Why did Bioware do this?

[cshouston]

What about it? Does it look more inventive and do something other games haven't? Not that I've seen.

 

Looks like more elves and queer looking smurfs and big fuzzy things shooting bows and arrows at eachother and wiggling sparks from their fingers.

 

What about it? I was responding to his desire for a game that lets you explore and go where you want as you level as opposed to being lead around on a leash.

 

You obviously have poor perception, or haven't really looked into the game, if you think it's not doing something other games aren't right now. Typical closed minded fanboy. I was once just like you, my son... it's okay to change.

[Nyoro]

I liked cutscenes till they got to be the same thing, I am not asking for much, I am just asking for a better way of presenting quests, the dialogue is flat and it has no emotion at all. I am upset about this because Bioware has shown that they can make a highly thought out product many times and in this game, it feels rushed as if they just threw in some dialogue because they had other matters to take care of. Personally I would wait 1-2 more years for this game to come out so that they could insure a high quality product.

 

The quality of the quests isn't completely consistent. Some quests are interesting and a lot of fun (I personally enjoyed the Czerka quests on Tatooine) while many of the other quests are quite mundane.(help we have imps attacking) The thing is it would be extremely difficult to make every quest in the game AAA* quality when there are thousands of quests that require so much VA work. The dialogue system itself works well but there's a ton of filler quests that are uninteresting and can make it seem like a nuisance at times.

 

The thing is, asking for another two years of development would have increased the games budget to a beyond stupid amount. The dialogue system definitely could have been better, renegade/paragon conversation interactions based on LS/DS rating would have been great but given the amount of money they've spent on the game already, they probably just didn't have enough resources left to do it.

[thebigdoubleu]

The voice acting is great for the first time, so that pretty much means story quests. But for the MAJORITY of the game, it's basically repeating the same content over and over again. Skipping cutscenes is just a way to mitigate alt burn out when levelling.

[Hambunctious]

2 years extra? No. They could have done more in 6 months with their entire team working on it, and kept the biggest part of those 2 million box sales. The game wasn't ready. It was, and still is, missing features. If they had worked on it until just last month, then released it, it would have been better received.

 

Now with the staff cut down to a fraction, this game will never reach the potential it had 6 months before release.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Hambunctious

[Dedrayge]

What baffles me more is why they give you dialogue choices but then not really have them go anywhere. I mean, you'd think they'd affect the way the conversation goes but they really don't. It would be absolutely wonderful if the dialogue choices one made changed the direction in which the conversations, and more so, the story went. Hell, it would be great if they affected where you quest and which quests become available. Quite simply, the game needs more cause and effect. As it stands now, yes, it's quite linear and each play through feels relatively the same thus wearing out the spacebar. It's a lot of, yea yea, heard this already go do quests in this area come back, pick up more quests to do in this area now.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the voice acting and the addition of cutscenes, really makes the game more involving, just feels like with all the dialogue options, it should affect the conversations and the outcome of the story more. You know, help make each play through different opposed to feeling like the same old same old.

[Nyoro]

2 years extra? No. They could have done more in 6 months with their entire team working on it, and kept the biggest part of those 2 million box sales. The game wasn't ready. It was, and still is, missing features.

 

Now with the staff cut down to a fraction, this game will never reach the potential it had 6 months before release.

 

The funny thing is, even given the extra six months the game would still probably be missing Guild banks, UI customisations, group finder etc... and be plagued by ability delay, poor performance, long loads times and what not.

 

The only way they can really find out what people really want is by making the game live, having thousands of people play and the by listening to feedback/metrics. Obviously if the game was in the state it is now at release it would have fared a lot better but it is the feedback that got it here.

[Laenar]

So what you are saying is you haven't seen it at all?

 

At least the leveling experience in that game isn't so damn linear that you can sleep through it after the first time.

 

Eh, linear is as linear does

 

So GW2 or WoW let you choose whether you want to move through the Barrens or Ashenvale or go the other continent all together and quest there and the world is so "big" that you feel like you have more options.

 

But really, what is the difference? You go to the zone you "chose" to quest in, get the initial quest for that zone from the guard who greets you at the main quest hub town for that zone, then you progress through all of those quests in a similarly linear pattern just like in SWTOR.... that is until you out level that zone before completing a third of the quests offered there and then "choose" to take your ADD self off to the next zone before you have experienced the full "story" of that zone.

 

Now for the other concern:

 

What is the difference between spacebarring through the voice active vs. not reading the wall of text quest boxes from other games?

 

The answer: Nothing after you have played through the game once or twice.

 

But, if you compare listening to the voice acting the first time you played through the game vs reading your quest boxes the first time through in WoW or whatever else, ask yourself seriously; which experience was more enjoyable?

