Yes. If you wanted to play the old-style crafting game, and you wanted to watch that progress bar for 20 hours, I mean, you could. You could just stand there. But this is always the part that seems monotonous. So [in SWTOR], I'm the crew boss. I decide what we make. I'm the guy that knows all the recipes. I'm the guy that knows how to do everything. And then I'm putting all of these people to work as my whole crew, into one unit -- your companion characters are all a unit with you. And so, one, it makes all of your companion characters useful, which is nice. Two, it puts in skills for people who aren't ever going to be real crafters. People who are not really into crafting are going to take mission skills, so their people are still going to be useful, but they're going to run them on missions all the time. But serious crafters say that it's a super deep system.
That may ally some trepidation. You are still in control.
Yes. If you wanted to play the old-style crafting game, and you wanted to watch that progress bar for 20 hours, I mean, you could. You could just stand there. But this is always the part that seems monotonous. So [in SWTOR], I'm the crew boss. I decide what we make. I'm the guy that knows all the recipes. I'm the guy that knows how to do everything. And then I'm putting all of these people to work as my whole crew, into one unit -- your companion characters are all a unit with you. And so, one, it makes all of your companion characters useful, which is nice. Two, it puts in skills for people who aren't ever going to be real crafters. People who are not really into crafting are going to take mission skills, so their people are still going to be useful, but they're going to run them on missions all the time. But serious crafters say that it's a super deep system.
That may ally some trepidation. You are still in control.
Dont be daft, the haterz will just latch onto something else.
I like these quotes. It means crafting should be very usefull and you can make a name for yourself if you are really good and can go as deep as you can to make the best stuff.
So we would get recipes that are super rare?
Yes. There are elite, rare recipes. People who want to dabble in crafting, can, and can be successful in it and make themselves a little bit better. People who are not terribly interested in crafting can do the mission system and still get some cool stuff out of their companion characters. People who are really into crafting have a huge, complex system that they're going to be able to go into and become masters at.
The best stuff is always going to come from other players, and then be made by other players. There will be stuff that you can craft that is among the best stuff in the entire game. So very close to the top tier that you could get for anything.
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
i am very much looking forward to this crafting system.
i just hope that what Dickinson said here about "rare and elite" schematics, "complex systems" and "super deep crafting" is in fact just that and not some empty words to increase hype.
Can anyone explain how this is different than Vanilla WoW crafting?
All I see is the Companions, which don't really seem to be a big difference.
You grind long boring quest lines to get this thing that's rare or you can grind mobs on hours on end to find this other recipe that's really rare or you can go do dungeons with people and maybe find this other recipe that's ultra rare.
I keep looking for something, ANYTHING, that sets this apart from WoW. But, I honestly don't think I've read an article or see a video yet, that didn't scream "WoW in Space". I started to get excited for a second on this article, but....... no, it went away.
I mean lets be honest here guys, there's no reason to be a fanboy and just love everything they say no matter how bad it is, or be a hater and hate everything they say. I'm neither. I'm looking really hard for something I like about SWTOR so far, but I'm having a really hard time finding it.
This not encouraging or sounding good, or anything has said thus far in this thread. The only thing is sounds like, is that the guy being interviewed is having a very hard time describing the system w/o saying "it's like WoW", which he was mysteriously very careful about not mentioning.
Can anyone explain how this is different than Vanilla WoW crafting?
All I see is the Companions, which don't really seem to be a big difference.
You grind long boring quest lines to get this thing that's rare or you can grind mobs on hours on end to find this other recipe that's really rare or you can go do dungeons with people and maybe find this other recipe that's ultra rare.
I keep looking for something, ANYTHING, that sets this apart from WoW. But, I honestly don't think I've read an article or see a video yet, that didn't scream "WoW in Space". I started to get excited for a second on this article, but....... no, it went away.
I mean lets be honest here guys, there's no reason to be a fanboy and just love everything they say no matter how bad it is, or be a hater and hate everything they say. I'm neither. I'm looking really hard for something I like about SWTOR so far, but I'm having a really hard time finding it.
This not encouraging or sounding good, or anything has said thus far in this thread. The only thing is sounds like, is that the guy being interviewed is having a very hard time describing the system w/o saying "it's like WoW", which he was mysteriously very careful about not mentioning.
