I'm not sure I could have summed it up better myself, you hit on every single thing I really enjoy about the game. Three friends that I played vanilla wow with, as well as myself, were invited for the previous weekend test and by the end of the weekend each of us were exceptionally impressed.
We all grouped right from the get go, the multiplayer conversations add an amazing element to questing, and the conversation choices are so well done that it is sickening. You can have some really funny things happen, and then a moment or two later feel utterly betrayed.
There is a quest on Hutta where you have an option to threaten a child in order to gain information needed to help you achieve your goal. Normally i'm not the type of person to pick the evil option, but some of the dark side options are so well done that you just have to choose them and see what happens.
The smaller group size makes getting together for content a snap, and the Esseles flashpoint was the highest quality instanced dungeon content I have seen in years.
watch out the window as you lightspeed/jump to different planets and such.
That is really cool! I didn't know they would have it. So you can sit in your ship in space? Like housing? Can you invite other people onto your ship or fly your ship planet-side? What does it look like when your board your ship?
I reached Realm First 50 on US Server (5 Days at playtime of 14 Hours a day)
Skipped all Voices (Pressing Still 1 is fine. (Because its the Good choose :P )
So I got invited to Internal Test. (Maybe 400 pep. are here now)
And what shall I say? Endcontent? Nah, I don't allowed to tell mutch. Maybe nothing :P
But a few thinks:
The "Flashpoints" are so mutch hard. If you see Tera V. The First "Miniboss" raped to Hell (on last build)
So I hoped Yea! Raids would not beatable to every guy. And then there was the big "ohhhh" moment, on Internal Builds they nerfed all the Instances the Hardcoreness etc. so I can tell you its like some other MMO's now. Go to the Boss, rape the Boss and loot him.
SW:TOR is "okey" but its nothing special. If you are a lore Player you should realy realy realy join SW:TOR, if you are a StarWars Fan you should join SW:TOR toobut if you are a "Raider" and just want to play like every other MMO. You should not join SW:TOR just stay at your actual MMO. Because if you do "Flashpoints" they are fun but the Loreplayers still block you in Time so you stay most time more then 1 or 2 hrs in the Instance because the "Lore" Guys want to hear what the NPC have to say =/
PS: I am not a player of any hype so I just watched SW:TOR with some critical eye.
PS²: Sorry if I ruined some perfect World about SW:TOR. Its just my opinion so you are free to see the game with other eyes.
Because I hate hypes. "Oh yeah new MMO OUT! and few days after... hmpf its shit /quit" ....
I am usually one of the first to say that story in MMOs is crap because EVERYONE is the "hero" and EVERYONE is the exact same special unique snowflake, just like everyone else.
Even though I saw other SI running around with the same companion, and even though I knew they had done the same story quests I had done...
I STILL felt like, in this game, that my story and my struggles and choices were unique and mine and only mine.
Even though I was the chosen one and this special hero, just like every other SI was the choosen one etc.
In this game, some how, for some reason, I still felt that connection to my character on their story that you get in a really good single player game.
I don't know how they managed to marry that feeling and that level of story and characters to what is very obviously and fully a MMO game, but some how they have.
I reached Realm First 50 on US Server (5 Days at playtime of 14 Hours a day)
Skipped all Voices (Pressing Still 1 is fine. (Because its the Good choose :P )
So I got invited to Internal Test. (Maybe 400 pep. are here now)
And what shall I say? Endcontent? Nah, I don't allowed to tell mutch. Maybe nothing :P
But a few thinks:
The "Flashpoints" are so mutch hard. If you see Tera V. The First "Miniboss" raped to Hell (on last build)
So I hoped Yea! Raids would not beatable to every guy. And then there was the big "ohhhh" moment, on Internal Builds they nerfed all the Instances the Hardcoreness etc. so I can tell you its like some other MMO's now. Go to the Boss, rape the Boss and loot him.
SW:TOR is "okey" but its nothing special. If you are a lore Player you should realy realy realy join SW:TOR, if you are a StarWars Fan you should join SW:TOR toobut if you are a "Raider" and just want to play like every other MMO. You should not join SW:TOR just stay at your actual MMO. Because if you do "Flashpoints" they are fun but the Loreplayers still block you in Time so you stay most time more then 1 or 2 hrs in the Instance because the "Lore" Guys want to hear what the NPC have to say =/
PS: I am not a player of any hype so I just watched SW:TOR with some critical eye.
PS²: Sorry if I ruined some perfect World about SW:TOR. Its just my opinion so you are free to see the game with other eyes.
Because I hate hypes. "Oh yeah new MMO OUT! and few days after... hmpf its shit /quit" ....
Was this recently that you played and if so which server did you play on?
As I said before, anyone who skips all the VO and rushes to "server first max level" is playing the wrong game - save yourself the time, money, and effort and please, for the love of God, don't share your opinion with us because we certainly do not care to read it.
Yeah that is what I told in the post. If you play the Game and you are not a "Lore" Fan you should not play the Game.
Just stuck at the "old" MMO. But I rushed to RealmFirst because I hoped to see any Content, and I saw him. Every MMO turned to an "Raid" MMO. Because Lore Player do not spent the money that is needed to run such "big" Game.
See at LOTRO it switched mostly to an "Raid" MMO. Before it was an realy realy cool Lore Game (I loved it, to play with my Instrument in a Pub) but now its just raiding
I stoped playing SW:TOR for now, and just grab the Money that I cold get for.
First and foremost, this is a "story" driven game. For everyone who bypasses the story content, well, quite frankly, you lose.
For those that say "Why should I continue to subscribe to a game that will basically be over once I complete ALL 8 stories (which in itself is somewhere around 1600 hours of gameplay if we use 200 hours as an amount of time to reach each level cap)?" I would say don't. Cancel your sub and move onto something else once done.
