I'd like to throw in my two coppers here as well. The lack of ambient music is pretty glaring. Another big issue I have with the game is the general "static" feeling of the enemy NPC's and friendly/neutral NPC's alike. For instance in the Coruscant Senate Tower there are maybe 9 NPC's, all grouped tightly together in clusters of 3 just standing there kind of looking at each other. The Senate Tower is HUGE, yet it feels pretty much empty. Did all the Senators go on vacation? The game world overall has always, since launch, had this problem, and I'm sad to see that it obviously isn't a priority. It's quite jarring and I find the game hard to be immersed in. I'm constantly thinking to myself how unnatural and uncanny the world is due to the lack of NPC's and how they behave so strangely. I could AFK in enemy territory and never be attacked due to the lack of mob pathing/patrol. It's weird.

Weird I'm located in New Orleans and have been getting D/C. Maybe you're right.

Been D/C'd twice in the past 30 minutes. Game has been sporadically laggy before that. Any word? On Ebon Hawk btw.

That's a shame. It really seems like the engine they chose held them back. The game doesn't even look that good for it. It's passable at best. I enjoy it, but it's not a level of quality that I'd feel sacrificing things like this would be OK for. Too bad. Don't count on an engine revamp anytime... ever. I don't think the game makes enough money to justify something so massive and drastic.

Yeah, because this game totally doesn't follow the exact same formula as World of Warcraft and every other theme park in the last decade. Right. Carry on.

I was just logging out to get some sleep just now and looked over at the jukebox sitting in the corner of the cantina. I went over to the bartender, purchased a token, and picked a song... That. That kind of stuff is what the game needs more of in spades. They show in little glimmers that they are capable of it... they just need to run with it more.

That is completely irrelevant to my post. Even if you are dead set on refusing to consider GW2, then just look at World of Warcraft, another game that does a very good job at building atmosphere and simulating NPC life. The point is, this stuff has been do-able for over a decade now. The only reason I can think of why so many of the "Vanilla" worlds feel so barren in this regard is because maybe there was some kind of time constraint or something where they couldn't fully flesh them out to the extent that they wanted to. I can't imagine the guys at Bioware playing WoW and going "Wow, you know, I really hate how there is a toy vendor that goes around the city selling toys to people and to the children... like... you almost believe that this is a real city... I hate that. Let's not put that in our game at all." That never happened. It must have been some kind of time issue or something.... I hope! Other than that though, I'm having a pretty good time with the game.

I've been playing this game pretty regularly for the past month, and for the most part I find it pleasant enough. I like the story, the setting, I've been able to make a small fortune on the GTN while leveling, the crafting, the LS/DS options, you know, the works. There is just one thing that really nags at me about the game... the NPC's... or sometimes the lack thereof. Entire cities like Kaas City or Coruscant almost devoid of people or life. The placement of friendly NPC's is almost alien. They are all cordoned off to corners or walls, lining up like wall flowers too scared to dance at a rave. They do nothing, they react to nothing... the poor Imperial Officer welding a beam in Hoth is endlessly working, his faithful droid ever beeming up at him from his side. The enemies are rarely better. Usually just groups of 3, sitting together, seemingly waiting for me to kill them. On Tython when you first encounter a Flesh Raider village, there are trappings of life, but you never get the sense that the Flesh Raiders actually do anything other than stand around in packs of 3 and stare. Occasionally an enemy paces around a little bit, but rarely, and that's a problem. In games like Guild Wars 2 and World of Warcraft you can really tell a lot of time was taken to simulate life in towns, cities, and other areas. I know SW:TOR has some NPC's that have aside conversations, but they lead to no where, and they are boring and extremely easy to miss. More than that: they are totally audio, no "doing" involved. No visual cue for life. Contrast this to Divinity's Reach, a main city hub in Guild Wars 2, where a pack of children is playing, along with some dialogue, but also, you can see them chasing one another throughout the city, you can follow them along if you like. All around you there are people walking, talking, and DOING things that make you believe that this is a place where people live, work, play, love, and lose. World of Warcraft excels at this as well. A lot could be done to put this in the hands of players as well. Why not liberally add "toys" and such knick knacks into the game that produce cool affects that players can witness or mildly interact with. GW2 and WoW are full of these things, and the game feels livelier for it. Sure, it might not be the best for preserving immersion, but if you have ridiculous holidays like "Life Day", then I have a hard time believing "immersion" is really an issue here. The point is, for me, this is important for an MMO. These games are like self contained "second lives", full of people who spend a lot of time delving and developing their characters, and in that process they want to feel attached and connected to the world they are doing that in. I think if there is one area that this game could stand some huge improvements, it would be to making the world a more believable, likable, and connected place. Right now I feel it is a very static and plastic experience in that regard.

Most likely a Guardian tank. Love the style. Maybe it's just not apparent on the Imperial side. I never really see buzz about it on the Fleet. I do like the server a lot though. People seem friendly enough. I wouldn't have to start my legacy over either. Not that I have many levels in it. lol

The title says it all. I'm currently playing Imperial on Ebon Hawk just to see the Agent's story, but it's not really a class I'd want to pursue end game with, and overall, I'm not cut out for the Sith Empire despite thinking the Agent is a cool cat. What server has a strong community for Republic Ops? I'd probably be looking for a core/casual group, nothing too serious, but still good enough to down bosses. This would be down the line of course. Just trying to get an idea of what the servers are like. Preferably East Coast. That leaves me with... Jedi Covenant and Shadowlands, right? Thanks, Star Nerds.

So... you posted anyways?

Getting into a really active, talkative guild with people spread out over all levels really made the game for me. I doubt any MMO could hold my interest for more than a month if I played by myself with not even a person to chat with. Years ago it could have, but I guess what I value about these games has changed drastically.

The game isn't dying. Yes, sales have evened out, yes many people have un-subbed, yes some servers are extremely low population, but that doesn't mean the game is dead or dying. I think people's definition of what a successful subscription number is is far too bloated. If it's not in the millions of millions, people begin the doomsaying. Word of Warcraft completely skewed the definition of "success." WoW wasn't a typical game, it evolved into a pop culture phenomenon. Expecting everything else to reach that benchmark is ridiculous. Even if you don't specifically mention WoW, by throwing your hands up and saying the game is dying based on the fact that perhaps over 3 million people aren't playing it is absurd, especially when you don't even have any hard data, and the only way you could've acquired the idea of such a ridiculous standard is from WoW. That's the only game to achieve such critical, long-term success. Using X-Fire statistics and watching your Fleet population at peak hours doesn't make you some informed analyst. If makes you a half-cocked nerd. I believe Trion has claimed that Rift is a profitable venture for them and is successful with far less than 1 million subs. I know SW:TOR cost much more to develop, but they moved boxes, and despite what you might think, people are still playing.

You played EQ2 for 6 years. Don't you think that that may have skewed your view of how much replayability the game had? Think back to your 1st alt in EQ2... did you feel the same way? Also consider that TOR hasn't been out for even 4 months. Do you think your statement will still be your opinion in 6 years?

Stop feeling singled out and pretending that this thread hasn't been nearly 100 pages of nerd raging.