Star Wars: The Old Republic

[GSTGuy]

I picked up a copy this weekend and the only bad thing I can say about it so far is I like playing all of the classes and haven't gotten one passed level 10 yet. My inquisitor is closest. Oh, and I'm not a huge fan of the human models (mine all end up looking the same...), but it just gives me a reason to play alien races and cyborgs.

Currently trying out the two east coast RP-PvP servers. Anyone on any of the normal PvP servers?

[Hostile]

My guild started on Anchorhead (where BioWare put us) but after a few days of crappy queues we re-rolled on Gardens of Talla, a brand new server.

On Anchorhead I had gotten my BH Merc up to 27 we before re-rolled.

On GoT my BH is up to 26 (went PowerTech) and also have an 11 Agent (Operative) and 11 Inquisitor (Assassin). My Warrior is only up to 9, I'll probably go Marauder with him.

We were resistant to re-roll but when Stephen Reid said that the queues would remain for the time being we figured we mine as well just change servers while we were all still relatively low. A week later BW announced that they were going to aggressively work on the queues and, as far as I've seen, our old server doesn't have a queue anymore...

[GSTGuy]

My brother and I created a BH duo last night with the intent on going tank / healer. I really really like their storyline and gameplay. I also really enjoyed the social points aspect and having to roll for dialog responses. It was fun to watch the two different BH perspectives come through as we played. Like when I wanted to purify the waters and carry out my contract, and he fell for the big monsters eating people thing and won the roll. The lasting impact was fun to be a part of as well as share with someone.

[Hostile]

LOL yea. I'm playing my BH light side and all my buddies are playing dark so I totally f with them in the dialog by picking the light side options- we were running Black talon and I kept winning the roll to not kill the ship captain. Finally they won, and it was cool because we ended up doing a completely different fight. That was pretty awesome.

[DustinM]

You can find me on the Mind Trick server. Currently have a 23 Republic Trooper (Commando) and a 20 Sith Warrior (Juggernaut).

[DUB_MANGv2]

man i deploy soon and i want to play this game so freakin bad yet i dont want to pay the 60$ price just to get the 30day free trial....

[Mk3WhiteWolf]

Trying out this game. Currently a lvl 13 Trooper (Vanguard Tank) on Gardens of Talla.

[Hostile]

Trying out this game. Currently a lvl 13 Trooper (Vanguard Tank) on Gardens of Talla.

That's my server, give me your name so I can gank you.

Empire
33 PowerTech - Kulok
15 Sith Juggernaut - Terest
14 Operative - Kissan
12 Sith Assassin - Viskas

Republic
10 Jedi Consular - Dranow

[A.Wilder]

So most of you guys like it? i was surprised to see so many negative user reviews on metacritic when the critics review score was decent. I just don't really like MMO's personally, but i have a few friends who play this.

[Hostile]

There are folks having problems with bugged quest, FPS issues and the customer support has left a lot to be desired thus far. But they're all just growing pains. Everyone who I know personally hasn't had the "catastrophic" problems that you find all over the official forums and the internet- they are nowhere near as prevalent as the haters would have you believe.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the hell out of it.

I had a quest today on my Sith Warrior, it was to go kill the son of a rival Sith Lord.

Instead, I killed the Sith Lord, installed his son as his replacement and banged out the kid's mom while I made my companion watch.

I lost 30 affection points with my companion, Vette, but the dialog made it so worth it.

[A.Wilder]

I had a quest today on my Sith Warrior, it was to go kill the son of a rival Sith Lord.

Instead, I killed the Sith Lord, installed his son as his replacement and banged out the kid's mom while I made my companion watch.

I lost 30 affection points with my companion, Vette, but the dialog made it so worth it.

I just watched someone's YT vid of that quest, they were citing it as an example of how horrible the game is. I couldn't really see what was so horrible, unless you are a prude.