However, how can their not be "sequels?" More chapters? Let's pretend you reach the end of your storyline; a storyline YOU helped create with a character that most likely you have enjoyed - suddenly, after saving or destroying the galaxy in "Vanilla SWTOR" a new threat or conquest opportunity is released and a whole NEW story with NEW planets or NEW areas is released!
Wouldn't you want to re-sub to see what happens next? I know I would. The sky's the limit for what the future COULD hold for this game.
As I said before, anyone who skips all the VO and rushes to "server first max level" is playing the wrong game - save yourself the time, money, and effort and please, for the love of God, don't share your opinion with us because we certainly do not care to read it.
That poster who claims to have reached level 50 in 5 days is full of it and obviously probably only got to level 10 at most and rage quit when others weren't skipping the VO. As someone who got to level 50, i can tell you i took me about 12-13 days averaging around 15 hours a day sometimes more. I skipped most of the VO from levels 1-46 because it was my second play through on a Jedi Sentinel, but watched them from 46-50 to see the rest of the story that i missed out on in the previous build. So it's just best that we ignore this guy who is an obvious troll with his epic 1 post count.
My take on the game, simple, it's an awesome and fun game, better then expected and i do have a regular copy on preorder. My negatives about my beta experience as i am in my 3rd beta build, from the first build to this latest one, it seems they have taken 1 step forward and 2 steps back. But i have no doubt in my mind that in the end Bioware will work out the bugs.
As for the person who got to 50 in 5 days.. even in the best case scenario - a guildy of mine that had a lot of help and played for 16 hours a day, he didn't even get to 50 in a week, it took him 2 weeks skipping all dialog. He was also a Jedi Sentinel.
As for the person who got to 50 in 5 days.. even in the best case scenario - a guildy of mine that had a lot of help and played for 16 hours a day, he didn't even get to 50 in a week, it took him 2 weeks skipping all dialog. He was also a Jedi Sentinel.
Yup, sounds about right and just to throw it out there, Jedi Sentinels are very, VERY squishy. Even with Doc healing it's tough, mainly because he likes to shoot first instead of tossing you a heal at the most critical of times lol.
Game is a win nuff said, a lot of the misinformation that people where throwing around on these boards have pretty much been debunked. During my time in testing not once did I feel like I was on rails, on DK I was finding all kinds of little caves a crevices. Places that my quests did not even take me too, heck I stopped doing my main quest and started playing merc. Taking on side quests and what not, I found it to be a very enjoyable experience and I loved the combat. This is the first game were actually wanted to fight things, and I did not go out my way to avoid the mobs. Because combat was just that fun to me.
-More polished then Rift, 100% stable beta (after first hour of zomg everyone is trying to log in at once) I had no lag, no disconnects, no crashes.
Not for me, I had an ATI card and had to play the game on it's lowest settings. Hopefully it's fixed for launch.
-Graphics look and feel great - not like BF3 amazing or Skyrim OMG crazy look and feel, but VERY Star Wars, very Bioware, VERY KOTOR especially. Animations are great, add SO much to see the game moving and playing.
Can't really say fairly due to the above issue.
-Environments are very intelligently design, extremely smooth game play - very much like WoW in that it just "feels" like the EXACT right pacing and flow. The planets are huge.. huge... lots and lots of running. Helped at level 14 I think you get an out of combat sprint, but there is a lot of walking around. Thankfully the visuals are great and music/sound is amazing (it's Star Wars!) so you barely even notice the travel times.
Plenty of fast travel options once you've already been to an area.
Agree
-Combat is fun and exciting right from the start, especially when you get a companion. You are fighting 3-4 mobs at a time ALL the time, have to use CC and use your companion to hold mobs and there are stronger/tougher mobs all over and leading groups and you've got to use all of your abilities.
If you don't, you will die and die often once you get off the starter worlds.
Felt pretty standard to me. Just your tab target, hotkey, cooldown thing. Playable but nothing new here at all.
-PvP only did Huttball a few times but it is really fun and just like a 1-flag CTF so it's this constant back and forth battle.
Didn't PVP.
-Crafting I love love love I feel like a foreman or manager rather then the line worker pulling the lever. I can only imagine how it is going to be with 5 companions to manage and send on missions and craft stuff for you. Being able to break apart items to learn new recipes and get a chance to turn Greens into Blue recipes and Blues into Purple recipes is just awesome.
Mod'ing can keep an item up to par with other looted/quest reward items easily especially if you can craft the mods instead of having to find/buy them.
Big dissapointment to me. I've always liked my own harvesting.. especially SWG style. Maybe I was wanting that.. but crafting seems like an afterthought.
-Space combat is very much just a mini game, which is kind of sad panda but it is fun and nice distraction and change of pace mechanic.
I would rather of them put more efforts in other areas, then put this in. What is the point in it's current form? Do it right with pvp etc then release it.
-Ships are awesome, travel wherever you want store stuff talk with companions, very Bioware very Mass Effect very KOTOR but yeah you can also upgrade ship for space combat missions and watch out the window as you lightspeed/jump to different planets and such.
Agreed
-Flashpoints are fun, decently challenging have to have some coordination and some solid heal/tank but at least for low level it's not too hard kind of like Rift was at launch/in beta but not as piss easy as WOW dungeons now when leveling.
Run it a couple times.. it will be as piss easy as the rest out there. Only makes sense. Fun though.
-Group conversations are AWESOME.
Extra cool special feeling to win a roll and have your character make the choice or say the line, but also really cool to see other classes dialogue and personality.
Totally fun for the first time, ok the second.. and third I'm just picking responses as quick as I can and getting annoyed that others are taking so long. Not sure how this will play out in the long run to be honest. You can't blame people for thinking about their choices the first time around.. but once you've done it a couple times.. you just want to grind through it.
