Well, after reading all this I thought I'd add my thoughts to all this.

First, I've been watching all you folks (devs) for 15 years (I think) and I'm just amazed at your dedication to this project, and if you release 1.0 with just the ground game (as I also understood this was the [new?] plan,) then I say CONGRATULATIONS! On job well done! Working 15 years on ANY project is a respectable feat, let alone doing so voluntarily and on your own time - WOW!

Second, to all you folks reading, if you think ****** isn't watching all this, then you're just plain wrong. I have also watched this amazing company, called ******, since I was a child (50+ years.) Watched it as it evolved and grew into one of the most long-lasting, able-to-evolve, successful mega-company's in existence today! I watched as they expanded World-Wide putting theme parks everywhere, developed their own (working) Time-share Vacationing business (one of the last that's even worthy of considering,) created a new successful non-****** film studio - Touchstone Pictures, and bought up 21st Century Fox, ESPN, ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation,) LucasFilms ("Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, and Lucas Licensing",) LucasArts, and Marvell Entertainment. They are JUST launching their own (soon to be wildly successful) Streaming Media Service to compete on the stage with Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu, and I bet I'm not alone in this group as being one who has ALREADY signed-up and committed $7.99 per month to THAT!

****** sees how successful (and unsuccessful) SWG by SOE was. They also see all the OTHER StarWars Games, and NONE have the dedicated fan-base like SWG (are you kidding me? People (old people, like me) patiently waiting over a DECADE for the resurrection of a game!) I just bet, ****** sees, all too clearly, the fan-base's desire for a multi-faceted, multi-planet, multi-professional, multi-political, MMORPG Universe to house a VR environment where anyone can be their favorite Star Wars character (even one you invented) and interact with others on the same level. Yes, they know. They are assessing whether or not they can make really $$'s investing in such a large, clearly, long-term project, and watching OUR devs, part-time, investing YEARS into the same thing, must give them pause - it does me.

[Steps-off soap box] Here is what, IMHO, I think you should consider doing:

1.) Go forward and release 1.0 with just the Ground Game - and don't try and fix ALL the bugs. Set up a maintenance team to address those details after you release - if you can find willing volunteers.

2.) Consider getting JTL working just enough to allow:
a.) People to own their own ships of their choosing, not based on Piloting skill, but based on their ability to pay for the components and have one built.
b.) Finishing the Shipwright profession to allow someone to actually build the ships.
c.) Folks to go to a starport and travel using their ship to another planet - directly.
... This I believe adds an "extra" desired element to SWGEmu.

d.) If it's possible, allow folks to "jump" into space, into orbit, plot a hyperspace course, and fly there.
e.) allow them to "fly" to Space Stations and communicate with them, just enough to land at a specified Starport.

i.e. pretend that Space is just this REALLY peaceful place right now. No war, no pirates, no conflicts.

f.) if it's possible, work on allowing folks to mine asteroids for "other" precious materials needed for making advanced ships.

Yes, this isn't going to satisfy the First Person Shooters that want to blast things out in space, BUT it does provide an added Roll-playing facet that I believe I'm hearing people want. After-all, you brought back Pre-Cu for it's "roll-playing" ability - not for it's first-person shooter aspects. Am I correct?


Tuleen Donai
Darykon Industries
Tatooine

"We're meant to build the ships, you wish to fly!"