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SWTOR versus STO
Terranah
Member UncommonPosts: 3,575
So another post I was reading today started me comparing the two games, Star Wars The Old Republic and Star Trek Online. There are many similarities acutally and some noteable differences as well.
Similarities:
Both sci fi.
Both beloved IPs
Both games take place in space and on land
Both have lots of load screens
Both have instancing and zones
Both have two factions and pvp
Both have classes with skill trees allowing for specialization
Both have linear progression
Both have War Zones
Both let you have a starship you can run around in.
Both have companions
Both have a round space station that acts as central hub for game
Both feel like single player games.
Dissimilarities:
SWTOR is P2P while STO is now F2P
STO has cash shops
SWTOR has larger worlds while STO space is larger
STO had space with land tacked on, which they improved upon
SWTOR has land with space tacked on, which they say they will improve upon
STO has 3 starter classes while SWTOR has 4
STO does not allow you to play opposing faction at outset any longer. You must have level 25 fed now.
STO has player generated content in form of Foundry
STO has extensive character creator, you can even create your own race
STO has hi rez
SWTOR has equal content both factions, STO content heavily leans toward Fed
All of SWTOR quests are voiced over
SWTOR has lots of cutscenes to add dramatic flair
STO does not have stats on clothing allowing for more appearance/clothing options
Can you think of any other similarities/dissimilarities? Did I get something wrong, it's been awhile since I played STO, but it almost seems like the two games were made by the same person. For instance, you have a vast space game with one space station as the hub. The space station is round, but why would it need to be round as they both have artificial gravity. STO is almost SWTOR with a Star Trek skin and vice versa. The difference is one focused more on space while the other focused on land. One focused on character creation and the other scoffed at it. Both have lots of load screens and often feel like a solo game. Mostly it's you and your companions, but in the case of STO you can bring your bridge crew and in SWTOR you can only have one at a time.
Comments
SWTOR is good
STO is not good
I didn't like STO all that much. It felt... detached and cold. The missions were very very repetitive too. I gave it a few weeks and left. SWTOR is more immersive and fun in my opinion. The storyline is quite good too!
TOR is p2p.
STO is f2p.
This message was edited on 8/16/15 at 5:30:00 AM
Instanced craps.
In support of both games being crap, this is supported by the consumers thinking both are crap as seen by the metacritic score of consumers @ STO and TOR here: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/star-trek-online
and TOR here http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/star-wars-the-old-republic
. . .but for some odd reason, reviews from sites that have lost credibility, like mmorpg.com, have still scored TOR with a passing grade, though it is an expensive, though shallow, $15/month single-player rpg.
Being shallow is not necessarily bad. GOW is pretty shallow but still a pretty good ride.
I play both STO and SWTOR. I guess SWTOR is a better game but I have this problem now that when I sit at my PC I would rather log into STO. I'm not sure what it is but SWTOR seems more lonely...or I can't connect with my characters or something.
I apologize in advance for the length of this post but having played STO for two years and having been lured away by SWTOR's new game (and Cryptic/PW's incompetence), I feel qualified to address the OP's statements/questions.
TL;DR: The similarities between STO and SWTOR are mostly cosmetic, there are huge difference in production value, (group) content, socializing, and endgame/elder game. Despite good customization, STO is crippled by a lack of content and, most especially, by a growing reliance on their cash shop. SWTOR, for all its criticisms of being a solo game is far more group-oriented than STO is or has ever been.
Superficially, these games seem to be quite similar, as pointed out. However, dig just a little deeper and you'll see they have vastly different production values, gameplay emphasis, content and focus. SWTOR, while being labeled as a "solo" game, provides heroics/group content in nearly every zone as a player levels. STO has a handful of Fleet Actions and similar content sprinkled across its game and most don't require any sort of coordination to finish. End Game PvE for STO (which has what, two years on SWTOR) consists of another handful of STFs, divided into ground and space, which are doable by a small group. SWTOR has more than a dozen Flashpoints on either side that can be done while levelling and Hardmode versions of them for Endgame. Plus a couple raids.
STO and SWTOR both feature pets in the form of bridge crew and companions. In STO you get to tinker with your crew's composition, abilities, appearance, and equipment far more than you can in SWTOR. The latter game's companions have more personality and better AI but lack a lot of customization. The companions each have backstories and unlock extra missions as you increase affection. STO also includes a pretty nifty DOFF system (minigame?), for which SWTOR has no analogue. Neither game does, in my opinion, anything interesting with its ship-housing system, especially when compared to games like EQ2. Still, STO does this a shade better, with trophy displays and the ability to purchase alternate bridge layouts.
Going back to the solo comparison for a moment, I'll say this: You can literally play STO from level 1 to 51 (Vice Admiral) without ever needing to group and you would miss a tiny amount of total content. In SWTOR, that's not the case. There are Heroic 2s,2+s, and 4s sprinkled liberally throughout the game that (mostly) require grouping. And Flashpoints as well. There's no open-world content at all in STO, it's all placed in instances.
You'd have to play both games to really see how all these similarities pale in comparison to the vast difference in production value. SWTOR has much more content, more exploration on actual worlds, more social hubs, more varied endgame. STO has much better avatar and bridge crew customization but the missions largely play out exactly the same no matter your build. There isn't even the illusion of choice. Crafting in STO, especially after the F2P conversion, is a wasted afterthought. SWTOR's has the novelty of getting companions to do the work and is mildly more impactful even in its weak state. Which leads me finally to this:
STO feels like a game that exists only to service its Cash Shop. The flow of real content has all but disappeared of late while the Cryptic Store has ballooned with new ships and skins, vanity pets, outfits, and convenience items. The introduction of F2P has only exascerbated this, as evident with higher prices and still minimum effort to introduce new missions for players to enjoy. If there's any simiarities between these two games, this one basically crushes them-- as with so many other games, the P2W mentality has brought down nearly every aspect of the game, making STO a far more inferior product than SWTOR.
I have issues about motivation to log into SWTOR too. So i un-sub. My conclusion is that there is a lack of excitng design aesthetics to make you feel the world is lively, that the items are cool, and that you are killing cool stuff.
i think 15 dollars is somewhat expensive. yes i'm working full time but i don't feel like i'm not making enough for me to spend 15 a month on this game. i have plenty of other expensives i need to pay for. especially when i'm already paying $60 a year for xbox live. I got the game for a month but it wasn't really that fun for me since none of my friends play. Didn't make me want to go back. My friends would constantly ask me to play cod so i would see myself on xbox more even tho i was paying 15 a month for SWTOR.
SWTOR is as instanced and solo-oriented as any other mainstream mmorpg. If you want a massive game you have to play something like EVE.
If you make enough broadly generalized statements then I guess you can compare the two and equate them . While you're at it why not mention the complete lack of a Z-axis in space combat for STO . STO is about as much a space combat game as if I were to drive a car around an imaginary plane with ramps to different level. Honestly . The difference is one developer released a game with much more polish and content, then the other repackaged incomplete pos on a engine that's completely out of date. STO has been a turd that Cryptic has been polishing for 2 years . It's still a turd , The player customization is dated as well , I believe APB had far nicer player customization .We'lll see if SW:ToR is around in 2 years and what it looks like . I already know STO , and it's a turd. We'll see what SW:ToR becomes. Personnally I'm not that impressed with it , but I'm not diluded enough to even suggest that STO is somehow comparable or even mildly equal to or remotely better then SW:ToR.