dankat Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 In The Secret World, every one of their updates adds solo story-based quests, which is supposed to be SWTOR's fortei. TSW has this consistency, that players can look forward to in every update. Not only that, but it establishes TSW as it's own MMO, with distinctive questing that they are always expanding. SWTOR's first story content since launch was in HK-51, and while it was great, it took to long. We had Flashpoints, Daily Questing, Operations, and Warzones for a long time, and while it was well-pulled off it felt to generic, and deviated from the original idea of this being an ever expanding Knights of the Old Republic. So what should happen? Personally, I would expect new dialouge based missions every update in addition to the multiplayer content? If this is done, people will have a reason to be 'here' over 'there', in addition to the polished yet unoriginal MMO affair. I love Operations, Flashpoints, Heroic Quests, and Warzones, and I think this game has a decent amount of endgame, but I wish to flesh out my character with more questing, what lured me into the game in the first place. Finding a balance of the 'Never-Ending RPG' and the Contexualized Star Wars MMO should be this game's goal. Story-Based Questing is not the only possibility to have in every update. Only something that is established as unique. More Legacy Unlocks and Legacy Perks per update would also work, as the Legacy System is a form of progression unique to SWTOR, and co-operates well with the story aspect of the game. Perhaps even new Space Combat missions in every update. I know they are not very popular, but they are simple to design and not something you find in every MMO. I understand the Multiplayer aspect of SWTOR has suffered due to storytelling. Now, in this state of the game the contrary couldn't be more true, and I believe that a constistent, unique and established part of the game should have a place in every update, whether it be story, Legacy, or space, to justify why I a play this over another MMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byteresistor Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 In The Secret World, every one of their updates adds solo story-based quests Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WookieIsshe Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? That is exactly what he is missing in his not so well put together rant. TSW and SWTOR are completely different in that aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandMike Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? I doubt it has mission dropboxes like SWTOR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendaric Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? Actually, yes it does. TSW differs mainly in these aspects: Your character is silent Cutscenes aren't really cinematic, i.e they lack action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prysha Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 some peopel dont think before posting =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckKing Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? The Secret World and The Legend of Zelda don't need "great dialogue." They both have great stories. Just because SWTOR is covered this entire game in dialogue doesn't make it so awesome and sets it a part from other great things. Edited December 10, 2012 by DuckKing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckKing Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Oh yea..I forgot to mention Half Life (λ). I rather have great epic stories and fun content but BioWare continues throwing more money out the window at voice actors for our characters. I personally don't give a hoot about my characters voice. Edited December 10, 2012 by DuckKing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fornix Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Oh yea..I forgot to mention Half Life (λ). I rather have great epic stories and fun content but BioWare continues throwing more money out the window at voice actors for our characters. I personally don't give a hoot about my characters voice. Forgot to mention Half Life in what way? I'm not sure about you, but I'm still waiting for the next episode. If that's what you call update consistency you've completely lost me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckKing Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Forgot to mention Half Life in what way? I'm not sure about you, but I'm still waiting for the next episode. If that's what you call update consistency you've completely lost me . About the main character not having a voice. I honestly don't see what so raving about the voice acting in this game. It's good, that's it. However... let's all rave that it's a great feat of accomplishment for an MMORPG to have a full story dialogue game. I COULD CARE LESS! Edited December 10, 2012 by DuckKing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitellius Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 About the main character not having a voice. I honestly don't see what so raving about the voice acting in this game. It's good, that's it. However... let's all rave that it's a great feat of accomplishment for an MMORPG to have a full story dialogue game. I COULD CARE LESS! Seriously? This game was advertised as being fully voiced. It has always been a major part of the development. It never was some secret they sprung on you. It's ingrained in the design. These boards are full of masochists that willingly subject themselves to things they don't like and then complain about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vellem Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? So are you saying you'd rather wait a year at a time for the addition of fully voiced story updates as opposed to unvoiced story updates every month? If voice overs are the thing holding back more story updates, then get rid of them because it isn't doing anything but holding back the game. But I suspect the real reason is that size of the crew working on the game has been slashed a while back and a good number of the ones left are working on the store and store related things that take precedence because it offers them a greater return on investment. Edited December 10, 2012 by Vellem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConradLionhart Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) I think I may have to agree with not needing voice actors all the time. It is clear that it uses a lot of resources and takes up a lot of time. It is probably one reason why story cannot come fast enough. What the devs could do, is shift their priorities a bit and reduce voice conversations in the following ways: 1. Reduce the cutscenes and conversations for the boring generic missions. You are not obliged to create 5-10 cutscenes for a simple fetch mission or kill x number of enemies. Maybe just have 1 cutscene for what the mission giver wants you to do, and then 1 for the conversation options. To compensate for possible loss of social points and companion affection points, boost that amount from an option chosen significantly. 