wolala Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 This game has the worst choices of playable races I have seen in an mmo. especially for a Star Wars game they should have paid more attention to the races the players could play. I've been playing through the game and have seen almost 9:1 ratio of humans to ailien races. And the reason is simple, all the other ones suck. blind people are humans that are blind, not a race of their own. I have no idea who the hell these "Chiss" things are. The only characteristic they got is their blue skin? really? "Mirilian", okay so now we got green people, "Sith Pureblood"? didnt know Star Wars had Draeneis. "Rattakis"? Alright that only leaves 2 other ailien races and I think they are rather ok "Twileks" stay true to Star Wars lore, and so does "Zabraks". So they are alright. Since there are no racial ability and attribute difference in the races, there are simply no reason to play some ugly half-assed races. I realize that the game is in the old republic time line, but if you're going to introduce new races, at least do it with some love,,, I mean why couldnt they just let us play Wookies? Gungans? Kel Dors? Why add some weird scratch-made garbage races when there are already iconic races that star wars fans are dying to play? Some of the races just seem so out of place, it kills the lore, I guess they won't be removing them so I hope they plan to release them in their future expansions. Or was that their initial plan? maybe I've got stuff against lucas, not bioware. But if they knew some of Lucas's races sucked why did they decide to put them in the game? so in the end it is part of their fault. ok thats it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RavensDaemon Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 You obviously don't know or read the Lore you are talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolala Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 You obviously don't know or read the Lore you are talking about. well I'm not just talking about the lore aspect, but the level of quality and variety the developers have put into the playable races and how that affects lore and the basic feel of the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolvana Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 It seems you don't know anything about the Star Wars expended universe. Bioware tried to choose races that were human-looking because it was easier for them to make the skins for the bodies, armors, the way the character runs and moves, etc. The Chiss are very important in the Star Wars expended universe: the best SW books ever are the Thrawn Trilogy, where the villain is Thrawn, a Chiss. Humanoid race with blue skin and red eyes, able to see in the dark, usually they are very intelligent and cultured. The Rattataki is the race of Assaj Ventress, don't you know her? we see her everywhere in the SW cartoon and 3D serie. The Miraluka ("blind humans" as you call them) are already in the first game KOTOR. You can see the others in the movies as well. I understand that it's harder for Bioware to create non-humanoid looking characters, and by the way wookies cannot really wear foot gear or armors, so it would be hard to play that race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilippKausch Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 "Sith Pureblood"? didnt know Star Wars had Draeneis. Ahm, dude, if anything, than the Draeneis are a copy of the Sith race... For all the other issues you have: Just because you haven't known those races before doesn't mean they haven't existed in the Star Wars lore/universe. The developers didn't invent any new races, they took what was already there. So please, before getting frustrated and flaming around, you should really get to know the EU of Star Wars a bit better. But I agree with you in one point: I would have liked to see more playable races, especially due to the fact, that the race choice is only optical. I would have loved to play as a Nautolan or a Togruta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmcJoseph Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Wookies, really? Can you just imagine the annoying dialog you would get out of them. edit: Just as a side note I would of liked the Nautolan as a playable race Edited January 2, 2012 by usmcJoseph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teleek Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) You would easily be able to make a wookie.. You just use the same scripting as you do with Khem. A companion that wears all but shows none of what he wears. Use special skins for these races and your done. Wookies are humanoid. Ha... I would love to make a Gungan warrior. I would probably be very unique as they are not the most popular of race. But Gungans actually walk different and that will be a lot harder. De Twilekk isn't perfect though. My current Sith is one but the tentacles become flat and thin when novement effects them. No solid texture here. The head dresses found in-game are humanoid. And not instantly changed to the race so I could wear and show them correctly (right now I make them invisible). The right headdress i could select at start... but cannot select after wards anywhere anymore Same for the cowls... there is no extra animation made for a cown over a Twilekk head. The developers simply removed the cowl over head option here. That is the easy way out. And the selections are propbematic. I wanted to make a Twilekk bountyhunter. For some reason they are not allowed to become one. And what about robots?! Some robots would make nice troopers, bountyhunters etc. Edited January 2, 2012 by Teleek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiellyn Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 The reason is simple; None of the "stranger" races, such as Wookiees, would fit in the storyline as a character. Bioware spent money developing facial animations for each of the available races, and they were chosen BECAUSE they were similar enough to use the same ones. How would a Wookiee frown? Would you see it?And what about the voice? Would it speak perfect Basic? Or just have random growls for every line of dialogue?And how would they express subtle emotion in a *growl*? Human-voices