OmicronZero Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 This game has been in-development as a "theme park" styled MMO since long before beta. It was never going to be sandbox. It was never touted as being Star Wars Galaxies 2. It was not made to kill WoW or replace SWG. It is it's own entity. Stop trying to make TOR into SWG2. That game died, let it go. Sandbox games seem to be undesirable to companies as of late, I'd guess that means that they're not all that profitable (just guessing). That said, I love sandbox style, Ultima Online was my favorite MMO back in the day, and I never liked EverQuest. I'd love it if they had some sandbox elements, or if someone did make a SWG2. But that isn't this game. I never expected that to be this game. Why? Bioware. They make linear RPGs. Why would their MMO be a sandbox? That's silly. Now a company like Bethesda (TES series), they could make a wonderful sandbox MMO (unfortunately I doubt that's the direction of TES Online). Basically anyone who thought that Bioware's entry into the MMO space was going to be a sandbox game either never heard of the company or was seriously deluding themselves. :/ And really, the two styles don't seem to mix well, so asking for a mass amount of sandbox elements is really no different than asking them to re-make the game from scratch. As to the dwindling numbers, well, for one that always happens to theme-park MMOs between new content patches. It's also beyond ridiculous to assume that just because you want sandbox elements, the lack thereof is the sole reason for others leaving. I'd imagine the release of new games, the launch of a new high-profile MMO, the upcoming expansion to the largest MMO around, and various other things might, possibly, be contributing factors. Oh, and as far as sandbox elements go, pet-breeding is so awfully tedious and unnecessary. Sandbox crafting? Awesome. Sandbox skill-building? Amazing. Sandbox community building? Fantastic. Sandbox animal husbandry? ... No thanks, pal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nee-Elder Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Oh the joys of Online 'communication'... Okay so, let's see if i can get even more clear: 1. I do not want TOR to be SWG-2. I want TOR to be more (and therefore better) than what it currently is (post-50) . 2. I am not the only player who wants more sandbox elements. There are thousands of 'us'. I'm just one of the more vocal (today) because a: I still care and b: I haven't lost hope. 3. Sandbox elements, IMHO, are merely one of the many things that could be added to TOR to enhance the overall 'experience' (thereby making EA more money) . 4. The notion that 'theme park' gameplay and 'sandbox' elements cannot co-exist in the same MMORPG is not only narrow-minded (and borderline ridiculous) but also utterly disproven in this very game lol (albeit briefly, re: 2 Live Events and 2 mysterious-sequence rare LS-crystal & pet-bird) and in next years 'Elder Scrolls Online'. 5. If BioWare were smart, once the game goes Free-to-Play, they would make players like me (who crave more than the hand-holding status-quo) have to *pay* for Sandbox Content. Then we'll just see how much of a "minority" we are...and just how much 'profit' is to be made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deewe Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 (edited) Oh the joys of Online 'communication'... Okay so, let's see if i can get even more clear: 1. I do not want TOR to be SWG-2. I want TOR to be more (and therefore better) than what it currently is (post-50) . 2. I am not the only player who wants more sandbox elements. There are thousands of 'us'. I'm just one of the more vocal (today) because a: I still care and b: I haven't lost hope. 3. Sandbox elements, IMHO, are merely one of the many things that could be added to TOR to enhance the overall 'experience' (thereby making EA more money) . 4. The notion that 'theme park' gameplay and 'sandbox' elements cannot co-exist in the same MMORPG is not only narrow-minded (and borderline ridiculous) but also utterly disproven in this very game lol (albeit briefly, re: 2 Live Events and 2 mysterious-sequence rare LS-crystal & pet-bird) and in next years 'Elder Scrolls Online'. 5. If BioWare were smart, once the game goes Free-to-Play, they would make players like me (who crave more than the hand-holding status-quo) have to *pay* for Sandbox Content. Then we'll just see how much of a "minority" we are...and just how much 'profit' is to be made. The future of MMO lies in themed sandboxes. Full sandbox have a too long learning curve, gets boring for most casual players and too often left them clueless of what to do. Theme parks are easy to step in but gets dull in the long term as devs don't have the budget to deliver content as fast as player burn through it. A mix of both is a the solution. Thing is the difficult part is to make the right mix. Now few months ago BioWare posted a position for a designer specialized in social/sandbox elements. The thing they had wrong at the time was asking for someone skilled in data crunching vs really being skilled at creating incentives for socialization and immersion feeling. However from the last interviews, is seems the sandbox part in TOR isn't really in the short term wins of the new guys in charge. Which, if right, is a bad move. Edited September 1, 2012 by Deewe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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