This Game Wasn't Ready For Release...Was It?

[Kaidimao]

Tera launched with LFG tool.

 

This!!

[stineo]

This!!

 

Oh yes, now millions of people will sub cause of it. Tera the true WoW killer!!!!1

[MadBlue]

Yes but this MMO was released after. How hard is it to look around at other mmos and see what they have and what could be useful to your game?

 

It's a valid question, but the issue is probably prioritizing things to have ready for launch, when your parent company pushes you for an earlier release. The fact that SWTOR has been out for 5 months and still doesn't have a LFG system would suggest that, barring stealing proprietary code from other games, programming and implementing it is harder than it appears to be.

[MadBlue]

This!!

 

Tera didn't launch with a LFG tool.

[Lunga]

And no other mmo has launched with full voice over cinematic quests. This was hammered to us as THE feature of the game. So if you're happy jumping from quest to quest ignoring the wall-of-text, or watching badly animated "cutscenes" a la GW2, by all means. Go ahead. I can wait for a LFG tool as long as I get to play a BIOWARE mmorpg. You know, one where the story actually makes me want to watch and listen.

 

If you don't like story, well then. Maybe this isn't the mmo you were looking for.

[DarthNiktu]

Let's be honest here.

 

As a paying costumer it baffles me how much this game lacked at launch, but you know what's even more surprising?

 

That we are being given the bare essentials of any basic MMO piecemeal style as if they are rewards and surprises.

 

LFG tools

Customizable UI

Color outfit changes so I don't look like patchwork the clown in poorly designed gear.

2 new battlegrounds

Couple flashpoints

Server Transfers...

 

"Patch 1.3 will usher in a group finder..."

 

 

Really? This needs to be ushered in?

I mean, these things aren't something I should be waiting for and doing back-flips when they finally arrive. This should have already been in place to retain me as a player for the REAL surprises.

 

I think at this point when my 32 days end, the best thing to do would be to step away from this game for six months and then take a look at where it stands.

 

Maybe after 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 etc, this game should have everything the other MMO's had for years already.

Then maybe the updates (or "catch-ups") will be done and changes that we can actually be excited about will finally arrive.

 

God willing...a better client and a lot less bugs will already be there.

 

After all the hype, and buying the special edition, I kind of feel pretty let down.

I hope this game turns around, because that 1.3 promo did nothing for me.

 

- DH

 

My sub ends in two days (the free one) but I havnt played in several weeks. My biggest problem was empty server. There was noone to play with basically. I think I will fondly unwrap this game for christmas and see what happened. Maybe even make it a special christmas holidy 1 month sub in the future?

[Kaidimao]

Well I have pretty much lost the will to play now, for the past week all I have done is log on long enough to send out my companions However I think the time has come to cancel my subscription.

 

Many people keep saying that other mmos didn't have these features years ago but it's not unreasonable to concede that other mmos should follow the examples that have been set for them.

 

A lot of the features that are in wow is what the playerbase asked for and now that it's here other software company's should embrace it. Everyone wants an mmo that is different and pushes the boundrys but that doesnt mean it shouldn't have these basic features in them that everyone wants.

 

The world is also a different place than it was years ago and people don't have as much time to dedicate to a game. I once played and enjoyed FFXI very much and enjoyed it. That game didn't have a lfg system or any of these features but Iiked the game years ago but if didn't have minimum of 4 hours to sit and play there was virtually no point in logging into it, with that being said I could never dedicate that amount of time now and really need all these features to make playing an mmo and coping with a busy life style possible.

 

Mmo development really needs to move with the times.

[Nibs]

If a developer/publisher wants to steal my custom away from Game X for longer than 5 minutes (oo, shiny), their game needs to better than Game X.

 

SWTOR is not. SWTOR is missing many of the basic functions and/or features of Game X and EAware have failed to get those features and functions added before the "oo, shiny" factor has worn off.

 

Once the "oo, shiny" factor has gone it is next to impossible for a developer to entice me back. Sending me emails every couple of months annoys me and just drives me further away.

 

Now that I have un-subbed the only way for EA to get me back is to vastly improve the game and then get the info out via gaming web sites. Any direct contact will be viewed as pushy and just push me further away.Odd, but that seems ot be how my mind works.

[kevlarto]

They say that about every mmo.. they all lack something at launch some more some less, nothing different here nor would I expect it to be different, thats how mmo's seem to roll, not saying I like it but it seems to be the fact of the matter.. Most single player ganmes these days are not ready for release either, a patch shortly after launch on most, seems to be the way games roll in general../shrug

 

The difference between a poor mmo and a good mmo, is how fast the company responds to the problems of the games after launch, this is an area where Bioware is staring to lose ground, I hope they get what ever interal issues they have fixed and get the bsll rolling.

 

The launch of Tor was not basd I have seen much better and much worse.

Edited May 22, 2012 by kevlarto

[Arkerus]

I was more than happy at launch. Had a great time leveling my Jedi.

The servers were very busy at the time and I did not miss LFG functions and other tools.

 

I was perfectly happy at launch and I stick by that. Now, however, we need tools and transfers as they servers have thinned out.

 

There is nothing "standard" or "basic" about LFG tools, especially x-server tools. There is no guide book or ruleset that says they must exist. They will come in time.

Edited May 22, 2012 by Arkerus

[Sinphonic]

You're confusing a 1-year-old MMO with a new one. No MMO has EVER launched with a LFG, for example. Nor a customizable UI. Nor appearance flexibility (TOR actually launched with some), etc. TOR even launched with more content than Rift.

 

So, was it ready for release? For another MMO, yes, it was.

 

Actually Warhammer was released with a Customizable UI

[Tasburath]

You're confusing a 1-year-old MMO with a new one. No MMO has EVER launched with a LFG, for example. Nor a customizable UI. Nor appearance flexibility (TOR actually launched with some), etc. TOR even launched with more content than Rift.

 

So, was it ready for release? For another MMO, yes, it was.

 

See Tera Online

[Holden_Dissent]

You're confusing a 1-year-old MMO with a new one. No MMO has EVER launched with a LFG, for example. Nor a customizable UI. Nor appearance flexibility (TOR actually launched with some), etc. TOR even launched with more content than Rift.

 

So, was it ready for release? For another MMO, yes, it was.

 

Rift was released with a customizable UI

[Holden_Dissent]

See Tera Online

 

***? He was talking about Tera. Being 1 year old.

[Lunga]

"Tera was out for well over a year in Korea before it was released in the West, and it didn't include a LFG function until 10 months after launch. What was released in the West in May was a game polished by over a year of live gameplay and patches."

 

Wasn't the main complaint about Rift that they had very light content? So it had a customizable UI and no content. Great example.

[Holden_Dissent]

Yes but this MMO was released after. How hard is it to look around at other mmos and see what they have and what could be useful to your game?

 

Not sure. Why don't you go ahead and create a game from the ground up and let us know.

[sumuji]

I don't recall any game that launched with the ability to transfer, LFG tools, deep UI customizations unless it allowed 3rd party addons, two-man dungeons........etc. Some things are quite odd like why games don't launch with a LFG tool, but SW:TOR has got pretty much everything every other MMORPG had in it it's first 6 or so months.

 

Perhaps you're spoiled by matured games with years of updates

Perhaps you're tired of the basic MMORPG formula that's been used for over a decade

 

I don't know as a new player the only thing popping out at me as being a major issue right now are the low pop servers. Other than that this 12 year MMO vet isn't seeing the same giant red flags other people seem to be.

[RangerRobEU]

Wasn't the main complaint about Rift that they had very light content? So it had a customizable UI and no content. Great example.

But look at how fast they've added it since. It took them 3 months to implement LFG and a raid which was hard enough to keep most hard core players interested for the next 6 months with arguably some of the best boss encounters designed in an MMO ever. The also implemented free server transfers around the same time.

 

Trion keep innovating and keep releasing major content patches month after month, their development speed is mind blowing compared to most of their competition. Of course I understand much of this stuff was probably planned for release and development long underway, but it's still impressive how quickly they can deliver it.

 

Yes I'm a Rift fan and enjoy playing it but I also enjoy TOR because the one thing Rift misses is a compelling story.

[Holden_Dissent]

Rift at release had the same types and amount of content of any new MMO. It's that endless argument that people love to make.

 

"Since I'm not interested in what content you're delivering, I'm going to assume and yell from the rooftops that there is no content"

[Oscibi]

And no other mmo has launched with full voice over cinematic quests. This was hammered to us as THE feature of the game. So if you're happy jumping from quest to quest ignoring the wall-of-text, or watching badly animated "cutscenes" a la GW2, by all means. Go ahead. I can wait for a LFG tool as long as I get to play a TROLLWARE mmorpg. You know, one where the story actually makes me want to watch and listen.

 

If you don't like story, well then. Maybe this isn't the mmo you were looking for.

 

/fixed,

 

But also the story is great but its the same. over and over again. they have 8 Advanced classes but only 4 story lines that you have to follow in the same order blah blah there isnt a large choice.

[Frostvein]

You know, I get the "No MMOs are ever ready at launch" argument. I do. I can sympathize with it.

 

I can also sit there and agree with the "No MMO ever launched with a LFG tool" and that its still a relatively newish item in the genre. I'm completely willing to give TOR a pass on it.

 

Both of those arguments are logical, and I'll concede fair. However, there is a limit to what those arguments cover.

 

I won't give TOR a pass for not launching with Guild Banks. I won't give TOR a pass for not launching with a customizable UI. I won't give TOR a pass for not launching with a combat log. Or guild management tools. Or their over hyped and under delivered legacy junk. Or chat bubbles. Or population management tools.

 

Gamers aren't stupid, nor are they as unreasonable as they are constantly portrayed on these boards. Most are just normal people who know when the product they have is inferior to other products readily available on the market. Its 2012. This game should not be playing catchup to implement features that were available in games released over a decade ago. it just shouldn't have happened.

 

People are willing to wait on some things - the key word being some. Its pretty clear that their is a limit to what they are willing to deal with, and I think TOR exceeded that. When you combine the "essentials" that were missing with the long list of "non-essential" MMO features (Chairs? Swimming? Day/Night cycle? Ambient sound? Decent mob UI? ) you get a bunch of unhappy gamers. You just can't launch a game anymore with the "We'll patch it in later" mantra. It just doesn't work. There is simply too much competition on the open market to get away with it.

 

This game as launched was not ready. Not even close to ready. And as a result, the game as a whole is suffering.

[sumuji]

The game is suffering for a lot of people burned out on WoW and looking for something not WoW. The only problem is that pretty much every game before and after WoW is like WoW because that's the basic formula for the whole MMORPG genre. That's like buying a new first-person shooter and getting all disatisfied because it's like all of the others, running around a map and blowing stuff up. It's really silly from a outsiders perspective as someone who hasn't played WoW since like 2005, to see the same thing happen in every...........single.........new..........game. Not to mention they come from a game that's had 8 years worth of content updates and fixes.

 

Oh yeah, the same game that didn't get any LFG capability until it was at the same point TOR is in post-dev. And the about the same time they got battlegrounds whereas before PvP was nothing other than mindless world ganking with 0 objectives or meaningfull content to go with it. Want to modify your UI? Blizzard didn't do a single thing, you had to rely on malware ridden 3rd party addons.

 

Or do you honestly believe that no developer over the last 7-8 years has been unable to make a game that can retain a lot of players? Tired of beating around the bush and not mentioning the pink elephant. As far as I'm concerned you got two types of people. MMORPG players and WoW players. WoW players leave in mass shortly after launch in every single game. Too bad for us they represent a good chunk of people that buy and attempt to play new MMORPG titles. At least I hope developers go into it expecting to lose 1/3 of their playerbase in the first 6 months.There's not a single thing in TOR right now or that's it's lacking that would cause a impartial person to ragequit........with the exception of low pop servers which is indeed serious because dead servers even a normal person leave.

Edited May 22, 2012 by sumuji

[Crawelc]

Im gonna call shenanigans on that one. The thing that is lacking that would cause an impartial person to quit this game is 8 man ques, not rateds, just being able to know who you are going into the next wz with.

[Onyx]

But look at how fast they've added it since. It took them 3 months to implement LFG and a raid which was hard enough to keep most hard core players interested for the next 6 months with arguably some of the best boss encounters designed in an MMO ever. The also implemented free server transfers around the same time.

 

Trion keep innovating and keep releasing major content patches month after month, their development speed is mind blowing compared to most of their competition. Of course I understand much of this stuff was probably planned for release and development long underway, but it's still impressive how quickly they can deliver it.

 

Yes I'm a Rift fan and enjoy playing it but I also enjoy TOR because the one thing Rift misses is a compelling story.

 

Forgive me for seeing the obvious where you do not seem to be. Game A has chosen one course of action, game B has chosen another. Both have some qualities which you desire, but neither have all of them. Need I say more.

[Kaidimao]

What baffles me is that BW has made no attempt really at all to at the very least talk to their subscribers to give them a real idea about what is going on.

 

Instead they just sit in their office hiding behind the forum moderators, (Yes I know this will be deleted because I commented on Mods)

 

But they say nothing. Early summer is the best we have. I mean seriously. 1.3 isn't even on the PTS yet. So were looking at a minimum of 4 weeks away for that to hit live. Probably more likely 6 weeks to 2 months.

 

Just nothing is happening and they aren't telling us anything either.