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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Game Play Impressions
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
At last weekend's PAX East, MMORPG.com Industry Relations Manager Garrett Fuller experienced Star Wars: The Old Republic first hand, something that many of us envy in a very green-eyed way. Garrett's got a few thoughts about SWTOR to share with our readers. See what he's got to say and then add a few of your thoughts in the comments.
This past weekend at PAX East we got the chance to sit down with Star Wars: The Old Republic. The show was sold out and the Star Wars line was quite a wait to get in and play, thankfully early Saturday morning they opened it up to press. So we ran through what was called a Flashpoint. More on that later, for now I can say this was the first build we have seen in a long time from Old Republic and the game has definitely made some major improvements in the last few months. With expectations high, Star Wars definitely delivered with this build and surprised our team at PAX.
Read more of Garrett Fuller's SWTOR: Game Play Impressions.
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Comments
Good to see the team at bioware has improved from previous builds you have tested!!!
I still think Guildwars2 is going to be a massive thorn in swtor side. One is b2p and the other is buy then p2p, from the info and videos i have seen gw2 wins hands down.
interesting read, thanks for the information
First got to say I was blown away by the Flashpoint trailer that us mere mortals had to make do with. The game looks so playable, polished and well thought out. Even watching a mere video left me wanting more...much more.
I did have a question though, to which Garrett or someone else will surely know the answer. Will SW:TOR have a classic kind of MMO combat system with hotkeys etc (I see some kind of global cooldown in the video) or will it have more of a SWG post-CU approach with mouse clicks to fire a blaster/swing a lightsabre plus hotkeys for abilities?
Star wars has a massive following that will not even consider trading in a good sci-fi setting for a fantasy one. Also GW2 is highly instanced and is unlike a traditional MMO. I will buy it for sure, but it will not be my go to game. I am not knocking it at all. I actually think it looks amazing. Plus Bioware is making SWTOR so it will propably be well worth the $15 a month.
Good to hear that the demo was in such good shape. Hopefully we get a release date soon. I can't wait.
Two completely different settings. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I really don't see the two as each others competition.
Personally i'll get both. Guild Wars because there is no monthly fee and I won't feel obligated to play, i'll play whenever I feel like it and very casually. Star wars because I need my sci-fi fix and bioware makes good games.
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Your write up only helps me confirm, along with the newly release Flashpoint trailer, that this game is and looks very fun to play.
I have been excited to play SWTOR, but not this much. Thanks for the write up. By any chance, were you able to get a feel or hear anyone mention anything about a release date?
Total time played: 9125 Days, 21 Hours, 29 Minutes, 27 Seconds
Time played this level: 39 Days, 1 Hour, 24 Minutes, 5 Seconds
Just watched some more videos from Pax.
No Collision detection. I'm sorry that is such a fail. Combat is stale and static. Where is the strategy in that.
Combat looks nothing like anything star wars related other then lightsabers that are hardly used, laser blasts and scenery. I don't mind if this is a star wars mod for WoW but man can the combat get any more boring then what they're showing.
I'm glad they put "Work in Progress" on the screen because this is not ready to release unless your goal is slow, static and boring combat. What they're showing is near end game type of content. If that is near end game can you imagine combat for the entire game being Press Button....
1...wait....1....wait....2....wait....1.....wait....4.....wait....3.....wait....1....wait....uggg. Boring!
No need to use your w,a,s,d I mean moving around does nothing from what I have seen.
GW2 will surely be the king of fantasy mmos, but that's just it, it's another fantasy mmo in the endless stream of fantasy based mmos we've been seeing the last 15 years. I'll rather go with char based sci-fi that I have been waiting for 10 years since AO. I just looove the view in the PAX footage, the sci-fi SW buildings and feeling, not to mention gameplay looks very smooth and fun. Player-ship-housing
and I heard the PAX team saying guilds will get starship-guild-bases!
EA + Bioware please transfer all your resources to SWTOR now to get it launched! ^^
Go play the Jedi Knight / Jedi Outcast series Raevanhawk.
It's like you're eating an apple and complaining that it's not an orange.
SWTOR is a MMO. It's also a Bioware RPG. I'd say it's probably more Bioware RPG then MMO, but only time will tell. The Flashpoint video definitely has FINALLY made the game "feel" more like a MMO to me, but honestly even if it wasn't a MMO I'd buy this game just because it's a Bioware RPG and it's Star Wars.
Combat makes it feel just like Star Wars. Kotor + a ton of other games has similar combat, it's not a flaw in the design if Bioware dont want to make Star Wars FPS game. You talk like WoW invented (anything) gameplay where you pick target and then abilities + skills, it's been there since Baldur's Gate and before in many forms and IT WORKS. Not your piece of cake? Move on, easy as that!
