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Open world. Is it? Well this looks promising.
Maverz290
Member Posts: 447
Hello again MMORPG.com
Just starting a debate that seems to crop up, and I'm saying, now that we've seen the video for the Sith Warrior, where you see him riding a speeder bike, does this push you more to believing the 90% open world claim?
For example, from my view, I believe most of the important actions you take will be during an instance. Yet, the vast majority of the game will not be isolated in instances. They have said they have vast open worlds, and the appearance of a speeder is positive in that respect.
You wouldn't get mounts unless there was considerable ground to cover after all.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Comments
I see no reason not to believe them, there are plenty of techniques out there concerning phasing and seamless instancing to make for a quick hop in an out of conversation, or even to create a world that changes before your eyes.
Other upcoming games are going to be making use of these techniques as well btw.
And I most certainly don't see how BioWare of all people would ever be inspired by Cryptic.
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
The cryptic reference wasn't literally. I mean the same world design. Heavily instanced.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Though i do believe that 90% will be an open world, I don't believe it will be SWG open... like you can travel an entire map, city to city like that.
I have a feeling the zones for each planet will be enormous but zoning in the open world may still be required... I think it mainly relies on the fact that there are planets that don't exactly allow a tremendous amount of travel capabilities such as hoth. I don't see players running out in the wild to the next town, or even trying to take a taun taun.
Perhaps there will be some wide open worlds and others will have instanced maps, I really don't know what to expect. I do, however, believe that with the majority of flashpoints being quick, short instances, it will only be a small portion of the actual gameplay.
I think the world will be extremely small, a question iof pathways through bounded and walled areas to relatively small platforms or zones. Every image, photo and piece of footage that was have seen of the 'world' - outside spaces anyway - seems to show some kind of barrier within fifty yards of the central space. The closest thing to what SWTOR wll be producing, I believe, is SWG's Kashyyyk. While Bioware devs have spoken of their 'open world' as being very large, I believe that they are comparing it not to the open spaces of other MMOs but to the open spaces of other Bioware games, from Kotor to ME, which are very small indeed.
Possibly, until I heard them say you can just walk in a direction, and keep going for a long time. So I imagine their world is open. Thats just me going on what they've said thus far though. E3 may reveal more.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Area size wise, probably 80% will be open world.
Content wise, you'll probably spend more than half of your gametime in instances.
Story wise I agree. However, there is likely to be tasks to do with the war all over the maps. At least I'm expecting so, now they've brought in Mythic under their wing. It was a good part to WH online.
Something cool would be in a battle area, every twenty minutes, a republic squad of soldiers make a charge up a sith entrenched hill. You have to help them as Republic soldiers/jedi etc. Would be fun.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Just to clarify, zones and "open world" and a closed world that is "heavily instanced" are all different.
Zones have nothing to do with open or closed world.
It's just a way to break up the map. If I can follow you into a zone, then the world is open. If you are constanly in your own little instance, and I can't follow you there, and I'm in my own little instance and you can't see me there, then the world is closed.
If it's 90% open, then a good bet is that the Boss mob encounters, quest chain finales, are instanced, and everything else is open.
I walk up to Smuggler Joe to get a quest. You see me talking to Smuggler Joe, and I see you.
He tells me to go to the Bar and talk to Eddie the Mandolorian. I get in a bar fight. You see me in 5the bar fighting Mandolorians, and I see you. You can also get the same quest, and you can fight some Mandolorians too. Or we can join together and fight Mandolorians together.
We go along in the quest chain in the open world, and finally we're supposed to deliver something to the Mandolorian Boss. There is a big Boss Mob fight, and we get some special loot if we win.
This will be instanced, so there is no waiting in line to finish the quest chain, so it can be tailored specifically for the party, and so we can get the loot without waiting in line, so you can't farm the Boss Mob, and then you move on to the next quest chain.
This means I will walk into an instance, and if you are not in my party, you cannot follow me into that instance. You won't be able to see me, and I won't be able to see you, UNLESS you are in my party and go into the instance with me. That is the "closed" part of the world.
I'm hoping for just the main storyline quests being separate instances. Last year's demo showed a force field looking barrier at an instance, but there was no load screen, which was good. I hope there's no "Mos Eisley Cantina #25" instance crap.
Of course I expect we'll have load screens changing planets, which I'm fine with, but I'm hoping overall there's no more instancing than LotRO. I'd literally cry if the game was as instanced as STO.
Well reading from the actually playing experience, the person did not know when he was in an instanced area (like the end boss). So we kinda know there are also instanced areas with no zone transition.
Also, considering how many planets there already are along with the fact that it has been confirmed those planets will have seperate zones, so no doubt there will be some transitions. And some zones will likely to be more open than others.
The above is also confirmed when looking at the engine they are using to build it all.
"The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."
Interesting, good points. Possibly very accurate.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
'Open world' refers to large public area without loadscreens in between.
'Zoned world' refers to set of smaller public areas interconnected with loadscreens.
'Instanced world' refers to a 'private' area for a certain person or a group. It has nothing to do with size so don't compare apples and oranges.
Depends on your definition of things, Worlf of Warcraft has 'zones' but there are no load times in between these, a great many other games do the same.