-Voice acting is top AAA quality, except for maybe a few little things here and there like awkward pauses for some alien speech.
I agree, although I do fear this bar they've set is going to hurt in the frequent release of content patches.
-Questing is much, much, much improved over Rift/WoW even though the inner min/maxer in me always finishes the bonus quests that pop up as you kill stuff on the way to objectives, you usually finish them as you go about your business anyway.
There are 2 parts here, quests that involve your personal story are cool and I really enjoyed them. The other 80% are just like WoW/Rift in that it's go here, kill X bad guys, loot X items, etc. The fact that they are voice acted doesn't hide the fact they are the same old same old.
-Story is great, won't give any spoilers but you definitely "feel" like you are that class. They went through a LOT of effort to make you feel like you are really playing that character and it really fits the archetype.
I agree.. as much as I'm on the fence on this game, if anything the personal story to level cap will probably be enough to have me sub a month or two.
Bioware got a grand-slam with this without a doubt.
You mean EA
So there you go, 1 through about 17 on a SI along with 1-5/6 with Trooper, JK, BH.
Regardless if I agreed with everything you said or not, nice post.
I am so excited about all the good impressions and this confirm the feeling I had when beta testers were saying "There is so much I want to tell but can't because of the NDA" I knew something big was going on....
-More polished then Rift, 100% stable beta (after first hour of zomg everyone is trying to log in at once) I had no lag, no disconnects, no crashes.
-Graphics look and feel great - not like BF3 amazing or Skyrim OMG crazy look and feel, but VERY Star Wars, very Bioware, VERY KOTOR especially. Animations are great, add SO much to see the game moving and playing.
-Environments are very intelligently design, extremely smooth game play - very much like WoW in that it just "feels" like the EXACT right pacing and flow. The planets are huge.. huge... lots and lots of running. Helped at level 14 I think you get an out of combat sprint, but there is a lot of walking around. Thankfully the visuals are great and music/sound is amazing (it's Star Wars!) so you barely even notice the travel times.
Plenty of fast travel options once you've already been to an area.
-Combat is fun and exciting right from the start, especially when you get a companion. You are fighting 3-4 mobs at a time ALL the time, have to use CC and use your companion to hold mobs and there are stronger/tougher mobs all over and leading groups and you've got to use all of your abilities.
If you don't, you will die and die often once you get off the starter worlds.
-PvP only did Huttball a few times but it is really fun and just like a 1-flag CTF so it's this constant back and forth battle.
-Crafting I love love love I feel like a foreman or manager rather then the line worker pulling the lever. I can only imagine how it is going to be with 5 companions to manage and send on missions and craft stuff for you. Being able to break apart items to learn new recipes and get a chance to turn Greens into Blue recipes and Blues into Purple recipes is just awesome.
Mod'ing can keep an item up to par with other looted/quest reward items easily especially if you can craft the mods instead of having to find/buy them.
-Space combat is very much just a mini game, which is kind of sad panda but it is fun and nice distraction and change of pace mechanic.
-Ships are awesome, travel wherever you want store stuff talk with companions, very Bioware very Mass Effect very KOTOR but yeah you can also upgrade ship for space combat missions and watch out the window as you lightspeed/jump to different planets and such.
-Flashpoints are fun, decently challenging have to have some coordination and some solid heal/tank but at least for low level it's not too hard kind of like Rift was at launch/in beta but not as piss easy as WOW dungeons now when leveling.
-Group conversations are AWESOME.
Extra cool special feeling to win a roll and have your character make the choice or say the line, but also really cool to see other classes dialogue and personality.
-Voice acting is top AAA quality, except for maybe a few little things here and there like awkward pauses for some alien speech.
-Questing is much, much, much improved over Rift/WoW even though the inner min/maxer in me always finishes the bonus quests that pop up as you kill stuff on the way to objectives, you usually finish them as you go about your business anyway.
-Story is great, won't give any spoilers but you definitely "feel" like you are that class. They went through a LOT of effort to make you feel like you are really playing that character and it really fits the archetype.
Bioware got a grand-slam with this without a doubt.
So there you go, 1 through about 17 on a SI along with 1-5/6 with Trooper, JK, BH.
I dont always agree with everything you say but your spot on here Spock .
How do you feel about alt replayability? And I mean, minus the obvious difference in combat and class quests, the fact that you have to do the exact same quests/zones for every class per faction. For me it's the biggest issue with the game. The same issue Rift faces. lack of diversity in leveling paths. But I am curious to how you feel about it? maybe I can see how you are accepting of it and apply it to myself so that I can enjoy it just as well, because, for me, the best MMORPGs were the ones where I played 4 different classes/races and had a completely different leveling experience each and every time.
Otherwise, personally, I think the best part during beta for me, was doing things in a group. Groups make cutscenes more fun and Flashpoints are a blast. This is ironic coming from a mainly solo player myself.
I don't know about the replayability.
I do worry that playing the same planet a second time around will be kind of "meh" because of all the open world and shared quests, but as a different class the stories are SO different, even though I found the class stories to be less and less of the total time played as I leveled up, when I did do them they were just so well done it added a completely new dimension to MMO gaming and storyline.
It's almost like yes, I am doing this same open-world quest as I did before on this other toon, but I'm doing it for different reasons now... and you make different choices and even the way NPC's respond to you in dialogue and the options you have for the conversations are different, it feels totally different even though it is the same.
