It's the "Sandbox" Stupid!

[Ubuu]

alright, so when I think of what the devs are workin on, and various reasons people are leaving, I think of the quote from politics "It's the economy stupid!" Meaning...work on the economy instead of other issues. Well, here we are 8+ months into the game and I still cannot SIT in a chair at a cantina. I do not have chat bubbles. I cannot decorate or customise my ship in any way. Crafted items are out classed by high end pve gear. Guild ships may be on thier way but likely with the same short comings as the current ones.

 

Sandbox....sand...box....sa..

 

anyway, into the wind this rant goes

[WarbNull]

I can't say much on the Chat Bubbles as I do not care much if they were to add them or not. The only issues I have with Chat from the NPC's is that many times the text moves to the next set faster than I can read some of them while others seem like I am waiting to hear what the next set is with a quite pause that makes it seem like its and awkward situation. The conversations with some of the NPC's just seem to be tweaked in a way that they have a better flow to them.

But..

As for sitting in chairs. That is something that made me think when I first noticed it. We should be able to sit down in chairs and on benches and such. After all we can sit in our Ships so why not in the rest of the game. Especially the Cantina's. It should be real easy to add to the game. Like flipping a switch on the chairs and such. After all, like I said, we can sit in our ship.

Decorating our ships is something else I would like to see. It is basically our homes. At least for my Smuggler it is. I would really like to see that added to the game. This way we could gather items in the game and display them.

Cant say much on the Crafted Items yet. I am not to far in the game to have made an appropriate judgement on that. Right now I have a mix in Crafted and Looted. So for me its a Toss-Up as I level.

About Guild Ships, they sound cool but I am not in a Guild. I use to be in Guilds in SWG and ran one as well, so I can see the appeal to them. They should be a great addition to the game. I hope they do not have the same short comings.

Edited August 19, 2012 by WarbNull

[Talon_strikes]

This game being a majority themepark MMO from the start was a huge mistake. "Story-driven" was another and acts like a double-edged sword. Not everyone likes playing alts, and leveling up gets extremely tedious in this game and wanted more MMO (sandbox) features instead of a linear, static story.

 

A Star Wars MMO should have a lot of sandbox features with tons of Open World PvP that's dynamically changing the environment and galaxy our players live in. Does this game do that? No.

 

It's also sad we can't even sit in chairs except on our ship and I bet no one hangs out in their ship for a party. Everyone's always at the Fleet.

 

*Sigh* I feel like making my own SW MMO...

Edited August 19, 2012 by HomicidalWhales

[Ubuu]

I would also like to feel less segregated from Imperials for the sake of "open world pvp", I want to hunt them

[Master-Nala]

The reason people are leaving is that the game has a ton of competition and end game gear grinds will only keep you if you already have an investment in the game (friends, long term investment, etc.) I'm not saying that sandbox features would be unwelcome. I don't have any objection to anything the OP mentioned, but the idea that if you just ADD THIS THING and the game would be a runaway success is folly. There's been no game in the last few years that's been a runaway success. SWTOR isn't a bad game, it has it warts like every other game, but the only 'failure' was thinking that any game launched in this market can keep millions of peoples' attention for years.

[ISDcaptain]

i agree with everything. themepark is to restriciting for universe as vast as star wars

[Andryah]

This game being a majority themepark MMO from the start was a huge mistake. "Story-driven" was another and acts like a double-edged sword. Not everyone likes playing alts, and leveling up gets extremely tedious in this game and wanted more MMO (sandbox) features instead of a linear, static story.

 

So, you knew (or should have known) all of this before you purchased the game and loaded a subscription. Yet you bought it and subscribed anyway.

 

I don't get it. It's like buying a truck and then complaining that it's not a car.

 

A Star Wars MMO should have a lot of sandbox features with tons of Open World PvP that's dynamically changing the environment and galaxy our players live in. Does this game do that? No.

 

That has been done. It was not remarkably successful. It lingered for years in a state of ill health. It did serve a small loyal sandbox fan base though.

 

A Star Wars *Sigh* I feel like making my own SW MMO...

 

Good idea actually. Walk the talk.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Andryah

[Skirata_Kal]

So, you knew (or should have known) all of this before you purchased the game and loaded a subscription. Yet you bought it and subscribed anyway.

 

I don't get it. It's like buying a truck and then complaining that it's not a car.

 

That has been done. It was not remarkably successful. It lingered for years in a state of ill health. It did serve a small loyal sandbox fan base though.

 

Good idea actually. Walk the talk.

 

Have to agree with Andryah here. It was made clear from the get go that this was NOT intended to be SWG2. It was known from the get go that this was going to be a themepark MMO. And SWG was only successful in the eyes of a very small population which is not a good goal for an aspiring MMO.

 

Now, with that said, I wouldn't mind a few sandbox-like features put in. I too would like to see the little things like chat bubbles and being able to sit in a chair (their absence isn't game breaking for me by any means though). I too, would like to see pazaak, dejarik, swoop racing, free-flight space battles, etc.

