SWTOR needs an Expansion Pack

[skiibyrd]

I thought about this game while going through my dailies yesterday, and it may have been said before, but I really believe an expansion pack would save this game if done right. Simple content updates, and patches and updates are not enough to save this game at this point, and releasing a large amount of fresh, new, creative content could bring back a lot of players... especially since from what I have seen, most people who leave this game really wanted it to be great because they love Star wars and the concept behind the game, but were ultimately disappointed. This expansion pack would be adding many small, and large things like Pazaak, swoop racing, 3d space combat, open world PvP, chat bubbles, acheivements, etc., to both draw in the new players, while keep the old ones interested.

 

One of the biggest goals they should have is to optimize the games engine, especially considering one of the main reasons SWTOR is not the MMO it should have been is one simple reason... the game engine is not optimized, and still not optimized to be an MMO engine. In their own words... they were not planning for large combat scenarios when designing SWTOR.... That makes almost no sense to me if they were going to design an MMO, for a large budget MMO, (that also comes as almost a follow up to another Star wars MMO, which was a sandbox, and therefore generates certain expectations from other groups to expect big things in an MMO) such as large scale battles. MMOs in general are meant to be large, and it’s STARWARS, which tells many tales of LARGE SCALE BATTLES. Also the story specifically in the old republic, is that there are a lot of Sith and Jedi.

 

So maybe they need to reboot SWTOR with the expansion pack, with a new engine, and hire some people with a good head on their shoulders who know how to design an MMO engine... and then hire people who will make content that is intended for a large budget MMO to include open world content, espeically since, they need more open world PvP (with and without objectives), day/night cycles, chat bubbles, player housing (in the open world), Guild housing, fighting over resources in the open world, more weather effects, more NPCs, more wildlife, more NPC movement/life are some of the things these things make SWTOR alive... and mini games would be the icing on the cake.

 

They also need to look into offering better (or any for that matter) incentives for players to join a guild, as well as more things for the guilds to work towards. Right now there are no benefits to a player joining a guild, other than playing with other players. In other, successful MMO's, when you join a guild you gain benefits such as increased experience points, may have a special guild area (with Star Wars, you would think a guild ship would be obvious), guild gear ect., simple things for guilds to work towards to benefit the guild, and offer a reason for new players to join other than a group to run OPs and gear with.

 

When it comes to dailies, they really offer little, to no varity. Not only are all the dailies only on a total of 3 planets, but 3 of the areas are on the same planet. They need to offer missions that are less "Collect X amount of items, or kill X amount of enemies", and add some creativity to the mix. Dailies are one of the things that the majority of plays are doing EVERY DAY (hints dailies), and if these are not fun to do 30 times a month, then people will quit doing them. It would be great to have dailies on almost every planet, so you could at LEAST switch up the scenery if you get bored of the same planets... even having dailies that start on one planet and end on another (maybe even end at a random planet from a select few) would be nice.

Some of these suggestions are the kind of things in a single player game, and without people, it makes the game great. Here in SWTOR, the worlds are static, and its the people that make it feel alive... but there is no open world PvP, and the questing areas are segregated. So by design in a static, they keep players away from making the world feel alive by minimizing open world PvP... bad MMO design that can be corrected.

 

EDIT: If they don't make these changes, then how can they expect SWTOR to beat, or even compete with the competition this year, like Elder Scrolls Online. Look at the gameplay footage, and listen to what the Dev's say it has to offer: http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxJTsq2XeKY

Edited November 29, 2012 by skiibyrd

[grombrinda]

OMG..the Yellow...@.@

 

Yeah it does..but i hope they don't make Makeb an expansion....I don't think It warrants an x-pac price.

[Andryah]

Yeah it does..but i hope they don't make Makeb an expansion....I don't think It warrants an x-pac price.

 

Well, since they have not given us any specific information about Makeb, that's kind of presumptuous on your part IMO.

 

As for an expansion pack... I'm sure one is in the works. By normal MMO standards, it's a bit early for an expack. They usually come out 18-24 months after launch and then on two year cycles after that.

