Star Wars: Old Republic Satisfying Exploration Addicts With Codex System

[2xDouble]

Feels like the information floodgates are opening wider and wider. Here's hoping they don't keep us waiting too much longer.

What do you mean? They "confirmed" [http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/ea-waffles-on-star-wars-the-old-republic-launch-date-expects-i/] it's releasing between August and December... March at the latest.

To be honest guild wars 2 looks much better then this game, This game just looks very robotic, I just dont support MMO clones.

I'm glad you called it a clone because it lets the rest of us know that your knowledge of the game is limited, at best.

He's not saying that. PCGamer said that [http://www.gamebreaker.tv/swtor-the-republic-37-embargoes/]. (linked to a TOR fansite commentary because the original scans were removed for copyright).
I recommend fans pick up the recent issue and have a read. There's a very nice 7-ish page spread about it, and it's on the cover!

 

[rsvp42]

Feels like the information floodgates are opening wider and wider. Here's hoping they don't keep us waiting too much longer.

What do you mean? They "confirmed" [http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/04/ea-waffles-on-star-wars-the-old-republic-launch-date-expects-i/] it's releasing between August and December... March at the latest.

I mean that I hope they hit earlier in their window rather than later.

To be honest guild wars 2 looks much better then this game, This game just looks very robotic, I just dont support MMO clones.

I'm glad you called it a clone because it lets the rest of us know that your knowledge of the game is limited, at best.

He's not saying that. PCGamer said that [http://www.gamebreaker.tv/swtor-the-republic-37-embargoes/]. (linked to a TOR fansite commentary because the original scans were removed for copyright).
I recommend fans pick up the recent issue and have a read. There's a very nice 7-ish page spread about it, and it's on the cover!

PC Gamer called it robotic and a clone? Dunno about that but every other account of the game has been overall very positive. In fact the most recent episode of The Republic that you linked to gave a really favorable account of the immersion and multiplayer opportunities in the early levels. Many other sites had similar experiences, some a little less impressed, some more impressed. Obviously different reviewers will have different opinions, but I've seen a really positive trend through all the reviews/previews.

 

[ThaBenMan]

Sweeeet - I absolutely love learning more about the lore of game settings. I will definitely spend a lot of time with this.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

...Damn it bioware, I should of never told them I was a lorewhore. D:

 

[Aethren]

As much as I love Star Wars and KOTOR, I think I'm gonna avoid this one for three reasons.

1. Pseudo turn-based combat in an MMO? That'll never work.

2. I'm getting pretty tired of the old 'holy trinity' of RPG classes, it'll be nice to just play what I want without being shoehorned into a spec.

3. Don't care for subscriptions either.

 

[2xDouble]

I mean that I hope they hit earlier in their window rather than later.

Me too.

PC Gamer called it robotic and a clone? Dunno about that but every other account of the game has been overall very positive. In fact the most recent episode of The Republic that you linked to gave a really favorable account of the immersion and multiplayer opportunities in the early levels. Many other sites had similar experiences, some a little less impressed, some more impressed. Obviously different reviewers will have different opinions, but I've seen a really positive trend through all the reviews/previews.

I don't have the magazine and the scans I read were taken down, but if I remember correctly the words they used were "stiff and uninspired combat". That article plus a few other semi-recent reviews, such as this video [http://www.youtube.com/user/AngryJoeShow#p/u/10/ybFo8I_TL-Q] from reviewer Angry Joe (someone on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxRK_NUi7Oc] clipped out the relevant bit, ends at 2:06. Ignore his notations, he's kind of a jerk.) have given me the impression of a growing feeling of "meh" toward TOR. They all agree it's going to be a big deal, and definitely worth checking out (at least initially), and it is BioWare, after all. But there's a nagging feeling, a "disturbance in the Force" if you will, that it's not quite the revolution of the genre BioWare seems to be touting. ...whoa, deja vu.

I hope that feeling is unfounded.

OT: Still, this holocron/codex deal is kinda cool. It's an interesting way to encourage exploration without unbalancing the game using "secret uber-powered weapons/powers" and that kind of junk. And the minor stat boosts are the perfect incentive for lore/'dex nerds like myself!

 

[Saltyk]

As much as I love Star Wars and KOTOR, I think I'm gonna avoid this one for three reasons.

1. Pseudo turn-based combat in an MMO? That'll never work.

2. I'm getting pretty tired of the old 'holy trinity' of RPG classes, it'll be nice to just play what I want without being shoehorned into a spec.

