Star Wars: The Old Republic

[FieryBalrog]

Indeed, but they weren’t cinematic conversations

lol.

EQ2 does it, who cares. Bioware does it, it becomes “cinematic conversations” because its done in the same style they apply to all their modern games?

[Kunikos]

Both EQ2 and SWTOR have voiced conversations and terrible models.

[hong]

lol.

EQ2 does it, who cares.

Clearly they did it badly.

Bioware does it, it becomes “cinematic conversations” because its done in the same style they apply to all their modern games?

If it’s done to the same quality as in DA2 and ME2, yes indeed.

[Razgon]

lol.

EQ2 does it, who cares. Bioware does it, it becomes “cinematic conversations” because its done in the same style they apply to all their modern games?

Is LOL the new way to win conversations?

Anyways, if you liked the conversations and the storylines in games like Kotor and thought that was a big part of the games appeal, chances are you’ll like it - If you didn’t, chances are you’ll see it as more of the same as every other MMO out there.

[hong]

If the cutscenes in TOR are the equal of Isabela’s intro in DA2, then heck, I’m in.

[Mark_Asher]

Juggernaut is absorbing all the damage

Ha ha. We need like buttons for posts. I may go start a poll.

WoW reskinned as Rift was fun for the free trial period. WoW reskinned as Old Republic is probably going to be fun for a month or two. I can see myself waiting six months for the free trial, though.

BTW, if it’s not breaking the NDA, how big is the beta download for Old Republic? Does the voice acting bloat the download?

[FieryBalrog]

Is LOL the new way to win conversations?

Capslocking an lol is just crass.

Anyways, if you liked the conversations and the storylines in games like Kotor and thought that was a big part of the games appeal, chances are you’ll like it - If you didn’t, chances are you’ll see it as more of the same as every other MMO out there.

Chances are voiceover/cinematic cutscene is more effective when applied to quests that are changing and mattering in the gameworld as opposed to collecting 10 bantha butts.

Even so I always thought BG2 was the pinnacle of Bioware and it’s been mostly a downhill slide towards “cinematic” since then, so I guess I’m not the target market.

[Razgon]

Ha ha. We need like buttons for posts. I may go start a poll.

WoW reskinned as Rift was fun for the free trial period. WoW reskinned as Old Republic is probably going to be fun for a month or two. I can see myself waiting six months for the free trial, though.

BTW, if it’s not breaking the NDA, how big is the beta download for Old Republic? Does the voice acting bloat the download?

From other sources (Not in beta myself), I’ve heard its 35 Gb - not unlike AoC which was what…27 or so?

[Mark_Asher]

Indeed, but they weren’t cinematic conversations and the story was a tertiary consideration at best. Leveling your character in SWTOR is very much like playing KOTOR with MMO-style combat and quest objectives. You’re still pressing 111211121112 to kill monsters and collect 12 of their uterii, but some dude explained why he needs them and it makes sense in an overarching storyline.

I wonder how important this is to MMO gamers? I haven’t played Dragon Age but I played Baldur’s Gate and NWN from BioWare and I ignored the story because story in games has never really interested me.

Anyway, when people say Old Republic has separate quest lines, does that mean the quests are really substantially different? I’m not sure that if I go to Jabba the Hut and get a quest to kill three things and then play a different class and still have to go to Jabba the Hut and instead of killing three things he tells me to deliver something that the questing experience will feel all that different.

To me a unique questing experience would be like playing 1-15 as a worgen and then 1-15 as a goblin. In Old Republic my hope would be that the quest lines are that unique from level 1 up to the cap.

[hong]

Capslocking an lol is just crass.

Ah. You must be one of those ppl who pronounce it “lol”. How soon we forget true etymologies.

Chances are voiceover/cinematic cutscene is more effective when applied to quests that are changing and mattering in the gameworld as opposed to collecting 10 bantha butts.

Nonsense. None of the quests in ME2 made any difference to the gameworld, and yet their cinematic quality was unmatched! Well, by those with the werewithal to appreciate them, anyway.

Even so I always thought BG2 was the pinnacle of Bioware and it’s been mostly a downhill slide towards “cinematic” since then, so I guess I’m not the target market.

True. The first half of BG2 was collecting 10 bantha butts, but it didn’t have full voice acting, and so your hypothesis is confirmed.