One thing I found interesting was that you see the same areas through a different lens depending on the class you play. Without giving anything away, on DK for example, there's a big questing area that every class gets sent to for different reasons, and while you have a lot of the same (Hey, while you're here....) sidequests, the class story stuff gives a different perspective, which makes it a LOT easier to run the same area over and over again. Yes, there's repetition, but after a while I found I had such a focus on "What's going to happen next in MY story?!" that I wasn't overly concerned with anything else much on the planet. My real curiosity (and I haven't played around with this) is how much of a difference you'll feel playing the same class through the same content, but with different choices.
How do you feel about alt replayability? And I mean, minus the obvious difference in combat and class quests, the fact that you have to do the exact same quests/zones for every class per faction. For me it's the biggest issue with the game. The same issue Rift faces. lack of diversity in leveling paths. But I am curious to how you feel about it? maybe I can see how you are accepting of it and apply it to myself so that I can enjoy it just as well, because, for me, the best MMORPGs were the ones where I played 4 different classes/races and had a completely different leveling experience each and every time.
Otherwise, personally, I think the best part during beta for me, was doing things in a group. Groups make cutscenes more fun and Flashpoints are a blast. This is ironic coming from a mainly solo player myself.
Wait ....
This was your main reason you don't like the game? I don't mean to be antagonistic but you stated many times you wished the NDA was dropped so you could outline your complaints with the game. Am I to assume the alt replayability is your main issue with the game?
I am sorry in advance .... but ; the game is a themepark. I have played VERY few themeparks which offered completely different paths based on race and/or class. I seem to remember you stating you liked themeparks, but I'm not sure how you missed that aspect of almost every themepark made.
Then again .. i might be confusing a few points with you and other posters.
How do you feel about alt replayability? And I mean, minus the obvious difference in combat and class quests, the fact that you have to do the exact same quests/zones for every class per faction. For me it's the biggest issue with the game. The same issue Rift faces. lack of diversity in leveling paths. But I am curious to how you feel about it? maybe I can see how you are accepting of it and apply it to myself so that I can enjoy it just as well, because, for me, the best MMORPGs were the ones where I played 4 different classes/races and had a completely different leveling experience each and every time.
Otherwise, personally, I think the best part during beta for me, was doing things in a group. Groups make cutscenes more fun and Flashpoints are a blast. This is ironic coming from a mainly solo player myself.
Wait ....
This was your main reason you don't like the game? I don't mean to be antagonistic but you stated many times you wished the NDA was dropped so you could outline your complaints with the game. Am I to assume the alt replayability is your main issue with the game?
I am sorry in advance .... but ; the game is a themepark. I have played VERY few themeparks which offered completely different paths based on race and/or class. I seem to remember you stating you liked themeparks, but I'm not sure how you missed that aspect of almost every themepark made.
Then again .. i might be confusing a few points with you and other posters.
I have played WoW and had a different leveling experience across at least 5 different races. In Lotro I had 4 different leveling paths. EQ2, I had about 5+ different leveling experiences. Same with Vanguard and SWG. FFXI had different paths, but most people took the most traveled route due to party mechanics but at least the option was there. So, those are all themeparks that I've played and gave me vastly different leveling paths. I also never felt hemmed in while in each zone the way I do in the first 25 levels of SWTOR. Hemmed in by invisible walls, and funneling aspects to zone paths and questing.
I also stated twice, about a month ago that I wish I could say more but couldn't due to the NDA. A month has passed an my interest is waning and I just don't care as much now, mostly because after playing Skryim, SWTOR has dwindled to a small blip on my timeline. I already know this type of game won't be a major milestone on my MMORPG resume just another small one much like Rift. While not a horrible game, most assuredly not the next great best ultra MMORPG of all time, which is the way it's been touted for the last 3 years.
But then, that's just me. I'm also not afraid to change my mind or look at things from a different perspective in order to enjoy something I normally wouldn't. As is the case with SWTOR. I have quite a few friends who are going to play it and they are the ONLY reason I plan to buy the game at all(although I took it off preorder, but told the wife she could pick it up as a Christmas present since I collect and play all mmorpgs anyway and I'm not opposed to playing a game 2 years down the road to see how it's improved. It worked with LOTRO, that game was horrible up till Moria launched, then it became a good game to me.
-Graphics look and feel great - not like BF3 amazing or Skyrim OMG crazy look and feel, but VERY Star Wars, very Bioware, VERY KOTOR especially. Animations are great, add SO much to see the game moving and playing.
This is where i stopped reading its obvious that you never watched or played any SW game or movie coz artstyle and gfx in this game are more like WoW than KOTOR, actually KOTOR is visually completely different than TOR.
Seems to me you are just too big ''fan'' of this game.
I've read every book from A New Hope to something like +20 years after ROTJ and have seen all 6 movies hundreds of times and have played EVERY star wars game ever made - pretty much, I think I missed a few on Super Nintendo as I never owned one of those.
So you belive that KOTOR and TOR have same artstyle? Coz if u compare ss you can see they are very different. Kotor used realistic artstyle while TOR is using cartoony WoW style, dont know how you cant see difference.....
I think you might be looking back at KOTOR in rose tinted glasses. Let me refresh your memory:
The character models and faces look almost identical, albiet slightly upgraded for modern technology.The Old Republic series has always bordered on slightly cartoonish character models, this didnt stop either of the previous games being great.
Nice try, but that shot was from E3 in 2010 dude. That's almost 2yr.s old. If you can;t see the difference by now, then there's no hope for you. I have already posted some comparison shots on this, in this thread.
First day from last beta weekend, like he said that is a very old photo.
In War - Victory. In Peace - Vigilance. In Death - Sacrifice.
How do you feel about alt replayability? And I mean, minus the obvious difference in combat and class quests, the fact that you have to do the exact same quests/zones for every class per faction. For me it's the biggest issue with the game. The same issue Rift faces. lack of diversity in leveling paths. But I am curious to how you feel about it? maybe I can see how you are accepting of it and apply it to myself so that I can enjoy it just as well, because, for me, the best MMORPGs were the ones where I played 4 different classes/races and had a completely different leveling experience each and every time.
