SWTOR vs SWG

[Anishor]

Regardless of your answers, You are either currently playing SWTOR or untill recently have been paying to play SWTOR.

 

We love to diss on SWTOR, yet we also love to log in. Weird.

 

This may be true, but this is a false correlation since EA had SWG shut down, by getting LA to make the terms for renewing the license too cost prohibitive. We cannot choose between the two with our subscription.

 

( no the EMU doesn't count because it's still the poorly designed game with 1/10th the features that SWG had when SWTOR launched )

 

SWTOR's ground combat > SWG's ground combat

 

Graphically I actually liked SWG better, but from an animation and effects perspective SWTOR wins.

 

SWG RP > SWTOR RP in both amount and quality.

 

SWG Species Selection > SWOTOR

 

SWG's Appearance Variety/choice > SWTOR

 

SWG's City and Housing System > SWTOR's Live in your ship. I knew several players that had their characters live in their ship, and let me tell you SWTOR can't hold a candle to the Cloud, the Eviscerator, Sani's YT or 50 or so others I saw as Pilot Senator for SWG.

 

SWG Space Combat >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Swtor's Rail shooter

 

SWG Space Ship Custimization > SWTOR Ship Parts

 

SWG's Planets > SWTOR. Yes some of SWTOR's planets are pretty but they're more like a tableau than an actual living planet.

 

SWTOR's Leveling Experience > SWG Leveling Experience. Grinding alts in SWG was a pain, more so than in TOR. Until I played GW2 I thought SWTOR had the best leveling experience in any MMO I have ever played.

 

SWG's End Game > SWTOR's End Game. SWG had so many things to do once you hit 90. Really that's when the game actually started, not finished like in TOR. SWG had a META GCW War, that all types of players could participate.

 

SWG's Crafting System > TOR

Edited September 17, 2012 by Anishor

[Groncho]

Funny Thing

If the 2 games where arround at the same time, i will surely be paying both...

BUT, i would only log in Swotor to do my PvP day stuff and running to SWG to tay there having fun in: Battlefields, World PvP, Bh'ing, crafting, space, etc.....

 

lol the haters gonna hate, but Swg was a stronger game

[Ataca]

I just want to say that by reading all these post you guys put up about SWG vs SWTOR is interestiing! SWG came out in 2001 or so and i played it until it was gone . I didn't like some of the changes they did or didn't do but it was the best MMO i have ever played and there are many players who would agree on this. There is not one person that i know or who i have talked to that playes MMO's that was hopeing the SWTOR was going to be very close to the old SWG. Don't get me wrong i love playing this game big time but it's not SWG ...To Bad!! . The CRAFTING IN SWG WAS FARE SUPEIER TO ANY MMO TODAY! I hope this game gets somewhere close to ware SWG was. I remember the servers in SWG were all packed untile NGE came out. Remember the housing and City's and Space combat...cool stuff.

 

Ataca.

[jarjarloves]

Funny Thing

If the 2 games where arround at the same time, i will surely be paying both...

BUT, i would only log in Swotor to do my PvP day stuff and running to SWG to tay there having fun in: Battlefields, World PvP, Bh'ing, crafting, space, etc.....

 

lol the haters gonna hate, but Swg was a stronger game

 

if it was the stronger game then why did they

 

a. have to do the Combat Upgrade

b. have to do the NGE where they completely remade the entire game

c. did it have maybe 20k players for the majority of its life?

[Andge]

SWG was so innovative and ahead of most present MMOs (the option to put bounties on other players is something I think BW can only dream off. And look at the farmer mini-game in MoP; stuff like was already in SWG). IMO it was the aweful, clumpsy and bugged graphics that killed the game.

[Hambunctious]

Why did it never go f2p?

Why did it last over 7 years, and would still be going if not for EA forcing the issue?

 

For all the hate it gets, I can tell you it was the most complete mmo I have ever played the last 2.5 years of its life, and I have played a bunch of them. Nothing else is even close in the immersion category, except maybe lotro.

