Voiced Missions not Worth It in the End

[Januaria]

If you have no problem listening to the same uninspired dialogue 16 times over.. I think you should perhaps consider watching some Real Housewives of New Jersey marathons instead of playing TOR

 

You, sir (or madam), win the internets for today.

 

Huzzah to thee!

[EJedi]

You, sir (or madam), win the internets for today.

 

Huzzah to thee!

 

Some people like those shows. If they didn't, then they wouldn't still be on TV.

 

I'm glad all of the people who hate Star Wars and video games don't have a say in what I get to enjoy.

[Gungan]

Some people like those shows. If they didn't, then they wouldn't still be on TV.

 

I'm glad all of the people who hate Star Wars and video games don't have a say in what I get to enjoy.

 

I love both Star Wars and video games, and still think he's right and you're wrong. There are certain standards that should be met as consumers too, not just as fans. I was 10th in line for Phantom Menace opening day on a school day in high school FFS. Yeah yeah, hindsight.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Gungan

[EJedi]

I love both Star Wars and RPGs, and still think he's right and you're wrong. I was 10th in line for Phantom Menace opening day on a school day in high school FFS. Yeah yeah, hindsight.

 

You failed at reading comprehension. You also failed at logic, reason, and empathy. You missed the point entirely.

 

You are actually the one who is wrong because there is no right or wrong in opinions. You don't have to like the voiced quests for them to be liked by others. The fact that you like or dislike them has no bearing on their value.

 

I will explain the second line in my post to you:

 

If all of the people who hate Star Wars got to tell me what I was allowed to like, then they could take Star Wars away from me. I'm glad that is not the case.

 

Similarly, I'm glad that the fact that those of you who hate the voiced quests don't get to stop the rest of us from enjoying them or BioWare from making more of them.

 

Also, The Phantom Menace was not made for you. It was made for George Lucas and the millions of people who liked it. Even though I hate Jar Jar, I know plenty of people who love him.

 

Fortunately, you don't get to be "right" about what is entertaining.

Edited May 13, 2012 by EJedi

[Vicen]

I loved the voice acting. It really pulled me into the story.....the first time. Now I space bar everything except class story line when leveling an alt. I had thought that I would want to play the different 'decision' trees through the conversation, but have found them to be inconsequential making the replay not worthwhile.

 

So this I believe will be the first and last MMORPG that offers such an extensive voiced narrative. The cost benefit does not exist to support it. The lead time required for development is also a problem.

 

What do you think?

 

Doubtful...Guild Wars 2 all ready has a lot as will Secret World and Elder Scrolls Online...It will become the norm soon enough. Even wow had a decent amount of Wow acting for Cata and I assume for Pandaland as well.

[Gungan]

You failed at reading comprehension. You also failed at logic, reason, and empathy. You missed the point entirely.

 

You are actually the one who is wrong because there is no right or wrong in opinions. You don't have to like the voiced quests for them to be liked by others. The fact that you like or dislike them has no bearing on their value.

 

I will explain the second line in my post to you:

 

If all of the people who hate Star Wars got to tell me what I was allowed to like, then they could take Star Wars away from me. I'm glad that is not the case.

 

Similarly, I'm glad that the fact that those of you who hate the voiced quests don't get to stop the rest of us from enjoying them or BioWare from making more of them.

 

Also, The Phantom Menace was not made for you. It was made for George Lucas and the millions of people who liked it. Even though I hate Jar Jar, I know plenty of people who love him.

 

Fortunately, you don't get to be "right" about what is entertaining.

 

Personally I enjoyed the voiced quests, but I don't pay subs for single player games: I expect satisfying and bustling multiplayer.

 

I also enjoyed Phantom Menace at the time (and mostly still do), and am ambivalent about Jar Jar. But I was also 15? at the time, and I've since become far more critical since university and becoming an engineer. I'm pretty sure not even GL was entirely sure who his target audience was when he wrote it either.

