I believe it will change absolutely nothing about the MMO genre or the MMO landscape or whatever you want to term it.
However, seeing how you mentioned WoW being the best game, i assume you're using commercial success as your sole criteria for "best". In which case, you're almost guaranteed that SWTOR will be "great". Just like Episode 1 made tons of money and remains an absolutely terrible film.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
So far I'm not seeing SWTOR as changing much of anything. Sure, the story lines will be nice, but its really just more of what LoTRO and some others started.
I don't see anything about SWTOR that will really revolutionize the industry, but of course, if it sells 5 M copies and retains over a million subs then I'll be sorely proven wrong and every new MMO for the next 5 years will have deep story driven content with tons of voice acting.
Well, if it is financially successful that IS what it will change.
The problem i see with some posts is that people are answering the OP based on their own preferences, their own subjectivity.
Don't like SWToR? Then of course it won't change anything. Or even if one is indifferent some answers seem to lump it in with "wow clone" and call it a day.
We need to look at this objectively.
If SWToR is financially successful in a huge way, not a "they can pay their bills with the subs they have and therefore they are are successful" way, but a HUGE way then we will indeed see more games incorporating more story telling and I bet dollars to donuts we are going to start seeing games that can only come up with a similiar price tag as companies are going to be using SWToR as a benchmark.
WoW was successful but wasn't really anything "new". And what did we see? More games trying to emulate wow.
Same will happen here.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Originally posted by blueturtle13Why does everyone insist on saying GW2 has no quests? That is not true.
Following the map, I found the first event - a farm that was under attack by some nasty bandits. Talking to the hapless farmer and listening to his plea for help, some objectives magically appeared on my quest log! There were about ten or so other people doing the demo so we were all in the same area and although none of us were grouped, it seemed that we were all getting to loot stuff that we'd participated in killing
After killing the requisite number of bandits, my quest log updated itself and I moved on to another task - feeding the farmer's cows. There were feed bags lying in the corner and all I had to was click on one, walk over to the cow and click on it. Rinse and repeat until I met my quota. And then there were worms ruining the crops so they had to be dealt with. In the meantime, the bandits were left unchecked and had succeeded in setting bales of hay on fire so I had to run back, pick up a bucket of water and put out the fires. The whole farm just seemed to be a hive of endless activity. In retrospect, it makes me wonder if this was a timed event or if things just quieted down when no one was around. It's strange but I almost feel sorry for the poor farmer.
Seems like the word quest was used there a couple times. Dont ki yourselves. Quests run the game just as any other MMO.
That's not actually how GW2 works. In the world you don't have to talk to any NPC. If the farm is being attacked, you simply have to react like any hero would and stop the attackers. They'll already be a "quest" there. It is kind of like public quests in Warhammer, but if you fail the farm burns down and the event there and at other places will change.
Now they do have some icons over people to help give direction to traditional MMO players. That's because they found that such people were crippled when interacting with the world and would ignore things they didn't get told to do by an NPC with a thing over his head. That NPC isn't actually doing anything other than providing flavor text, however.
Seems like you found an impression of someone who had no idea how the game works.
Guild Wars 2 is the opposite. There are no quests. Limiting quests to a class is just class specific quests... WoW has those already, although they're limited.
Dynamic events that affect a persistent world > standard MMO quests.
I'm not as sure about that, I wasn't a big fan of PQ's in WAR, they sound to be pretty much the same as those. It was nice the first time I ran into one, after about the fifth I just ran on by.
When offering quests you can offer variety in the choices you're giving the player in what and how they encounter events. How much variety is going to be available in how a town is under attack or a village is burned? How long will that remain new and exciting? It seems like after a few weeks of it, I'd be sick and tired of running to aid a village full of people who won't defend themselves.
Quests have always been a sound approach in offering RPG adventures. There's no reason to rewrite how the RPG is played. I'd much rather A-net had offered both quests and dynamic events.
Same concept different approach, with added consequence. I know what the differences are. I've looked deeply enough into GW2 to base a sound opinion from a personal perspective. The problem isn't that they are offering these events. It's that they completely removed something I actually do like in an RPG.
