Star Wars: The Old Republic

[Yantelope]

So I'm hearing a lot of people talking about TOR and saying that it's doomed to failure. I'm not really sure why that is. Anyway, my guess is that TOR will do just fine. I think it's probably the Google+ model: It's exactly like WoW but not WoW. I bet it will probably have the power to get some real traction against WoW.

[Hocking]

I've got a lot of confidence in Bioware and what they're doing with The Old Republic. I don't buy into the idea that it will be a failure, nor do I really buy into the idea that it'll be a WoW killer. I've been a part of several different MMO launches and the two themes always pop up; those that are super enthusiastic about the new title sway with the latter option while those that aren't keen on it sway with the former. So I voted on the poll for coexistence.

 

I'm usually pretty slow to jump on the bandwagon for any new MMO, while I do tend to keep track of development, I very rarely get excited or pre-order until the last possible minute. I was burned by Age of Conan, Champions Online and Star Trek Online during their respective launch periods, so I'm a lot more cautious in general when it comes to MMOs these days. That said, The Old Republic is the first MMO I've pre-ordered without actually knowing anything about the subscription plan. My confidence in Bioware is such that I believe whatever comes along, will be the right decision. The fact that Knights of the Old Republic is one of my all time favourite games helps a lot too mind.

 

I have to say though, I've been lapping up as much about TOR as I possibly can, save the back story. I never like going into an MMO with the back story, as I tend to end up with misconceptions about what to expect. Gameplay wise though, I think Bioware have hit onto something great with what they're doing. Far too many MMOs try to base their gameplay mechanics on World of Warcraft because they want to replicate it's sucess - but the problem with that is that no innovation happens. You end up with games that feel like World of Warcraft in different clothing. All Points Bulletin was heading in the right direction in that regard, before it went bust.(I have no idea how APB is doing with GamersFirst these days, as I can't stand their websites or their launcher). The problem with that game in my honest opinion though, was the absolute piss poor optimisation of their engine. If you didn't have a 64bit OS, you were shit out of luck in terms of nice graphics. That and the gun-play was pretty sloppy game design.

 

Bioware seem to have a clear head about what works and what doesn't though. I'm very keen on the idea of their "Wall of Crazy." They supposedly already have a pretty solid game that most other developers would likely have already released, but Bioware seem to be quite aware that you only get to launch once and that you need to get it right the first time. They're also the only developer that I'm quite happy when they say things like; "Come back and ask us in a month," or "We can't answer that yet, but it is on the wall of crazy."

 

Cryptic of Champions Online and Star Trek Online are an example of the polar opposite to me. I got very worried about both their titles in the run up to launch because I was a part of both beta programs. A lot of the stuff they were saying to their fans outside of the beta were downright lies. While those inside the beta programs were NDA bound not to point out that half of what they were saying were working features were completely broken. Cryptic paid almost no attention to their beta testers what so ever. Bioware on the other hand, it appears are doing their utmost to listen and change things based upon feedback. The companion character customisation that was revealed at Comic Con for example, is entirely tester inspired.

 

tl;dr - I think The Old Republic will do just fine. Bioware are pretty clever when it comes to playing ball with their community.

Edited July 28, 2011 by Hocking

[Yantelope]

Yeah, and I've played the beta for a bit (and it really was beta) and without revealing anything to get in trouble I'll just say that it is very very similar to WoW. I can easily see people who've become bored with WoW migrating over. If I wasn't so strongly opposed to subscription fees I'd probably have preordered it already. I mean, if they did the $200 lifetime subscription I'd probably jump on that.

[Hocking]

Interesting. I'm not sure if I'd take up the lifetime should it appear or not. The most time I've spent with any MMO was two years with EVE Online. I've played at least nine others off the top of my head, but not anywhere near long enough to have saved money with a lifetime package. Then again, Bioware have said by 2025 they'd like to think that TOR will still be around with hundreds of planets in-game.

 

*Ponder.*

[Jaylew]

Why a lot of people think it will end up failing: You're required to use Origin.

