Let’s get straight to the point. I love BioWare and I adore Star Wars. I don’t enjoy MMOs at all.
This has caused some degree of conflict since the teaser videos for The Old Republic started showing up. It has always had some amazing CGI video trailers. But that’s nothing to do with how the game will play or look, right?
So, I was holding out hope that when I saw it played, I’d think it was a bit rubbish. I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really trying to be blasé about it all but it really does look quite good. Damnit.
And now there’s these luscious screenshots. Really, BioWare? You’re really going to make me play an MMO?
Person678
Join us Peter, join the Dark Side. Play a MMO.
kjkg
Ahhhhh I want this now. Wish it was console headed. Dont think my PC can cope with it.
jamess109
Gotta admit Doom II visuals are state of the art compared to this crap lol
colossalblue
Nurse! He’s out again!
KeRaSh
I wouldn’t call it that bad but the visuals do look very dated. It’s the World of Warcraft approach. Lower the system requirements so more people are able to play it. This isn’t a bad thing but this is still the year 2011 (at least for another while). Maybe I’m just spoilt because Final Fantasy XIV looked so amazing when I played it.
AG2297
The more I see, the more I want. I just don’t want the MMO factor to suck my life away though.
Crocadillian
Well, it’s a Star Wars game, so ill be avoiding no matter how good it looks or plays :3
PoorPaddy89
Just make bloody KotOR III already! It might be Star Wars, but I don’t have the time or money to invest properly into an MMO.
maneorix
Just play it like a single player MMO. That’s what I intend to do – finish the ‘story mode’ on each side and cancel the subscription. The great dialog, and story is where its at, hardly need to play the endgame..
KeRaSh
They will take their time to unravel the whole story over the course of a few years to keep the costumers subscribed. Then there will be add-ons with more story ands so on. Also the further you progress the less likely it is that you can experience the content on your own. Battles get tougher and you will be forced to rely on help from other players. It’s really not as easy as you put it.
maneorix
I’ve played MMO’s before, so I do know what I’m talking about. Also, there really isn’t such a big need to explore ‘dungeons’ or end game material, whatever the story you get will probably be done by then.
Sure, there will be probably expansions down the line – but if it’s such a big pull, your characters are probably still stored. That way you can you re-activate and play for a little longer.
KeRaSh
Not saying you don’t know what you are talking about. I only played FFXI (very extensively) and a little of FFXIV and the way it was with those games is you get an initial set of story quests and then they release missions on a 2-4 month basis with the main storyline ending about 1 year into the release at the earliest which is when the first expansion might be released. With the progression of the missions the difficulty alao raised which meant exp partying was necessary and for FFXI that was an immensive time sink. We’re not talking about strolling from one mission to the next in a day or so. It sometimes took weeks or even month to get all the requirements done to get to the next mission. I don’t want to lecture you. This is more of a sober look at how it will probably turn out so that MMO unexperienced users don’t get the wrong idea by thinking it’t like a solo campaign if you only do the main quests and then quit your subscription.
KeRaSh
*also
**it’s
maneorix
Ah I can understand where you are coming from. But any modern MMO will be taking a lot from WOW and how they are keeping users. I think MMO’s in general have evolved heavily since FFXI (havent played it..) WOW released a HUGE set of quests and storylines going all the way to max level at 60. You got all the missions at once, they weren’t fased. Since then they have released expansion packs every 1½-2 years where the story is expanded upon, not closed. There have been events to keep players playing, but they were mostly not essential to the main storyline (if there ever was a MAIN storyline..)
In essence the storyline nevers really finishes, it just expands – on that you are right. Though I think due to this being BioWare and the subject Star Wars, it’ll be entirely possible to ‘complete’ the main game in some sense.
No an MMO is never actually a singeplayer campaign, but I really think – from viewing multiple videos (lots) – it will be possible to do so if you wish. In WOW most of the multiplayer essentials were at the end the game – or current expansion. I’m hoping SWTOR will be same and not force something down our throats.
KeRaSh
If it’s that way then it’s quite possible to enjoy more of the story on your own. Final Fantasy XIV was definitely more singleplayer friendly than FFXI and now that I think about it I read somewhere that SWTOR would be pretty sp friendly too when it comes down to experiencing the story. I’ve only seen a few videos of TOR and they were showcasing party play and there were some pretty tough enemies. It all depends how they want to challenge the people in the end. We’ll have to wait and see. :)
jediryan123
got in on a testing weekend the other week, I also dislike mmo’s but if you turn off the general chat and ignore the other players running around (which is easy to do since there presence is mostly explained eg. other students at the Sith academy)it is easy to forget you are playing an MMO.
YOURMUMANDME
I completely agree, MMO’s normally look like half finished games and have no clear direction but one based in the Star Wars universe makes perfect sense. They’re really do feel like they were made for each other.
KeRaSh
You do know that the already was a SW MMO out there and it didn’t fare as well as one might expect from a universe that has so much potential and already existing lore around it. As for your point that MMOs seem unfinished. You have to consider that MMOs usually last 5 to 10 years and they get polished pretty well over the course of time. A half finished single player game will stay that way unless the devs fix it which can be rare since they already have your money. With MMOs they have to make sure that you are satisfied or else they don’t see another cent from you after your free trial period expires.
OneShotWook
Swg pre-cu was possibly as good as Mmo rpg ever got,it embraced the potential of an online world and ran with it.Back then there was no preconception of what Mmo meant,no Blizzard dinosaurs copy and pasting each other.It was subsequently dumbed down over and over by SOE in the name of persisting to persist,albeit more base with each patch.
As for Mmo’s lasting for 5-10 years i can think of only Eve and Wow,Eq2 if it’s still going.Most newer Mmo’s seem to hit free to play before 3 these days.
The chat further above talks of endgame because we already know what an Mmo is,players have already played through the beginnings time and again,which is why the high hopes of Bioware injecting some story based originality out of the Mmo cookiee cutter.
KeRaSh
Final Fantasy XI is in it’s 8th or 9th year now. I don’t know many MMOs, just the successful ones, therefore I threw around those numbers based on that knowledge.
The reason why FFXI kept me so interested was the fact that it wasn’t dumbed down, even after a bunch of add-ons. It was a constant challenge and it took real effort and teamplay to achieve something. This was a massive timesink but the sense of accomplishment afterwards was awesome. This is the reason why I still think FFXI is a better MMO than WOW. :)
OneShotWook
I forgot about the first FF Mmo i must admit,mainly because i couldn’t get my head around the learning curve when it first appeared,you’ve also reminded me of the Lineage games which i had a few friends playing who swore it was awesome,again i couldn’t get into it.
The hook of those older Mmos (Swg and Anarchy Online being my Mmos of choice)was huge,so huge in fact i ended up playing them long after i actually enjoyed them,not to berate Wow too much but that did seem to represent a huge change in Mmo design and my final 2 finger salute to the genre.
The Lone Steven
Hmm, it looks good for a MMO and i do love a game that has a decent story but i’m not a fan of MMOs. Meaning that i will be having a lot of debates of should i get it or not with myself.