Your thoughts on SWTOR as a whole

[okjake]

Remember the thrill of caping your first weapon in swg, killing your first pker in ultima online, downing ragnaros for the first time in wow, your first relic raid in daoc. This game has none of those moments in it just boring voice overs.

[Livedtomato]

Remember the thrill of caping your first weapon in swg, killing your first pker in ultima online, downing ragnaros for the first time in wow, your first relic raid in daoc. This game has none of those moments in it just boring voice overs.

This. This guy knows, and he's right, this game doesn't seem to have that sense of accomplishment that the others do and to be honest I only play still for the space combat, might as well just get Starfox for my 3DS and save my credit card the 15$ a month.

[ConradLionhart]

It has A LOT of potential.

[Livedtomato]

It has A LOT of potential.

It does, I do love that Bioware feel to an MMO but the problem is mixing the both of them to get the best out of both. So far a majority of the game is spent alone until you decide to go do a flashpoint or need help doing a heroic quest.

[Cygann]

Positional attacks aren't that great of a design(see rogues/druids in WoW) as it can limit said classes sometimes on boss fights and be hell in pvp with lag.

 

Your other example reminds me of FFXI and while in theory is sounds nice. But what happens when you don't have class A to maximize class B's potential? Who wants to operate at sub optimal levels because some class isn't there to buff you up. That forces people to only roll with certain classes as it only benefits them.

 

Nice ideas in theory, pretty horrible in practice.

 

My ideas are about making game more demanding and challenging, also more rewarding to players that manage to master team work fully. If you don't have class A to maximize class B means your team build is not well thought out.

 

It's like if I ask, what happens to a 24 player raid if they can't get 2 tanks, 2 off tanks and 4-5 healers? Well, they don't do raid that night, or they do and hope for the best...

 

On the other hand, it in game with 8 classes, one can make that at least 3 are always having skills that are in synergy with class A. So having one of classes B,C or D would do. I just have short version of idea, of course such system would need to be thought out into more detail to make it work. Still, like in any team sport, best teams get rewarded when their players cooperate well instead of just having good individual skill.

 

There is some teamwork in this game, but it is very basic and shallow in my opinion.

[Amowa]

It does, I do love that Bioware feel to an MMO but the problem is mixing the both of them to get the best out of both. So far a majority of the game is spent alone until you decide to go do a flashpoint or need help doing a heroic quest.

 

Yep,its like Dark Souls in Space

[ConradLionhart]

It does, I do love that Bioware feel to an MMO but the problem is mixing the both of them to get the best out of both. So far a majority of the game is spent alone until you decide to go do a flashpoint or need help doing a heroic quest.

 

I'm waiting for the ability to tangle a walker with a rope using my spaceship.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhpS69eAXrU

Edited March 29, 2012 by ConradLionhart

[irdc]

It is fine for what it is: a game directed towards the mass market.

[Sammm]

Right now, I'd give SWTOR a 8/10. Do I enjoy the game? Oh yes! Is it perfect? Of course not. There are only some minor things that bother me but about 85% of them will be taken care of in update 1.2. For only 13$ every month, I can enjoy a very good mmo with my wife. We only wished we'd have more time to play this great mmo. We're already looking forward to the first expansion!

[Quintan]

There is something about the game that is very appealing.

 

However, it is definitely not worth a $15 sub when it is lacking many great features that are standard to even the least popular MMOs

 

I believe SWTOR could have been a much better game than it is but when the verdict is out SWTOR will be no wow-killer that's for sure..

[Kantheras]

one of the best MMORPG games i have ever played

[Quintan]

one of the best MMORPG games i have ever played

 

 

 

You just started playing from the looks of your join date, I felt the same way you do when I began to play the game too so I understand.

[Kantheras]

You just started playing from the looks of your join date, I felt the same way you do when I began to play the game too so I understand.

yes but i have played a lot of mmorpgs and non have pulled me in like this. only wow and this is so much better imo.

[Dayln]

Easily the most enjoyable MMO I have ever played ( and I have played most of them )

 

I look forward to every story, and every twist and turn, I feel more connected to, and have a better feeling of my characters after a very few levels than I have in other games I have played for years.

