This game takes travelling back 7 years

[Lazorous]

This is what i reported in beta and i hope a lot of others did, too. However, it proved of little use reporting it.

 

What's there to report though? It's not a bug.

 

You have people here complaining that the game was too short and they reached 50 in a week.

 

Can't please everyone.

[Pengatron]

Many games used to pride themselves on seamless worlds.

 

 

It's kind of hard to have a seamless world when you are dealing with planets, instead of just different areas on one continent.

 

It's not like you can just walk from planet to planet.

[a_Stalker]

I'd support a "Port To Ship" on a separate cooldown from Quick Travel/Fleet Pass. Maybe an hour?

 

Multiple bind-points per world are a huge advantage over "One bind point at a time"; that's not a feature I've seen in other MMOs, but of course I might have missed it. (I remember EQ, where if you forgot to update your bind point near to the zone you were in, you could have a multi-hour run back. Yes. HOUR. Of running. Or spamming for a druid to port you.)

 

I'd like to have the "launch ship" animation NOT trigger until I went to the nav console and left the world. Maybe I want to go back to my ship to check my locker or do something else, not go into orbit?

 

World sharding could probably be eliminated, or the threshold raised.

 

I generally oppose any other kind of teleport/instatravel. We already have a quick travel with a short cooldown to multiple points on the world, AND a network of speeders on each planet. The last thing we need is a WoW style "Teleport to dungeon, teleport to Ironf^^^ Fleet, teleport to dungeon" game.

 

EDIT: A "seamless world" is one where the world isn't just a series of small instances, but a world, with distances between points that must be traveled. Having you need to run/speeder to meet your group is what makes the world seamless. Teleport-to-group is what would "spit in the face" of a seamless world.

 

Teleport to Ironforge? I musty have missed it :-)

 

I agree 100% on the seamless world and I would also vote against any overuse of teleports. But that would apply to massive, wide open, three dimensional worlds that "must be travelled" (and I add , "explored"). Unfortunately SWTOR does not have such worlds. SWTOR has "follow the paths" worlds (the word "world" used loosely here).

[Fewzz]

So much running i agree , let us have Mounts level 15 onwards would help.

At the moment places like TARIS makes me not want to play as theis Planet is the worst designed in history, i could by pass that and do Corruscant again (Shadda) sigh...........

 

Mounts for lower levels please you dont have to follow the WoW systems so strictly, im a Jedi Knight yet i cant fly a STAP , right.

[Kahldor]

OP is new school, has no patience, is not use to worlds trying to give a sense of size yet complains still about instancing? Crazy talk!

 

Travel is so easy in this game. Phasing only exists at lower levels which you blow through fast anyway (only time I EVER had to change phases was back in beta. My friends and guildies have always been in the same phase as me when needing to group. Partial luck mind you). You can recall, taxi travel to most areas near where you need to go. You can emergency fleet pass, use 1 hour recalls or simply use a taxi to quickly get to the fleet transport on every planet.

 

I can be anywhere at nearly any time and get back to a place to hit another planet within 5 seconds to a couple minutes.

 

New school? No. I am converted. I have played UO at launch, EQ at launch... etc. I just choose to want more from a game than filler. Loading zones are NOT content. They are time sinks.

 

If you want this game to be your very own game, then keep making it old school. Because old school is just that... outdated. Most gamers prefer to GAME, not role-play running through realistic airlocks. The sooner Bioware learns this, the sooner they will be on the right path.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Kahldor

[Pheroras]

before tOR went live i was playing a free account of DCUO

 

at the end of every mission there was a port that would open and speed you back out of the instance

 

in tOR i have to either use my 30 minute cooldown port or hike back to the exit

 

immersion is becoming tedium in the extreme

[a_Stalker]

It's kind of hard to have a seamless world when you are dealing with planets, instead of just different areas on one continent.

 

It's not like you can just walk from planet to planet.

 

WOW has 4 "planets" where each in size is bigger than all of SWTOR's worlds together (because SWTOR's maps are not explorable, so the net area you can actually visit is much smaller).

 

SWG I think had 10 planets which were open maps of 10 km x 10 km each (it's been a long time, I may be wrong).

[Xerda]

The getting from spaceport/ground to spaceship is immensely tedious.

 

I also agree the sharding has made the planets soooo quiet and empty

Edited January 12, 2012 by Xerda

[morbidillusion]

Teleport to Ironforge? I musty have missed it :-)

 

I agree 100% on the seamless world and I would also vote against any overuse of teleports. But that would apply to massive, wide open, three dimensional worlds that "must be travelled" (and I add , "explored"). Unfortunately SWTOR does not have such worlds. SWTOR has "follow the paths" worlds (the word "world" used loosely here).

 

Very true. This is one of the more subtle reasons why this game feels like a dead-boring singleplayer game. On top of the rampant instancing, the zones are linear and in many of them the zone itself is split into 4-5 mini-zones (Coruscant, Nar Shadda). These combine to create the ultimate single player experience... in an MMORPG.

[Kahldor]

Very true. This is one of the more subtle reasons why this game feels like a dead-boring singleplayer game. On top of the rampant instancing, the zones are linear and in many of them the zone itself is split into 4-5 mini-zones (Coruscant, Nar Shadda). These combine to create the ultimate single player experience... in an MMORPG.

 

And this is another reason why PvP servers see very little World PvP. Running into an enemy is a rare experience. The playerbase is so watered down by zones and shards that you can't find them.

[mcfabulous]

before tOR went live i was playing a free account of DCUO

 

at the end of every mission there was a port that would open and speed you back out of the instance

 

in tOR i have to either use my 30 minute cooldown port or hike back to the exit

 

immersion is becoming tedium in the extreme

 

immersion is becoming an excuse for common sense.

[a_Stalker]

And this is another reason why PvP servers see very little World PvP. Running into an enemy is a rare experience. The playerbase is so watered down by zones and shards that you can't find them.

 

I am no fun of PvP but I am wondering. How would you take your guild mates and go attack Coruscant? I mean how would you land there? How would you take the taxi from sub-zone to sub-zone? Is it even possible?

 

How would you ambush unsuspecting lowbies by hiding behind the trees and on the woods?

[Aydos]

Kill yourself and port to nearest facility (hopefully with a travel route). Consider the armor penalty the traveling fee.

 

That's what I do from time to time =P

 

We like to call this the suicide express.

[Jswizzle]

I don't get this thread.

 

You get sprint at level 12. Speeder at 25. Travel 7 years ago was much worse on the games I've played.

 

Getting through the airlock takes 20 seconds. Can you really not handle that?

[Kahldor]

I am no fun of PvP but I am wondering. How would you take your guild mates and go attack Coruscant? I mean how would you land there? How would you take the taxi from sub-zone to sub-zone? Is it even possible?

 

How would you ambush unsuspecting lowbies by hiding behind the trees and on the woods?

 

You do it the old school way... You roleplay it with pen and paper. And that is the way a lot of the "old school" fanbois like it.

 

Don't disagree or you are lazy and want instant gratification. The "old schoolers" (which I am a part of, but refuse to agree with on this topic) seem happy with a horse and buggy. But, by the time you get to the war, it is over.

[PhazeFadis]

Those "airlocks" are meant to add to the immersion of the game and the story. It adds "reality" to the game. You may not like it, but Role Players do.

 

My *****!

 

When was there ever an awesome airlock scene in a Star Wars movie? Bioware cut corners on a million features we'd all like to provide immersion (day/night... ambient noise... movable npcs... spaceships that fly) BUT YOU ARE TELLING ME THEY DECIDED TO ADD LONG HALLWAYS AND EMPTY ORBITAL STATIONS TO BRING US IMMERSION!?!?!?!?

 

Stop trolling!

[Kahldor]

Oops misquote Edited January 12, 2012 by Kahldor

[Burmp]

In this thread, Open World versus Instanced-based 3D lobby World.

 

When the player base is given an Open World game, they whine about travel!

 

When the player base is given an Instanced-based 3D lobby World game, they whine about wanting an Open World because they miss the feel of travelling and meeting players already in combat.

 

We even have some whining about instant teleporting options to any place in the Galaxy in an Open World game, as it would make the Open World seem unnecessary.

 

Ahhh, life's mystery and how to satisfy all with one!

 

How do we fix?

 

Satisfy a majority.

 

If the world will seem tiny just because you could get teleported anywhere in the Galaxy, then it seems we're not looking at the bigger picture of how there's all these Planets, yet their playing space isn't even the size of 1 continent. (as we measure it on Earth) Just a measley island.

 

 

 

On topic, though.. our online generation today is all about convenience for all players' schedules. As much as I like the feeling that I'm in this world myself, exploring the environments...... when it comes to playing with other players.. everything needs to change. I am no longer playing on just my time, and if I wanna succeed with these strangers I need to respect those with less time.

 

This is how traveling should also be coordinated when it comes to grouping. Sometimes it's epic running to and from places with your group, but eh.. it gets old. May as well get the option to port instantly to the place from anywhere.

[Kahldor]

I don't get this thread.

 

You get sprint at level 12. Speeder at 25. Travel 7 years ago was much worse on the games I've played.

 

Getting through the airlock takes 20 seconds. Can you really not handle that?

 

 

I'll reply with what someone else has already said, because you obviously don't get the point. If you play often this routine get OLD!

 

"The current process to get from one planet to another:

 

Run to origin spaceport -> enter hangar (quick zone) -> run to ship -> enter ship -> cutscene -> (slow zone) -> run through ship -> access map and select destination -> run through ship -> exit ship -> cutscene -> (slow zone) -> run through hangar -> enter destination spaceport (quick zone)"

[photometrik]

I'm very conflicted about this, to say the least.

 

On one hand, I believe in full immersion into the game environment, but on the other hand I do think that the amount of loading and airlocks and cut scenes between one planet to the next is a little excessive. Orbital stations are nice and all, but to be honest they serve little to no purpose. Maybe if Bioware added a lot more content and diversity to each orbital station it wouldn't be so bad...but I think it would have been better to have your ship simply land at a spaceport on each planet.

 

Also, I think they should cut out the "elevator instanced hangar bays" in favor of instanced hangars that are simply a part of the main space port, separated by the green force fields you see everywhere. Some places are like this, but I think they should have been consistent with this. All you would have to do in each case is run directly into the instance and you're at your own ship's hangar, instead of being forced to a load screen in some places.

 

I love cut scenes and RP, but an option to completely disable the cut scenes between getting on your ship, or flying down to a planet would be nice and make things quicker. Loading screens are fine and also necessary, but the addition of the cut scenes make it seem like too much time is wasted. No matter how much I love the immersion, I can only sit through the same cut scene so many times before I'm tapping my foot or hitting the spacebar to skip it (kind of how I skip every single quest that requires me to talk to an Ugnaught no matter how interesting the quest may be...I HATE THOSE VOICES)

 

My personal opinion is that the distance traveled isn't the problem, but instead all the brief, pointless, stop-load-stop-load areas. I'd rather travel through a seamless environment for the same amount of time as it would take me to load 3, 4, 5, or more different areas with nothing in them just to get from point A to point B. I'm not complaining really, just trying to offer some of my personal insight and some helpful suggestions here.

[UA_Wookie]

Pro tip:

 

If you need to get to Fleet...join a Warzone...afk boot...insta Fleet portal!

 

[Kahldor]

In this thread, Open World versus Instanced-based 3D lobby World.

 

When the player base is given an Open World game, they whine about travel!

 

When the player base is given an Instanced-based 3D lobby World game, they whine about wanting an Open World because they miss the feel of travelling and meeting players already in combat.

 

We even have some whining about instant teleporting options to any place in the Galaxy in an Open World game, as it would make the Open World seem unnecessary.

 

Ahhh, life's mystery and how to satisfy all with one!

 

How do we fix?

 

Satisfy a majority.

 

If the world will seem tiny just because you could get teleported anywhere in the Galaxy, then it seems we're not looking at the bigger picture of how there's all these Planets, yet their playing space isn't even the size of 1 continent. (as we measure it on Earth) Just a measley island.

 

 

 

On topic, though.. our online generation today is all about convenience for all players' schedules. As much as I like the feeling that I'm in this world myself, exploring the environments...... when it comes to playing with other players.. everything needs to change. I am no longer playing on just my time, and if I wanna succeed with these strangers I need to respect those with less time.

 

This is how traveling should also be coordinated when it comes to grouping. Sometimes it's epic running to and from places with your group, but eh.. it gets old. May as well get the option to port instantly to the place from anywhere.

 

I have never seen someone ask for more Instancing in an MMO. I have never seen someone say lets make 500 instanced areas and spread 1000 people between them all. That is a single player game. Open Worlds are where it is at... WoW, DAoC, SWG, etc. NOT 500 instanced areas.

[Bekkal]

I would argue that Orbital Stations are not made for RP purposes, but rather to facilitate the 4 elevators needed to get the various classes to their airlocks. Also, some minor quest events happen in them.

 

I don't necessarily approve of their inclusion, I just don't think they are only includer for the RP.

 

Edit: In my personal experience, space doesn't convert to an MMO well because having multiple planets of several thousand square feet makes no sense.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Bekkal

[AaronPenick]

Setup a security key and buy fleet passes. Problem resolved.

 

I have this setup and while they are extremely useful it doesnt always solve it if i need to get to my ship to go to another planet.

 

loading time for fleet after using pass then getting through fleet to ship then loading time for ship is still wasted time. A port to ship is only one loading screen and no travel.

[vinnia]

LOL. just get a taxi to hanger easy enough.....