I just hate the fact that in the video, everyone was a clicker and they made it through the instance just fine....I mean, what does that say for the difficulty of the game? I really hope that there will be difficulty settings even at these levels, because from what I've seen we're just going to blow through these dungeons like you can in WoW....=/
The characters probably had pretty decent gear and were in the higher level range of the instance, as well as had class builds designed by Bioware to be very effective for this demo's purpose.
i.e. this play demo was designed to let the players win.
I don't think any valid conclusions can be made about the "challenge" of the game from this demonstration at PAX.
Great write up, enjoyed reading it a lot.
Garrett, did you get to play with any of the other MMORPG staff or did they just throw you into the game with other random players?
I've heard nothing but good things from those that have played the game. Can't wait to hear about all the others that got to experience it here. I'm sure Mike is waiting for his weekly column or something, but I'm really interested to see how it was received.
{mod edit}
I'm hoping they can release by the summer but sadly I think we won't even see it until the end of the year.
I agree. They may have had the damage to players set to a lower setting so they can complete the mission for the sake of the demo.
I have noticed that most of the complaints about combat being slow and boring come from the FPS/Arcade/Console devotees. The rest of us prefer the wasd/icon click/hotkey system. Matter of preference I suppose and unfortunate they can't provide both styles for use in the game. Hopefully Bioware won't try to please both of us by combining the systems - the old 'something for everybody and nobody happy" syndrome. Since the majority of players prefer the old WOW system, if only thru familiarity and comfort level, then Bioware will probably go with my style of play combat because of simple business reasons. Make it a console type of combat and I won't buy or pay to play, 'shrug' , a simple preference on my part.
I am certainly a big, big fan of Star Wars and at 65 yrs of age I have seen most IP's in their original format (book/movie). I am presently playing WOW and Star Trek and intend to add one or two more games to my comp. I enjoy the diversity of games. Retired now I have both the time and money to play what I like. Never had the time or patience to learn the console games and having spent some time as a game designer for both TSR and Pacesetter Game companies the PnP (tabletop) game which morphed into the MMO is simply what I enjoy.
There are several games like DCUO and SWG which have the 'different' combat/movement but I have tried both and simply found it would take too long to get used to alternate systems while trying to immerse into the game. FPS has no immersion for me at all, just mechanics and hand/eye co-ordination, neither of which are my strong points. Most MMO's already give the best content/loot to PvP players, annoying to us more laid back types. Also the statements that we are able to run the gamut of SWtOR solo is great for a lot of us. For group play I join a (guild/fleet etc) and have that play style with people in whom I have more in common, less friction and wasting play time.
Time to shut up I think. I am just another traditional player. MMO is my hobby and I am willing to pay for it. I do wonder why that is such a problem for those who don't like anything 'traditional', just something 'new' or fitting only their playstyle. To put it simply, on most forums the non-traditional players flame and insult those who don't post what they want to hear/say. Why is that I wonder? Oh well, see a lot of you in-game with SWtOR, hope we enjoy it!
yea but why do you think mmo's have to have boring-ass combat mechanics? DCUO and Global Agenda have the most engaging combat on the market, and GW2 will follow suit. SWTOR having classic mmo combat is not a GOOD thing. i wont be touching this one with a stick.
Keep in mind everyone that the topic here is a Star Wars: The Old Republic playthrough, and trying to turn the thread into a game versus game debate will not be tolerated. Please stick to the topic at hand. Thanks.
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They don't have to have the so called 'boring-ass' combat. It is boring to you but not everybody. I am glad you enjoy those other games but I won't be worried if you don't show up in SWtOR. So play and enjoy what you like and I will do the same. That way both of us can be happy. Why aren't you happy?
They did make the flashpoint easier and it was also only half of the whole flashpoint, but even at that only 1 group that i have heard of cleared the flash point within the 45min mark. I think the combat will be fun when you play it and get that hands on i just did that and every other attack feel. But watching a game being played by someone else its always easy to get bored fast and criticize how youd play better. i cant wait to play this game and judge for myself, hopefully it will be better than i hope. See you on the sith side
deleted due to blue post above....I was still in comparision mode
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I think they stated the game is no cake walk. Very challenging but it has a very weak death penalty so players won't get insanely frustrated if they fail something constantly.
Tank, healer, dps setup? In Star Wars? Really? No thanks. I have yet to see anyone in the Star Wars movies or cartoons take multiple blaster or light saber hits and survive. Why should that happen in the game? Can't anyone figure out a combat engine that doesn't involve someone being a damage sponge that someone else needs to waste time filling up their health bar? Do away with the health bar - one hit, one kill.