 

Yeah there are a few bugs, things that could work better ( like targeting ) but no more the other games on their release, in fact more polished than most were on their release.

 

I give it a 9 out of 10 so far, and have canceled my other subscriptions as I have a hard time playing other MMO's after playing this one.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Dayln

[Incauta]

The leveling story experience was awesome. I enjoyed it very much, made 5 50's in fact. But the one thing this game just doesn't have is longevity of play for a gamer like me. I have literally run out of things to do. But in the games defense the only game that I feel had better longevity was WoW and it took a good few years for them to establish it in the fashion they have in it's current state.

[Quintan]

The leveling story experience was awesome. I enjoyed it very much, made 5 50's in fact. But the one thing this game just doesn't have is longevity of play for a gamer like me. I have literally run out of things to do. But in the games defense the only game that I feel had better longevity was WoW and it took a good few years for them to establish it in the fashion they have in it's current state.

 

That's fine but that's no excuse for SWTOR having none of the features that every MMO has and wanting to charge the same.

[Aeris_Kane]

[TL;DR: It's a great single-player game with story designed for the individual. Group mechanics are not on par with what an MMO should be. The rest is in the post.]

 

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"Is SWTOR a good game?"

 

"Is SWTOR a bad game?"

 

I think it all depends on who you ask. For instance, looking through the forums (especially the New Players area) and you'll see there are quite a few players where this is their first MMO. The reason they came here is irrelevant; however, they don't have a different MMO to compare it to. They will probably enjoy the hell out of this game since it is different than ... whatever they were playing before, and once they venture into other MMO's (seriously, they're like potato chips - you can't eat just one), they will use this game as their measuring stick.

 

For all the other MMO vet's out there, you'll find that the attitude towards SWTOR is slightly ... less than positive. But it's not all bad.

 

For me personally, I think SWTOR is a really good single player game, with some multiplayer functionality. As a single player game, it has a good story to it and character progression. As an MMO ... it's not there. I'm not going to compare it to WoW, because it's missing so many basic MMO features found in today's MMO's. Honestly, this game would probably had a much better reception if it was just released as KOTOR III. But that's just my opinion.

 

Now I know there are the same "catch-phrases", we'll call them. For instance:

• "This game is only x day/months/years old!"
  
  
• "I'm having a blast; but I've got a long way to 50!"
  
  
• "[insert MMO here] had a horrible start!"
  
  
• "If you don't like it, then leave!"
  
  

One of these really irritates me, and that's the fanboy response of; "If you don't like it, then leave" approach. Seriously?! You're telling players to leave, making an already smaller community ... smaller? I think it should be the other way around. It should be, "why don't you like it?" "What's wrong, in your opinion?" And then discuss from there and try to build a better world. In this case, the fanboys can be just as destructive as the many trolls and flamers out there. MMO's are about a community - single player games about the individual. By telling people to leave when they list a complaint on why they don't like a game, you're only solidifying the belief that this game caters only to a small, select group of players; the single-player oriented and Star Wars fan. That basically reduces the game down to the "niche" level.

 

Other "catch-phrases" are merely an excuse for either poor development, improper quality-assurance testing, or over-hyped marketing. Hey, I fell for the hype. I bought the game and still have a subscription. But my play time has dramatically DECREASED. I have a max level 50 toon that I raid with. I also have plenty of alts. However, I can't bring myself to level them anymore; and why is that? Here's a few of my reasons:

 

1. Leveling is VERY linear. You are on "rails" (so to speak) and must follow the pre-set course for your character. I can't choose to level somewhere else, like I would in WoW we'll say, since I would lose access to my class quests. This creates a linear path with no other alternatives to level.
    
   
2. Stories and Cut-scenes can be very flat and 1 dimensional. While I did enjoy the class story of the agent (I felt it was done pretty good), some of the other quests seemed to only serve as filler. Much like a Soap Opera episode or something. There's no depth to the conversations and most of the response are canned at best.
   