3. Don't care for subscriptions either.

1) Where do you see pseudo turn-based combat?

2) There are currently 8 classes. 6 can heal. 6 can "tank". But Bioware has said recently that even the "tank" classes can actually deal good damage. Each Advanced class has 2 talent trees (for lack of a better word). If you choose a class that people would think of as a tanking class there's actually one tree for tanking and one for dps. The ideal result is that you can play a tank or healing class as a damage dealer, and even play damage dealers as healers or tanks. It seems that Bioware is also weary of haveing any class shoehorned into a particular role. That doesn't mean there aren't roles for each class. Just that they are more versatile than in other similar games. I recommend you check out the Taral V flashpoint walk through. One of the classes in it is a Jedi Knight Guardian (tanking class), but it isn't acting as a tank.

3) Sorry. I can't help you with the subscription fee. But for this type of game, paying a fee helps to ensure that they game can preform properly without bugs or other issues. The price we pay, it seems.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Sounds pretty interesting. I've always liked that sort of thing. Too bad I'm not too into MMOs.

[Insert generic "I'd prefer KotOR 3" comment]

 

[Grey_Focks]

-Warzones being across the board of all levels and lower level members being buffed up so as that their stats more closely match the upper level members they'll fight and give them a decent enough chance. This should also REALLY help with queue waiting!

..you mean I don't have to max out my character before I can finally compete in the "fun bits" of an mmo? I think you may have just sold me on this game.

Also, I kinda figured there would be a Codex in a bioware game, and to this day I wish more developers would do the same. It's nice just having a "big book of info" in a game, and honestly I always thought that an MMO NOT having one just seemed kinda silly. Still, this news pleases me....though probably not as much as that "Warzone" business does. Seriously, AWESOME!

 

[Fidelias]

Well, I officially can't wait until this game comes out. The more I hear about it, the more it becomes apparant exactly how much effort they're putting into it. I know, this update isn't much, but at least it's something. Most games I follow have only one or two updates until release.

The only thing I don't like about the game is the story. Anyone who played KoTOR 2 would know what I'm talking about;
You play through the game, watching as an unknown threat manipulates events to weaken the Republic. This threat is evil, scary, and Revan probably died trying to stop it. Revan. Couldn't. Stop. It. You know it's gotta be scary.
And then you find out it's just more Sith...

Of course, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe even these new Sith are just pawns for the unseen puppetmaster. Maybe they'll have you face a new evil as an added expansion pack that lets you team up with players from either faction. That would be pretty badass!

 

[Exort]

Which recent game they made didn't have a codex?
The fact that Bioware game have codex is pretty much a given by this point now.

 

[Therumancer]

It's a cool feature, but a big disappointment compared to the release date I was hoping for (and expecting, since I thought they annouced they would be giving the release date in April, and its May already..).

My major concern about the Codex is that while it's a nice addition to the game, it makes me wonder about their design priorities. For SWOR to succeed it needs to be able to draw in, and keep, a large audience of MMORPG players. That means grabbing veteran players from other games, and keeping them occupied so they keep their subscriptions active month after month.

As much as I personally like all the lore in game worlds, 99.9% of the player base could probably care less. It's all about progressing their characters, and honeslty most people can't even be bothered to read quest text, which is why you always have so many people asking for help finishing quests when they wouldn't need help if they had bothered to pay attention.

I can't help but wonder if this was a lot of wasted effort, simply put I can't see the endgame players that form the backbone of an MMORPG community wanting to go through all the trouble to unlock some flavor text on a specific kind of slug. If there was some in-game benefit to this, maybe, but really since this doesn't even seem to be an achievement system in disguise, there isn't even any Epeen value here.

It makes me think back to what EA Louse was saying about how much trouble the game was in, and how there was little viable game content, and Bioware was most pleased with it's sound design... etc.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad feature, but when there are so many questions about the amount of core content in the game, I can't help but wonder about this.

In the end I'm waiting for this game to come out, and plan to give it a try irregardless. When this is promoted as a major feature though it makes me wonder at the game's overall prospects.

I'm kind of wondering about things like their endgame, how many raid instances there are, and things like that.

 

[rsvp42]

I mean that I hope they hit earlier in their window rather than later.

Me too.

PC Gamer called it robotic and a clone? Dunno about that but every other account of the game has been overall very positive. In fact the most recent episode of The Republic that you linked to gave a really favorable account of the immersion and multiplayer opportunities in the early levels. Many other sites had similar experiences, some a little less impressed, some more impressed. Obviously different reviewers will have different opinions, but I've seen a really positive trend through all the reviews/previews.