I do not agree with their opinion on quests either. They seem to forget quests don't always have to be about killing things. Yet that's their reasoning for taking this approach to begin with. They made a decision based on half truths. With questing you can offer opportunity for a peaceful means to reach an end. Coincidentally this is something Bioware is offering in TOR.
Don't read me wrong, I'll pick up GW2 at some point, but that will be for the PVP, as it will most likely be balanced and fun.
Why does everyone insist on saying GW2 has no quests? That is not true.
Following the map, I found the first event - a farm that was under attack by some nasty bandits. Talking to the hapless farmer and listening to his plea for help, some objectives magically appeared on my quest log! There were about ten or so other people doing the demo so we were all in the same area and although none of us were grouped, it seemed that we were all getting to loot stuff that we'd participated in killing
After killing the requisite number of bandits, my quest log updated itself and I moved on to another task - feeding the farmer's cows. There were feed bags lying in the corner and all I had to was click on one, walk over to the cow and click on it. Rinse and repeat until I met my quota. And then there were worms ruining the crops so they had to be dealt with. In the meantime, the bandits were left unchecked and had succeeded in setting bales of hay on fire so I had to run back, pick up a bucket of water and put out the fires. The whole farm just seemed to be a hive of endless activity. In retrospect, it makes me wonder if this was a timed event or if things just quieted down when no one was around. It's strange but I almost feel sorry for the poor farmer.
Seems like the word quest was used there a couple times. Dont ki yourselves. Quests run the game just as any other MMO.
It's an event log, and as you come across events it'll put the objectives of the events in there. The author used "quests" out of habit. You don't need to participate in events if you don't wish. You can do completely different ones, or help everyone else out, it's up to you. The key difference between these and quests is this... when you complete a quest, the next guy comes along and selects the same exact quest to go kill the exact same 10 bunnies you already killed but are still threatening to eat the questgiver. With dynamic events, the end state of the event, pass or fail, stays and builds off that state. If the bandits successfully burn the hay, for example, the cows won't have enough food to produce milk or meat for the market and the market will reflect this. You may have events spawn to help resupply the farmer, or to drive the bandits off. You drive them off, new events may spawn to repair the damage they did, or to attack their leader to recover something they stole. Recovering something may result in an npc becoming available selling the recovered items to the players. Every time you pass by this part of the world it can be in a completely different state.
These are not the generic "!" quests from older style MMOs.
Same concept different approach, with added consequence. I know what the differences are. I've looked deeply enough into GW2 to base a sound opinion from a personal perspective. The problem isn't that they are offering these events. It's that they completely removed something I actually do like in an RPG.
I do not agree with their opinion on quests either. They seem to forget quests don't always have to be about killing things. Yet that's their reasoning for taking this approach to begin with. They made a decision based on half truths. With questing you can offer opportunity for a peaceful means to reach an end. Coincidentally this is something Bioware is offering in TOR.
Don't read me wrong, I'll pick up GW2 at some point, but that will be for the PVP, as it will most likely be balanced and fun.
Dynamic Events aren't always about killing things either. Overall I think DE's are pretty awesome. You interact with the world in a normal manner rather than having to wait to talk to a guy with something over his head. I think that's the real critique of quests...they are often very artificial. There's no odd "kill X guys and things are resolved even though the guys are still spawning and everything" quests either (and no phasing, so changings are really changes to everyone). It's good stuff.
Beyond that, what makes it really alive is that DEs are linked to each other, so success and failure in one DE affects other DEs connected to it. If a town gets burned down, then it stays burned down (or is possibly rebuilt as an enemy base), and the bad guys move on. That's far more of a living, breathing world than any MMO out there.
Yet they are still quests. Events or quests it is symantic. The situation maybe dynamic (to a point, dont think the same result wont be able to be duplicated) but the tasks involved in the 'event' are still quests. I consider a quests like a task list of things to be done for a reward. That is still the point. Dynamic event or not the tasks involved are quests.period. So yes HOW you get the quests may vary but the fact that they are still quests remain. It isnt THAT different.
