Why didn't they just include a crap ton of playable races?

[Asuka]

It's much easier to create 10,000 peices of armor for a humanoid than Ithorian, Wookie, Mon Calamari, Rodian, Bothan etc...

[FooBard]

Cutscenes are integral to this game and adding new races requires incremental work in the cutscenes.

 

Expect it therefore in expansions or major uplift patches, as they plan and complete the development work.

 

False. It wouldn't affect the cut scenes at all. All cut scenes do is rendor and animate your characters model.

 

All character models have the same animation sequence attached to them.

 

All the different races lips and expressions are moved by the same code.

[ConanArthurLager]

I rather guess that BW didn't add more races to limit the choices for players. Maybe there's coming something in future expansions/add-ons.

 

Game engine wise it shouldn't really make much of a difference. It looks to me that the cutscenes are not videos but integrated into the game engine. So probably the effort to make available races that are already in game (NPCs) shouldn't really be that huge. Probably the character generator has to be expanded.

[SithLordDrew]

The art and model department would not have to create just one face, but all the different faces, hairs, horns, whatever for that race. It is not something that can be done in a few days. It takes weeks and months to model and color stuff like this.

[NermalDetonator]

It's much easier to create 10,000 peices of armor for a humanoid than Ithorian, Wookie, Mon Calamari, Rodian, Bothan etc...

 

Mon Cal, Rodian and Bothan all use the human body, just with different heads. If it works on a human, it works on a mon cal. That's like saying lolborgs and blind humans took a ton of cwork to implement.

 

Of the ones listed, only wookie and ithorian use a different body, and wookie at least uses the same skeleton. I havent seen any animated ithorians in game (at least that I recall). The CE vendor is static. Of those 2, given that bowdar has cutscene animations with the smuggler, I imagine wookies are closer to being done as well.

[Malastare]

I wanna be an Ugnaught. or Ortollan. or Jawa. Give me a midget race!!!

 

No.

 

1. Equipment models would need to be redone.
   
2. A completely differen set of animations would be needed.
   
3. Every other animation would need to be adjusted to account for different height
   
4. Clipping (or... not Clipping) issues in maps would need to be addressed
   

 

And that's just the technical reasons. How would a Jawa wield a blaster rifle? How would an Ugnaught ride a speeder? Or why would it? Ugnaughts are engineers, not warriors.

 

Looking at the game, those races simply cannot fit in without a healthy dose of mockery, and the devs have already stated that they're trying to completely avoid satirizing the universe.

 

So: No. No joke races. If you want to laugh while you ruin lore and atmosphere, go somewhere else.

 

I personally would include:

 

Yodans

 

I assume you mean "unknown tridactyl species best represented by Yoda".

 

Won't happen.

 

Lucas (via Lucasarts) has banned outright all exploration of the species, and I don't think any further examples of the species are being allowed.

 

Ignoring that, it is subject to most of the problems listed above, but with additional emphasis on the "No joke races" point.

[Asuka]

Mon Cal, Rodian and Bothan all use the human body, just with different heads. If it works on a human, it works on a mon cal. That's like saying lolborgs and blind humans took a ton of cwork to implement.

 

Of the ones listed, only wookie and ithorian use a different body, and wookie at least uses the same skeleton. I havent seen any animated ithorians in game (at least that I recall). The CE vendor is static. Of those 2, given that bowdar has cutscene animations with the smuggler, I imagine wookies are closer to being done as well.

 

Same issue though, a ton more head amor peices for each race all the way to 50 is a lot of additional time if done right.

[PulseRazor]

I can see why they didnt include more races, and am even surprised they included as many as they did. the SW universe is predominantly human, (even if it is just because of costume issues)

so it makes sense that at launch there is a world full of mostly human players, making future expansion or legacy options for additional races seem more exotic as they are in the movies.

[LordBater]

To be short and to the point, Bioware is lazy.

 

Yes, the company that spends tons of time and resources busting theri butt to make a game is probably much more lazy than the m***n sitting their playing at a PC for hours upon hours complaining there isn't enough to keep them occupied forever. God forbid they'd have to get up and do something else...

[Ortonic]

They need races to add later in the game with both the Legacy system as well as expansions. They will come in time.

[dashspeed]

If they were smart they would have created a micro-transaction area so they could sell more races, crystals, outfits, weapon models, and vehicles (fluff).

 

I will easily spend 100 a month, more if there is a lot I am interested in.

 

This isn't an FTP.

[CelticMutt]

I seem to have missed them in the movies then. Given that Bioware decided to make up some lame species and pump them up, rather than just using existing ones, I'm still unsatisfied. They chose to include some random star trek looking crap aliens (IE, dudes in green makeup) rather than something iconic and strongly associated with star wars.

 

Bioware made up MAYBE three species: the Selkath and Rakata (who've been around since KotOR and are now fully integrated into the EU), and maybe the Voss. Every single player species has been a part of Star Wars for a good 10 years minimum.

 

Humans: duh

Miraluka: nearly 20 years, since the Tales of the Jedi comics

Sith Purebloods: ditto

Twi'lek: almost 30 years, RotJ

Zabrak: 13, TPM

Cyborg (silly as they are to be a separate choice): 35 years, ANH

Rattataki: roughly 10 years, though retconned to not actually being a Rattataki larer ...; original Clone Wars cartoon

Mirialan: 10 years, AotC

Chiss: 21 years, Heir to the Empire

 

If you're going to whine, have the facts to back it up.

