Top 10 criticisms of SW:TOR with responses

[Samaul]

The way your post is written is immediately defensive and arrogant in its tone. Clearly written by someone who is tired of hearing negativity about a game they clearly love.

 

You're a fanboy. It's ok. I get it. I've been there.

 

Unfortunately, in composing your responses to the criticisms as you have, you've left yourself wide open to attack from those who have a different perspective and opinion.

 

Enough with the ad hominem attacks and namecalling. If you have a response, post one.

[Wazooty]

The complaint is that the planets themselves are linear and not open.

 

No one expected to take a speeder to a different planet, and for you to assume that is just silly.

 

The planets are like corridors. Not open "zones".

Edited January 1, 2012 by Wazooty

[Ahlin]

Enough with the ad hominem attacks and namecalling. If you have a response, post one.

 

Uh yeah pretty sure he just did.

 

And this list isn't even in the top 10 of what's wrong with the game.

[Samaul]

The complaint is that the planets themselves are linear and not open.

 

No one expected to take a speeder to a different planet, and for you to assume that is just silly.

 

The planets are like corridors. Not open "zones".

 

That is largely a matter of semantics. SW:TOR is a BioWare MMO-RPG done in their unique style. I love it, some dont. If you want to get to max level without experiencing any of the zones or storyline, you can do so. You can get to max level by queueing for Warzones if you so desire. You can get to max level by just doing flashpoints. I dont know why you would want to but to each his own.

[carnac_fett]

 

4. No dungeon finder.

 

> Type /who and hit enter. You can find people who are LFG and in the zone where you are questing or doing heroics.

 

Doesn't work. I only got nine results and they're all out of the level range for the flashpoint I want to do.

[Samaul]

Uh yeah pretty sure he just did.

 

And this list isn't even in the top 10 of what's wrong with the game.

 

Thanks for the bump. He ignored the post and attempted to impugn the poster, the definition of an ad hominem attack. Though less obvious than most trolls, still a troll.

[Samaul]

Doesn't work. I only got nine results and they're all out of the level range for the flashpoint I want to do.

 

Start whispering ppl of the class you need. Works for me. As I said, I could live with a level or zone based single server LFG tool.

[Stormag]

 

totally wrong and pointless, that dindt changed my mind about cancelling

[Sohtaraz]

1. Bad or cartoon-y looking graphics.

 

> Its called stylized graphics. SW:TOR's graphics are not designed to be photo-realistic so that they will not look dated in a year or two. If you want photo-realism, play BF3 (great game EA).

 

Those low resolution textures sure are stylished. This is the best reason not to implement any high res textures despite them being made.

 

2. Linear storyline.

 

> SW:TOR is a story-line driven game. All MMORPGs with experienced-based character leveling are by nature linear to some extent. SW:TOR is unique in that at each step in the storyline, you can make decisions from multiple paths that will affect the destiny of your character.

 

Yes. So a linear storyline in an MMO is great, if your not in a party and want everyone to feel special. The problem is the story ends at level 50 to a wall, and then you have people who have not grouped with anyone grouping for the first time.

 

Unique is not allways good, and some of the story archs are defenetly hit or miss. Its very close to masseffect or da2, but its no where near a redeeming quality for the game.

 

3. No open world. I dont like exhaustion or boundaries.

 

> Its a big galaxy, did you expect to be able to ride a speeder from one planet to another? Exhaustion and boundaries are part of every MMORPG including WoW. No game world goes on forever.

 

So thats your reason for not having more then 20 people per a world and have those worlds heavely instanced? Just becouse there should be boundries? It breaks immersion of belonging to a massive game, it feels alot more like a singleplayer game.

 

4. No dungeon finder.

 

> Type /who and hit enter. You can find people who are LFG and in the zone where you are questing or doing heroics. Dungeon finders, especially x-server destroy MMO communities and distort character progression by removing players from the flow of the game and rewarding bad behavior. Server communities are self policing, if you behave badly, you will be removed from your flashpoint or heroic group and likely remembered so be a team player and help your group.

 

Great so you invented a who system that has 8 slots to fill in where you want to go. Now how is that supposed to HELP someone find a dungeon? Its a huge inconvenience and its just as much as a lfg tool then using wow /who command (that is more convinient since you can just /who [criteria]) and whisper everyone.

 

This entire lfg system is at its best lousy and bad. If you over level a planet you dont have the flashpoints general chat, and if your underleveling the flashpoint the exact same problem for finding a group.