It's not just semantics. It increases immersion tremendously and provides for a living, breathing world in a way other MMOs coming out can't match.
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
Another person who only listens to his own prejudice and doesn't care for reading.
Here, I hope this helps to prevent uninformed comments in future (although I'm guessing not)
Originally posted by BioNut
Erickson's Responce
--"Is all your faction specific content Class Quests?"
Absolutely not. It's a multiplayer game, built for multiplayer storytelling. Which means all classes in a faction will have access to all of the same content except the Class Quests.
--"What is the breakdown between Class Quests and multiplayer quests?"
On the Origin worlds it's about 60% Class Quests, dropping to about 40% on the Capital worlds and then even lower for the rest of the game. The whole idea is to get you into the game, teach you about your class and your story, then get you out there playing with other people. We need to meet Obi-Wan, get our lightsaber and learn about the rest of the galaxy, but then it's time to get the gang together and go to war. We're still going to take breaks and run off to Dagobah but that's now the minority of our story. So the game very purposefully starts with more single player content and then moves strongly towards content that can be played multiplayer.
--"What are all the different types of multiplayer quests?"
Whew, that one's a big list but I can hit the major stuff. 1) World Quests: One-offs or short chains built for easy pick up and play. Grab a PUG or your friends and have a short adventure together. 2) World Arcs: Epic quest arcs that go from four to ten quests or more and follow a storyline across an entire planet. Big decisions and branching questlines you may have to play multiple times (in different playthroughs, they're not repeatable) to see all the content. Built for long play sessions or a series of short sessions where you and your group want a huge adventure that may stretch over tens of hours. Also very PUGable as long as you're grabbing like minded folks. 3) Flashpoints: Instanced, heavily scripted major story and action pieces built for groups to go in and get the very best of BioWare's multiplayer storytelling. Built to be played in a single sitting.
Now here's the fun part. Our multiplayer content has lines, choices and content that is specific to each class and content that is only there if you're in a group. Did the Jedi Consular really just convince the Sith boss to stand down and not fight us? Did the Bounty Hunter really just shake down the Moff for more money? Did the Smuggler just leave the group with that attractive quest giver? Um...are they coming back? It's fun to replay the game and see all the different content but it's also a blast to play with friends and be completely surprised by what they say. Often you'll find yourself saying "Okay, that clearly was not one of my dialogue options!"
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
"more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game"
Well then that's a change isn't it?
Are you saying that if this game starts making gobs of money that we won't start seeing more SWToR clones or at least games trying to emulate its style?
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Yet they are still quests. Events or quests it is symantic. The situation maybe dynamic (to a point, dont think the same result wont be able to be duplicated) but the tasks involved in the 'event' are still quests. I consider a quests like a task list of things to be done for a reward. That is still the point. Dynamic event or not the tasks involved are quests.period. So yes HOW you get the quests may vary but the fact that they are still quests remain. It isnt THAT different.
It's not just semantics. It increases immersion tremendously and provides for a living, breathing world in a way other MMOs coming out can't match.
nobody can really judge either of these games until they finally come out for beta.... I have my doubts about the game, but What I seen so far it looks really good (GW2) , but I don't want to praise it for the best damn thing since slice bread, utnil I can confirm this. I already had hands on for TOR and I liked what I seen at the low level.
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
Another person who only listens to his own prejudice and doesn't care for reading.
Here, I hope this helps to prevent uninformed comments in future (although I'm guessing not)
Originally posted by BioNut
Erickson's Responce
--"Is all your faction specific content Class Quests?"
Absolutely not. It's a multiplayer game, built for multiplayer storytelling. Which means all classes in a faction will have access to all of the same content except the Class Quests.
--"What is the breakdown between Class Quests and multiplayer quests?"
On the Origin worlds it's about 60% Class Quests, dropping to about 40% on the Capital worlds and then even lower for the rest of the game. The whole idea is to get you into the game, teach you about your class and your story, then get you out there playing with other people. We need to meet Obi-Wan, get our lightsaber and learn about the rest of the galaxy, but then it's time to get the gang together and go to war. We're still going to take breaks and run off to Dagobah but that's now the minority of our story. So the game very purposefully starts with more single player content and then moves strongly towards content that can be played multiplayer.
