Why Continue To Play SWTOR?

[Ejied]

To long, and pointless in the first three paragraphs.. I stopped there..

[markdienekes]

It's a sad day when people think that post was actually long...

[Spyderwraith]

It's a sad day when people think that post was actually long...

 

it's a sad day when people can't be bothered to read......

[Ethern]

Good post OP.

E-peeness one core element of attachment to a MMO.

I don't need any, so here I am in TOR, enjoying my Dual wielding Sith Fantasy.

[QDMcGraw]

Good post OP.

E-peeness one core element of attachment to a MMO.

I don't need any, so here I am in TOR, enjoying my Dual wielding Sith Fantasy.

 

Yes! I am running a Dark Jedi personally, just to be the bad guy on the good side. I'll probably run a Light Sith later, but I have a lot of adventuring to do first. I'm taking my time in the game.

[Ethern]

Yes! I am running a Dark Jedi personally, just to be the bad guy on the good side. I'll probably run a Light Sith later, but I have a lot of adventuring to do first. I'm taking my time in the game.

Interesting take. My Sith was Light II, but the LS dialog options became more and more deprived of common sense. The DS are not better, so I'm more neutral.

 

The point is that enjoying the story is an element which has enough weight to keep you hooked to TOR, at least for 30 days. You don't need the feel to stand apart, when the storyline already does.

That comes from a guy who played WoW only for 5 months.

[Spyderwraith]

Interesting take. My Sith was Light II, but the LS dialog options became more and more deprived of common sense. The DS are not better, so I'm more neutral.

 

The point is that enjoying the story is an element which has enough weight to keep you hooked to TOR, at least for 30 days. You don't need the feel to stand apart, when the storyline already does.

That comes from a guy who played WoW only for 5 months.

 

TOR has Story- TOR has Romance

The characters look Like they are more real then comparible games

 

There are NO pandas

 

And there is lightsabers

[Derian]

I actually thought that was aperfect explaination of the current MMO paradigm.

[Saporah]

How did I miss this thread?

 

Well done! You have potential as a writer - and this is coming from someone whose opinion carries weight in the matter!

 

As for the content, I can't say I agree with you entirely but a lot of it was remarkably soul crunching. You won't find many who agree with you though. The majority of people these days have the attention span of a goldfish and can't read anything much longer then 3-4 inches of point form... let alone admit what may be slightly unnatural desires stirring within them.

 

Personally I didn't think I was going to like starwars but was surprised with how much fun I had during beta. This was during my latest WoW burnout. And as one does during each and every burnout, I felt certain the siren call of azeroth would never take hold of me again.

 

However as I approach maximum level in SWTOR, I do so with great anxiety and trepidation. It's as if my gaming sense (the 7th sense...) realizes something I don't.

 

But you know what? That's okay. Sometimes certain games feel like home. But home is dull and boring and MY GOD you need to get out sometimes. You need a vacation... and that's where the other games come in! They are like a holiday in the Caribbean. At first everything is colourful and new and exciting. You are roasting in the sun, sipping on fruity drinks spiked with at least 40 proof and splashing in the waves singing "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid (darling it's better down where it's wetter take it from meeeeeee...) And then something happens. You start to feel hung over. Tired. Bored. And if you are female, fat! Suddenly the hotel pillows are giving you a kink in the neck and those freaking scorpians aren't funny anymore. You want to go home.

 

I think for a lot of people WoW is like home and all these fancy new games are a holiday in the sun. Although on my side I am looking forward to GW2. Maybe I'll call the moving man after? I don't know.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Saporah

[Zuerius]

Starting over in any time consuming endeavor requires real commitment to what you're pursuing. MMORPG's take literally days of playtime to reach the level cap and get geared. I'd like to think that people are quitting not because of their egos, but because they're simply realizing that they don't want to go through it all again.

 

To me, the most entertaining part of the game is the PvP. If I had access to all of the character classes at level 50, I wouldn't bother leveling any character.

 

This is the flaw in all MMORPG's. The journey really isn't that enjoyable. There are high points, but there's way more dull repetition and time sinking than anything. It's simply an artificial barrier to playing the "real game" at the level cap.