 

And yes, even shows that people loved have been cancelled... Firefly, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek, X-Files, even Family Guy. So your point about nobody being able to take away something you like that they don't is rather moot.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Gungan

[EJedi]

And yes, even shows that people loved have been cancelled... Firefly, Stargate SG-1, Star Trek, X-Files, even Family Guy. So your point about nobody being able to take away something you like that they don't is rather moot.

 

Then what is your point? What is the point in complaining about voiced quests if you're not trying to discourage BioWare from making more of them?

 

If I had a vote, I might have BioWare remove all PvP content from the game. Fortunately, I don't have a vote, and I realize that would be bad for the players who do like PvP. I'm capable of looking at the game from others' perspective.

 

It might do you a little good to consider that different people like different things. If BioWare chooses to build the game based on what certain subsets of players want, just be aware that you might not be the one they cater to.

Edited May 13, 2012 by EJedi

[Gungan]

Then what is your point? What is the point in complaining about voiced quests if you're not trying to discourage BioWare from making more of them?

 

If I had a vote, I might have BioWare remove all PvP content from the game. Fortunately, I don't have a vote, and I realize that would be bad for the players who do like PvP. I'm capable of looking at the game from others' perspective.

 

It might do you a little good to consider that different people like different things. If BioWare chooses to build the game based on what certain subsets of players want, just be aware that you might not be the one they cater to.

 

I fully expect them to add more class story content. It wouldn't make any sense not to... but again that will end, and what we'll be left with are the multiplayer elements ("the part I like play most of the time" to me / "the rest of the game" to you) - which is the part that is sorely lacking right now for a variety of reasons, including plummeting server populations.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Gungan

[Guajolote]

I don't think anyone can argue that having a great story and voiceovers could ever be a negative for any game. The problem TOR has is that BW apparently sacrificed way too much gameplay for that story. This game plays worse than comparable alternatives, hence the drop in subs and overall "meh" response to the game.

 

Had there been more focus on modern mmo features, better gameplay, and less story, do you think they would have lost 400k subscribers in the first five months?

[Gungan]

I don't think anyone can argue that having a great story and voiceovers could ever be a negative for any game. The problem TOR has is that BW apparently sacrificed way too much gameplay for that story. This game plays worse than comparable alternatives, hence the drop in subs and overall "meh" response to the game.

 

Had there been more focus on modern mmo features, better gameplay, and less story, do you think they would have lost 400k subscribers in the first five months?

 

Agreed. Again and again.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Gungan

[Regentlord]

I only listen to my Class Story missions, which I absolutely love. I space bar through the other missions. They should have done the cutscenes/voiceovers for the class stories and ignored the other missions since they don't really add anything interesting.

[Kubernetic]

I don't think anyone can argue that having a great story and voiceovers could ever be a negative for any game. The problem TOR has is that BW apparently sacrificed way too much gameplay for that story. This game plays worse than comparable alternatives, hence the drop in subs and overall "meh" response to the game.

 

Had there been more focus on modern mmo features, better gameplay, and less story, do you think they would have lost 400k subscribers in the first five months?

 

Sure. I think that's an issue with any IP as beloved as Star Wars by so many people. Same thing really with Star Trek and any other with that much of an emotional attachment to the fans. People have their own ideas about "What Star Wars Means", and obviously no game company is ever going to be able to create a game about Star Wars that caters specifically to every single type of desire for the game.

 

Look at all of the people who want housing and the ability to just run a little store "because that feels like Star Wars", when in fact the movies barely even SHOWED a home outside of a few select scenes, and only showed one store in the entire thing which was just a mechanism to meet Anakin as a young boy.

 

All of the people who want to be able to play aliens "because that feels like Star Wars", when in fact, every major character with any amount of lengthy screen time (outside of Artoo, Threepio, Chewie and Jar Jar) were all human characters.

 

I would fully expect a larger number of people who purchased a Star Wars game to quit in the first few months than with other games as they realized the company didn't create THEIR desired game, and leave.

 

This says very little about all of the players left who actually like the game and intend to play it for a while.

