I am incredibly worried/scared for the future...

[genthek]

Ok, so I'm pretty new to SWTOR. I, like many people, came from WoW. Finally installed Windows 8 on my iMac and decided to give SWTOR a spin due to the free-to-play option (not to mention the actual game is completely free regardless!) By the time I hit level 10 I realised I wanted to sub. I'd been playing WoW since late Cata yet mostly because it became a habit of sorts. I never completely enjoyed the game and the competitive aspects the community brought to it. After trying SWTOR and realizing it was more like KotOR3 with multiplayer options I was sold. It's far superior to me in almost every aspect.

 

However, as mentioned, a lot of other people came from WoW and this scares me. A lot of these people are constantly comparing this game to WoW which they pretty much see as the holy grail of MMOs and are constantly requesting similar features (competitive DPS, addons, etc). The problem is this game isn't WoW and benefits from NOT having those features. A damage meter isn't needed. PvE isn't meant to be a competition. If you wanna compete, there's PvP. PvE is about co-operation and teamwork. Working TOGETHER to bring down the enemy. It shouldn't matter about "who's pulling the most deeps".

 

Another thing I don't wanna see is the mad rush to level cap that I constantly saw in WoW and put me off that game even more. I prefer to take my time and enjoy the game. SWTOR is designed in a completely different way to WoW in that it's main pull/experience is actually the levelling process and storyline. THAT is the main game. THAT is the main attraction. Unfortunately WoW's leveling/story was never quite as compelling and more of the effort seemed to go into endgame content and so (unfortunately) it made more sense to rush to cap.

 

I don't wanna see these mechanics in SWTOR as it will ruin (to say the least) the experience for me and make it too much like WoW which I have now completely moved away from for a reason (I should also mention another pull of WoW was the fact it has a native OSX version). SWTOR is just fine the way it is. Every single aspect. You know, the other day I tried out my very first Flashpoint with one other player. It was the very first in the game and it was LONG. Boy, was it long! Maybe over an hour at least. But you know what? I loved it!! It was chock full of story and even had multiplayer rolls for dialogue responses!! It was a completely different kettle of fish to WoW and I adored it.

 

Basically, what I'm trying to say is to Bioware: Please don't change a thing. Don't include addon support, don't make the game more about Operations and endgame, don't detract from the story and follow your own path. Do what you're currently doing because you're doing it well.

To the players: This isn't WoW. This is SWTOR. It might be an MMO but it is not the same game. Please stop trying to make it so. If you prefer WoW then play WoW. Don't assume the game will die out because it's not like WoW. Don't assume those features you are so accustomed to in WoW are needed in SWTOR because they're not. Stop worrying yourself over "I can't see my DPS! What is the strongest DPS class in game?"because it seriously doesn't matter. Just play and enjoy the game. If you don't enjoy the game in it's current state then move on.

 

After seeing many forum posts (not just here, on places like MMO-Champion) comparing the game to WoW I have become increasingly afraid. If this game just becomes another WoW I will be unsubbing, uninstalling and restoring my HDD back to a single, OSX partition. I adore this game. The reason why I love it so much is because it's NOT WoW. Please SWTOR, don't go changin'.

[CosmicKat]

I'm worried for the future too!

 

I've seen it. The power goes out everywhere because of a plot device and then every week a new plot device that totally never existed the week before gets introduced and then killed or destroyed for no particular reason! Oh and we all keep having flashbacks about the most important people in our lives that we completely never thought of previously, and then they reappear for no particular reason and then get killed for no particular reason. Oh wait... that's Revolution.

 

As for TOR, nothing much will ever change with it so I'd relax. It is what it is and the direction of it now is exactly as it was at launch, just with a cash shop.

[TheLordMagnus]

mate most people here did not come from wow lol

you lost all intelligence after that

[Eshmael]

Just one thing:

We use MoxParser as DPS Meter, to play better together, not to compete as DPS.

But if you hit an enragetimer (yeah this is lang ago) you need to now why, tomake it betterthe next time.

[IAAIAO]

I'm surprised you're worried for the future of this game because of a Wow comparison.

 

You should be scared for the future because of Bioware work and attitude towards its customers, because of the community, because of EA taking control of it etc...Not Wow.

[Arutar]

Relax. The game is out since more than 16 month and so far has not try to become more like wow during this time (though I would argue that it was very similar to wow from the start anyway, well except the story driven leveling).

 

And why should it? People who prefer wow will, well, play wow. Those comming from wow to swtor and enjoy it more have no reason to want it become more like wow.