 

Personally, I think Bioware's biggest mistake was attempting to get an old school community going while going with a themepark. A sandbox game works better for the old school community types IMHO. I, personally prefer the themepark model myself (I get my community fix from my friends, family and in-game guild).

[Skorz]

That has been done. It was not remarkably successful. It lingered for years in a state of ill health. It did serve a small loyal sandbox fan base though.

 

At least it had more players before the CU than this disney themepark failure called SWTOR

[Gerandar]

alright, so when I think of what the devs are workin on, and various reasons people are leaving, I think of the quote from politics "It's the economy stupid!" Meaning...work on the economy instead of other issues. Well, here we are 8+ months into the game and I still cannot SIT in a chair at a cantina. I do not have chat bubbles. I cannot decorate or customise my ship in any way. Crafted items are out classed by high end pve gear. Guild ships may be on thier way but likely with the same short comings as the current ones.

 

Sandbox....sand...box....sa..

 

anyway, into the wind this rant goes

 

You wanted a sandbox MMO? yet you bought a theme MMO....your doing it wrong.

[Scritchy]

So, you knew (or should have known) all of this before you purchased the game and loaded a subscription. Yet you bought it and subscribed anyway.

 

I don't get it. It's like buying a truck and then complaining that it's not a car.

Did you know how linear this game was and that the story wasn't that large a part of leveling before you bought the game?

[Gerandar]

Did you know how linear this game was and that the story wasn't that large a part of leveling before you bought the game?

 

Yes, I played countless beta weekends and did some research be for throwing any money at this game. you should have too.

[Scritchy]

Yes, I played countless beta weekends and did some research be for throwing any money at this game. you should have too.

Countless beta weekends? They only had, what 3 or 4 of them?

 

Edit: I am pretty sure it was 4.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Scritchy

[Talon_strikes]

So, you knew (or should have known) all of this before you purchased the game and loaded a subscription. Yet you bought it and subscribed anyway.

 

I don't get it. It's like buying a truck and then complaining that it's not a car.

 

 

 

That has been done. It was not remarkably successful. It lingered for years in a state of ill health. It did serve a small loyal sandbox fan base though.

 

 

 

Good idea actually. Walk the talk.

I bought this and subscribed because I thought it would have some great Open World PvP and just PvP in general. I now see that I think BioWare tried to please many crowds only to please those that enjoy doing the (extremely tedious) side-quests, working on their legacy and creating many alt characters. Out of the 10+ characters I've created, I only use about two of them and rarely a third one from time to time.

 

I know you're talking about SWG, but at that time I was really young and I knew my parents wouldn't mind buying it but most likely giving me a subscription. Not only that, I think I didn't even have a gaming rig that could handle most games. Though SWG proved a patch could "make-or-break" a game, I hear about it a lot and it sounds like a fantastic MMO, despite all of its patch faults.

 

I'm glad you'd see me like to develop my own, but with what money, resources, team, community, etc? That's the discouraging part about it.

[BrianDavion]

Did you know how linear this game was and that the story wasn't that large a part of leveling before you bought the game?

 

as a matter of fact I did, I played the beta, looked at the MMOs it was emulating and thus made a reasoned decision based on what they made.

 

As opposed to hoping against all logic and sanity that this was somehow going to be SWG 2.0

[Scritchy]

as a matter of fact I did, I played the beta, looked at the MMOs it was emulating and thus made a reasoned decision based on what they made.

 

As opposed to hoping against all logic and sanity that this was somehow going to be SWG 2.0

You mean as opposed to hoping against all logic and sanity that them toting the story as the greatest thing ever would actually let you level through the game while following it?

[Diaboyos]

I agree totally OP. The game needs TONS more sandbox elements added.

[Ubuu]

I'll be playing this game long after all of you quit. My guild is 8 years old, moved over from SWG and we're here to stay. I simply ask for things that most agree make mmo's fun. Ultima Online was my first MMO. Had a house, I decorated it. I had chat bubbles, chairs I could sit in.

[Goretzu]

So, you knew (or should have known) all of this before you purchased the game and loaded a subscription. Yet you bought it and subscribed anyway.

 

I don't get it. It's like buying a truck and then complaining that it's not a car.

 

I don't think anyone (even people in Beta [i played in Beta and although I got inclings in places like Corusant, I was sure it would get better and open out as the game went on], and in fact the Devs themselves) quite grasped how linear SWTOR would be as a Live game.

 

I don't actually think it would be possible to make the game functionally any more linear.

 

Which wouldn't be so bad, but SWTOR was NOT sold as that, it was sold as quite the opposite in fact, even the major selling point of the "story".

