New flashpoints/ops/wzs aren't the solution to boredom - sandbox is *READ*

[BraaxusKun]

People will finish them, and be bored of them. You guys need to make the game more sandbox, that means more open, make an open planet where open pvp can happen, people can make houses/cities, decorate their ships, change their ships, have players on their ships, guild v guild fighting with a tally system, open space with open space pvp, space mining for materials to be sold to crafters, bring out WAY MORE craftable items - design gear that actually looks good, which only crafters could make - but they need to buy mats from space miners or some other aspect you may bring in, make the community inter-dependent, so the economy is driven by CRAFTERS and not just from people doing flashpoints/dailies for black hole gear which can easily be acquired, sandbox features = more long term.

 

Also bring out day/night/weather cycle aswell.

 

If the game had more sandbox features included people will be occupied MUCH longer than a new flashpoint being brought out which probably would take longer to make lol.

Edited August 1, 2012 by BraaxusKun

[AstralProjection]

signed.

[Daethorz]

Yup, i want to go gambling on nar shadda or get into a big @ space pvp war

[MetalHed]

BW missed the boat and hopefully they know it now.

 

People want to live in the Star Wars universe which means sandbox...not play a single/multi player star wars game on rails.

[darkcerb]

Given the popularity of "theme-park" mmo's over the now all but extinct sandbox versions It's safe to say people don't in fact want or prefer it.

[AstralProjection]

Given the popularity of "theme-park" mmo's over the now all but extinct sandbox versions It's safe to say people don't in fact want or prefer it.

 

Given the number of complaints from current and past players about the theme-park, WoW-clone MMO style we've experienced in TOR, I think it's safe to say people might want or prefer it, at least a good percentage of the population.

 

People also said PVPers were a huge minority - yet over half the players left this game, and a huge number of them cited a lack of meaningful endgame PVP.

 

I think it's safe to say without BioWare polling us none of us know what "Everyone" wants. What I do know is what makes original, dynamic content without constant developer updates, and what doesn't.

 

As soon as players burn through flashpoints, or play a new warzone a few times it loses interest for most of them, requiring developers to endlessly churn out content, often at an unsatisfactory pace no matter how quickly they do it. With Sandbox style gaming, it doesn't detract from the other aspects of the game, but adds a fun and enjoyable time sink that can actually be used to drive things like PVP, and after the initial implementation it requires very little developer upkeep to keep fresh in comparison to operations, warzones, and flashpoints. It is work at first, but the initial investment returns tenfold over time.

 

Besides WoW there aren't many theme park MMORPG's spoken of fondly. It may be the only one. Perhaps WoW allowed us to swallow the lack of depth because the universe they made was so open and visually appealing - and most people had no connection to the Warcraft universe on a personal level.

 

Star Wars is different - players had a taste of what living in Star Wars was like - and it was enough to keep a terrible MMORPG like Galaxies alive through all its game system flaws and lore-breaking mishaps. People identify with this setting, have their own fantasies about what being a bounty hunter, or Jedi, or trooper in this universe means, and the theme park style severely limits that to a gear grind and nothing more. It's all G and no RP - and that doesn't mean you have to actively speak in character to enjoy the RP aspect. It just means that you have to feel a connection with the world you play in, and feel a real reason to fight for your faction or take part in world events.

 

Housing and base development allow players to do that. It lets you feel like you have a say in the world, rather than taking part in little mini-movies that lose all meaning once you repeat them. The immersion is gone the 2nd time you kill Karagga, Soa, or Kephess, not to mention the 20th time you've done it.

[jorill]

I dont want a full on sandbox game and anyone expecting bioware to have gone this route i think is a little misguided. They have made this game soo rigid though it takes themepark to a whole new level. I think the first way to at least address this is to open the worlds up more like hoth and tatooine and less like corellia. I get the feeling of going down a water slide to the mission objective or the next area. Its fine if i know where it is with quest arrows but i dont need ravines and mountains to figure out where im going.

 

This game could use some dynamic event mechanisms. That would spruce up the game so much from where it is now.

[Shlamorel]

I think theme-park games attract a wider range of players... but I think sandbox games attract a more long-standing customer base.

 

Both have attractive pros and cons when you consider them from a business perspective (as a company would do when making this decision). Personally, I'd love to return to the sandbox days of Yore, but I just don't know if companies will ever return to them. I hope they do, but until then, I'm learning to adapt to the current gaming market.