[ptwonline]

SWTOR's biggest appeal (well, IP aside) is simultaneously it's biggest downfall: the story and cinematic presentation.

 

SWTOR relies on story for most of it's appeal, but a story-heavy game and with the cutscenes/voiceovers for everything means that it is relatively slow and expensive to develop content. In other words, what appeals to people the most is going to be very slow to be delivered. This is a huge problem for an MMO, and especially for a subscription-based game.

 

From the start I wondered how they were going to deliver content fast enough to keep people interested longer term. The answer is clear: they can't. This game would likely work better as a non-sub game where they sell content updates (like GW2) but the slowness of the content delivery and the cost of the production probably means that it is not economical. It's a real dilemma.

 

I still maintain that they need to cut down the cinematics and voiceovers to just class quests and perhaps main planetary quests. This would speed up development and testing, and also make the main stories more appealing. More mundane stuff that usually boil down to "kill X" or "click 3 glowies" could be left out, or else delievered the same way that he "Bonus Missions" are: by entering an area, by killing something, or by clicking on something. No cut scenes or dialogue required.

[Vitellius]

The first expansion pack MUST be.....no....WILL be space combat related just like JTL was. I couldn't imagine it being anything else. The only thing that could trump that would be a 3rd faction expansion, but that is beyond wishful thinking, IMO.

[KhunEltar]

I completely agree with what's mentioned above! If this is put into action I may reconsider mu subscription again. Due to the last server merge there's in fact much less that me and my guild can do. I used to organize world boss raids, but since they are almost always dead when we scheduled such an event there's no point organizing them again. So, all you can do now with the guild is chat and do fp's and ops with each other. More guild content would be a good thin.

 

Also, I like the idea of pazaak with items for a price... but this is gambling, so it's perhaps an idea to make 18+ areas on nar shadda with all those current useless casinos. Swoop races (against other gamers) sounds excellent, as is wolrd pvp (like guild wars 2), space combat (with other gamers), customizing ships, vehicles etc

[MiaRB]

i dont think BW is doing the whole, everyone run out and spend another $60+ every year thing. i could be wrong, but i think i remeber a interview with someone from BW back around lauch that said they wont be doing that.

[Vlacke]

I am hoping we will get an expansion soon as well, although for now Makeb planet and it's following content seem to be rather impressive with its size.

[skiibyrd]

OMG..the Yellow...@.@

 

Yeah it does..but i hope they don't make Makeb an expansion....I don't think It warrants an x-pac price.

 

Changed from yellow to blue, that way when you read it, it doesnt burn your eye out.

[Lord_Ravenhurst]

there was this poll on mmorpg.com and more than 65% thought an expansion will never happen

[skiibyrd]

i dont think BW is doing the whole, everyone run out and spend another $60+ every year thing. i could be wrong, but i think i remeber a interview with someone from BW back around lauch that said they wont be doing that.

 

they dont need to do it EVERY year, they need to focus on getting one solid expansion out, that changes the direction (or enhances it) to be in a better position as a game as a whole, then maintain with content patches like they are now.

[Vlacke]

there was this poll on mmorpg.com and more than 65% thought an expansion will never happen

 

Who cares about mmorpg.com, their forums are a cesspit filled with trolls.

I' am fairly certain that a full expansion will come out when it's ready.

[Lord_Ravenhurst]

it needs a revamp in the proportion of Final Fantasy XIV "Realm Reborn"

 

I suggest

SWTOR - A Galaxy Reborn - Expansion I

[MiaRB]

they dont need to do it EVERY year, they need to focus on getting one solid expansion out, that changes the direction (or enhances it) to be in a better position as a game as a whole, then maintain with content patches like they are now.

 

what i meant was, i dont think they will be doing retail xpacs. instead they will add things with patches instead of holding things back to release in an xpac. doesnt mean they are not going to have major additions to the game in the future.

[chuixupu]

there was this poll on mmorpg.com and more than 65% thought an expansion will never happen

 

I remember when everyone I knew was pretty certain Y2K virus was going to destroy the world.....

