Strongholds are boring, lonely, and a waste of credits!

[MeinChurro]

I only care about entering my own Stronghold, and if I want people to visit my stronghold I will invite them. I have mine publicly listed just to have it so, either way it ultimately doesn't matter to me if it gets seen. Strongholds are very useful! Most of my characters are logged off there, great place to craft next to legacy storage. I have everything utility in one area. I wish I could have some crew skill trainer npc though (those would probably take far too many npc slots though..)!

 

What else is there to spend credits on in this game? Like a friend said to me once before, this game is mostly dress up anymore, like playing with "Barbie dolls".

[Knorlac]

I was really looking forward to GSH and when it finally arrived I had a lot of fun decorating...initially.

 

By now I've come to realize, that with the restrictions of the hook system I'll never be able to achieve the look I wanted for my stronghold. You can change the layout and adjust positioning a bit, but I kept hitting obstacles that couldn't be worked around.

 

Then there is the lack of diversity when it comes to basic furiture like tables, chairs, cabinets and so on. There are so many assets on the fleet alone that I'd like to have, like the imp style chairs and desks.

 

And yeah, no matter how much I try, the stronghold will always look lifeless. I'd like to have some guards patrolling, my pets roaming their rooms freely and animated NPCs like personell working at computer terminals. Never mind that the NPC limit would make this all impossible anyway.

 

All in all I wouldn't say it was a total waste of money as the QoL features alone are worth it IMO, but my enthusiasm for decorating has all but vanished now.

[AlaricSevGirl]

I love strongholds. I own three of them and if Tatooine wasn't so expensive I'd have that and make it a silver key place for my guild members. As it is, we use my medical center on Coruscant as a guild house (decorated as a medical center, even has a waiting room with all the holds, gtn kiosk etc that my guild members need.) My Dromund Kaas and my Nar Shadaa strongholds are private and I have RP parties there, etc.

 

I love the convenience that it affords me to have everything in one place. All of my characters, and I have 12 of them, pop in and out of my strongholds all the time and I loved decorating them. I really don't care about conquest etc points so my places are decorated very nicely.

[TaylorNova]

First, Im a returning player, with One on topic question and two lesser off topic ones, so please bear with me.

Last played 18 months ago, so a whole of new things, missions, a new Star Fighter interface, that I havent even got round to using yet.

 

I believe Bioware has had many chances to make this game more unique that it still hasn't quite achieved, with the main issues for me, is same sex relationships and this new Stongholds Homes.

 

When I first got my hands on a Nar Shadaar Stronghold a few days ago, I thought, At last, a game without grids, and a home to build up and use, as in Second life, which I have been in 8 years now. Im no grouch, but found learning curve of actually placing objects, after first realizing they have to be unlocked, far to complicated.

 

I eventually put down a couch and a bed, But, this is where Bioware has really missed out on not putting in enough work into , what I would call home. I only found from Utube, how to use /chair & /sleep commands, the amount of long insane text, one window after another on how to use strongholds, when in game I found not only boring and not intuitive, but took up to much time, when Im really wanting to know a few lines of basics. TBH There should be no reason to type these commands, these objects, should have scripted pose balls already linked to them, so that when you left or right click the couch, you just sit, and a menu should be available to choose male or female recline animations. Sure the mail box is handy, But really, the amount of virtual space is far to huge. Why not make smaller Skyboxes like Second Life has, with bathrooms and leisure activities like a pool table, that can be used, like the Texas hold em Poker table in Second life. I saw a Tutorial to the end, eventually getting into the balcony, but it seems very silly, to put so many rooms, rather like Buckingham palace which will never get used. So far seen no bathroom accessories, every trooper needs a shower after a hard day on the field, but have yet to see tiles, or an actual shower to walk into yet. This size of dwelling would set you back around £10 in Second Life, But for that, you get up to 20-30 mesh items already installed, like plants, couches,lighting, that turns on and off when touched etc. Wall paper, windows you can dim or open (or Blinds)......With Second life struggling to survive, with mainly American users now instead of the 50/50 US & EU players it used to be, mainly because, LL doesnt see further than beyond the rich CAL office they live and work from. Most EU country's folks under cut backs, like the UK , does not have the luxury of being able to afford there own virtual plot of land that costs an insane £400:eek: Bioware, should have looked at Second Lifes model, on Homes and content, and, directly competed, to attract people to live in a half combat half civil simulator. There is Gorean and urban Combat groups and lands in SL. Thousands of ex Second life players, are looking for something like what Stronghold partly offers, but Bioware simply did not look at other models, like the above or /IMVU. In closing on this part, I found the whole stonghold none inviting, drab, more like a dungeon in wall and ground textures.