Bottom line....it is not player-centric crafting encouraging.
Can anyone explain how this is different than Vanilla WoW crafting?
The way you craft is different, the actual abstract term "crafting" when used to describe a tradeskill system in any MMO game can be said they are the same. You could have just as easily asked how the system is dfferent than UO, or EQ, AC or LOTRO, or any other MMO game on the market.
You picked WoW for your own personal reasons, but really, they are all the same. You gather X and turn it into Y. If you didn't do that, it wouldn't be crafting.
All I see is the Companions, which don't really seem to be a big difference.
I disagree that it's not a big difference. The one major complaint I've always had about crafting in MMOs is the amount of time it takes not actually playing the game, but starting at a progress bar fill up repeatedly. SWG had something similar with the factories, and that was the only game that I ever stuck with crafting for more than a few days.
So for me it's a welcome change to the standard crafting format.
You grind long boring quest lines to get this thing that's rare or you can grind mobs on hours on end to find this other recipe that's really rare or you can go do dungeons with people and maybe find this other recipe that's ultra rare.
I'm not really sure where you're going with this. This last statement describes just about every MMO game available currently.
As for the rest of your post, you're right. There is nothing different about this game than WoW. They are both quest driven MMO games. They both belong to the same sub-genre, so there are going to be a lot of similarities. You could just as easily substitute WoW with LOTRO, WAR, EQ2, AoC, DAoC, Aion, FFXI, or tons of other games.
Yes, this game is going to be very similar to every other quest/loot driven MMO game out there. It has never been marketed as anything different, so I'm not sure what the confusion is.
Edit: I forgot to add that of course there are going to be differences. For instance, I can't stand WoW. I've tried playing it multiple times when friends ask me to join them. There's just something about it that I don't care for. LOTRO on the other hand, which many people have called a "WoW clone", I have played since beta and still play to this day. It's my 2nd favorite MMO game right after UO T2A.
My point is just because two games have a similar feature list does not mean they will appeal to the same people or have identical gameplay.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
As for the rest of your post, you're right. There is nothing different about this game than WoW. They are both quest driven MMO games. They both belong to the same sub-genre, so there are going to be a lot of similarities. You could just as easily substitute WoW with LOTRO, WAR, EQ2, AoC, DAoC, Aion, FFXI, or tons of other games.
Either you've never played any of the games I highlighted, or you mis-understood what I said completely.
Hmm, let's see. First of all, grinding - or better said, investing time and effort - to get the special items you need for your crafting is pretty much common in all MMORPG's, or you can play the auction house as a dev comment mentioned. Besides that, you have no idea how grindy SW:TOR will be in this aspect, the info released so far indicates that they've gotten rid of some of the more boring and less time efficient parts.
To name the differences with a WoW:
- you (can) use automated processes with your crafting and harvesting/resource finding. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like SWG's harvesters and factories.
- your scheduled tasks continue even if you're offline. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like EVE Online, at least in this aspect.
- you can walk away from your crafting, or watch for 10s of minutes to hours, whatever you like. WoW doesn't have that, your character has to stay on the task, in SW:TOR your Companions help you out leaving you to watch the process or do other things like questing or exploring or such.
- your Companions on field can gather resources while you keep off the mobs or continue to the next mob. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions can be sent on a mission to find the specific ingredients you're looking for, making it more expensive and taking time maybe but it's an alternative to hunt the Auction Hall or having to harvest in the field. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions provide each several and different bonuses to different disciplines of the Crew Skills, whether it's a harvesting skill or a gathering skill or mission skills. WoW doesn't have that.
- all in all, the implemented Crew Skills system of which crafting/gathering is a part of, contributes to the larger mechanics of integrating the Companions more organically and fittingly within the world and gameplay: Companions can make a difference and help with your group setup by adding versatility to it, they interact in questing dialogues and are influenced by your choices, and they can help you gather, craft and do missions for you. WoW doesn't have that.
All in all, I'd say that other MMORPG's like a LotrO, WoW, AoC, Aion and EQ have far more in common in their crafting and gathering than SW:TOR has with those. Of course, that's when you look purely at the Crew Skills system (harvesting/crafting/missions).