 

I have been hyped for TOR since the first rumors started surfacing, thrilled at the hope of a story-driven Star Wars MMORPG (what with my bitter feelings toward what happened to Galaxies), and psyched at BioWare's take on an MMO in general.

 

... and then E3 happened, and my interest took a complete frelling nosedive.

 

Call it bias, call it a long string of horrible consumer experience, but I want nothing to do with an EA controlled delivery platform. At all. I'm okay with dealing with EA as an outlier, briefly checking their support forums for answers to bug problems, the occasional customer service call, that sort of thing. But the thought of dealing with them even a fraction of the amount I've had to deal with Blizzard over the years (the amount most long-time MMORPG players have to inevitably deal with customer support for their chosen game)?

 

Pass.

 

It makes me sad, really. Everything about the game itself sounds so good... but I just wont deal with EA anymore, not as a proprietary entity.

[Enervation]

I can only go with the second option. I highly doubt it will "coexist peacefully" with WoW. This is a consumer market, there is no peaceful coexistence with a rival product.

 

Therefore, that leads me to the second option. It will die a slow and painful death. Emphasis on the slow and painful, since with such a large budget it is very unlikely it'll die the minute it releases; however, depending on how smoothly the release goes the only real question is how long it takes for the playerbase to start declining.

 

I have to admit that even though I didn't take much of an interest in it at first, I was highly disappointed that it was uncannily similar to WoW.

[deanb]

... and then E3 happened, and my interest took a complete frelling nosedive.

 

Which R3? Was it the E3 where they showed the full CGI trailer by Blur Studios, or was it that other E3 where they once again showed a full CG trailer by Blur?

 

That's part of my grievance with the game is they've made little effort in showing it off. If they're planning to launch within the next year they really should have spent a fair chunk of their E3 keynote to look at SWTOR instead of those non-celebrity American footballers. I'm just not realyl comfortable getting into a game that's spent most part of 3 years mainly pumping out CGI trailers that have little to do with the actual game.

 

As for other issues, just generally reading from preview events on RPS n such it seems like it's a bit undeveloped and 5 years behind. Just WoW with a Star Wars layer of paint and a fancy new convo system. And no word yet on price/subscription plans (or that I've heard) and in a world of full bodied F2P MMOs, releasing a game that isn't WoW with a subscription attached is going to be hard.You need to offer something really special.

 

Oh and EA being the guys behind Warhammer Online, and all the hype that had as the next WoW...well yeah that didn't quite work out.

 

 

The recent Origin misgivings I think are just people grasping for something slightly more tangible than a gut feeling it's going to be bad and outdated. (Though the whole Limited edition digital goods stuff really didn't help peoples opinion of Origin)

[Hot Heart]

It's a tricky one. I mean, it's Star Wars plus BioWare, and it looks similar enough to WoW that it would be accessible, but EA aren't exactly winning anyone over at the moment.

 

I can't speak for everyone but I get the feeling the public at large would probably go 'Oh, yeah, WoW but with Star Wars!' and they'd be won over by these CGI trailers. People are excited by brands in the same way CoD will always find a large audience.

 

The only thing is whether it would win WoW players over since I know a few of them who just keep playing to...keep playing. It really does not sound like they are enjoying themselves but they just keep on going.

 

Weighing it up, I'd have to guess it would co-exist peacefully but it all depends on the longevity of the game (in terms of the story content) plus the subscription/payment model.

[Yantelope]

Have there really been any games that truly compare to WoW in terms of content though? Let's say that this game really is just WoW with Star Wars paint on it. I bet that's plenty enough to get people on board.

[Thursday Next]

EA seem to be quite pleased with the pre-orders for both this and BF3... Unless they do a Homefront and steal the most cancelled pre-order crown, both games should be successful by most measures.

[Hocking]

Why a lot of people think it will end up failing: You're required to use Origin.

 

I could be wrong, but as far as I know, you're only required to use Origin if you actually buy TOR through it. Bioware even provided Origin with the smallest allotment of pre-order codes than any other retailer.

