The OP is complaining about character models and animations.
Thinking that anything will change in that department at this stage is delusional.
Learn to like the "artistic" crapy graphics, animations and char models or leave it alone, just dont live in denial, there are zillion of MMO launches we all went through to prove you wrong about what to expect.
How it is now it's how it's going to be at launch (graphics/models/animation wise)
Like i said... wishful thinking.
Yep because looks like GW2 has the same character models as FF MMo. Yep so awesome.
GW2 use own engine and the graphics will be top notch, new generation, BUT... I'm not a fan of the Asian high fantasy looks myself.
I consider it a con for GW2 not a pro.
I'm a fan of AoC realistic char models and animations but sadly that's all that AoC got and gameplay > all.
Funcom's new MMO uses the same engine so they have another chance to make a realistic looking MMO with good game play, we'll see.
What did it for me for GW was the first expansion. Don't think I could trust them nor NCSoft.
Right and I'm seeing alot of people saying that the graphics won't get any better. I tend to see the same people gripe almost everything. SW:ToR isn't targetting those that have about thousands bucks into video cards and a processor they want everyone be able to the play the game and they've have stated this on THEIR forums. The fact some people can't play WoW on an average computer even with the graphics all the way down. I don't know how many times I've done Lord Marrowgar and people can't stack on his butt because spells lock up their PC and they d/c and its wipe. So yeah I rather have it where if someone wants to play that don't have that kind of money to put into a computer then maybe thats where SW;ToR can make their money.
I see, so they are tryng to take away WoW sub base and maybe ehhh f2p titles like RoM, runescape too? meh, it will be a regular mmo with lightsabers. oh and there is no space combat!! they seriusly need to add it.
Right and I'm seeing alot of people saying that the graphics won't get any better. I tend to see the same people gripe almost everything. SW:ToR isn't targetting those that have about thousands bucks into video cards and a processor they want everyone be able to the play the game and they've have stated this on THEIR forums. The fact some people can't play WoW on an average computer even with the graphics all the way down. I don't know how many times I've done Lord Marrowgar and people can't stack on his butt because spells lock up their PC and they d/c and its wipe. So yeah I rather have it where if someone wants to play that don't have that kind of money to put into a computer then maybe thats where SW;ToR can make their money.
I see, so they are tryng to take away WoW sub base and maybe ehhh f2p titles like RoM, runescape too? meh, it will be a regular mmo with lightsabers. oh and there is no space combat!! they seriusly need to add it.
How do you know there isn't Space combat? Any links to prove it? And no I'm not saying their trying to take WoW sub base. Just simply saying that their trying to make it where you don't need a big PC to run the game. I don't see how hard that is to understand.
I've now been on the "tour" of quite a few gaming sites that have apparently all gotten the "EXCLUSIVE" hands on. (seriously, who's dumb enough to think that any one site or media outlet was the only outlet to get a hands on demo at E3?) Anyway, I've read a pretty wide array of opinions, dev interveiws, and writer observations, as well as videos. Here's my opinion using the conclusions that I've been able to draw from them. Keep in mind that these conclusions are all based on reporting from writers for reputable sites who demo'd the game, and anything could change. In theory at least.
THE BAD
First off, the combat control scheme seems a bit clunky, one writer blogged that the auto attack was tied to the 1 key, rather than say, controlled by holding down the mouse button. While it's likely that there will be a keymap option, it seems to me, and the writer as well, to be a bad idea to have to continually hit a key every second while trying to keep track of your specials' cooldowns, as well as your health and action, and try to watch the action all at once. Hopefully this isn't something a player is stuck with. I also did see a few stutters and stiffness in the combat animations, but those could be pollished out, we'll see.
I also noticed that the movement controls from the videos seems to be mouse-over style, ala WoW. It's your preference on this, and I know many people enjoy playing that way. I don't. This is the single biggest reason (of the many) I played WoW for 4 days and couldn't take another second of it. I'm keeping hope alive that there is a way to change this to a fixed target system. Fingers crossed.
