Why I, a middle-aged male gamer, need this MMO.

[amnie]

not to be a party-pooper, but isn't it pretty immature to think that 'mature = older'?

 

I remember people back in school acting that way, and I hated it back then. then you have people who think 18+ = mature. and now apparently to be mature you have to be 40+.

 

 

and then I look at my friends in their 30s/40s and think 'damn if these people are mature...'

[Jaegert]

40 yrs young here and loving the SW universe so much that even with all it's faults, there's just something about it that's comforting

Probably coz of being in a universe I always dreamt of as a nipper, the sounds of blaster fire and the swoosh of a lightsaber. Interacting with the various races I had as figures with my millenium falcon, the blur of the stars in space travel and the fact that I, yeah me, can actually influence the outcome of the stories... It's SOOOooooo cool being 10 again with my imagination running wild

 

It's a game peeps, meant 2 b enjoyed. c it 4 what it is and moan about the economy/wars/unemployment IRL and just enter a universe far, far away and 4 some of us a very long, looooong time ago

[NinjaApacHe]

46 here, completely agreed!

[Tsukuni]

I'm 48 so grew up with star wars from the start. I really want this game to succeed. I don't have time to take part in raids that take all night. Tor offers me a more casual and relaxed game style that fits well with me. I took the plunge and rerolled on a more populated server and don't miss my old server apart from the characters names.

 

Just wish someone at the top would visit these forums as I can't see how they would let things continually slip without asking *** is going on? Wake up BW!

[Beratac]

I'm 44 in Sept. Broken over 50 bones in my body from military training/exercises and youth exuberance. My eye sight isn't what it use to be, and I get aches and pains from those broken bones when bad weather arrives. Yet MMO's give me an avatar thats as fast and tough as I once was or thought I was. I earned the time to sit back and pummel a virtual world and all who are in it. At least until I turn to an Elf/Dwarf game then I'm off to another make believe land where I feel no pain and I'm lightning fast.

[Okran]

Good topic OP.

 

46 here. Have always been into gaming, but recently (last 3 ish years) I found I was indeed slowing down... not wanting to try every new fast action games. I am throwing my vote in the ring (wait, was there a vote?)... I feel SWTOR is for me. The theme, the atmosphere, the more casual play. Re-rolled a trooper after my Jedi hit 50 (and completed the mission arc), and still liking it very much. I am looking forward to trying an Empire character next.

 

As for the things that are not to my liking ATM, I am patient: character transfers will probably come soon enough, no rush. Maybe a change in space travel (the one thing I find Star Trek online did well). More end game content that will actually appeal to me.

 

Going through a series of missions that make me smile, because of the story itself, the missions that are different or imaginatove, or simply the decor sometimes, is well worth it.

 

My wife and I still have our accounts on WOW: and we agree that there are nights where the $15/month fee ends up being way cheaper than going out for drinks, dinner or movies. We still go out, but less so.

[ahnog]

I'm 55. Sympathize with the agility loss at our ages, but have to agree that if one is mentally strong he can make up for it. Problem is that I'm slow both mentally and fingerwise.

 

This game is great. I love the stories, the combat system, the instances and operations, the social life, the crafting system (which produces items you can actually use, and which doesn't require you to make a ton of useless stuff since you make multiple items to research for better and better stuff' I love that you can gather using your crew and so you don't have to waste game time running around farming, etc. etc.).

 

At 50 I'm busy doing dailies, running instances and operations, building up a guild, building social relationships, space combat, crafting, speculating on the market, chasing datacroms (stuck on one on Hot at the moment, but I'll beat it), pursuing better gear, and leveling alts. I'm really looking forward to getting on a more populated server so I can pvp.

 

Yes, there are bugs, and I'm on a low population server and its hard to group for heroics, but I see BW as being dedicated to improving and ADVANCING the game.

 

I'm happy.

[vingmotor]

im 35 and agree with OP post. or sympethise or whatsitspelled...

[Iraas]

When you are male and young you enjoy running about shooting the hell out of things and blowing crap up in the latest FPS, but as you get older you find yourself slowing down and wanting a bit more out of your games so you get into MMO’s – next thing you know you are collecting 20 flowers for Twinkles the fairy so she can hold her tea party for all her happy-time friends and wondering where it all went wrong.

 

However SWTOR saves me from yet-another-generic-happy-time-fantasy-game and allows me to rediscover my youth (which of course is really important when you hit your 40's as a male -- especially when you can't afford a sports car) and relive those times of fast guns and loose grenades; all while playing a game my aging reflexes(*) can handle.

 

* Yeah ok, I might still regularly kick behind in an online action PvP game, but my reflexes are slowing down. Honest.

