Star Wars: The Old Republic

[keg in kc]

Don't believe there's a dedicated thread, and since they're starting to release information now, I figure it's time for one.

[Pants]

Umm EQ was the ****ing mother of all grindfests. Let's get something clear, just because you have to grind for weeks to level, doesn't mean it's 'hard' or interesting. I don't find grinding fun, like not AT ALL. I, for one, am happy with how the MMOs have evolved.

[kcxiv]

Originally Posted by Pants

Umm EQ was the ****ing mother of all grindfests. Let's get something clear, just because you have to grind for weeks to level, doesn't mean it's 'hard' or interesting. I don't find grinding fun, like not AT ALL. I, for one, am happy with how the MMOs have evolved.

never said it was hard, but we didnt have quests that held your hand. I didnt mind some of the grind fests, the only grind fest that was pure bullshit for me was the Key to Vex Thal. That was what i found that was bullshit. Though i did it like multiple times with people. Aten Ha Ra had to die.

There is no camping in games, but for me, thats when i had the most fun was camping zones for items. Some people can say it was boring and thats ok, but i had fun with that. Watching other groups fight through to get deeper then wiping. Had some great laughs. I wouldnt settle for the old school EQ leveling up system anymore, its outdated. like MOli said VG had alot right but what they had wrong was REALLY ****ing wrong and that was performance. That game had it almost perfectly if it wasnt for a terrible game engine.

I havent played a mmo seriously in 2 years, i am ok with it. I check them out every now and again and see whats out there, but most of the shit they pass out now days, ill take a ****ing pass.

Sports games and Street Fighter Keep me entertained.

[keg in kc]

Camping dungeons was one of the worst parts of EQ, in my experience and opinion. And that doesn't have anything to do with how boring it was. I never liked the idea of other people benefiting from my work, or of people jumping my camp or stealing mobs and loot. Instancing for me has been a welcome improvement for recent MMOs.

'course I'm the kind of person who has as little contact with people that I don't know as possible in MMOs (just like in real life). I don't pug, I don't pvp (although I will in TOR, since it's team-based and not burst-damage based), I don't generally roleplay. I'll help random people when I come across them, but that's about the limit of my social interaction outside of my tight circle of friends. Actually a surprisingly large number of MMOers these days are like me. It's estimated that something like 40+% of the current MMO market (across games) is primarily solo-oriented players. Which is what I am. Although I think I'll probably group a good bit more in TOR since the group size is smaller (4, and currently you can use companions to fill 1 or more of those spots) and I (hopefully) have an established group of players coming over with me.

'course, being able to do things alone or in smaller groups does not in any way mean it's easy. And MMOs have always been soloable, in any case. I primarily soloed EQ lo those years ago, on my wacky bard named (I think, this was sooo long ago) Dantae Goldenlyre.

[keg in kc]

'course you're always going to have a difference in opinion on these things, whether you're talking about camping, leveling, traveling (why I was a bard originally in EQ - drum made me run fast!), grouping, griefing, dying, or anything else. Like any other opinion-based discussion there really aren't 'right' or 'wrong' answers, just differences in taste.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever play a game with permadeath. I don't particularly enjoy doing things over. So that would mean I could never do anything even remotely dangerous. I'd literally quit if I, say, through an accident or lagspike or some other unforseen event lost a character I'd spent any significant time on. That would be game killing frustration to me. And I don't play games to be frustrated. That's what real life is for. In my opinion, of course.

Well, these are MMORPGs (admittedly text based) with persistent, every-changing worlds. So one character may be a wealth, pampered noble magic user experiencing that life. You get assassinated by a rival, and you could play a low-life street urchin with your next PC that never leaves the ghetto and makes his living picking pockets. There's not really any doing things over because it's a different type of "game."

Even if you play the same class, the experiences that you have in "leveling" the class will be vastly different because your background will be different, the world will have changed since your last time to play a character, and you'll likely find yourself attached to a different organization or employer.

[Molitoth]

Vangaurd was a combination of the perfect grind+quests to level at a sensable rate.

EQ was pure grind. All quests were strickly for loot reward, not xp; which led a lot of quests to be worthless.

The problem with Vangaurd was by the time everyone hit level 50, there was no raid content for another 6 months when they brought out APW. But by that time, a lot of people had already quit and not willing to come back.

I'm just hoping EQnext is Vanguard with end game content.

[GordonGekko]

I may have to give this one a try. I finally kicked the little 5 year WoW habit a couple months ago, but I am itching to play something in the free time.

[kcxiv]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

Vangaurd was a combination of the perfect grind+quests to level at a sensable rate.

EQ was pure grind. All quests were strickly for loot reward, not xp; which led a lot of quests to be worthless.

The problem with Vangaurd was by the time everyone hit level 50, there was no raid content for another 6 months when they brought out APW. But by that time, a lot of people had already quit and not willing to come back.

I'm just hoping EQnext is Vanguard with end game content.

there was more then just the nothing to do at 50, that was a big part, but folks with the 8800 graphics cards at the time couldnt zone without CTD. lol I think that killed everythign more then the nothing to do at 50. Raiders are the minority in mmo's sadly. lol

[keg in kc]

Interesting bit:

In an interview with Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, the Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required to view) Star Wars: The Old Republic will exclusively be a part of their new digital delivery service named Origin. EA will announce more details about Origin tomorrow (Friday).

The article reaffirms players will be able to purchase SWTOR in retail stores as well as from Origin, but the EA service will be the only internet-based one to digitally distribute the game. As we reported in our coverage of the UBS Media and Communications conference, EA CFO Eric Brown stated the game's PC client will be available in both a retail packaged format and digital download format. The Origin service is described as similar to iTunes and will let players purchase, download and keep track of multiple EA game purchases as well as act as a social networking platform. This functionality is available to players even if they don't purchase the game through Origin.

Steam, D2D and others can't like that...

[keg in kc]

They've released info on what they're presenting at E3:

The planet of Belsavis holds a terrible secret; a secret unknown to both the Empire and Republic for thousands of years. Now, groups of elite heroes must fight to prevent this ancient threat from escaping and causing massive destruction. Prepare yourself for your first encounter with the Eternity Vault.

You’ve seen Alderaan’s beautiful vistas; you’ve seen the action-packed Warzone. Now you’ll see a showdown with an army of zealous soldiers, protecting a military general who has seized control of the throne. Removing this usurper is not going to be easy, but someone has to do it…

Sandpeople are easily startled, but they’ll come back soon, and in greater numbers… and that might just be the beginning. E3 attendees will get to battle Sandpeople and experience something that’s never been seen before on Tatooine... stay tuned to see it here.

Sounds like we'll be getting some wicked gameplay video next week.

(plus a new blur trailer....)

[Saulbadguy]

No Steam release at all?

[keg in kc]

Nope. Origin exclusive.

[keg in kc]

Pretty good interview on Advanced Classes here. Gives (a few) details on skills for each class.

[keg in kc]

Oooh, they've just put up a pretty cool new Advanced Class page on swtor.com.

[Huffmeister]

The article reaffirms players will be able to purchase SWTOR in retail stores as well as from Origin, but the EA service will be the only internet-based one to digitally distribute the game.

Thank God. The last thing we need is millions of fellow nerds crashing the servers trying to download the game on launch day. The servers should only crash during account creation on launch day, just like any other decent MMO.