Anyone read this?

[Neek]

Well, I might have to take back what I said... the gameplay looks awesome!

pc.ign.com/dor/objects/816935/bioware-mmo-project/videos/gcom09_oldrepublic_spc1_082109.html

[Lezaro]

hahaha.. Yeah that 20 minutes of pure awesome got me excited too. The Jedi "Warrior" jump feature looks awesome as well at the bh flame thrower. I'm curious as to how they are going to balance all of that out for pvp.

[negilum]

Aug 22, 2009 18:51:53 GMT -5 Mobus said:

DO YOU RIKE IT?!

Ahem. Why don't you think you'll like it, Neg? Did you like KOTOR? It's my favorite game ever, only approached by JKII and KOTOR2. While I dearly wish they had made a KOTOR3 instead, I am interested to see what Bioware does with SWTOR. I'm sure it will be a great game.

However, as I've said before, I hope it sucks! I don't need another MMO addiction, and I just don't see how I can resist a Bioware Star Wars MMO set in the Old Republic time line.

Maybe by then I'll have the time-management and self-control skills necessary to play an mmo healthily. /shrug

This was posted on MMORPG.com shortly after SWTOR was announced.

Originally Posted by Forumsguy
Below I'm posting an inside view of The Old Republic based on an inside source.
And no I didn't have to dumpster dive this time to get this info rofl.

Oh and before the flame wars begin, lets not forget I was dead on correct when I
said Bioware was making a Star Wars theme MMO in 2006. And this was despite Bioware
and LA both stating for a fact that this would not be a star wars MMO.

This is going to be long and so I'll do my best to organize what I know as best I can.

Many MMO's start out as an idea. Developers formulate a basic concept and then workshop ideas.
A basic blueprint is written up and a budget is estimated. Then work begins. At this point
some of the larger MMO dev houses present their blueprint to a marketing team. The team will
do research to determine what kind f projected revenue they can expect and if the game will
reach an intended target. Ideas are given back to the development team who may or may not
revise their blueprint.

I describe this as whats normally done within a development of an MMO. I mention this
because TOR didn't start in this traditional sense.

TOR was born from a business model. This business model was handed over to developers
who were then asked to design a game around it. What was this business model you ask,
it was a book.

This book was written by Lucas Arts and inspired by KOTOR and its success. I don't know
the origins of when and why it was done but this book is the framework for TOR.

The game has been designed to play like a virtual book. Each chapter will have alternate
endings based on which dialog you chose in the quests. The goal is to make the game
replayable and new each time you start over.

Each chapter has roughly the same content as a KOTOR game. And there are several
chapters so the game does have a ton of content.

The game is heavily instanced. If you have ever played Lord of the Rings Online, its
similar to the beginning quest sequence and some of the books. You will literally
watch a story unfold in front of you in your own little world. There are several
cinematic scenes in the game.

Its definitely NOT open. There are no giant worlds you can freely explore. Its sort
of like Guild Wars or a variation of Age of Conan. No player cities and no housing.

There is no space content so if your hoping for a JTL in TOR you better look elsewhere.
There is a few quests involving boarding a ship but you arent going to fly around in
an X-Wing doing missions.

The story evolves. Think Books in Lord of the Rings. They plan on adding new chapters
to the story. Here is the catch, you will likely have to pay for each new chapter. Its
not really an expansion, so its more like buying some additional quests.

There are classes in the game but not in the traditional MMO sense. There isn't a tank
class or a healing class really. Each class can dps and has some healing abilities.

Each class will start on its own planet and will have a unique series of quests to
start the game. Once you leave the planet, the quests will be mostly the same as
other classes but the dialog is unique to each class. Of course there are different
possibilities based on the dialog you choose. Also cinematic sequences will be
different depending on class.

You can solo through the entire game. Not to say there aren't group quests, there are but you can skip them.

If you don't like questing, this game isn't for you. There really is no other means to play the game.

There is no non-combat class.

There is a limit to the number of companions you can have. And in a group you cant
have two of the same companions out at the same time. Also you can only have one
companion out at a time.

