Feedback and Issues

[mourasantos]

Problem #56299: FLASHPOINTS

FP's eventually become stale once you've ran them several times. Because their story elements are static at the moment, it doesn't take very long for experienced players who've ran it several times to lose patience with newbies running it for the first time ever. This is the cause for an increasingly wide-spread phenomenon, the SPACEBAR-feud. There are several ways to circumvent this problem, the easiest of which involves churning out MORE flashpoints. This is not only the costliest of the solutions, it's also the most short-sighted one.

 

The real key is to make the cutscenes found in EXISTING flashpoints as dynamic as possible. How? Actually, the answer to this addresses several other problems, namely the lack of differentiation between classes and the seemingly superfluous social levels system, both of which I'll tackle in more detail later on. But for now that's neither here nor there, so let's focus on the issue in question:

 

Imagine after reaching a certain amount of social points you unlock a new ability that allows you to interrupt the normal flow of conversation by performing a suitably show-stopping action, something similar to the Paragon/Renegade system Bioware introduced in Mass Effect 2. Naturally this ability would be accessible to all classes, with one small caveat: the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor classes, by virtue of their lore, don't need to hit a certain level of Social Points in order to unlock it, they have it from the get-go.

 

Sith Inquisitors would use mind domination, Consulars Jedi Mind Tricks, Smugglers would use Smuggler's Charm, etc, etc...

 

The key is for this system to be developed as a kind of mini-game. By choosing either the Renegade or Paragon options you'd be rolling the dice just the same you would for the other normal conversation rolls. But if you lose the roll, you not only lose a small amount of Social Points, you're also unable to take part in all future conversations for that flashpoint. If you should win it, however, then you get a substantial social points bonus. The higher your social points level, the more likely you are to win these rolls.

 

Problem # 31: SPRINT ABILITY

- Unlock sprint ability at Legacy Level 1 instead of having it available for new players from the onset, immediately after character creation.

 

Problem # 412: HOLOTERMINAL

- The holo-terminal on our ships used to communicate with our respective faction's leadership is constantly glowing blue, as if signal it wants to be interacted with, even when it doesn't. Get rid of this. Yesterday. It should only glow blue when inter-stellar communications are warranted. At this stage, 90% of the time it does f-all beyond resetting my U.I.

 

Problem #520: FLEET

 

- Scrap the faction fleet as the main base of operations. From a narrative perspective it makes little sense, the capital worlds should be the central gathering points for each of the respective factions. Problem is, both capital worlds are highly underdeveloped at this stage, they just don't feel very "capital" at all. But I'll address the solution for this later. For now, let's talk about why the fleet is broken...

 

Imagine you're a new player; not just a new player, but new to MMO's in general. Apart from a few hiccups along the way (which I'll also address later on), your leveling experience is a fairly smooth one up until you reach level 10. But then, as soon as you hit fleet, you're inundated by a flood of new, sensory overloading game-systems: vendors peddling wares you won't be able to gain access to for another 40 levels, level 50 players parading high-tech gadgets of the kind which you, at such an early stage of your adventure, can only dream of obtaining (even though every NPC and their mother is treating you as the galaxy's last ray of hope), the chat box is swarming with befuddling, MMO-specific terminology you can't make any sense of, etc... etc...

 

For these reasons and more, and as a newbie to MMO's myself, I was this close to unsubbing the moment I hit fleet. Of course most folks here won't be able to sympathize with this problem of new game systems being unlocked at too early a stage, given that they're veterans of MMO's, and consequently at least somewhat familiar with all of them already. But as I mentioned before, the issue isn't merely functional, it is narrative as well. For instance, the sense of heroism Bioware supposedly went to such great lengths to provide SWTOR's players with is instantly shattered the moment he discovers even the FREAKING VENDOR standing behind the counter on fleet is 40 levels more powerful than him.

 

That's right, the fleet is broken. Remember, for instance, those holo-terminals located below the main level, where people would gather around to do flashpoints, the ones in which you'd get a sit-rep, an intro, essentially a narrative purpose for doing them in the first place? Well, that's all gone now, made null and avoid by the introduction of group finder, and are left to simply gather dust. This is actually another huge problem in itself, but I mention it here only as way to highlight just how senseless the fleet map has become: you've got an entire floor, and even entire separate ships meant to teleport you to flashpoints, and they're now completely useless.

 

Okay, now for the solution: we've already agreed that flooding a new player with too much information as early as level 10 is not the ideal approach, right? And if we've agreed that walking around on fleet surrounded by level 50's who lookmeaner, faster, cooler than your poor, measly-leveled toon is a highly deflating experience, then we'll also agree on the need to avoid these unfortunate encounters, while at the same time figuring out a way to space out the the rate at which players are exposed to new game systems. But how to do this?

 

Well, try this: create a copy of the capital world that is only accessible at level 50. Imagine you're playing SWTOR for the very first time. Having reached the capital planet, Coruscant, you're feeling understandably underwhelmed by its lack of scope, its corridor structure… In short, its lack of ambition. But! There's an area closed off to you, for whatever reason. A bridge of some sort, like what they did with the GTA series. You wonder what it's all about. But then, you reach level 50 and you receive a HOLOVID update informing you this area is now freely accessible to you and every single other level 50, PLUS anyone with a Legacy level above a certain point (Legacy 3 sounds fair, I think).

