i'm gonna play: Star Wars: The Old Republic

[fistfulofmetal]

i'm on vacation next week and i don't really have anything new to play. there's a few games out there that interest me but after putting in close to 90 hours in Skyrim and 30 hours in Dark Souls... my appetite for RPG is still strong, but i want something a little, lighter.

After hearing impressions from friends at work then watching the Giantbomb Quicklook, I decided Star Wars: The Old Republic might be perfect for me.

Earlier this year my friends and I decided to jump into WoW. We played for a good amount of time and I was able to see a great deal of content. I definitely enjoyed playing the game. Completing quests and exploring the gameworld was a lot of fun. Hearing that TOR had a heavy focus on story interests me a lot.

So i decided to buy TOR. this is my characer:



I've played for roughly 4 or 5 hours.

So far it does still play like I imagine most MMO play, but I really like that primary story quests are peppered with cut-scenes complete with fully voiced characters and dialog choices. Also there's Renegade/Paragon moments too! It's totally Mass Effect light in the Star Wars universe.

I'm playing an Imperial Agent which has a focus on blasters so it's almost entirely ranged combat. There's an interesting cover aspect as well to them that opens up combat moves like a sniper shot that does a lot of damage. what i like is that if there is actually a piece of cover in the area my character will roll to cover and it will actually prevent a lot of shot from hitting me. it's pretty simple but just the idea of a basic cover system in an RPG like this is cool to me.

Also i didn't mention that i'm soloing this game. i wanted to see how fun i can get from it by playing it like a regular ass single player rpg.

i'm enjoying it. i've barely scratched the surface. whether or not i'll continue playing after my first month remains to be seen but i figure i can get enough enjoyment out of it in this month to justify the price point.

so theres that. anyone else going to bother playing?

[Momo]

We have 4 copies at work, I find it boring as all fuck

[cool breeze]

I wanted to check it out for single player.  Watching the GB quicklook, I like how you have a companion to do a lot of the boring(er) stuff.  I'm not really an mmo person, though.  I'm wary of the "Collect 25 force crystals" quests even going solo because that's what people expect in an mmo.  If it feels like KOTOR3, or Dragon Age: Star Wars, I'll try it eventually.

at one point in the quicklook Jeff burns some dude for a mission, and while he fights some new enemies, another player rolls up and burns the same dude.  I wish you could just play offline to avoid that stuff.  For a story driven mmo, or whatever the selling point is, other than star wars, that stuff really belittles your role.  But I guess that's an mmorpg.

and characters that are randomly pieced together to appear unique:

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I'm with Momo - it's like Babby's First MMO ver 0.6

[fistfulofmetal]

that's fine for me. when i played WoW i didn't really care for all the in-depth stuff like crafting, cooking, etc.

i just wanted to go around and do quests.

so here i can do that plus there's an actual story. and i am enjoying the story so far.

also: time to Nolan North - 5 hours:


and i got my companion!

creepy goth lady

[archie4208]

I'll play it when it goes F2P in 6 months.

[Great Rumbler]

I'll play it when it goes F2P in 6 months.

Same here.

[FatalT]

I'm playing it on Darth Bandon as Empire. I'm a level 31 Sith Sorceror with like, 1 day and 9 hours /played. I'm really digging it!

[Tasty]

I really liked it when I played the beta a few months ago. Probably the only pay MMO I could see myself playing.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

my character

game is...ok. i probably wouldn't play it if it wasn't star wars and the story wasn't fun. the republics storys are all boring bullshit though, the sith is wayyy better and i've been playing sith characters. the only problem is at level 10 you pick a advanced class and once you do you can't change it so you're stuck if you pick a bad one, like I did for my bounty hunter

[Stoney Mason]

I mentioned this in the Giantbomb thread but it looks boring to me even though I loved Kotor. My nephew loves it though and is begging me to play with him so I probably will. He plays WoW alot.

[Don Flamenco]

i'm getting bored just thinking about other people thinking about playing

why would you play this when you can just play gunstar heroes

[Bloodwake]

I'm enjoying it so far. I just got to level ten.

