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Beta End: are you surprised by the feedback?
Elikal
Member UncommonPosts: 7,912
Sooo, beta weekend over. I can say, netto I had more fun than grief, even tho I agree that my really only BIG issue is the sterile world feeling. Phew, it feels so... bland. Maybe I am biased because I miss the movie-timeline era. So many places I know and love from the movies (and from SWG) are not there. And also, the size of the places makes a bit an empty feeling.
But: I am surprised a LOT there is so much negative feedback. I am kinda used to be one of the few who warns and critizises, so I didn't expect the critique so strong and from so many. I wonder really how that bodes for the future of SWTOR. I mean, I was sure at least at start there would be almost everyone praising the game. And critique would possibly begin later on, as with MMOs in the past years.
I can't help but wonder, if it may have been better to delay the game a few months and make this world design better. But then, I had seen that 2 months ago already in beta of a friend, and there is nothing in this term that changed at all. So it seems they do not focus on this. Which, tbh, it REALLY a surprise. I expected a lot of issues, but never this one. Really not. It's sort of a no brainer, like a beginners mistake. And sorry to make conspiracy mongering, but it SO feels like EA. Anyone remember Ultima VIII and IX issues? EA always aimed for some presumed simplistic mainstream games. And alas, the Drage Age 2 issues are also visible. DA2 also had these sterile, bland environments. And I dunno why.
So, what do you, seriously, think? I am a huge SW fan, and despite my critique, I greatly enjoyed the story and questing. But I can't for the love of the maker imagine to make these bland worlds a home for a longer time, like I did with games like EQ2 and SWG. There are a lot of things where I made my peace with. No alien races playable, standard classes, old fashioned combat... it's ok for me. But these dull, dead worlds... I shudder. I had my spaceship and visited most worlds a short time, but none of them felt very alife in a sense. And I think it is part because of the size! Like they tried to bite off more than they could chew, as you say. Just take such a space port. It is 20 times larger than any SWG spaceport! It is almost real sized! But that makes the players streched so far out, it never feels alive, unlike the small SWG spaceports, where I always felt people everywhere! And we discussed the lack of animated small things and sound effects. I really wonder how this game will fare over time. I am very uncertain. Could be a hit. Who knows. Maybe the masses don't care for such things.
So, what do you expect will happen to SWTOR after launch? And are you surprised by the many negative feedbacks?
(desperately seeking Mos Eisley cantina, to renew my wonderful SWG memories ^^)
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Comments
Not really surprised -- no. I said awhile back that for a lot of people, SW:TOR is going to be a self fulfilling prophecy, meaning that those who preached nothing but doom and gloom for months on end would look for anything negative to latch onto as proof that they were right about the game being a horrible mess.
Secondly, a lot of criticism is due to players simply letting their hype meter get a bit too high and expecting too much out of BioWare. I found that what we got with SW:TOR felt very much like a BioWare game molded into the traditional MMORPG formula. I wasn't expecting CoH level character customization or Skyrim level immersion, and I'm not sure why anyone else was either. What we got was a traditional MMORPG that finally puts a heavy emphasis on storytelling which is a real boon for even the most mundane task in PvE, and a game that finally lets us adventure in an online Star Wars universe that so many of us wanted but didn't get from Star Wars Galaxies.
If you base SW:TOR on what it is rather than what you think it should have been, there's little valid reason to give it anything less than an 8/10.
I'm not surprised.
The thing you have to keep in perspective is the majority of people who will undoubtedly buy, play and love this game are generally the type who don't go around perusing the gaming sites and taking gaming site reviews to heart. They also aren't the type to be discussing it on the forums and I'd wager the vast majority won't even view the forums and even a smaller percentage will post or be active.
Look at all the negative reviews WoW got for Cata and the up-comming expansion, still there will be millions who purchase it who, for the most part, will be completely oblivious to the web reviews.
I totally agree with you.
Except for the immersion part, the story allowed me to be immersed intoo the game just as much as i was in Skyrim. NEver been more immersed in a character in any MMO before.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
No haters gonna hate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z5YWn5_JnA&feature=related
That is certainly true; however, I was referring to how Skyrim felt like a living, breathing world. As good as SW:TOR is, it doesn't draw its immersion from the realism of the gameworld.
Premise is flawed.
Poll on the forums-
80%+ Rate the game 8 or higher asking how they feel about the game after the weekend test.
89% rate it 7 or higher
Any MMO with a huge budget will get a lot of both good and bad beta reviews from the community, it is just how things are.
I think in fact there was even more talk during the Rift beta than now.
Just relax, it will calm down a week after release or so.
Surprised by negative feedback on this site? never.