[Scritchy]

So GW2 or WoW let you choose whether you want to move through the Barrens or Ashenvale or go the other continent all together and quest there and the world is so "big" that you feel like you have more options.

 

But really, what is the difference? You go to the zone you "chose" to quest in, get the initial quest for that zone from the guard who greets you at the main quest hub town for that zone, then you progress through all of those quests in a similarly linear pattern just like in SWTOR.... that is until you out level that zone before completing a third of the quests offered there and then "choose" to take your ADD self off to the next zone before you have experienced the full "story" of that zone.

Can't speak to WoW as I have never played it, but there are no quest hubs in GW2. You wander around a zone choosing whether or not to do dynamic events in those zones. Some events are in one area, others lead you across the map depending on if you are protecting somebody, etc. You actually get plenty of experience by exploring, crafting, gathering.

 

It is pretty much the polar opposite of the snoozefest that SWTOR is feeding us, and the fact that they believe the longevity is in playing alts, doing the the same freakin quests over and over, is absolutely bizarre. I was so sick of the quests by my 3rd character, my sorc, that I hit level 40 before even finishing Dromund Kaas (when I decided to blitz through the story line, I had to go back to Dromund Kaas and go to the hanger to finish the quest line and get my ship, even though I was using the companion for crafting forever). It sucked doing the same 3, then 4, warzones repeatedly, but it was less painful than doing the same PVE quest lines for the 3rd time.

 

Edit: Actually, that was one of the greatest things about Aion that most people missed. You got experience from gathering and crafting. It really alleviated the grind, which was the main complaint from most NA players (followed by how much the RNG affected things like crafting).

Edited July 29, 2012 by Scritchy

[gunnerjoe]

It should not be so hard to fix this problem, If they added some feeling and emotion to the characters then I would like leveling up even more. There are some ways you can do this...

 

1. Add an intro to each planet, when I click my air-lock, dont show the same cutscene everytime, have some ships flying around the planet and make the planets textures believable.

2. When I land, do something to engage me, for example have the planet be a peaceful area without any attack and then suddenly the imps come and attack the planet. Instantly I would feel sorry for all these people who are getting attack and I would want to help out. The dialogue they have in place right now does not have that feel at all and it feels like the people giving the quest has a "been there done that" feel to it.

3. Now that the table has been set add characters that make impact in the story. If the planet I land on does not have many soldiers then let me talk to the few that are on the planet to talk plans. Have those characters come into the story, not on a holo but physically into the story

 

If they add these features, those kill this pick up that can actually have meaning

[Crash-X]

The leveling in this game is the best out of any MMO, you're lucky there even is voice acting. You could go try and level on WoW THEN complain. The content is amazing and there is a purpose to every quest, it's not always just "kill 10 boars for 1 boar tusk" in text. Anyone who disagrees I imagine has ADHD and simply has the attention span of a 5 year old.

 

It is, but I have a feeling by September that another game will take that crown.

 

The planet stories and your personal one are great....the others though are just annoying.

 

I imagine you can skip those and fill it in with space quests and PVP though....but yeah the other quests are lame

[Kubernetic]

There is one thing that baffles me about this game and it is the fact that they spent so much money on voice acting, yet I find myself skipping through all of it because of the fact that 80% of the quests in this game are pointless kill this get that quests. I dont understand why they added voice acting in this game when only your personal story really matters. They have got to find a way to make leveling more exciting in this game because at the state that it is in right now, leveling is tedious and boring. Sure, its better than most MMO's but what other MMO's have that SWTOR does not is something to fall back to. One of SWTOR main componets is story and this stuff that is in the game is unexceptable. Every single planet in this game start like this: you land, and there is a guard standing waiting for you to give you a quest to the planet, and it is like this in every single planet. This might just be the least engaging way to introduce me to a new planet. They need to add some kind of intro to each planet, for example, they could have you go to a peaceful planet to drop supplies down, and then suddenly, the imps (or republic) attack and the people need help. Then instantly I would feel more engaged and I would feel better about the kill this pick up that quests. Most planets have a flat story that does little to engage you and the devs must fix this or all that money they spent on voice acting would be a waste.

 

Do you find this an issue? or did you like the content each planet gave you?

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I never understood why movies went to "talkies" in the first place. Text cards in between scenes was much more engrossing and entertaining, IMHO.

 

But seriously... you don't seem to understand the game. Let me explain.

 

You are playing a major character in the events of a threaded story that involves a number of separate plot lines. You may either be one of the troopers in the Republic's most prestigious squads, or you may be an important member of the Jedi Order being tasked on particular missions, or you may end up being a smuggler who has been brought into the fold to help out the more "legitimate" teams. (This is different for Empire, but an Imperial can chime in if they like.)

