How could SWTOR feel more like a MMO?

[Ramayana]

SWTOR could feel more like an MMO if it stopped calling me at 3AM and shouting filth at me over the phone.

[NasherUK]

TOR is more of an MMO than WOW is now. But the world needs to be more interactive and there needs to be more focus on social areas like cantinas. Would be nice is they just gave us a mostly empty planet and allowed us to build on it similar to SWG as well

[Darth_Moonshadow]

IMO..it should feel a bit more like a real world than an actual game, if that makes any sence to you?

 

Not really. The Sims felt like a real world and that's not an MMO (there was one but it failed).

 

Just being out in the open with people around you makes it an MMO for me, EQ has (or used to have) it (several groups in every zone, racing to mobs,...), WoW has it, WAR has it, ...

 

Too much instancing breaks a game but most importantly you need a healthy population. To me the game is good already. If only I would have PvP WZ's popping and if only there were enough people to do FP's, then I could imagine playing this game for several more months...

 

Apparently being in the open isn't an MMO either as players asked for instancing.

 

Everyone has a different idea of what an MMO is. And sadly, they all want one MMO to encompass that idea and screw everyone else who says otherwise.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Darth_Moonshadow

[Goretzu]

Not really. The Sims felt like a real world and that's not an MMO (there was one but it failed).

 

Success or failure doesn't define what is an MMO.

 

 

 

Apparently being in the open isn't an MMO either as players asked for instancing.

 

Everyone has a different idea of what an MMO is. And sadly, they all want one MMO to encompass that idea and screw everyone else who says otherwise.

 

Instancing has it's place, but too much of it dilutes the world and experience (and it very much over used from it's orginal use in late EQ1).

 

All a single player game really is, is a game where you're the only person in that "instance".

Edited April 24, 2012 by Goretzu

[Darth_Moonshadow]

Success or failure doesn't define what is an MMO.

 

Actually it literally failed: The servers burned out and they had to shut it down.

[Rowandiki]

I think swtor needs to feel less like a mmo and more like star wars.

[Kousa]

I currently like the game although it feels more like a co-op RPG than a MMORPG.

 

It's not a terrible thing personally since I play with a friend and we do all the quests together, it's not until he logs off that I notice how secluded we are.

 

What could Bioware do to keep the great story-telling aspects and set-pieces while making the world feel more alive and dynamic? About the only thing I liked about Rift was the rifts themselves. I think SWTOR could do with making some zone-wide story event happen every now and then. Like maybe Dromund Kaas gets overrun with rampant beasts.

 

I didn't see this addressed in the coming up video and was wondering if Bioware had anything planned. I know this is their first MMO so I'm willing to give them some slack as they adjust to this new beast.

 

Does anyone else have any ideas on how to make it feel more like a MMO?

 

It feels a lot more closed in compared to World of Warcraft. In WoW I could just climb over a mountain and I would be in another zone with an entirely different enviroment. In SW:TOR I need to get on my ship, endure hellish loading screens before im finally on another planet(zone)

[Tal-N]

1. More ambient music because it is too quiet at times.

2. Server populations are key to enjoying an MMO and the players are now spread too thinly across many servers.

3. Slow down the speed of leveling. People are hitting 50 too easily and its down to how overpowered rested XP is.

4. World content should not be level gated, have each world cater to the full level 10-50 range.

5. Mentoring and Exemplaring, let players play together regardless of level. Scale stats to match their mentor/exemplar.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

I think swtor needs to feel less like a mmo and more like star wars.

 

So basically you want a ninety minute film full of explosions and a lack luster ending that made no sense?

 

Why don't you just play Mass Effect 3?

 

BAZINGA!

[Goretzu]

Actually it literally failed: The servers burned out and they had to shut it down.

 

That probably does define it not being (anymore) then.

[Rowandiki]

So basically you want a ninety minute film full of explosions and a lack luster ending that made no sense?

 

Why don't you just play Mass Effect 3?

 

BAZINGA!

 

Dude, you got me good. ME3 is a horrible. Point taken.

 

IMO..one of the things the game really needs, is to feel more like a real world and less like a game. LOTR felt alot more like a real world and just looked more alive, the same with SWG. You had NPC acting more like real people, children running around in the streets playing, the ability to enter every bulding you see, and every room inside it, you have weather changes and day/night cyckles, imo it just needs to be there. But in SWTOR you dont have this.

These may seem like small things..but whitout it I dont think it will never feel like a real MMO.

And then offcourse, there is the whole "you cant go where you want" thing. It really should have been more open, but I accept the fact that SWTOR will never bee that kind of game.

 

The point is..BW should focus a bit more on making the worlds more "alive", among many things:-).