 

It's also the only game that could compete with wow in the amount of things to do.

 

If people are like me, then they may have read all the bad stuff from the haters, and never gave it chance. I never would have either if I hadn't had enough of WAR/WOW, and took up sony's offer to trial their games. SWG was the last one I tried, the very last, and fell in love with it. It's also the only game that got us to buy more than one sub, and kept our subs longer than 1.5 years.

Edited September 18, 2012 by Hambunctious

[ItsToof]

if it was the stronger game then why did they

 

a. have to do the Combat Upgrade

b. have to do the NGE where they completely remade the entire game

c. did it have maybe 20k players for the majority of its life?

 

A.) Because WoW happened

B.) Because WoW kept happening

C.) The life of the game was at it's peak during the time before the CU hit, that's when it tanked, because those that wanted to play SWG not Star Warcraft had been around, once the CU happened, people felt betrayed.

 

Look at Everquest, it never had much more in terms of subs at its peak compared to games today, SWG was released at a time when the MMO was VERY young, paying a monthly subscription for ANYTHING gaming related was almost unheard of still, SWG had a very unique system that worked for a very niche market, unfortunately WoW happened, made MMO gaming streamlined and attractive to people that don't want to think too much and then every company had to follow suit otherwise their product would be deemed inferior.

 

It's pretty stupid that SWG couldnt just revert themselves back to pre CU, that by itself would have skyrocketed subscriptions.

 

the EMU is a project that is picking up steam, its shocking that a game released in 2003 still has a following of people that want to play it as it was. It's a long way from complete, but to be able to log in and see the things I haven't seen in almost 9 years is truly amazing, and almost prefer it to what EA/Bio have crafted here, which is essentially Star Warcraft.

 

The world in TOR is dead, it does not change with your choices, in SWG a city could be rebel controlled or imperial controlled because the players decided to band together and attack the opposing factions city and take control of it. It may not have had much of a story, but at least I was living in the world of Star Wars.

[Ashivauto]

I agree with you Itstoof, except the part about swg not having story... Episode 4 and 5 are the story in swg and we lived in it.... The major difference between swtor and swg is swtor made the story for the players and every players story is the same, like 2 people who play bounty hunters, their story is no different than the other bounty hunters, but in swg your toon lived in the story of eps 4-5 and you made your own unique story within the story..

 

Also all those saying "if swg was such a better game why does swtor have more subs?".... Simple... When swg came out mmos were still in infancy, as well swg didnt hype or market no where near what swtor did... Also swg was a much more complex and in depth game than swtor.... But just coz swtor has more subs doesnt make it a better game.... Mcdonalds sells more burgers than any other burger joint, but theyre not the best burger... More sells doesnt imply better product, just better marketing...

 

Dont get me wrong, i love swtor for what it is, a single player game with co op options and a map pack for pvp, just like gears of war, call of duty etc.... The leveling is fun, combat is awesome, the story amazing, and then its done... And in swg it was never over... So many aspects of the game i never did in the 8 years i played....

 

Games like swtor require devs to constantly chug out content, but in swg the content was player created....

 

Also to all those who have said why would anyone want to sit in a cantina to buff, well it was a social activity, and right now, all most do is sit on fleet waiting for a fp pr wz to pop... In swg, i could find a 10+ group in less than 5 mins any time of the day, and we didnt have group finder, pvp, was everywhere and constant, no seperation between pve and pvp, crafting had purpose...

 

Point is swtor is good, a great game to play, swg was a living breathing world that i was unique in, my actions mattered and changed that world...

[Ashivauto]

I agree with you Itstoof, except the part about swg not having story... Episode 4 and 5 are the story in swg and we lived in it.... The major difference between swtor and swg is swtor made the story for the players and every players story is the same, like 2 people who play bounty hunters, their story is no different than the other bounty hunters, but in swg your toon lived in the story of eps 4-5 and you made your own unique story within the story..

