Anti social much?

[Machshoot]

It always amazes me how many people can be anti-social in an MMORPG, when the very nature of the game is to be immersed in an online experience with other people. I don't know if this is every server, but it blows my mind when you can be on a planet that has 60-90 players currently there, yet chat is absolutely vacant for hours on end.

Back when I played WoW, I was on a high pop PvP server, and chat was always going, no matter which zone you were in. You could be in Icecrown with 10 people and everyone is chatting, yet it's definitely not like this in TOR. It bugs me a little, as part of the reason I play MMO's is for the social aspect of it, and when a game doesn't have that, I get discouraged.

 

Anyways my point is, you're playing an MMO, be social, be active, don't be a hermit.

[gorstram]

It always amazes me how many people can be anti-social in an MMORPG, when the very nature of the game is to be immersed in an online experience with other people. I don't know if this is every server, but it blows my mind when you can be on a planet that has 60-90 players currently there, yet chat is absolutely vacant for hours on end.

Back when I played WoW, I was on a high pop PvP server, and chat was always going, no matter which zone you were in. You could be in Icecrown with 10 people and everyone is chatting, yet it's definitely not like this in TOR. It bugs me a little, as part of the reason I play MMO's is for the social aspect of it, and when a game doesn't have that, I get discouraged.

 

Anyways my point is, you're playing an MMO, be social, be active, don't be a hermit.

 

There are a couple of reasons you're experiencing this. #1: Cutscenes. Most people are probably watching a cutscene during their quest chains. #2: People tend to ignore chat due to the insane amount of trolls. For instance, if anyone asks a question they'll get one of three answers: First, Alt-F4; second, Google it you lazy <insert expletive here>; and third, hurr durr newb, ****.

 

Due to this issue, people tend to avoid speaking in chat.

[theonetruebleed]

I'm a hermit.

 

I keep to myself, keep the chat bar religiously closed outside of flashpoints and ops, I have social settings set to decline all guild invites, trades and party invites.

 

It's a question of preference. I don't like people so I choose to associate with them as little as humanly possible, and I feel that's fair enough.

 

Now to address the fact that you cited the game being an MMO as reason enough for everyone to be on chat, may I remind you that the IP has come from an exclusively single player series, and many of the players are fans of said series. Furthermore, the storyline itself is story-driven and can be said to have a highly single-player slant, although it can be enjoyed in groups as well just as easily.

 

All that aside, the point is, people will play however they damn well please regardless of how you personally feel about it.

[Kane_Ren]

Online gaming has seen more and more immature gamers over time, I never thought it was perfect but is definitely worse than I've ever seen it. I believe society increasingly doesn't care about manners or consequences in RL and this is translating further into the risk free anonymity of the internet.Swtor is an easy mmo. It gives more people more time to act like a jerk in my opinion. I worry what the future holds.

[gorstram]

Online gaming has seen more and more immature gamers over time, I never thought it was perfect but is definitely worse than I've ever seen it. I believe society increasingly doesn't care about manners or consequences in RL and this is translating further into the risk free anonymity of the internet.Swtor is an easy mmo. It gives more people more time to act like a jerk in my opinion. I worry what the future holds.

 

You're absolutely right, there is a simple reason, and it comes down to this equation:

 

Person + anonymity(audience) = total f**kwad.

[CrazyMcGee]

What you are also overlooking is that a number of players in TOR never even wanted to play an MMO. They wanted to play KOTOR 3 and this took over that. So many people never wanted anything but a single player game in the first place.

[Zorvan]

..... Edited January 28, 2015 by Zorvan

[Kane_Ren]

A daily average (since I came back) I will find 1/2 cool people to group with. Compare that with 10/12 ranging from rude to griefer. I can fully understand why people keep themselves to themselves, but I want some sociability so I run a few fp's and most heroics and that's my lot.

[Machshoot]

You all claim to hate being social, yet here you are talking to people on a forum....

 

#logic

[theonetruebleed]

You all claim to hate being social, yet here you are talking to people on a forum....

 

#logic

 

There's a difference between posting on a forum when i'm not doing something else, and being distracted by other people when i'm trying to concentrate.

[gorstram]

You all claim to hate being social, yet here you are talking to people on a forum....

 

#logic

 

I'm a chatty Kathy in-game. If you were on my server, we'd probably have many lulz, followed by bouts of awkward silence.

[Machshoot]

There's a difference between posting on a forum when i'm not doing something else, and being distracted by other people when i'm trying to concentrate.

 

It's a question of preference. I don't like people so I choose to associate with them as little as humanly possible, and I feel that's fair enough.

 

 

Right..

[Callaron]

There are a couple of reasons you're experiencing this. #1: Cutscenes. Most people are probably watching a cutscene during their quest chains. #2: People tend to ignore chat due to the insane amount of trolls. For instance, if anyone asks a question they'll get one of three answers: First, Alt-F4; second, Google it you lazy <insert expletive here>; and third, hurr durr newb, ****.

 

Due to this issue, people tend to avoid speaking in chat.

 

The more "engaging"/interactive MMO's become, the less idle chatter there will be.

It seems out experiences differ as well; when I played WoW a few years ago I frequently had zones that were quiet enough to hear crickets chirp - and the only sign I saw of there being other people was when one crossed my path in some quest area.