 

I agree with this, it's exactly what I should have said.

[Kalfear]

A community makes a mmo a mmo.

 

Even with all add-ons, "dungeon-finders" , whatever..if community does not use it it wont make it more social.

 

Bingo, nice to see someone gets it

 

TOR is missing fundamental MMO elements that build socialization, community, interaction

 

"join a guild" is not a helpful answer to the missing social, community, interaction issues. In fact its part of the problem.

 

Server merges, LFG, ect. None of those help if the base continues to leave because of the missing elements.

 

I had to laugh reading anouther thread about subscriptions and how in May its predicted the subscriptions will have stayed the same as subscriptions 3 months earlier. 5 months into release, with free trials, free week ends, free months to return offered and you havent increased your subscription base???? Spin it anyway you want, thats outright failure for a new MMO in its first year. A MMO should be gaining sub numbers, not staying pat after normally unseen promotions so close to release date.

 

And thats the problem, this game lacks all the social elements that brings players togather as a community.

 

This game doesnt need more end game stuff, doesnt need more warzones, doesnt need add ons and macros. None of that will keep players playing long term and thus none of that will help the real shortfalls of TOR.

 

EAoware was told in length during closed beta what they needed to put in to shore up these missing elements. This is NOT a new issue, this was predicted by ALLOT of closed beta testers months and months and months before release.

 

Till they put in the required socialization and interaction community building concepts (in all aspects of the game), servers will continue to dry up because the game is failling to hold players long term.

 

Im sorry but if you cant get a 12 month loyalty from 70% of your initial purchases, you have failed as a MMO. MMOs dont make their money on box sales, the real money comes from monthly sub rates, so the longer you can hold onto a subscriptions, the more money you make. EAoware has already admitted that after all the promotions they have run (usually with held for at least 12 months in pre WOW MMOs), their numbers remain the same. Not grown as they should have been. And thats if you beleive their numbers.

 

Fix your socialization, interaction (not dependant on guilds), and community in each server and you stop the bleeding of subs at such a fast rate. Which helps the server community grow togather. But this all really basic MMO stuff that anyone with any real MMO experience knows. And that makes it all the more worrisome that TOR lacks these concepts and mechanics.

[Veovis]

IMO..one of the things the game really needs, is to feel more like a real world and less like a game. LOTR felt alot more like a real world and just looked more alive, the same with SWG. You had NPC acting more like real people, children running around in the streets playing, the ability to enter every bulding you see, and every room inside it, you have weather changes and day/night cyckles, imo it just needs to be there. But in SWTOR you dont have this.

I think this is about right. I never got that with SWG, since it was my first MMO and I didn't really get what was going on for a long time, but having come here from LotRO, it's very clear that this is geared towards "follow quest chain a... now go and follow quest chain b, now switch planets and follow chain c...".

 

I like LotRO because there's large amounts of wide, open terrain with very few loading screens (except when there's heavy server load). Although there's zone switches for instances, dungeons and interior/exterior switches, the only places I can think of in the main world that have zone boundaries are between Ered Luin / The Shire (since the game map doesn't cover the full distance between them), and Moria / surface world. I can wander right from the south-western most point in The Shire right up to Forochel or the Misty Mountains, and right down to Enedwaith and Rohan without ever seeing a loading screen, and during my wandering I can come across different mob types and various towns and villages. It truly is a vast, expansive world.

 

I like TOR, but the planets seem almost claustrophbic, to a point. With the possible exception of the Tatooine Dune Sea and the Ilum PvP area, there's no real freedom of movement. They've almost started off where SWG ended up - that went from vast, open planets at launch to relatively confined "follow path x" planets with Kashyyyk and Mustafar with NGE; hopefully, TOR will go the other way and start with the small, restricted planets, then move up to the wider ranging, more free planets, with some variety in levelling paths.

 

It would be nice if they also added some pan-galactic stories, too, for higher levels, to encourage returning to lower level planets. Perhaps, the "wider ranging, more free" areas could even be on what are currently the starter planets, but for higher levels, so that the existing starter zones are protected areas for new players, with the rest of the planets being "off limits" to low levels.

[sjmc]

Something that would really make it feel like an MMO would be the addition of events to draw characters from both factions to the same area. At least on PVP servers, this would mean that you may need to group up to get to the event quests/vendors because the other faction will be there in force as well. Open-world PVP would be almost certain to happen.

 

If the event came with limited initial information, it would promote discussion among players as the worked out things such as where to go and what to do with their quest rewards. People might group up to work things out together.

 

If the event came with world bosses, it would also promote ad-hoc groups and provide something else for guilds to do to bring them together.

