Do You Like SWTOR In It's Current State? YES/NO

[Novo]

Undecided, I made it to 44 on one character but now I'm not finding much reason to come on. It may be because I do this will all MMOs, but hey.

[Dawgtide]

Yes, I love Bioware games and the stories.

[Miothan]

NO.

 

No incentive to log in after you have done the 15 days of dailys for the Rakata Ear+implants.

 

Nothing to do outside of Operations except for PvP or gearing up Companions, which is not incentive enough for me to log on, i unsubbed since there is not enough to do at end-game.

And yes, i have finished KP and EV, my guild finish -> both <- Operations in about 4 hours on Hard/Nightmare.

[Jaisen-Naritus]

No.

 

RNG needs to be removed from PvP gearing. A grind that spanned several months would be more favorable to relying on completely random chance at this point.

[Karnem]

Yes -

 

I have only leveled 2 characters above 30, the highest is 38.

 

As far as leveling goes, it's pretty fun, as long as you stay engaged in the story.

 

The companion system is awesome, but could use work. It would be much more fun if you could choose who your companions are, instead of being assigned predetermined ones.

 

This is also the least community feeling mmo I've played, where the majority of players don't interact before 50. I'd love to see a flashpoint at the end of each big planet that wraps that plant up, encouraging players to go through them.

 

The GTM also needs quite a bit of love. It takes an excessive amount of times to find items.

 

These things, and many more, need to be fixed, or at least addressed, if the game is going to retain its current player base.

 

All that said, I've really been enjoying the game and look forward to its future.

[DeathDeathDie]

YES

 

Of course it can improve, but despite the bugs it's better than every other MMO to date put together solely on the basis of character development.

 

completely disagree, a character is fully fleshed out and developed by the time your lvl 50 and at the stage where only Op's will benefit you and then you re-roll to do the same with another character. For there to be good character development you need to never feel like you've completed the game you must always have something to do.

[Madprophetus]

No, the republic side is totally unfun. unimaginitive content, poor voice acting (male consular...?), and perceived and actual PVP, content and especially art advantages to Empire have already shifted the balance of power heavily toward empire on the server to which my pre-launch guild was assigned.

 

unhappy.

[Hezrak]

Nope, but hey 1.2 may get me to come back.. that is if I'm no longer stun locked.

[displaynamee]

this is an unfair question since they are still in the proccess of fixing and adding things. an MMO is ever evoloving and changing. and they are nowhere near the target area of where they want to be with this game. they have the vision, but it seems too many people are inpatient and want things NOW NOW NOW.

 

the best time to ask that question is after its first year, only then can you really get a clear cut picture of how this game is and will be

[Candamorg]

No.

 

The planets were a huge disappointment. I have played almost every (major) MMO since the birth of the genre, and never have their gameworlds felt so clinical as SWTOR's. Maybe SWTOR and SWG are like Episodes IV-VI and I-III: the newer trilogy cost much more and looks much more expensive, but has no soul or heart left. SWG was built for the players to immerse themselves into a galaxy far far away, and build something new in there. The players were explorers, builders, creators. In SWTOR players are more like passengers in the very boring rollercoaster ride. They can watch colourful vistas and hear voice acting, but everything is just artificially polished surface.

 

Btw, I used the word "players" to make my point but in no means I think I speak on behalf of everyone else. This is just how I personally feel after 100+ hours and one level-capped character in SWTOR.

[Talorya]

No.

 

No variety or freedom in terms of making the characters we want due to character creator feature bundling and the massive amount of palette swapping going on in the game.

 

If they fix that, then it might shift my opinion to neutral.

 

It's a very shallow game at the moment, not much thought went into improving the genre and mechanics and still managed like a game from the last decade.

Lacking foresight for such a "futuristic" game, they didn't look "far" enough when they were working on the content and overestimated their own work by thinking things would be "alrite" when they cut content at/for launch.

 

Stuck in the same old mentality that endgame is just raid/pvp instead of making something entirely new and creative for everyone to be able to enjoy at their own individual pace, again, a flaw born from shallow game designs and weak goals.

 

Plenty of things for them to work on, and even more they NEED to improve.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Talorya

[displaynamee]

Yes -

 

The GTM also needs quite a bit of love. It takes an excessive amount of times to find items.

 

 

.

 

 

 

i agree with everything but that...i have leveled two toons as well, and not once did i ever need to google quest to find anything, nore did it take me very long at all. the only thing that i really did need help on was datacrons, but those SHOULD be hard to find IMO, everything else was cake. i think this is a case of, not everyone has an eagle eye, and none created equal. does that mean they should dumb things down?..not IMO, but to each there own sir.

