Game was pushed WAY too soon...

[Foodspec]

Like everyone else, my first month subscription is nearing it's end and I'm deciding whether I'd like to continue playing this game or not. I REALLY want to like this game, there's some things about it that are a big draw for me, but the lack of polish and the multitude of bugs are just astounding.

 

TLDR; It's said this is one of the most expensive games, and pieces of entertainment media in general, ever made in history. I can only imagine due to licensing, because it definitely doesn't show in the gameplay.

 

What sucks is I feel like I dropped 60 bucks on this game and was able to play it for a month, at this point it's probably not worth it for me to continue paying. So now I can't play a game that I already spent money on, could have at least taken my wife out to dinner again this week or something instead.

 

The questing / leveling experience:

I'm about to hit 40 and not even sure if I'm interested enough to push the rest of the way. The one thing many people claim is this game's biggest draw is how fun the questing is. The questing isn't fun at all! Having played a half dozen or so other mmo's; I'll say that if it wasn't for the dialogue this would have been my worst leveling experience. There's no variety. The dialogue has no consequence, all the characters that I'm talking to look almost exactly the same. You never have that moment where Jedi Bob asks you to do a quest and you actually recognize him from earlier or feel like you've developed some sort of ongoing story with him.

What's worse, is the variety in flora and fauna. At level 40, I'm still fighting mobs that look EXACTLY like the ones I was fighting at level 1 (and the entire journey so far to level 40). Additionally, I want to try the other classes a bit more than I have so far, and even though I know their class quests will be different, the zones I get to choose from while leveling will be identical.

 

Bugs / oversights:

-I understand the decision to not be able to switch between AC's (though I do think that each AC needs to be a bit deeper and more interesting, especially from it's counterpart) but not having a multi-spec system seems like a huge oversight.

-There are so many quests that despite being level appropriate still only reward 5xp. When you spend 30 minutes killing npc's (that all look the same) in order to complete a quest and then you don't even get any sort of reward whatsoever for said quest, it's pretty depressing.

-The number of just simple bugs that feel like they should have been caught is laughable, and makes me believe even more that this game was pushed months early and that right now we're paying to play the beta still.

 

PvP / Space Combat:

-I'll definitely say that as far as PvP goes, it feels like they got it down really well. Huttball is a TON of fun, and the other two more traditional warzones are still entertaining. The PvP balance feels pretty good and that fact that you can play with your friends whether they are level 11 or level 37 is great. Now that more people are reaching 50 having a 50's only bracket is a good call, but hopefully it doesn't lengthen que times too much.

-The way crowd control works with resolve is really good and intuitive once you understand it (however there's no explanation of it within the game itself from what I could tell so I'd imagine that few know what it is).

-The importance of positioning and knockbacks etc in huttball is really amazing, think it's just worth stressing.

-Space combat is fun, it's something different to do. Sure it's just a rail shooter, but at least it's pretty, and a nice diversion from the ugly grind of leveling.

 

Other thoughts:

-The companion system is great, as well as the crew skills. I like how you can learn better quality of the same pattern and also get critical's while crafting. The fact that you can viably have your companion tank a flashpoint is also a great call if you're having trouble finding one.

-If I was going to continue playing, I'd be REALLY happy about the lack of any sort of automated Flashpoint grouping function. In the long run it will develop community way better and you'll actually get to know people on your server. With that said, in the long run it feels like there might have been too many servers released initially (though if the game grows they will all fill out), I hardly ever see anyone on my server outside of Republic Fleet and I'm on one of the higher pop servers.

-The auction house functionally is non-existent, and I would imagine that it scares away many players that would otherwise use it quite a bit. It's not user friendly whatsoever.

-Not making ui addons / mods available from the get go seems like either a bad call or an oversight.

 

I could go on, but like I said, it really comes back to the point that I'm feeling like either a) I'm paying to play the beta of a game OR b) I'm paying for a game that REALLY has no business being subscription based

[Jswizzle]

Hi sorry you are unsure of your continued support of this epic game.

 

With that said though, they didn't push it too soon. If they didn't finally release this damn game I would of rerolled IRL

[Reckjam]

I agree OP.

 

It's very unpolished for sure. If they actually bothered with it rather than making a quick cashcow, then we'd probably have one of the best MMOs online.

[Foodspec]

Hi sorry you are unsure of your continued support of this epic game.

 

With that said though, they didn't push it too soon. If they didn't finally release this damn game I would of rerolled IRL

 

So you feel like you're playing a game that is complete on release?

 

This content patch coming out is all stuff that should have been in the game already, and even after it's still lacking. Granted most players are not 50 yet, so while not all that relevant, but lack of operation content is pretty surprising.