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Hmm, let's see. First of all, grinding - or better said, investing time and effort - to get the special items you need for your crafting is pretty much common in all MMORPG's, or you can play the auction house as a dev comment mentioned. Besides that, you have no idea how grindy SW:TOR will be in this aspect, the info released so far indicates that they've gotten rid of some of the more boring and less time efficient parts.
To name the differences with a WoW:
- you (can) use automated processes with your crafting and harvesting/resource finding. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like SWG's harvesters and factories.
- your scheduled tasks continue even if you're offline. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like EVE Online, at least in this aspect.
- you can walk away from your crafting, or watch for 10s of minutes to hours, whatever you like. WoW doesn't have that, your character has to stay on the task, in SW:TOR your Companions help you out leaving you to watch the process or do other things like questing or exploring or such.
- your Companions on field can gather resources while you keep off the mobs or continue to the next mob. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions can be sent on a mission to find the specific ingredients you're looking for, making it more expensive and taking time maybe but it's an alternative to hunt the Auction Hall or having to harvest in the field. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions provide each several and different bonuses to different disciplines of the Crew Skills, whether it's a harvesting skill or a gathering skill or mission skills. WoW doesn't have that.
- all in all, the implemented Crew Skills system of which crafting/gathering is a part of, contributes to the larger mechanics of integrating the Companions more organically and fittingly within the world and gameplay: Companions can make a difference and help with your group setup by adding versatility to it, they interact in questing dialogues and are influenced by your choices, and they can help you gather, craft and do missions for you. WoW doesn't have that.
All in all, I'd say that other MMORPG's like a LotrO, WoW, AoC, Aion and EQ have far more in common in their crafting and gathering than SW:TOR has with those. Of course, that's when you look purely at the Crew Skills system (harvesting/crafting/missions).
Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in yellow makes me cringe.This game is showing idential signs to FFXIV,a bunch of devs that have no clue how to make a MMO.The ONLY thing real in a MMO,is other players,they SHOULD be the emphasis of game design,NOT solo play or automated Companion play.
When i see a dev try to eliminate something from the players,it tells me that it must be a crappy design,otherwise they wouldn't try to automate it.Also if you need offline ideas,then again that means your game is garbage,not worth playing,otherwise you would just let the players pla ythe darn game,after all that is why we buy the CD's to play it remember?
Just like FFXIV i see a ton of early bad decisions by SWTOR's devs,they are following down the same path of bad game design,they have obviously learned nothing from other mistakes.It seems to me that the NICHE of this game has already shown it's face,they want to cater to making this game easy mode,and automated/offline.I bashed Aion for trying to sell their game on the cheap flying gimmick,i wish devs would wake up and be CREATIVE,design a good well ROUNDED game and people will enjoy it,quit looking to cheap GIMMICKS to entice people to play your game.
If i was to buy and like SWTOR,i would want to play EVERY inch of the game,i don't want anyhing to automate itself,if i don't want to play it ,then i won't simple as that ,automating it won't make the design any better.I am quite sure that SWTOR has already chosen their gimmick to attract players,so it is not going to change,i won't be playing this game,that is for sure.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Originally posted by Wizardry Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in yellow makes me cringe.This game is showing idential signs to FFXIV,a bunch of devs that have no clue how to make a MMO.The ONLY thing real in a MMO,is other players,they SHOULD be the emphasis of game design,NOT solo play or automated Companion play. When i see a dev try to eliminate something from the players,it tells me that it must be a crappy design,otherwise they wouldn't try to automate it.Also if you need offline ideas,then again that means your game is garbage,not worth playing,otherwise you would just let the players pla ythe darn game,after all that is why we buy the CD's to play it remember? Just like FFXIV i see a ton of early bad decisions by SWTOR's devs,they are following down the same path of bad game design,they have obviously learned nothing from other mistakes.It seems to me that the NICHE of this game has already shown it's face,they want to cater to making this game easy mode,and automated/offline.I bashed Aion for trying to sell their game on the cheap flying gimmick,i wish devs would wake up and be CREATIVE,design a good well ROUNDED game and people will enjoy it,quit looking to cheap GIMMICKS to entice people to play your game. If i was to buy and like SWTOR,i would want to play EVERY inch of the game,i don't want anyhing to automate itself,if i don't want to play it ,then i won't simple as that ,automating it won't make the design any better.I am quite sure that SWTOR has already chosen their gimmick to attract players,so it is not going to change,i won't be playing this game,that is for sure.