Lastly, I have seen the BH armor progression video, and while the armor looked cool, it also realized my fear that all players of the same profession/race/level will be clones of one another. It was stated that PvP will award diverse appearance items, but how that system will work and how robust the selection of items remains to be seen. Again, fingers crossed.
The most negative thing that I've seen, and apparently others have as well, were the interviews in which the game Devs seemed to be unable to give an answer about the game that didn't contain the phrase "like in WoW". This might be the worst news I've heard. I don't mind that there be similarities, or even whole parts barrowed, WoW is the most successful MMO, they must be doing something right. But the sevs said that so often in the interviews one can't help but think, "JC, did they REALLY just re-skin WoW in Star Wars?" Time will tell.
THE GOOD
BW seems to have delivered on the content and feel. While the quests are by no means groundbreaking, they do seem to immerse the player, which is the important goal. I didn't see any writers unhappy with questing, though almost all did mention the usual questing, just with VO. All seemed to be in agreement, however, that questing was an overall positive experience.
The Demo'ers played 6 different classes, though only at low levels, and no one seemed to dislike any of them. All seemed to enjoy the professions that they demo'd, each commenting on the cool specials that they had early on. It seems like there's a good fun factor so far.
Ships. We don't know what all you can do with them, but you have them. If nothing else you do have a form of player housing, which is important to many players. Space content is still a question mark, but seems more likely now that there are ships, which is music to the ears of the space combat fan.
All in all, I haven't deviated from my "wait and see" approach to this game. I'm pretty certain at this point that I won't be buying it until I can play a free trial. For me, there are just too many negatives for me to shell out the money for the game without taking it for a serious test drive to see if it's for me. In the early months of the game's release, we'll see how many others feel the same.
I've now been on the "tour" of quite a few gaming sites that have apparently all gotten the "EXCLUSIVE" hands on. (seriously, who's dumb enough to think that any one site or media outlet was the only outlet to get a hands on demo at E3?) Anyway, I've read a pretty wide array of opinions, dev interveiws, and writer observations, as well as videos. Here's my opinion using the conclusions that I've been able to draw from them. Keep in mind that these conclusions are all based on reporting from writers for reputable sites who demo'd the game, and anything could change. In theory at least.
THE BAD
First off, the combat control scheme seems a bit clunky, one writer blogged that the auto attack was tied to the 1 key, rather than say, controlled by holding down the mouse button. While it's likely that there will be a keymap option, it seems to me, and the writer as well, to be a bad idea to have to continually hit a key every second while trying to keep track of your specials' cooldowns, as well as your health and action, and try to watch the action all at once. Hopefully this isn't something a player is stuck with. I also did see a few stutters and stiffness in the combat animations, but those could be pollished out, we'll see.
I liked the idea of having to think about what you will have to do for combat. Use the RMB for the regular attack(auto-attack in other games). This causes a global 0.5 sec cooldown of all your skills. That way you can't just spam everything as in other games. It will take away the click attack and get a sandwitch while your character uses auto-attack to kill the mob some games have.
I also noticed that the movement controls from the videos seems to be mouse-over style, ala WoW. It's your preference on this, and I know many people enjoy playing that way. I don't. This is the single biggest reason (of the many) I played WoW for 4 days and couldn't take another second of it. I'm keeping hope alive that there is a way to change this to a fixed target system. Fingers crossed.
I would think that keybinds would be in game for the UI. It could be missing or as you said, the tester could be a clicker. Not that big of a deal to me. As far as targeting, I would guess that it would be the usual tab targeting system.
Lastly, I have seen the BH armor progression video, and while the armor looked cool, it also realized my fear that all players of the same profession/race/level will be clones of one another. It was stated that PvP will award diverse appearance items, but how that system will work and how robust the selection of items remains to be seen. Again, fingers crossed.
All a guess again, but random drops, instance drops and crafting would bring in diversity. Along with the ability to possibly change the color or pattern. They did say that the gear will be unique for most players with customization. I would think that customization would be down on the priority list as they move towards beta.