 

Consider a game where there are no levels, no sets of gear. The only reason to play is to enjoy the experience. If you stripped everything from SWTOR so that it were the game I just described, it wouldn't be interesting enough to keep the majority of people playing. It's not that enjoyable at its core.

 

People like feeling as though they're making progress, and numbers are a nice way to represent that. This even more true when you can hold your numbers up to another persons and prove that you're better, even if it's only because you made a larger time commitment.

 

In this sense, I've just proved that everyone playing these games is egotistical. Some people just don't care to go through a few hundred hours more of hell just so they can get what shallow satisfaction a game of this type can provide.

 

Despite all this though, I can't help but play. It's human nature, I think, to be attracted to this type of experience even though it doesn't make that much sense philosophically. The people who are posting on the forums are probably looking for a "real" reason to either play or not play when the truth is that no one can say whether or not playing this game is worth the time and effort in the big picture.

[Spyderwraith]

I think for a lot of people WoW is like home and all these fancy new games are a holiday in the sun. Although on my side I am looking forward to GW2. Maybe I'll call the moving man after? I don't know.

 

I did read the entire comment and agree that yes your probably right in that WoW is a "comfort Zone" as home is to several.

 

However

 

PANDAS

[Saporah]

I did read the entire comment and agree that yes your probably right in that WoW is a "comfort Zone" as home is to several.

 

However

 

PANDAS

 

Well maybe it's my years dabbling in anime but I don't mind "cute" things in games.

 

However I'll reserve judgement until the new expansion is out. I may or may not like it. Cata was a huge disappointment for me and I know better then to get my hopes up. However, I won't roll it in the dirt either until I've given it a fair chance.

[Bobinator]

ITT: Hate, fanboys, trolls.

 

 

Oh general discussion...is there a way to turn this forum section off so I dont have to see it?

[Ghmou]

I'm playing it because I'm enjoying it.

 

Does it need to be more complex than that?

[Velassra]

OP, I'm not reading that. My campanion is only gone 20 minutes on his Underworld Trading mission.

[QDMcGraw]

Saporah and Zuerius hit the topic very well. Games that have been played extensively do have the comfort zone associated to them, and much of the work is done. But I put forth: Everyone was a beginner in that game at one point, too.

 

Prior to the other game, were you aware of the time sink involved to get to what you wanted? Had you known prior the level of involvement it would take, would you have started down that road? If the time sink snuck up on you, like it did for so many as WoW was their first taste of MMO's, at what point did you realize the immense scope of what you were trying to achieve?

 

Bringing this into SWOTR, do you believe the time sink to be as large? Since the game is so new, are you worried there isn't enough for you to accomplish? Many people are complaining there's nothing to do at max level. I once again point out in WoW, the time sinks are dailies, PVP and achievements, which, if introduced, would bring the same backlash as they do in WoW. So, to say there's nothing to do at max level, some people will never be happy. I put forth that those complaining about nothing to do would complain if given hoops to jump through because they'd see them for what they were. Would they then go back to WoW to jump through the hoops they know, or continue on in SWTOR with new and different hoops they have to relearn.

 

I feel that is a big one: Learning new hoops. That's all they are: Hoops, and these are simply new. I've already stated all genres are stale within themselves because of no true groundbreaking features; SWTOR falls victim to this as well. There is nothing new in the game, it does have a different approach to the same old questing, but in the end, it's just a different way to present it. It's all new ways to do the same thing with a fancy new skin. This is why game developers spend so much time making the graphics so awesome, it's the only way they can set themselves apart from other games.

 

I personally like the skin of this [MMMO_0139] also known as Star Wars: The Old Republic and I'll stick with it. The class stories that envelope the entire level arc is what keeps me interested and I known each class has their own story. I'll play each class through just for their stories and by that time, there should be content aplenty for me to throw my army of alts against.

[QDMcGraw]

OP, I'm not reading that. My campanion is only gone 20 minutes on his Underworld Trading mission.

 

It won't take that long to read, sheesh!

[Gohlar]

It won't take that long to read, sheesh!