Perfect example of a niche market reply.
What it appears SWTOR is doing, is borrowing from other games that have fairly successful or popular styles of crafting, like EVE and SWG, taking what they feel are the best parts, and making it uniquely their own. This is a path that at least one commercially successful MMO has done in epic fashion in the past.
Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in yellow makes me cringe.This game is showing idential signs to FFXIV,a bunch of devs that have no clue how to make a MMO.The ONLY thing real in a MMO,is other players,they SHOULD be the emphasis of game design,NOT solo play or automated Companion play.
When i see a dev try to eliminate something from the players,it tells me that it must be a crappy design,otherwise they wouldn't try to automate it.Also if you need offline ideas,then again that means your game is garbage,not worth playing,otherwise you would just let the players pla ythe darn game,after all that is why we buy the CD's to play it remember?
Just like FFXIV i see a ton of early bad decisions by SWTOR's devs,they are following down the same path of bad game design,they have obviously learned nothing from other mistakes.It seems to me that the NICHE of this game has already shown it's face,they want to cater to making this game easy mode,and automated/offline.I bashed Aion for trying to sell their game on the cheap flying gimmick,i wish devs would wake up and be CREATIVE,design a good well ROUNDED game and people will enjoy it,quit looking to cheap GIMMICKS to entice people to play your game.
If i was to buy and like SWTOR,i would want to play EVERY inch of the game,i don't want anyhing to automate itself,if i don't want to play it ,then i won't simple as that ,automating it won't make the design any better.I am quite sure that SWTOR has already chosen their gimmick to attract players,so it is not going to change,i won't be playing this game,that is for sure.
Perfect example of a niche market reply.
What it appears SWTOR is doing, is borrowing from other games that have fairly successful or popular styles of crafting, like EVE and SWG, taking what they feel are the best parts, and making it uniquely their own. This is a path that at least one commercially successful MMO has done in epic fashion in the past.
Its very interesting seeing all the people who "dislike the direction" try to liken it to other games they seem to believe screwed up somewhere. First its a SP game, next its a WoW clone, now its FFXIV. Not to mention all of those games are starkly different from each other.
It seems people don't understand that what makes a good mmo for *them* isn't what makes a good MMO, and much less what makes a good game thats worth playing. This system sounds fantastic to me. I think the crew system will likely be one of the best parts of the game with the amount of depth and opportunity the system opens up.
Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in yellow makes me cringe.This game is showing idential signs to FFXIV,a bunch of devs that have no clue how to make a MMO.The ONLY thing real in a MMO,is other players,they SHOULD be the emphasis of game design,NOT solo play or automated Companion play.
When i see a dev try to eliminate something from the players,it tells me that it must be a crappy design,otherwise they wouldn't try to automate it.Also if you need offline ideas,then again that means your game is garbage,not worth playing,otherwise you would just let the players pla ythe darn game,after all that is why we buy the CD's to play it remember?
Just like FFXIV i see a ton of early bad decisions by SWTOR's devs,they are following down the same path of bad game design,they have obviously learned nothing from other mistakes.It seems to me that the NICHE of this game has already shown it's face,they want to cater to making this game easy mode,and automated/offline.I bashed Aion for trying to sell their game on the cheap flying gimmick,i wish devs would wake up and be CREATIVE,design a good well ROUNDED game and people will enjoy it,quit looking to cheap GIMMICKS to entice people to play your game.
If i was to buy and like SWTOR,i would want to play EVERY inch of the game,i don't want anyhing to automate itself,if i don't want to play it ,then i won't simple as that ,automating it won't make the design any better.I am quite sure that SWTOR has already chosen their gimmick to attract players,so it is not going to change,i won't be playing this game,that is for sure.
I see the crafting as taking something from RTS games where you put your buildings to work for you to craft or build something. You are entitled not to want that in your MMO/MMORPGS but that's a preference you have. You want indepth crafting while casual players doesn't want to be bothered with it.
In the past crafting has been exclusive to those that really likes that form of gameplay while others couldn't care less and just want to killing things. TOR has eliminated the need to do it yourself, which of course is going to alienate those that see crafting as a big part of a MMO. That's completely OK with me. Just like It's completely ok Ryzom alienates me because the game is more about crafting than fighting.
