NO ONE will care about the voice acting in one more month.

[BenBamBoo]

Besides all your other points (I will write an answer to that another time, I wanted to bring this out quickly), I must see that our point of what makes a RPG a RPG heavily differs. IMHO, just adding Voiceover to a game doesn't make it a RPG. A MMORPG lives through it's players. The classical MMORPG is more of a sandbox game and I think it wouldn't even need any built in story AT ALL. EVE would be a good example, SWG sounds like one, too. SWTOR is NOT a MMORPG just because they built in some soundfiles.

 

A fair point, to me a RPG requires a connection with the character you are playing and an immersion in the world you are living in, including the landscape and population of that world, be it other players, creatures or NPCs. I do agree that an MMORPG should live and breath through the other players interacting with each other but your point on storylines not being necessary is interesting. The Sims has no storyline yet I would consider it a type of RPG, now you have me thinking...

 

Or you could call it a OIM, an online interactive movie (yeah, I just made up that term )

 

I like it

[_Skyanne_]

I think his point is for the most part it's just bad dialogue and absurd or pointless stories.

 

 

My class story..... Master tries to steal my body, screws it up and gets stuck sharing a body with my companion, her master tries to kill me, dead father tells me I need to steal power from ghosts to protect myself, confront the guy and he kills me but it turns out I was only mostly dead......

 

And I'm not kidding... That's the plot summary to my class quest. Absurd unbelievable story, absurd and unbelievable characters, absurd and unbelievable character motivations. A lot of people are saying you can't enjoy the game without the story but I'm with the OP on this one, after my class story shot off in that bizarre direction I had to quit listening to the stories just to salvage any enjoyment from the game.

 

Spoilers, *******.

Edited December 27, 2011 by _Skyanne_

[Master-Qui]

In my opinion the only part of the voice over content that might get "stale" after a while is for the side quests. And for me personally that is not much of an issue because if I enjoyed the voice over interaction a lot the first time I will watch it again, if not I will just skip through. They are only side quests after all.

 

However, there is a huge amount of voice over content beyond the side quests. Each class has their own expansive story chain, there are also unique stories for each of the flashpoints and operations. Also, when new patches and expansions come out that means there will be brand new voiced over story content to watch and enjoy for each class, flashpoint, operation and so on.

 

Each class story chain alone is like watching a movie (at least one) that revolves around a completely different Star Wars character. In one movie you're watching a movie about the Iconic Jedi knight, in the next you're watching a movie dedicated to the story of a Bounty Hunter, and so on and so forth. However in these movies you get to control the character physically take part in the action and make decisions that, even if sometimes minor, impact the direction of the story and the dialog that you experience.

 

Saying that voice over content will not matter to anyone for any future content after or even while leveling their first character is like saying that because people have watched a movie once no one will care if that movie's sequel is in all subtitles with no sound. From my view that is incorrect.

 

I think what Bioware has done here is revolutionary for MMOs, and really gaming and possibly even digital entertainment in general.

[Mannic]

So much money went into voice acting that you can see how poorly the other aspects of the game suffered because of it.

 

I don't understand how this game has been released. It screams unfinished.

 

This is my point exactly when I criticize the VO. I don't dislike the VO. I dislike that the VO was obviously where 75% of the money went to make this game.

 

To me, they could have only VO'd the class stories and the flashpoints and I'd be perfectly happy with it. But somewhere Bioware got the idea that having to read a text box is some sort of anathema that would kill their game. IMO they just aren't going to get much value in the long-term for that enormous investment of time and resources that was required to fully voice this game.

[Menka]

I agree with the fact that the decisions you make don't have, so far, far reaching consequences.

 

I do prefer voice acted quests over text garbage though. I never bothered reading the quests in WoW. I tried reading quests in Rift but it was so bad and painful that I choose to ignore it eventually.

 

I, in SWTOR, now know what I am doing and what is happening in the world. Yes, I spacebar quests that are voiced by non-English (alien) characters, but it does add a lot to the game.

 

Multiplayer dialog is fun as well and the cut-scenes are fantastic. It's not just voice acting that has been added, cut-scenes also add a lot to the game.

