Exploration in SWTOR?

rollnstns

Used search couldn't find anything about this.

I understand that SWTOR isn't a sandbox. That being said, is there the opportunity to just wander/roam? As a SWG vet, one of my favorite things to do was to just roam the landscape, and explore. Is everything so linear in SWTOR that you cannot do that?

Thanks in advance.

Xerenix

The worlds are big and open so there is definitely room for exploration also there are hidden holocrons that give rewards for finding them laying all over the worlds so if you're into explorations, you won't be dissapointed.

Tamanous

Adding more planets will be a common method of expanding content so hopefully this eventually grants a good sense of exploration. Especially if supporting mechanics outside hub driven questing are fleshed out.

adderVXI

The OP's question is what ive been wondering also and could keep me from trying it.  I can handle a themepark but got to have some exploration.  Every time this question is raised i see 50/50 whether you can explore anything.  Might need to wait till the NDA is lifted i guess.

Unknown

Originally posted by rollnstns

Used search couldn't find anything about this.

I understand that SWTOR isn't a sandbox. That being said, is there the opportunity to just wander/roam? As a SWG vet, one of my favorite things to do was to just roam the landscape, and explore. Is everything so linear in SWTOR that you cannot do that?

Thanks in advance.

depends on the planet. some may seem more linear than others because they are city planets so you have to move through the streets which may make seem less open. also some planets are said to be built more vertically than horizontally so they may take getting used to.  other planets like hoth or tatooine or alderaan may seem more open since it would be more open landscape like in previous games.  however they are trying to make the worlds as open as they can while staying true to what the planet would be like.  its hard to tell how it will work for some with out experiencing them myself.

 

there will be rewards for exploring.  so far we have heard of getting exp for unlocking codex entries.  there are also items on the worlds called datacrons that once found and used, you get a codex entry and a permanent increase to a stat.  and example of one was mmorpg.com's MikeB found one during a play session on dormund kaas that gave a +1 to a stat(think it was will power). they will show up on your mini map when you get close to them but they want them in places that may be hard to get to.

 

edit: also once you get your starship, at around lvl10-15, you can visit any planet you want, except the opposing faction's origin worlds and capital planets.  so republic can't visit dormund kaas, korriban, or hutta and empire can't visit coruscant, ord mantell, and tython

maskedweasel

Originally posted by Nezrik

{mod edit}

Some areas are more restricted than others.  Some planets like tatooine for instance will be much more open, while starter planets will  be more linear.

avici

It does appear to be much more linear which was originally a concern of mine. My concern has been vanquished over time though. Im very willing to pass up speeding through vast planets finding nothing of interest if the alternative is additional content (things to do, kill, or find) in a more condensed area.

daemon

The starting zones/planets and some towns should be abit linear.

As long as its only that should be fine.

We need the damn NDA lifted already and it shouldnt be long unless they are scared of something.

malroth67

I don't think they are going to lift the NDA for a month or 2, probably not until they start doing the beta weekends I would think. I'm expecting this because of how secret Bioware has been about the game. I don't think people in the beta now are all that high of level anyway, from anything that I have seen or read from leaks anyway. It almost feels like WoW's beta phases before they went to the stress tests. The world felt small and everything you did felt confined to some degree, even in stress test, but after release the world felt huge, especially after you leveled beyond the first couple zones. I am expecting the same with SWTOR, except we will be able to go to different planets, and if they do what WoW did/does and put in content updates every few months to ease transition and by time for the next expac. I think Bioware realizes the importance of exploration in an MMORPG, otherwise it couldn't be called that since that is what an MMORPG is all about. Everything else is just gravy!

Metentso

Good news: you can send your companion to explore for you.

Wharg0ul

according to interviews, there are plenty of areas and options for exploration.

This was one of my worries initially as well, but the devs have given out quite a bit of information that has put my fears to rest.

Deewe

The sad thing about exploration is we won't be able to use force jump or jet packs to reach specific places as they can only be used in combat.

Kothoses

Originally posted by daemon

The starting zones/planets and some towns should be abit linear.

As long as its only that should be fine.

We need the damn NDA lifted already and it shouldnt be long unless they are scared of something.

Spoilers, bioware are notorious for trying to keep major plot points in their games under wraps, misdirecting peoples thoughts over which direction the plot takes and keeping any major twists under wrap.

 

I doubt they will lift they NDA on story elements prior to launch at all, what with it being one of their selling points.

MMO.Maverick

First, it's a themepark MMO, so it won't have the vast but barren planets as seen in SWG.

However, among the themepark MMO's it looks like SWTOR will be one that opens with the largest ingame worlds and most explorable landmass compared to other MMO's.

So, you can compare it to a WoW and LotrO when it comes to free roaming explorability and content density, although SWTOR will in total worldsize be larger than those 2.