Bottom line it's a peference you take into account when you choose what games you want to play. It sertainly isn't something to rant about.
i am very much looking forward to this crafting system.
i just hope that what Dickinson said here about "rare and elite" schematics, "complex systems" and "super deep crafting" is in fact just that and not some empty words to increase hype.
Me too and so far this sounds good. It sounds to me that they are taking a page from SWG on the crafting system and economy. Let's see if they follow through on it. If looted armour and weapons turns out to be better or as good as crafted, they'll lose all credibility.
Comments
Good interviews, reaffirmed some things I was thinking about the crafting system.
Im impressed with the crafting system.
So kind of like a factory in Star Wars Galaxies, only it's a character?
Yes. If you wanted to play the old-style crafting game, and you wanted to watch that progress bar for 20 hours, I mean, you could. You could just stand there. But this is always the part that seems monotonous. So [in SWTOR], I'm the crew boss. I decide what we make. I'm the guy that knows all the recipes. I'm the guy that knows how to do everything. And then I'm putting all of these people to work as my whole crew, into one unit -- your companion characters are all a unit with you. And so, one, it makes all of your companion characters useful, which is nice. Two, it puts in skills for people who aren't ever going to be real crafters. People who are not really into crafting are going to take mission skills, so their people are still going to be useful, but they're going to run them on missions all the time. But serious crafters say that it's a super deep system.
That may ally some trepidation. You are still in control.
Dont be daft, the haterz will just latch onto something else.
Playing: Tera, BF3, ME3
Waiting on: Guild Wars 2
I like these quotes. It means crafting should be very usefull and you can make a name for yourself if you are really good and can go as deep as you can to make the best stuff.
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
this interview is VERY encouraging.
i am very much looking forward to this crafting system.
i just hope that what Dickinson said here about "rare and elite" schematics, "complex systems" and "super deep crafting" is in fact just that and not some empty words to increase hype.
Can anyone explain how this is different than Vanilla WoW crafting?
All I see is the Companions, which don't really seem to be a big difference.
You grind long boring quest lines to get this thing that's rare or you can grind mobs on hours on end to find this other recipe that's really rare or you can go do dungeons with people and maybe find this other recipe that's ultra rare.
I keep looking for something, ANYTHING, that sets this apart from WoW. But, I honestly don't think I've read an article or see a video yet, that didn't scream "WoW in Space". I started to get excited for a second on this article, but....... no, it went away.
I mean lets be honest here guys, there's no reason to be a fanboy and just love everything they say no matter how bad it is, or be a hater and hate everything they say. I'm neither. I'm looking really hard for something I like about SWTOR so far, but I'm having a really hard time finding it.
This not encouraging or sounding good, or anything has said thus far in this thread. The only thing is sounds like, is that the guy being interviewed is having a very hard time describing the system w/o saying "it's like WoW", which he was mysteriously very careful about not mentioning.
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Bottom line....it is not player-centric crafting encouraging.
As for the rest of your post, you're right. There is nothing different about this game than WoW. They are both quest driven MMO games. They both belong to the same sub-genre, so there are going to be a lot of similarities. You could just as easily substitute WoW with LOTRO, WAR, EQ2, AoC, DAoC, Aion, FFXI, or tons of other games.
Yes, this game is going to be very similar to every other quest/loot driven MMO game out there. It has never been marketed as anything different, so I'm not sure what the confusion is.
Edit: I forgot to add that of course there are going to be differences. For instance, I can't stand WoW. I've tried playing it multiple times when friends ask me to join them. There's just something about it that I don't care for. LOTRO on the other hand, which many people have called a "WoW clone", I have played since beta and still play to this day. It's my 2nd favorite MMO game right after UO T2A.
My point is just because two games have a similar feature list does not mean they will appeal to the same people or have identical gameplay.
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
Either you've never played any of the games I highlighted, or you mis-understood what I said completely.
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
Hmm, let's see. First of all, grinding - or better said, investing time and effort - to get the special items you need for your crafting is pretty much common in all MMORPG's, or you can play the auction house as a dev comment mentioned. Besides that, you have no idea how grindy SW:TOR will be in this aspect, the info released so far indicates that they've gotten rid of some of the more boring and less time efficient parts.