[Candamorg]

this is an unfair question since they are still in the proccess of fixing and adding things. an MMO is ever evoloving and changing. and they are nowhere near the target area of where they want to be with this game. they have the vision, but it seems too many people are inpatient and want things NOW NOW NOW.

 

the best time to ask that question is after its first year, only then can you really get a clear cut picture of how this game is and will be

 

 

There are things you can fix, make better and add. You are right, some missing and dysfunctional things are not a good reason to bash a new MMO.

 

But then there is the general design. It is what it is. If the planets in this game somehow change into interesting places worth exploring, I'll re-sub. But I really don't see Bioware making them again from the scratch, no matter how many years I look ahead.

Edited February 20, 2012 by Candamorg

[Bodskov]

NO!

NO!

and.....

NO!

[Madprophetus]

this is an unfair question since they are still in the proccess of fixing and adding things. an MMO is ever evoloving and changing. and they are nowhere near the target area of where they want to be with this game. they have the vision, but it seems too many people are inpatient and want things NOW NOW NOW.

 

the best time to ask that question is after its first year, only then can you really get a clear cut picture of how this game is and will be

 

Want to put a rebuttal on this really quickly. After buying in ($60) and a month of paid gametime ($15), the game does not deliver $75 worth of value. This is the first bioware game to not deliver at least the cover price in value to me.

 

After a year, you're looking at $240 value. Will it make that value proposition? Probably not. It's better to unsub and see what happens than to invest in something because you are emotionally attached to the IP it represents.

 

The biggest mistake that ever could have happened with this game was letting the warhammer online team anywhere near it. Talk about a design crew that never should have been given the reins ever again...

[sumfizz]

No.

 

Ability delays. You try and execute an ability, the character animation starts then stops then starts again and finally goes off. This was supposedly fixed with one of the patches, but no not really.

 

Latency spikes. Never played an online game before with such horrible latency issues.

 

An ungodly amount of loading screens. A typical journey from one planet to the next goes like this:

 

From the republic fleet you click your class hangar door (loading), walk across the hangar to ship, click ship's door (loading), run to the cockpit, click galaxy map, pick a planet (brief animation showing your ship arriving at said planet), leave ship by clicking the door (another loading animation of ship flying towards the planet), appear in another hangar, run to the other side of the hangar and click an elevator button (loading), arrive at another hangar, then run across this hangar to a shuttle waiting at the other end, click on the shuttle door (loading animation), and appear in the planet's spaceport where you run some more until you finally make it outside. Seriously, who thought of this, and who thought it would be fun?

 

Many of the planets are nothing but hallways with scenery. Tattoine and Hoth are pretty open to explore, not that there's much to find, but the rest of them offer a pretty boring experience where you're funneled through the entire planet.

 

And this is supposed to be Star Wars. It's supposed to be an epic struggle between good and evil, which to me means PVP should be the core of its function, but there's none of that. It's a single player game. Boy was I suckered.

 

And where are the space battles?

 

I had subbed for 6 months, but before my free 30 days ran out I cut it down to 3 because I was still optimistic. Now I wish I hadn't even subbed for that much time.

 

The sad part is, I don't think that any of my issues, or the myriad of other issues presented by other players will ever be fully addressed or even if they can be adressed.

 

Anyways, I'll be here until my sub runs out and then move on to D3 or GW2.

[Ebrius]

Yes.

 

I would say this is the first MMO that makes solo level-grinding a tolerable (I would even go so far as to say enjoyable) experience, then adds in a multi-player option to an otherwise solid RPG. It really feels like Dragon Age with lightsabers and players 2-4 (which I consider a compliment, I really enjoyed DA).

 

However, there is a LOT of room for improvement. Plenty of MMOs out there weren't 100% out of the box, and SWTOR is no exception. Many things need fixes/tweaks/to be added before this game reaches its true potential. I suspect there will be several months of non-subscribing between new content. But that, in my mind, is the beauty of a game like this, you can play for a few months, "beat" the game, then come back in 2-4 months and have all new content waiting for you.

 

For all you haters, look on the bright side: no pandas....

[Axien]

No

 

- No Endgame - PvP = RNG for Expertise not skill, Crafting is "not working as intended", 6 HM Flashpoints, Operations are too easy, acquiring PvE gear is too easy

 

- Ilum / Biochem / Travelling / GTN / UI = really, really bad game design - just absurd

 

- Outlevelled story content too quickly, Class story broken for weeks

 

- Companion AI rudimentary, Companion customisation pointless if they wear a hat

 

- Social game is not a game - it's RNG and only available in light armor

 

- Still many, many, many bugs 2 months in: Defend the Shipment, Sabotage, Unload doesn't stop unloading, action bars unlock...

 

- Performance / FPS / Char responsiveness

 

- Customer service non-existent / Q&A Threads are media releases for "what's coming up"

[JeramieCrowe]

Absolutely. That means YES.