 

Meanwhile, other games which create their own IP or just use some subject that isn't emotionally attached get a little more slack from players because they don't feel like they KNOW the property enough to reject it as "incorrect".

 

It's just the danger of using such a property, and anyone who ever intends to make a game out of a property like this ought to know it, expect it, and plan for what happens after that takes place.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Kubernetic

[Pheroras]

the most expedient way for the game to expand horizontally or vertically is to use the mission terminal approach for anything except the Class stories from now on.

while the story driven mmo is a wonderful selling point and in practice quite enjoyable at the moment the story element is a bit thin and will continue to hamper rapid growth of the game while the population will fluctuate based on the release of new content

[Nyla]

I disagree with the OP, voiced mission are worth the cost.

 

Sure, some things could have be done differently/better but I prefer this way to get quest than any other I have encountered in other MMOs.

[mattgyver]

For class stories, and some more involved quest lines I like it. For the other stuff it's just not needed.

Sometimes more isn't better, it's just more.

[JeremyDale]

I loved the voice acting. It really pulled me into the story.....the first time. Now I space bar everything except class story line when leveling an alt. I had thought that I would want to play the different 'decision' trees through the conversation, but have found them to be inconsequential making the replay not worthwhile.

 

So this I believe will be the first and last MMORPG that offers such an extensive voiced narrative. The cost benefit does not exist to support it. The lead time required for development is also a problem.

 

What do you think?

 

I agree with you 100%.

 

Voice acting is great for solo games you are going to play through once to help enrich the experience. But for MMORPGs, it really doesn't bring much to the game over the long-run. Only initially is it of value - and it's amazing my space bar hasn't tore up on me yet.

 

They would have been far-better served spending all of that time, money, and effort on content and gameplay additions. Because if they think adding legacies and encouraging players to reroll characters over and over again so they can watch their little voice-acted stories is going to keep people coming back for more they are going to be dissapointed.

 

Gameplay and Content is what matters on an MMORPG. Voice acting not so much.

Edited May 13, 2012 by JeremyDale

[Razdek]

Ummm isnt tere an option to turn them off?

[Guajolote]

Sure. I think that's an issue with any IP as beloved as Star Wars by so many people.

 

See, but I think they IP has very little to do with it. Ultimately, it's the gameplay that determines success or failure. It's been true for video games for a long time: some of the worst reviewed, biggest busts are games based on films, comic books, etc. Games like Batman: Arkham Asylum/City and the original KOTOR are the extremely rare exceptions to that rule. It's almost as though devs work under the assumption that a strong IP is all they need.

 

You need a better reason to make a game than "this IP exists, therefore it needs a game." With SWTOR, the devs seemed to have decided to combine a typical BW RPG with an MMO, really bringing nothing new to either genre, but sacrificing several MMO aspects to make their square peg fit a round hole.

 

LucasArts might have been better served had they looked for a company with some new mmo ideas. I've been playing Tera a bit, and have to say I find the combat VERY refreshing and fun (fully conceding it lacks in other areas). I think those mechanics would actually be great in a SW universe.

[Monthigos]

Sorry I disagree with the OP. I have one 50, one 40 and a handful that are between 10 and 20. I've played through some of the started planets (beta included) almost ten times. I don't space-bar through conversations. I enjoy them even if I've heard them several times before. There is already an option to skip through the dialogue so no one is forced to read the dialogues--there is even a summary in the quest log so it's not like they are missing anything.

 

Don't compromise a defining feature of this game because other players don't like it. Learn from SOE who continually compromise the core features of their game to appease forum-goers and then wonder why everyone is leaving. Surely this game is bringing in enough money that they can hire enough resources to work on voice acting AND other content / features. That shouldn't even be an issue.

[DarthZaul]

I agree with the OP, but on the other hand when I played Rift etc I thought 'man I wish this a had a voiced story'.

 

They should have voiced only the story quests and then every MMO should start doing that. Look at the black hole for proof - the new dailies all come from a terminal and nobody complained.

[ISDEnterprise]

I'm in the same boat.

