Observations From Penny Arcade

[uteboy]

The bonus series isn't available until lvl 32, you finish Nar at ~24.

 

It's a level 32 quest, but you can pick it up around 27-29. Can't remember the exact level. And yes, when I finished nar shaddaa I was level 27-29. ( it's 28 according to torhead, but I have no way of knowing if thats accurate. )

 

 

But I find it hard to believe that they send you back to the fleet, to talk to someone for no real reason at all, but happens to be standing near the NPC who gives you the bonus just by random chance.

 

And yet, if you already have the nar shaddaa bonus series ( from NS npc ) then this is exactly what happens, you talk to 1 npc with no dialog and then get sent off elsewhere.

[Excise]

The only 'go rest up and have some R&R' quest that has any bearing on anything that I've seen is the Agent one, and even that is a stretch.

[robotsonik]

Ha! I think I was in a google hangout with a few people while doing the silly planet-hopping. I made some sarcastic grumping about it, but when I got to that last part in the fleet, I remember letting out a loud "***!"

 

PS. I enjoy the game, but a lot of wrinkles need ironing.

 

Cheers!

Edited February 14, 2012 by robotsonik

[lineschmidt]

How dare you have a different opinion of the much vaunted penny arcade.

 

It was obviously a slap to your face you just didn't realize it. I mean you had to go back to the fleet, BW literally just insulted your family heritage and punched your mother.

 

You should have quit right there just as he did.

lol:D

 

Yea man, they're like the 1500th most read website in america, they can make BW go bankrupt with a single satirical comic:eek:

[KurleyKilla]

Let me get this straight...

 

• OP complains about storyline quality.
   
  
• OP claims many players find issue with the quality of SW:TOR's storylines and story telling.
   
  
• OP quotes Penny Arcade.
   
  
• Penny Arcade complains about the mindless planet-running back and forth and the rather confusing fact that every end of chapter is just a "Return to fleet, then go back to ship" quest with no dialogue or anything meaningful whatsoever.
   
  
• OP declares Penny Arcade hates the SW:TOR story lines.
  

 

I believe that this is the textbook definition of "Straw Man" Gabe hated the mindless running and the anti-climactic R&R quest. He never ONCE complained about the storyline quality whatsoever. Reading comprehension, mutha' ****a', do you have it!?

 

 

The game presents it's quests as being part of a large overarching story...

 

All the running around and traveling should be part of this awsome story the game supposedly has.

 

If the story was good, The whole time I was travelling to the NPC I would be doing it with a purpose.

 

There are multiple moments where the NPC and quest had literally no purpose...

 

That to me means... the story is bad. All that traveling is a result of the story/quest you are on.

 

It really goes to show that the story is really quite shallow... and most of the things you are asked to do are very derivative of the same fetch quests and save my hubby quests and such bioware has put into there games for years.

 

Bad story is bad.

[Pink_Saber]

Just a little more insight from a respectable source, on the "Quality" of the "storylines" in Swtor.

 

http://penny-arcade.com/2012/02/13/swtor3

 

I would have read the rest of your post, but your link wasn't a commentary on storylines at all.

 

Sure, it's silly that the guy you go see has nothing to say, but I was really expecting at least something about the quality of storylines in what you linked to. There was absolutely nothing.

 

And then you go use it to justify how you feel about the stories. Did you even read it? Frankly, I'm not surprised you wouldn't be able to follow a story if you can't even make it through the paragraphs you linked to, and then copied and pasted, without ever taking a moment to actually, you know, read them.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Pink_Saber

[ferroz]

...You're missing the point entirely. The fact that you -CAN- pick up the Nar Shaddaa bonus series has absolutely nothing to do with it. The main storyline tells you to go the fleet for absolutely no reason. You can't honestly think that the game is forcing me to go there so I'll pick up a bonus series.

actually, I'm pretty sure it sends you back to the fleet specifically as a breadcrumb to the optional nar shaddaa bonus series (otherwise it's easy to miss)

 

edit: I'm not saying it's a good way to do it... just that it's not "no reason"

Edited February 14, 2012 by ferroz

[ferroz]

People care what that kid says (Gabe)? Meh... "It's the end of the world as we know it..."

he's not a "kid" ... and yes, people care what he says.