 

Also all those saying "if swg was such a better game why does swtor have more subs?".... Simple... When swg came out mmos were still in infancy, as well swg didnt hype or market no where near what swtor did... Also swg was a much more complex and in depth game than swtor.... But just coz swtor has more subs doesnt make it a better game.... Mcdonalds sells more burgers than any other burger joint, but theyre not the best burger... More sells doesnt imply better product, just better marketing...

 

Dont get me wrong, i love swtor for what it is, a single player game with co op options and a map pack for pvp, just like gears of war, call of duty etc.... The leveling is fun, combat is awesome, the story amazing, and then its done... And in swg it was never over... So many aspects of the game i never did in the 8 years i played....

 

Games like swtor require devs to constantly chug out content, but in swg the content was player created....

 

Also to all those who have said why would anyone want to sit in a cantina to buff, well it was a social activity, and right now, all most do is sit on fleet waiting for a fp pr wz to pop... In swg, i could find a 10+ group in less than 5 mins any time of the day, and we didnt have group finder, pvp, was everywhere and constant, no seperation between pve and pvp, crafting had purpose...

 

Point is swtor is good, a great game to play, swg was a living breathing world that i was unique in, my actions mattered and changed that world...

[jarjarloves]

Why did it never go f2p?

Why did it last over 7 years, and would still be going if not for EA forcing the issue?

 

For all the hate it gets, I can tell you it was the most complete mmo I have ever played the last 2.5 years of its life, and I have played a bunch of them. Nothing else is even close in the immersion category, except maybe lotro.

 

It's also the only game that could compete with wow in the amount of things to do.

 

If people are like me, then they may have read all the bad stuff from the haters, and never gave it chance. I never would have either if I hadn't had enough of WAR/WOW, and took up sony's offer to trial their games. SWG was the last one I tried, the very last, and fell in love with it. It's also the only game that got us to buy more than one sub, and kept our subs longer than 1.5 years.

 

Because Sony wanted to hang on to the rights for the SW MMO IP

Because Sony wanted another game to put on their Station Pass so people just pay $29.99 and get access to all of their MMOs. The more cheap games they can throw on it the more likely people will pay for it.

 

If SWG was the most "complete" mmo you have played then you haven't played a lot of MMOs

[jarjarloves]

A.) Because WoW happened

B.) Because WoW kept happening

C.) The life of the game was at it's peak during the time before the CU hit, that's when it tanked, because those that wanted to play SWG not Star Warcraft had been around, once the CU happened, people felt betrayed.

 

Look at Everquest, it never had much more in terms of subs at its peak compared to games today, SWG was released at a time when the MMO was VERY young, paying a monthly subscription for ANYTHING gaming related was almost unheard of still, SWG had a very unique system that worked for a very niche market, unfortunately WoW happened, made MMO gaming streamlined and attractive to people that don't want to think too much and then every company had to follow suit otherwise their product would be deemed inferior.

 

It's pretty stupid that SWG couldnt just revert themselves back to pre CU, that by itself would have skyrocketed subscriptions.

 

the EMU is a project that is picking up steam, its shocking that a game released in 2003 still has a following of people that want to play it as it was. It's a long way from complete, but to be able to log in and see the things I haven't seen in almost 9 years is truly amazing, and almost prefer it to what EA/Bio have crafted here, which is essentially Star Warcraft.

 

The world in TOR is dead, it does not change with your choices, in SWG a city could be rebel controlled or imperial controlled because the players decided to band together and attack the opposing factions city and take control of it. It may not have had much of a story, but at least I was living in the world of Star Wars.

 

no not even close SWG was tanking LONG before WoW ever came out. WoW was more of the final nail... Well it was more of hey we have a player base of around 100k. WoW has millions if we make our game like WoW we will get millions of players.

 

Meanwhile when they did that they alinated the player base they already had.

 

It's exactly what DC Comics just did with their relaunch of thier comic universe. They are thinking yeah they have so many readers and they sell so many copies BUT if they change everything they will get MORE people. They will get this mythical market that doesn't exist.