3. PvP is not engaging. Everyone knows the horrors of Ilum, so let's let the dead horse rest in peace. However, the WZ's are just as appalling. They tend to be very "one-sided" per match, with very few games being a "close call". You either win by a landslide, or lose horribly. But that's even if you can get a queue to pop in a reasonable amount of time.
    
   
4. Space Combat. It's Star Fox clone; the only thing missing is Peppy telling when to barrel roll.
    
   
5. Crafting can be based off the role of a die. Crafting should be about crafting. Not whether I get a lucky roll or something. Why there is a crit-crafting system is beyond me; but then again, I come from EVE online ... so take from that what ever you want.
    
   
6. Graphics quality. Now I'm usually good with the styling of these types of games. I don't expect Crysis style graphics in an MMO, since there'd probably be a handful that could only play it. But still; reducing textures and settings because you think people's computers can't handle it? Put in the highest textures possible and let people adjust for it.
   

 

One thing on the subject of graphics; I had played the beta for TERA Online over the last CBT, and while I will not rant/rave/diss nor discuss it fully, I will say this: the client is far more optimized than SWTOR's. Why is it, I can run that game on max settings and barely get frames drops (in largely populated areas mind you), but I cannot run SWTOR in max settings during a small 4-man Flashpoint run? When I loaded the client for TERA, I figured I would have to dumb down the graphics since there'd be no way I can max it out; seeing how I can't with SWTOR, I assumed I couldn't there. I assumed wrong. Something is wrong with SWTOR's engine, and I don't have to be a programmer to feel it's awkwardness; but I also can't make suggestions to fix it.

 

Other stupid things, like travel times and having your raid group kill you just by buffing you ... yeah, fun times. (Yes, my raid team killed me when we entered Karaga's room and rebuffed the party. Apparently it was/is a known bug and wasn't fixed. The party buffed and I died, giving me another repair bill.)

 

But like I said, this is a really great single player game, with a single-player minded character progression; much like Mass Effect and KOTOR. Tack on some dungeons and PvP with an Instant message client and you have SWTOR.

 

The honeymooon is over and the cracks are beginning to show. Too much is riding on the 1.2 patch in the players eyes, and with TERA and GW2 fast approaching, I'm not sure if it will help. Only time will tell.

 

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EDIT: just for fun, I went to the website: http://www.whatdoestheinternetthink.net/ and searched for "Star Wars The Old Republic".

• 52.6% negative
  
  
• 44% positive
  
  
• 3.4% indifferent
  
  

What does that mean exactly? Nothing. Just looked in curiosity. Also; please note, that even if this game ever did go F2P ... it's not necessarily a bad thing. In some cases going F2P has saved an MMO, look at Star Trek Online for example. That game was heading to server closure, but they went F2P and have pretty much stablized the player base, and; dare I say it, may have turned a profit. American's (I am one btw) associate F2P with "sucks", "failed", or "crap" ... it's just another model that is quickly becoming a mainstay in the industry.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Aeris_Kane

[Incauta]

That's fine but that's no excuse for SWTOR having none of the features that every MMO has and wanting to charge the same.

 

I agree to a point. Personally I dont know how hard it is to make even the most rudimentary MMO game. I know it takes countless hours of programming to do it. With that said though, I think it takes about 7-10 years to really make one that can even play choppy at best. At least those are the time lines this game fell into and what WoW fell into and Diablo 3. Considering that's what it takes The need to release a game at the 7 year mark is about mandatory in order to make it a success before you run out of R&D and development money.

I don't expect any MMO to come out with all the features i want. I also don't hold Bioware in any bad light because of the lack of certain features they chose to leave out that people wanted.

I'm a firm believer that the players own no rights to a game world and they should not push to have an invented universe altered to suit they want's....IMO it's sort of missing the point of the escape games provide. But that really has nothign to do with game features.

[Quintan]

The patch will bring people back for a week.

 

These fan-boys are ridiculous. I want this game to succeed so bad yet the signs are so very clear that they are running this train head first into the ground that all I can do is wonder what they are thinking.