 

5. No x-server warzone finder.

 

> Just click the Republic or Empire button and wait, you can queue with a group from your guild or server. See #4 for x-server issues and their effect on server communities. If you want a mindless, anonymous pvp grind, SW:TOR is not the game for you.

 

Mind you not all servers have the same population numbers, most of them are imperial heavy as well so they can have longer que times. PVP servers tend to have more people on one side then other.

 

6. No flying mounts.

 

> You have your own space ship, you can go anywhere in the galaxy in an instant. What more do you want?

 

A space ship you cant fly. You can just choose what instanced location you want to go. Also I can fly in rails in space.

 

Not to mention your normal mount is great, here im just driving around *RANDOM SANDMAN ENCOUNTER AND DISMOUNT*.

 

7. Companion crafting and gathering.

 

> You have more than one of your own personal valet, bodygaurd, cyber-@#$ toy, servant or slave. Yes, you have to equip it and give it gifts. What more do you want?

 

Some people like their characters making crafting them selves, this is part of immersion for example to RP. I can see why some people prefer this, like If I make a gift to someone I feel better if I made it, not my slave.

 

8. SW:TOR is boring, cut scenes and voice acting are time consuming and a waste of time.

 

> Voice acting and cut scenes are a key part of the game. Group or social gameplay is strongly encouraged. If you dont play well with others, there are some parts of the game that you will not experience.

 

So if you play in a group with someone you dont get companion points and your entire roleplaying experience comes down to a dice of roll, yet you say this is a key part of the game? Not everyone wants this and its a valid concerne.

 

9. SW:TOR is not a true MMORPG.

 

> By whose standard? It may not be the MMORPG you are used to but SW:TOR is definitely an MMO-ROLE-PG. Take it from a role-player, SW:TOR is a role-players wet dream.

 

By standards of 2011. Im a role-player and this game is my worst nightmare if I consider it as a follower to KOTOR games, or just the direction bioware is taking their RPG games.

 

And MMORPG's are largely build around gameplay and social interactions, spiced up with character customisation options. These are the worst qualities of SWTOR.

 

10. SW:TOR is buggy.

 

> More than 3 years and hundreds of millions of dollars in development. Take it from a software developer, software development is an imperfect process. BioWare does it better than most. Given the size and scope of SW:TOR, the game is remarkably stable and bug free. If you find a bug, report it. Remember that THE LACK OF A FEATURE THAT YOU WANT IS NOT A BUG. BioWare's programmers are bug-stomping as you read this.

 

The bug fixes that are implemented are minor, not major bugs. Theres alot bugs that should have been elimanted before they even got this close but this game obviously was rushed for holiday market so it deserves all the hate for it. This is a calculated casualty just as is the EU players who get steamrolled by Bioware/ea.

 

And 'better then most' for an avarage game at launch, that relies heavely on singleplayer aspects and starwars is not exactly right. They really have NO idea where their competition is. Theres a thread for bugs if you want to look over it, but lack of basic freatures is still a huge minor and a developer oversight. No one likes inconviniences and most bugs are that or fatal.

[gangbot]

you missed the number 1 criticism, combat response

[Diling-Hiling]

Please elaborate for us. Remember that most of what the trolls, flamera and haters qq about can be summed up as

 

1. I dont like the game as it was designed, change it so that I will like it.

 

2. Give me what I want or I will rage-quit.

 

3. Calling features that they dont like or are lacking "bugs" when they are there either by deliberate omission or design.

 

4. SW:TOR is not WoW, make it like WoW.

 

I honestly think that most of the loudest trolls, haters and flamers are dishonest and are deliberately trying to destroy the game for nefarious reasons. Again, if you dont like the way the game is designed, address your concerns to BioWare and Lucas Arts. If you plan to keep playing the game, accept that the fundamental design of the game will not change and move on.

 

Yes, "Haters" try to get people to not play in only telling them the bad stuff and lies.

And "Fanboys" try to get people to play in only telling them the suggarcoat stuff and lies.

 

I say the article here is of the second kind. Nothing else. I like neither of those types mentioned above. This article just continues the spiral of fanboy and hater nonsense we are already reading enough about.

Edited January 1, 2012 by Diling-Hiling

[Samaul]

Those low resolution textures sure are stylished. This is the best reason not to implement any high res textures despite them being made.

 

Yes. So a linear storyline in an MMO is great, if your not in a party and want everyone to feel special. The problem is the story ends at level 50 to a wall, and then you have people who have not grouped with anyone grouping for the first time.