--"What are all the different types of multiplayer quests?"
Whew, that one's a big list but I can hit the major stuff. 1) World Quests: One-offs or short chains built for easy pick up and play. Grab a PUG or your friends and have a short adventure together. 2) World Arcs: Epic quest arcs that go from four to ten quests or more and follow a storyline across an entire planet. Big decisions and branching questlines you may have to play multiple times (in different playthroughs, they're not repeatable) to see all the content. Built for long play sessions or a series of short sessions where you and your group want a huge adventure that may stretch over tens of hours. Also very PUGable as long as you're grabbing like minded folks. 3) Flashpoints: Instanced, heavily scripted major story and action pieces built for groups to go in and get the very best of BioWare's multiplayer storytelling. Built to be played in a single sitting.
Now here's the fun part. Our multiplayer content has lines, choices and content that is specific to each class and content that is only there if you're in a group. Did the Jedi Consular really just convince the Sith boss to stand down and not fight us? Did the Bounty Hunter really just shake down the Moff for more money? Did the Smuggler just leave the group with that attractive quest giver? Um...are they coming back? It's fun to replay the game and see all the different content but it's also a blast to play with friends and be completely surprised by what they say. Often you'll find yourself saying "Okay, that clearly was not one of my dialogue options!"
Hope that helps!"
So you've given me a large list of all the things that are going to make this MMO more like a single player game, thank you.
It doesn't matter if you can take 2 or 3 friends with you on a mission here and there, the entire focus of the game is still a linear, finite story with an END. And there's nothing massive about having a party of 4 people in a scripted instance. It goes entirely against what an MMORPG is. If you think anything otherwise, then I'm guessing your first MMO was AoC or WoW.
Yet they are still quests. Events or quests it is symantic. The situation maybe dynamic (to a point, dont think the same result wont be able to be duplicated) but the tasks involved in the 'event' are still quests. I consider a quests like a task list of things to be done for a reward. That is still the point. Dynamic event or not the tasks involved are quests.period. So yes HOW you get the quests may vary but the fact that they are still quests remain. It isnt THAT different.
It's not just semantics. It increases immersion tremendously and provides for a living, breathing world in a way other MMOs coming out can't match.
It's interesting how this same debate is being held for enhanced story in quest adding immersion and more connection to the MMO world you're wandering in. SW:TOR quests, GW2 quests/events, both will add immersion to MMO gaming each in their own way. It's only a matter what you like if it does the trick for you.
I happen to like both those approaches to enhance immersion, so I consider myself lucky with enough fun to be had next year.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
"more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game"
Well then that's a change isn't it?
Are you saying that if this game starts making gobs of money that we won't start seeing more SWToR clones or at least games trying to emulate its style?
The difference is, that's already WoW's style. Each MMO since WoW has become more and more single player oriented. SWTOR will just follow that pattern, as the genre burns around it.
SWTOR isnt really bringing anything new to the table except for that it is not fantasy. The only way SWTOR will change the industry is that it might make Sci-Fi games more popular.
East Carolina University, Computer Science BS, 2011 -------------------- Current game: DAOC
Games played and quit: L2, PlanetSide, RF Online, GuildWars, SWG, COH/COV, Vanguard, LOTRO, WoW, WW2 Online, FFXI, Auto-Assault, EVE Online, ShadowBane, RYL, Rappelz, Last Chaos, Myst Online, POTBS, EQ2, Warhammer Online, AoC, Aion, Champions Online, Star Trek Online, Allods, Darkfall.
SWTOR isnt really bringing anything new to the table except for that it is not fantasy. The only way SWTOR will change the industry is that it might make Sci-Fi games more popular.
So you've given me a large list of all the things that are going to make this MMO more like a single player game, thank you.
It doesn't matter if you can take 2 or 3 friends with you on a mission here and there, the entire focus of the game is still a linear, finite story with an END. And there's nothing massive about having a party of 4 people in a scripted instance. It goes entirely against what an MMORPG is. If you think anything otherwise, then I'm guessing your first MMO was AoC or WoW.
