Star Wars: The Old Republic

[Vargras]

Giant beta testing weekend. One server listed. Full. Wait time: 3 hours.

 

 

More than likely won't purchase the game anyway, so this would have been the only way I would have at least played it for a bit. Got better things to do this weekend.

 

I got into the beta as well, and there's more than just one server. It's just that they're ALL FULL.

 

Other than that, I've been pleased with the game so far. The voiced conversations and dialogue choices work surprisingly well.

[Maritan]

Yeah, voiced conversations are quite nice. I'm getting terrible freezes, though.

Do we have people that preordered the game and are going to play for the Empire?

Edited November 26, 2011 by Maritan

[TheRevanchist]

They opened more servers this weekend. Love the server name "Handmaidens of Atris".

[Vargras]

Played through a flashpoint with the GF earlier. For those who don't know, flashpoints are basically the equivalent of WoW's instances.

 

Except flashpoints are fun. Very fun, in fact. I had the stupidest grin on my face the entire time I played through one.

[Johnny]

After spending some time with TOR earlier today, I must say it's not nearly as bad as I expected it to be.

 

I created a twi'lek sith and spent the first hour or so laughing at all the completely deranged things going on in the conversations... Until the game opened up and became more like a traditional MMO, at which point I completely lost interest. The combat mechanics do not feel good enough to hold the game up when it's not throwing story bits at me.

 

Won't be picking this one up.

[Maritan]

The time has come.

Maybe I'll post something about my adventures in the future.

[deanb]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/forever-alone-stars-wars-the-old-republic-as-a-single-player-game.ars

 

Ars has a post about playing TOR as if it's a single player game. Kinda misses the point of an MMO I guess, but if you're up for paying a monthly fee for a SP game then fill your boots (I guess it gets easier if your employer is paying for you)

[Maritan]

http://arstechnica.c...player-game.ars

 

Ars has a post about playing TOR as if it's a single player game. Kinda misses the point of an MMO I guess, but if you're up for paying a monthly fee for a SP game then fill your boots (I guess it gets easier if your employer is paying for you)

So... describing a tutorial in a game counts as a review nowadays?

Also, 70% of content in MMORPGs can be done solo, there's nothing new in that. The only thing that is introduced in swtor is the story + dialogues. And that is all.

I don't know who that person is, but he sounds like an amateur.

BTW, enjoying the game very much. I despise mmorpg as genre, but this game... well, it's different. I'm not good at reviews(especially in English, lol), but I'll try to sum up my impressions later.

PS: Avoid servers with Russians AT ALL COST. Had to delete my first character and begin anew on another server because it was unbearable.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Maritan

[deanb]

huahuehuahuahueh? rurururururu?

[Maritan]

huahuehuahuahueh? rurururururu?

I guess that is a comment regarding my "PS" part, heh.

Yes, I realize why people hate "ruskies" all over the internet and I perfectly understand their hate.

[deanb]

Oh I was taking from the hate on Brazilians (which as a euro I don't get at all. I find most Europeans respectful, and if the chat log goes "de" "Fr" "en" then everyone talks English.) But from the fact you "got it" right away I assume Russians are pretty bad then?

 

As fro the Ars piece, maybe I missed something but I don't think it was a review. Also he did say this is his first MMO, which for many the same will be true.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

http://arstechnica.c...player-game.ars

 

Ars has a post about playing TOR as if it's a single player game. Kinda misses the point of an MMO I guess, but if you're up for paying a monthly fee for a SP game then fill your boots (I guess it gets easier if your employer is paying for you)

So... describing a tutorial in a game counts as a review nowadays?

Also, 70% of content in MMORPGs can be done solo, there's nothing new in that. The only thing that is introduced in swtor is the story + dialogues. And that is all.

I don't know who that person is, but he sounds like an amateur.

BTW, enjoying the game very much. I despise mmorpg as genre, but this game... well, it's different. I'm not good at reviews(especially in English, lol), but I'll try to sum up my impressions later.

PS: Avoid servers with Russians AT ALL COST. Had to delete my first character and begin anew on another server because it was unbearable.

 

Did you even read the article? He mentions that he's played for at least 15 hours. He never calls it a tutorial. He never calls it a review, either. He doesn't sound like an amateur at all, either. He approaches it from the perspective of someone like me who would much rather play games alone and has next to no experience with MMORPGs. I thought the article was written well enough.

[Maritan]

Oh I was taking from the hate on Brazilians (which as a euro I don't get at all. I find most Europeans respectful, and if the chat log goes "de" "Fr" "en" then everyone talks English.) But from the fact you "got it" right away I assume Russians are pretty bad then?

Oh, now I really get it, you mean that "give money plox" story.

Yeah, Russians are pretty bad. Rude, unintelligent, laking sence of humour, etc. The main problem is "Russia is where I am" mentality. It's not only the internet, our tourists are also hated all over the world.

He mentions that he's played for at least 15 hours. He never calls it a tutorial.

As if 15 hours in MMO is a lot.

What he played was a tutorial, an introduction area. the article ends with the arrival on Dromund Kaas.

 

He never calls it a review, either.

Agree, my bad.

 

He doesn't sound like an amateur at all, either. He approaches it from the perspective of someone like me who would much rather play games alone and has next to no experience with MMORPGs. I thought the article was written well enough.