The most negative thing that I've seen, and apparently others have as well, were the interviews in which the game Devs seemed to be unable to give an answer about the game that didn't contain the phrase "like in WoW". This might be the worst news I've heard. I don't mind that there be similarities, or even whole parts barrowed, WoW is the most successful MMO, they must be doing something right. But the sevs said that so often in the interviews one can't help but think, "JC, did they REALLY just re-skin WoW in Star Wars?" Time will tell.
I look at it as a way to let the 11 million subs of WoW know that there will be some familiartiy to WoW in TOR. But at the same time, there will be many twists to make it different and possibly unique to TOR. Trying to get a few million subs that are playing WoW is just smart for a business to do. Let's face it, most if not all MMO players know how WoW works. And if they can bring back the early WoW game before the BC expansion. Then make changes for the better and add in what makes Bioware great. It can be a major advantage as far as getting and keeping subs. Dosen't mean it will be WoW with lightsabes as some have said.
THE GOOD
BW seems to have delivered on the content and feel. While the quests are by no means groundbreaking, they do seem to immerse the player, which is the important goal. I didn't see any writers unhappy with questing, though almost all did mention the usual questing, just with VO. All seemed to be in agreement, however, that questing was an overall positive experience.
The Demo'ers played 6 different classes, though only at low levels, and no one seemed to dislike any of them. All seemed to enjoy the professions that they demo'd, each commenting on the cool specials that they had early on. It seems like there's a good fun factor so far.
Ships. We don't know what all you can do with them, but you have them. If nothing else you do have a form of player housing, which is important to many players. Space content is still a question mark, but seems more likely now that there are ships, which is music to the ears of the space combat fan.
All in all, I haven't deviated from my "wait and see" approach to this game. I'm pretty certain at this point that I won't be buying it until I can play a free trial. For me, there are just too many negatives for me to shell out the money for the game without taking it for a serious test drive to see if it's for me. In the early months of the game's release, we'll see how many others feel the same.
The E3 actually changed the way I thing of this game. I thought it was just another Themepark with stroy as a major feature. But the more I listen to interviews, the more I see a bit of sandbox thrown in. I don't know if they can pull it off. I am not drunk on the coolaid. But I like the direction it is taking. There seems to be a lot more focus on group play than most of us thought. It will be very interesting after the new year.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
"Bioware has stated that The Old Republic has “a sand-boxy feel to it” and man do they have to live up to that hype now that they have put it out there. If they can't make good on that promise and I am stuck playing in an Aion style prison, they will seriously damage their reputation in my eyes."
Screw that, if it's polished anything like typical Bioware games plus it's Star Wars, I'm ALL IN! I am so sick of elves!
I've now been on the "tour" of quite a few gaming sites that have apparently all gotten the "EXCLUSIVE" hands on. (seriously, who's dumb enough to think that any one site or media outlet was the only outlet to get a hands on demo at E3?) Anyway, I've read a pretty wide array of opinions, dev interveiws, and writer observations, as well as videos. Here's my opinion using the conclusions that I've been able to draw from them. Keep in mind that these conclusions are all based on reporting from writers for reputable sites who demo'd the game, and anything could change. In theory at least.
THE BAD
First off, the combat control scheme seems a bit clunky, one writer blogged that the auto attack was tied to the 1 key, rather than say, controlled by holding down the mouse button. While it's likely that there will be a keymap option, it seems to me, and the writer as well, to be a bad idea to have to continually hit a key every second while trying to keep track of your specials' cooldowns, as well as your health and action, and try to watch the action all at once. Hopefully this isn't something a player is stuck with. I also did see a few stutters and stiffness in the combat animations, but those could be pollished out, we'll see.
I liked the idea of having to think about what you will have to do for combat. Use the RMB for the regular attack(auto-attack in other games). This causes a global 0.5 sec cooldown of all your skills. That way you can't just spam everything as in other games. It will take away the click attack and get a sandwitch while your character uses auto-attack to kill the mob some games have.
I see your point, just not my play style.