can emote very delicately, running the gambit from depressed to scared to confused. We, as humans, are not designed to understand the subtext of growls. So essentially, playing one of the non-humanoid races would hang the story out to dry in favor of novelty. It's very hard to become invested in a character that you can't understand on a deeper level than reading the subtitles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xianfusheng Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Personally I think the current race choices are fine apart from two things. It's a bit iffy that some races are not available for certain classes, but that's only a minor thing. My more major thing with the race choices is that the cyborgs are fricking ugly, period. The cybernetic parts are most often just some small metal plates that cover a small part of the face, the eye replacements are just...horrible and why, why oh why is it only limited to the head? What if I wanted a character with a cybernetic arm? Or leg? I honestly think the cyborg class is lacking for what it is. Edited January 2, 2012 by xianfusheng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolvana Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I agree, the vyborgs are just ugly. It just looks flat and weird on the face. I'd like to play as a Nautolan or Devaronian they are already as NPCs in the game so maybe one day we will be able to play with these species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeBranch Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I think you guys are missing the OP's point. Yes, it's easy to understand WHY BW chose human-like races for their roster. It's just what has to fit for the game and the way they made it. And that's just the way it is. While I don't see it changing.... It does dock some points with the game for me that the races are overall bland and uninspiring. There are so many different races in the SW universe and the ones chosen all use the same model and look the same. It's just very lazily done. Other MMOs all use humanoids for playable characters but the difference is that they look unique. It would have been nice to see more alien-like races or the human-like races that we have to have different shaped models. Again, I understand why they did it. The game took a lot of money to make. But the race roster still seems bland and sloppily done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrigOrion Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 the best SW books ever are the Thrawn Trilogy That's just sad. I read Heir to the Empire when it was first published and it is the worst written drivel I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmcJoseph Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Zeltrons that's a cheap and easy race that BioWare can put in game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfirega Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 It does dock some points with the game for me that the races are overall bland and uninspiring. There are so many different races in the SW universe and the ones chosen all use the same model and look the same. It's just very lazily done. So, how much further would you have delayed development for the game, and/or what would you have cut out of it for a greater variety of PC racial choice? Factoring in how long the game was in development and the delays it already had in getting out, as well as a number of features that are either incomplete (Legacies, romance options) or put on the back burner just to get the game out a) on time and b) before the initial development budget pulled a Tabula Rasa (IE: The game wouldn't be sustainable even with WoW numbers, and would never realistically make back it's cost)? I don't really have any complaints with the racial choices that were added in or the reasons that they were limited (at the start - there's nothing saying they can't add more things in later). Then again, I'm a Star Wars fan and more then a little biased. As far as near-humans go, they picked three of the more popular ones out of the gate (Twi'leks, Miraluka, Chiss) and added an interesting selection of others (Rattaki, Sith Pureblood, Zabrak, Miralan) that all for the most part had major scene presence in both the movies, and in other televised formats (Clone Wars Micro-series, the 3D series, etc.). I can appreciate different viewpoints on it, but on the other hand... it's at least got more PC-racial diversity then Rift did. Or EVE Online. Probably ties Star Trek Online, though, if we give 'custom' alien options as a bonus. It's a give-take thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karkais Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I say here what Ive already said elsewhere: the races are fine, but the bodytypes could have been slightly more evened out. Especially, Id want a new bodytype between male 2 and 3. The bodytypes are too far apart in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandemonicum Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I like races choice. I am not much into Expanded Universe but I read history of all playable races and now everything is logical. Author of topic just presented how ignorant he is. However I find the class-available races quite strange often. Twi'lek have always been my favourite race though I can't play them as a Bounty Hunter. While I can being Sith, which are often racist and use Twi'leks as slaves. This seems completly irrational. Following Wookiepedia: "Many Twi'leks lived their lives as merchants or even criminals" - which surely a BH is. I understand why they can't be in Imperial Intelligence but the fact that I can't play a criminal Twi'lek is just irritating. Do You find such race choices strange too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tausra Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Some of the divisions are.. difficult to rationalize. The twi'lek is one, Miraluka are the other, in my opinion, that have silly restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kharnis Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 So, how much further would you have delayed development for the game, and/or what would you have cut out of it for a greater variety of PC racial choice? Factoring in how