 

 

TOR is in the best state two months out from launch than any other MMO to date. In a game whose state is dynamic, it's the smoothest, most balanced, most fun experience I've had to date. And I've been MMOing for a decade.

 

So, YES, TOR's current trend is absolutely amazing.

[Vlackrs]

nop......

[Oldbuster]

Sadly No.

 

Raiding/Operations:

 

Wednesday Night is EV and KP normal 7.00pm -10.30pm Both cleared All one shots.

Thursday Night EV HM 7.00pm - 9.30pm Cleared

Friday Night KP HM 7.00pm - 9.30 Cleared

 

We used to have an original Operations Roster of Wed Thur Fri and Sun. But people slowly stopped logging in and now we are pugging to fill dps slots.

 

We tried to recruit people to replace those who quit, but people just don't seem to be interested.

 

On my server dps are a minority where everyone is either Tank or Heals. I have never seen the like of it before.

 

I have tried to continue playing as I enjoy the company of my guildies, but doing the same Ilum/Belsavis dailies whilst waiting for operations time is mind numbing. As a matter of fact I tried to do some dailies yesterday and just walked away from the PC whilst my character stood in front of a daily questgiver.

 

Questing and Alts:

 

The journey to 50 the 1st time was exciting and immersive. The second time I noticed I was on the same quests when I was half way through Dromund Kaas. The third time I stopped at Alderaan and gave up. It was ground hog day. Almost exactly the same quests apart from the class specific quests.

 

Flashpoints during Leveling:

 

I missed a lot of the Flashpoints during the leveling process, as there was no reason for me to do them. They certainly were not in the storyline. And to do them I had to go back to fleet and look in general chat to see if anyone was doing a Flashpoint that was level appropriate. Needless to say it was pretty boring. I tried to form groups from time to time. Me as a tank and grabbing a healer was the easy part. Getting 2 dps was an exercise in futility.

 

No solutions just a sad sigh for something I wish and waited for, for 3 years.

 

I wish I had an answer as to what would make this game better, but I don't. I took for granted a lot of things that other MMOs had to offer. Now that I look back on them I realise how good they were.

 

A user interface I could fiddle with, tweak and adjust to my heart's delight to suit me and only me.

 

The LFG tool that would match you with same level players and assign roles that took you to the start of the dungeon/flashpoint.

 

Graphics that were highly detailed with max draw distance that didn't make a dent in my SLI Nvidia GTX480s, as opposed to this game having my card fans scream in pain as they try to keep temps below 80 degrees. I am used to my GPU temps sitting at 55-60 degrees with everything on ultra. Not to mention my FPS dipping periodically to 115 from 120 on my 120Hz monitor. This game I am lucky if I climb to 60, and that is after ini tweaking etc. Yes I know what I am doing there. I get paid to do this stuff at work.

 

Macros Ohh how I miss them. I want to watch the game itself!!!!, not scan over 35 little squares dotted around the sides of my screen looking for what will come off cool-down next. bit hard with a 26" widescreen. Mind you I never noticed as an issue till i started playing this game.

 

Gathering nodes that actually are gatherable as opposed to the 2 in 5 that are bugged.

 

Quests that are completable "Defend the Shipment" anyone?

 

In the game's defence, they have very very good voice acting. Pity its not what I was looking for in a supposed next generation MMO.

[DeathDeathDie]

this is an unfair question since they are still in the proccess of fixing and adding things. an MMO is ever evoloving and changing. and they are nowhere near the target area of where they want to be with this game. they have the vision, but it seems too many people are inpatient and want things NOW NOW NOW.

 

the best time to ask that question is after its first year, only then can you really get a clear cut picture of how this game is and will be

 

Games been in development for 7 years... thats 2 years longer then Rift... with 7 years of development time they still have more then a year on Rift... Maybe they should have spent more of their time an resources on their game engine and content then creating the biggest voice over project in history.

[Quantum]

Yes

 

I've been around the MMO circles a while, though I haven't racked up an immense number of titles (Ultima Online 99-present, EQ 2001-2008, LOTRO 2009-present, and SWTOR 2011- Present), I still feel I have a fair understanding of the market. I'm not a FotM, or even a FotY (Flavor of the Year) type player as you can see from those dates. I pick a game and I set out to explore it to the fullest.

 

I'm getting a bit older now (mid 30's) in comparison to when I started my MMO adventures, and in many titles I "experiment" with (WoW, and numerous F2P titles like DDO), I see the same influences in design over and over. UO is pretty much unique from this and it's why I've stuck with it the longest, and finally with SWTOR I see something vastly different from other MMO titles I've played. To be honest, while I do engage in PvP in SWTOR, quite regularly, I never have and probably never will really consider myself a PvPer. Nor am I a Roleplayer, I can't bring myself to stay in character in a game long term when the experiences of my youth with Table Top RPGs always brought a level of excitement and immersion no game as of yet has matched, except possibly by.... SWTOR.