I also noticed that the movement controls from the videos seems to be mouse-over style, ala WoW. It's your preference on this, and I know many people enjoy playing that way. I don't. This is the single biggest reason (of the many) I played WoW for 4 days and couldn't take another second of it. I'm keeping hope alive that there is a way to change this to a fixed target system. Fingers crossed.
I would think that keybinds would be in game for the UI. It could be missing or as you said, the tester could be a clicker. Not that big of a deal to me. As far as targeting, I would guess that it would be the usual tab targeting system.
Could be. Again, hoping it's in the final release.
Lastly, I have seen the BH armor progression video, and while the armor looked cool, it also realized my fear that all players of the same profession/race/level will be clones of one another. It was stated that PvP will award diverse appearance items, but how that system will work and how robust the selection of items remains to be seen. Again, fingers crossed.
All a guess again, but random drops, instance drops and crafting would bring in diversity. Along with the ability to possibly change the color or pattern. They did say that the gear will be unique for most players with customization. I would think that customization would be down on the priority list as they move towards beta.
I base this on what I've seen so far, as well as a comment from a dev during another demo before E3 that "character customization is not as robust as, say, SWG." While SWG has a pretty good character customization system, getting beat out in any category by a game that's technically 11-12 years old counting development time is not good. I am holding out hope, of course, as we have not seen how in-depth crafting will be or the span of unique looking wearables looted or collected through combat. Again, time will tell, hopefully BW will throw us a bone on this.
The most negative thing that I've seen, and apparently others have as well, were the interviews in which the game Devs seemed to be unable to give an answer about the game that didn't contain the phrase "like in WoW". This might be the worst news I've heard. I don't mind that there be similarities, or even whole parts barrowed, WoW is the most successful MMO, they must be doing something right. But the sevs said that so often in the interviews one can't help but think, "JC, did they REALLY just re-skin WoW in Star Wars?" Time will tell.
I look at it as a way to let the 11 million subs of WoW know that there will be some familiartiy to WoW in TOR. But at the same time, there will be many twists to make it different and possibly unique to TOR. Trying to get a few million subs that are playing WoW is just smart for a business to do. Let's face it, most if not all MMO players know how WoW works. And if they can bring back the early WoW game before the BC expansion. Then make changes for the better and add in what makes Bioware great. It can be a major advantage as far as getting and keeping subs. Dosen't mean it will be WoW with lightsabes as some have said.
I agree that it's not going to be an exact copy of WoW, but perception counts. 11 million subs for WoW doesn't translate to 11 million players. It's not unusual for WoW players to have multiple accounts, and when WoW was temporarily closed in China last year, the estimate was that WoW dropped to around 5.5 million subs during that time. Factor in the amount of Chinese accounts that are gold farmers, and that the SW IP has historically not done as well in Asia, the WoW market becomes smaller for BW to pull players from.
Also, Cataclysm will have an impact, one way or another, on current and former WoW players. If it's successful and satisfies current WoW players, and brings old players back, it becomes yet a smaller player pool to dip into.
And then there's the flip-side, the players who detest everything WoW. Gamers with an axe to grind with WoW will run away screaming from anything that feels too much like WoW to them. The question is, how many gamers will turn away from TOR because it feels like WoW. There is some decent competition releasing next year along with TOR, and those who don't like WoW playstyle, or are tired of it, may find a new home at one of those games instead.
THE GOOD
BW seems to have delivered on the content and feel. While the quests are by no means groundbreaking, they do seem to immerse the player, which is the important goal. I didn't see any writers unhappy with questing, though almost all did mention the usual questing, just with VO. All seemed to be in agreement, however, that questing was an overall positive experience.
The Demo'ers played 6 different classes, though only at low levels, and no one seemed to dislike any of them. All seemed to enjoy the professions that they demo'd, each commenting on the cool specials that they had early on. It seems like there's a good fun factor so far.
Ships. We don't know what all you can do with them, but you have them. If nothing else you do have a form of player housing, which is important to many players. Space content is still a question mark, but seems more likely now that there are ships, which is music to the ears of the space combat fan.