 

Unique is not allways good, and some of the story archs are defenetly hit or miss. Its very close to masseffect or da2, but its no where near a redeeming quality for the game.

 

So thats your reason for not having more then 20 people per a world and have those worlds heavely instanced? Just becouse there should be boundries? It breaks immersion of belonging to a massive game, it feels alot more like a singleplayer game.

 

Great so you invented a who system that has 8 slots to fill in where you want to go. Now how is that supposed to HELP someone find a dungeon? Its a huge inconvenience and its just as much as a lfg tool then using wow /who command (that is more convinient since you can just /who [criteria]) and whisper everyone.

 

This entire lfg system is at its best lousy and bad. If you over level a planet you dont have the flashpoints general chat, and if your underleveling the flashpoint the exact same problem for finding a group.

 

Mind you not all servers have the same population numbers, most of them are imperial heavy as well so they can have longer que times. PVP servers tend to have more people on one side then other.

 

A space ship you cant fly. You can just choose what instanced location you want to go. Also I can fly in rails in space.

 

Not to mention your normal mount is great, here im just driving around *RANDOM SANDMAN ENCOUNTER AND DISMOUNT*.

 

Some people like their characters making crafting them selves, this is part of immersion for example to RP. I can see why some people prefer this, like If I make a gift to someone I feel better if I made it, not my slave.

 

So if you play in a group with someone you dont get companion points and your entire roleplaying experience comes down to a dice of roll, yet you say this is a key part of the game? Not everyone wants this and its a valid concerne.

 

By standards of 2011. Im a role-player and this game is my worst nightmare if I consider it as a follower to KOTOR games, or just the direction bioware is taking their RPG games.

 

And MMORPG's are largely build around gameplay and social interactions, spiced up with character customisation options. These are the worst qualities of SWTOR.

 

The bug fixes that are implemented are minor, not major bugs. Theres alot bugs that should have been elimanted before they even got this close but this game obviously was rushed for holiday market so it deserves all the hate for it. This is a calculated casualty just as is the EU players who get steamrolled by Bioware/ea.

 

And 'better then most' for an avarage game at launch, that relies heavely on singleplayer aspects and starwars is not exactly right. They really have NO idea where their competition is. Theres a thread for bugs if you want to look over it, but lack of basic freatures is still a huge minor and a developer oversight. No one likes inconviniences and most bugs are that or fatal.

 

Thanks for the post. So you dont like the game as designed. That is your perogative. I do and that is mine. If you can live with it, move on and enjoy the game. If you cant, there are other MMORPGs.

 

I do know that MMORPG companies that pander to the qq of forum posters lose, not gain subscribers. I like to think of BW as a company that listens to the silent majority. If BW ever starts pandering to the "add x wow feature" crowd, the game will quickly diminish to another nice game with less than a million subscribers.

Edited January 1, 2012 by Samaul

[Samaul]

you missed the number 1 criticism, combat response

 

Thats not an issue for me or anyone I know. I like the pace of combat as is.

[carnac_fett]

Start whispering ppl of the class you need. Works for me. As I said, I could live with a level or zone based single server LFG tool.

 

There needs to be a global LFG channel at the very least.

 

Or at least the ability to do something like type "/lfg" and then choose which flashpoint or heroic mission you want from a list.

 

As it stands right now, the best way to get a PUG together is to sit in the Fleet spamming general. I have yet to find anyone with an LFG flag up who is looking for the flashpoint I'm doing.

 

And I'm not going to whisper random people. That's a joke. It's 2012, that shouldn't be necessary.

[Theodwulf]

Top ten straman arguments made by people who love the game so much they are on the forums instead of playing it

 

My title for your post doesn't roll off the tongue so much..

 

Take it from a software developer, software development is an imperfect process

 

 

Ironicly enough you brought your "Argument of authority"..well 9 out of 10 software developers say....

 

 

Please if you are going to do a Pump and Dump ...do it right!

[Samaul]

Yes, "Haters" try to get people to not play in only telling them the bad stuff and lies.

And "Fanboys" try to get people to play in only telling them the suggarcoat stuff and lies.

 

I say the article here is of the second kind. Nothing else. I like neither of those types mentioned above. This article just continues the spiral of fanboy and hater nonsense we are already reading enough about.