 

The story in the game does justice to the franchise, is it as good as watching Empire or RoTJ (pre-Episode I, II, III continuity edits)? Probably not, but it sure beats The Phantom Menace. I find myself playing much more than I intend when I sit down simply to see the next chapter in my class story line. I roll Alts just to experience all the class stories, there is so much already in game that appeals that I can't see myself walking away until I've experienced everything possible.

 

To be fair there are faults in the game, I also do some volunteer work for a gaming news group (for other titles), we discuss SWTOR almost daily in house. All of us feel much the same way, we see the potential for SWTOR to be a heavy contender in the MMO market, but we also recognize it still has a long way to go in order to live up to that potential. We also recognize that the majority of the problems with the game, are not the developers, or the game mechanics themselves. The majority of the issues that people complain about concerning SWTOR fall into a couple of easily definable areas.

 

1. Current/Ex players of other titles - They want to compare Apples to Oranges when dealing with Tangerines.
   
2. Lack of Experience with Mechanics found in games they haven't played yet were included with SWTOR - The breaching of the "Comfort" zone so to speak.
   
3. The Desire for instant Gratification - This is plaguing almost every aspect of Life these days, better known as the "Snowflake" phenomenon.
   

 

The First issue is simple, everyone of us that came from other games had expectations based on those titles. We all see similarities to other titles, due to how the Genre loves "Borrowing" mechanics. But in each title those mechanics can be use and applied differently, making comparison useless. Take what you have on it's own merit.

 

The Second Issue is also pretty simple. If my only experience with MMO's were the few and far between Sandbox games, then I could see how moving to Themepark could be overwhelming in some areas. You have to learn to custom tailor within a much more limited scope. There are also thanks to these restrictions a huge difference in how you make use of many game mechanics, beyond simple character progression. It's a learning curve, just like you eventually obtain muscle memory for all your hotkeys, you also obtain situational memory on how situations in a game typically are handled. Different titles may and usually do require different strategy. It's how developers avoid getting sued for copyright infringement.

 

The Third?

I don't really know how this can be addressed, we live in a society obsessed with instant gratification these days. Most of us want what we want and expect now and not 6 weeks or 6 months from now. Everyone of us had to learn to crawl before we walked, and to walk before we ran, the progression of a MMO Title is no different, it will take a bit for it to get into it's stride. Claiming that "Well this game has been out {X} years and does it this way, EA/Bioware should have expected Blah, blah, blah" is nothing but a cop out for people who fall in this group, the "Precious Snowflakes". SWTOR is built on an unproven (as of launch) Game Engine, largely headed by people with little MMO experience as a group under their belt, and based on one of the most loved and admired franchises in Science Fiction and people expect them to hit every single mark right from the start? What planet these people are living on, it took more than 248,000 years for modern man to invent the personal computer, cell phone, television, etc. Yet we can't spend 6 months or a year for a group of developers to fully flesh out a Video Game? Considering the technology involved, I'd say if they accomplish it in a year, they are well above the curve when you look at the overall march of technology on the large scale.

[Vyrkule]

Yes, whole heartedly yes. I know I'm not supposed to compare to any other MMO's that are out there and I won't on a game mechanic level. What I will say in comparison is that I've played many of them. I've played WoW, Aion, Lord of the Rings and even EverQuest. I have immensely enjoyed playing Swtor. Yes it's buggy, yes it needs a lot of comforts of life additions. It's a new game. It's about two months old at this posting. There are things that we have enjoyed in MMO's that we have taken for granted because they have been around for many years. When games like WoW and Ever Quest came out, I bet they were buggy as hell, I know Aion was. They grew and improved over the years. I'm betting if you stay with, and even help constructively, SWToR will end up being every bit of a match for any of the other MMO's that have been out there.

 

Honestly, it's a hell of a start. The voice acting for even the smallest quests are a wonderful and refreshing change. Even when I start another characters of the same class, I'll play him differently just to see how the outcome changes. I'll play a Sith warrior who is a total jerk and follow the dark side all the way, and the next one will actually be compassionate, and yet next I'll play an Inquisitor who is looking out for the Empire all the way.

 

So, again, yes I am happy with the game the way it is because I know it will grow and mature over time and only get better with good constructive criticism and intelligent input. Together we all can make a great universe.

 

I enjoy being able to play in my own movie.

 

... at least, that's what it feels like to me.

 

... and that's cool.

[BuckyCameron]

Yes, I love it. The gameplay is nice, the UI is easy to use.