I think that some people will be surprised at how well this game does over the next year though, and I doubt it will be me.
Shadow's Hand Guild
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I tried it, it's more fun than the current games I play, and won't be playing those games or TOR. As for Skyrim, the joke in itself is that, that game can not meet my standards. I now go on into the asian F2P mess, and even look overseas at possibly getting a account for BNS, Terra, or some other game. The fact is, if I am really bored, I'll go play an assortment of games, rethink my mmo values then come back. I liked TOR for what I saw it was, a turd with lightsabers. I was satisfied going into the game with that idealogy. It satisfied me, and I will not be pushing people to unsub or play. They choose, end of debate. I will now be a ranger and travel from mmo to mmo, from game to game, to appease me. I will no longer sit and be a hermit, but I should above all else NOT assume everyone has my taste. What seems fun for me, or adds fun for me isn't for you. Just because it's satisfying to spend $1k on a sword that pwns noobs and grinders, doesn't mean it's your fun. Honestly, I think TOR will do quite well. General MMO audience for TOR is TOR geeks. It's fine, I hope it maxes out and a lot of good stuff comes for it. Atleast they appease the general community, unlike most other games.
I struggle not with life, money, emotions, and world, but against old mindsets and selves to be proven obsolete in a age and time of rapid changes. Go create fun, so you can have fun.
I really don't care about others thoughts.And people forget WoW had just as many negative feedback and as we can see still did quite well.No not saying SW is the WoW killer but I think it will do just fine.
I played the beta this weekend as well. I only had time to roll two characters and I agree, there is some work to be done but the game as a whole is remarkably fun. Having different storyline quests for each class (even the ones that start on the same planet) was nice. The voice acting was very believable and definately helped the immersion factor a ton. The gameplay while not a complete break from the standard auto-attack convention was different enough to notice and enjoyable. I think this game will have a long and healthy life, and not just from the Star Wars fanbois.
I can't wait until this game comes out to see what they freak out about next.
Shadow's Hand Guild
Open recruitment for
The Secret World - Dragons
Planetside 2 - Terran Republic
Tera - Dragonfall Server
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I'm not hugely surprised. The game has had enough positive feedback to suggest it'll have a decent launch (as far as $$$ goes anyway), but at the same time, I've cruised a lot of forums and Youtubes where people are saying how disappointed they are. This should be addressed as the new year approaches, but will it be enough? Who wants to buy a game at full price that's true potential is reached 6 months down the road like most MMOs?
I'm not a Star Wars fan, and I don't buy the illusion of choice that Bioware's games offer, but I hope people enjoy their purchase just the same.
Went into the beta rather dubious, hoping this wouldn't make me feel the way Rift did.
I was shocked to see the hours melt by and I can't really recall any time where I felt like I wasn't having "fun"
I havn't played skyrim while the beta was up, or logged in to WoW or even watched any TV, finally just caugh up on walking dead.
I was a huge KOTOR 1 and 2 fan, was at first sad they went the route of an MMO for the sequel, and now I'm glad they did, my two IRL friends and I can finally play an awesome RPG together!
I was transformed into a Fanboy by this beta.
Only feedback that can affect my opinion, is the feedback given by guildmates and friends who played the beta.
I read the stuff on the internet and only the reviews are bit usefull with the pictures and videos.
I guess my feedback surprised my friends, I pre-ordered it.
Separate starting zones for each class is indeed good, GW2 is doing something similar with races so hopefully is this a trend right now. Surely better than running through Tortage 8 times...
But the game still needs to prove to be fun in the long run, that will be the true challenge for Bioware and not something we can decide from a few weekends of beta testing.
I am sure the short term success will be huge, but as for the long term I will be more careful. Hope you are right though, we could use a hit MMO or 2 about now so the publishing houses gets encouraged to pay up for some new games, MMOs takes 5 years to make.
i suspect many who play this game will fall into the same general category where i reside. i finally got around to applyting for the general forums at SWTOR about a year ago. i consider myself a star wars fan (original trilogy), but i don't attend conventions, wear costumes, or own a replica lightsaber.
i was fortunate enough to get a beta invite back in april, and i've played quite a bit all the way through to the current build. i played wow a lot for about 4 years. i tried SWG a couple of times, but found it lacking. i like mmo's: both themepark and sandbox, as long as the content is good and the gameplay is polished enough that i don't lose immersion every few minutes. it doesn't really matter to me what setting the game uses, as i've played and enjoyed fantasy, sci-fi, historical, and everything in between.
i think overall, the game is about an 8, just like what's been reflected in the polls. inevitably, SWTOR was doomed to garner vitriolic feedback from some who:
a) genuinely don't like the game because it doesn't appeal to their individual taste in an mmo
b) feel threatened by what SWTOR might do to the populations in the game(s) they do enjoy (up to and including their guild or clan, or whatever, disbanding because of it)
c) are very disappointed it wasn't what they wanted or expected
c) resent the publisher EA because of what it represents in gaming (perceived or otherwise)
d) trolling for attention
personally, i've pre-ordered the game, am already a member of a very good imperial pvp guild, and am looking forward to logging many more hours up to launch and for a long while afterward. many of you, i assume, will be there enjoying the gameworld...many will not. but i can assure you that my opinion is really the only one that matters to me, and i suspect it is shared by enough people to make this mmo venture extremely profitable.
