some bits i picked off swg forums

Stuff includes

1. Heavy weapon
2. Stealth tricks ( included force cloak)
3. Jedi enhancments (cool new jedi mind tricks)

have fun reading :)

Audie

Hey folks,

I wanted to take a few minutes to post some information about the next publish we have been working on. The current plan is to have Publish 27 live on January 17, 2005. We have some new features that are going to be part of publish 27 that we wanted to get out in front of our community to start some discussion.

Here are the high-level bullets of what we are working on:

1. The creation of a new heavy weapons system that is being integrated with fast action combat. One of the highlights of the system is that characters will be able to target any area and fire their weapons as opposed to the current targeting which requires players to fire specifically at an NPC.
2. The enhancement of the stealth and trap game systems. This will include the addition of new class specific items and abilities for the following professions: Jedi, Spy, Smuggler, Commando and Bounty Hunter.
3. We are also completing some additional enhancements to the Jedi class that will include some new abilities that will be easily recognized by any Star Wars fan. I have waited a long time to use “Jedi Mind Tricks” in Galaxies and now I’m finally going to get my chance.
4. We are adding a “Go Home” Button to space that will allow players to hyperspace back to the space station that they have launched from. We are hoping this added convenience makes space a lot less daunting to travel in.
5. We are also continuing the effort to correct issues and streamline the content path we have created with the NGE. You will see a lot of content path issues on Mustafar, Kashyyyk, Tatooine and Naboo addressed with the release of Publish 27.

We are excited to get these changes to the community and I wanted to let you know what was in progress so you could see what we’ve been up too here just before the holidays. You will also see a lot of details on this in Thunderheart’s Report to the Community which will be posted later on today. Each of the individual developers implementing these features will post specifically about what they have been working on.

Thank you folks for all of the feedback you have been posting to the team. We have been reading through it and I hope we continue to hear from you on these new features as they are being implemented.

Regards,

____________________________
Mario Rizzo
Associate Producer, Star Wars Galaxies
Sony Online Entertainment

Heavy weopons stuff

Greetings,

We wanted to give you a look at some of the ideas for the Heavy Weapons upgrades scheduled for Publish 27 (Publish 27 is currently scheduled for January 17th, 2005).

When we bring Heavy Weapons back, we want to do it in a big way and here is what we are looking at currently:

* "Location Targeting" is a new type of targeting method that casts a targeting reticle on the ground. You can aim the area targeting crosshairs and target an area to attack.

Some of the Heavy Weapons will use "Location Targeting" and some of them will use "Directional Targeting" (The specifics for each weapon are listed below). Directionarl targeting allows you to simply point your weapon in a certain direction without having to target a specific object.
* All restrictions will be removed from Heavy Weapons and they will be available for all players to use.

Here are the three types of Heavy Weapons that will be added to the game in Publish 27:

* Flame Thrower and all Flame Thrower Variants (Plasma, The Void, etc)
o Target Type: Directional
o Effect: Spews a cone of flames and sets the ground on fire. This will be an Area-of-Attack (AoE) with a Damage-Over-Time (DoT).
* Acid Rifle
o Target Type: Location
o Effect: Spews cone of acid and creates a puddle of noxious acid. This will be an Area-of-Effect (AoE) attack that will deliver a blinding combat de-buff.
* Launcher Pistol
o Target Type: Location
o Effect: Shoots small rockets into the ground that will detonate a short time later. This attack will deliver an Area-of-Effect (AoE) snare.

Some Additional Details

* The Proton Rifle will no longer be classified as a Heavy Weapon.
* Special Moves cannot be executed while using Heavy Weapons.

I'll be reading your feedback over the holidays, so please let me know what you think about this preview of the changes.

Thanks!

STealth thingys INCLUDES FORCE CLOAK!!!

The fun factor for spies often lies in how sneaky they are and the types of cool gadgets they use to get the job done. This is exactly where we want to go with the first level of profession specialization with the spy profession.

As part of the Stealth and Gadgets changes, other professions will be getting some benefits as also. We're going to include those changes as part of this post.


Stealth and Gadgets Overview

* Stealth skills are being made to be more fun, useful and engaging.
* We are adding player deployable traps & trap triggers.
* We are also adding the concept of hiding & detecting traps as well as detecting hidden players.


Stealth Changes

* Spy's stealth high level abilities are being changed to be based on your Action costs. This way, you can manage your action cost modifiers to affect how long or short your stealth abilities will be in effect. This can potentially be infinite if you manage your gear and buffs the right way.

When you run out of Action, you will become visible.
* Camouflage skill modifiers will drop on specific camouflage clothing. In-Game items that used the old camouflage modifiers can also be used for this purpose.
* Smuggler will be granted the "Hide" ability. This will work similar to the Spy's Smoke Grenade in that you can't move or attack while using this ability to evade an enemy.
* Jedi will be granted the "Force Cloak" ability. This is also similar to Smuggler's "Hide" in that you can't move or attack while using this ability to evade an enemy.