 

But on a serious note, "we are building our first major expansion" - Damion Schubert

 

I also think retail boxes are not going to happen though.

Edited November 29, 2012 by chuixupu

[skiibyrd]

there was this poll on mmorpg.com and more than 65% thought an expansion will never happen

 

It doesn't matter what people (who aren't in working on the game) think the probability of an expansion being released is, what matters is the facts, if the are working, or planning one, because if they did the things I mentioned in my post, this game would most likely be very successful, and would give a great oppertunity to try and innovate with a strong game.

 

What I'm really wondering, is why they havent yet. Its almost been a year, and some of this things i mentioned are small compared to the things they did release, and almost seem to be a priority over anything that has been released so far, so why havnet they yet?....

[monkgryphon]

I don't share the OP's sentiment. I don't believe this game is in need of saving. Perhaps on an individual basis, this game is not good, but that's just people's opinions. There are those of us who are still enjoying the game.

[phillynew]

This thread is an example of what is really wrong with the game, you start demanding new content while the old content is still buggy at best and Bioware folds to the pressure and rushes out broken companions and cartel market credit exploits.

 

 

Yeah good job at asking for more of that.

[WaywardOne]

there was this poll on mmorpg.com and more than 65% thought an expansion will never happen

 

Based on what, though? Even floundering f2p games get expansions. it's a no brainer for this one unless it implodes again. 65% of forum posters are clueless twits? Sounds low.

[uniz]

I thought about this game while going through my dailies yesterday, and it may have been said before, but I really believe an expansion pack would save this game if done right. Simple content updates, and patches and updates are not enough to save this game at this point, and releasing a large amount of fresh, new, creative content could bring back a lot of players... especially since from what I have seen, most people who leave this game really wanted it to be great because they love Star wars and the concept behind the game, but were ultimately disappointed. This expansion pack would be adding many small, and large things like Pazaak, swoop racing, 3d space combat, open world PvP, chat bubbles, acheivements, etc., to both draw in the new players, while keep the old ones interested.

 

One of the biggest goals they should have is to optimize the games engine, especially considering one of the main reasons SWTOR is not the MMO it should have been is one simple reason... the game engine is not optimized, and still not optimized to be an MMO engine. In their own words... they were not planning for large combat scenarios when designing SWTOR.... That makes almost no sense to me if they were going to design an MMO, for a large budget MMO, (that also comes as almost a follow up to another Star wars MMO, which was a sandbox, and therefore generates certain expectations from other groups to expect big things in an MMO) such as large scale battles. MMOs in general are meant to be large, and it’s STARWARS, which tells many tales of LARGE SCALE BATTLES. Also the story specifically in the old republic, is that there are a lot of Sith and Jedi.

 

So maybe they need to reboot of SWTOR with the expansion pack, with a new engine, and hire some people with a good head on their shoulders who know how to design an MMO engine... and then hire people who will make content that is intended for a large budget MMO to include open world content.

 

Since, not having open world PvP that has objectives, day/night cycles, chat bubbles, player housing, fighting over resources in the open world, player housing in the open world/ guild housing, more weather effects, more NPCs, more wildlife, more NPC movement/life are some of the things these things make SWTOR alive... and mini games would be the icing on the cake.

They also need to look into offering better (or any for that matter) incentives for players to join a guild, as well as more things for the guilds to work towards. Right now there are no benefits to a player joining a guild, other than playing with other players. In other, successful MMO's, when you join a guild you gain benefits such as increased experience points, may have a special guild area (with Star Wars, you would think a guild ship would be obvious), guild gear ect., simple things for guilds to work towards to benefit the guild, and offer a reason for new players to join other than a group to run OPs and gear with.

 

When it comes to dailies, they really offer little, to no varity. Not only are all the dailies only on a total of 3 planets, but 3 of the areas are on the same planet. They need to offer missions that are less "Collect X amount of items, or kill X amount of enemies", and add some creativity to the mix. Dailies are one of the things that the majority of plays are doing EVERY DAY (hints dailies), and if these are not fun to do 30 times a month, then people will quit doing them. It would be great to have dailies on almost every planet, so you could at LEAST switch up the scenery if you get bored of the same planets... even having dailies that start on one planet and end on another (maybe even end at a random planet from a select few) would be nice.