When it comes to MMOs, the more people that write negative reviews.... the better the game usually ends up being. I blame it on the hipster phenomenon. On the internet, it's not cool to like anything thats even mildly popular or mainstream.
Meanwhile, in the real world... all my friends and coworkers that played it this last weekend are excited.
I do not see long term fro mthis game at all,it isn't even designed to give long term.The ONLY game that was designed for long term was FFXI because your player didn't end at that cap.
I see players sticking around for superficial reasons,just to get that level cap,get a ship and that's about it.The story is extremely over rated,it is actually the same story for each side with just a few twists for each class.The whoel premise of both is one huge Conspiracy theory,i was looking for Mel Gibson and what's her name to pop out.
You would think the obvious story would be about Sith versus Galactica but nope,conspiracies going on amongst their own.
The main 3 areas that make a game for me ,were not met by this game.They are Combat,player/class structure and crafting.
I seriously can't put it into words at how much i hate that copy cat TREE design,it is incredibly fake and useless.I mean i lol when i was able to put a pt into get this 1% less damage taken.So if i am being hit for the typical 50-150,that would mean YAY ...1-2 less damage.That had me so excited i thought i can't wait another level ,then i can add another pt and cap it out at 2%.
If when i hit level 10,i didn't see that TREE system ,i might have considered sticking around SWTOR just to mess around a bit on each class,but that was the breaker for me.
SWTOR=An average game with a few really bad ideas,a very large game,but really only feels like a questing treadmill or a Flashpoint treeadmill.Not nearly enough main content and almost nothign for "other" content.
I do not see this game as having much staying power,i will be surprised it it can hold strong for even 6 months,there just is not enough depth or content.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
SWTOR is an awesome sequel to KOTOR, a mediocre MMORPG, and a massive slap in the face for SWG fanboys. In other words, not even remotely different from what I expected.
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Nope. I expected that the people who jammed the servers to capacity all weekend would enjoy the game, and the posters of MMORPG.com would bitch that it wasn't something other than what it is.
Honestly, no matter WHAT Bioware did (or any other developer), there's no pleasing these people.
lol
It pretty much settled most of my doubts - Though it has created some new ones:
What I'm no longer worried about:
-The Combat system works better than I expected, and is actually a lot more fun than I anticipated. Then again, I wasn't expecting anything ground breaking (And it isn't), but it works, and works pretty well. At least, from my experience. There wasn't an odd useless ability anywhere (like Rift. God I had so many useless abilities by lvl 15 it seemed), and the classes seemed balanced.
-The story elements were good, and I got interested in how the story would unfold. There were a few hiccups here and there, and the dialog isn't nearly as expansive as it is with something like ME or DAO, but overall, it was engaging.
Things I am worried about:
-Lag and graphical issues. Though these could be fixed after launch, I'm hoping these issues are revolved quickly.
Seems like a trivial thing to worry about, but hey, I've suffered through a bunch of bad launches so that's always something to worry about.
Bad launches create bad first impressions.
Groovy.
Not really suprised by the feedback at this point. I think this game is set up to be a polarizing force in the MMO world right now. I also realize that some people didn't like the game and want to express their displeasure with it. Whatever, their opinions are theirs to keep and it's retarded to try and place a reason to why they hold that opinion. Frankly, I hope Bioware listens to some of the negative feedback that came out of the beta testing because some of it is right on target. Overall though, the game seems like a lot of fun to play and I'm excited for it to finally launch!
I think asking the question, "Are you surprised at all the negative feedback?" doesn't represent the true picture. I would go on record as saying that of the people that tested this game the last couple of beta weekends, the number that loved it FAR, FAR outweighed the number that had a negative view of it. However, the people that have a negative response to a game will always be the loudest in voicing their opinion of it. Call them the Vocal Minority, if you will. You can see the same thing with WoW. It has millions of long-time subscribers, yet by just listening to the haters of the game you'd think it was the worst game ever made. Never underestimate the Vocal Minority's ability to skew the reality of a game's acceptance by the general public.