 

Next, couple of questions, I used to be in a guild, Seems I still am, but the rest left, and whoever was guild master, gave me the guild master title, however, Im the only one, and Im not sure, if Im still receiving guild rewards or points, as a long time passes. if I wanted to leave this guild, how do I close the whole defunct group and me out of it too? last, I spent some time levelling up, to 47, which opened the door into Makeb. I only just landed there, so no idea whats there or missions apart from knowing the Hutts trying to take control of said planet. My question, is, in another forum, from 2010, It seemed to suggest Makeb, was the only planet where you could share same sex relationships. Now I play a female vanguard trooper, and always found Elara, a Sort of female "Data":D......Im nearly to the top end of affection with her, and in some strange way I care for her and her commitment and her funny quotes on sections, paragraph this, and I have spent a lot of credits, and a lot of time kitting her out as best I can to match my own abilities. So can someone update me on wether my female trooper character can interact with Elara in a more romantic way, or has there been any updates or changes from 2010 about this subject.??

 

Thanks for taking time reading, star ship fighting will have to wait, while I get back into the game. Any useful comments useful. thanks

[PavSalco]

You're correct about lack of visits but a lot of that is thx to uselesness of Public Listings current formula/system. Most people don't bother anymore after they saw 100k+ prestige houses filled with nothing but chairs.

Players don't want to waste their time on the loading screens. It's annoying that every time I want to visit another stronghold I can't do that from the current stronghold I'm in, but I need to go back to the fleet. That's the main reason why I don't visit other homes. Finding that the house I joined is filled with the same decorations is just the last nail in the coffin.

 

I think Bioware could come up with a warning system instead of a rating one. A rating system could be harmful for some people but a warning system would allow people to mark a particular stronghold to be a "filler" house, so others would see on the public list which houses are normal and which are fillers. This information could appear after getting about 10 votes, as a group of players might not like each other and they would mark their strongholds to be fillers while it wouldn't be true.

Edited October 2, 2014 by PavSalco

[EllieAnne]

What would fix that is if they used your companions to behave somewhat independently while in the stronghold. Elara is tending your plants while Aric dozes in a chair. Yuun washes your speeders in the garage then goes and gets some mail. Think Sims meets SWTOR.

[Jaedelyia]

What would fix that is if they used your companions to behave somewhat independently while in the stronghold. Elara is tending your plants while Aric dozes in a chair. Yuun washes your speeders in the garage then goes and gets some mail. Think Sims meets SWTOR.

Niceday dreaming but my guess is it that's way too complicated for the dev to implement. If they could just walk around, it would already be a nice improvement. Simple interaction with some item like sit in a chair, or pretending to hit a computer keyboard would be infinitely better but that would require tons of additional work. (Item detection & so on)

[Cernow]

What would fix that is if they used your companions to behave somewhat independently while in the stronghold. Elara is tending your plants while Aric dozes in a chair. Yuun washes your speeders in the garage then goes and gets some mail. Think Sims meets SWTOR.

 

Would be nice eh. But if the game can't even handle more than 25 static / holographic NPCs tied like statues to hookpoints, it's not going to handle much animation or movement.

 

At best we can perhaps hope to be given some basic animation loops for companions to perform (while fixed to the hookpoint). So, chatting, sleeping, sitting, crafting, dancing etc. Those animations are mostly already in the game (eg how companions craft on your starship if they are on a crafting mission) so it's more a case of how they optimise the performance issues to allow them in strongholds.