 

That said, if I ever will be rolling a second toon (probably not, I leveled all classes to max in WoW before I found my main. Took me 5 years, not going through that again) I will only be doing the class quests and will PvP/Flashpoints the rest of the XP needed to advance because the class quest is only a small portion on the planets story.

[Rumtruffle]

i love it

 

so im in heaven, and itll certainly take me more than a month to experience all of the quests for all differing classes on lightside and darkside.

[Satpolpp]

I think the OP has put his point wrongly. In his/her defense, I too find that the conversations WILL be boring, especially in group instances where you get to do it a few times per day or even once a day. Its like repetitively watching the same movie right after it finishes.

 

On the other hand, it makes the single player experience that much more beautiful. I love the fact that *SOME* of the voice acting has been pretty good and it makes the storyline much more interesting compared to just reading texts.

[Master-Qui]

This is my point exactly when I criticize the VO. I don't dislike the VO. I dislike that the VO was obviously where 75% of the money went to make this game.

 

To me, they could have only VO'd the class stories and the flashpoints and I'd be perfectly happy with it. But somewhere Bioware got the idea that having to read a text box is some sort of anathema that would kill their game. IMO they just aren't going to get much value in the long-term for that enormous investment of time and resources that was required to fully voice this game.

 

I'd have to disagree with you there. I think the game play aspect of this game is extremely enjoyable.

 

Are there bugs and issues? Of corse there are. To think that ANY game let alone a game of this scale could be released without any bugs whatsoever is just plain unreasonable. However, the bugs are no worse, and in many cases better, than those present in other MMOs at launch or during patches or expansions, or some that are persistant in some far more mature MMOs to this very day.

 

Also, take into consideration that the game has been officially out for barely a full week and Bioware is already implementing a patch to correct several of these issues.

 

Once some of the "launch day bugs" are squashed and the game stabilizes, I think the story driven voice over content is going to really shine. I know that for me going back to other MMOs that don't have it already feels odd and outdated, and this is just the very infancy of this game.

[Rethoren]

i dont know why people are saying that your decisions dont have any meaning...in the jedi knight story, i found several instances where my choices had weight, not just on the story, but in the actual GAMEPLAY! which the OP seems to think is the only thing that matters in a "story driven MMO" (a stupid notion on his part)

 

for example on nar shaddaa: you find that agent Galen (i think that was his name) has been turned into a power guard, when you fight and beat him, you have the option of killing him, or letting him live, you then have the option to ask him to assist you, when you reach the next boss in your character's story, he pops up and starts dishing out a great deal of damage on the boss, making the fight much easier. had i killed him back when i first defeated him, he would not have appeared in that boss fight, and i would have had to deal with the boss alone.

 

there are other instances i could mention, but some people here actually like the story OP, so i'll keep them to myself and let them discover it.

[markdienekes]

I don't understand what's wrong with people. The quests add more depth to what your character has done, and people even mention your actions on other planets in the past. My mercenary truly feels as though his actions change things, and that he's a battle-hardened character whose decisions in dialog I feel add more depth to him. End game content began to bore me years ago in Warcraft (only achievements kept me playing)- now instead of just grinding raids the prospect of more story in expansions will actually keep me interested. Besides, this is only the beginning, aren't they planning more content to keep people interested anyhow?

[Crazyeyexl]

I agree, I will probably never make an alt. Toooo much yapping to endure all over again!

[kineticdamage]

ADHD PEOPLE won't care about the voice acting in one more month.

 

fixed it for you.

[Gunfox]

fixed it for you.

 

You could add something constructive rather than this ********.

Explaining how to still care about them in a 2nd or 3rd playthrough seems very much harder to do than just admit that you pretty much won't care, especially for the side quests.

[ChrisMun]

I agree, I will probably never make an alt. Toooo much yapping to endure all over again!

 

Ever heard of the *gasp* spacebar?

[Sinuouss]

Not every quest is a winner, and it does seem to drag when I want to get in on the action. Some of my characters responses are a bit overused, but I'm guessing they did this to add dialogue options after they recorded the voice actors.

