A sad reality of this game

[Reble-Dog-Squad]

To me this game has some of the best stories and side quests of any any MMO, however, saying that it is sad that now that i have eight Alts that i am leveling at the moment i am now using the space bar more often to just skip through the dialogue so that i can get the mission to move on. I do make a point of watching the class stories all the way through.

 

My point is i guess, that Bioware put a lot of time and effort into the game with the mission objectives and the cool voice overs and now all that work seems for naught as i have already seen it enough times now with all my Alts that i just skip it.

With the time it took to develop this game i would have thought that they might have added more specific side quests according to class instead of all side questions are available by faction only.

 

I guess i'm feeling a little guilty of skipping the hard work that Bioware put into the side quests.

 

Whats everyone thoughts on this?

[Shuno]

M question is.. ever done anything even remotely end game or pvp?

[Ricktur]

my thoughts?

 

i told em so.

 

seriously i called it. when fully voiced mmos were all the hype and said. . . well isnt that going to make new content come out slower because they have to record voice overs for every class as well as npcs and their responses?

 

i also said: the first couple times someone plays the game they will watch the dialogue but after about the 3rd character they will start to space bar through.

 

i called all this crap back in july of 2011.

 

and now its happening. and we are getting slower content updates. maybe not cuz of voice overs, but i bet that's contributing.

[Apeth]

Planets main storyline and class quests should be VO. The rest was a waste of recources and could have gone to putting more meat on the games bones. I just feel a bit let down that the game misses so many oportunitys for being amazing. Hopefully they will add more and turn it around. That said im still subbing and playing and dont see me leaving.

[riskybeaver]

I'm an RPer, so I space barred all the story anyway, because I play MMO's to create my own adventure. so I skipped to 50, when I got there all my friends and guild had quit, the world is too constrictive and linear, and customization was nil. I slowly forcing myself to roll an alt and listening to the story so my subscription is not wasted. (ftr I'm a huge KotOR fan, but by definition, and the way I play MMO's, this is not KotOR 3-10)

[LordArtemis]

I actually find myself hitting the space bar even on main quests. Some of the dialog is ridiculous and boring. Some of it is great, however....its hit or miss IMO.

 

For a fourth pillar I think they should have kicked the story around the office a bit before they released it. Its a bit dry for the cornerstone of the game in certain areas.

[Lazzer]

I'm an RPer, so I space barred all the story anyway, because I play MMO's to create my own adventure. so I skipped to 50, when I got there all my friends and guild had quit, the world is too constrictive and linear, and customization was nil. I slowly forcing myself to roll an alt and listening to the story so my subscription is not wasted. (ftr I'm a huge KotOR fan, but by definition, and the way I play MMO's, this is not KotOR 3-10)

 

Quite a strange thing to do as a roleplayer, to be honest the levelling is the game here, the voice overs are the thing that holds the majority of the fans, if they don't produce more fully voiced class stories soon you will see a large percentage of the people that are left leave the game.

 

I think a lot of the subscribers are hanging around for their free cartel coins before they drop to free to play. I now only play the story as endgame doesn't interest me in this game at all (I've completed a large chunk of it but it's all instanced with no open world content so meh).

[turjake]

Why is it a sad reality of this game if its you doing the thing? Is the game somehow responsible of your acts? Does the game have some way to force you to not to do whatever you do? Would you be happier if they disabled the spacebar skipping?

 

Just some random thoughts. I think it is nice that people have a choice to listen to the conversations or not, but I guess you guys want to force everyone to your preference.

[Lazzer]

Why is it a sad reality of this game if its you doing the thing? Is the game somehow responsible of your acts? Does the game have some way to force you to not to do whatever you do? Would you be happier if they disabled the spacebar skipping?

 

Just some random thoughts. I think it is nice that people have a choice to listen to the conversations or not, but I guess you guys want to force everyone to your preference.

 

I actually think this game would have succeeded if they had forced people to do one thing and not tried to please everyone, that's not to say to do it my way, it's failing because it has become mediocre to try and not offend anyone's wishes. It would have done better starting off smaller as a niche game with a strong playerbase to build on and let anyone that didn't like the style just leave instead of keep adjusting it's philosophy and direction due cater for every complaint.

[Kubernetic]

My question would be, what MMO isn't repetitive over the long haul playing multiple characters, or even one character for years on end? Why are people continually expecting SWTOR to be something that no other MMO can offer, either? I just don't get it. I guess I never will.