My first MMORPG was EQ, and I've played most large ones that have come out since UO, so no need for you to be so condescending if you have no clue whatsoever what you're talking about.
Their comments mean that questing will/need to be less of a solo affair than in other quest oriented MMO's, and that the quest mechanics next to that will be more group friendly than in other MMO's.
And yes, that was purely all the quest mechanics they talked about. Next to that you have raiding, dungeons, Warzones and all the other things that you see in Massively Multiplayer Online RPG's.
Only people that have closed themselves off for SW:TOR just because they don't like the story aspect of it are too blind to see that it has everything that's needed for massive play ingame, just as those other MMORPG's.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
If by changing MMO's you mean turning the concept of MMO into a more traditional offline game theme park style game centered around a singleplayer storyline.. then sure.. But that's no longer really an mmo now is it?
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
Another person who only listens to his own prejudice and doesn't care for reading.
Here, I hope this helps to prevent uninformed comments in future (although I'm guessing not)
Originally posted by BioNut
Erickson's Responce
--"Is all your faction specific content Class Quests?"
Absolutely not. It's a multiplayer game, built for multiplayer storytelling. Which means all classes in a faction will have access to all of the same content except the Class Quests.
--"What is the breakdown between Class Quests and multiplayer quests?"
On the Origin worlds it's about 60% Class Quests, dropping to about 40% on the Capital worlds and then even lower for the rest of the game. The whole idea is to get you into the game, teach you about your class and your story, then get you out there playing with other people. We need to meet Obi-Wan, get our lightsaber and learn about the rest of the galaxy, but then it's time to get the gang together and go to war. We're still going to take breaks and run off to Dagobah but that's now the minority of our story. So the game very purposefully starts with more single player content and then moves strongly towards content that can be played multiplayer.
--"What are all the different types of multiplayer quests?"
Whew, that one's a big list but I can hit the major stuff. 1) World Quests: One-offs or short chains built for easy pick up and play. Grab a PUG or your friends and have a short adventure together. 2) World Arcs: Epic quest arcs that go from four to ten quests or more and follow a storyline across an entire planet. Big decisions and branching questlines you may have to play multiple times (in different playthroughs, they're not repeatable) to see all the content. Built for long play sessions or a series of short sessions where you and your group want a huge adventure that may stretch over tens of hours. Also very PUGable as long as you're grabbing like minded folks. 3) Flashpoints: Instanced, heavily scripted major story and action pieces built for groups to go in and get the very best of BioWare's multiplayer storytelling. Built to be played in a single sitting.
Now here's the fun part. Our multiplayer content has lines, choices and content that is specific to each class and content that is only there if you're in a group. Did the Jedi Consular really just convince the Sith boss to stand down and not fight us? Did the Bounty Hunter really just shake down the Moff for more money? Did the Smuggler just leave the group with that attractive quest giver? Um...are they coming back? It's fun to replay the game and see all the different content but it's also a blast to play with friends and be completely surprised by what they say. Often you'll find yourself saying "Okay, that clearly was not one of my dialogue options!"
Hope that helps!"
So you've given me a large list of all the things that are going to make this MMO more like a single player game, thank you.
It doesn't matter if you can take 2 or 3 friends with you on a mission here and there, the entire focus of the game is still a linear, finite story with an END. And there's nothing massive about having a party of 4 people in a scripted instance. It goes entirely against what an MMORPG is. If you think anything otherwise, then I'm guessing your first MMO was AoC or WoW.
My first 2D MMO was zelda online, my second was Nexustk.... This game is going to be an MMO. I could say some things about another game, but since I am looking forward to that one too , I will refrain from saying anything..
The people who have played this game said it plays like an MMO, the world had no loading screens. The world had other players running around in it doing their quests while you tried to do your quests. I don't know what kind of game you think this is going to be, but it will be an MMO. It will be just like all the other REAL mmo's out there. There wont be some instanced world you go into for your story line. When you do your story line quests you will be running around in the open world alongside 100's of other players that are in that area/planet.