Traps & Triggers

Traps will be added into the game and you will have a variety of triggers that you can use to set off the traps. A player can deploy a trap in the world as long as there are no other traps close by.

* 4 new trap types will be available from faction recruiters. Here they are:
o HX2 Mines: These are heavy, explosive mines that can be used by Commandos only.
o Flash-Bang Traps: These can be used by Commandos, Bounty Hunters & Spies.
o Caltrop Mine: This is a Movement Snare and can be used by Commandos, Bounty Hunters & Spies.
o Kamino Dart Trap: This trap is a Poison Damage-Over-Time (DoT) attack that can only be deployed by spies.
* 2 different kinds of Trigger Types will be available from faction recruiters:
o Remote trigger: This allows you detonate a single trap or mine from a distance.
o Timer trigger: This allows you to set a variable timer to detonate the trap or mine after a specific period of time has elapsed.
* Spies, Bounty Hunters & Commandos will be able to hide their own traps from view - - nobody at all will be able to see the traps.

Detect Hidden

As part of the stealth changes, we have some additional details that will enhance the following professions:

* Jedi will be given the "Sense Danger" ability which allows them to reveal hidden Traps, Players and Creatures.
* Bounty Hunters will be given the "Detect Camouflage" ability which allows them to reveal hidden Players and Creatures, but not traps. The exception here will be Force Cloaked players (which in fact cannot be detected by anyone).
* Smugglers will be able to purchase Chaff Flares from faction recruiters which will allow them to reveal hidden traps.
* Smugglers & Commandos will be given the ability to Disarm hostile traps.

These changes will be coming together to create a lot of new combat interactions and I'm looking to find out how you see these changes improve your professions and overall combat in the game.

I'll be checking the thread over the holidays, so please be sure to post your opinions and ideas.

Thanks!

JEDI ENHANCEMENTS

In Development: Profession Specialization - Jedi Enhancements

Here is a first look at the proposed changes that are intended to make Jedi a powerful melee class and give them some additional abilities that grow the profession to meet their namesake as a Jedi.

The focus is to strengthen the effectiveness of Jedi in combat by increasing their defenses versus damage and offering them more abilities to augment their melee focus.

Here are the new groups of abilities:

Strikes and Sweeps

Strikes needed more variety so we are changing some of the strikes to be sweeps. Sweeps work exactly like strikes, but they will be 360 degree attacks. Strikes and Sweeps will require a Lightsaber or melee weapon to launch these attacks (any Lightsaber or melee weapon can be used).


Focus Buffs

Jedi will be getting 3 new offensive buffs added to this group of abilities to complete the power progression through level 90. This will give Jedi increased damage (including melee) up through mid and high levels.


Force Throw

Force Throw will be changed so that it is now a single ability that can be used with any Lightsaber or melee weapon.


Jedi Stances

The Jedi stances are all being unified into one group of abilities that will all deliver strong defensive buffs. For example at level 22, Jedi will get an ability that will give them an immunity to Poison effects for the duration of the stance and cure any poisons that the character may have been suffering from. Another stance comes at level 54 which adds an additional chance to block or dodge incoming attacks.

The important thing to keep in mind is that highest level stances have all the previous benefits of the low and mid level stances. There are additional stance surprises up through level 90!


Force Lightning

We have reduced the activation and cool-down timers to this group of abilities.


Force Run

Terrain Negotiation will be added as a bonus to this ability.


Self Heals

We have added another self-heal at level 14 so Jedi will have a complete ability progression.


Force Chokes

Force Choke will be changed so that it uses the range of the special ability and doesn't rely on the range of an equipped weapon.


Special Abilities: Tool Tips that Matter

A lot of Jedi abilities have different sorts of restrictions. One of the recurring things we saw on the boards is that players weren't always clear in understanding which abilities used a weapon, which didn't, and other sorts of ability-specific details.

We will be including all of these details in the tool tip for each of the Jedi abilities, the effects and the restrictions are clear and easy to understand.


Jedi Mind Tricks

Rounding out this list of changes to Jedi Abilities is the addition of Jedi Mind Tricks! This exciting and iconic new ability can be used to reduce the Strength and Precision of NPCs, Creatures and Players by making them less effective in combat.

By using the Jedi Mind trick, a Jedi will be able to escape NPC's and Creatures with a wave of their hand. NPC's and Creatures will lose all interest in attacking the Jedi so he can "move along". At higher levels, this ability will affect all NPC's and Creatures in an area!

We hope you like these changes and I look forwarding to reading your feedback!

Happy Holidays!