 

So true. 1 year off 40 here.

 

Love playing out my childhood Star Wars fantasies, which has only been fueled by Asajj Ventress in recent years . And at least I can compete seeing as my reflexes aren't quite what they used to be.

[BlueFromMoon]

I dont understand you, you're slowing down and play a game with 15+ button combat. Im going to play this year, more fantasy in next year called Elder Scroll Online, and trust me its going to be huge.

[rawfox]

I did start a guild in febuary for 40ish age group ,I started it on sith wyrnn east coast server it grew massive and has over 200 members ,but with connection issues I had to pass leader over ,I tried to recruit europeans since I'am from britain but bioware put my post as the US server specific thread ,I would have continued in that guild but bioware put the blocks on ,so I mooved to the red eclipse and want to try to find mature players to guld up with ,even starting a guild .I do have a thread but it has not had much feedback yet .

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=446881

 

If anyone knows an older guild on that server please let me know

 

/wave Over ^^

You are still missed there.

The Older Republic is still the best guild for older players.

Nevertheless the Ping was too high and the US rushhour starts at 2am in Europe, that is still complicated.

To have it even more worse, the server lost players and is still loosing players so there isnt too many people outside of its rushhour.

 

I made my 5th and last reroll on Tomb of Freedon Nadd.

There i found a handfull of people to have fun with.

 

Im still logging in at The Older Republic but i have so mutch fun with PvP that im not getting very happy on Sith Wyrm.

 

Wish you the very best, Overunity ^^

[MrLeee]

Fellow old head here. You guys check out The Secret World yet? No fairies and they got plenty of guns.

 

TSW is so bad... ack!!!

[SergeAyotte]

LOL!!

 

I am so happy to have found that after all, I am not the only 50 year old loving TOR and gaming in general (but tired of fantasy ones ).

 

I enjoy immensely NOT having to "guild up" to better play or go higher, plus the story lines provided in this games makes it, as someone said, an RPG.

I have tried over the many years I have been using computers (it is even my "regular work" being a network/system admin) which goes back to the 80's, many different of the MMO's out there, and often found lacking interest because of the missing RPG content.

 

I have been on since pre-launch (on Rubat Crystal), and not even ONE of my 5 toons are even 50 or have social points, and I don't care (aside from missing the extra stories that FP have in them), because I enjoy the time I spend in "this world". I should get more social, but have not found any interesting people to really "get together"... On of the things I see in all the MMO/Guilds type is that they become so "server centric".

 

Thank you OP to have started this thread and giving me a chance to see that I am not alone in my "older age gaming" LOL!!

[Veluthurk]

Greybeard checking in.

 

Age is relative. In a guild I ran a couple of years ago we had a player who I thought was just 17. He played a Boomkin and was pretty darn good. By chance I caught him on a quiet night in vent. In chatting with him I discovered he wasn't 17, but 70. He was almost old enough to be my dad.

 

I guess you're never too old to game.

[Myshkyn]

Gotta agree with the OP on this one.

 

Im pushing 35 years old...my reflexes are slowing a bit, so FPS games are not my friend....Im starting to slow down a bit on the paintball fields, too. (Heck, one of my markers is older than some of the kids playing, these days) And I think that SWTOR is just about my speed. With nice, big Large Print-esque 'buttons' for your abilities. I haven't had 20/20 since Bush was prez....the first one.

 

Yes, I play WoW, but I'm kind of hitting a wall with it, these days. Some of the WoW gamers come to SWTOR and make the mistake of power leveling their way to 50, then mope around 'Theres nothing to DO'. I think that WoW is the same, now, but with a higher level cap.

 

My server is busy in the evenings, but not horribly so. And yes, theres times when the server population is almost nil. But, hey...at 3:30 am, any server on any game is going to be almost empty. Still, I manage to find flashpoint groups often enough to keep busy.

 

Is the game buggy? Probably...heck, its not even 6 months old, if that. I accept that new product is not going to be perfect in some way, shape or form. But given time and effort, the majority of the issues will be solved and the game will only get better. Most of the glitches Ive heard about don't really affect me, at any rate.

 

Is this a 'niche' game? Probably. Most of the other posters are in their 30s and 40s...old enough to remember when the first movies came out. (The good movies...not the redone, rehashed over cgi'd eye candy) I remember growing up with my Hoth and Dagobah playsets...wanting an X-wing that made the noises. I think that is, right now, who EA and Bioware are aiming for. The people that are old enough to remember and appreciate.

 

For now, Ill let the kids gripe and moan and take their short attention spans to WoW. Meanwhile...I've got to head over to Mos Eisly. Im working on an R2 unit, and its got a bad motivator.