[Callaron]

 

Next, couple of questions, I used to be in a guild, Seems I still am, but the rest left, and whoever was guild master, gave me the guild master title, however, Im the only one, and Im not sure, if Im still receiving guild rewards or points, as a long time passes. if I wanted to leave this guild, how do I close the whole defunct group and me out of it too? last, I spent some time levelling up, to 47, which opened the door into Makeb. I only just landed there, so no idea whats there or missions apart from knowing the Hutts trying to take control of said planet. My question, is, in another forum, from 2010, It seemed to suggest Makeb, was the only planet where you could share same sex relationships. Now I play a female vanguard trooper, and always found Elara, a Sort of female "Data":D......Im nearly to the top end of affection with her, and in some strange way I care for her and her commitment and her funny quotes on sections, paragraph this, and I have spent a lot of credits, and a lot of time kitting her out as best I can to match my own abilities. So can someone update me on wether my female trooper character can interact with Elara in a more romantic way, or has there been any updates or changes from 2010 about this subject.??

 

Thanks for taking time reading, star ship fighting will have to wait, while I get back into the game. Any useful comments useful. thanks

 

Welcome back!

I believe you can just /gquit that guild whenever you want, and it'll wind up disbanded. Not sure though, I never tried it.

 

As for Elara... you're still out of luck. Makeb has some SGR stuff, but it's with the new NPCs found there (and in other post-Makeb content).

I doubt at this point that they will ever go back and make changes to the old companions.

[DarthTHC]

The only thing fun about Strongholds is being able to augment the environment to your personal desires. However after you're done furnishing your home the fun is evaporated and you're left in a lifeless and lonely place which is the antithesis of the gaming experience that MMO's are suppose to deliver. I can't count all of the millions I've spent on my Stronghold and in a way I feel like I've wasted all of that money. If the housing was designed like it was in SWG where it wasn't instanced It would be a much better experience. No one hangs out in others Strongholds no matter how spectacular it is, each and every-time I visit a Stronghold that has uber prestige I'm always the only one there, although I have ran into the owners a few times. It just seems like a waste, when they first came out the Fleet was a ghost town. Now that the new appeal has worn off the Fleet has returned to it's former glory.

 

Sounds like you're beating yourself up for making a bad decision due to lack of foresight. Bummer. The best approach is to learn from it and continue forward wiser than you were yesterday!

 

Of course, there are players who quite enjoy their strongholds, still, and will probably continue to do so for as long as they play the game.

 

And there are players who took a more conservative approach to decorating them, starting out inexpensively at first and only as they became convinced they would enjoy it, investing the time and credits to do something more interesting or unique.

 

The very cool thing about MMO's is their breadth. They offer such a wide variety of choices of things to do, that it's well nigh impossible to do them all in the course of a week or probably even a few weeks. This means that not everyone has to be madly enamored of every feature, and it's perfectly fine for it to be that way.

[SgtJeremy]

I know! I just came up with this brilliant idea! How about you just don't get one if they are boring, lonely and a waste to you

This is extremely helpful and we are all enlightened thanks to you. Please never return to any discussion ever. Thank you, you are dismissed.

 

Stongholds are pretty cool and interesting for a while and I think they were intended for you to hang out with friends and such. Not hang out with NPC's or random people. They are social hubs for players who already know each other. Not social hubs to meet new people. That's what flashpoints and all that other stuff is for. In my opinion anyway.

[DarthTHC]

This is extremely helpful and we are all enlightened thanks to you. Please never return to any discussion ever. Thank you, you are dismissed.

 

Stongholds are pretty cool and interesting for a while and I think they were intended for you to hang out with friends and such. Not hang out with NPC's or random people. They are social hubs for players who already know each other. Not social hubs to meet new people. That's what flashpoints and all that other stuff is for. In my opinion anyway.

 

Strongholds are different things to different people.

 

Three of my strongholds are junkyards. They hold a bunch of garbage to help me get to my 100% bonus.

 

My fourth is my "home". Much of it is decorated exactly as I would like it to be, with aesthetically pleasing areas, functional areas, and an overall theme. (Though some junk is still hidden, which I remove as I decorate more and more of it.) I particularly enjoy logging characters in and landing in that stronghold.

 

Between stronghold expansions and furnishing my one, I've spent 10% of my net worth. I consider every credit well-spent, because, after all, it's a game and the entire goal of the thing is to entertain me, and that's exactly what this stuff has done.

 

I don't care if no other player ever sees the inside of it. It's not publicly listed and nobody has a key.

 

The point I'm making... reiterating, actually... is that given the breadth of MMMOs in general and this MMO specifically, every player doesn't have to love every single thing. And that's perfectly OK. It's expected, actually.

 

The rational player understands their own likes and dislikes and plays the right parts of the game accordingly. For example, I don't enjoy PvP so I've never once been inside a Warzone in this game. I don't complain that Warzones exist, nor do I complain of their implementation. I simply know that as a player I've not enjoyed PvP in previous games, PvP in this game seems to look a lot like those, so I avoid and ignore it (though I'm glad it's there for the players who enjoy it).

 

Same should be true for players who don't see the value in housing. That's cool. Don't play it. Think about your own playstyle and what you enjoy before investing tens of millions of credits in it. If it's something you're unfamiliar with, approach it slowly, trying out bits and pieces. Before diving into the pool head-first, you might want to first check to see if the water's deep enough and that its temperature is to your liking.

[branmakmuffin]

Waste of creds? If gave you material to troll the forums with, didn't it?

[Reno_Tarshil]

You're just jealous that my Tatooine Stronghold has more swag than you could ever achieve.

[TUXs]

I agree with the OP...much like him, I leave my actual house unlocked in the hopes that strangers stop by to tell me how well I've decorated it. If I'm not online, I sit at the door, hoping that every car turning into my cul-de-sac will stop by and visit me. With so few people just driving up and randomly entering, I am left lonely and fear I may have wasted a lot or RL credits on my home for no reason. So if you're ever in my area, please stop by and come on in...I'm anxiously awaiting your visit!

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

Sounds like you're beating yourself up for making a bad decision due to lack of foresight. Bummer. The best approach is to learn from it and continue forward wiser than you were yesterday!

 

Of course, there are players who quite enjoy their strongholds, still, and will probably continue to do so for as long as they play the game.

 

And there are players who took a more conservative approach to decorating them, starting out inexpensively at first and only as they became convinced they would enjoy it, investing the time and credits to do something more interesting or unique.

 

The very cool thing about MMO's is their breadth. They offer such a wide variety of choices of things to do, that it's well nigh impossible to do them all in the course of a week or probably even a few weeks. This means that not everyone has to be madly enamored of every feature, and it's perfectly fine for it to be that way.

 

common sense in this forum! *shocked*

 

I agree with your post, but fear this forum topic has become a cesspool of mostly BW haters and people who are just generally unhappy no matter what BW does. I'll qoute from another poster on this forum that also made a good point.

Aren't you aware that "they did nothing right" is the new "I didn't get what I wanted"?

I like Galactic Strongholds nad enjoy decorating my house. It feels like a testament to all the hours I've spent in the game and i take pride in it. Edited October 2, 2014 by Trevor_the_Bruce

[Arkerus]

Strongholds are different things to different people.

 

Three of my strongholds are junkyards. They hold a bunch of garbage to help me get to my 100% bonus.

 

My fourth is my "home". Much of it is decorated exactly as I would like it to be, with aesthetically pleasing areas, functional areas, and an overall theme. (Though some junk is still hidden, which I remove as I decorate more and more of it.) I particularly enjoy logging characters in and landing in that stronghold.

 

Between stronghold expansions and furnishing my one, I've spent 10% of my net worth. I consider every credit well-spent, because, after all, it's a game and the entire goal of the thing is to entertain me, and that's exactly what this stuff has done.

 

I don't care if no other player ever sees the inside of it. It's not publicly listed and nobody has a key.

 

The point I'm making... reiterating, actually... is that given the breadth of MMMOs in general and this MMO specifically, every player doesn't have to love every single thing. And that's perfectly OK. It's expected, actually.

 

The rational player understands their own likes and dislikes and plays the right parts of the game accordingly. For example, I don't enjoy PvP so I've never once been inside a Warzone in this game. I don't complain that Warzones exist, nor do I complain of their implementation. I simply know that as a player I've not enjoyed PvP in previous games, PvP in this game seems to look a lot like those, so I avoid and ignore it (though I'm glad it's there for the players who enjoy it).

 

Same should be true for players who don't see the value in housing. That's cool. Don't play it. Think about your own playstyle and what you enjoy before investing tens of millions of credits in it. If it's something you're unfamiliar with, approach it slowly, trying out bits and pieces. Before diving into the pool head-first, you might want to first check to see if the water's deep enough and that its temperature is to your liking.

 

A++++ would read again.