[Tiaa]

First.

 

People must remember that many of the people who designed this game are the same ones that designed Warhammer. Warhammer was made in the same linear, instanced way.

 

Second.

 

There is no way to make it feel more like a MMO. It was designed around an instanced map and hub system on the basis that you should be able to do everything "solo". It's over for the game as far as that goes. Even the PvP isn't Massive. There is nothing massive about this game other than the file size and loading time of Corellia.

 

 

Third.

 

Server MERGES. NOT TRANSFERS. Transfers don't fix anything.

 

Looking for group tool.

 

More content in zones AWAY FROM THE HUB.

 

 

This is either a really bad MMO or a really good MO. Take your pick.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Tiaa

[Nighthawked]

For the millionth time people need to start realizing that no MMO will never have WoW's peak numbers. It will never happen. What was available when WoW released? Not much. What is available now? A lot more (DCUO, RIFT, StarTrek Online, and more). There is just too much choice now for us to get probably even higher than 2 million subscribers.

 

MMO communities need to start realizing this. Not to mention that more and more people have multiple jobs at this time due to the economy than even a few years ago.

 

How would you guys prefer this game? Just have one massive planet (SWTOR: HOTH) and that is the ONLY planet we are on? Star Wars has always been about multiple planets. You cannot have a confined space where everybody will be visible if we have multiple planets.

 

A true Star Wars MMO (like what some of the people are wanting) would never really happen. It does not fit well with the Star Wars theme.

 

The only thing they could possibly do is add cross server stuff and merge them.

[Kalfear]

First.

 

 

 

Second.

 

There is no way to make it feel more like a MMO. It was designed around an instanced map and hub system on the basis that you should be able to do everything "solo". It's over for the game as far as that goes. Even the PvP isn't Massive. There is nothing massive about this game other than the file size and loading time of Corellia.

 

.

 

False, thier was a number of concepts and fully fleshed out ideas in Closed beta that would slide in nicely (most were seen in KotOR1 and 2 games already) that would instantly create a more mmo feeling and enviroment and allow for interaction between non guilded players in a social setting! And thats in cantinas

 

PVE: There were fully functional concepts and ideas submitted that are just reuses of other games (public grouping ala rifts) that would allow for players of all types to come togather for a common goal and purpose that eliminate the ego and elitist rules found in asking for a group!

 

Mentoring: simple little concept used in EQ2 that greatly allows for people to play their favorite character while helping those far far below them when ever they want to with out haveing to have alts in that level range!

 

PVP/RVR: Mythic created DAoC and developed (before they ruined it with RAs and junk) fully functional Realm vrs Realm that could be incorperated into this game on planets where the faction of that planet fights the other and protects relics and artifacts that give faction wide bonuses rather then individual selfish bonuses. Thus making it a worth while event for all Republic or all Imperials to come togather to defend or attack.

 

4 ideas that would show immediate solutions to adding socialization and community driven goals and ideals and thus CREATE COMMUNITIES and FRIENDSHIPS. So its harder for player 1 or 2 to just up and quit as they formed attatchments to the player base!

 

There is most definately ways to make this games more MMO like!

 

Transfers and merges alone dont help squat

[Jarazar]

You would have to start over to make it an mmo. These are necessary components for an mmo...IMO:

 

1. Less instancing/phasing

2. Open world...not a Star Wars chutes and ladders game

3. day/night/weather cycles

4. Ambient sounds

5. Target-able NPC's

6. Good crafting

7. Grouping

[Bodhisatvavow]

make it more like SWG was, that would definately make it more like an MMO.

[Kalfear]

make it more like SWG was, that would definately make it more like an MMO.

 

yeah but closing up and cancelling title doesnt really help EAoware financially speaking!

[Jarazar]

make it more like SWG was, that would definately make it more like an MMO.

 

I sooooo miss SWG. Too bad all of Biowares ToR money couldn't have been used to update SWG.

[Darianth]

This game is no MMO. You're paying monthly for some garbage to waste your day with with no absolute goal or accomplishments and all of this is based solely on yourself. This game is nothing but single-player and it is not worth the fee.

 

Hmm harsh opinion. I'm sorry you feel that way.

[Jarazar]

Hmm harsh opinion. I'm sorry you feel that way.

 

He/she just said what a lot of folks think.

[Darianth]

He/she just said what a lot of folks think.

 

Alot of people seem to complain on these forums but it's a small percentage of the population so I assume when you say alot you are referring to this group considering they are the ones calling it garbage.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

make it more like SWG was, that would definately make it more like an MMO.

 

No.

 

Galaxies was awful. You might as well ask Bioware to make RIFT II.