In each case, TOR will not be a wide open flat plains like SWG was, there will be natural barriers in places. The worlds are supposed to be very large and according to hands-on experiences it is not restricted to some roads running through it (aka AOC / Aion).
Instancing for conversations happens seamlessly.
Feel free to use my referral link for SW:TOR if you want to test out the game. You'll get some special unlocks!
Less than a one second view of the Sith rding a speeder equates to large open worlds? LOL!
Additionslly, that speeder was on a pathway - could he go offroad, I wonder?
That could have just been part of a cutscene for all we know. The OP is just shooting in the dark like the rest of us as to how this game will actually play - why? Because like the writers of Lost - the people at BioWare just pile mystery ontop of mystery and keep is all guessing.
If we do not see any significant stuff at E3 regarding MMO aspects of play - then I'll continue to belive this game is nothing more than a online single player co-op game.
People complain about Star Trek Online not being "open". they are not complaining about load screens.
They are complaining that when you are fighting, most of the time you are in an instance.
that means, i can't see you UNLESS I enter the instance with you as part of your group, whether there is a load screen or not .
You are "closed" off from me.
OPEN world means that where I go, you can follow me, and see me, whether there is a load screen or not.
DAoC for example, was a very open world. When I went into a dungeon, there might be a load screen. However, you would go through that load screen, and there I would be standing right next to you, if you followed me into the dungeon. Very rarely did I disappear into an instance where you could not follow me.
Star Trek Online is considered a CLOSED game, because most of the time, you walk into an instance, and I cannot follow you unless I'm in your group. It is not therefore, an OPEN game.
Load screens can be used to transition from one area of the game to another, OR you can slowly load the new area as a player approaches, and there will be no load screen.
it doesn't make the game open or closed, it just has load screens or it doesn't.
Well what you think and are stating and what Bioware have said on record seem to be contradictory now that is a surprise. With the game engine they are using to develop areas and the ease with which this can be done , and has been demonstrated. There is no reason what Bioware are saying would be not true 90% open world sounds reasonable.
Unlike some posters in this forumn which take everything to a negative extreem with no facts.
If the game is good I do not really care how expansive it is , but in reality this is an MMO (oh and Bioware know this they have stated that is what they are making and I find it hard to believe when they make statements about the vast openness of some of their planets, that it is not with respect to MMOs on the market.)
Theres only one person here taking everything out of context. Which is expected.
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
There is a tin line being drawn between MMOs and other multiplayer games nowadays.
MMO as Massive Multiplayer Online meant that, unlike in other games, every player shared one same environment where they interacted with each other. Instances were introduced for storyline quests and dungeons where if open to all players would be impossible or too complicated to complete. They served as a work around for such specific situations and by no means they defined the true meaning of MMO genre.
So, I can see open seemless world or segregated zoned world fit into a MMO category and instances being only an additional feature.
I can see your point and having games like STO labeled as MMO just add to the confusion. But in reality heavily instanced game with few social hubs does not justify the MMO title and thus a monthly subscription.
in the end it's not important what we lable the games, or their various features. We are either having fun in the game, or we are not.
I like some Lobby games, like Diablo, and first person shooters like Borderlands.
But for an MMORPG, I want an open world. If the devs are not lying, and 90% of the world is "open" as in meaning I can follow you werever you go, and you will see me, and I will see you, then that sounds like a lot of fun.
If however, more than half the game, you're in an instance and I can't see you, and I can't get to that instance unless I go there in your group, that sounds kinda boring.
AoC has mounts and yet FC uses small instanced zones, so having mounts/vehicles means nothing anymore.
Of course its a pathway. I'm not doubting that, but what I'm saying is theres vehicles...means alot of ground to cover. I've yet to play an MMO that has mounts that doesn't have alot of land to cover. That plus what was said about choosing a direction and going in that direction for a long time, I'm putting those together in my assumption, or prediction.
It doesn't equate to a large open world, but it is a key in establishing whether it is or not.
If you actually thought about what I put forward, you would see how I presented the prediction, but judging by your second post in this thread, you've already made your mind up.
Single player or not. A large open world can be in the package. Oblivion anyone?
I'm looking for feedback and counter arguements, like what safety said here.
The one second of the Sith on the speeder, is more evidence to this arguement, than your arguement of what is clearly going to be an MMO, turning out to be a single player co op game.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3
Aaaah, but this is the point, Teala and I are not sure the presence of a speeder does mean there's a large open world - especially since the image shows him on a road or pathway. It may be that, like in all all Kotor and other Bioware games, he cannot leave the pathway, even on his bike (except to travel zones and platforms to which the pathways lead him). This would certainly mean that the spaces are not 'open' and, if they are not 'open', then equally they are not likely to be 'large'.
Quite honestly, I wouldn't expect anything less of an "open-world" environment when it comes down to something dealng with Star Wars. If it's not, then I dunno...I guess we will see. Actually looking forward to it, seeing that it isn't often I'm attracted to the Star Wars universe.
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Again it has been stated you can pick a direction and walk in that direction for ages. That tells you there isn't a path system. I really think people need to give BioWare abit more credit, they've played MMO's too, they know what people want and what would annoy the fans.
Expect an open world, just not to the extent of galaxies.
Longing for Skyrim, The Old Republic and Mass Effect 3