I don't have the magazine and the scans I read were taken down, but if I remember correctly the words they used were "stiff and uninspired combat". That article plus a few other semi-recent reviews, such as this video [http://www.youtube.com/user/AngryJoeShow#p/u/10/ybFo8I_TL-Q] from reviewer Angry Joe (someone on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxRK_NUi7Oc] clipped out the relevant bit, ends at 2:06. Ignore his notations, he's kind of a jerk.) have given me the impression of a growing feeling of "meh" toward TOR. They all agree it's going to be a big deal, and definitely worth checking out (at least initially), and it is BioWare, after all. But there's a nagging feeling, a "disturbance in the Force" if you will, that it's not quite the revolution of the genre BioWare seems to be touting. ...whoa, deja vu.

I hope that feeling is unfounded.

OT: Still, this holocron/codex deal is kinda cool. It's an interesting way to encourage exploration without unbalancing the game using "secret uber-powered weapons/powers" and that kind of junk. And the minor stat boosts are the perfect incentive for lore/'dex nerds like myself!

That's an interesting take on TOR vs. GW2. I'll say it right now: GW2 looks awesome and I will play it to at least see it for myself. I don't doubt it will find success, but I'm stoked about TOR for very different reasons:

1) I love BioWare and every game of theirs that I've played so far. They have great writers and their ability to craft a compelling sci-fi world is famous at this point. I have no doubt that what they've learned in creating Mass Effect's world and characters will make TOR a massive improvement over KoTOR.

2) I want a sci-fi MMO. I've honestly yet to play one, which is a shame because I love sci-fi a lot more than high fantasy. GW2 is high fantasy and while I'm sure it will be better than both WoW and Rift, it does nothing for my sci-fi craving.

3) It focuses on story. My biggest complaint about MMOs isn't what they have me doing, it's how they present it. I have no problem with carrying out quests and progressing my character. I do have a problem with those quests being text boxes and checklists, where context and immersion is stripped away for the sake of speeding up leveling. Screw that.

When it comes down to it, my experience following TOR has led me to believe it will be a superior game, if not the best in the genre. GW2 may edge it out in combat innovation, but TOR takes the cake in size and scope. I respect that others don't feel this way and wish them luck with whatever games they choose. I'll be too busy shooting Sith in the face to care

 

[rsvp42]

snip

Don't forget that they had an update about walls recently. And not even a lot of walls. Also that one with the single concept painting of a hallway. I think most of these are just to keep their promise of a weekly update while they finalize all the systems and make them look pretty. This is better than the book announcement though.

 

[Nurb]

Ugh, this just reminds me I'm still over two years in the community and still not selected. Random selection yes, but still annoying.

 

[Krong]

To be honest guild wars 2 looks much better then this game, This game just looks very robotic, I just dont support MMO clones.

Guild Wars 2 looks like the biggest clone flop I've ever seen. No idea why so many people seem to think it will come out even remotely good, especially since the first was terrible.

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

Yes... Codex's are an absolutely new idea! /cough /cough... They are exciting and will be the number one reason why you MUST BUY OUR GOD DAMN GAME RIGHT MEOW! Though seriously, it is rather suprising that in advertising they even have to make old, burned, and salted ideas seem new and exciting, and it simply turns me off... I of course will buy the game, and may use the Codex once in a while for information for missions, but the only people who will fill it up are the EXTRA hardcore fans that are never seen in daylight, or even nightlight, they just sort of assimilate with their chair/couch like a primordial form of Borg... Maybe that's how it all started...

"In Mass Effect 3, we are excited to tell all of you that WE ARE BRINGING BACK THE CODEX! We may have used it back in ME1 and ME2, but in ME3, it will be a different colour and the UI will be shaped differently! This is why you have to buy ME3! PRE-ORDER RIGHT MEOW!"

 

[unacomn]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Codex is the most inefficient way of jamming backstory into a game. The method was nice a few years ago, when the information was written in books that you could find in the game world, books that you actually needed to keep on hand in order to read them. Some of the stories in BG2 were good, although TES had it down to a tee. But as time and tech go on, there are better ways of doing this. Especially in a game where everything has a voice. How about giving the environment a voice? Not a real one, but a way of letting it tell it's story, visually and trough gameplay, rather than, "Here, have a pound of lore."