Otherwise, personally, I think the best part during beta for me, was doing things in a group. Groups make cutscenes more fun and Flashpoints are a blast. This is ironic coming from a mainly solo player myself.
Wait ....
This was your main reason you don't like the game? I don't mean to be antagonistic but you stated many times you wished the NDA was dropped so you could outline your complaints with the game. Am I to assume the alt replayability is your main issue with the game?
I am sorry in advance .... but ; the game is a themepark. I have played VERY few themeparks which offered completely different paths based on race and/or class. I seem to remember you stating you liked themeparks, but I'm not sure how you missed that aspect of almost every themepark made.
Then again .. i might be confusing a few points with you and other posters.
I have played WoW and had a different leveling experience across at least 5 different races. In Lotro I had 4 different leveling paths. EQ2, I had about 5+ different leveling experiences. Same with Vanguard and SWG. FFXI had different paths, but most people took the most traveled route due to party mechanics but at least the option was there. So, those are all themeparks that I've played and gave me vastly different leveling paths. I also never felt hemmed in while in each zone the way I do in the first 25 levels of SWTOR. Hemmed in by invisible walls, and funneling aspects to zone paths and questing.
I also stated twice, about a month ago that I wish I could say more but couldn't due to the NDA. A month has passed an my interest is waning and I just don't care as much now, mostly because after playing Skryim, SWTOR has dwindled to a small blip on my timeline. I already know this type of game won't be a major milestone on my MMORPG resume just another small one much like Rift. While not a horrible game, most assuredly not the next great best ultra MMORPG of all time, which is the way it's been touted for the last 3 years.
But then, that's just me. I'm also not afraid to change my mind or look at things from a different perspective in order to enjoy something I normally wouldn't. As is the case with SWTOR. I have quite a few friends who are going to play it and they are the ONLY reason I plan to buy the game at all(although I took it off preorder, but told the wife she could pick it up as a Christmas present since I collect and play all mmorpgs anyway and I'm not opposed to playing a game 2 years down the road to see how it's improved. It worked with LOTRO, that game was horrible up till Moria launched, then it became a good game to me.
Keep in mind i'm smiling while I reply, context is everything and I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you.
In each of those themeparks you played, the leveling path was the same regardless of race or class. You had certain zones for your level bracket, granted WoW and Eq2 both offered alternate faction zones for the first few levels. You certainly didn't have five leveling experiences when Eq2 launched, you now have many different zones you can level in though. If you played all those games awhile after launch then you absolutely had different paths. At launch I think the exceptions would be WoW and Eq2. The only bit I will contend here is ... you still play threw most of those zones on every character, so in essence they weren't new paths, but different ways of following them.
I think I understand what your issue is though, the quest hub hopping? The being completely hemmed in, as you put it, from one area to the next which a pretty set path. Which is actually different than the previously listed themeparks, and the same. Different because you never felt the hemming and at times had other options, the same because while it wasn't forced down your throat ... the path was the same. I get why you don't like the game now I think , its actually one of the reason I felt Rift wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been ... and why I detested Warhammers PvE. I'm hoping its not as bad as Rift ; and if it is that the later levels (30+) open up.
--- Also : Aren't the starter planets unique for each race, as in two Ac's per planet per faction? I would equivocate that to the Alternate starter areas in Eq2's launch. Does the hemming come after leaving the starter planets? Are alternate factions questing side by side ? I've been lead to believe the Empire and Rebels have their own planetary quest hubs, seperate from the other faction. Which is basically exactly what WoW had. Its the hemming in which is the issue in this case , and not the lack of diverse leveling paths.
How do you feel about alt replayability? And I mean, minus the obvious difference in combat and class quests, the fact that you have to do the exact same quests/zones for every class per faction. For me it's the biggest issue with the game. The same issue Rift faces. lack of diversity in leveling paths. But I am curious to how you feel about it? maybe I can see how you are accepting of it and apply it to myself so that I can enjoy it just as well, because, for me, the best MMORPGs were the ones where I played 4 different classes/races and had a completely different leveling experience each and every time.
Otherwise, personally, I think the best part during beta for me, was doing things in a group. Groups make cutscenes more fun and Flashpoints are a blast. This is ironic coming from a mainly solo player myself.
Wait ....
This was your main reason you don't like the game? I don't mean to be antagonistic but you stated many times you wished the NDA was dropped so you could outline your complaints with the game. Am I to assume the alt replayability is your main issue with the game?
I am sorry in advance .... but ; the game is a themepark. I have played VERY few themeparks which offered completely different paths based on race and/or class. I seem to remember you stating you liked themeparks, but I'm not sure how you missed that aspect of almost every themepark made.
Then again .. i might be confusing a few points with you and other posters.
I have played WoW and had a different leveling experience across at least 5 different races. In Lotro I had 4 different leveling paths. EQ2, I had about 5+ different leveling experiences. Same with Vanguard and SWG. FFXI had different paths, but most people took the most traveled route due to party mechanics but at least the option was there. So, those are all themeparks that I've played and gave me vastly different leveling paths. I also never felt hemmed in while in each zone the way I do in the first 25 levels of SWTOR. Hemmed in by invisible walls, and funneling aspects to zone paths and questing.
I also stated twice, about a month ago that I wish I could say more but couldn't due to the NDA. A month has passed an my interest is waning and I just don't care as much now, mostly because after playing Skryim, SWTOR has dwindled to a small blip on my timeline. I already know this type of game won't be a major milestone on my MMORPG resume just another small one much like Rift. While not a horrible game, most assuredly not the next great best ultra MMORPG of all time, which is the way it's been touted for the last 3 years.