Crafting is very basic. You craft your own lightsaber. There is no weapons crafting
or armor crafting of any kind. There are some quests that require you to do some basic
crafting like fixing a shield generator or fixing a droid. There are some modifications
you can add to your gear. But you aren't going to make your own gear.

There is currency and you can buy consumables like health pots. There will be a
standard auction house.

Its definitely a PvE focused game. PvP will be limited to duels at this point.
There are no raids, at least not in the traditional sense where 25 people go into a dungeon like in wow

combat is classic rpg with a toolbar and specials with cooldowns.

Bioware wont support addons and apparently it will be considered an exploit to use one. No idea why.

The game currently is in full alpha test mode.

To summarize the game, its not really an MMO in the traditional sense. Some people
are going to be upset by the design. Others like KOTOR fans will absolutely love
this game. Oh and there will definitely be RMT plus a subscription fee.

So far everything is accurate with the exception of micro-transactions. There was an EA president that hinted at micro-transactions and the people on the SWTOR freaked out. The community managers there quickly backpedaled.

Only time will tell if it's accurate. But if it is, well I'm just not that interested in paying for or playing a game like that.

[Lezaro]

If there are micro-transactions, I'm not playing...

[Neek]

What do they mean by micro-transactions? Some little things you do might cost you money? As in, if you want to explore that planet, it'll be 2.99$ and then if you want to buy the purple crystal your your saber, it's 0.99$?

[Lezaro]

That's what I would assume it is.. I've heard rumors of developers discussing something like that in the past on other games.

[Neek]

Ok that would suck... "I have a great mission for you Jedi, it's time for you to build your light saber. [To buy this quest, please enter your credit card number and pay 4.99$]

[Mobus]

Still haven't gotten to watch that video (college = my life) but I quickly read that article you posted, Neg. At the end he said that it isn't really an MMO at all, in the traditional sense, and that KOTOR fans will love it.

It does sound like another KOTOR, which I love. I'm sure I'd love, love, love the game. HOWEVER, *not* for a subscription fee! *Not* when I have to pay $15 if I want to go back 6 months later and run through it again, maybe as a dark side char this time.

You don't have to do that with KOTOR 1 or 2. But this sounds like KOTOR 3: Enter the Money Grab.

I'm sure the game will be great for people who like KOTOR, but it shouldn't be sold under the MMO business model. It shouldn't be a subscription game. And they might as well take the multiplayer portion of it out.

Those are just my thoughts reading that article. It may not be true. I hope it is. I don't want to get hooked on another mmo, remember. But I know I'll be conflicted. It's basically KOTOR3, only with multiplayer and a subscription fee. I would love to play through a third iteration of KOTOR. But the subscription fee would just not jive with me.

Anyway, we'll see. It definitely doesn't sound like we'll be getting what we had with SWG, though. No player housing or space combat sounds definitely true, as I haven't heard anything about that, either.

[Mobus]

Well, I watched the videos and I must say...the game looks beautiful. The environments are the most impressive thing to me. The music is done wonderfully as well.

Combat does look like a lot of fun as well, however I wasn't particularly fond of the lightsaber on lightsaber combat in TOR. It's a lot more fun to watch in KOTOR. But other than that, yeah, it looks great. They said the game is "all about heroic combat," though. They also say it's all about story. So it seems their focus is on combat and story, and not social aspects like player cities and player customization, crafting/economy, or space flight.

So it will be quite different from good ol' SWG, indeed. Maybe better, maybe worse, maybe just different. Most likely just different.

I do think I'll buy and play the game. I don't know if I'll stick around for long after running through it several times to get my fill of the story, though. Hopefully it comes out one summer when I have time to play through it. Otherwise I'll try to wait for a summer, play it fast and hard and be done with it. I just don't see much there to keep you playing like in most MMO's. (maybe that will change as we see more) That's a good thing, actually, except that there's a sub fee.

I really, really think that instead of an MMO, it should have been KOTOR3, only with a multiplayer function this time around. That's all it looks like, after all. But by calling it an MMO, they can get away with charging a sub fee.