2. No conversations for repeatable stuff in endgame like dailies and hardmode FPs. This one was done right for Black Hole dailies. For end-game stuff that you keep doing like dailies and hard mode FPs, people don't want to keep using spacebar. They just want to get things done asap. Maybe for hardmode FPs, there can be a "skip cutscenes" mode where you get players to fill in a checklist, on which conversation option they want to pick. Then the hardmode FP can be done free for cutscenes. For dailies, maybe just cutscenes and conversations for the one-time series of missions to introduce players to the dailies area. 3. Have conversations but no cutscenes. There was a mission in Ilum where I finished one objective, and my character was speaking to someone through radio. But there was no cutscene, and despite that, the experience was still good. And there are times in FPs where you have the bosses bark at you through radio but no cutscenes. Maybe there doesn't need to be cutscenes for everything. Conversations alone are enough. 4. Reserve conversations for cutscenes to explain story, and companions I think conversations and cutscenes have been overused. There doesn't need to be so many for all missions. They should just be reserved for important main missions, class stories and companions. Conversations and cutscenes should be used in the introduction part before starting an important missions. Some class stories also use cutscenes nicely, like an epic showdown between player and boss. That's what cutscenes should be used, quality over quantity. I also want the branching companion conversations from Mass Effect and Dragon Age. I want to be able to return to a previous conversation. This makes companions less like one-off npcs, and more like real companions that have stories to tell. I also want more story for companions. I want all the standard stuff that were already in previous Bioware games. Their birthplace. Their past. Their worries. Their hopes. Their culture. It was especially interesting to learn more about Tali. I also want more interactions among companions. There are very few for my class stories. Edited December 10, 2012 by ConradLionhart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byteresistor Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 So are you saying you'd rather wait a year at a time for the addition of fully voiced story updates as opposed to unvoiced story updates every month? No, I'm saying the opposite. I don't have anything against voice overs but I don't think they're needed for every single minor quest. And like you said it's obviously holding back content development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUXs Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Does it have voice overs for every single bit of dialogue? LOL! Have you played the new quests? Every single bit?!?!? Most are simply "Aliens" talking, meaning I need to read the text like in any other MMO...no "voice over" work required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) Actually, yes it does. TSW differs mainly in these aspects: Your character is silent Cutscenes aren't really cinematic, i.e they lack action I enjoy both games very much... but let's face it.... Cutscenes and voiceovers in TSW are moldy cheese compared to SWTOR. Good story content, poor implementation. And TSW has it easy... since there is only one class in the game, so only one story arc. But it's also a much smaller studio so you DO have to applaud them for what they do with what they have. /2-cents Edited December 10, 2012 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthZak Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 You mentioed HK-51... you do realize this was released only a short time ago right? And that theyre working on the next "update" in regards to storylines (Makeb) This game is unique in its voice overs, if they discard that then itll be heading even more towards a generic MMO with: pick up quest > kill stuff > turn in quest My advice is stay put and have some patience, its not easy creating stuff on this scale, especially since theres 8 classes to take into account and possibly several previous storylines to incorporate (like good old fashioned BW should do ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dankat Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 That is exactly what he is missing in his not so well put together rant. TSW and SWTOR are completely different in that aspect. That SWTOR missions have about 3 interactive lines per mission that do not really affect the cutscene? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costello Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Two things that Star Wars The Old Republic has been hyping pre-launch was Story and VO. Both very nice aspects but since launch we have seen very little story and even Less VO. Of the new quests added a fraction of them have had full VO with the use of Drop Boxes, Area and Bonus quests with no VO and no real story. As something that BW was so proud of seems to be forgotten. With the coming up date we get a warzone which is fair for PvPers though I suspect open world PvP would be more enjoyable. And 6 new space missions which are basic text missions telling us what to do. No real addition to story or VO or much for the PvE crowd. The rail shooter isn't exactly a major aspect of the game and the rewards seem to be more black hole coms though short of hazmat gear I don't think many people could get the gear to fly the missions wouldn't find it easier to get black hole coms another way. As fot TSW, Funcom who have a very bad history seem to get updates up and out quicker and offer slightly more in whats in them so there is PvE solo and raid content as well as occassional PvP or the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckKing Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) I think BioWare could work in something for Quesh pretty quick. It's an already well thought out established planet and it's certainly nothing like Ilum. Right now I like to call it the "stop-and-go" planet since there isn't much to do there and your only there for almost under an hour. Quesh has alot of potential for more stories and I think BioWare should get to work on that planet after Makeb. Edited December 10, 2012 by DuckKing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satanski Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 If they decide to abandon fully voiced custscenes for all quests the game will become another boring grinder. Without it this game has no real value. At least for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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