But then, that's just me. I'm also not afraid to change my mind or look at things from a different perspective in order to enjoy something I normally wouldn't. As is the case with SWTOR. I have quite a few friends who are going to play it and they are the ONLY reason I plan to buy the game at all(although I took it off preorder, but told the wife she could pick it up as a Christmas present since I collect and play all mmorpgs anyway and I'm not opposed to playing a game 2 years down the road to see how it's improved. It worked with LOTRO, that game was horrible up till Moria launched, then it became a good game to me.
Keep in mind i'm smiling while I reply, context is everything and I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you.
In each of those themeparks you played, the leveling path was the same regardless of race or class. You had certain zones for your level bracket, granted WoW and Eq2 both offered alternate faction zones for the first few levels. You certainly didn't have five leveling experiences when Eq2 launched, you now have many different zones you can level in though. If you played all those games awhile after launch then you absolutely had different paths. At launch I think the exceptions would be WoW and Eq2. The only bit I will contend here is ... you still play threw most of those zones on every character, so in essence they weren't new paths, but different ways of following them.
I think I understand what your issue is though, the quest hub hopping? The being completely hemmed in, as you put it, from one area to the next which a pretty set path. Which is actually different than the previously listed themeparks, and the same. Different because you never felt the hemming and at times had other options, the same because while it wasn't forced down your throat ... the path was the same. I get why you don't like the game now I think , its actually one of the reason I felt Rift wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been ... and why I detested Warhammers PvE. I'm hoping its not as bad as Rift ; and if it is that the later levels (30+) open up.
--- Also : Aren't the starter planets unique for each race, as in two Ac's per planet per faction? I would equivocate that to the Alternate starter areas in Eq2's launch. Does the hemming come after leaving the starter planets? Are alternate factions questing side by side ? I've been lead to believe the Empire and Rebels have their own planetary quest hubs, seperate from the other faction. Which is basically exactly what WoW had. Its the hemming in which is the issue in this case , and not the lack of diverse leveling paths.
yeah, I guess how you described the hub hopping is part of it. For me, I would rather, in this game, just run heroics, flashpoints and class quests and not have ANY side quests, the ones handed out by npcs. I just find their dialogue tedious to go through. Love class quest dialogue, so don't think I'm anti story, hehe. I do like the bonus quests you get, they just make sense since you are killing stuff to get to point A anyway, might as well make it worthwhile. I just felt it threw the pacing of leveling way off to have to focus on sidequests. It seemed to me to detract from my character's story.
The starter planets are unique for 2 classes per planet, I didn't mind that too much, but once you hit the level 10-20 planet, either coruscant(republic) or dromund kaas(empire/sith) you are funneled into the same zone. This is where my eyes glazed over in boredom, except for the class quests and Flashpoints. I literally felt like I was stuck in a Guild Wars zone the way the questing is set up. You HAVE to fight the mobs on the way to your quest destination and due to the very limited walking space it made this quite a chore.
Anyway...I stopped playing the game at about level 23, maybe it gets 10 times better after that? I don't know. I do know, that I rolled a character on the high level server to see what the mid 40s looks like and well...it was still the same and I lasted about a day on that character. The game just needs more...depth? Scope? Not sure what term I'm looking for, but it has the foundations it just needs to really go deep and expand into the mechanics and start giving us NEW mechanics to make the game stand apart.
To wrap this up, I will say, this is the main reason I love MMORPGs. Because they can, given enough time, actually implement new mechanics and deeper gameplay. Rift is doing it, EQ2 has done it, WoW has almost done it lol but they got to big for their breeches and now are just making more of the same to keep the pop massive. Who knows, mabye this Legacy system is the start of SWTOR doing new things.
Comments
Great first impression write up Spock.
I'm not sure I could have summed it up better myself, you hit on every single thing I really enjoy about the game. Three friends that I played vanilla wow with, as well as myself, were invited for the previous weekend test and by the end of the weekend each of us were exceptionally impressed.
We all grouped right from the get go, the multiplayer conversations add an amazing element to questing, and the conversation choices are so well done that it is sickening. You can have some really funny things happen, and then a moment or two later feel utterly betrayed.
There is a quest on Hutta where you have an option to threaten a child in order to gain information needed to help you achieve your goal. Normally i'm not the type of person to pick the evil option, but some of the dark side options are so well done that you just have to choose them and see what happens.
The smaller group size makes getting together for content a snap, and the Esseles flashpoint was the highest quality instanced dungeon content I have seen in years.
Launch can't come soon enough.
watch out the window as you lightspeed/jump to different planets and such.
That is really cool! I didn't know they would have it. So you can sit in your ship in space? Like housing? Can you invite other people onto your ship or fly your ship planet-side? What does it look like when your board your ship?
Play as your fav retro characters: cnd-online.net. My site: www.lysle.net. Blog: creatingaworld.blogspot.com.
SW:TOR isn't more fun then other MMO's.
I reached Realm First 50 on US Server (5 Days at playtime of 14 Hours a day)
Skipped all Voices (Pressing Still 1 is fine. (Because its the Good choose :P )
So I got invited to Internal Test. (Maybe 400 pep. are here now)
And what shall I say? Endcontent? Nah, I don't allowed to tell mutch. Maybe nothing :P
But a few thinks:
The "Flashpoints" are so mutch hard. If you see Tera V. The First "Miniboss" raped to Hell (on last build)
So I hoped Yea! Raids would not beatable to every guy. And then there was the big "ohhhh" moment, on Internal Builds they nerfed all the Instances the Hardcoreness etc. so I can tell you its like some other MMO's now. Go to the Boss, rape the Boss and loot him.