[Hairless]

They had to push it out before Diablo 3.

Oh god, Diablo 3 is gonna be fun. It's coming out next month.

[Foodspec]

I agree OP.

 

It's very unpolished for sure. If they actually bothered with it rather than making a quick cashcow, then we'd probably have one of the best MMOs online.

 

I REALLY wanted this game to be good, I had been looking for a new MMO for some time. WoW has gotten stale for me at this point, Rift almost hooked me but for whatever reason it didn't.

[Cmder-Shepard]

So you feel like you're playing a game that is complete on release?

 

No MMO is complete on release don't know what world your living on.

[Aurinax]

Release date of December 20th should clear any doubts anyone has... It was forced out for holiday revenue. I understand the truth hurts, but that's what happened.

 

I'm sorry, but bugs exist that existed for months of beta.

 

I'm a huge fan and want nothing more than to see SWTOR succeed. I'm 50 and still pumping hours per day. I will pay until probably about March, at which point my faith will evaporate if the game is still in its current state.

[tindin]

but i looks sweet when you stand in one spot

[Skorz]

I agree with the questing. I was really disappointed that there wasn't any consequences in the dialogue. Rolling alts was supposed to be fun but it isn't! I don't wanna do the same quests over and over again.. it's just not worth it since the class quests are only a small part of the leveling. I really think they wasted a lot of resources on VO.

[Degarmo]

Looks like this isn't the game for you, but thanks for trying it out and good luck in your next MMO.

[DerangedOne]

No MMO is complete on release don't know what world your living on.

 

Clearly not the world you live in where you just blindly accept broken games and horrid service ..

 

then again im glad i dont live in that world !

Edited January 14, 2012 by DerangedOne

[Gridfire]

It is unfortunate, but there comes a point in every big MMO's development when the publishers, the sponsors, and the rest of the investors demand that they start to see a return on their money.

 

I'm a fairly small-time developer myself, but I just write maintenance apps for business systems, and I know full well that every program that it is possible to write is inherently bugged. Even if the program works perfectly how the designer wants it to, the users will disagree with the way things work, and that is also a bug. The larger a program is, and the more different hardware a big graphical program like an MMO is expected to work on, the more bugs it will have even with years and years of polishing. SWTOR - just like any other MMO - will always be bugged in some ways, it will never be perfect, at least not for the users.

 

As such - unlike big-name console games - any MMO is going to get to a stage in development where all the content is finished, and the devs are just fixing bugs. Considering that the devs will never iron out all the bugs due to the sheer size and complexity of the program, and the different expectations and requirements of the millions of users, the software house has to make a decision on when to just call it 'good enough' and ship it. They don't get much of a choice, the people paying their wages demand it.

 

Anyway - all that is true of most games. Even the console games I mentioned have started to go that way since the latest gen consoles allowed after-sales patching. But of all the MMORPG launches I've been part of, this has been the least troublesome and least buggy I've experienced since I began playing them in the late 90s.

 

Besides which, levelling to 50 gives you 150+ hours of entertainment for your $60, more hours than any console game since Final Fantasy X and only then if you hunted down every secret. I'd say even without subscribing for a second month you got your money's worth.

Edited January 14, 2012 by Gridfire

[Cmder-Shepard]

Clearly not the world you live in where you just blindly accept broken games and horrid service ..

 

then again im glad i dont live in that world !

 

Sounds more like Blizzard that to me

[Reckjam]

Sounds more like Blizzard that to me

 

Clearly you haven't dealt with customer service.

[Cmder-Shepard]

Clearly you haven't dealt with customer service.

 

Played wow for roughly 4 years and I have and I still stand by my statement thanks.

[Nyoro]

It is unfortunate, but there comes a point in every big MMO's development when the publishers, the sponsors, and the rest of the investors demand that they start to see a return on their money.

 

I'm a fairly small-time developer myself, but I just write maintenance apps for business systems, and I know full well that every program that it is possible to write is inherently bugged. Even if the program works perfectly how the designer wants it to, the users will disagree with the way things work, and that is also a bug. The larger a program is, and the more different hardware a big graphical program like an MMO is expected to work on, the more bugs it will have even with years and years of polishing. SWTOR - just like any other MMO - will always be bugged in some ways, it will never be perfect, at least not for the users.

 

As such - unlike big-name console games - any MMO is going to get to a stage in development where all the content is finished, and the devs are just fixing bugs. Considering that the devs will never iron out all the bugs due to the sheer size and complexity of the program, and the different expectations and requirements of the millions of users, the software house has to make a decision on when to just call it 'good enough' and ship it. They don't get much of a choice, the people paying their wages demand it.

 

Anyway - all that is true of most games. Even the console games I mentioned have started to go that way since the latest gen consoles allowed after-sales patching. But of all the MMORPG launches I've been part of, this has been the least troublesome and least buggy I've experienced since I began playing them in the late 90s.

 

Besides which, levelling to 50 gives you 150+ hours of entertainment for your $60, more hours than any console game since Final Fantasy X and only then if you hunted down every secret. I'd say even without subscribing for a second month you got your money's worth.

 

 

Great post which also gives people a little insight into the world of software development.

 

It's a shame no one will read it because they're too busy QQing.

[Foodspec]

It is unfortunate, but there comes a point in every big MMO's development when the publishers, the sponsors, and the rest of the investors demand that they start to see a return on their money.

 

...

 

Besides which, levelling to 50 gives you 150+ hours of entertainment for your $60, more hours than any console game since Final Fantasy X and only then if you hunted down every secret. I'd say even without subscribing for a second month you got your money's worth.

 

I'm going to respond to you without quoting the entirety of what you said; although I do think your entire reply is definitely worth reading and has quite a bit of merit.

 

The problem I have is this is supposedly one of the most expensive games ever made (and yeah those investors are going to want to see some money coming in even sooner because of that), but it feels like the spent all kinds of money on things that are secondary to making a QUALITY game in the long term.

 

The launch has been pretty solid like you've said, and while abundant, the bugs have not been game-breaking. It feels like the end product is lacking on a massive scale however.

 

I don't feel like it's anywhere near 150+ hours to 50. Right now I just hit lvl 40 and I'm at 86 hours /played. Additionally this is the fastest I've leveled on the first toon of any mmo I've played, and not because I was enjoying it. I took the time to explore quite a bit of balmora, but besides that it just hasn't been intriguing. I'll likely max level with 4.5-5 days /played, which will be nowhere near what it took me in Rift / WoW on any of my initial toons. I don't feel like I'm rushing through it at all either.

[Swampfot]

I agree with most of what you said OP. Some things I actually enjoyed. On the whole it didn't come close to what I want from a new MMO though.

 

As to the release date. How many think they would have releaased it this early if it ihadn't been just before x-mas? If their initial release date had been july or august I think they would have waited for x-mas anyway.

 

And frankly they did the right choice. By doing this they made the most profit they could have under the circumstances. Either that or take a year to do a much better product.

[Bryoal]

So you feel like you're playing a game that is complete on release?

 

This content patch coming out is all stuff that should have been in the game already, and even after it's still lacking. Granted most players are not 50 yet, so while not all that relevant, but lack of operation content is pretty surprising.

 

No MMO is ever complete. Ever.

 

TOR has issues at end-game which is expected of a game that is a month old. No MMO is ever perfect, especially at this early stage.

 

People need to learn patience ffs.

[Swift]

You never have that moment where Jedi Bob asks you to do a quest and you actually recognize him from earlier or feel like you've developed some sort of ongoing story with him.

What's worse, is the variety in flora and fauna. At level 40, I'm still fighting mobs that look EXACTLY like the ones I was fighting at level 1 (and the entire journey so far to level 40). Additionally, I want to try the other classes a bit more than I have so far, and even though I know their class quests will be different, the zones I get to choose from while leveling will be identical.

 

How is this any different to almost any other MMO?

 

Most quest givers in most MMOs are simple, throwaway characters that, chances are, you'll never see again.

 

Mob reuse is also rife because it is simply easier and less expensive than creating new models for every single mob in every single zone of the game. Submitted as evidence: You fight Boars in almost every zone in WoW.

[sinfulace]

tldr but op if you don't think the game is ready to be played... don't play it...

 

simple

[Thamelas]

Actually I found consequences to conversations. Depending on your answers they sometimes determined what quest objective you got.

[Foodspec]

How is this any different to almost any other MMO?

 

Most quest givers in most MMOs are simple, throwaway characters that, chances are, you'll never see again.

 

Mob reuse is also rife because it is simply easier and less expensive than creating new models for every single mob in every single zone of the game. Submitted as evidence: You fight Boars in almost every zone in WoW.

 

While npc recognition is pretty horrible across all mmo's, the reason it's worth mentioning in this one is the amount of emphasis that has been put on the depth of story development. With the amount of hype that went in to story development, you would think there would actually be some recurring characters, or you know... some story. Otherwise the dialogue (on which there was supposedly a hoard of money spent) is just some npc droning on at you about something that you don't care about, which is the case 99% of the time unfortunately.

 

Regarding boars; yes there are all over the place in wow; however boars are not all you fight. While in star wars there are about 3-5 different models that you fight so far for the entirety of lvl 1-40.

[Wolfninjajedi]

I don't see how this game was pushed way too soon if it was in development since 05.