If by changing MMO's you mean turning the concept of MMO into a more traditional offline game theme park style game centered around a singleplayer storyline.. then sure.. But that's no longer really an mmo now is it?
If by changing MMO's you mean turning the concept of MMO into a more traditional offline game theme park style game centered around a singleplayer storyline.. then sure.. But that's no longer really an mmo now is it?
Ding ding ding
Interesting.
Reading has become an art form that many people have forgotten to do. Like reading up on the information available instead of trusting on one's gut feeling like the next best teabagger or Cheney.
Anyway, no need to bring in arguments to people who have convinced themselves to not ever like or grasp SW:TOR no matter what information is revealed.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Comments
I believe it will change absolutely nothing about the MMO genre or the MMO landscape or whatever you want to term it.
However, seeing how you mentioned WoW being the best game, i assume you're using commercial success as your sole criteria for "best". In which case, you're almost guaranteed that SWTOR will be "great". Just like Episode 1 made tons of money and remains an absolutely terrible film.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
Well, if it is financially successful that IS what it will change.
The problem i see with some posts is that people are answering the OP based on their own preferences, their own subjectivity.
Don't like SWToR? Then of course it won't change anything. Or even if one is indifferent some answers seem to lump it in with "wow clone" and call it a day.
We need to look at this objectively.
If SWToR is financially successful in a huge way, not a "they can pay their bills with the subs they have and therefore they are are successful" way, but a HUGE way then we will indeed see more games incorporating more story telling and I bet dollars to donuts we are going to start seeing games that can only come up with a similiar price tag as companies are going to be using SWToR as a benchmark.
WoW was successful but wasn't really anything "new". And what did we see? More games trying to emulate wow.
Same will happen here.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
That's not actually how GW2 works. In the world you don't have to talk to any NPC. If the farm is being attacked, you simply have to react like any hero would and stop the attackers. They'll already be a "quest" there. It is kind of like public quests in Warhammer, but if you fail the farm burns down and the event there and at other places will change.
Now they do have some icons over people to help give direction to traditional MMO players. That's because they found that such people were crippled when interacting with the world and would ignore things they didn't get told to do by an NPC with a thing over his head. That NPC isn't actually doing anything other than providing flavor text, however.
Seems like you found an impression of someone who had no idea how the game works.
It's an event log, and as you come across events it'll put the objectives of the events in there. The author used "quests" out of habit. You don't need to participate in events if you don't wish. You can do completely different ones, or help everyone else out, it's up to you. The key difference between these and quests is this... when you complete a quest, the next guy comes along and selects the same exact quest to go kill the exact same 10 bunnies you already killed but are still threatening to eat the questgiver. With dynamic events, the end state of the event, pass or fail, stays and builds off that state. If the bandits successfully burn the hay, for example, the cows won't have enough food to produce milk or meat for the market and the market will reflect this. You may have events spawn to help resupply the farmer, or to drive the bandits off. You drive them off, new events may spawn to repair the damage they did, or to attack their leader to recover something they stole. Recovering something may result in an npc becoming available selling the recovered items to the players. Every time you pass by this part of the world it can be in a completely different state.
These are not the generic "!" quests from older style MMOs.
Oderint, dum metuant.
No it will not. There's nothing new here, just more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game.
This game will follow, and push forward, the trend started with WoW, to turn all MMOs into single player games with a chat box.
Dynamic Events aren't always about killing things either. Overall I think DE's are pretty awesome. You interact with the world in a normal manner rather than having to wait to talk to a guy with something over his head. I think that's the real critique of quests...they are often very artificial. There's no odd "kill X guys and things are resolved even though the guys are still spawning and everything" quests either (and no phasing, so changings are really changes to everyone). It's good stuff.
Beyond that, what makes it really alive is that DEs are linked to each other, so success and failure in one DE affects other DEs connected to it. If a town gets burned down, then it stays burned down (or is possibly rebuilt as an enemy base), and the bad guys move on. That's far more of a living, breathing world than any MMO out there.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
No.
It's very simple. No
It's not just semantics. It increases immersion tremendously and provides for a living, breathing world in a way other MMOs coming out can't match.