 

At least you responded to something that was not the usual hyperbole and phony qq. I can attest to the fact that as someone who has experienced more than half of the content in SW:TOR, it is most of the QQ posts that are in fact lies and pure trolling. If I have told a lie, please cite it specifically.

[Korizan]

 

 

6. No flying mounts.

 

 

There is a flying mount Jawa Balloon

 

All things said I do agree with the OP though.

 

PS - Everyone needs to get off the I am a coder gig.

No MMO (pretty safe bet) was made by one person.

Try multiple teams with bosses running around causing issues, and the vision people bringing there own fun to the game.

So a games performance and bug status is a lot more then just one person.

[Sohtaraz]

 

I do know that MMORPG companies that pander to the qq of forum posters lose, not gain subscribers. I like to think of BW as a company that listens to the silent majority. If BW ever starts pandering to the "add x wow feature" crowd, the game will quickly diminish to another nice game with less than a million subscribers.

 

I'm calling you out on this. Either you have not done any research and ignore all valid points of the argument by saying 'they are design choises' or your really just misguided about history of a few games.

 

For example I dont know, world of warcraft? Rift? AoC? EVE online? Final Fantasy 11?

 

These all improved Vastly and managed to actually gain subscribers after listening to their forum posters, some of them are alive becouse of listening to them. I don't see how they have lost anything.

 

Oh and I'm sure this game wont have the same faith that Warhammer had when its designed, upheld and made by the same team that made Warhamemr Online specially when they are repeating most of their mistakes. I can't sense a pattern at all.

 

 

Edit: Also, since when has Bioware possessed pshychic powers to predict the thoughts and actions of silent majority? Aren't they by defenition silent, and if they go withotu saying whats wrong still silent?

Edited January 1, 2012 by Sohtaraz

[Lostkitty]

Thank you, at first I thought you was ************ about the game but turns out no so thank you

 

Alot of players keep saying this is a Single player game, well what makes an MMO an MMO? all the group quest? no it has dungeons (flashpoints) and raids (operations) and some 2+ player quest, unlike most other MMO's where they actually have changed all their quest to 1 player quest... i'm loving this game so far, brings the feeling of Old WoW back not knowing everything there is to know about the game, and it's enjoyable to finally want to log onto an MMO to do quest and meet new players, instead of only logging onto just do raids (WoW)

[xReborNx]

Good post, good post.

[Moricthian]

I agree with most everything except for the section on LFG tool. This game's LFG sytem is atrocious. I've wanted to to a the Taral V flashpoint for several days and I flew to the Republic fleet and just spammed LFG time and time again. After 40 minutes, I decided I was done and I'm a Tank. This game is supposed to be fun and sitting in a space station typing LFG over and over is not fun. After three days, I eventually got 2 DPS (no healer)willing to do the dungeon so we ended up trying to 3 man it (with a companion) until the last boss in which I finally got a healer from my guild to do the last one.

 

After that headache, its hard to gather the motivation to try and find a group for Maelstrom Prison. The current LFG system is terrible. There were 150 players on Carrick station in my last attempt and only three of them had LFG symbols next to their name. You can say what you want about LFG tools "destroying" communities (which I think is bogus) but it ultimately comes down to this:

 

If BW actually wants players to do flashpoints, they will need a better LFG system. Because the one we have now, despite whatever potential it may or may not have, is not working.

[Gaidax]

I guess PvP (or rather lack of it), 10-50 bracket, RNG gear system and abysmal responsiveness are not amongst the top issues? K...

[Red_Vs_Blue]

Agreed, problem is, most people who come to mmo's now are corrupted by WoW. So if it is not like WoW they hate it, if it is like WoW they hate it.

 

Thankfully i played korean mmo's to see the other side of the mmo coin, it is not pretty.

[Sephendrine]

Great post.

 

There are little things here and there that will certainly get fixed, but they are all insignificant compared to how well-made this game truly is. Haven't had so much fun in a video game since the release of Burning Crusade and the first few months of Aion. (Rift was pretty fun for about six weeks though...).

 

This is one of the high points in mmorpg history. It should come as no surprise that there are some who feel differently. And where do they go to express themselves? The General forums. The other 99.9999 % of players are playing the game and having a blast.

 

Sometimes the 0.0001 % are good for a chuckle.

 

I just made these percentages up. Because its the General forums, where everyone is just making things up. Weee!

[Astron_]

I say the article here is of the second kind. Nothing else. I like neither of those types mentioned above. This article just continues the spiral of fanboy and hater nonsense we are already reading enough about.

 

 

Indeed.