 

PAX is huge (all 3 of them now), and that's because of the pull PA has in the industry.

[Pink_Saber]

actually, I'm pretty sure it sends you back to the fleet specifically as a breadcrumb to the optional nar shaddaa bonus series (otherwise it's easy to miss)

 

edit: I'm not saying it's a good way to do it... just that it's not "no reason"

 

You also get prompted on arrival for your legacy name, if you haven't gone to get it already. It's not a completely useless trip at all.

[ferroz]

I believe that this is the textbook definition of "Straw Man"

No, it's not a strawman...

 

strawman is when

1. you misconstrue someone's argument, and he really doesn't do it the way that you normally would for a straw man.
   
2. you argue against the fake version of someone's argument
   
3. you declare that person defeated because you defeated the fake argument
   

 

the OP only does step 1; he doesn't do step 2 or 3.

Edited February 14, 2012 by ferroz

[VanorDM]

And yet, if you already have the nar shaddaa bonus series ( from NS npc ) then this is exactly what happens, you talk to 1 npc with no dialog and then get sent off elsewhere.

 

Most people are not going to be lvl 28 when they finish Nar Shaddaa so having something in the late 20's early 30's to point you back at Nar Shaddaa means that everyone will see the bonus series.

[KurleyKilla]

How does him saying that the game sends you down pointless paths during your story arch, totally ruining his immersion... and then having an abrupt unfulfilling ending that causes him to just not even bother playing the game anymore. Not mean that he, upon closer inspection... does not think the story of the game is worth a damn?

 

A game in which he says his main draw was the story.... But doesn't want to play anymore.

Edited February 14, 2012 by KurleyKilla

[Kaphik]

I dunno, I really enjoyed the Consular's story. I'm probably a bit more old school with the gaming, I don't terribly mind being sent all over the place. I could do with less load screens, however.

[Cerion]

when the world is too big because is useless when is to small because is too small

 

when is full because the mobs are all too close to eachother when there are to few because player have to fight for a mob

 

when they move because they are not always in the same spot when they are in the same spot because they don't move

 

when it's a time sink because there are timesink where there aren't time sink because they missed time sinks and it's too short

 

when there are minigame because there are minigame when there aren't minigame because there aren't minigame

 

when it's casual firnedly because it's casual friendly like crafting when it's complicated becuase it's too complicated

 

when there is long text to read because there is long text to read when there is voice because there is voice when u skip the text because there is no story

 

they will never make it right no matter what they do someone will complain.

 

 

btw i work as desiner/programmer/architect and i can tell you space is never wastes useless space has always a meaning you may not understand it but there is a reason techincal reason/structural reason/flexibility reason

 

This is so true. If the game is too big, people will complain about the time it takes to travel, and then demand quicker and quicker travel through your large world.

 

Just look at the complaints about SWTOR being too small, and then people complain about not being able to drive their tier 3 speeder indoors, lol.

[Dirtybomb]

The game has flaws, but he's whining about stupid ****.

 

A thousand paper cuts, or the straw that broke the camel's back. W/e. A lot of stupid little things build up after a while. Then, at some point, you see one too many stupid things and your reaction to taht one stupid thing is actually the culmination of all of the other crap you've dealt with.

 

I like the game, but I am really tired of all the stupid little stuff. I only log on a few times per week to run an Ops with my guild or something, and even by the end of those I more than ready to log off. If it wasn't for the people I was running with, I wouldn't be playing at all. I got tired of all of the stupid little crap, so I understand how Gabe feels.

[Thaed]

While I wasn't frustrated to the point that Gabe was (and I'm still playing/enjoying the game), this was definately annoying. Especially when you go and get some 'R&R' at the end of each chapter.

 

Also, I'm not sure what it's like for other classes, but Agent's are sent to a quartermaster. We could've at least gotten a new gun, or maybe an orange set of social armour.

[Zyanzor]

Just a little more insight from a respectable source, on the "Quality" of the "storylines" in Swtor.