long the game was in development and the delays it already had in getting out, as well as a number of features that are either incomplete (Legacies, romance options) or put on the back burner just to get the game out a) on time and b) before the initial development budget pulled a Tabula Rasa (IE: The game wouldn't be sustainable even with WoW numbers, and would never realistically make back it's cost)? I don't really have any complaints with the racial choices that were added in or the reasons that they were limited (at the start - there's nothing saying they can't add more things in later). Then again, I'm a Star Wars fan and more then a little biased. As far as near-humans go, they picked three of the more popular ones out of the gate (Twi'leks, Miraluka, Chiss) and added an interesting selection of others (Rattaki, Sith Pureblood, Zabrak, Miralan) that all for the most part had major scene presence in both the movies, and in other televised formats (Clone Wars Micro-series, the 3D series, etc.). I can appreciate different viewpoints on it, but on the other hand... it's at least got more PC-racial diversity then Rift did. Or EVE Online. Probably ties Star Trek Online, though, if we give 'custom' alien options as a bonus. It's a give-take thing. The Chiss are not as popular as you might think. If they were, they'd have been in more books than Zahn's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfirega Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 The Chiss are not as popular as you might think. If they were, they'd have been in more books than Zahn's. I honestly don't get the appeal - that doesn't change the fact that they're one of the more 'iconic' species when people think of Star Wars. Specifically because of Thrawn, and Zahn's novels. It's an inescapable topic when dealing with Star Wars culture in a public venue. Twi'leks are the poster-girls, though. Miraluka specifically (as far as I'm aware) got popular as a result of Knights of the Old Republic (and if you're both old AND a SW nut, Tales of the Jedi). Again, iconic, and similarly inescapable. Only reason I brought up those three, really. I was keeping it strictly to near-humans there. :U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evolvana Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 That's just sad. I read Heir to the Empire when it was first published and it is the worst written drivel I've ever read. That's your tastes. It's not my fault if according to polls and opinions of fans of the Expanded Universe, the Thrawn trilogy is the "must-read" and is so popular, and was a best-seller. But you're free not to like it, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kharnis Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I honestly don't get the appeal - that doesn't change the fact that they're one of the more 'iconic' species when people think of Star Wars. Specifically because of Thrawn, and Zahn's novels. It's an inescapable topic when dealing with Star Wars culture in a public venue. Twi'leks are the poster-girls, though. Miraluka specifically (as far as I'm aware) got popular as a result of Knights of the Old Republic (and if you're both old AND a SW nut, Tales of the Jedi). Again, iconic, and similarly inescapable. Only reason I brought up those three, really. I was keeping it strictly to near-humans there. :U Hmmm, I'm going to have to take issue with Chiss being "one of the more iconic" species. Ask people what they think of when they think of Star Wars, and you'll get less than one percent who will think of Chiss. Twi'leks, Rodians, Jawas, Wookies, whatever the hell Yoda is, Mon Cals, sure. You might even be able to make an argument for Togrutas thanks to The Clone Wars, but Chiss are definitely not going to be near the middle, let alone the top, though. That being said, I understand why Bioware went the route they did for the species they chose. It's infinitely easier to create Chiss, Miraluka, etc. than most other things. I suspect the only reason they even included Twi'leks is because the outcry would be deafening if they didn't. Hehe! Chiss (again, I only suspect. I have zero proof of this) were included is because Drew Karpyshyn liked them and included one in his Bane trilogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxfirega Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Hmmm, I'm going to have to take issue with Chiss being "one of the more iconic" species. Ask people what they think of when they think of Star Wars, and you'll get less than one percent who will think of Chiss. Twi'leks, Rodians, Jawas, Wookies, whatever the hell Yoda is, Mon Cals, sure. You might even be able to make an argument for Togrutas thanks to The Clone Wars, but Chiss are definitely not going to be near the middle, let alone the top, though. Read the last line of my post again. Almost every race you listed isn't even remotely approaching 'near-human'. Name 5 other near-humans off the top of your head, or at least to the degree of variation expressed in my original statement. Ain't no thang for me, but I'm a Star Wars nerd. Joe Average may have some difficulty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmanjokk Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 I only wanted to be a Togruta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDismemberment Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Sith pure blood looks nothing like a Draenei. You seem to be mixing up Draenei with Eredar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klaxy Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 As a fan whos seen the movies, played all the games, and even read a couple of the books i have to say iv never seen or heard of half the races in this game. Humans and twi'leks are iconic and i guess zabraks because episode 1 was so good right? Chiss are space dark elfs and i guess all the other races are from the cartoon and books 90% of fans have never read. The lack of interesting race choices is very disappointing and i hope it gets fixed, as far as the races not fitting in the story lines, i really don't give a damn and no one is gonna make you play a trandosian or wookie if you don't want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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