TheFieryBalrog Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 A lot of NPCs aren't even really NPCs. Instead they are just static models. Might as well be trees. Yeah, that actually really creeped me out first time I noticed it. The pairs of heavily armored guards standing around inside the Sith Academy on Korriban. They looked like life-size dolls. It's so strange that they chose to do that. Why? What on earth was the reason? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excise Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Not much to add other than that I agree with the OP. The worlds are static, with just mobs standing around. Occasionally you'll see the odd mimicked firefight between NPCs, some jets flying overhead, or an anti-aircraft turret firing up into the sky, but it's pretty rare. Throughout your career, you'll get a lot of lip-service about how either there's no soldiers available to help save the world, or how they're all off fighting in some other part of the battlefield... conveniently off screen. It makes the Republic and Empire look severely understaffed. Even Corellia, doing the final war-arc, is just you running from spot A to spot B to take out mobs just standing there (Imp side, anyway... dunno about Pub side). Sure your quest giver radios you with things about how 'soandso group is moving to outflank his position', but it isn't really true. Ilum PVP is slightly better since it at least has some heavily armoured vehicles fighting it out and a frontline that goes back and forth, but even still it isn't great. Where's the war in Star Wars? There's an early quest-line on Tython involving your new Padawan character being tested against combat droids to see if he or she will be capable of leading troops in the battlefield... sadly, you never actually get to do so. Overall, the war needs more showing, and less telling. Whew, guess I did have more to add after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daMarek Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 +1 Give us more live action BioWare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dosblade Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Well they new all this way before launch. You can only tell them so many times.. wild life just standing moving about 1foot then back. NPC standing, some fighting again standing getting shoot at. Sure all mmos are like this (sad 7+ years later and they make the same) WOWs the same yet things are moving for the most part. Its to late. They took out so much stuff that was in beta (if you were in you know) why .. no clue. To add later? Make us think they been working on something?' Honest here.. I just got my ship was doing the 1st mission (not space) and I really forgot it was a mmo. No one around .. yet heavy server.. no clue. For ME.. ME.. its like I am paying to play SKYRIM..NPC talk.. move life yet I have the same feeling.. alone. You have your PET a person that kind of talks now and then. I can do most things alone.. why do I need others? MMMMOOOOO Having fun.. just wish had better graphics like beta had, more life, let more people on servers.. blah blah blah.. .next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansultares Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Honestly, I think it is you. Stop, look around, embrace the different planets and whats in them. There is a lot there, but today's MMO players have been conditioned to run from quest to quest without taking a breath, or living 7/24 inside instanced dungeons. If it's people that you miss, then you have to find where they are and congregate there. The only downside to the number and size of the planets is they allow people to spread out a lot.The game is linear to the point of being dubbed a rail MMO. I'm all for stopping to take a breath, in a well cared for open world. This game lacks that human touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excise Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) Just to add to some of the comments above, I agree that so many planets are very similar to one another. 1. You will start all planets at the spaceport (all are identical) or orbital station (all are identical). 2. The first planet quest NPC will be standing in that bottleneck two-hallway-split that every spaceport has right by its entrance, or en route to the orbital station shuttle in that one hallway. 3. Every starting area will be a city/fort, and contain the planet's only cantina, the crew skill folks, the vendors, the class trainers, and the cargo holds. 4. The class quests and the planet quests will direct you along the same path from one quest hub to the next. 5. All quest hubs will have a taxi, a mailbox, a bind point, a stim vendor, and/or a medical services vendor. 6. If it's a city planet (Nar Shaddaa, Coruscant), all quest hubs will be a bunch of allies standing around with the only path out leading to mobs that con red. If it's any other planet, it'll be a circle in the middle of no-where surrounded by red mobs. Outside of the starter worlds, this formula is very rarely deviated from. I remember being so shocked when I started a Pub character and discovered more than one cantina on Coruscant. Edited February 1, 2012 by Excise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imscared Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The game is linear to the point of being dubbed a rail MMO. I'm all for stopping to take a breath, in a well cared for open world. This game lacks that human touch. Have to agree, unfortunately. Everything feels like a still life. We see it, it's pretty in it's own right, but there's some diminishing factor to it also. How hard would it be to put in some clouds that move across the rendered sky, include some little critters that roam around, or make it feel as though the surrounding area is way more vast than where you're actually able to go? Whoever designed Balmorra did a great job in some respects. Everything else is pretty lackluster. Even space doesn't feel like space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediZenn Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I had the exact same thought. I came to the conclussion that the zones lack a sense of community space and there is little need to group. Everything is so instanced and compartmentalized. It creates a wierd dichotomy on the planets. The city centers bustle but no one is bbeing social per se. On the other hand people are about in the world but rarely are they grouping. Heroics are unneccessary and the game can be soloed easily from 1 to 50. How easily you can get from 1 to 50 is less important than the road you took to get there. If people thought like that a little bit more than "end game is all that matterz!". We'd all be a lot better off. You can't "BEAT" an MMO, so why are you trying? Just play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibre Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Stop posting drivel like this (OP) on the General Forum. Jeezes H Krist Post it on Suggestions and STOP cluttering up the GENERAL FORUM with your useless crying. Cal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdLogic Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I agree with most of whats been said, especially the video game level archetype rather than a living breathing world, enemies standing around in clusters doing nothing, and everything feeling dead static like plastic, large empty hallways and zoned worlds which makes it even harder to come across people at lower levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshalleck Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Whoever designed Balmorra did a great job in some respects. Everything else is pretty lackluster. Even space doesn't feel like space. Really? I think Balmorra is one of the worst examples of SWTOR's lifelessness. I actually think one of the better zones is Hutta, the toxic smog-choked swamp. Ironic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excise Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Really? I think Balmorra is one of the worst examples of SWTOR's lifelessness. I