 

As such, I have absolutely no problem with the notion that my character is important enough to be met on an orbital station by some lackey who's giving me some instructions before I head down into the thick of things. I understand this might seem out of place if you were some crafter or shopkeeper who suddenly decided to hop in a spaceship and go on some adventure in the galaxy, but the fact that I'm to be a major component in what's happening, I really don't see an issue.

 

Never once bothered me in the least.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Kubernetic

[Daethorz]

Voice-acting is the only thing that makes swtor better than WoW.

 

The endgame lacks, it is a clearcut copy of World of Warcrafts endgame, they need to spend all of their resources fixing it and making it fun and unique.

[ChazDoit]

Voice acting is just a novelty? well I guess the movie industry is doomed.

 

inb4 someone says thats different, they are both similar forms of enternainment, and while games have a deep technical aspect to their development, there is also an artistic side of todays gaming, I remember the first time I played Metal Gear Solid, the voice acting and story of that game changed the way I saw video games.

 

This game blows every other MMO are of the water in the artistic side, but when it comes to the technical aspect (netcode, engine, cross server, etc) they fell flat on their freaking face

 

Saying voice acting is just a gammick is retarded

Edited July 30, 2012 by ChazDoit

[gunnerjoe]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I never understood why movies went to "talkies" in the first place. Text cards in between scenes was much more engrossing and entertaining, IMHO.

 

But seriously... you don't seem to understand the game. Let me explain.

 

You are playing a major character in the events of a threaded story that involves a number of separate plot lines. You may either be one of the troopers in the Republic's most prestigious squads, or you may be an important member of the Jedi Order being tasked on particular missions, or you may end up being a smuggler who has been brought into the fold to help out the more "legitimate" teams. (This is different for Empire, but an Imperial can chime in if they like.)

 

As such, I have absolutely no problem with the notion that my character is important enough to be met on an orbital station by some lackey who's giving me some instructions before I head down into the thick of things. I understand this might seem out of place if you were some crafter or shopkeeper who suddenly decided to hop in a spaceship and go on some adventure in the galaxy, but the fact that I'm to be a major component in what's happening, I really don't see an issue.

 

Never once bothered me in the least.

 

This all great but when only 20% of the stuff you do down there involves your personal story, it gets old really quickly...

[ChazDoit]

This all great but when only 20% of the stuff you do down there involves your personal story, it gets old really quickly...

 

I agree, I agree, but I have to say, many of the planetary quests were surprisingly good, I was always curious of how the imperial society works so I really like all the quests on Korriban and Dromund Kass, Taris was fun, Belsavis was pretty cool too, so yeah I dont think all those quests were a waste at all

[Scritchy]

This game blows every other MMO are of the water in the artistic side, but when it comes to the technical aspect (netcode, engine, cross server, etc) they fell flat on their freaking face

 

Saying voice acting is just a gammick is retarded

Artistically it is nothing special. Other MMOs have had voice acting, other MMOs have had cut scenes, just not to this extent. Artistically speaking, I think other MMOs have more to offer than SWTOR.

[ChazDoit]

Artistically it is nothing special. Other MMOs have had voice acting, other MMOs have had cut scenes, just not to this extent. Artistically speaking, I think other MMOs have more to offer than SWTOR.

 

So nice of you to mention "other" MMOs have done it to and not provide a single name lol

 

The only one I can think of that came Before swtor and had good voice acting was DCUO, it was nice to hear Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, but it was nowhere near to this extent.

 

Overall this game has Good writing, storytelling and character and its not just quality, they have a ton of it, the only artistic aspect I think is kinda weak are things like armor design, but aside from that I never felt so engaged when playing an MMO.

 

But as I said before you take a step out of your class story and you have to deal with the game technical deficiencies

Edited July 30, 2012 by ChazDoit

[Soluss]

The funny thing is, even given the extra six months the game would still probably be missing Guild banks, UI customisations, group finder etc... and be plagued by ability delay, poor performance, long loads times and what not.

 

The only way they can really find out what people really want is by making the game live, having thousands of people play and the by listening to feedback/metrics. Obviously if the game was in the state it is now at release it would have fared a lot better but it is the feedback that got it here.

 

Any MMO developer, that doesnt know people would want anything you listed... does not belong in this business.

 

All that stuff was said in beta and it was all ignored then too. It doesnt take live to figure this stuff out.

[Crash-X]

So nice of you to mention "other" MMOs have done it to and not provide a single name lol

 

The only one I can think of that came Before swtor and had good voice acting was DCUO, it was nice to hear Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, but it was nowhere near to this extent.

 

Overall this game has Good writing, storytelling and character and its not just quality, they have a ton of it, the only artistic aspect I think is kinda weak are things like armor design, but aside from that I never felt so engaged when playing an MMO.