To name the differences with a WoW:
- you (can) use automated processes with your crafting and harvesting/resource finding. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like SWG's harvesters and factories.
- your scheduled tasks continue even if you're offline. WoW doesn't have that, this is more like EVE Online, at least in this aspect.
- you can walk away from your crafting, or watch for 10s of minutes to hours, whatever you like. WoW doesn't have that, your character has to stay on the task, in SW:TOR your Companions help you out leaving you to watch the process or do other things like questing or exploring or such.
- your Companions on field can gather resources while you keep off the mobs or continue to the next mob. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions can be sent on a mission to find the specific ingredients you're looking for, making it more expensive and taking time maybe but it's an alternative to hunt the Auction Hall or having to harvest in the field. WoW doesn't have that.
- your Companions provide each several and different bonuses to different disciplines of the Crew Skills, whether it's a harvesting skill or a gathering skill or mission skills. WoW doesn't have that.
- all in all, the implemented Crew Skills system of which crafting/gathering is a part of, contributes to the larger mechanics of integrating the Companions more organically and fittingly within the world and gameplay: Companions can make a difference and help with your group setup by adding versatility to it, they interact in questing dialogues and are influenced by your choices, and they can help you gather, craft and do missions for you. WoW doesn't have that.
All in all, I'd say that other MMORPG's like a LotrO, WoW, AoC, Aion and EQ have far more in common in their crafting and gathering than SW:TOR has with those. Of course, that's when you look purely at the Crew Skills system (harvesting/crafting/missions).
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Sweet, ty. Good answer.
Like Trading Card Games? Click Here.
Everything and i mean EVERYTHING in yellow makes me cringe.This game is showing idential signs to FFXIV,a bunch of devs that have no clue how to make a MMO.The ONLY thing real in a MMO,is other players,they SHOULD be the emphasis of game design,NOT solo play or automated Companion play.
When i see a dev try to eliminate something from the players,it tells me that it must be a crappy design,otherwise they wouldn't try to automate it.Also if you need offline ideas,then again that means your game is garbage,not worth playing,otherwise you would just let the players pla ythe darn game,after all that is why we buy the CD's to play it remember?
Just like FFXIV i see a ton of early bad decisions by SWTOR's devs,they are following down the same path of bad game design,they have obviously learned nothing from other mistakes.It seems to me that the NICHE of this game has already shown it's face,they want to cater to making this game easy mode,and automated/offline.I bashed Aion for trying to sell their game on the cheap flying gimmick,i wish devs would wake up and be CREATIVE,design a good well ROUNDED game and people will enjoy it,quit looking to cheap GIMMICKS to entice people to play your game.
If i was to buy and like SWTOR,i would want to play EVERY inch of the game,i don't want anyhing to automate itself,if i don't want to play it ,then i won't simple as that ,automating it won't make the design any better.I am quite sure that SWTOR has already chosen their gimmick to attract players,so it is not going to change,i won't be playing this game,that is for sure.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Perfect example of a niche market reply.
What it appears SWTOR is doing, is borrowing from other games that have fairly successful or popular styles of crafting, like EVE and SWG, taking what they feel are the best parts, and making it uniquely their own. This is a path that at least one commercially successful MMO has done in epic fashion in the past.
Its very interesting seeing all the people who "dislike the direction" try to liken it to other games they seem to believe screwed up somewhere. First its a SP game, next its a WoW clone, now its FFXIV. Not to mention all of those games are starkly different from each other.
It seems people don't understand that what makes a good mmo for *them* isn't what makes a good MMO, and much less what makes a good game thats worth playing. This system sounds fantastic to me. I think the crew system will likely be one of the best parts of the game with the amount of depth and opportunity the system opens up.
I see the crafting as taking something from RTS games where you put your buildings to work for you to craft or build something. You are entitled not to want that in your MMO/MMORPGS but that's a preference you have. You want indepth crafting while casual players doesn't want to be bothered with it.
In the past crafting has been exclusive to those that really likes that form of gameplay while others couldn't care less and just want to killing things. TOR has eliminated the need to do it yourself, which of course is going to alienate those that see crafting as a big part of a MMO. That's completely OK with me. Just like It's completely ok Ryzom alienates me because the game is more about crafting than fighting.
Bottom line it's a peference you take into account when you choose what games you want to play. It sertainly isn't something to rant about.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft