System Messages

Group Mechanics

Forming A Group

To start a group, just click and hold the MOUSE 1 button on any player, and then select the Invite option from the radial menu. You can also type /invite [player' s first name] in the Chat Input bar to invite someone to your group. The invite command and radial have a range of 90m. Players that want to join a group have to be within this range in order to be able to be invited. The group leader my also uninvite a player by using the /uninvite command and either targeting the player with it or entering the player's name.

A group leader may destroy a group by using the /disband or /leave command. To remove individual players, a group leader can use the /dismissGroupMember command and target them or include their name. Additionally the group member may use the kick radial option on players or use the kick option available in the group ui window.

A group may have from 2 up to 20 players in it. This includes pets.

Joining A Group

To join a group, you must first be invited. When you receive a message that you have been invited to join a group, simply type /join in your Chat Input bar. You can also bring up a radial menu on the character who invited you and select Join Group.

If you are invited to a group and do not wish you join, type /decline in the Chat Input bar. A Decline option also appears on the radial menu of the inviter, connected to the Join Group option. Like with the invite command, join group has a range of 90 meters in which the player must be in in order to be able to join.

Players may leave a group by using the /disband or /leave command. Both of these will allow the player to remove themself from the group.

THE GROUP LIST

Once you form or join a group, you'll see a new element: the Group list. The Group list contains the names and HAM bars of every member of your group. If you target a group member (for healing, perhaps) , that character's Status box will be marked by a small white triangle. You can target group members by clicking on their Status box.

The group leader's Status box always appears at the top of the Group list (but beneath your own HAM bars). If you target a group member, that character's HAM box will be marked by a white triangle.

Group Window UI

Group in Combat

GROUP CHAT

Members of a group can talk directly to one another by using a special and private group channel, which is automatically created when the group is formed. Group chat can be accessed through:

   * /gsay [message]
   * /gtell [message]
   * /groupsay [message]

THE GROUP LEADER

The player who first started the group is the group leader. He or she has access to a number of special commands, which are available through the Chat commands and radial menu options:

(Note, most of these functions were broken shortly after the release of the game and were never fixed/returned properly. It is my opinion that the vast majority of them are quite useful for a group leader to run a group and should be reinstated with their original purpose and function with a few exceptions. I believe that the group notification messages should be togglable by any member of the group however the functions like autoloot etc should remain with the group leader. The need for possible radius restrictions on these abilities such as making the ability only work within range of another group member could be necessary to keep exploitation to a minimum, in particular for the autoloot function.)

OTHER GROUP COMMANDS

All group members have access to the following commands:

Group Missions

Group Difficulty & Bonuses

When players group together, they combine their individual combat difficulty levels. This combat difficulty level is used to determine the payout and difficulty levels of missions. See the Quests and Missions section for more information. By Grouping, a player gains a 25% bonus to combat related experience earned. There is also a 20% harvesting bonus if you are in a group and at least one group member is within 64m of you when you harvest. If there is a Ranger present in your group and is within 64m of you, the group harvesting bonus will be 30% for you when you harvest. If there is a Master Ranger present in your group and is within 64m of you, the group harvesting bonus will be 40%.

Group Waypoints and Payout Range

When grouped players take missions, the game takes the cloest mission for the greatest majority of players as the one to which to create a nearest mission for group waypoint at. This waypoint is updated to all members of the group based upon how the current mission distances check out. The waypoint is created in the datapad and is updated regularly. For example if a group waypoint mission updates and brings the mission farther out than another mission, then the closer mission will then be selected as the nearest mission for the group.

Nearest WP

Members of a group may receive a cut into the payout of a particular mission if they are within 200 meters of the mission target when it is destroyed or completed. The split they get is determined by the mission payout divided by the total amount of players in group. Pets in group do not count towards mission payout.

Group Looting

Looting Rights

Looting rights are the ability for players to access a given container or corpse in order to be able to retrieve the contents. For the purpose of looting contents of public world containers, any player may open and take the contents even while another player is doing the same. This means that two players can both be browing a single container at once, and the contents belong to whichever player picks the particular item up first.

For corpse looting, the exact looting system is in question at the moment as there seems to be a lack of concrete evidence showing how the system worked. In SWG this seems to gravitate towards 2 popular theories:

1. The first theory is that Damage checks between the individuals attacking a creature compare to determine which has done the most damage to a particular mob. The highest damage dealer to the mob by the time it has died will have won the looting rights. According to this theory, the same applies when grouped. The highest damage dealer in the group is used for the group's loot rights vs other players.

2. The second theory is that damage checks are between total group average damage vs group average of other players. If a player is solo then they are technically a group of 1.

Note: I believe a fairer option for us to take is to implement it so that the first attacker on a creature/npc obtains a large bonus to their looting right calculations. I think that keeping it similar to total damage dealt is feasible, and with a bonus thrown in, it would help to alleviate cases were individuals or groups have spent quite an amount of time/effort into taking down a kill only to be usurped by random or malicious intent individuals/groups attacking and obtaining looting rights.

Group Looting Options

General Overview

Group Looting in Star Wars is a variety of methods for how players in Star Wars Galaxies can distribute loot. These systems will allow the group leader to determine what type of looting system his group will use.

Terminology

Looting Rights - determines which player(s) can loot an item

Loot Distribution - determines the method by which looting rights are determined

Party - a non-persistent group of players usually formed for relatively short periods of time and with a set purpose such as adventuring, resource gathering, etc. The minimum group size is 2 players and the maximum group size is 20 players.

Settings -There are 3 settings for group looting. These settings can only be set by the group leader. The party members will see by the icon near their names which setting has been chosen, and they will be notified every time the settings are changed:

Free-for-All - the first person in the party who clicks the item gets it. This is the current default method for Star Wars Galaxies. In a free-for-all loot distribution setting, the loot is placed in the backpack of the first person in the party that has looting rights to loot the item. If the character does not have enough room in his backpack to hold the item the item remains where it is and the player receives a message about their backpack being full, and the item stays on the corpse. Once the item is successfully removed from the corpse the entire party is informed via system message of who looted, and what item was looted.

Master Looter -The party leader chooses a player in the group to be the master looter (party leader is the master looter by default). This player is the only one who has looting permissions on the creatures that the group kills. The Master Looter can easily be identified by the Icon next to their name. If the master looter loots an item, but does not have enough room in his backpack to hold the item the item remains where it is and the player receives a message about their backpack being full. Once the item is successfully removed from the corpse the entire party is informed via system message of who looted, and what item was looted.

Lottery - The lottery system allows players to vie for which items they would like. A player can choose to pass on an item or to be included in the roll for it. When a corpse gets looted by anyone in the group, every member gets a window showing the list of item(s) on the corpse. Each player can either click on the individual items to bid or pass on them. Each party member can also choose, "Select All" which automatically places a bid for them for each item on the list. If no action is taken within 30 seconds by a player, the system automatically passes for them and they are no longer in contention for the item(s) on the corpse. If the player who wins the Lottery on an item does not have enough room in their inventory, they receive a message telling them their inventory is full, and the item stays on the corpse until someone else tries to loot it again. Once the item is successfully removed from the corpse the entire party is informed via system message of who looted, and what item was looted.

Group Looting Detailed

Overview

Group Looting in Star Wars is a variety of methods 
for how players in Star Wars Galaxies can distribute 
loot.   These systems will allow the group leader to
determine what type of looting system his group will use.

Terminology 

    Looting Rights - determines which player(s)
    can loot an item

    Loot Distribution - determines the method by 
which looting rights are determined

    Party - a non-persistent group of players usually
formed for relatively short periods of time and with
a set purpose such as adventuring, resource gathering, etc.



Loot Distribution Settings 

Once a creature or NPC is killed the loot is assigned 
based on the loot distribution settings. These settings
are determined by the group leader.  There are 4 
settings for Group Looting that the group leader can 
choose from:

    Free-for-All

In a free-for-all loot distribution setting,
the loot is available for anyone to take off of the 
corpse. This is no different then what you are using 
today in Star Wars Galaxies. 

    Random Roll

In Random Roll setting the game randomly determines 
from all the group members preset who gets any given 
looted object.  For example, when someone uses loot 
all on a corpse with multiple items the items will 
go to different party members (even though only one
 person clicked on the corpse).

    Master Looter

In the master Looter setting only the master looter 
is allowed to loot from the corpse.

    Lottery

In a Lottery setting each player is given an opportunity
to decide whether they are interested in the loot items
presented or not.
              
              Players will have a window that shows 
up with the items on the corpse. (see picture below). 
They will choose the ones they are interested in, and
ignore the ones they don't want.
              
              o If a player chooses an item his name 
is added to the list of players vying for the item.

              o In order to keep any of the players in a
group from griefing the rest of the group there will be a 
30 second timer and any player who hasn't chosen the items
he wants within the time frame is marked as Pass. If the 
window closes with the timer, it will automatically request
any items that you've already selected to the server as 
opposed to nothing.
        
Once all the players are finished marking their items
the game will randomly pick from the people who wants the
item and give the items to the appropriate player. 





Lottery Loot Example

The following explains how the Lottery distribution 
system works:

    The party consists of four characters
          o 1- Han (Leader)
          o 2- Luke
          o 3- Leia
          o 4- Chewie


    The party kills One of Jabba's Thugs who has a 
pistol and a pair of boots.  Each player gets a UI 
window that shows the items.
          
          o Han doesn't care about the pistol and he 
likes his boots so he selects pass all from the bottom
of the UI.

          o Luke wants the Boots but doesn't need a 
pistol so he selects the boots and ignores the pistol.

          o Leia wants the pistol because hers is 
broken, but she doesn't want the boots because she has 
good shoes already.  She selects the pistol and ignores
 the boots.

          o Chewie has fallen asleep at his keyboard 
so after 30 seconds the game marks him as having chosen
 pass all.
                + Since there are no conflicts the game
gives Luke the boots and Leia the pistol.



    After a while the party kills a Stormtrooper.  
The Stormtrooper has a communicator and a rifle.

          o Han decides he wants the rifle since it 
does more damage than his pistol.  He chooses the rifle
and ignores the communicator.

          o Luke wants the communicator but not the 
rifle.  He chooses the communicator and ignores the 
rifle.

          o Leia wants the communicator and the rifle
 so she selects both.

          o Chewie wants the rifle as well but not the
communicator so he selects the rifle.

                + Since Han, Chewie, and Leia all want 
the rifle the game selects a random number between 
1 and 3 and gives the winner the rifle.  In this case
it selects 2 and gives the rifle to Leia.

                + Since Luke and Leia both want the 
communicator the game selects a random number between
1 and 2 and gives the winner the communicator.  The 
game selects 2 and gives the communicator to Leia as well.

    A little later the party is attacked by a crazed Jawa.
The Jawa has a broken pair of binoculars.

          o Han selects pass all.
          o Luke selects pass all.
          o Leia selects pass all.
          o Chewie selects pass all.

                + Since no one wants the broken binoculars 
they stay on the corpse.  At this point the looting rights 
are removed from the corpse and anyone can loot the item.
This has changed as well.  At this point, if everyone 
passes, the item just gets cleared with the corpse when
it cleans up.

Group Loot Options

Lottery Window

Source References