[Alec_Fortescue]

It's nice to have them but they should have gave us strongholds @ some point in the stories, make them important to thestory (every respectable Sith Lord would have a stronghold) and make them fully equipped and stuff. Make them a hub from which u can travel directly to the fleet, ship etc. and make story quests take place / initiate there.

[Arkerus]

Make them a hub from which u can travel directly to the fleet, ship etc. and make story quests take place / initiate there.

 

Um...

Not sure if serious...

 

They ARE a hub in which you can travel directly to the fleet or your starship. You can even go back to the planet you just came from.

[TUXs]

Um...

Not sure if serious...

 

They ARE a hub in which you can travel directly to the fleet or your starship. You can even go back to the planet you just came from.

 

2 outta 3 ain't bad!

[Arkerus]

2 outta 3 ain't bad!

 

?????

[Trevor_the_Bruce]

Strongholds are different things to different people.

 

Three of my strongholds are junkyards. They hold a bunch of garbage to help me get to my 100% bonus.

 

My fourth is my "home". Much of it is decorated exactly as I would like it to be, with aesthetically pleasing areas, functional areas, and an overall theme. (Though some junk is still hidden, which I remove as I decorate more and more of it.) I particularly enjoy logging characters in and landing in that stronghold.

 

Between stronghold expansions and furnishing my one, I've spent 10% of my net worth. I consider every credit well-spent, because, after all, it's a game and the entire goal of the thing is to entertain me, and that's exactly what this stuff has done.

 

I don't care if no other player ever sees the inside of it. It's not publicly listed and nobody has a key.

 

The point I'm making... reiterating, actually... is that given the breadth of MMMOs in general and this MMO specifically, every player doesn't have to love every single thing. And that's perfectly OK. It's expected, actually.

 

The rational player understands their own likes and dislikes and plays the right parts of the game accordingly. For example, I don't enjoy PvP so I've never once been inside a Warzone in this game. I don't complain that Warzones exist, nor do I complain of their implementation. I simply know that as a player I've not enjoyed PvP in previous games, PvP in this game seems to look a lot like those, so I avoid and ignore it (though I'm glad it's there for the players who enjoy it).

 

Same should be true for players who don't see the value in housing. That's cool. Don't play it. Think about your own playstyle and what you enjoy before investing tens of millions of credits in it. If it's something you're unfamiliar with, approach it slowly, trying out bits and pieces. Before diving into the pool head-first, you might want to first check to see if the water's deep enough and that its temperature is to your liking.

 

 

Agree 100%. The forums are filled with to many vocal people that just like to vent their frustrations about features they particularly don't like, but obviously enjoy other aspects of the game (otherwise they wouldn't be here playing it). Alas, social media has made it so these people get the spotlight and paint the whole world as agreeing with them and only them, while people like myself and you, enjoy the game and don't feel the need to vent frustration on things we particularly don't like. Your point about you not liking pvp ( which you acknowledge that is just your opinion) and that you realize that other people do like it and you have a choice in mmo's to chose to do other content, is very reasonable. I wish more people had that logic. But unfortumatelythere are people who like to just rant an rave about what they don't like, while people who do like features tend to be generally quite about it and not draw attention to it cause they are content in their lives.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Trevor_the_Bruce

[ikinai]

Whatchoo talkin bout Willis? Keep yo hands off my fortress of solitude, or you'll get a visit from Richard Roundtree.

[Foambreaker]

The only thing fun about Strongholds is being able to augment the environment to your personal desires. However after you're done furnishing your home the fun is evaporated and you're left in a lifeless and lonely place which is the antithesis of the gaming experience that MMO's are suppose to deliver. I can't count all of the millions I've spent on my Stronghold and in a way I feel like I've wasted all of that money. If the housing was designed like it was in SWG where it wasn't instanced It would be a much better experience. No one hangs out in others Strongholds no matter how spectacular it is, each and every-time I visit a Stronghold that has uber prestige I'm always the only one there, although I have ran into the owners a few times. It just seems like a waste, when they first came out the Fleet was a ghost town. Now that the new appeal has worn off the Fleet has returned to it's former glory.

 

You could always, you know, go outside your house and see others?

[AlienEyeTX]

If I could just place a PvP terminal and vendor in my stronghold, I'd be set. I got no reason to go anywhere else 95% of the time.