[hong]

I wonder how important this is to MMO gamers?

That is the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is, how important is multiplayer to Bioware gamers?

[FieryBalrog]

True. The first half of BG2 was collecting 10 bantha butts, but it didn’t have full voice acting, and so your hypothesis is confirmed.

The first half of BG2 also had actual interesting combat, so there is that.

Then we traded that in for shit combat + full voice acting. Great trade.

[instant0]

That is the wrong question to ask. The right question to ask is, how important is multiplayer to Bioware gamers?

Would Bioware have had better success with “Mass Effect Online” I wonder?

It could even have a strategic side to it, where you are fighting to prevent the reapers from taking over systems, and your faction can either win or lose the starsystem to the reaper faction (think PVP here.) I.e. “real world” consequences for success/failure for each side. Hell, throw in a “Caverns of Time” style “Virtual Reality Complex” where 5-man pugs can explore ancient history about the reaper incursions from the past.

One thing I dislike about these mmos that speak so much about “the conflict” is that, the conflict is basically in a stale mate and you have no effect what-so-ever on it. Lineage, Shadowbane, Darkfall, to a certain degree Asherons Call Darktide and EVE are the only games I know that let the player make an impact.

[hong]

The first half of BG2 also had actual interesting combat, so there is that.

No, it had D&D-style combat, but with the clunkiness of RT/pause + a large party + AoE spells + friendly fire + dumb AI. This is why I just used party buffs on my mages instead of boom spells like they were meant to be. Were you not there to witness the whinging abou tit on csipgrpg?

Then we traded that in for shit combat + full voice acting. Great trade.

Indeed it was! Except that it has not been shit combat. I can even forgive DA2’s D&Disms like needing rogues to pick locks, because combat in that game runs so much better than in BG2.

[idris_z]

So far watched him played a imperial agent and Jedi consular.

you get a companion quite early, like lvl5, class get different companion, imperial agent get a chick with a gun, Jedi consular gets a trandoshan hunter(flex my star war nerd muscle).he complain that consular get their companion late compare to other class.

One of the sith class get some humanoid monster that drain force. You cant take companion into group instance. You can equip your companion with equipment.

P.s.
Typing on iPad sucks.

[hong]

Would Bioware have had better success with “Mass Effect Online” I wonder?

I think if they’re going to put multiplayer into ME in a big way, it’ll be more akin to a CoD or Battlefield game, with the emphasis being on small-unit skirmishing rather than RPG-style level grind or PvE. I don’t think they’ll do an MMORPG for two reasons: 1) it’ll be a direct competitor to TOR; 2) quite a lot of ME fans are dead set opposed to multiplayer in any form whatsoever. A shooter will still have to deal with that, but probably to a lesser degree than if it was an RPG, and thus perceived as a direct descendant of the existing games. With Star Wars there was the existing Galaxies game to prep the audience, and KOTOR is old enough that ppl have generally let it go.

Personally I would indeed be all over a Mass Effect MMO.

[idrisz]

Blah always log in the wrong account.

[Mark_Asher]

So far watched him played a imperial agent and Jedi consular.

you get a companion quite early, like lvl5, class get different companion, imperial agent get a chick with a gun, Jedi consular gets a trandoshan hunter(flex my star war nerd muscle).he complain that consular get their companion late compare to other class.

One of the sith class get some humanoid monster that drain force. You cant take companion into group instance. You can equip your companion with equipment.

P.s.
Typing on iPad sucks.

So are the companions complementary to the class you are playing? For example, if you’re playing a tank is your companion a healer? If playing a healer, is your companion a tank or DPS character?

[idrisz]

Not sure, the first companion imperial agent get is a range one but have skill that pull enemy closer. The consular one make more sense, a melee companion for a support class.

I was told that bounty hunter first companion is a healer.

Apparent if you start a Jedi class, you use fluorescent light as your weapon, no light saber for you.

[FieryBalrog]

Indeed it was! Except that it has not been shit combat. I can even forgive DA2’s D&Disms like needing rogues to pick locks, because combat in that game runs so much better than in BG2.

DA2 combat better than BG2.

mash A is for Awesome combat with enemies that drop out of the sky in waves.

Cats and dogs living together. Keep on trollin’