All in all, I haven't deviated from my "wait and see" approach to this game. I'm pretty certain at this point that I won't be buying it until I can play a free trial. For me, there are just too many negatives for me to shell out the money for the game without taking it for a serious test drive to see if it's for me. In the early months of the game's release, we'll see how many others feel the same.
The E3 actually changed the way I thing of this game. I thought it was just another Themepark with stroy as a major feature. But the more I listen to interviews, the more I see a bit of sandbox thrown in. I don't know if they can pull it off. I am not drunk on the coolaid. But I like the direction it is taking. There seems to be a lot more focus on group play than most of us thought. It will be very interesting after the new year.
There are a lot of factors that will determine the game's level of success. The amount of current and former WoW players it can attract against Cataclysm is one. How many 1st time MMO players it can pull in, and how many players who've never tried WoW, but will give a Star Wars IP a shot is another. How the game itself stacks up against next year's competition is also crucial.
The game has a lot going for it, but it will be interesting to see if everything it has to offer is enough hold off DCU and the other big name MMO's slated for next year.
P.S. It's nice to have a civil discussion about the game. LOL!
There are a lot of factors that will determine the game's level of success. The amount of current and former WoW players it can attract against Cataclysm is one. How many 1st time MMO players it can pull in, and how many players who've never tried WoW, but will give a Star Wars IP a shot is another. How the game itself stacks up against next year's competition is also crucial.
The game has a lot going for it, but it will be interesting to see if everything it has to offer is enough hold off DCU and the other big name MMO's slated for next year.
P.S. It's nice to have a civil discussion about the game. LOL!
Yeah Its nice to see a normal discussion about ToR on these forums these days.
I liked the part when he talked about the classes telling that they all seem quite special and fun to play....this is one of the major plus as I am an altoholic;) Kinda made me sad that even in the beggining areas there are "kill ten rats" only VOed quests tho:(
I think I actually spent way more time reading and theorycrafting about MMOs than playing them
I've now been on the "tour" of quite a few gaming sites that have apparently all gotten the "EXCLUSIVE" hands on. (seriously, who's dumb enough to think that any one site or media outlet was the only outlet to get a hands on demo at E3?) Anyway, I've read a pretty wide array of opinions, dev interveiws, and writer observations, as well as videos. Here's my opinion using the conclusions that I've been able to draw from them. Keep in mind that these conclusions are all based on reporting from writers for reputable sites who demo'd the game, and anything could change. In theory at least.
THE BAD
First off, the combat control scheme seems a bit clunky, one writer blogged that the auto attack was tied to the 1 key, rather than say, controlled by holding down the mouse button. While it's likely that there will be a keymap option, it seems to me, and the writer as well, to be a bad idea to have to continually hit a key every second while trying to keep track of your specials' cooldowns, as well as your health and action, and try to watch the action all at once. Hopefully this isn't something a player is stuck with. I also did see a few stutters and stiffness in the combat animations, but those could be pollished out, we'll see.
I also noticed that the movement controls from the videos seems to be mouse-over style, ala WoW. It's your preference on this, and I know many people enjoy playing that way. I don't. This is the single biggest reason (of the many) I played WoW for 4 days and couldn't take another second of it. I'm keeping hope alive that there is a way to change this to a fixed target system. Fingers crossed.
Lastly, I have seen the BH armor progression video, and while the armor looked cool, it also realized my fear that all players of the same profession/race/level will be clones of one another. It was stated that PvP will award diverse appearance items, but how that system will work and how robust the selection of items remains to be seen. Again, fingers crossed.
The most negative thing that I've seen, and apparently others have as well, were the interviews in which the game Devs seemed to be unable to give an answer about the game that didn't contain the phrase "like in WoW". This might be the worst news I've heard. I don't mind that there be similarities, or even whole parts barrowed, WoW is the most successful MMO, they must be doing something right. But the sevs said that so often in the interviews one can't help but think, "JC, did they REALLY just re-skin WoW in Star Wars?" Time will tell.