[fistfulofmetal]

i just got to level 11 myself! finished the main quest line in the starting zone. it's pretty cool. will def keep playing (for the month at least)

[Tucah]

I've been hopelessly addicted to this over the past week. Sure, it's essentially Bioware dialog in Star Wars themed WoW but, hell, I liked WoW and love Star Wars so there's nothing wrong with that. I'm a level 23 Mercenary and the class is a blast - fun singleplayer where I can pretty much solo anything and I absolutely murder in PvP. My class storyline isn't really anything more than "Hey, there's this bounty hunter tournament, go kill some dudes" but it keeps me motivated enough to keep going. I have no idea how long I'll keep playing but I do want to level at least one more character. Good shit.

[fistfulofmetal]

i just did my first flashpoint with two sith dudes. was pretty fun and longer than i expected.

killed a jedi

[ManaByte]

i just did my first flashpoint with two sith dudes. was pretty fun and longer than i expected.

killed a jedi

Too bad the rest of the flaspoints aren't like that. The next ones are just vanilla WoW dungeons. They used the first flashpoint full of voice to make people think that's what they'll get later in the game, and it's not.

[Stoney Mason]

Bought it. I'll play some tomorrow and give some thoughts from the perspective of someone who isn't really a big mmo fan.

[chronovore]

Seeing Han Solo for Manabyte's avatar, and being in the Star Wars thread, I thought "Hey, Pryor would have been pretty damned great as Lando Calrissian. Maybe a different vibe..."

I'm with Momo - it's like Babby's First MMO ver 0.6

But isn't that what you want, if you're trying to attract the venn diagram of (a) casual players and (b) Star Wars fans?

[etiolate]

because companies have decided that male characters must all be somewhat boneheaded looking in design

[recursivelyenumerable]

I don't understand why people care if a game like this is F2P or costs money - MMOs are so incredibly time consuming that it seems like paying $13 a month or whatever is such a miniscule cost compared to having to devote half of your free time to a game, that it really shouldn't influence your decision.

[chronovore]

I don't understand why people care if a game like this is F2P or costs money - MMOs are so incredibly time consuming that it seems like paying $13 a month or whatever is such a miniscule cost compared to having to devote half of your free time to a game, that it really shouldn't influence your decision.

Yeah, you're 100% right; but that's just logic, and we know how reasonable consumers are about their money.

There are people who bitch about $2.99 iphone apps which they've spent a couple hours with, even though a latté at Starbucks costs $3.70 or something. They bitch about 99˘ applications which they think should be free, but you can't even get a can of soda pop out of a vending machine for a buck anymore.

[etiolate]

I don't understand why people care if a game like this is F2P or costs money - MMOs are so incredibly time consuming that it seems like paying $13 a month or whatever is such a miniscule cost compared to having to devote half of your free time to a game, that it really shouldn't influence your decision.

I think people mean the f2p model where you don't even buy the box/game so they want to try TOR out for free without any risk of putting money towards a lame mmo

[recursivelyenumerable]

I don't understand why people care if a game like this is F2P or costs money - MMOs are so incredibly time consuming that it seems like paying $13 a month or whatever is such a miniscule cost compared to having to devote half of your free time to a game, that it really shouldn't influence your decision.

Yeah, you're 100% right; but that's just logic, and we know how reasonable consumers are about their money.

There are people who bitch about $2.99 iphone apps which they've spent a couple hours with, even though a latté at Starbucks costs $3.70 or something. They bitch about 99˘ applications which they think should be free, but you can't even get a can of soda pop out of a vending machine for a buck anymore.

Yeah, so as a programmer I feel it's my duty to my profession to bitch about the bitching and encourage others to bitch about the bitching. We need a little less money going to line the pockets of fat-cat baristas and a little more going to feed starving software engineers.

[Stoney Mason]

As I should have expected its utterly and firmly an mmo. Which means I don't really care for it but says nothing about the relative quality of it since I'm not overly a fan of the genre. It's not worth playing if you are looking for the next Kotor.  But if you wanted WoW with more cutscenes and motivation then this may be up your alley.

[Eel O'Brian]

I don't understand why people care if a game like this is F2P or costs money - MMOs are so incredibly time consuming that it seems like paying $13 a month or whatever is such a miniscule cost compared to having to devote half of your free time to a game, that it really shouldn't influence your decision.

Yeah, you're 100% right; but that's just logic, and we know how reasonable consumers are about their money.

There are people who bitch about $2.99 iphone apps which they've spent a couple hours with, even though a latté at Starbucks costs $3.70 or something. They bitch about 99˘ applications which they think should be free, but you can't even get a can of soda pop out of a vending machine for a buck anymore.

i've seen people bitching about free books being too short on the kindle store

some people just like to bitch, and you're never gonna win with them no matter what

[MrAngryFace]

God damnit im enjoying this game- fuckin feel dirty; all it takes is a dual bladed light saber and im a whore

[chronovore]

What I don't get are people who want to solo in an MMO.