 

My main is level 42ish now. I listened to all the voices. However, even before I've heard them all I'm just reading the subtitles and often space baring before they're done talking but when I'm done reading.

 

I've even started doing this a bit in class stories. And forget alts... they're pretty much automatically space baring everything (but some class stories). I'm bored of the voices and most of the side missions feel like boring filler. Leveling is becoming a pain.

 

Voices are neat but so far... I too question if they're worth it. I mean if they take away from too much development time I'd probably be fine with just reading text. That and some of my characters have voices I'd never want to give them. Kind of "never have Link talk" logic here.

 

 

And truth be told it doesn't seem like it's as well done as other games like ME3 or even KOTOR. This is probably because the good stories are so spread out.

[Cynfulone]

The voiced missions are my favourite aspect, unfortunately there are just too few to keep me entertained.

[Kubernetic]

See, but I think they IP has very little to do with it. Ultimately, it's the gameplay that determines success or failure. It's been true for video games for a long time: some of the worst reviewed, biggest busts are games based on films, comic books, etc. Games like Batman: Arkham Asylum/City and the original KOTOR are the extremely rare exceptions to that rule. It's almost as though devs work under the assumption that a strong IP is all they need.

 

You need a better reason to make a game than "this IP exists, therefore it needs a game." With SWTOR, the devs seemed to have decided to combine a typical BW RPG with an MMO, really bringing nothing new to either genre, but sacrificing several MMO aspects to make their square peg fit a round hole.

 

LucasArts might have been better served had they looked for a company with some new mmo ideas. I've been playing Tera a bit, and have to say I find the combat VERY refreshing and fun (fully conceding it lacks in other areas). I think those mechanics would actually be great in a SW universe.

 

See, the "devs work under the assumption that a strong IP is all they need" comment is your subjective viewpoint, not necessarily the reality. Can you show me any evidence of this anywhere in the development of this game that leads you to think this? Like, proof?

 

And "sacrificing several MMO aspects" part is also subjective. I haven't noticed these drawbacks, and I've played a few MMOs. I just may not be used to the kinds of crutch functionality you use or expect.

 

And it's great that you like the mechanics of Tera, but I'm just fine with the mechanics they have in this game already. Suits me just fine, and I haven't experienced any deficiencies because of it. Sorry they didn't include exactly what YOU wanted, but many of us are just fine with what they've created, with the understanding that they'll be modifying some of what they've done and adding more.

[Kubernetic]

I agree with the OP, but on the other hand when I played Rift etc I thought 'man I wish this a had a voiced story'.

 

They should have voiced only the story quests and then every MMO should start doing that. Look at the black hole for proof - the new dailies all come from a terminal and nobody complained.

 

That no one didn't complain that the Black Hole dailies are provided by a terminal doesn't mean that people wouldn't have missed them if they were completely stripped from the game, or never added to what we have.

 

I'm okay with a few terminal missions, and some bounty terminals would be pretty cool. But I like the non-class story lines as well and I hope they continue to provide those as our level caps are raised and more story is added.

 

If anything, they should give those of you that want it the opportunity to skip them all together and just treat NPCs as a "terminal" if you have it disabled for non-class story scenes. Then you can go on without them and the rest of us who like them can enjoy them as we please.

[Cebo]

GW2 isn't putting VO on every side quest, just the personal story.

 

Then again, GW2 doesent really work with normal Questing, but rather with Events for which offcourse, no Voiceovers are needed.

 

I think the voiceovers are great in this Game. Imo it was about time that someone came out with a fully voice MMO. I think this sets a new standard for questing from here on out for your standard "pick up quest, turn in Quest" MMO, at least i hope so.

 

To say that the rest of the Game suffered because of the Voiceovers, i highly doubt that. I don't think that any of the people doing the cinematics/voice overs are working on the "Gameplay", or the UI/Systems Team are working on any of the voice overs.

 

I hope Bioware continues to make full voice overs for all the Quests going forward while at the same time work on getting features into the game that by todays standard MMOs should have been in the Game at launch,