 

It's not shocking at all that SWG has a cult like following. Tons of games get that. There are people who still think Pac Man was the height of video games. People like what they like and want more of the last thing they liked exactly how it was only better. It's fandom at its very core.

[Groncho]

if it was the stronger game then why did they

 

a. have to do the Combat Upgrade

b. have to do the NGE where they completely remade the entire game

c. did it have maybe 20k players for the majority of its life?

 

it's ok

but at the end it was stronger

i will gladly stay with those 20k players than with the 1.1 million ppl playing this game

[MOPSFounder]

Which of the two do you like more and why? Personally i don't understand how you can go from KOTOR 1 and 2 to this, (from what i hear there are some devs that worked on KOTOR on the SWTOR team) i understand those were single player games, but a 2012 MMO to feel like a 2005 MMO or whatever is just plain embarassing, it's the year 2012, get with the times "Bioware" or whoever you are.

 

With that being said, i would like it if this game was more sandbox style like SWG and had populated worlds where NPC's would roam around, the KOTOR games felt rich with life, this game just feel completely dead, everything in this game looks like an abandoned movie set. Makes me sad, I feel like in the hands of another company this game probably would have been better in at least one aspect.

SWTOR is a TORtanic. It's sinking faster than the ship, Titanic.

 

I've never played SWG, but seeing many videos about it and reading about it, it just looks 1000x better than SWTOR.

[huggaa]

There are people who still think Pac Man was the height of video games.

 

the height of the Video game was Pong 2 then its was all down hill from there

[jarjarloves]

the height of the Video game was Pong 2 then its was all down hill from there

 

no Tic Tac Toe is the perfect PVP game it is 100% balanced.

[Pherdnut]

Didn't play SWG but I definitely think SWTOR could benefit from some more sandbox-ish elements. They'll never be able to maintain VO content at a fast enough rate to keep people hooked once they've done it all, IMO.

[LevarrisHawk]

One word will be your answer..

 

Projectswg.com

[Craile]

I played SWG for 7 years with friends. I feel SWG in this game, albeit missing many elements I enjoyed about SWG. However with that said, SWG was over 8 yrs old at time of shutdown, it went through many, many changes and had a long life. In the end I loved it just as much as when I started. Now, take the fact that SWTOR is only 1 yr old. There will be MANY changes and additions to this game.

FTP will give this game a new lease with all the pure cash coming in from the store, FTP did amazing things for STO and I believe it will do the same for SWTOR.

I'd like to see expanded crafting, more larger worlds like Tatooine, player housing in addition to ship, more customization and more down time things to do like better dailies, fishing, minigames, and more exploration!

[makedonche]

Started SWTOR as F2P and after a week of playing i subscribed,then after a week i forgot about SWTOR and i am back to SWGEMU bye bye!

SWG is still way better than SWTOR.

 

PS SWG will always live they cant shut it down.If they want to make some money they should think of creating SWG2.

Its not what is good its what the market demands it.

 

If you have any questions you can find me on swgemu.com (PRE-CU) or projectswg.com (NGE).

REGARDS!

Edited December 20, 2012 by makedonche

[spencer_]

Rummaging through a combination of my old things and the internet, I found an old copy of Star Wars galaxies that I had received for Christmas from a grandmother who didn't quite understand how MMOs required an internet connection (I lived in the country and thus had dial-up at the time). I also found that there is currently free server emulation for SWG pre-NGE up and running right now. So I installed the game, the emulation client, and all that other stuff, and decided to try Star Wars Galaxies.

 

Turns out, its kind of hard. SWG sort of assumes you know what to do without needing any help from anyone else. The tutorial system tells you how to use the UI, then dumps you on a starter planet with 1000 credits and tells you to go nuts. No explanation on how to get quests, or even how to level up. Nothing about anything other than: here's the shoot button, go shoot some things. Don't forget to buy a gun first. And if you use all your money, then shuttle somewhere and need to get back, enjoy the 30 minute run.