 

Video games have been repetitive and a looping affair since Pong. The problem will always be that no human being can put together a system of developed content as fast as players can sit there and consume that content.

 

And yes, even the sandbox games are repetitive and just an endless loop of the same ideas.

[LordArtemis]

My question would be, what MMO isn't repetitive over the long haul playing multiple characters, or even one character for years on end? Why are people continually expecting SWTOR to be something that no other MMO can offer, either? I just don't get it. I guess I never will.

 

Video games have been repetitive and a looping affair since Pong. The problem will always be that no human being can put together a system of developed content as fast as players can sit there and consume that content.

 

And yes, even the sandbox games are repetitive and just an endless loop of the same ideas.

 

Because that is how they presented it. You know, that whole "4th pillar" chestnut.

[riskybeaver]

Quite a strange thing to do as a roleplayer, to be honest the levelling is the game here, the voice overs are the thing that holds the majority of the fans, if they don't produce more fully voiced class stories soon you will see a large percentage of the people that are left leave the game.

 

.

 

How so? Roleplayers generally create their own story, not just follow someone else's story. especially in tOR, I spent a substantial amount of time pre-launch creating a backstory, I knew it was story driven but I expected much more of a free-run at the galaxy at large than was possible.

 

I also disagree with your view of the player-base, I believe 60% of the population are MMO players who rush to end game, then grind for gear and titles. The other 40% are a mixture of newcomers to the genre, and the KotOR fans that could come to terms with the fact that their will never be a KotOR 3. I think most people have a general love for Star Wars (Its the reason its survived this long to be honest) But I doubt many people came here for the SPRPG aspect of the game solely.

Edited September 9, 2012 by riskybeaver

[Icestar]

To me this game has some of the best stories and side quests of any any MMO, however, saying that it is sad that now that i have eight Alts that i am leveling at the moment i am now using the space bar more often to just skip through the dialogue so that i can get the mission to move on. I do make a point of watching the class stories all the way through.

 

A tip is to have a light and a dark character doing the same quests, they can change in a very cool way with new sidequests and endings. If you are really into lore like I am, you will sometimes see the same NPCs appering in the different classquests and in the general and bonus quests. It is always fun to spot them, sometimes they influence in a big way and sometimes they are standing in the background doing nothing but look cool.

 

I don´t even know how to thank the writers of the fantastic storylines, the twists, turns, backstabs and amazing friendships between companions and NPCs.

 

This is how I see the game after completing eight stories, with warmth and joy

Edited September 9, 2012 by Icestar

[Kubernetic]

Because that is how they presented it. You know, that whole "4th pillar" chestnut.

 

I don't see how the "4th pillar" applies in this instance. The story still changes the entire experience by a tremendous leap. The "4th pillar" serves to disguise a lot of the otherwise disconnected tasks into a coherent whole along your journey.

[liammozz]

i found that i actully paid more attention to why i was doing what i was doing compared to other mmos

 

it was more like click quest accept quest follow arrow do quest get reward

 

with this one i make choice depending on that choice my missions changes (not all the time but sometimes it does)

[Rafaman]

Hmm... I think we are spoiled. Yes, I most definitely include myself. What this game has brought to the table is a relevant and engaging story. Yes, they took the best parts of KOTOR and incorporated it into an MMO. And look at the content in general. The number of classes and specific stories is not only outstanding but well crafted and developed. The attempt to make hunting and gathering relevant quests relevant is much appreciated. And the idea of weaving an ongoing story as part of the end game content is refreshing. Most of it voiced over and most of it with branching giving you different outcomes (lightside v darkside).

 

And now... we want more, and fast. lol.

 

I went back to WoW a few weeks ago. Just to look around... started a few quests... started to read... and came right back. The truth is the bar is still high for this game. I still expect it to deliver. I don't think it has to be one way or the other, and I don't mind spacebarring through convos although I don't usually as I like the stories and pay close attention to the different responses.

 

So the sad reality is I'm a petulant child. I want more and I wanted it now. The game is fine if I can be more realistic in my expectations and have some patience.

[Hessen]

It's Kotor 3 from 1-50, then it's "generic MMO with little content" after that.

[Asavar]

my thoughts?

 

i told em so.

 

seriously i called it. when fully voiced mmos were all the hype and said. . . well isnt that going to make new content come out slower because they have to record voice overs for every class as well as npcs and their responses?