Some of these suggestions are the kind of things in a single player game, and without people, it makes the game great. Here in SWTOR, the worlds are static, and its the people that make it feel alive... but there is no open world PvP, and the questing areas are segregated. So by design in a static, they keep players away from making the world feel alive by minimizing open world PvP... bad MMO design that can be corrected.

 

brevity sweet brevity where art thee.

[aeterno]

i dont think BW is doing the whole, everyone run out and spend another $60+ every year thing. i could be wrong, but i think i remeber a interview with someone from BW back around lauch that said they wont be doing that.

 

I don't remember anything of the sorts...

 

Besides, why wouldn't they? It's the standard thing for MMOs. It makes sense and money. All the tools and production structure that were needed to make vanilla game are still in place and refined, why wouldn't a company utilize that?

 

Honestly, who can name an established MMO of this mold that never released an expansion, other than some obscure korean grinder or a dead and abandoned game? It's easy money. And EA loves easy money.

 

 

I agree with OP in a sense that it needs to be a home run of WOTLK proportions.

Edited November 29, 2012 by aeterno

[MiaRB]

I don't remember anything of the sorts...

 

Besides, why wouldn't they? It's the standard thing for MMOs. It makes sense and money. All the tools and production structure that were needed to make vanilla game are still in place and refined, why wouldn't a company utilize that?

 

Honestly, who can name an established MMO of this mold that never released an expansion? It's easy money. And EA loves easy money.

 

 

I agree with OP in a sense that it needs to be a home run of WOTLK proportions.

 

im not going to go search for a quote or link... but i do remember BW saying that.

 

also, game has f2p option now, so that kinda rules out a retail xpac. lots of MMOs have major content expantions that are not retail( STO just had one ). pretty much every MMO with a f2p option doesnt do retail xpacs. just because bizzard likes to fleece their lemmings doesnt mean BW is going to go down that road as well.

[aeterno]

im not going to go search for a quote or link... but i do remember BW saying that.

 

also, game has f2p option now, so that kinda rules out a retail xpac. lots of MMOs have major content expantions that are not retail( STO just had one ). pretty much every MMO with a f2p option doesnt do retail xpacs. just because bizzard likes to fleece their lemmings doesnt mean BW is going to go down that road as well.

 

Any xpac would have been in the wroks way before the f2p decision was even made.

 

And f2p titles don't do xpacs? Really? Guild Wars?

 

You can't honestly think the entire business strategy here is to make money off of the cartel shop. Not to mention the fact subscribers expect a living and developing game. Nickle dimming new daily areas and a token piece of content every 6 weeks or so + perhaps a planet once a year isn't gonna cut it in a world where competition is launching full blown expansions. Say what you will about them "fleecing" people but an expansion is a lease of life for a game. Generates excitement, optimism and a positive buzz. Something TORs community is sorely sorely lacking as of late.

Edited November 29, 2012 by aeterno

[Vitellius]

im not going to go search for a quote or link... but i do remember BW saying that.

 

also, game has f2p option now, so that kinda rules out a retail xpac. lots of MMOs have major content expantions that are not retail( STO just had one ). pretty much every MMO with a f2p option doesnt do retail xpacs. just because bizzard likes to fleece their lemmings doesnt mean BW is going to go down that road as well.

 

Didn't LOTRO have retail expansions? It's been a while but I think they did. Paid expansions don't bother me in the least anyway. Even though the MMO landscape is changing, I still think it qualifies as par for the course.

[skiibyrd]

im not going to go search for a quote or link... but i do remember BW saying that.

 

also, game has f2p option now, so that kinda rules out a retail xpac. lots of MMOs have major content expantions that are not retail( STO just had one ). pretty much every MMO with a f2p option doesnt do retail xpacs. just because bizzard likes to fleece their lemmings doesnt mean BW is going to go down that road as well.

 

If that really was a quote, then the person that said that must know nothing about MMO's...