 

Oh, I'm not suggesting they should be scrapped entirely. Nay, I think they should be kept, only not as a galactic epicenter. So far there are three ships, one used as an all-purpose hub, a gathering point for all players above 10 (Carrick Station, on the Republic side) , and two more (gav daragon and another one whose name escapes me at the moment) for flashpoint teleporting purposes.

 

Keep them, but make them restricted to players in 10 level increments. In other words, level 10 to 20 you gain access to Gav Daragon, for instance. There you'll encounter players who may be more advanced than you, yet are still within the same realm of experience, vendors will sell you things you can actually gain access to and understand and, more importantly, can actually afford, there, the conversation rolling down on the chatbox won't be pertaining to things you aren't quite ready to grok yet, etc...

 

Gav Daragon: 10 to 20

The other one I forget: 20 to 30

Some new space station made for: 30's to 40

Carrick Station: 40 to 49

 

LEVEL 50's and their ALTS (Legacy level 2 and beyond): CORUSCANT and Drommund Kaas.

 

The idea of streamlining the lvling up experience so as to restrict encounters with level 50's, to make it a much rarer prospect for first-time players, is bound to meet its fair share of detractors, particularly amongst the hardcore crowd. These people are more likely to have little to no empathy with the first-time user because they've already gone through the grind, worked for ceaseless hours to finally attain their much-prized gear, so they'll be damned before they let anyone takes away their hard-earned right to show off to the rest of the world their uber-cool characters decked out in resplendent regalia. The thing is, this wouldn't be detracting at all from that feeling of validation they so hunger for; on the contrary, in fact. The end result of making level 50 encounters rarer would be that in those few times in which the first-time player would run into a maxed character (say, for example, on a datacron hunt), he or she would stand in awe of them, as if they just spotted an Elvis apparition. That way, you wouldn't be just another level 50 lost in a sea of level 50's competing for attention on a fleet.

 

Problem # 70: HUTTBALL

- Remove Huttball from the Warzone queue. Thematically, it doesn't make any sense for them to be included. I mean, they're called WARzones for christ's sake, not Hutt Games. Instead, make them a place. Yes, a place! Some kind of Arena venue, preferably located on Nar Shadaa (which by rights should be the capital of fun and games, but right now is the capital of zilch). Allow bets to be placed.

 

Problem # 3258: TRAVEL

 

- There's a lack of incentive to travel. Why? Well, take a look at the real world for a clue. What's our own primary incentive to travel, beyond exploring different sights? The answer is exploring different cultures. What is a culture? A system. What is a system, in SWTOR's case? A mini-game. And right now, there is a total absence of systems unique to a particular planet to help differentiate them from each other, to set them apart. The sole exception is some crystal- making machine on Coruscant, and sorry to say, that's far from cutting it. Implement a system that's unique to a particular planet and you get a rudimentary form of culture. Implement a culture and you create a reason to travel.

 

There, fixed.

 

But how to do this? Look to the real world for inspiration: want to get the best suits in the world, a special custom-made dose of sartorial sprezzatura? Go to Italy. Specifically, Napoli. Want exposure to that special, filthy-rich sort of decadence? Go to Monaco during the Grand-prix. Looking for the low-brow variant? Buy yourself a ticket to Vegas, where the Ed Hardy crowd like to congregate. And finally, if you're looking for the the best and worst of everything the world has to offer, then New York's your place (by the way this what Coruscant should be). Now think along Star Wars lines. The creme-de-la creme of swoop races, the final shebang, where all the top-end pilots go to prove their worth, would be on Alderaan. The best and rarest Jedi Gear should be found on Dantooine. Want to hunt for exotic animals, then Tatooine is the best (and only) place for you! You get the point, I could go on and on…

 

Problem # 5789302: PLAYER ROLE

 

- Players lack the sense that their decisions have any real effect on the game. It's true, too. None of our decisions really mean anything at the moment, regardless of how evil or goody goody two-shoes our respective paths end up being. The solution for this lies in that metrics program Bioware likes to brag about so much, that proprietary system they came up with to collate every single shred of data in SWTOR down to the last 01 bit. Instead of limiting its use for finding out where players die the most, or to determine class imbalances, use it for this: gather up intel on every single player's light side/dark side choice, every pro-republic or pro-imperial decision, every single warzone outcome, and make them all count. How? Server specific events. Rather than wasting time brainstorming what the next world event should look like, you should tie them directly to the results of said findings. Publish the results of these findings so players can keep up.

 

In other words, imagine you've determined that, on balance, more light-side choices have been on a specific server overall, than dark side ones. Change the world accordingly. Have it shift gradually to a chirpier, more festive kind of place. Conversely, if more dark side options were taken overall, perhaps vegetation begins to rot away, infrastructure begins to crumble...a darker, more foreboding ambiance in general begins seeping in.