 

http://penny-arcade.com/2012/02/13/swtor3

 

"I debated talking about this but I think it’s important. If you’re playing SW:TOR this post will have some spoilers with regards to the end of the first story arc.

 

I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated by the ending of the first arc In SW:TOR. I am playing a Jedi Consular and my class story was really the thing that kept me playing the game. Around level 35 the story started to wrap itself up and this involved a ridiculous amount of planet hopping. I kept getting sent back to Tython and then out to another planet and then back to Tython. Each time running to the space port, to my hanger to my ship to an orbital station to a different hanger to another shuttle to a space port. I was repeating this ******** dance over and over again until my story finally concluded and that’s when the worst offense happened.

 

After wrapping up my storyline I was told that the Jedi counsel wasn’t quite ready to give me my next assignment and I should head to the Republic Fleet for some R&R. I assumed this was all apart of the story. I arrived at the fleet and found the person I needed to talk to standing next to my class trainer. I clicked on them to initiate a dialog and they had nothing to say. Then the quest showed up as completed and told me to return to Tython. Let me say that again. The person had nothing to *********** say to me. They did not even try and pretend that they were doing anything other then making me run around for no ********ned reason.

 

I will put up with a lot of ********. I’ll run back and forth between these stupid spaceports but you have to meet me half way. I understand that there are all kinds of things MMO’s do to extend playtime. But this was too much. There was absolutely no reason for me to go all the way back to the fleet. In fact they couldn’t even be ****ed to make up some half-assed reason to send me back there. It was so blatant and so insulting that I have not played the game since. That was probably two weeks ago and I’ve had no desire to log back in.

 

I recognize that these games represent a sort of player abuse, but at least tell me you love me after you slap me.

 

-Gabe out"

 

It appears as though the people like myself who have criticized the quality of the storylines in this game are not alone in their disgust.

 

Perhaps if the gameplay itself was rock solid...I would not care the pointless cutscenes of monotony are so jarringly bad.

 

...and yet here you are, along with every other closet fanboy who hates on this game in threads like this...if I didn't like I game, I wouldn't look on the Internet for negativity on the game I don't like to share it on the official community forums of the game I don't like...

[Pekish]

the best it's when a person that say he likes "sandbox" (the timesink heaven) come in a themepark saying "themepark sux" and then complain about the few timesink (sanbox style)

 

walking back and foward no fast trip is the essence of sandbox (EVE and the super boring jump it can take 45 minuts to go from one side to another)

 

people have no clue at all of what they are talking about and honestly they dont know what they want they only know how to complain because they pay so they feel entitled to complain...

 

it's like i pay the university so i have to pass the exam because i pay.

 

if you have no clue on how to enjoy yourself don't blame it all on the devs they want your 15$ that's true but believe me if you quit your sub they won't die or beg you to stay your 15$ aren't God.

 

They do provide a service that is somewhat commisured to the 15$ (2 movie ticket) i understnad you pay 250$ a month.... pathetic.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Pekish

[Pink_Saber]

How does him saying that the game sends you down pointless paths during your story arch, totally ruining his immersion... and then having an abrupt unfulfilling ending that causes him to just not even bother playing the game anymore. Not mean that he, upon closer inspection... does not think the story of the game is worth a damn?

 

Because the comments he made (which again aren't what you're saying they are -- what's with people's reading comprehension these days?) have nothing to do with the story. Most of his complaints are about game mechanics. He made no judgments about the story at all.

 

He mentioned nothing about "pointless paths during your story arch [sic]," or "an abrupt unfulfilling ending." He was pretty specific that the NPC in question is where you are sent after the end of chapter one, before chapter two starts.

 

He also mentioned he doesn't like the planet-hopping involved in the finale quests (not the story arc in general), but nothing at all about it "breaking immersion." How does the amount of travel involved break immersion, anyway? That's a bit of a nonsensical claim.

 

The guy's got some legitimate complaints, but you guys trying to use them to back up your own unrelated complaints are really stretching things.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Pink_Saber

[uteboy]

Most people are not going to be lvl 28 when they finish Nar Shaddaa so having something in the late 20's early 30's to point you back at Nar Shaddaa means that everyone will see the bonus series.