Obviously zones like the capital cities will always have an active chat, people are often doing things there that actually encourage it - like crafting, working the auction house, etc... that's not so different on SWTOR - the Fleet chat is pretty much always active, and usually DK/Coruscant too, as well as the newbie planets.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Callaron

[Kane_Ren]

Try starting a chat on quesh, the chatbox actually echoes

[Callaron]

Try starting a chat on quesh, the chatbox actually echoes

 

It has always been a quiet planet.

It's a very small planet, and if you choose not to do the planetary quests you can be done there after doing one class mission.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Callaron

[theonetruebleed]

Right..

 

Look, my man. I'm going to throw you some insight so you can see where i'm coming from.

 

I'm a merchant seafarer. I spend in excess of half of my year on ships in various parts of the world. I choose to work on cargo ships as opposed to cruise ships because, frankly, I don't like it when the cargo talks back to me. So, the ships that I work on, there are never more than 24 people on them.

 

When we're at sea, I wake up, I go on watch with my lookout, we make occassional small talk, politely make each other a brew every so often, and sometimes, i might even talk to some other watch keepers on other ships on the vhf, but more often than not, it's just me and him - and I gotta tell you, his English isn't great. Four hours of that, i go and grab some chow, go back to my cabin eat, have a ****, and go to sleep for whatever remains of my 8 hours off-watch. Rinse and repeat.

 

When in port, if I pull a deck watch, sure, there are other people around. Port officials, stevedores, guys flogging cheap tat. But they don't really want to talk to me, and wherever possible I sure as **** don't want to talk to them. There are several members of the ship's crew about, but they all have their jobs, and I have mine, and apart from the occasional burst of chatter on the radio, I have little contact with people.

 

The only time I will have any kind of quasi-meaningful contact with another human being is if I get the chance between watches to go ashore and go whoring, and even then, i'm pretty *********** tired, so quite honestly, given the choice between getting a good kip and coming back to the ship half cut and ridden with self loathing, i'll usually opt for the former.

 

When I come home, I find life utterly frantic, I mean ****, civilians are crazy. So as much as possible, I just hole the **** up, get food delivered to me and if I feel I need human comforts i'll go to the local with a few mates. I have a few good friends, and that's it. Sometimes we even play online games together, but mostly, we're into different stuff.

 

SO. The internet then. I play swtor because I like Star Wars. I like the immersion, and I have found that it is simply better to avoid contact with people in-game, because eventually you run out of things to say to each other, and it gets a bit awkward - especially if that person is following you around like a lost sheep. Forums, on the other hand, well, you can walk the **** away from those any time you want and not have the same social awkwardness that you would have in game if you simply decided to stop talking because you realise that, actually, you'd rather just be left alone, yet the anonymity remains, you don't know me, and I don't know you, and that suits me just fine; we're not getting to know each other here, sweetheart, I don't want to take you out to dinner, but i'm happy enough to temporarily engage you in some conversation on a forum.

 

I trust that suitably answers your condescending statement.

Edited December 22, 2013 by theonetruebleed

[DarthDymond]

As others have said, there is plenty of single-player content here for people who aren't interested in socializing to still find the game worthwhile; it's basically the same as someone who isn't interested in PVPing still enjoying the game without ever setting foot in a Warzone -- yeah they're missing out on some of what the game has to offer, but there's still enough left over to keep them happy and playing.

 

For those like OP, on the other hand, for whom socializing IS an important part of gameplay and a big part of what you want out of an MMO - I'd suggest in SWTOR your best bet is to make sure you've found a fairly large Guild that really is a good fit for you.

 

One of the reasons General Chat is so sparse outside of the Fleet is that most people who are interested in socializing in the game are going to be doing it through their Guild Chat - which is a great way to avoid the "Alt-F4" "thor rulz" "WoW was the first MMO, therefor the best" trolls and instead actually get to know some people and regularly interact with them.

[AshlaBoga]

I am very vocal when leveling... on mumble.

 

Outside of VOIP I don't chat much.

[Zorvan]

..... Edited January 28, 2015 by Zorvan

[Callaron]

Holy hell, a kindred spirit!! lol

 

Hey, how hard is it to get a job like yours? Sounds perfect to me.

 

And the pay's pretty good too if I'm not mistaken.

[theonetruebleed]

Holy hell, a kindred spirit!! lol

 

Hey, how hard is it to get a job like yours? Sounds perfect to me.

 

 

Query: Are you good with numbers? Can you back that up with academic progress? Are willing to leave behind forever the life and person you are now and become someone totally different? Is your moral compass extremely flexible? Can you cope with isolation? Can you accept that your family will never understand what it is you do for a living? Do you have good spacial awareness? Are you comfortable with the notion of death?

Edited December 22, 2013 by theonetruebleed

[AndasKastor]

Sorry, I don't play ToR to be social. My chat window is at the default position at the upper left of my screen. If I happen to notice a question or interesting conversation then I will participate. Otherwise I like to play alone or with my wife.

 

So yes, I am anti-social.

[theonetruebleed]

And the pay's pretty good too if I'm not mistaken.

 

I live in the UK and if I spend more than 6 months of the year out of the country and it's territorial boundaries working then I pay zero income tax, so in my case, yes, the pay is pretty good. Not enough if you ask me, but I never want for anything put it that way. Then again I don't have a wife and kids.

[Zorvan]

..... Edited January 28, 2015 by Zorvan

[JPryde]

I am pretty social on our guilds teamspeak.

 

I see absolutely no need to chat with strangers about soccer results, politics, the newest movies or latest gossip, or "jokes" .... especially no on a general channel. So most things I say on open channels will be related to grouping or to helping out another player with their questions.