SW:TOR is "okey" but its nothing special. If you are a lore Player you should realy realy realy join SW:TOR, if you are a StarWars Fan you should join SW:TOR too but if you are a "Raider" and just want to play like every other MMO. You should not join SW:TOR just stay at your actual MMO. Because if you do "Flashpoints" they are fun but the Loreplayers still block you in Time so you stay most time more then 1 or 2 hrs in the Instance because the "Lore" Guys want to hear what the NPC have to say =/
PS: I am not a player of any hype so I just watched SW:TOR with some critical eye.
PS²: Sorry if I ruined some perfect World about SW:TOR. Its just my opinion so you are free to see the game with other eyes.
Because I hate hypes. "Oh yeah new MMO OUT! and few days after... hmpf its shit /quit" ....
One kind of final note to leave ya'll on here-
I am usually one of the first to say that story in MMOs is crap because EVERYONE is the "hero" and EVERYONE is the exact same special unique snowflake, just like everyone else.
Even though I saw other SI running around with the same companion, and even though I knew they had done the same story quests I had done...
I STILL felt like, in this game, that my story and my struggles and choices were unique and mine and only mine.
Even though I was the chosen one and this special hero, just like every other SI was the choosen one etc.
In this game, some how, for some reason, I still felt that connection to my character on their story that you get in a really good single player game.
I don't know how they managed to marry that feeling and that level of story and characters to what is very obviously and fully a MMO game, but some how they have.
High praises indeed.
But justified.
I can tell by your writing style and these comments that this game was NEVER meant for you.
Was this recently that you played and if so which server did you play on?
As I said before, anyone who skips all the VO and rushes to "server first max level" is playing the wrong game - save yourself the time, money, and effort and please, for the love of God, don't share your opinion with us because we certainly do not care to read it.
you allready read it so far
Yeah that is what I told in the post. If you play the Game and you are not a "Lore" Fan you should not play the Game.
Just stuck at the "old" MMO. But I rushed to RealmFirst because I hoped to see any Content, and I saw him. Every MMO turned to an "Raid" MMO. Because Lore Player do not spent the money that is needed to run such "big" Game.
See at LOTRO it switched mostly to an "Raid" MMO. Before it was an realy realy cool Lore Game (I loved it, to play with my Instrument in a Pub) but now its just raiding
I stoped playing SW:TOR for now, and just grab the Money that I cold get for.
First and foremost, this is a "story" driven game. For everyone who bypasses the story content, well, quite frankly, you lose.
For those that say "Why should I continue to subscribe to a game that will basically be over once I complete ALL 8 stories (which in itself is somewhere around 1600 hours of gameplay if we use 200 hours as an amount of time to reach each level cap)?" I would say don't. Cancel your sub and move onto something else once done.
However, how can their not be "sequels?" More chapters? Let's pretend you reach the end of your storyline; a storyline YOU helped create with a character that most likely you have enjoyed - suddenly, after saving or destroying the galaxy in "Vanilla SWTOR" a new threat or conquest opportunity is released and a whole NEW story with NEW planets or NEW areas is released!
Wouldn't you want to re-sub to see what happens next? I know I would. The sky's the limit for what the future COULD hold for this game.
Just a thought.
That poster who claims to have reached level 50 in 5 days is full of it and obviously probably only got to level 10 at most and rage quit when others weren't skipping the VO. As someone who got to level 50, i can tell you i took me about 12-13 days averaging around 15 hours a day sometimes more. I skipped most of the VO from levels 1-46 because it was my second play through on a Jedi Sentinel, but watched them from 46-50 to see the rest of the story that i missed out on in the previous build. So it's just best that we ignore this guy who is an obvious troll with his epic 1 post count.
My take on the game, simple, it's an awesome and fun game, better then expected and i do have a regular copy on preorder. My negatives about my beta experience as i am in my 3rd beta build, from the first build to this latest one, it seems they have taken 1 step forward and 2 steps back. But i have no doubt in my mind that in the end Bioware will work out the bugs.
Very good first impression
As for the person who got to 50 in 5 days.. even in the best case scenario - a guildy of mine that had a lot of help and played for 16 hours a day, he didn't even get to 50 in a week, it took him 2 weeks skipping all dialog. He was also a Jedi Sentinel.
Yup, sounds about right and just to throw it out there, Jedi Sentinels are very, VERY squishy. Even with Doc healing it's tough, mainly because he likes to shoot first instead of tossing you a heal at the most critical of times lol.
UI 7.
Gameplay 7.
Customization 3.
graphics 7.
pvp 3.
sound 10.
voice acting 10.
exploration 3.
combat 5.
skill tree 3.
ship combat 3.
crafting 5.
client 1.
end game 1.
have fun
Game is a win nuff said, a lot of the misinformation that people where throwing around on these boards have pretty much been debunked. During my time in testing not once did I feel like I was on rails, on DK I was finding all kinds of little caves a crevices. Places that my quests did not even take me too, heck I stopped doing my main quest and started playing merc. Taking on side quests and what not, I found it to be a very enjoyable experience and I loved the combat. This is the first game were actually wanted to fight things, and I did not go out my way to avoid the mobs. Because combat was just that fun to me.
Regardless if I agreed with everything you said or not, nice post.
I am so excited about all the good impressions and this confirm the feeling I had when beta testers were saying "There is so much I want to tell but can't because of the NDA" I knew something big was going on....
Can't wait to test the open beta next week end.
Thanks for the write up.
I agree 100% BadSpock. Well said!
I dont always agree with everything you say but your spot on here Spock .