THE GOOD
BW seems to have delivered on the content and feel. While the quests are by no means groundbreaking, they do seem to immerse the player, which is the important goal. I didn't see any writers unhappy with questing, though almost all did mention the usual questing, just with VO. All seemed to be in agreement, however, that questing was an overall positive experience.
The Demo'ers played 6 different classes, though only at low levels, and no one seemed to dislike any of them. All seemed to enjoy the professions that they demo'd, each commenting on the cool specials that they had early on. It seems like there's a good fun factor so far.
Ships. We don't know what all you can do with them, but you have them. If nothing else you do have a form of player housing, which is important to many players. Space content is still a question mark, but seems more likely now that there are ships, which is music to the ears of the space combat fan.
All in all, I haven't deviated from my "wait and see" approach to this game. I'm pretty certain at this point that I won't be buying it until I can play a free trial. For me, there are just too many negatives for me to shell out the money for the game without taking it for a serious test drive to see if it's for me. In the early months of the game's release, we'll see how many others feel the same.
I share a lot of these likes and concerns with you, if I can address some real quick....
BAD
The combat control schemes will keep the player engaged in my perspective. The amount of thought that has gone into how the abilities tie in with the player is huge, ie: Bounty Hunters having to vent heat from suits to prevent them from spamming, Troopers having ammo... etc I feel that this wil prevent the "Shadow Bolt" spam of previous games that we all know where it felt like our abilities weren't link to each other besides one putting a debuff and the one after it piling on massive damage.
The lack of Auto Attack means that they can balance damage in game with out having to worry about "White damage" from games like WoW where people complained about rogues, not JUST because of their abilities but because of their passive damage from just having a player selected. THIS IS HUGE interms of PvP and player skill, if pulled off correctly this will seperate the men from the boys in the PvP and Player Skill dept.
What else do you suggest for the targeting system? I would really be interested in hearing about it. WoW also had a "Tab" targeting option which selected the closest combatant to you.
Bioware has said that they are very aware of the problem that in a lot of games, currently players look similar to each other in end game. They have been quoted before as saying that "We will be making sure you don't run into clones of yourself all over the galaxy"
Something I have to add would be character animations in reaction to combat/getting hit by lasers or bolts of plasma but I have a feeling that I am worrying for nothing since Bioware has obviously put time into the "Synchronized combat" so I'm not sure that they would look over something as simple as reacting to being shot but I wanted to put it out there.
GOOD
Content looks great when it comes to stories/questing, including a specific one of someone who played the Imperial Agent and when an NPC acted like they knew them and the player went along with it in hopes of getting something good out of being recognized as "Long Lost Nephew Jed" or something or other instead the NPC said something closer to the lines of "Oh ya, you are that person! You owe me some credits and you better pay up fast!"
Classes all look fun and carefully thought out as to not bee overly similar to each other, and the abilities really range. Also back to where I referenced auto attack, you can tell that they are trying to make combat very engaging by making sure that you dont just have to worry about your health bar.
Ships do look very appealing, and at worst they are just player housing... Which I can't disagree with anyway because that is a step up, although I would like to see them do something in the realm of space combat/space exploration.
Another thing I wanted to add is that the "Heroic combat" with the extra mobs appears to definitely do what it was inteded to do, which is keep the player very engaged while doing PvE.
ALSO
The abilities that have been shown are exciting... and they have only shown gameplay up to Level 8!
First of all, I would like to state that I absolutely love Bioware and all their games, including KOTOR and sequels, and the animation and graphics in ME and ME2 were so realistic and just plain AWESOME.
Now to the question at hand: "The animations were smooth and extremely well done;"
Seriously? You saw that in those vids? All I saw was some raw unfinished animation (characters dont move at all, even when they get shot). The game feels... stiff... even from the vids, I dunno, I'm so disappointed with what I saw. Also characters run like they crapped their pants.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Discuss.
IN comparison to the current batch of MMOs the graphics are as good if not better. The feel of SWTOR from the E3 footage , podcasts and people who have tried out the hands on all seem very positive. (I take a lot of info from sites other than the trash talked here).