actually think one of the better zones is Hutta, the toxic smog-choked swamp. Ironic. Balmorra does some things right in that there's a fair number of ships zipping to and from in the sky, lots of anti-aircraft guns going off, and a cool shield that's repelling bombing efforts in Sobrik. But really, Balmorra is only lively compared to most of the other worlds. I agree with you that Hutta is pretty great (gang fight right at the start was nice), but then the starter worlds are a different breed altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBite Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) Most of the planets in TOR feel less like a sci-fi planet and more like a videogame level. Just a perfect one sentence description!!! They are designed not like MMO zone but like console game level. You are supposed to be in a city but you are allowed to go just to less then tiny part of it. And this in no way make the city feel huge by just seeing in the background that it is supposed to be huge. Edited February 1, 2012 by SBite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poogination Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Lack of day/night cycle is truly appalling. It doesn't have any real impact on the gameplay, but the idea that BioWare thought it was "okay" to leave it out... That infuriates me. Thank god I'll be playing Guild Wars 2 shortly... Can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromartyfive Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The zones weren't designed very well. They're like a golf course, you go from one hub to the next till you reach the end and leave the planet. People starting later than you go along the same path, never crossing yours. That's just poor planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashspeed Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Day/Night Cycles are useless. In some MMOs, the Night was so bright that it totally made it useless. This "alive" feeling is hard to get in a Sci-fi MMO. There will ALWAYS be some planets (especially in the 25-45 range) that will feel "dead". Most of the action is in the lower levels (altaholics) and endgame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshalleck Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) This "alive" feeling is hard to get in a Sci-fi MMO. No it isn't. At least no more difficult than doing it in a fantasy MMO. All you need is an attention to detail, and not bad ideas such as "well players probably won't notice if we cut corners here and here and here.." Anarchy Online feels more alive than SWTOR and it's almost 10 years old. And Ryzom...well, I've never seen any game that compares. It's alive all the way down to herd animals that roam around in groups, and predators that stalk, hunt, separate and prey on them. Edited February 1, 2012 by marshalleck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daMarek Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Stop posting drivel like this (OP) on the General Forum. Jeezes H Krist Post it on Suggestions and STOP cluttering up the GENERAL FORUM with your useless crying. Cal Suggestion Box threads are displayed under the general forum, there is no general minus suggestions FYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caldurjyoh Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Wow didn't have weather at launch either, I'm sure in time these things could be iplinted. Your grandma didnt have a computer. Should we wait for that to be "iplinted" as well? If something is "good" its expected that it would be implemented from the start, not sell a game and put them in 5 years later. Based on the quote above, every time someone is born we expect them to reinvent the wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fardarter Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Skys are hardly static if you take time to actually stop and observe them. Sun cycles are, but the skys have a lot of activity going on. Sure it's all artificial (just like every other MMO), but so what. I've seen rain in several places in this game, so it is not sans weather. Day/night cycles, you are correct. But for me personally they add no value to the game. In fact in some MMOs they interfere with the game a lot. lotro has the best sky, look at the stars and you will notice it is northern hemisphere earth. pretty cool. You can pick out constellations. Basically at night time in LOTRO the sky is what you would see in England, very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibre Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Suggestion Box threads are displayed under the general forum, there is no general minus suggestions FYI It takes possibly 1 second to realize this. Apparently even longer to figure out what to do with the realization. Cal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embrosil Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Really? I think Balmorra is one of the worst examples of SWTOR's lifelessness. I actually think one of the better zones is Hutta, the toxic smog-choked swamp. Ironic. Yes, Ballmora is terrible. 5 NPC standing and firing on another 5 NPC till eternity as neither side does ANY damage. Static mobs standing around doing nothing. Well those mobs standing and doing nothing are on every planet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mordalus Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 i'm really enjoying this game quite a bit for it's story and i love my guild. but coming from lord of the rings online and eve online, the planets feel so closed, fragmented, and sterile. like a still life painting. pretty, but kind of lifeless. in lotro the world feels vast and alive; everything seems to breathe. the clouds move during the day, constellations are visible at night, the stars reflect in the lakes, there are random weather systems. i've paused many times to admire a sunset or a view from a mountain top. and eve is just massive. the planets spin, you can see the thin layer of atmosphere over each planet, clouds move across the surfaces, nebula are three dimensional, etc. everything in eve feels three dimensional and open. unfortunately both games have other game breaking issues for me. i hope bioware has the sack to work on these immersion issues (as well as the bazillion other more important problems). i've decided to support them with 6 months of my money. if i see no improvement, i'm heading back to one of those two games until they get things fixed. here's hoping they do! i want this game to succeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baaddare Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I thought it was cool running through tatooine and seeing someone get shot, A number of things happen like this in outposts. Look up once in a while some cool stuff happens above as well/ The dynamic events they are adding will hopefully improve the overall 'alive' feeling. tat is my fav example of what BW did right. The zone really does feel like Tat from the first movie and i mean the first one not the 4th . Yes there are more NPCs than people but they are actually doing things and you can hear interesting conversations if you listen to them. The desert does seems like a desert and it is nice that i am not constantly bumping into people out in the sea just like I would not see people there either if it were real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mordalus Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 tat is my fav example of what BW did right. The zone really does feel like Tat from the first movie and i mean the first one not the 4th . Yes there are more NPCs than people but they are actually doing things and you can hear interesting conversations if you listen to them. The desert does seems like a desert and it is nice that i am not constantly bumping into people out in the sea just like I would not see people there either if it were real. i agree tat is definitely the planet with the most character. now only if those suns would move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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