 

When I was finishing off NS I saw a lot of people about the same level as me doing the same quests. It's not like it's hard to be that far overleveled. Do every quest, + every heroic. I stopped doing flash points after esseles and hammer station once each cause I was overleveling too far, and only did a few space missions when I first got my ship and then stopped for the same reason.

 

Based on that evidence it is just as valid for me to say:

 

Most people will finish Nar Shaddaa at level 28

 

as it is for you to say:

 

Most people are not going to be lvl 28 when they finish Nar Shaddaa

 

edit: oh and I purposely logged out outside of rest areas as well.

Edited February 14, 2012 by uteboy

[Yuuj]

After wrapping up my storyline I was told that the Jedi counsel wasn’t quite ready to give me my next assignment

 

It was so blatant and so insulting

 

I recognize that these games represent a sort of player abuse, but at least tell me you love me after you slap me.

 

Slap in the face.

[Kaelshi]

Interesting - I did not know one persons opinion about the storyline and how they liked it was anymore respectable than mine or anyone elses.

[BMBender]

Why people feel the need to post "reviews" of a game 2 months since release and everyone reading this has played/is playing is beyond me.

 

Sheep.

 

uhm it's kinda in the job description of a reviewer to you know review, If you don't agree with a reviewers viewpoints don't follow the reviews they write. Or conversely if you agree with the viewpoints they tend towards follow em. I'm not exactly sure what you are complaining about here.

Anyway to the OP it was designed as a time sink, unfortunately BW decided that it didn't need to be masked and that enough subs would enjoy loadscreen/empty stations ad infinitum.

[DarthMarisa]

I'm not reading all 11 pages of replies so my comment has probably been said 100 times already. I think that happens to everyone. I don't know if it's actually pointless filler or if it's a bug or something that was taken out for launch. I had it happen with my Merc and my Sorc, get told to go to fleet, dude had nothing to say either times. But hey, it was more xp so it didn't annyo me that much. Didn't make sense to me but wasn't something I'd personally get upset about.

[KurleyKilla]

Because the comments he made (which again aren't what you're saying they are -- what's with people's reading comprehension these days?) have nothing to do with the story. Most of his complaints are about game mechanics. He made no judgments about the story at all.

 

Ok let me break this down for you to comprehend.

 

1: I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated by the ending of the first arc In SW:TOR. = story bad

 

2: I kept getting sent back to Tython and then out to another planet and then back to Tython. Each time running to the space port, to my hanger to my ship to an orbital station to a different hanger to another shuttle to a space port. I was repeating this ******** dance over and over again UNTIL MY STORY FINALLY CONLCUDED = That to me sounds like... the story of this game is kind of empty... and perhaps... unfulfilling? Lots of pointless running around? Keep in mind, all that running around is part of the story.... he was living the story of the game during that time... That is what this games story is.

 

3: After wrapping up my storyline I was told that the Jedi counsel wasn’t quite ready to give me my next assignment and I should head to the Republic Fleet for some R&R. I assumed this was all apart of the story. I arrived at the fleet and found the person I needed to talk to standing next to my class trainer. I clicked on them to initiate a dialog and they had nothing to say. = Once again... He is on a quest related to the games main boasting point.. The class story. He should be immersed and travelling with some kind of reason or belief that what he is doing.. Is not just to add minutes to his play time... That to me = bad story.

 

4: there was absolutely no reason for me to go all the way back to the fleet. In fact they couldn’t even be ****ed to make up some half-assed reason to send me back there.= THE STORY IN THE GAME IS TOLD THROUGH A SERIES OF QUESTS, The fact that there are pointless filler quests to add time and keep you going in the middle... Speaks to the overall quality of the story IMHO.

 

 

Forgive me, my reading comprehension may not be the best as... I barely went to high school, and laugh at the notion of post secondary education.

 

Strangely... I'm doing quite well in spite of that.. It's almost as if.. My parents lied to me that in order to be successful, I must study hard and do well in school....

Edited February 15, 2012 by KurleyKilla