 

Edit; Confirmed. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-16-ea-origin-not-compulsory-for-swtor

Edited July 29, 2011 by Deanb

[deanb]

Why a lot of people think it will end up failing: You're required to use Origin.

 

I could be wrong, but as far as I know, you're only required to use Origin if you actually buy TOR through it. Bioware even provided Origin with the smallest allotment of pre-order codes than any other retailer.

 

Edit; Confirmed. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-16-ea-origin-not-compulsory-for-swtor

 

Qouth the raven: 404

[Hocking]

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong with the URL system on here. In the post I deleted, I swapped out the URL for the more well known Eurogamer, but it kept linking to the less well known website. That URL does work, if you copy and paste it into your address bar. Failing that though, this is the thread that the article links to;

 

http://www.swtor.com...ad.php?t=343383

 

There are a couple of posts in there from Bioware Stephen Reid on how netting a boxed retail copy doesn't force you to use Origin.

 

Will we be able to buy TOR retail without having to deal with Origin? IE will the retail box essentially be a code for the game which will then have to be activated on Origin or will we be able to completely bypass that system

 

Yes' date=' you will be able to buy a boxed copy of The Old Republic at retail, and you will add the key for the game here on the official website.[/quote']

 

Thank you for the clarification' date=' Stephen. I have one more question, will we have to install Origin and run it in order to play the game, get updates, etc. even if we purchase a boxed copy?[/quote']

 

No' date=' you won't.

 

While Origin will be the exclusive digital retailer for [i']Star Wars:[/i] The Old Republic (in other words, if you want to buy it online and download it, you’ll do so through Origin) that does not mean that Origin is required for you to access or play The Old Republic.

 

Origin is a digital storefront, and the desktop application is there to give you quick access to Origin exclusives and deals.

 

However, you won’t need to launch the Origin application to run The Old Republic, nor will you patch the game via Origin. Once the game is on your hard disk, you’ll be connecting to our servers to patch and launch the game, and Origin does not have to be running to do that.

 

To answer another question - boxed versions of the game will include the client on DVD(s).

[deanb]

I looked at the post, you put a space in the URL. (btw what do you mean lesser known site?)

 

Se this is what I don't get about Origin, why go out of their way to make this DD service, put in a friend system, add a store etc. Then have each game running it's own system? Blizzard went and retroactively updated WoW so it could use the new Battle.net whereas EA just seem to be doing jack all in making a unified service. So you'll have an EA account, Bioware Social account, battlelog account, FIFA Football Club account, etc.

[Yantelope]

gunclub, autolog....

 

(sorry about hitting report dean. It was an accident, thought it said reply.)

Edited July 29, 2011 by Yantelope

[Thursday Next]

Star Wars is not wholly owned IP. Battlefield on the other hand is. So while EA can do whatever the hell it wants with BF, with SW it's bound to an extent by what LA will allow for SW.

 

Also worth noting that while it may not look like it, most of these services are interconnected.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Thursday Next

[Hocking]

(btw what do you mean lesser known site?)

 

A poor choice of words on my behalf.

 

Se this is what I don't get about Origin, why go out of their way to make this DD service, put in a friend system, add a store etc. Then have each game running it's own system? Blizzard went and retroactively updated WoW so it could use the new Battle.net whereas EA just seem to be doing jack all in making a unified service. So you'll have an EA account, Bioware Social account, battlelog account, FIFA Football Club account, etc.

 

Ditto, but I'm thankful they've not tried to integrate TOR with Origin. If The Old Republic did force the use of the software, I wouldn't be interested in picking up a copy as I disagree with the Terms of Service. That said, I am very confused about how the current EA account system works. EA forcibly reset my password following one of the LulzSec attacks a little while ago; which I then had to change. Yet when I access content on my XBOX that is tied to my EA account, it hasn't asked me to input the new password.

[sixrocket]

SWTOR is going to be good?

Bwwhahahha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1py-MJUcPxY

EA has been taking down any videos that show actual gameplay in the wild to shield it until after launch.