 

The game wont just die but If people like me that WANTED to leave WoW for good are starting to give up and go back to WoW wondering why BW failed then it's a very bad sign.

 

That means this game will be full of only the people that don't know any better.

[iRouven]

I'm having fun. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

I like to play more then one characters and this game caters nicely to that.

[Incauta]

The patch will bring people back for a week.

 

These fan-boys are ridiculous. I want this game to succeed so bad yet the signs are so very clear that they are running this train head first into the ground that all I can do is wonder what they are thinking.

 

The game wont just die but If people like me that WANTED to leave WoW for good are starting to give up and go back to WoW wondering why BW failed then it's a very bad sign.

 

That means this game will be full of only the people that don't know any better.

 

you could put it in this perspective...

 

300mil gets spent to make a movie all the time, yet all of its profit is essentially made within one year of release. EA already made it's money back and some profit so it's entirely possible that the life expectancy that EA gave Bioware for this game could be as short as 600 days or so. No one really knows what kind of business model EA decided on for this game.

Edited March 29, 2012 by Incauta

[Qoojo]

It's a pretty good game, but the static dead world with little movement from MOBs detracts from how great it could be. The worlds are too lifeless. Another problem is I have no fear of screwing up when answering back to NPCs, because I know my story will continue on no matter what option I take. I have only died once due to an unwise answer to a NPC (Sith)

[Quintan]

It's a pretty good game, but the static dead world with little movement from MOBs detracts from how great it could be. The worlds are too lifeless. Another problem is I have no fear of screwing up when answering back to NPCs, because I know my story will continue on no matter what option I take. I have only died once due to an unwise answer to a NPC (Sith)

 

If we start counting things they could fix the list goes on but what gets me is that they spend so much time on little things like legacy and nerfs instead of just polishing the game before they move forward. People are leaving the game, they can spin it every which way they want but the evidence is there.

 

Georg Zoeller said they nerfed scoundrels cause people will quit the game if they keep getting ganked by them. How about people quitting the game cause their server is dead and they have nothing to do?

Edited March 29, 2012 by Quintan

[Kalfear]

you could put it in this perspective...

 

300mil gets spent to make a movie all the time, yet all of its profit is essentially made within one year of release. EA already made it's money back and some profit so it's entirely possible that the life expectancy that EA gave Bioware for this game could be as short as 600 days or so. No one really knows what kind of business model EA decided on for this game.

 

yes they made their investment back

 

But yeah, if you think they happy with breaking even or a small return your crazy!

 

EA stockholders would have been looking for high rates of return for AT LEAST 24-36 months after release.

 

And I guarentee you TOR has not hit the predicted target number of sales either.

 

There is absolutely no reason this game, backed by Bioware RPG reputation (which is crashing and burning fast sadly, and not just cause of TOR) and the Star Wars IP that this game doesnt do 3-5 million sales the first year with a standard subscription lasting at a minimum 24 months.

 

As a 21 year vet of MMORPGs and someone with solid understanding of how the stock market works and investor expectations, I would have expected that myself had I invested.

 

There is absolutely no reason for a product with the financial backing that TOR had and the 2 big drawing reputations of Bioware and Star Wars to expect or accept a short term turn around investment return. No reason at all.

 

PLUS, as anyone thats watched the MMORPG market knows, the real money is made in the monthly subscription base, not the box sales. Box sales hopefully break you even or even make a nice return but the REAL PROFIT is made by keeping players in game, resubing every month for years and years and years. If your product has a predicted subscription of between 1-6 months only. THAT IS OUTRIGHT FAILURE for any subscription based product!

 

Not bashing TOR, just saying this concept that you make your money back means success is NOT TRUE OR REALISTIC! Investors are not looking to break even, they are looking for large profits over long periods of time for these types of products.

 

And with all the knowledge thats available (if you look for it) out there and all the different concepts that been tried already. There is absolutely no reason to accept anything short of companies hitting the predicted targets.

[Dayln]

I'm having fun. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

I like to play more then one characters and this game caters nicely to that.

 

Yeah this game is an alt lovers dream isnt it?