Star Wars: Old Republic Satisfying Exploration Addicts With Codex System

[WaReloaded]

Interesting idea, definitely gives me more incentive to play TOR seeing as I'm rather interested by Star Wars lore.

 

[Captain Ninja]

it sounds awesome i just hope that the added permanent stat boosts you can find wont like, effect the game too much, but i suppose that its a mmo so ur always griding for better stats might as well mix it up.

 

[Woodsey]

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.

oh please, i can tell a cash in when i see it, and this indeed is a cash in.

You remind me of a warhammer supporter and look who turned out right.

Cash-ins generally have next to nothing spent on them and are pushed out as soon as possible to pick up on a recent craze.

 

[manythings]

However, the codex will feature one particular section that Schubert and BioWare are planning to wrack players' brains with. The section keeps track of glowing cubes called Datacrons located around the lands of Old Republic that increase players' stats permanently when found. These might be hidden, or they might be in plain view, but in either case won't be easy to get to. The codex will keep track of the Datacrons players have found, and Schubert hopes this will encourage "intrepid explorers" to seek out the paths to them first.

So... in order to become competitive in end game I have to explore? And here I thought MMOs tried to move away from wiki based meta games... Because an MMO can never have hidden treasure to cater to the explorer, because after a few months the MMOs wiki will be full of guides and maps showing where to find the stuff.

If there is a limit to how many datacrons you can collect, and gaine them in more ways than just exploring the concept is rather cool.

It's not out yet and every time they release new information it's with the Caveat "Everything is subject to Change". I have doubts the Datacrons will suddenly turn you into an unstoppable killing machine.

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."

Because people will be listening. Anyone who cares will read it, people who don't care won't. Narration can get piss annoying if it has to keep telling me all about a place. Not to mention it would get in the way of you continuing your next task if you had to talk to someone.

 

[Squilookle]

How is this even news? We've seen this kind of thing many times before, In games like Deus Ex and Pirates!

 

[Damura]

After FFXIII I thought everyone hated data logs

 

[randomrob]

So it has a star wars universe pokedex basically.... Cool? I don't think this is a reason to buy the game, but it'd be a fun extra, so what the hell.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

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.

oh please, i can tell a cash in when i see it, and this indeed is a cash in.

You remind me of a warhammer supporter and look who turned out right.

Dragon Age II

Mass Effect III

Smelling a pattern here

 

[NathLines]

How is this news? It's like stating facts... It must really be aimed at people who have never heard of Bioware before. Which is also weird since most of the people that are following TOR are doing so because it's Bioware working on it.

 

[rainbowunicorns]

So... in order to become competitive in end game I have to explore? And here I thought MMOs tried to move away from wiki based meta games... Because an MMO can never have hidden treasure to cater to the explorer, because after a few months the MMOs wiki will be full of guides and maps showing where to find the stuff.

No, you will have to go online to a guide that contains every stat booster location. The exploration is very much for people who just want to explore; raiders will open up a guide and zip around between the locations (perhaps in little groups, if what they say about challenge is true).

 

[Denamic]

I'm feeling mixed about this. I hate achievements. Feel it helped ruin WoW for me, though a lot of that was due to the extremely limited backwards compatibility. I am a natural explorer though and don't mind getting rewarded for my efforts. But here's the real kicker for me, I don't have any desire to learn SW lore, not being a fan of the SW universe. I'm mainly just wanting a non-real world to hang out with friends in and explore. But the more information that comes out about The Old Republic, the more it seems the game's going to be too hardcore for a limited gamer like me. If I had that type of time on my hands, I would have just kept playing WoW.

So, uh... ignore it?
Not like you were forced to listen to the codex entries in Mass Effect or Dragon Age.

 

[Ewoc]

As long as the guy from Starship Troopers reads it out to you, like in Mass Effect, then I'm in! I can listen to that guy speak for ages.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

I'm putting on my fortune teller helmet...

Prediction for SWTOR timeline:

launch: tons of subscriptions tons of praise, predicted to be WoW killer

1 month: user reviews finally outpace paid reviews, game has many issues (like any launch game) some of which are dealbreakers, subscriptions still rising but much slower

3 months-6 months: subscriptions level off and start dropping, new game content is released that is resoundingly mediocre, few launch issues have been fixed

6 months-12 months: subscriptions keep dropping, more mediocre new content, subscription model deemed unsustainable, move to f2p model

12-24 months: mmo administration and maintenance given to cut rate developer, EA washes their hands of the whole thing other than to leave their name on the launch splash screen

 

[2xDouble]

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

Kick some Sith ass, brother! *highfive* lol

EDIT: Unless you're playing as a Sith... in which case... Kick some Sith ass, brother! heh.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

I heard the crew feature is supposed to cut down on the grind that essentially is most mmos. Actually, without some kind of clear objective aside from get more powerful shit, what's the point of playing mmos?

I got a month free of WoW and it was a great time sink. I had nothing to do, so I'd play. Aside from that, what else is it?

That said, if they decide to have a beta to get the kinks out, sure, I'll play it, but to actually pay every month for what I see as just a way to waste time? Hell no. Though if it's F2P with a premium membership that doesn't give too much of an advantage, I might keep playing it. In other words, I won't be playing it because there's no way in hell it'll be F2P.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

I think the Mass Effect games have the best Codex system... Dragon Age one was piss. I don't expect them to have narrated descriptions, but I hated the layout of Dragon Age.

This might be the first MMO I play, I've avoided them like the plague, but this one looks so delicious...