So all in all I see no problems and a great game with development progressing on track and well. If you absolutely love Bioware then you should know that they do not fail to deliver.
(I am so bored think i will download nethack)
________________________________________________________ Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
Comments
What did it for me for GW was the first expansion. Don't think I could trust them nor NCSoft.
I see, so they are tryng to take away WoW sub base and maybe ehhh f2p titles like RoM, runescape too? meh, it will be a regular mmo with lightsabers. oh and there is no space combat!! they seriusly need to add it.
How do you know there isn't Space combat? Any links to prove it? And no I'm not saying their trying to take WoW sub base. Just simply saying that their trying to make it where you don't need a big PC to run the game. I don't see how hard that is to understand.
I've now been on the "tour" of quite a few gaming sites that have apparently all gotten the "EXCLUSIVE" hands on. (seriously, who's dumb enough to think that any one site or media outlet was the only outlet to get a hands on demo at E3?) Anyway, I've read a pretty wide array of opinions, dev interveiws, and writer observations, as well as videos. Here's my opinion using the conclusions that I've been able to draw from them. Keep in mind that these conclusions are all based on reporting from writers for reputable sites who demo'd the game, and anything could change. In theory at least.
THE BAD
First off, the combat control scheme seems a bit clunky, one writer blogged that the auto attack was tied to the 1 key, rather than say, controlled by holding down the mouse button. While it's likely that there will be a keymap option, it seems to me, and the writer as well, to be a bad idea to have to continually hit a key every second while trying to keep track of your specials' cooldowns, as well as your health and action, and try to watch the action all at once. Hopefully this isn't something a player is stuck with. I also did see a few stutters and stiffness in the combat animations, but those could be pollished out, we'll see.
I also noticed that the movement controls from the videos seems to be mouse-over style, ala WoW. It's your preference on this, and I know many people enjoy playing that way. I don't. This is the single biggest reason (of the many) I played WoW for 4 days and couldn't take another second of it. I'm keeping hope alive that there is a way to change this to a fixed target system. Fingers crossed.
Lastly, I have seen the BH armor progression video, and while the armor looked cool, it also realized my fear that all players of the same profession/race/level will be clones of one another. It was stated that PvP will award diverse appearance items, but how that system will work and how robust the selection of items remains to be seen. Again, fingers crossed.
The most negative thing that I've seen, and apparently others have as well, were the interviews in which the game Devs seemed to be unable to give an answer about the game that didn't contain the phrase "like in WoW". This might be the worst news I've heard. I don't mind that there be similarities, or even whole parts barrowed, WoW is the most successful MMO, they must be doing something right. But the sevs said that so often in the interviews one can't help but think, "JC, did they REALLY just re-skin WoW in Star Wars?" Time will tell.
THE GOOD
BW seems to have delivered on the content and feel. While the quests are by no means groundbreaking, they do seem to immerse the player, which is the important goal. I didn't see any writers unhappy with questing, though almost all did mention the usual questing, just with VO. All seemed to be in agreement, however, that questing was an overall positive experience.
The Demo'ers played 6 different classes, though only at low levels, and no one seemed to dislike any of them. All seemed to enjoy the professions that they demo'd, each commenting on the cool specials that they had early on. It seems like there's a good fun factor so far.
Ships. We don't know what all you can do with them, but you have them. If nothing else you do have a form of player housing, which is important to many players. Space content is still a question mark, but seems more likely now that there are ships, which is music to the ears of the space combat fan.
All in all, I haven't deviated from my "wait and see" approach to this game. I'm pretty certain at this point that I won't be buying it until I can play a free trial. For me, there are just too many negatives for me to shell out the money for the game without taking it for a serious test drive to see if it's for me. In the early months of the game's release, we'll see how many others feel the same.