 

i also said: the first couple times someone plays the game they will watch the dialogue but after about the 3rd character they will start to space bar through.

 

i called all this crap back in july of 2011.

 

and now its happening. and we are getting slower content updates. maybe not cuz of voice overs, but i bet that's contributing.

 

Aren't you just so cool!

 

[LordArtemis]

I don't see how the "4th pillar" applies in this instance. The story still changes the entire experience by a tremendous leap. The "4th pillar" serves to disguise a lot of the otherwise disconnected tasks into a coherent whole along your journey.

 

My guess would be not everyone feels that is the case, myself included.

[Syntherx]

To me this game has some of the best stories and side quests of any any MMO, however, saying that it is sad that now that i have eight Alts that i am leveling at the moment i am now using the space bar more often to just skip through the dialogue so that i can get the mission to move on. I do make a point of watching the class stories all the way through.

 

My point is i guess, that Bioware put a lot of time and effort into the game with the mission objectives and the cool voice overs and now all that work seems for naught as i have already seen it enough times now with all my Alts that i just skip it.

With the time it took to develop this game i would have thought that they might have added more specific side quests according to class instead of all side questions are available by faction only.

 

I guess i'm feeling a little guilty of skipping the hard work that Bioware put into the side quests.

 

Whats everyone thoughts on this?

 

Good voice over or not, I don't see how this is *any* different from any other MMO out there. If you create enough alts, you're sooner or later going to just skip hearing/reading about the quest to obtain 10 bore tusks. I wouldn't feel guitly about it and really, there is no way around it.

[NasherUK]

They had to drag the story out a lot with generic side-quests, because there just wouldn't be enough hours if you only had the main class quests. If it was like KOTOR where you just have the main story everyone would hit 50 in a couple of days and wouldn't really learn that much about the game or class.

 

A lot of the dialog could have been shorter though. Everything seems to be over explained. Especially in the un-important quests

Edited September 9, 2012 by NasherUK

[Andryah]

my thoughts?

 

i told em so.

 

seriously i called it. when fully voiced mmos were all the hype and said. . . well isnt that going to make new content come out slower because they have to record voice overs for every class as well as npcs and their responses?

 

i also said: the first couple times someone plays the game they will watch the dialogue but after about the 3rd character they will start to space bar through.

 

i called all this crap back in july of 2011.

 

and now its happening. and we are getting slower content updates. maybe not cuz of voice overs, but i bet that's contributing.

 

Called it July of 2011 eh?

 

1) Quite a lot of irony there when compared to your posting history, particularly from early access, launch, and through the first few months.

 

2) screen shot or it didn't happen.

[ScarletBlaze]

Called it July of 2011 eh?

 

1) Quite a lot of irony there when compared to your posting history, particularly from early access, launch, and through the first few months.

 

2) screen shot or it didn't happen.

 

You do know that the forums were wiped back in December just a few weeks prior to the game being released. All posts and forums were wiped. Even roleplays that were on these forums were wiped. We were lucky enough for them to give us warnings about this so if there is something we wanted to save we could . We took the time to copy our roleplay and placed it in on our website so we wouldn't lose it.

 

So as far as a screen shot there is very unlikely he could do it since everything was wiped including your posting history.

[Hessen]

Called it July of 2011 eh?

 

1) Quite a lot of irony there when compared to your posting history, particularly from early access, launch, and through the first few months.

 

2) screen shot or it didn't happen.

 

To be fair, I posted everything he said in Beta and in the pre-launch forums before the wipe as well. Loads of people did, there were huge threads saying a lot of things that have come true.

 

But there were also loads of huge threads that didn't come true. So it's not quite as simple as just listening to everything the forum community feeds back.

[chuixupu]

I'm sure they were aware that people would start getting tired of some of the dialogue...they gave us spacebar for a reason. But even though I spacebar through a lot of stuff (dailies, the HMs I've done a million times, side quests), I still enjoy the fact that those dialogue options are there. And I've even gone through class stories multiple times to do them again. It's my favorite aspect of the game.

 

I think they can learn from player's reactions and improve it, though. I think the message is clear that people enjoy class stories and companion interaction, but dislike repetitive dialogue and side quests. While I understand their vision was to fully immerse the player in fully voiced dialogue, I think they can compromise a bit for the future by trimming down the dialogue in extraneous bits and focusing more on class stories and companion interaction. Anyone NOT agree with that?

Edited September 9, 2012 by chuixupu