 

But as I said before you take a step out of your class story and you have to deal with the game technical deficiencies

 

Well other MMOs are doing it now, so SWTOR's one advantage may not be for much longer.

 

Also how important are voice overs in a MMO? I think it is nice to have to present the story of the world, but MMOs are about repeating content and playing with others, grouping with others, etc. Voice acting really doesn't contribute to that.

 

It's like saying one FPS has better voice acting than the other. It's nice to have but it's really not what the genre is about.

[ChazDoit]

Well other MMOs are doing it now, so SWTOR's one advantage may not be for much longer.

 

Also how important are voice overs in a MMO? I think it is nice to have to present the story of the world, but MMOs are about repeating content and playing with others, grouping with others, etc. Voice acting really doesn't contribute to that.

 

It's like saying one FPS has better voice acting than the other. It's nice to have but it's really not what the genre is about.

 

Yes, GW2 is including voice acting, not to the same extent not even close, but thats ok because they are also doing their own thing with Dynamic Events, etc

 

FPS today are all about multiplayer BUT high quality voice acting is a MUST if you want to do an amazing single player campaign, I mean lets look at some of the names that have worked on Call Of Duty series, Kiefer Sutherland, Gary Oldman, Sam Worhington, Ed Harris, these are not just voice actors, these are Hollywood Stars, so yeah I think is pretty much mandatory if you want to make a good game these days unless you rely only on multiplayer

 

Having said that I think voice acting is even more important in RPGs than FPS games, the only type of MMO I think could do without voiceacting would be a Player-Driven Content Sandbox, because there you kinda create your own gameplaye experience and your own story.

Edited July 30, 2012 by ChazDoit

[Crash-X]

Yes, GW2 is including voice acting, not to the same extent not even close, but thats ok because they are also doing their own thing with Dynamic Events, etc

 

FPS today are all about multiplayer BUT high quality voice acting is a MUST if you want to do an amazing single player campaign, I mean lets look at some of the names that have worked on Call Of Duty series, Kiefer Sutherland, Gary Oldman, Sam Worhington, Ed Harris, these are not just voice actors, these are Hollywood Stars, so yeah I think is pretty much mandatory if you want to make a good game these days unless you rely only on multiplayer

 

Having said that I think voice acting is even more important in RPGs than FPS games, the only type of MMO I think could do without voiceacting would be a Player-Driven Content Sandbox, because there you kinda create your own gameplaye experience and your own story.

 

Yeah, that's what I mean. I don't know what Elder Scrolls is going to do but the Voice over seems to be a thing that MMOs are moving towards to, so that one thing that SWTOR has may not be that much of a advantage. I think it is better than reading textboxes but I don't think there needs to be these big cutscenes and such every time you run a quest.

 

I just don't think it's what MMOs are mainly about and that maybe SWTOR depends too much on something that MMO players don't play games for. If you want a game for great cutscenes and story you'd play other Bioware games or naughtydog games or something.

[metalgearyoda]

There is one thing that baffles me about this game and it is the fact that they spent so much money on voice acting,

 

tell me how much money they spent on voice acting.

 

An exact dollar sum please.

[Scritchy]

So nice of you to mention "other" MMOs have done it to and not provide a single name lol

 

The only one I can think of that came Before swtor and had good voice acting was DCUO, it was nice to hear Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, but it was nowhere near to this extent.

EQ2 had voice acting at launch. A huge deal was made of Christopher Lee playing Lucan De'Lere and Heather Graham playing Antonia Bayle. That game launched in 2004.

 

Aion had awesome voice acting, they were a little liberal with the cut scenes though. Like I said, it has been done before, just not as extensively as SWTOR, and it seems a lot of people would have been happy limiting it to the class quests so more resources could've been used to provide content and make content quicker to implement.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Scritchy

[ChazDoit]

Yeah, that's what I mean. I don't know what Elder Scrolls is going to do but the Voice over seems to be a thing that MMOs are moving towards to, so that one thing that SWTOR has may not be that much of a advantage.

 

Well you know, if other MMOs are copying it I think its a sign that Bioware took a step on the right direction, and again, artisticly I trust them, but in the technical aspect this game has many problems and could really learn from other MMOs

 

Aion had awesome voice acting, they were a little liberal with the cut scenes though.

 

lol Aion... and amazing voice acting on the same sentence... thats funny

Edited July 30, 2012 by ChazDoit

[Scritchy]

Well you know, if other MMOs are copying it I think its a sign that Bioware took a step on the right direction, and again, artisticly I trust them, but in the technical aspect this game has many problems and could really learn from other MMOs

 

lol Aion... and amazing voice acting on the same sentence... thats funny

I thought it was great and used very well - for the main quest line and significant events. Even if you didn't, it is more proof that artistically, Bioware did nothing except take what was already done previously and take it to extremes, to a detriment to the rest of the game.