[defrostx]

Agree 100%. This game is for me. With three kids, mortage, wife, job, I don't have a lot of time to play games. And the solo content of TOR make sure then whenever I can play, I can play.

 

Sure I try to group up with a couple of friend one night of the week (and they are sweet enough to switch to their alts when I cannot play so I won't be too far behind) but Real Life being what it is, it is not always possible.

Of course, I am a Star War fan, so that helps:p

[MMornard]

57 here. Star Wars fan since May 1977.

 

I love this game. I don't do "raids" or "end game content" or PVP, so this game suits me just fine. I'm eagerly waiting for further expansions for my Jedi Knight, though.

 

And reflexes do matter in a group. I tried playing with a friend's 17 year old son. I had no idea what was happening, he just moved too fast.

 

But I can solo this game just fine. Last night I soloed two heroic-4s at green level.

[ZenMorph]

OP, I hear ya!

 

Like so many, I'm in my upper 40s (47 to be exact), and I thoroughly enjoy SWTOR. Of course, most of the appeal is running around with a lightsaber in the Star Wars universe. My reflexes aren't what they used to be, but then, except for Doom 2 and Quake, I was never a big fan of FPS games. They may stimulate the nerves, but they don't do much to stimulate the imagination. SWTOR does (as did WoW for many years).

 

That being said, I'm finding that I love to play the Warzones in SWTOR. While reflexes aren't as snappy, I make up for it in mental accuity and practice, practice, practice. Although, I've never enjoyed dueling or arenas. I prefer my pvp to have strategic and tactical objectives, teamwork, and a reason for fighting. The pvp in SWTOR has been more entertaining to me than what was in WoW or Rift (the only other MMOs I've played -- Neverwinter Nights doesn't count).

 

Of course, I would love to find a guild of us wisened elders to run with. I've been on Rubat Crystal since pre-launch, and I've met some good people, but it would be nice to be in a guild of mature players.

[Fliknboogers]

Quake. So many memories.....

 

Just a shout out to the OP and all you other hip oldsters still rockin' the games. Unlike like some of you old coots (I'm a very young 41) I'm still up on some FPS when the mood suites me.

[dazednconfuzed]

TSW is so bad... ack!!!

 

Why would you say that?

 

It's doing something different for a change.

[Mancer]

OP, I hear ya!

I'm finding that I love to play the Warzones in SWTOR. While reflexes aren't as snappy, I make up for it in mental accuity and practice, practice, practice.

 

Agreed! 35 here, I love this game. Even after the changes to the Merc Arsenal class I still PVP and love it.

Best PVP set I have seen.

[Kamor]

I beg to differ. My father is middle aged and can still play the fast pace games with a lot of explosions and he enjoys them. I am the one looking for the MMO's and such. And if you run into these happy-fun-time MMO's all overt he place you are looking in the wrong areas cause there are plenty that are NOT like that. So, being middle age is no reason to claim you NEED this game. Nobody NEEDS a game in the first place.

[CrazyCanukk]

When you are male and young you enjoy running about shooting the hell out of things and blowing crap up in the latest FPS, but as you get older you find yourself slowing down and wanting a bit more out of your games so you get into MMO’s – next thing you know you are collecting 20 flowers for Twinkles the fairy so she can hold her tea party for all her happy-time friends and wondering where it all went wrong.

 

However SWTOR saves me from yet-another-generic-happy-time-fantasy-game and allows me to rediscover my youth (which of course is really important when you hit your 40's as a male -- especially when you can't afford a sports car) and relive those times of fast guns and loose grenades; all while playing a game my aging reflexes(*) can handle.

 

* Yeah ok, I might still regularly kick behind in an online action PvP game, but my reflexes are slowing down. Honest.

 

Hell yeah!!

 

44 here and i will admit i still LOVE my shooters like BF3 , cod games and such. But this game lets me sit back and have some breathing room and just explore and take my time..

 

 

The only frustrating part is i have a massive list of group missions and cant find many groups to complete them.

[SweetOldBob]

Nobody NEEDS a game in the first place.

 

Beg to differ. I've been playing a minimum of 3 hours/day (often much, much more) since December, and cannot imagine life without it.

 

FWIW, I'm 57 and this is my first MMO.

[Kamor]

Beg to differ. I've been playing a minimum of 3 hours/day (often much, much more) since December, and cannot imagine life without it.

 

FWIW, I'm 57 and this is my first MMO.

 

I am so sorry you feel you can't live without this game. I hope for the sake of your life it keeps on running cause if it flops what ever would you do.