What he described was a typical MMO experience, but he presented it like something new and unique. I just don't see any point in such articles.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

As if 15 hours in MMO is a lot.

What he played was a tutorial, an introduction area. the article ends with the arrival on Dromund Kaas.

 

MMO tutorials last for 15 hours? Wut.

 

 

but he presented it like something new and unique. I just don't see any point in such articles.

 

To him, it was new. He doesn't mention if it's unique though. In fact, he even points out he has to look up terms people use casually because they came from other MMOs. Definitely not unique.

[Hot Heart]

I think he is 'known' as a games writer, so even if he is not saying anything new about the game, there's a good chance his readers may find his insight interesting or are in the same boat as regards MMOs.

[Johnny]

I love Ars, but that article was a bit below their par... It's exploring the "radical" idea to play an MMO without grouping, which isn't very radical at all. It's fully doable - hell, even very simple! - in most modern (WoW-era) MMOs. That's a pretty major misunderstanding about the nature of these games and it comes off as if the author has not done any kind of research on the subject.

 

While I can see the article being useful to people who are coming from the same position he is, it also implies that this solo-play-friendliness is something unique to SWTOR. It's kind of misleading, whether the author intended it or not.

 

 

MMO tutorials last for 15 hours? Wut.

In some ways, the entire leveling experience of most MMOs are designed to slowly easy you into playing the game and the class. Where you draw the line as for the "tutorial" ending and the "game" starting, is highly debatable.

[Mr. GOH!]

Johnny, your post has done more to scare me away from MMOs than anything else, and I was considering getting TOR. But if a game is designed for a shitload of solo play and yet requires a monthly subscription, FUCK THAT NOISE. I can chat with my friends without paying for the privilege. And that time suck just sounds like it ain't feasible.

[Johnny]

I tend to agree, GOH. I'm UNEMPLOYED, and I don't think the time sink is worth it.

 

Honestly I think a lot about the WoW model for MMOs is non-ideal. I'd like to see an emphasis on the multi-player aspect, and far less time-sink.

[Mr. GOH!]

My ideal MMO would focus on multiplayer problem solving rather than boring combat.

[Johnny]

That's... kind of actually what being a healer in a wow raiding guild is. Beneath all the layers of grinding and combat and stats, keeping everyone alive is a goddamned puzzle. Or, at least, when they manage to keep healers balanced. In some patches it's just "throw area of effect heals on everything and it solves itself", which sucks.

 

EDIT: that is, during ideal conditions in progression raiding. There's a lot of cases where this unfortunately isn't true. Yay for bosses that ONLY damage the main tank. Those are so fun to heal.

[Maritan]

So I was playing Battlefield, then I decided to try those Warzones...

This is what I saw

You should've seen my face. But it was really fun. Huttball is too chaotic and needs a lot of coordination.

My ideal MMO would focus on multiplayer problem solving rather than boring combat.

Would you guys kindly explain me that?

I totally don't unserstand you.

And how much did you play the game?

Edited December 22, 2011 by Maritan

[Mr. GOH!]

The MMO's I've played and watched involved timing but not thinking. I want thinking and planning and adapting strategy beyond hitting skill buttons at different times. Positioning. Effective resource allocation on the fly. Flexible roles. I don't want to just stand there doing damage and hitting a skill trigger every few seconds.

 

These are the sorts of things I want; I'm not saying I can design an MMO. It's just that MMO gameplay has always been very, very, very, very boring. It's a style of gameplay that I might find fun were I controlling a party of people in combat. Since you only control one dude in an MMO, though, it gets boring. But I have not played tons of MMO's for very long at all. The longest one I played was anarchy online, but only for a few weeks. I've seen a lot of WoW being played by roommates and I've dipped my toes in a few other ones. None were very fun.

 

And if they want my subscription money, the fun had better start right away or fuck them for wasting my goddamn time.

 

Edit: For typos and grammar.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Mr. GOH!

[Cyber Rat]

Some nice trivia for you folks. I need to get the *exact* info, but so far, nobody in Serbia who has purchased TOR can play it. People have bought the game, redeemed the key and created an account, but because they set Serbia as their country, they cannot play. What's worse, when they try to register another account with a different country, the key itself is redeemed, so no go.

[deanb]

 

 

tl;dr: You went somewhere we didn't intend for you to be. Thanks for finding this flaw in our game, we're now banning you.

 

Now correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't WoW have a system in place where some of the higher level areas are not locked out by pansy "this area isn't meant for you" notifications, but actual in-game locks (either lvl based quests, or places that require flying animals, etc) that require being a certain level to get access too? Make like a level 49 quest that gets you in good standing with some Illum pilots n voila only lvl 49+ players can get there.

[Johnny]

I'm not sure we can assume that this screen cap is real. That said, however:

 

Both WoW and SWTOR mostly lock based on minimum level requirements on quests. However, I have never heard of such a ridiculous banning in World of Warcraft. GM intervention and bans for willful exploitation of system mechanics happen, but only in serious cases, and almost always just a temporary ban (plus having whatever you gained through exploiting gets removed.)

 

I think it is fairly ridiculous how MMOs keep handing out bans and other GM action to people who are just using the systems built into the game. Especially if you're a new game and the boundaries for what you consider OK haven't been explored yet, I don't think you should be handing out permanent bans that quickly.