One thing I found interesting was that you see the same areas through a different lens depending on the class you play. Without giving anything away, on DK for example, there's a big questing area that every class gets sent to for different reasons, and while you have a lot of the same (Hey, while you're here....) sidequests, the class story stuff gives a different perspective, which makes it a LOT easier to run the same area over and over again. Yes, there's repetition, but after a while I found I had such a focus on "What's going to happen next in MY story?!" that I wasn't overly concerned with anything else much on the planet. My real curiosity (and I haven't played around with this) is how much of a difference you'll feel playing the same class through the same content, but with different choices.
Wait ....
This was your main reason you don't like the game? I don't mean to be antagonistic but you stated many times you wished the NDA was dropped so you could outline your complaints with the game. Am I to assume the alt replayability is your main issue with the game?
I am sorry in advance .... but ; the game is a themepark. I have played VERY few themeparks which offered completely different paths based on race and/or class. I seem to remember you stating you liked themeparks, but I'm not sure how you missed that aspect of almost every themepark made.
Then again .. i might be confusing a few points with you and other posters.
I have played WoW and had a different leveling experience across at least 5 different races. In Lotro I had 4 different leveling paths. EQ2, I had about 5+ different leveling experiences. Same with Vanguard and SWG. FFXI had different paths, but most people took the most traveled route due to party mechanics but at least the option was there. So, those are all themeparks that I've played and gave me vastly different leveling paths. I also never felt hemmed in while in each zone the way I do in the first 25 levels of SWTOR. Hemmed in by invisible walls, and funneling aspects to zone paths and questing.
I also stated twice, about a month ago that I wish I could say more but couldn't due to the NDA. A month has passed an my interest is waning and I just don't care as much now, mostly because after playing Skryim, SWTOR has dwindled to a small blip on my timeline. I already know this type of game won't be a major milestone on my MMORPG resume just another small one much like Rift. While not a horrible game, most assuredly not the next great best ultra MMORPG of all time, which is the way it's been touted for the last 3 years.
But then, that's just me. I'm also not afraid to change my mind or look at things from a different perspective in order to enjoy something I normally wouldn't. As is the case with SWTOR. I have quite a few friends who are going to play it and they are the ONLY reason I plan to buy the game at all(although I took it off preorder, but told the wife she could pick it up as a Christmas present since I collect and play all mmorpgs anyway and I'm not opposed to playing a game 2 years down the road to see how it's improved. It worked with LOTRO, that game was horrible up till Moria launched, then it became a good game to me.
I think you might be looking back at KOTOR in rose tinted glasses. Let me refresh your memory:
The character models and faces look almost identical, albiet slightly upgraded for modern technology.The Old Republic series has always bordered on slightly cartoonish character models, this didnt stop either of the previous games being great.
First day from last beta weekend, like he said that is a very old photo.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
Keep in mind i'm smiling while I reply, context is everything and I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you.
In each of those themeparks you played, the leveling path was the same regardless of race or class. You had certain zones for your level bracket, granted WoW and Eq2 both offered alternate faction zones for the first few levels. You certainly didn't have five leveling experiences when Eq2 launched, you now have many different zones you can level in though. If you played all those games awhile after launch then you absolutely had different paths. At launch I think the exceptions would be WoW and Eq2. The only bit I will contend here is ... you still play threw most of those zones on every character, so in essence they weren't new paths, but different ways of following them.
I think I understand what your issue is though, the quest hub hopping? The being completely hemmed in, as you put it, from one area to the next which a pretty set path. Which is actually different than the previously listed themeparks, and the same. Different because you never felt the hemming and at times had other options, the same because while it wasn't forced down your throat ... the path was the same. I get why you don't like the game now I think , its actually one of the reason I felt Rift wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been ... and why I detested Warhammers PvE. I'm hoping its not as bad as Rift ; and if it is that the later levels (30+) open up.
--- Also : Aren't the starter planets unique for each race, as in two Ac's per planet per faction? I would equivocate that to the Alternate starter areas in Eq2's launch. Does the hemming come after leaving the starter planets? Are alternate factions questing side by side ? I've been lead to believe the Empire and Rebels have their own planetary quest hubs, seperate from the other faction. Which is basically exactly what WoW had. Its the hemming in which is the issue in this case , and not the lack of diverse leveling paths.
yeah, I guess how you described the hub hopping is part of it. For me, I would rather, in this game, just run heroics, flashpoints and class quests and not have ANY side quests, the ones handed out by npcs. I just find their dialogue tedious to go through. Love class quest dialogue, so don't think I'm anti story, hehe. I do like the bonus quests you get, they just make sense since you are killing stuff to get to point A anyway, might as well make it worthwhile. I just felt it threw the pacing of leveling way off to have to focus on sidequests. It seemed to me to detract from my character's story.
The starter planets are unique for 2 classes per planet, I didn't mind that too much, but once you hit the level 10-20 planet, either coruscant(republic) or dromund kaas(empire/sith) you are funneled into the same zone. This is where my eyes glazed over in boredom, except for the class quests and Flashpoints. I literally felt like I was stuck in a Guild Wars zone the way the questing is set up. You HAVE to fight the mobs on the way to your quest destination and due to the very limited walking space it made this quite a chore.
Anyway...I stopped playing the game at about level 23, maybe it gets 10 times better after that? I don't know. I do know, that I rolled a character on the high level server to see what the mid 40s looks like and well...it was still the same and I lasted about a day on that character. The game just needs more...depth? Scope? Not sure what term I'm looking for, but it has the foundations it just needs to really go deep and expand into the mechanics and start giving us NEW mechanics to make the game stand apart.
To wrap this up, I will say, this is the main reason I love MMORPGs. Because they can, given enough time, actually implement new mechanics and deeper gameplay. Rift is doing it, EQ2 has done it, WoW has almost done it lol but they got to big for their breeches and now are just making more of the same to keep the pop massive. Who knows, mabye this Legacy system is the start of SWTOR doing new things.