more.
Which faction do you belong to W8t?
My character belongs to SYT Transportation under the category of trading factions. My character's name is Eristede Melta and his profile is public so as long as you're logged into the combine you can view it.
W8taminute, I've been a SW fan for about 30 years now, AND I'm quite experienced in browser games (I played several games over the last years and in some of them, I was a member of the alliance / faction leadership and got very involved). So I got curious and registered a SWC account.
So far, I didn't do anything useful, I'm still trying to figure things out and I'm fumbling with the interface. I was bombarded with faction invites the moment I registered and I joined a faction which offers all kinds of work - mercenary stuff, construction, piloting, everything is possible. Since I have no idea what to do and how to develop my character, this appeared to be a smart choice.
My first impression: I don't have a clue what to do as a new player (I asked my alliance leaders and they recommended that I should leave the faction HQ where I had spawned and to walk around in the city to accumulate some EXP). I'm now in the city, but I don't know what I can or should do. I would like to get some equipment and I discovered a square which is full of equipment (several copies of power armor), but I don't know whether I can pick up one or if this would be considered theft. I don't want to commit a crime until I got at least a basic weapon :P So far, I'm feeling really clumsy and noobish, but the documentation isn't very informative.
The SW universe portrayed in the game appears to be very uncanonical, and the players are not very much in-character (something I would have preferred because I like the RPG element of such games). Here, it doesn't seem to be important which race you belong to (except from tactical considerations regarding HP and skills).
I'm not sure whether I like the game (it's too early to decide, though, I need at least a ship and have to do some flying around the universe to judge the game). I will play for a while, until I get a ship and can do some fighting and stuff.
After consulting with my faction, I picked up one set of Correlian power armor and helmet lying around in the streets (it appears that their owner became inactive a year ago, so it didn't really count as theft).
After walking through the city for a few days (accumulating XP), my faction assigned me a ship (an X-Ceptor). I just took off into orbit where I'm waiting for my next orders.
Good to hear Hiimori. Let me know if you have any questions. This game is indeed noncanonical and it is very tough to aquire items and ships in the game on your own. Joining a faction allows you to use their equipment and vehicles when the mission calls for it. After a while you should have accumulated enough credits from the salary you will make in the faction to purchase your own items. So far my new character owns nothing but at least I get to use a ship and fly around the galaxy. I'm currently in Hutt Space picking up some battledroids to be transported to our faction HQ.
I just got my first salary, 2.5 million Credits. I'm still waiting for further instructions in the orbit and will get my first faction mission soon!
Edit: It was just a test whether I was capable of taking off and flying to the atmosphere... I was now assigned a larger ship for permanent use :P