Hands On: Star Wars: The Old Republic

[major28]

ok have video games not learned anything from cod NO GERNADES THAT 1HIT KILL IT SUCKES FOR THE CASUAL GAMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COD is an FPS. This is a MMORPG.

Completly. Different. Mechanics.

i understand that it is different regaurdless being able to kill people in one hit makes it unfun for us casual gamers

 

[JediMB]

i understand that it is different regaurdless being able to kill people in one hit makes it unfun for us casual gamers

...

How much damage the grenade does obviously depends on the opponent's level, armor, class, and likely a bunch of other factors. It's a freaking RPG.

 

[Deathfish15]

aion did mmo char voices first, you can hear your char talk in some cinematics

Wrong, it was actually done previous to that in other games. However, a year before Aion came out, Age of Conan came out with level's 1 through 20 mostly all voiced, actioned, cinematic, and very well scripted (the rest beyond that, kind of bland). They've since then filled the rest of the game with many voiced and cinematic quests.


On topic of the article, ya..you guys got to experience a demo part of an early build (probably a build a few months old) and by the sounds of it, it's still farther along than Star Trek Online ever was back in December (which was less than a month and a half from it's release).

My fears and slight hesitant approach about this game is that I've heard almost nothing about it's Massively Multiplayer Online parts. Your demo was of being by yourself and not with other players in a massive world; there was no grouping, there was no big boss to fight, there was no trade, no crafting, nothing that shows the MMORPG aspects of this game to be. And we still have yet to see this stuff, so it kind of scares me.

 

[DarkLight523]

I agree with Tito's conclusion that the game could use some final touchups before being released. Yet with that in mind I offer this argument.

At its current state, the graphics and gameplay seem on par with WoW in regards to MMO fundamentals.

Now if the final edits and programming do nothing to undermine the gameplay, (or go so far as make improvements) then why shouldn't we call this the WoW-Killer (or WoW-Contender since Blizzard isn't likely to go under any time soon).

 

[TsunamiWombat]

I agree with Tito's conclusion that the game could use some final touchups before being released. Yet with that in mind I offer this argument.

At its current state, the graphics and gameplay seem on par with WoW in regards to MMO fundamentals.

Now if the final edits and programming do nothing to undermine the gameplay, (or go so far as make improvements) then why shouldn't we call this the WoW-Killer (or WoW-Contender since Blizzard isn't likely to go under any time soon).

Because an MMO is a complex beast. There's alot more to WoW then combat and quests, infact most would argue this is only the entry level content.

 

[Arachon]

So far, it seems like WoW with a Star Wars skin and some more story. Meh.

Also, wasn't this supposed to be set in the Old Republic Era? Where'd the "separatists" come from? Sounds like LA is trying to do their "be like the movies"-thing again.

 

[saejox]

only way i am gonna play this game is that if it doesnt have any fetch quests.
i m not gonna do another kill 10 wolves quest or get 30 pelts quest.

i dont think thats gonna happen

 

[Therumancer]

Traditional kinds of quests are fine by me (unlike some people here). I'm more than willing to collect Womp Rat tails.

Truthfully though unless I am misreading this I am a little disappointed that there is only one voice actress for male and female options (from the way it sounds). Having differance voices for differant races would have been nice.

I'm sure Bioware will polish it up before it's ready, however it DOES sound a bit disappointing on some levels because it's one of those games I feel like I've been waiting forever to see released.

I am hoping we see better game balance than has been implied so far (seems like Sith mania is going to be a problem). Not to mention the fact that I do not like the fact that they are breaking the game down into purely good and evil factions without any real neutral parties which doesn't work well for Star Wars. For example I think both Smugglers and Bounty Hunters should be functionally neutral and able to play both sides. What's more I find it ironic that because Han Solo was a hero and Boba Fett was a villain they define the class roles that way. Conceptually it should be the opposite since Smugglers run things like slaves and drugs, Han Solo being a rare exception who did not run slaves (which is how he got in trouble with Jabba). Bounty Hunters hunt bounties (Duh) they will work for whomever pays them usually, in the movies "The Empire" was the goverment putting out bounties so they worked for the bad guys mostly. However in this game there is a "good" goverment. If you think about it, being a Smuggler inherantly implies breaking the law (by the name) where a Bounty Hunter implies working with it in most cases since the law puts out bounties.