Another person who only listens to his own prejudice and doesn't care for reading.
Here, I hope this helps to prevent uninformed comments in future (although I'm guessing not)
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
"more of an emphasis on the single player portion of the game"
Well then that's a change isn't it?
Are you saying that if this game starts making gobs of money that we won't start seeing more SWToR clones or at least games trying to emulate its style?
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
nobody can really judge either of these games until they finally come out for beta.... I have my doubts about the game, but What I seen so far it looks really good (GW2) , but I don't want to praise it for the best damn thing since slice bread, utnil I can confirm this. I already had hands on for TOR and I liked what I seen at the low level.
"When it comes to GW2 any game is fair game"
No.
So you've given me a large list of all the things that are going to make this MMO more like a single player game, thank you.
It doesn't matter if you can take 2 or 3 friends with you on a mission here and there, the entire focus of the game is still a linear, finite story with an END. And there's nothing massive about having a party of 4 people in a scripted instance. It goes entirely against what an MMORPG is. If you think anything otherwise, then I'm guessing your first MMO was AoC or WoW.
It's interesting how this same debate is being held for enhanced story in quest adding immersion and more connection to the MMO world you're wandering in. SW:TOR quests, GW2 quests/events, both will add immersion to MMO gaming each in their own way. It's only a matter what you like if it does the trick for you.
I happen to like both those approaches to enhance immersion, so I consider myself lucky with enough fun to be had next year.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
The difference is, that's already WoW's style. Each MMO since WoW has become more and more single player oriented. SWTOR will just follow that pattern, as the genre burns around it.
SWTOR isnt really bringing anything new to the table except for that it is not fantasy. The only way SWTOR will change the industry is that it might make Sci-Fi games more popular.
East Carolina University, Computer Science BS, 2011
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Current game: DAOC
Games played and quit: L2, PlanetSide, RF Online, GuildWars, SWG, COH/COV, Vanguard, LOTRO, WoW, WW2 Online, FFXI, Auto-Assault, EVE Online, ShadowBane, RYL, Rappelz, Last Chaos, Myst Online, POTBS, EQ2, Warhammer Online, AoC, Aion, Champions Online, Star Trek Online, Allods, Darkfall.
Waiting on: Earthrise
Names: Citio, Goldie, Sportacus
SWG didn't make SCI FI more popular.
My first MMORPG was EQ, and I've played most large ones that have come out since UO, so no need for you to be so condescending if you have no clue whatsoever what you're talking about.
Their comments mean that questing will/need to be less of a solo affair than in other quest oriented MMO's, and that the quest mechanics next to that will be more group friendly than in other MMO's.
And yes, that was purely all the quest mechanics they talked about. Next to that you have raiding, dungeons, Warzones and all the other things that you see in Massively Multiplayer Online RPG's.
Only people that have closed themselves off for SW:TOR just because they don't like the story aspect of it are too blind to see that it has everything that's needed for massive play ingame, just as those other MMORPG's.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
If by changing MMO's you mean turning the concept of MMO into a more traditional offline game theme park style game centered around a singleplayer storyline.. then sure.. But that's no longer really an mmo now is it?
My first 2D MMO was zelda online, my second was Nexustk.... This game is going to be an MMO. I could say some things about another game, but since I am looking forward to that one too , I will refrain from saying anything..
The people who have played this game said it plays like an MMO, the world had no loading screens. The world had other players running around in it doing their quests while you tried to do your quests. I don't know what kind of game you think this is going to be, but it will be an MMO. It will be just like all the other REAL mmo's out there. There wont be some instanced world you go into for your story line. When you do your story line quests you will be running around in the open world alongside 100's of other players that are in that area/planet.
"When it comes to GW2 any game is fair game"
Ding ding ding
Interesting.
Reading has become an art form that many people have forgotten to do. Like reading up on the information available instead of trusting on one's gut feeling like the next best teabagger or Cheney.
Anyway, no need to bring in arguments to people who have convinced themselves to not ever like or grasp SW:TOR no matter what information is revealed.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."