 

As far as I can tell, the UI for SWG is a nightmare compared to SWTOR, but I figure once I get used to it I'll be fine. I still have no idea how to progress up the marksman tree, but I've seen other people standing in one spot with a blaster pistol and shooting womp rats as they spawn. So I guess I'll try that. The only quest terminals around give out level 15 quests, except the exploration ones, which give out good money but are always at least 2 km away.

 

I'm guessing when I get better equipment, and a mount it becomes more fun, but honestly early levels are just a chore. I never felt like leveling was a chore in SWTOR, and I enjoy it more.

 

I'm waiting for the post-NGE emulator to go live, and when it does (because I hear its a simplified and easier version) I bet I'll really like it. I really can't wait to join the empire, and grab a TIE fighter.

Edited December 21, 2012 by spencer_

[Revanchis]

While this is a huge SWG love fest I'm actually on the other side. I'd love to see this game actually open up more story stuff. While playing this game you can constantly see the influence of the fact that Bioware are excellent crafters of amazing singleplayer games, but at every turn the MMO design hampers it. I'd love to see them try to expand the companions, by adding stuff like having more than one out at once, and having some banter between the different companions. They could have this either on the ship or if they added that feature, while you're in the world. I'd also like to see them change the way you talk to your companions. Instead of a series of single conversations to implement something more like the dialogues in Mass Effect 2. Where you can talk to your companions at any time and get them to repeat things they've already said. Then you can re-experience their conversations without either Youtubing it or leveling a whole 'nother character.

[Nataph]

I played SWG since its first day and I have played SWTOR since Beta. Now I am very easy to please when it comes to games especially about SW.

I loved SWG. its crafting was great and space was alot of fun, however the pve if there was one was bad. it was basically a pvp only game which I loved and not to mention the best part of the game that I will always remember.

I was a perma death Jedi and I felt like a real Jedi during those times. Paranoid, making sure no one saw me use my saber or force powers. Be at the space shuttle during those 10 min times and keeping my hotbutton ready with my saber in case someone attacked me. It was fun!!

But what made that game was the community. You only had one character unless you unlocked a Jedi therefore everyone knew you. I was the first Master Powers on Kauri where MP was not working and people knew I was around when the lightning started. It was a great place because people knew each other and your reptution oppose to the WOW alt grinds.

SWTOR, I love as well. I love the quests and the digging into more sw lore which SWG really didn't have other than the planets, even the Jabba the Hutt palace swg grind was rather boring.

All in All both games are dear to my heart esp swg perma death jedi. That I will never forget. SWTOR, I am hoping will do the same in time.

[phalczen]

Neither game met/is meeting its full potential.

 

Its naive to think that SWG was the best evah, just as its naive to think that about SWTOR. They both have good and bad things. Both having boring aspects. Both have innovative aspects.

 

Given the right amount of capital investment, SWG with a modern game engine and the time to bring back features of pre-CU that were innovative and appealing, and the modern AAA conveniences it had implemented by the time of its demise, would give games a run for their money. EQ is still going after 11 (12?) years, so somebody must be doing something right with that game. But when SOE shunted developers from SWG to DCUO to ensure DCUO's launch window, and IP license renewal costs increase, and possibly even a competitor throws in an exclusivity clause, then its hard to imagine that amount of investment would occur. I also doubt that anyone would give that game a chance, because of other games out there and because of still holding a grudge against SOE/LA for one of the worst decisions in modern gaming history.

 

Pre CU was flawed. NGE was flawed. Pre-shutdown SWG was flawed. Launch SWTOR was flawed. Patch 1.5 SWTOR is flawed. Post RotHC SWTOR will be flawed. Because most, if not all, MMORPGs will still have bugs and imbalances and limitations. More importantly, you cannot please everyone.

 

I am still waiting for that SW mmorpg with all the best features from SWG and SWTOR.