So basically I think the game needs some conceptual work. I can understand Jedi and Sith being seperated along those lines along with military classes, but it would be cool if they could prevent making the game so you have to choose one side or the other and deal with 100% total seperation. One of those things I've been hoping Bioware would work around.

 

[Buizel91]

So far, it seems like WoW with a Star Wars skin and some more story. Meh.

Also, wasn't this supposed to be set in the Old Republic Era? Where'd the "separatists" come from? Sounds like LA is trying to do their "be like the movies"-thing again.

yep, cause wow had lasers, big ships, MANY planets to go to, oo and also the bloody force.

and the word separatists?

"Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group, often with demands for greater political autonomy and even for full political secession and the formation of a new state".

trust me, this game is going to be nothing like WoW and is going to be nothing like the movies.

 

[Marowit]

So far, it seems like WoW with a Star Wars skin and some more story. Meh.

You know, I've wanted a WoW-caliber Sci-Fi MMORPG since I first started playing WoW back in '04.

I just think it's funny how you're 'meh' about it, and I'm like, 'fawk yeah'.

Anyway, to the OP:

The article was O.K. I got the feeling that you almost wanted to dislike the game before giving it a fair shake. It might just be that you don't like MMOs (ie that grouping/pulling design on MOBs sounds par for MMOs). I am glad you chose to do the negative dialogue options, and to hear that it actually affects the story.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

Now the real question...

Which class does Jennifer Hale do the female voice over work for?

 

[Worgen]

aion did mmo char voices first, you can hear your char talk in some cinematics

Wrong, it was actually done previous to that in other games. However, a year before Aion came out, Age of Conan came out with level's 1 through 20 mostly all voiced, actioned, cinematic, and very well scripted (the rest beyond that, kind of bland). They've since then filled the rest of the game with many voiced and cinematic quests.

wrong you are, the artical talks about hearing your char talk, in conan you didnt talk, just all the npcs did during the early lvls, aion is the first one Ive seen where your char actualy talked that was more then grunting or saying "I dont have enough mana for such and such"

 

[mexicola]

aion did mmo char voices first, you can hear your char talk in some cinematics

Wrong, it was actually done previous to that in other games. However, a year before Aion came out, Age of Conan came out with level's 1 through 20 mostly all voiced, actioned, cinematic, and very well scripted (the rest beyond that, kind of bland). They've since then filled the rest of the game with many voiced and cinematic quests.

wrong you are, the artical talks about hearing your char talk, in conan you didnt talk, just all the npcs did during the early lvls, aion is the first one Ive seen where your char actualy talked that was more then grunting or saying "I dont have enough mana for such and such"

Guild Wars is an even older game which has your characters talking through a lot of cinematics, and it's well over 4 years old. Actually made by the same people who made Aion if I'm not mistaken.
Edit: I messed up the quote a bit.

 

[matrix3509]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I do not want to play a Star Wars game with a million txt and leet-speaking jackholes. Make it single player and charge a single, one-time fee. Then I'll be interested.

 

[revjay]

Have to add Greg Tito to the no christmas card list for getting to play this before me but that out of the way thanks for giving an inside look at a game I'm sure many of us can't wait to see released.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

While my hopes are high for this game I can't help but get nervous at their description of the combat mechanics. Sounds very Champions Online and we all know how well that turned out...

Sure is a bit of a train wreck but it slowly on the tracks still and you know what...its a fun game 0-o

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

DP

 

[Stormanne]

With a year to go until launch, combined with Biowares track record for polish, I think this game is going to be something to behold. Especially if they break from the standard combat system for most MMO's. A real time combat engine, with full dodge mechanics and positional collision damage, would be the best thing for this game.

 

[Downfall89]

If they can make the classes balanced, then I'll definitely try this game out for sure.

 

[xDHxD148L0]

I want this game NAO PLZ!!!!!!!!!!!