 

However, I love the voice acted quests. I remember when Age of Conan had voice overs for Tortage and it was awesome. Then there was almost no voice acting for the rest of the game. And people were very disappointed. The quality of the acting maintains in SWTOR through 50, which is impressive. I'm looking forward to leveling up my Bounty Hunter to see the light side options, and rolling a Republic character to see those storylines.

 

And I want voice acting for future content, not just for leveling. So I will care about it. Do I think they should be working on other major issues (the UI and ability delay in combat particularly), yes. However, I think these issues can be resolved within a month or so, and there is enough content to keep me entertained for several months at least.

[Kit_Furso]

Calling the biggest feature of the game fluff is a bit out there.

 

What about this one, maybe if you're a space bar jockey this game isn't for you and you should just move on? If you were into Bioware games at all before this one you should have known what to expect and know if you like this kind of game style.

[Coher]

WHAT! The voice acting is amazing! really keeps me engaged into the game. Its not like wow when it feels like i'm in a trance quest after quest.

[anedorivan]

As someone who has been playing the game for nearly 6 months(beta) I strongly disagree with you.

[Restepor]

I'm a level 25 and have never skipped a conversation, am I doing something wrong? No, I playing the game how I want to play it. If you don't like the conversations there's going to be someone who agrees with you, but I doubt that a majority of the people are going to start skipping the conversations as much as you.

[Aseph]

Your post operates under the false assumption that people think precisely the same way you do.

 

1) Grow up.

 

2) Grasp 'Theory of Mind.' Most people are capable of this at the age of 5 years.

 

3) Understand your importance within the universe.

 

You know, I never post here, but this truly is a gem! I sincerely hope that's a BW dev posing as a player just so he can get his thoughts out.

 

The story is one of my favorite things in this game, it doesn't feel like some mind numbing grind to end-game like some other games I have played.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Aseph

[Delworri]

I don't no about you but I'm really enjoy the voice acting.. Sure some people may start to not care much for it in like a month or so but I'll still love it

 

Sure beats reading tons and tons of quests thats for sure..

[Cuaarl_Hosmi]

NO ONE will care about the voice acting in one more month

 

 

 

I will, therefore this statement is wrong

 

/Thread

[angrYdog]

i still love the voice acting..

 

idc what some random kids say...

 

if you justw anna jump around on spacestations and farming lvls quick as possible...

 

do that but stop qqing on forums...

[GetzMango]

You heard it here first

I've started to skip every conversation at lvl 22 and pick my answers at random now, only paying attention to good / light side points.

Everything you say will be pointless after the conversation ends. Everything! I have yet to see a consequence that adds more than more voiceover and in the rarest cases killing one insignificant dude. The stories of the sidequests have the quality of a c-movie at best.

And this is where the major part of the budget went? Sorry, but this makes me laugh.

Will the decisions change your quests? Nope.

Will the decisions change the world or parts of the map? Nope.

Will the decisions change following decisions? Nope.

All they do is adding more pointless, boring textlines.

Will parts of your gear change based on a soulless number counting how "good" or "evil" your decisions were? Well yes, I have to give that point to Bioware.

I'm finished with this boring, pointless abomination called a story.

I really hope the gameplay gets better, but honestly I don't have much hope.

 

This is an MMO, let us write our OWN stories! Not follow a pointless path some underpaid or just plain bad writer sucked out of his fingers.

If I want a story, I'll go watch a movie or read a book. Gameplay is what counts in a game.

 

NO ONE? Are you sure about that? I will care, as will many others. So that makes you WRONG. Thanks for trying to generalize all SWTOR players though, it's cute when you try.

 

Best of luck in your new game.

[llesna]

I'd probably be bored of the game already if it weren't for the voice acting, the dialogue choices and the excellent story in the game.

 

I don't want SWTOR to be just another boring MMORPG without any worthwhile story that you can invest in. Without all the so-called fluff, as you put it, it'd just be another game, but Bioware has raised this game above that by all the efforts they've put into it.

 

As such, I say that the voice acting really WILL keep players interested, but some players just want the same-old-same-old and will close off their minds to anything different, no matter how good it is.

Edited May 3, 2012 by llesna