[Sindorin]

That's kinda like saying if the vast majority enjoys Lady Gaga, other genres of music just don't work, therefore shouldn't exist, you can play your dumbed down MMO, i will wait for something revolutionary.

 

If you're competing with Lady Gaga in the same Genre, and most people like her more, it does matter. Nobody will buy your records, and everyone will buy hers. That's the point.

[Eurynamous]

Well, you're wrong of course. Completely oversimplifying the issue into "high subs = good game, low subs = bad game," is precisely BioWare's problem. They only looked at WoW, the most "successful" MMO ever, for inspiration in designing their own systems, a strategy doomed to failure from the beginning.

 

The problem is, your way of thinking is shared by most gaming companies. Subs mean everything, unfortunately. So, instead of catering to a loyal, "hardcore" fanbase that will play your game for 8 years, they cater to 10 million casual gamers who are going to leave after 6 months anyway, because when you create a WoW clone, any fans of WoW.... GO BACK TO WOW (we've only seen this trend for the past 8 years, you'd think someone in BioWare would have noticed.)

 

There's a difference between fans who say "this game is a game I play," and fans who say, "This game is THE game I play." The former will leave you in bunches for Diablo 3, the latest Halo/Battlefield, or for a free-to-play MMO like Guild Wars 2. They don't place your game at the top of their gaming hierarchy. Cater to the latter, the hardcore fans of both the genre and the IP, and you'll have 8 years of moderate success before the next Star Wars MMO comes along. That's the lesson BioWare failed to learn.

 

There's two basic types of casual MMO gamers. The ones who like WoW, and the ones who don't. You can't please either by making WoW in space. One group will see your WoW clone for what it is, and they won't like it because they don't like WoW. The other group of casual gamers will see your game for what it is, like it, but realize that WoW has a decade worth of end-game content which you can't possibly compete with (not to mention a bunch of friends and guild mates they've known for years who didn't come to ToR with them), and go back to WoW. That's the reality of the casual gamer. It's truly foolish to try to emulate WoW in order to attract casual gamers, because the only casual MMO gamers that aren't playing WoW right now are looking for something DIFFERENT. Combine those with the hardcore gamers looking for a new MMO, who will almost unanimously tell you they are also looking for something different than WoW, and you have yourself a solid playerbase, all who would have appreciated a game that wasn't a WoW clone.

 

-Macheath.

 

Bias post is bias.

 

SW:ToR is THE game I play.

 

This game does have it's hardcore crowd that do support it, we are the guys who tell the f2p players: "if you don't like what you got for free, then pay to play like the rest of us".

 

Your points are only invalid because TOR has those players who will be lifers. Players who did play SWG and saw its death long before it came, who lived through the decay of server populations and wandered through the ghost towns that once thrived.

 

To point and scream wow clone is all well and good, you can do so at your leisure. If you look at the success of any MMO other than wow, you're going to see that they're all mostly deemed failures because they can't reach the same bar. TERA, GW, Rifts, TOS, Aion, AoC etc... These games all started strong and then saw the same tapering of subscriptions. Where did these players go? On to the next one in the line actually. It's the gamer migration as players follow the crowd. What these games share in common is the residual player base who sticks around and still plays them. Those dedicated 10% bunch, the ones that love the game for what it is and feel their dollar is getting its value.

 

Each of those games were different from WoW and still failed to reach a mass market. Everyone of those companies are chasing the $2.2 billion consumer investment dream.

 

SWG was broken, poorly designed, clunky and bad. This comes from a designers standpoint, including those who worked on the game and the mass markets opinion, as they left the game for dead.

 

That however, does not invalidate the good memories that players had, it does not invalidate that there were players who loved the game for what it was, and it certainly doesn't mean the game was horrible. The lesson that was learned by every mmo producing company, was to not do what was done with SWG. That would spell certain doom, as it did for that game in particular.

 

But to each their own, you will likely hold to your guns and rightly so.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Eurynamous