 

 

Adding sandy features could only ever improve SWTOR.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Goretzu

[Moaky]

This game being a majority themepark MMO from the start was a huge mistake. "Story-driven" was another and acts like a double-edged sword. Not everyone likes playing alts, and leveling up gets extremely tedious in this game and wanted more MMO (sandbox) features instead of a linear, static story.

 

A Star Wars MMO should have a lot of sandbox features with tons of Open World PvP that's dynamically changing the environment and galaxy our players live in. Does this game do that? No.

 

It's also sad we can't even sit in chairs except on our ship and I bet no one hangs out in their ship for a party. Everyone's always at the Fleet.

 

*Sigh* I feel like making my own SW MMO...

 

PVP should be focus? Says who? You?

 

 

PVE is the major form of gaming in MMOs. That they chose not to make the PVE deep ala EQ does not mean it should of gone to the other extreme. Sandboxes suck to many of us, and you would do well to remember so.

[Kozzmozz]

yes to more sanbox !!!

 

 

But please ... does anyone stand for no reason in the innercircle in the fleet, buying a drink ? 99.9999 % doesnt !!

Would you be there if you could go to a chair & press /sitchair ?? 99.999 % WOULDNT !

im all up with the OP , but plz dont think using the /sitchair emote is saving the game and a reason why people are unsubbing lol.

 

I hope they give you that chairemote at some point, but this minority (a minority does still sound to big) is still a minority. who cares about sitting on a chair really. just go on the chair and press X, you will have more fun trying to site accurately on the chair by trying to stand on it and pressing X then do the actual emote... really.

[Talon_strikes]

PVP should be focus? Says who? You?

 

 

PVE is the major form of gaming in MMOs. That they chose not to make the PVE deep ala EQ does not mean it should of gone to the other extreme. Sandboxes suck to many of us, and you would do well to remember so.

I'm not saying that this game needs to be all-out PvP that it won't cater to PvE players, but maybe this game needs to be majority PvP.

 

Look, I'm a huge fan of Star Wars. Themepark just restricts too much of this IP when it shouldn't. Star Wars is too big and doesn't deserve the limit this game places on the IP.

 

I know PvE is the major form of gaming in MMOs, but in Star Wars you have all these battles and wars that change the galaxy. The environment is always changing, alliances and enemies are being made and different powers whether small or big are expanding for power, wealth and more territory. We don't see pretty much anything that the Star Wars movies and TV shows depict because one thing is is that this game is extremely static with the only dynamic thing being pieces that move you to datacrons.

 

I can assure you if a SW MMO was made more sandboxed with extremely dynamic (O)PvP, lots of players would be playing it. We'd actually be sitting on chairs, and players could most likely role-play a whole lot better than they do in this game.

[Moaky]

I'm not saying that this game needs to be all-out PvP that it won't cater to PvE players, but maybe this game needs to be majority PvP.

 

Look, I'm a huge fan of Star Wars. Themepark just restricts too much of this IP when it shouldn't. Star Wars is too big and doesn't deserve the limit this game places on the IP.

 

I know PvE is the major form of gaming in MMOs, but in Star Wars you have all these battles and wars that change the galaxy. The environment is always changing, alliances and enemies are being made and different powers whether small or big are expanding for power, wealth and more territory. We don't see pretty much anything that the Star Wars movies and TV shows depict because one thing is is that this game is extremely static with the only dynamic thing being pieces that move you to datacrons.

 

I can assure you if a SW MMO was made more sandboxed with extremely dynamic (O)PvP, lots of players would be playing it. We'd actually be sitting on chairs, and players could most likely role-play a whole lot better than they do in this game.

 

 

The battle game you are talking about is EVE....have at it.

 

 

The roleplay stage was SWG, and it held 200 to 250k subs at its peak. What never gets spoken enough about it is that a great deal of those subs were from folks holding multiple accounts due to the 1 character per server rule. That type of gameplay just doesnt appeal to many folks.

 

If it had, SWG would of been bigger than EQ.

[Talon_strikes]

The battle game you are talking about is EVE....have at it.

 

 

The roleplay stage was SWG, and it held 200 to 250k subs at its peak. What never gets spoken enough about it is that a great deal of those subs were from folks holding multiple accounts due to the 1 character per server rule. That type of gameplay just doesnt appeal to many folks.

 

If it had, SWG would of been bigger than EQ.

Nah, I think I'll go tackle my own SW MMO. EVE sounds great, but it needs to have lightsabers, the Force, etc.

[Kalifus]

I don't get why people would be against any form of sandbox in this game. Those that don't like the sandbox feature can still stand on fleet and wait for whatever it is they are waiting on while the rest of us enjoy the sandbox features. Enough of "this is not what this game was meant to be", because most of the people that played SWG loved that game and we were forced by some contract between Lucasarts and EA to play this game and only this game. By this time when next year roles around the only people in this game will probably be only people from SWG and so it would probably be a good idea to make them happy and make a sandbox here. If not then open SWG back up so we can enjoy the better game. BTW I don't want EVE.....its not Star Wars.