[kevlarto]

Nothing to to worry about, it's just a game they come and go like everything in life does, even with all the down falls this game has it is not going anywhere, for a while, the population will have peaks and valley's like all games do these days, there is quite a large band of roving nomads out there that travel from game to game, rip through the content then move on to the the next field, maybe once Ea has established this game has long term profits they might spend a few dollars to give us a real expansion that really expands the game in a huge way, but time will tell what happens in the next few months I think will be the real future of this game.. Edited April 24, 2013 by kevlarto

[Arlon_Nabarlly]

The problem is this game isn't WoW and benefits from NOT having those features. A damage meter isn't needed. PvE isn't meant to be a competition.

 

Ummm wut? Of course it is. As far as this problem being that people compare it to WoW, WoW's PvE and SWTOR's PvE aren't that different and you could argue that WoW PvE is about cooperation, not competition also.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Arlon_Nabarlly

[Kubernetic]

deleted, wrong topic. Edited April 24, 2013 by Kubernetic

[genthek]

Ummm wut? Of course it is. As far as this problem being that people compare it to WoW, WoW's PvE and SWTOR's PvE aren't that different and you could argue that WoW PvE is about cooperation, not competition also.

 

It's meant to be. It's the community that ruined that and turned it into a competition over who does the most deeps.

 

 

and in response to another poster, my concerns were not over the game dying out. They were over the possibility of the game becoming another WoW due to fan demand and losing what it's currently about.

 

As mentioned, in my opinion PvP should be for the competition and PvE should be just about experiencing the game/story and working together to bring down tough enemies. So long as the game sticks to it's guns then my worries are currently unfounded. Especially considering my main source was MMO-Champion and not these forums.

[Light-years]

90% of people I know that play this game spam the spacebar to skip cutscenes. And if you are in a flashpoint together, they spam chat telling you to spam spacebar because they do not want to wait around for some stupid talking, they just want to get this instance over with so they can get their loot and comms.

 

The same type of people want DPS meters in the game very badly. The more DPS someone does, the faster things die, the faster they get their loot and comms and move on to the next FP for more loot and comms. They want to know who is lacking in numbers so they can avoid grouping with them in the future (or avoid seeing them in GF queue via /ignore).

 

These are not WoW players. These are just MMO players.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Light-years

[Andryah]

mate most people here did not come from wow lol

you lost all intelligence after that

 

Yeah, I'm going to /Agree with TheLordMagnus here.

 

WoW players who insist on WoW style play mechanics don't really hang in this game in large numbers. Just because you see a few dozen "wowser" threads and posts around does not mean the game is going to become WoW.

 

TL;DR there are much more important things for you to worry about when you wake up in the morning. This MMO, or any MMO, are not high on the list IMO.

[Akash]

Play it your way, OP. You seem to be arguing that everyone else should have to play it your way to. Not much credibility there.

[Akash]

90% of people I know that play this game spam the spacebar to skip cutscenes. And if you are in a flashpoint together, they spam chat telling you to spam spacebar because they do not want to wait around for some stupid talking, they just want to get this instance over with so they can get their loot and comms.

 

The same type of people want DPS meters in the game very badly. The more DPS someone does, the faster things die, the faster they get their loot and comms and move on to the next FP for more loot and comms. They want to know who is lacking in numbers so they can avoid grouping with them in the future (or avoid seeing them in GF queue via /ignore).

 

These are not WoW players. These are just MMO players.

 

Very few people want a DPS meter to see who to avoid. Most, such as myself, want DPS meters to improve their own performance.

[Arlon_Nabarlly]

It's meant to be. It's the community that ruined that and turned it into a competition over who does the most deeps.

 

In sports it's meant to be cooperative with your team, but to get on a good team you have to be competitive with other players/potential players to get your spot. Exact same rule applies here.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Arlon_Nabarlly

[MillionsKNives]

Very few people want a DPS meter to see who to avoid. Most, such as myself, want DPS meters to improve their own performance.

 

That's why 3rd-party parsers is a good compromise. You control who sees what you do. And if it was as easy as a toggle in game, even pugs could require you to turn it on. No (sane) pug is going to require everyone to download a 3rd-party application just to do a run.

 

But for your own uses, and for use in groups of people you trust it is a very useful tool. In my guild we regularly ask members to run MOX so that we can identify issues that may not show themselves in an otherwise clean run, or just give a better idea of why we are wiping in a not-so-clean run. We then are able to address that issue with the player and figure out ways to solve it. Is their rotation good, stats, skill tree, etc. It also saves the time of going into an op that someone just isn't ready for and figuring out then that it was a bad idea.

 

It's a tool like any other. It depends on the people who use it, some abuse it and others are able to use it to great effect.

[uziforyou]

90% of people I know that play this game spam the spacebar to skip cutscenes. And if you are in a flashpoint together, they spam chat telling you to spam spacebar because they do not want to wait around for some stupid talking, they just want to get this instance over with so they can get their loot and comms.