This video above had to be edited to lol mentos edition so that EA couldnt remove it (3rd time its been re-uploaded)

 

The game is a badly written, horribly acted, horribly animated, and badly staffed wow clone.

I was in beta, I should know.

Also: Almost no old-bioware devs are working on it, its all new ones.

[deanb]

Yeah I'd always figured that given Bioware has managed to apparently make Mass Effect 2 & 3, Dragon Age Origins and 2 and all the DLC for those games at the same time as making SWTOR that the same teams weren't really working on it and it was pretty much just Bioware in name. Who else are EA going to put on the box? Mythic? (Yes I know technically that's who is making the game in all but name. Seems EA puts more stock in the Bioware name than Mythic, but still values their MMO making experience)

[_S0MA_]

...(what with my bitter feelings toward what happened to Galaxies)...

 

ah yes. SWG. i remember screaming into my roommates room about how fuckn awesome it all was.

 

and they patched it to include lag. [not shitting you there] cus apparently it was THAT good.

 

then they purposefully broke the only MMO market thats ever worked. evar.

 

i see gameplay vids now and im reminded of the time i was told SW was remastered and re-released

into theaters!

 

...

 

then i saw Jabba walking next to Han in the hanger. what a fucking joke.

 

the last starwars-anything worth seeing/playing/watching/talking about was in 1983.

 

EVERYTHING since should really be called "Rape Your Wallet Pt. 1, 2 and 3"

Edited August 30, 2011 by _S0MA_

[Hot Heart]

There is one good thing to have come from the new Star Wars films.

 

 

As for EVERYTHING else, that's a little extreme. You wouldn't have the TIE Fighter, KOTOR and Jedi Knight games!

[Yantelope]

I like the prequels.

 

Also, nobody seems to think that anything will dethrone WoW. I'd like to point out that WoW is probably closer to a social network than a game. Myspace died practically overnight to Facebook. Maybe you could say that's what happened to Everquest with WoW but what's to say that WoW won't die quickly overnight the way that Myspace did?

Edited August 30, 2011 by Yantelope

[Keywork]

The only thing that could dethrone wow would be either itself or Project Titan, the MMOFPS by Blizzard that i am pretty sure will at least be teased at this years Blizzcon. As for the game i enjoyed the week i had in beta, i decided not to continue playing though because betas take fun out of the full product for me, at least for an MMO. They are taking the required steps to coexist with WoW such as limiting the game at launch. The reason they are doing that is because servers get overloaded due to them hyping the game so much and it causes alot of bad experiences when you first play and more than likely will lead to subscribers to cancel thier account. This was the case for alot of games such as Age of Conan, Rift and even Warhammer Online. I already have a guild setup for the empire, I'm more than ready to pick up my imperial agent and go to work.

*Edit* I linked alot of gameplay in the Guildwars 2 thread, thought i would do the same for here, Totalbiscuit went and got alot of good play throughs of the game

Sith Warrior PVE

 

Smuggler PVE

 

Onstage PVP

 

 

End Game interview

 

Trooper PVP

http://youtu.be/luKynXnf378?hd=1

http://youtu.be/k1i_bxfXUSw?hd=1

Edited August 31, 2011 by Keywork

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

Well, now I've gone and done it. I pre-ordered the digital edition.

 

Now that I actually know someone locally who is also buying the game (one of my floormates), perhaps I'll finally get into an MMO. And since I love Star Wars and BioWare, it's like a match made in heaven.

Edited September 12, 2011 by DukeOfPwn

[Keywork]

Well, now I've gone and done it. I pre-ordered the digital edition.

 

Now that I actually know someone locally who is also buying the game (one of my floormates), perhaps I'll finally get into an MMO. And since I love Star Wars and BioWare, it's like a match made in heaven.

Best part about it duke, even if your not a fan of MMO's you can go into it a if your playing KOTOR 3.BTW They also explain what happens to Revan after KOTOR 1 in this game HK47 IS ALSO IN IT BITCHES WOOOOOOOO!

 

P.S There is a book coming out that will chronicle his life

Edited September 12, 2011 by Keywork