That's one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is pro-republic vs pro-imperial player options. I'd include PVP and Warzone results as a factor in this, but the end result would be something like... I don't know, say more pro-Imperial decisions were made on one server... instead of having "Rakghouls Return" as the next event, have Carrick Station be attacked. Players will then have to deal with repairs for the foreseeable future until they turn the tide.

Say too, that more Warzones were also won by Imperials than defenders of the Republic. Have the territory on a contested planet shift toward the Empire's favor as a reflection. Again, these results would be published for all to see, either in the holovid network on swtor.com. Preferably the first.

Sorry, I have this idea very clearly laid out on my mind but have to refine more it in writing.

 

It's feasible, trust me. Er, I think…

 

Problem # 312: U.I. DESIGN

 

- It looks atrocious ever since the 1.2 update. I'm not against allowing player customization per se, but this new one makes a mockery of even the most basic principles of design. I'm shocked it even made it past quality control in the first place, to think it's persisted as is for this long is... i don't even know what it is.

 

Solution: Revert the standard U.I. Appearance back to how it originally looked. asap.

Edited August 12, 2012 by mourasantos

[jarjarloves]

what?

[Arnokar]

what?

 

this.......

[Drudenfusz]

this.......

Yes, pretty much.

[vojinsa]

huttball is awesome and this thread is not.

[Technohic]

I just got a call from George Lucas and he is deeply concerned with your issues.

[turjake]

what?

 

I agree

[kiddynomite]

Problem # 1 : This game sucks as a whole.

Nuff said, close thread.

[Rickwala]

Ritalin is a helluva drug

[Pistols]

huttball is awesome and this thread is not.

 

This ^

[Urael]

How is this thread about George Lucas? How is anything in the OPs long rant Lucas' fault?

 

The only thing Lucas is a fault for is continuing to mess with his movies.

 

Han. Shot. First. !!!!

 

[mourasantos]

Ritalin is a helluva drug

 

Lol. You hit the nail on the head.

 

By the way, the title of the thread is bait. You all fell for it hook, line, unt sinker!

[MrLeee]

Lucas has nothing to do with SWTOR.......

 

The more you know.......

[Emeda]

I just love the get rid of the fleet and put everyone on a instanced capital world instead. How would that help at all? Everyone is still in one area. Then what if some lowbee needs help and you want to help them but you cant because they cant find you to ask for help.

 

I will say you notice problems but your solutions are not fixing the problems just moving them.

[HammersteinSW]

Reminds me how easily they could have added more content:

 

Huttball League and seasons - form your own team and name it. Win prizes like exclusive cosmetic items, speeders, pets, money.....you name it.

 

Add some more Huttball maps and maybe add different rules to each map and you are good to go......

 

But noooo, one of the things they did right is being ignored and put on the backburner.

Edited August 10, 2012 by HammersteinSW

[Alexi_son]

we've already agreed that flooding a new player with too much information as early as level 10 is not the ideal approach, right? And if we've agreed that walking around on fleet surrounded by level 50's who lookmeaner, faster, cooler than your poor, measly-leveled toon is a highly deflating experience, then we'll also agree on the need to avoid these unfortunate encounters, while at the same time figuring out a way to space out the the rate at which players are exposed to new game systems.

 

I have agree to no such thing. Arriving on the fleet the first time felt like i was actually reporting to a useful duty station.I was just starting out and had no illusion to my own "grandeur" , nor a problem with higher levels.

[mourasantos]

I have agree to no such thing. Arriving on the fleet the first time felt like i was actually reporting to a useful duty station.I was just starting out and had no illusion to my own "grandeur" , nor a problem with higher levels.

 

I appreciate your feedback. Let me you ask you something though, was SWTOR your first MMO?

[mourasantos]

I just love the get rid of the fleet and put everyone on a instanced capital world instead. How would that help at all? Everyone is still in one area. Then what if some lowbee needs help and you want to help them but you cant because they cant find you to ask for help.

 

I will say you notice problems but your solutions are not fixing the problems just moving them.

 

As far as I'm aware the problem was never putting too many people in one place, was it? It's the place itself.

"Lowbies" shouldn't have to ask other players for help, the game should be as intuitive as possible. And besides, it's not as if there wouldn't be plenty of experienced players rolling new characters in the scenario I laid out to help them if they really needed it.

Edited August 10, 2012 by mourasantos

[Alexi_son]

I appreciate your feedback. Let me you ask you something though, was SWTOR your first MMO?

 

That has absolutely no bearing on your multiple statements that we have agreed, like its a decided topic and just skipping on past with your solutions to our "agreed upon" problems. You assume the reader just agrees with all your points, but I cite that assumption is wildly flawed.

[Alexi_son]

Duplicate Edited August 10, 2012 by Alexi_son

[mourasantos]

That has absolutely no bearing on your multiple statements that we have agreed, like its a decided topic and just skipping on past with your solutions to our "agreed upon" problems. You assume the reader just agrees with all your points, but I cite that assumption is wildly flawed.

 

I said "if". Seems to me you're just disagreeing for the sake of disagreement.

Don't worry, you're not alone. You are legion.

[mourasantos]

okay.

[mourasantos]

bump.

[mourasantos]

bumper sticker!

[kirorx]

bumped up