 

Special snowflake syndrome. You have it. This whole thing about being unique or setting yourself apart is an illusion. Truth is nobody cares so try to enjoy yourself.

 

I play gamers for fun. I have no illusions about setting myself apart in a video game. I don't play a game to validate myself, I play games for entertainment.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Gohlar

[QDMcGraw]

Special snowflake syndrome. You have it. This whole thing about being unique or setting yourself apart is an illusion. Truth nobody cares so try to enjoy yourself.

 

I play gamers for fun. I have no illusions about setting myself apart in a video game.

 

Once again we have an attack post. These aren't getting any more inventive, they're actually just repeating themselves at this point. Interesting...

[Gohlar]

Once again we have an attack post. These aren't getting any more inventive, they're actually just repeating themselves at this point. Interesting...

 

What?

 

It's not an attack. I'm just letting you know the reality of the situation. It's a video game man nobody cares what you do. Did you really not know this?

 

I play games for fun. What do you play for?

Edited December 31, 2011 by Gohlar

[QDMcGraw]

What?

 

It's not an attack. I'm just letting you know the reality of the situation. It's a video game man nobody cares what you do. Did you really not know this?

 

I play games for fun. What do you play for?

 

I play for Entertainment.

 

My apologies for misinterpreting your post.

[Gohlar]

I play for Entertainment.

 

My apologies for misinterpreting your post.

 

No worries.

[Thundermace]

We know you came from WoW, don't deny it. Everyone playing MMO's has had a run through the turnstile of the most popular MMO out there. It was easy, it was fun, and slowly, but surely, it took over your life as you chased the brass ring of endgame. Burned out and disillusioned from your time at hardcore raiding, you became jaded to the WoW experience. It's ok, we know this, we've all been there; you are not alone.

 

But, here we are with this fancy new game. It's Star Wars! Who doesn't love Star Wars? Well, at least the original trilogy, but those are the movies, and this is a video game. Star Wars has a rich history of quality games going back a generation now. From the halcyon days of X-Wing and TIE Fighter to more recent releases like KOTOR and The Force Unleashed, the Star Wars Franchise goes on strong. There were some bumps in the road, all franchises have them, but, really, a shiny new Star Wars MMO, story driven and built to please, how could it go wrong?

 

Oh, dang, bugs. Well, let's be honest. Every game, even stand alone games, are released with bugs. You are to blame for this, my friend. yes, you. Prior to release, how hard were you fiending for this game to be released? You got your wish and now it's not good enough? Oh well, them's the breaks. In the last 10 years, game companies realized the hungry purchasing public will pay to beta test games. I'm very confident in the next 10 years, Beta Testing rights will be purchased from companies, in an effort to drum up more revenue to create the game. With over 100 million dollars invested into these games, the influx has to come from somewhere.

 

But I digress, we all came from WoW or spent some time in Azeroth. It's inevitable, and now here we are, collected at the gates and wondering what we paid for. It's been 2.5 weeks and you're already max level and have nothing to do. You, my friend, are a serious gamer! Those stories are for the Role Playing Nerds, not the gamers! PVP is broken, it's absurd, it's horrendous, and you keep losing at it. This game is obviously broken, because you got skills, my friend. Your Battle Rank in WoW proves this. In fact, you have 2,3 and 5 man Arena Ratings that blow away your SAT scores, because that's just how you roll: hardcore. You have pre-nerf Lich king slayings under your belt, server first on Ruby Sanctum, and let's not even get into the amount of butt kicking you did in Cataclysm! Sure, you may have missed Vanilla, but you were a punk kid that was enamored by Harry Potter, but you've grown up since then and you're starting to grow hair in places you were afraid to wash last month. Azeroth was your playground and everyone knew that anytime you walked through Orgrimmar or Stormwind with all your latest Tier Gear.

 

And this is where it all comes to a head. You have thousands of hours invested into WoW. You've spent the better part of the last few years in Azeroth conquering anything and everything, doing every little quest you could find and getting all the achievements you could get because you were running out of things to do. PVP? Hell, we already talked about your Arena Rankings, it's balanced, it's good, it's everything it should be, but, it was a long time coming my friend. I was there at the beginning of Azeroth, don't fool yourself that it was always golden and good.