 

 

Edit: Ok, apparently Bioware didn't even make up the Selkath, because they appeared in an Attack of the Clones related item a year before KotOR 1 came out. Bioware probably created their background though.

 

What movie were mirialan in? Did Han temporarily transform into one when he couldnt see post carbonite lol?

 

Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Luminara Unduli, a Jedi Council member, was Mirialan.

 

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luminara_Unduli

Edited February 27, 2012 by CelticMutt

[Kourage]

Move the skin color slider. Play any race you want.

[Luhgnuts]

If the models and animations are already there and they don't have to worry about anything like balancing racial traits (because race in this game is purely aesthetic), why didn't they just allow you to choose from a lot of different races?

 

Each Race has an impact on network flow and load times as well as lag. Read a discussion where developers figured out, that if you just changed the eyes, would increase load times by 2% per race. So add 10% more races, expect 20% increased load times, just for an additional mouth.

[Superawesomerman]

There are basically 12 npc body types in the whole game. Period.

 

4 player male body types. And female equivs.

 

Reverse articulated legs (eshka and the cat guys on corellia)

 

short and fat (the whatever they are)

 

Jawas and various droids dont have movable mouths during cutscenes.

 

90% of swtor is recycled, from the quests to the buildings to the races. To a point, this makes sense.

 

When you see mon calamari weilding blasters and rifles with their regular human hands, you start to wonder though.

[NevarDrath]

I can see why they didnt include more races, and am even surprised they included as many as they did. the SW universe is predominantly human, (even if it is just because of costume issues)

so it makes sense that at launch there is a world full of mostly human players, making future expansion or legacy options for additional races seem more exotic as they are in the movies.

 

 

Sorry but that's not really true - if there were to be an expansion tomorow enabling us to play for example Togruta als Jedi or Sith Classes, Korriban and Tython would be flooded by them and it would seem as if there were no other species (except for the NPCs). That's one reason I actually like the Legacy system approach, because that way the population of rarer races and race-class combinations will be growing slowly.

[Dystopian_Snoman]

2. Equipment art - Sure, they are all humanoid but that doesn't stop races with odd protrusions and shapes from making extra work for artists and coders.

Personally i'm quite glad they took the time to elegantly incorporate the twi'lek's lekku and zabrak's horns in the sith inquisitor's quest helm.

Oh wait...

[Gungan]

legacy system

 

Legacy won't let you play a Wookiee.

[Cancrizans]

Because it would require more work than simply changing skin color or adding something on top of the head.

 

Yes, in this day and age when customers are required to pay $60 for a product and then $15 a month for the right to play it, developers can't be required to go above and beyond to provide the customers what they want.

 

I I ask myself the same thing. And frankly, as you can tell from the huge amount of posts on this both during beta and now that the game is released, this is something most EVERYONE wanted from the beginning.

 

I think they should have sunk time and money into doing this rather than some other things...and tbh though people keep saying "wait for expansions" I have a funny feeling they don't really have plans to let us play a lot of the requested races, like Ithorian, Cathar, and Rodian.

[Malastare]

I have a funny feeling they don't really have plans to let us play a lot of the requested races, like Ithorian, Cathar, and Rodian.

 

I'd put the cathar's chances of future inclusion as "very good".

 

Rodian... uncertain, partially as it fails the "kissing Leia" test.

 

Ithorian... no. No joke races, please. No anti-lore races, either.

[Drallbait]

Have you seen all the graphical glitches and presentation problems with just Twilek head gear and larger avatars?

 

Can you imagine what that would be like with a Hutt?

 

They have stated many multiple of times, making NPCs is about 1 millionth as hard as Playable characters. You don't just swap Avatars, you have to make every peice of gear in the game fit the avatar and look purty - non-trivial in the extreme.

 

Instead they will roll them out in a controlled fashion, with proper QA, as Legacy rewards as others have stated.

 

Meanwhile a large majority play Humans anyway.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Drallbait

[caveslug]

I'd put the cathar's chances of future inclusion as "very good".

 

Rodian... uncertain, partially as it fails the "kissing Leia" test.

 

Ithorian... no. No joke races, please. No anti-lore races, either.

 

No anti-lore races?

 

Please lets break away from Lucas ******, and get something fresh and new into this franchise.

[Dinoviking]

Legacy won't let you play a Wookiee.

 

We don't know that for sure yet. BW hasn't actually said what races will be included in the first batch of legacy extras, let alone several patches/expansions down the line. We could very well get wookies at some point. I really hope we do.

[Jaxxar]

If they were smart they would have created a micro-transaction area so they could sell more races, crystals, outfits, weapon models, and vehicles (fluff).

 

I will easily spend 100 a month, more if there is a lot I am interested in.

 

If they do that, I will no longer play this game.

[Cancrizans]

I'd put the cathar's chances of future inclusion as "very good".

 

Rodian... uncertain, partially as it fails the "kissing Leia" test.

 

Ithorian... no. No joke races, please. No anti-lore races, either.

 

How are Ithorian a joke or anti lore race? They were in the original movie and some have been Jedi etc. What are you even talking about?

 

EDIT: Besides, as with most of the requested races, there are already models for them in the game.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Cancrizans