There are single player games of all types, so why jump into something grindy, with no actual endpoint?

[fistfulofmetal]

well in this game there are legit story-lines with endings (to a point). so soloing is def feasible.

i played... a lot... today. got to level 17 and finished up the storyline on the second planet. story is really cool and having fully voiced cutscenes helps a ton.

when i first got to the new planet i randomly bumped into another player doing the same task. we grouped up and ended up playing the entire day together. he was a sith warrior so i helped with his class quests and he helped with mine. so i got to see the storyline from that perspective. was a lot of fun.

then i got my ship. it's awesome.

[MrAngryFace]

Well if the production values are there- there really isnt much difference is there? Both LotR Online and now this game went to considerable lengths to create a story that for the most part could be accomplished alone- which is kind of neat. Its kind of like White Knight Chronicles that way.

[Tasty]

When I played the beta I got to like level 22 without any kind of grouping. The game seems very solo-friendly.

[ManaByte]

PVP being nerfed. They're reducing the badges awarded for completing Warzones.

[Stoney Mason]

What I don't get are people who want to solo in an MMO.

There are single player games of all types, so why jump into something grindy, with no actual endpoint?

I kind of like the idea of being in an open world with others but only playing with a very small group or even by myself. I would never join a guild or anything because that sort of interaction doesn't appeal to me at all. But yeah I kinda get your point. As a single player RPG fan, The Old Republic is lacking for me although for traditional mmo fans it's probably pretty appealing on the story front.

[MrAngryFace]

When I played the beta I got to like level 22 without any kind of grouping. The game seems very solo-friendly.

So is wow for that matter- solo friendly is honestly a sign of solid execution of the formula these days.

[Tasty]

When I played the beta I got to like level 22 without any kind of grouping. The game seems very solo-friendly.

So is wow for that matter- solo friendly is honestly a sign of solid execution of the formula these days.

Of course, but this being astory-focused game makes that much more important.

[MrAngryFace]

I'm more curious how it's supported between expansion packs. How often are they willing to pay for new voice assets?

[Cerveza mas fina]

I'll play it when it goes F2P in 6 months.

Same here.

Ditto!

[Cerveza mas fina]

i just did my first flashpoint with two sith dudes. was pretty fun and longer than i expected.

killed a jedi

Too bad the rest of the flaspoints aren't like that. The next ones are just vanilla WoW dungeons. They used the first flashpoint full of voice to make people think that's what they'll get later in the game, and it's not.

So rest of the game sucks?

This reminds me of the first cool 20 levels of Conan then.

[Steve Youngblood]

As I should have expected its utterly and firmly an mmo. Which means I don't really care for it but says nothing about the relative quality of it since I'm not overly a fan of the genre. It's not worth playing if you are looking for the next Kotor.  But if you wanted WoW with more cutscenes and motivation then this may be up your alley.

I hate MMOs and was hoping for the next Knights of the Old Republic. I guess I'll steer clear until they offer some sort of trial (without having to buy the game) or go Free2Play. I really wanted to check this out, but I just can't get into the genre.

Although, to be fair to MMOs, I really haven't given them much of a chance. I played Final Fantasy XI for about 2 weeks and hated it, and then down the road I played World of Warcraft for about a week and hated it.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

I never really payed too much attention to this one because I'm not too thrilled about MMOs but I've been playing it since Sunday and so far I'm digging it.  I'm a level 22 Sith Marauder and the story hasn't been anything spectacular but at least there's one here, and that imo is a HUGE improvement over something like WOW where I never gave a shit about what or why I was doing anything.  It's very much a MMO but it still feels like KOTOR at the same time and since you can pretty much plow through most of this alone, if you have any interest in KOTOR you should probably at least give it a shot.

Wish the server maintenance was over with so I could go back to it....

[MrAngryFace]

I have to work so maintain away, EA

[fistfulofmetal]

I'm really enjoying the storyline for the Imperial Agent. there's a good twist at the end of the second planet that I wasn't expecting to happen and I'm sure more reveals will be incoming. the sith warrior storybeats i watched when following the dude yesterday was pretty good as well.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I'm wretchedly sick and just wanted to load up and catass some Imperial Agent quest ... why to Ray and Greg hate me ...

Imperial Agent rules #1. SITH SANDBAGGERS

[MrAngryFace]

All I know is I love watching my companion, Fess die in battle; know all of his precious "points" are gone forever.

[Stoney Mason]

As I should have expected its utterly and firmly an mmo. Which means I don't really care for it but says nothing about the relative quality of it since I'm not overly a fan of the genre. It's not worth playing if you are looking for the next Kotor.  But if you wanted WoW with more cutscenes and motivation then this may be up your alley.

I hate MMOs and was hoping for the next Knights of the Old Republic. I guess I'll steer clear until they offer some sort of trial (without having to buy the game) or go Free2Play. I really wanted to check this out, but I just can't get into the genre.

Although, to be fair to MMOs, I really haven't given them much of a chance. I played Final Fantasy XI for about 2 weeks and hated it, and then down the road I played World of Warcraft for about a week and hated it.

For what its worth I don't want to come off overly harsh. The game is a solid piece of work. And its probably not fair to judge it outside of the context of the genre its in. For an MMO the story stuff is great especially relative to the genre. If you're playing it as an rpg in the context of a traditional single player rpg then its subpar. But that's admittedly not a fair way to judge it. If I was going to play any mmo if would be this one for what it means. It's more accurate to say that mmo's in general just aren't for me.

[MrAngryFace]

Still a better game than DA2 booooooom

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I think I'm stopping after the 2nd planet (about 15 hours in). The world is too huge, too much running around, not enough quests or points of interest... there's a good shell and if you love Star Wars, you're probably willing to overlook more than me. I just find myself going "whyyyyyyyyyyyy" every moment I play.

[MrAngryFace]

I dumped 60 hours into Star Trek Online between the beta and the first month- which ultimately was worth the up front cost. Ill play this for a while off n on just so I have an MMO handy that isnt ALL CONSUMING WoW. Guild Wars 2 cometh.

[recursivelyenumerable]

15 hours may as well be a couple minutes in MMO Time, though. Which is why I don't play MMOs.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

15 hours may as well be a couple minutes in MMO Time, though. Which is why I don't play MMOs.

zat's the rub - it's a decent 40-hour Bioware RPG that takes 250 hours to complete.

[Great Rumbler]

15 hours may as well be a couple minutes in MMO Time, though. Which is why I don't play MMOs.

zat's the rub - it's a decent 40-hour Bioware RPG that takes 250 hours to complete.

[pilonv1]

What I don't get are people who want to solo in an MMO.

There are single player games of all types, so why jump into something grindy, with no actual endpoint?

This always annoys me. The people who say "I don't want to group with people" annoy me the most, because they're the reason we have bog standard themepark MMO's that don't require any significant teamwork and everyone gets a shiny reward for walking 5 steps without falling over.

[Stoney Mason]

Probably just a genre thing but I'm not sure how people play mmo's in such large amounts of time. After about 2 hours I've had more than enough for the day.

[MrAngryFace]

back when I raided i spent more time than I liked to, but these days- yeah, 2 hours tops

[Tucah]

That's been my problem with TOR so far - I want to play with friends, but they all play 5+ hours a day and are way too high to do any grouped content with me, who maxes out at around 2.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Man, having a companion that's a healer makes a world of difference.  I was able to do a couple heroic 2+ quests solo thanks to that dude. 

[etiolate]

Probably just a genre thing but I'm not sure how people play mmo's in such large amounts of time. After about 2 hours I've had more than enough for the day.

Things in MMOs are designed to take up time. You get hooked on the next mostly meaningless reward. Once you're following the carrot on a stick, it's easy to lose time.

[Dickie Dee]

It's not so much the total time commitment (though there is that) but the sustained time commitment that get's me. I like da vidja, but even 30min non-stop makes me feel ill sometimes, gotta get up and putter for a minute or two. How the fuck people with kids seriously play is beyound me.

This doesn't work when you're grouping w/ others and are fighting the need to get up. Think this is why I always only grinded easy to group stuff and never fell into seriously raiding. Don't think I ever will.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I quit playing this game because ALL YOU DO IS WALK

[fistfulofmetal]

i'm really liking the imperial agent storyline. finished up nar shadda and the story twists and turns are entertaining as hell.
one of my favorite touches is when my character had to go undercover as a terrorist and whenever she was in a cutscene with the terrorists she would drop her accent. i initially thought it was a mistake but nope. found that really cool.

on tatooine now.