 

The same type of people want DPS meters in the game very badly. The more DPS someone does, the faster things die, the faster they get their loot and comms and move on to the next FP for more loot and comms. They want to know who is lacking in numbers so they can avoid grouping with them in the future (or avoid seeing them in GF queue via /ignore).

 

These are not WoW players. These are just MMO players.

 

85% of all statistics are made up on the spot.............or so I've heard. Many people (I doubt it's 90% but that's just a guess, much like the quoted poster's 'data') do skip dialogue but that's mostly becuase they've heard it many times over. A lot of people (how many? don't know) do listen to dialogue the first time through because unlike a lot of games there's actually a story to this one. In fact, it's really the ONLY thing that's truly different about SWTOR.

 

Frankly, as a player if you've never listened to the dialogue as least the first time through, you've missed out on the only truly unique thing about SWTOR and that's a shame.

[WickedDjinn]

The game IS a WoW clone. It's a theme park style MMO. Ironically enough, it's probably the most restrictive and content dependent MMO released in the past several years.

 

It wasn't designed in a completely different way. It was designed to be a direct competitor. EA wanted its own version of Activisions cash cow. The features players demand aren't the issue.

 

Swtors real problem is that Bioware, because of the design choices they made, cannot fully deliver on the games potential. There was a chance. It didn't work out that way. We will get some entertaining story content every so often, but the dream of regular updates to the class stories and continuations of the companion interactions are on the back burner.

[Nemmar]

I see what you mean about DPS meters and i agree for the most part. But, i also realise that as encounters get more challenging, their need becomes more important.

To be honest, it would be good to just have it in-game to end the problem once and for all.

 

But addons? NO! Addons ruin the game and trivialize the content. It should never be permited. Its unbalance in a nuttshell not only for PvE but for PvP. Besides, we can already do everything we want with the UI wich i think is the perfect solution. If we must, just add an in-game log reading too and problem solved.

[Sjax]

Don't be afraid. Edited April 24, 2013 by Sjax

[WickedDjinn]

Yeah, I'm going to /Agree with TheLordMagnus here.

 

WoW players who insist on WoW style play mechanics don't really hang in this game in large numbers. Just because you see a few dozen "wowser" threads and posts around does not mean the game is going to become WoW.

 

TL;DR there are much more important things for you to worry about when you wake up in the morning. This MMO, or any MMO, are not high on the list IMO.

 

It's already using WoW mechanics. Nearly all Themepark style MMOs do. Everything from interface design to the way structured PvP is handled comes from WoW.

 

This game, like so many others, worships at the feet of World of Warcraft. Only now, after years of spectacular failures, are MMOs creeping away from this formula.

[Sjax]

Yeah, I'm going to /Agree with TheLordMagnus here.

 

WoW players who insist on WoW style play mechanics don't really hang in this game in large numbers. Just because you see a few dozen "wowser" threads and posts around does not mean the game is going to become WoW.

 

TL;DR there are much more important things for you to worry about when you wake up in the morning. This MMO, or any MMO, are not high on the list IMO.

 

Strip this game of its voiced dialogue and sub-class system and what do you have?

This game uses more tried-and-true mechanics from WoW than not, right down to the mailbox mount camping and I wont try to hide that. I do enjoy it, though.

[branmakmuffin]

Strip this game of its voiced dialogue and sub-class system and what do you have?

An MMO like nearly every other MMO, which I imagine is your point.

 

An re: the OP's concern about "rushing to cap," players (not all players, but players) do that in every MMO. It's a certain-people thing, not an MMO-specific thing. And every single aspect of the game is fine as-is? I like the game, but there's always room for improvement.

 

If the state of a computer game makes the OP "incredibly worried/scared," the OP must have a pretty easy life.

Edited April 24, 2013 by branmakmuffin

[Light-years]

85% of all statistics are made up on the spot.............or so I've heard.

 

My statistic wasn't made up. It was my experience based on my friends that I play with. I know exactly how many do not give a sith about story or immersion at all. My statistic based on my experience with my friends is precise.

 

Nice try though.

[Arlon_Nabarlly]

My statistic wasn't made up. It was my experience based on my friends that I play with. I know exactly how many do not give a sith about story or immersion at all. My statistic based on my experience with my friends is precise.

 

Nice try though.

 

ROFL I'd love to see your data on this

 

The fact that it's just based on experience from you and your friends just proves the number is made up. Unless you and your friends actually recorded data and have hard numbers that come out to the perfectly round 90%. Even if you did do your data collection your sample size is very small compared to the game making your data highly questionable.

 

Nice try though.