 

So, my friend, this is the investment you currently have in WoW. You have an addiction, be it great or small, to MMO's. Don't fool yourself, you do. You are looking for reasons to not like Star Wars because deep down you know what it's going to take to be on top again, and with everyone all starting near the same time, everyone has the same chance you do to make a name for themselves and be epic. It's not so much there's nothing to do at 50, it's there's nothing to brag about. Your ePeen remains flacid while you wait for developers to give you a conquest to take on. I know this feeling well, I've been there. At one point I was the one of the top 3 rogues on my PVP server for Gear Score, Boss kills and PVP ratings. I had PVP ranks when they were given in Military Ranks, that's how old school I was, and I kept that rank!

 

So, what's the point? Well, you don't want to start over, you want to rise above, but you are having trouble finding a way IN GAME to do this. You, my friend, are epic. You are important, you're voice holds weight and others should be lining up to suck at the teet of your gaming wisdom. But, again, Star Wars has no mountain for you to climb into rare air and set yourself apart from the rest. The accomplishments you are achieving are something everyone else in game can do if they dedicate the time you did. Sure, you leveled faster, but, it was a finite climb and the ladder just lead to a platform. The longer you stand there waiting for content, the more people join you on this common ground. There's nothing exceptional about being 50, and with the game being so new, the WarZones are buggy, so you can't set yourself up successfully in there. More and more people show up, and you get lost in the masses of unwashed Casuals. They're turning up everywhere, and there's no way for you to set yourself apart from them in game, it just doesn't exist. You can't sit by idly while your accomplishments, thus far, are made mundane by Casuals, blech! The word Casuals leaves a dirty taste in your mouth. In fact, all this time you are waiting for the bugs to be fixed, and new content to be added you could be in WoW getting more achievements.

 

And there's the rub. You realize if you are going to stay with this game, there's nothing to do to set yourself apart from the mindless rabble collecting at level 50, no way to swing an ePeen with excitement when all ePeens are the same size. But, in WoW... you still have those Holiday Quests to finish to get this years latest non-combat gift/mount/companion and the latest achievement. You are burning valuable ePeen time in SWTOR that could be used to keep yourself above the rest of the rabble in WoW. But, it's WoW. Gawd, do you really want to go back? Well, if it's means getting adoration from the mindless slags that can visibly see you are superior, then yes! You didn't work hard for all these years just to be like everyone else in the new game. You got your skills down and know what you're doing. Sure, you were a n00b once, but, now, you're the gaming elite. You just wish you could find a way to do this in Star Wars aside from going to the blasted forums and leaving a "I QUIT" thread for everyone, and in there explain, in great detail, how much you know about MMO's. It's really the only way you know how to express your eliteness at this time. Plus, you can go back to WoW for now and wait for some bugs to get fixed. You're already 50 anyway, and that was the hard part, you can just rejoin the game later and with your mad skills, be able to get right back into the game and prove yourself in Star Wars... once the visible ePeen meters are put in the game.

 

So, good luck, my friend. Elite, hardcore raiders are a young man's game. Mark my words, though. In 20 years, you'll be seeing the games from my perspective, and it's on that sad day when you write yourself one of these open letters on a forum that you will realize the raids have passed you by, and you still gotta get that report to your boss, and the wife wants you to bring home more diapers, the car needs a brake job and the kids Christmas Recital is going to happen the same night as your raid, so you'll have to miss it... you get the point.

 

Entertaining read <3

[davkei]

l came from EQ2 after a couple of years. l will probably continue to play SWTOR because of two things.

 

1. Bioware

2. Star Wars

[Hanbwan]

Your Battle Rank in WoW proves this. In fact, you have 2,3 and 5 man Arena Ratings that blow away your SAT scores, because that's just how you roll: hardcore. .

 

LoL. OP was a complete waste of time except for this line.

 

Edit: Maybe not a complete waste of time. I agree with some of it. But it was fricken long.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Hanbwan