The E3 actually changed the way I thing of this game. I thought it was just another Themepark with stroy as a major feature. But the more I listen to interviews, the more I see a bit of sandbox thrown in. I don't know if they can pull it off. I am not drunk on the coolaid. But I like the direction it is taking. There seems to be a lot more focus on group play than most of us thought. It will be very interesting after the new year.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
"Bioware has stated that The Old Republic has “a sand-boxy feel to it” and man do they have to live up to that hype now that they have put it out there. If they can't make good on that promise and I am stuck playing in an Aion style prison, they will seriously damage their reputation in my eyes."
Screw that, if it's polished anything like typical Bioware games plus it's Star Wars, I'm ALL IN! I am so sick of elves!
There are a lot of factors that will determine the game's level of success. The amount of current and former WoW players it can attract against Cataclysm is one. How many 1st time MMO players it can pull in, and how many players who've never tried WoW, but will give a Star Wars IP a shot is another. How the game itself stacks up against next year's competition is also crucial.
The game has a lot going for it, but it will be interesting to see if everything it has to offer is enough hold off DCU and the other big name MMO's slated for next year.
P.S. It's nice to have a civil discussion about the game. LOL!
Yeah Its nice to see a normal discussion about ToR on these forums these days.
I liked the part when he talked about the classes telling that they all seem quite special and fun to play....this is one of the major plus as I am an altoholic;) Kinda made me sad that even in the beggining areas there are "kill ten rats" only VOed quests tho:(
I think I actually spent way more time reading and theorycrafting about MMOs than playing them
I share a lot of these likes and concerns with you, if I can address some real quick....
BAD
The combat control schemes will keep the player engaged in my perspective. The amount of thought that has gone into how the abilities tie in with the player is huge, ie: Bounty Hunters having to vent heat from suits to prevent them from spamming, Troopers having ammo... etc I feel that this wil prevent the "Shadow Bolt" spam of previous games that we all know where it felt like our abilities weren't link to each other besides one putting a debuff and the one after it piling on massive damage.
The lack of Auto Attack means that they can balance damage in game with out having to worry about "White damage" from games like WoW where people complained about rogues, not JUST because of their abilities but because of their passive damage from just having a player selected. THIS IS HUGE interms of PvP and player skill, if pulled off correctly this will seperate the men from the boys in the PvP and Player Skill dept.
What else do you suggest for the targeting system? I would really be interested in hearing about it. WoW also had a "Tab" targeting option which selected the closest combatant to you.
Bioware has said that they are very aware of the problem that in a lot of games, currently players look similar to each other in end game. They have been quoted before as saying that "We will be making sure you don't run into clones of yourself all over the galaxy"
Something I have to add would be character animations in reaction to combat/getting hit by lasers or bolts of plasma but I have a feeling that I am worrying for nothing since Bioware has obviously put time into the "Synchronized combat" so I'm not sure that they would look over something as simple as reacting to being shot but I wanted to put it out there.
GOOD
Content looks great when it comes to stories/questing, including a specific one of someone who played the Imperial Agent and when an NPC acted like they knew them and the player went along with it in hopes of getting something good out of being recognized as "Long Lost Nephew Jed" or something or other instead the NPC said something closer to the lines of "Oh ya, you are that person! You owe me some credits and you better pay up fast!"
Classes all look fun and carefully thought out as to not bee overly similar to each other, and the abilities really range. Also back to where I referenced auto attack, you can tell that they are trying to make combat very engaging by making sure that you dont just have to worry about your health bar.
Ships do look very appealing, and at worst they are just player housing... Which I can't disagree with anyway because that is a step up, although I would like to see them do something in the realm of space combat/space exploration.
Another thing I wanted to add is that the "Heroic combat" with the extra mobs appears to definitely do what it was inteded to do, which is keep the player very engaged while doing PvE.
ALSO
The abilities that have been shown are exciting... and they have only shown gameplay up to Level 8!
IN comparison to the current batch of MMOs the graphics are as good if not better. The feel of SWTOR from the E3 footage , podcasts and people who have tried out the hands on all seem very positive. (I take a lot of info from sites other than the trash talked here).
So all in all I see no problems and a great game with development progressing on track and well. If you absolutely love Bioware then you should know that they do not fail to deliver.
(I am so bored think i will download nethack)
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel