Scheffer Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Greetings, fellow forum readers. (Disclaimer)I would like to start this entire post off by stating the following--should you disagree with me, disagree with the present state of the game, or any other of a plethora of possible ways you might feel after you read (or don't) the following post, and should you choose to respond, please do so in a respectful, constructive manner. I would love to see some of my fellow gamers engage in a constructive post on these very forums that many of you have read and seen for yourselves or perhaps even participated in the often completely useless garbage folks have posted. Should you feel the urge to respond in an unkind, poorly thought-out manner, please do so on another thread, I implore you. Additionally, this post is a wall of text in case you haven't scrolled down yet. Any of you who instantly "TL:DR" and move on, I also request that you please refrain from doing so on this post, as I am forewarning you of exactly that within the first two paragraphs. If I may have missed something in the preceeding sentences that might still yet incite an unfriendly, uncomfortable mood in a potential reader, please refrain from that as well. Anyone who is capable of commenting in such a manner as to potentially cause the game to become a better place, I implore each and every one of you to respond in kind here. Now that all of that is out of the way, allow me to begin. I began playing TOR in August '11 in relatively early (I think?) beta. Along the way, I missed out on an enormous portion of said beta due to an exceeding amount of technical issues, none of which were caused by the game. When I first entered the game, as is often the case for many people entering a game for the first time, I immediately recognized its potential in addition to noticing its flaws over the days to come. I thoroughly enjoyed many aspects of the game, and there were many things I didn't enjoy so much, some that I outright didn't like. I saw very long loading times and very poor framerates initially, both of these issues were resolved (as best I could hope they could be) far before the beta was over. There were some other issues here and there that existed that bothered me, many of them were also remedied before beta was over. Certainly, many existed after the game went live, new ones came to light, and others were fixed by release. Regardless of the things I saw in the game I didn't immediately love, I saw many things about the game that I DID love, and thoroughly so. After having played World of Warcraft since a few weeks after release, LOTRO since a couple of weeks after release, Tabula Rasa at release, Vanguard Saga of Heroes at release, Age of Conan shortly after release, Warhammer Online several months after release, Aion at release, DDO more than a year after release, Champions Online at release, DCUO a week after release, and many other MMOs and online games in general, too many to recall correctly if at all, there is one thing I can say for certain. No game is ever perfect. Ever. Never ever. Now the crazy long run-on sentence with lots of occurences of the word "release" might be indicative of a gamer with a relatively short attention span; this might not be terribly far from the truth. However, it should resonate with some of you if not a lot of you and at the very least is suggestive of the idea that I might be a gamer experienced with new releases. We are all seeking that PERFECT game that we can invest our money in and have the BEST GAMING EXPERIENCE EVER. Although this is what many of us seek, this is an unattainable goal. No game that has or ever shall exist is perfect in every way; and, although many claim such prior to release rest assured this is a lie in each and every instance it has or may yet occur. Yet, I continue to play games--specifically primarily MMOs in general although I enjoy many other single and multiplayer games. Why, one might ask. The answer is simple. I play games to play a game and have fun. Not to boast about my gear score, my raiding achievements (or the lack thereof in many games), my PvP win-loss record, my nationwide or global standings, dps/hps/tps output, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I'll repeat. I play the games I play, and stick with the games I like, because I have fun in them. Do I have fun in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Absolutely, unequivocally, YES! Does this render me into the category of yet-to-be-disenchanted-fanboy? Absolutely, unequivocally, NO! Does this view differ from that of many? Sure. Is it virtually the same as many others? Sure. Does it mean I'll be playing this game in ten years? Not necessarily and truthfully, most likely not. I only live for today, for tomorrow I might be dead. I might be dead later today. One can never tell. I do however play many games, and often. I do suffer to a degree from a lack of attention at times, and at others my attention and focus can be devilishly bewildering, bordering (or worse) on the insane. (At least 5 night a week, at least 5 hours a night raider in WoW for 19 months among other completely focused periods) Is this the best game I've ever played? No. Is it worth me continuing to invest my time (more importantly my money) into for an as yet indeterminable period of time? Hell yes! Why? Because it is a great game. It has an incredible amount of potential, one of the highest I've had the pleasure so far to experience firsthand. Are there things wrong with this game? Sure. Will it ever be perfect? No. Will it ever be better than it is today? Better for who? Me or you? Regardless of the answer to the last question, the following is absolutely true. My definition of a better Star Wars The Old Republic might differ greatly from your own, and the person across the room, across the state, across the country, or across the world. Fact. No game ever was perfect at release nor will there ever be a game (in my humble opinion) that is. Fact--a fair percentage if not an epic majority of people I've heard/read say "X game is so much better than this one" either did not play said game at RELEASE, or DID play at release, saw that it was worth sticking around for, and continued to provide the developers with enough capital to continue to improve the game. Subsequently, if they were one of the people making the comment quoted in the last sentence, their most recent memories of said game are more positive than their first impressions/memories. Now all of the preceeding was my taking the time while the game was down to stick my own brand of stink onto these forums. As long as my post might be, it is still far shorter than all of the at times barely, if at all, comprehensible posts reflecting TOR in a positive or negative light. If you read all of this, I thank you for your taking the time to do so. Suggestions for Bioware to improve the game: Don't listen to everyone who complains (or otherwise) for they very often know not what they do or say. Sure, it sucks to lose money because of some mistakes you may or may not have made, from people who may or may not have the potential to be pleased by ANYTHING you might do. However, it sucks more to see your vision of the game become tainted day after day, week after week, year after year by people want X or Y or even Z to happen. However, despite the truth contained in the preceeding words in this post or those of others, you must at some point possess and deliver the capacity to gratify at least a fair-sized chunk of the gaming market for this venture to be a positive experience overall for your company and your subscribers, not to mention those with a significant stake monetarily in such. Questions for players who have or are/aren't considering leaving this game to go back to another game, or back to twiddling your thumbs even, I ask the following: 1. Have you played your favorite game prior to TOR since its inception? If so, was it everything then it is now? Has it not changed significantly over time, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse? Yes or no, do you feel better about that game now than when you started playing it, or worse? 2. Do you see potential in this game? In essence, have you enjoyed even some of your time here? Do you think it could one day be MUCH better than it is now? 3. If you HAVE enjoyed even a portion of your time here, do you think the company can fix things overnight? Additionally, do you think they can fix things AT ALL without YOUR, MY, OUR money? Enough questions, I'll close this preposterously lengthy post with the following. I've heard so many people saying in these forums, on the game, in real life, and other venues: "I'm going back to WoW." WoW has consumed a significant portion of my gaming "career", the most of any other game I've ever played. I've raided, done pvp, roleplayed, played the AH game, and even just stood around doing nothing in WoW. All I would really like to know is, if people are leaving to go back to WoW, are they doing so because WoW is BETTER, or MORE COMFORTABLE. People all around the world, and throughout time have either welcomed or fought off CHANGE. Whether either of those schools are better or worse than the other I'll leave the reader to decide. Bioware, I still love you guys. All of you, even the ones responsible for whatever I might NOT like or even love about the game. Why? Because you are responsible for letting me see in reality something I've only dreamed about since July 15, 2003 when I first said to myself, "Self, wouldn't it be freaking cool as **** if I could play this at the same time with, like, a whole bunch of other people and ****?" This being Knights of the Old Republic 1. Now that my dream is staring me in the face, the more eloquent I might be, yes the answer is. Gotta go y'all, the servers just came back up someone just told me in my multi-gaming Vent server. I'll level all 8 of my toons to 50 before I give up on this game. Hopefully others join me. Last thing... "Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in the pot seven years old." 'Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtMonster Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 IMO, this thread looks like your trying to convince yourself something. gonna be brutally honest here: people really dont care if "you" are sticking around or not. this will end up just as bad as a ragequit thread, and dont feign ignorance of the intent..... it's just like all the others....happens every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheffer Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Artmonster, thank you for your (eerily) prompt reply. I'm grateful you took the time to read my post and respond to it although I must say it would have taken me substantially longer than 2 minutes to both read and reply to the OP. Thanks for your opinion, and I'll be certain to keep it in mind should I ever post something similar in the future. With that said, appearances can be deceiving; especially the closer (more thoroughly) one looks. I must depart from hither to yon, Athiss calls to me, the last three helms I have not won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zantul Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Well I think I can help you... This is the greatest MMO in history I am 38 and speak from years of experience... Ignore all the noise around you and enjoy the ride... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atonnis Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Sorry, Scheffer, but ArtMonster seems to have it right. On top of that, if you're truly happy with playing the game, why does it matter that you tell everyone? Moreover, if how people reply, view your posts or you know how people will react why even bother? The opinions of a bunch of forum-dwellers really shouldn't matter to you so much. Despite what many of them will have you believe, most people who play a game don't ever bother with the forums unless there is a fault that needs fixing. As a polite suggestion - Just go enjoy the game and stop worrying what forumites think - there's no such thing as a humble opinion, and you seem to be caring wayyyy too much about other peoples'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheffer Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Nah, Atonnis, really I was just bored. Thought I'd throw my own flavor of noise into the cacophony. Thanks for your reply though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrigan Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Something I wonder is why all the "haters" still keep paying for the game. But we got rid of quite a few of them with the end of the first 30 days. I guess in a month, the "late buyers" will have their 30 "free" days expired and will be gone too, and the forums will return to the players, those who actually care about the game. I'm having a blast just like you, OP, and I don't intend to cancel subscription anytime soon. The background noise will soon be gone. Edited January 25, 2012 by Korrigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephismo Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Well I think I can help you... This is the greatest MMO in history I am 38 and speak from years of experience... Ignore all the noise around you and enjoy the ride... Hey I am 51 do I get a prize ? I honestly don’t have it down as the best but it is ok. Also the op was too long to read but glad you are enjoying the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chomag Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Reasons I am sticking around: - nothing else to play - nothing else to play - nothing else to play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrigan Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hey I am 51 do I get a prize ? I honestly don’t have it down as the best but it is ok. Also the op was too long to read but glad you are enjoying the game I'm 43, played most if not all MMOs from these last 20 years, and this is definitely not the "best MMORPG ever", but it's a very pleasant and entertaining experience which brings a new element to questing. PS: I thought 38 was his in game level and not his age first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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