[Village Idiot™]

So most of you guys like it? i was surprised to see so many negative user reviews on metacritic when the critics review score was decent. I just don't really like MMO's personally, but i have a few friends who play this.

It's just fantastically mediocre in my opinion and I'd sure all those with really negative reviews were expecting so much more that what it is. Bioware has a history of doing good things (minus Dragon Age 2), so it's disappointing to see that they took WOW and stuck a story mode on to it. Companions are like a pet spec for every class. The character art looks like it's out of the Clone Wars cartoon series. The graphics are no better than EQ2, which is an older game at this point. The movement is sloppy which translates to sloppy PVP play. The healing class is useless at the lower levels.

There's so many things that aren't game breakers that take away from the overall experience and when you're expecting an MMO to be the next be thing ends up being the same old thing, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

I'm sure SWTOR will do well and make lots of money, but ask yourself this: If it didn't have Star Wars on it, how well do you think it would do? What if it some new IP with no big name draw?

[A.Wilder]

I'm sure SWTOR will do well and make lots of money, but ask yourself this: If it didn't have Star Wars on it, how well do you think it would do? What if it some new IP with no big name draw?

this is exactly why i can't get into it. I loved the old KOTOR games, they were amazing. This game is just a WOW retooling for the Star Wars money press, imo.

[Hostile]

It's just fantastically mediocre in my opinion and I'd sure all those with really negative reviews were expecting so much more that what it is. Bioware has a history of doing good things (minus Dragon Age 2), so it's disappointing to see that they took WOW and stuck a story mode on to it. Companions are like a pet spec for every class. The character art looks like it's out of the Clone Wars cartoon series. The graphics are no better than EQ2, which is an older game at this point. The movement is sloppy which translates to sloppy PVP play. The healing class is useless at the lower levels.

There's so many things that aren't game breakers that take away from the overall experience and when you're expecting an MMO to be the next be thing ends up being the same old thing, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

I'm sure SWTOR will do well and make lots of money, but ask yourself this: If it didn't have Star Wars on it, how well do you think it would do? What if it some new IP with no big name draw?

Part of the draw for me is that it IS Star Wars. What, exactly, is wrong with that?

While we are still waiting for BioWare to fix the texture bug the environment scenery is some of the best looking of any MMO that I've ever played.

The character art looks nothing like The Clone Wars...





I personally like the character design, it's a nice blend of stylistic realism. If the art style resembles anything it's the older KOTOR games which, last time I checked, are a bit older than the Clone Wars.

Healing at lower levels- who even needs it? You can run most flashpoints (up to at least Cademimu) with out any specific roles if you are playing with competent people. Considering that there is no dual-spec in the game there is no need to constantly switch in and out of healing or tank specs. Hell, I've been tank specced with my Powertech since I hit level 10 and have no problems with any of my solo questing.

[Village Idiot™]

Part of the draw for me is that it IS Star Wars. What, exactly, is wrong with that?

While we are still waiting for BioWare to fix the texture bug the environment scenery is some of the best looking of any MMO that I've ever played.

There's nothing wrong with that, but would you really be playing it if it's was some new IP without a name to draw people in?

It's OK. I'd compare it with pretty much every moderm MMO out there, meaning that's it's pretty bland.

The character art looks nothing like The Clone Wars...

[/quote]

You posted faces; what about full body shots of the toons that look like cartoons? They could have done some amazing character models, but everything looks so cartoony to me.

I personally like the character design, it's a nice blend of stylistic realism. If the art style resembles anything it's the older KOTOR games which, last time I checked, are a bit older than the Clone Wars.

Healing at lower levels- who even needs it? You can run most flashpoints (up to at least Cademimu) with out any specific roles if you are playing with competent people. Considering that there is no dual-spec in the game there is no need to constantly switch in and out of healing or tank specs. Hell, I've been tank specced with my Powertech since I hit level 10 and have no problems with any of my solo questing.

[A.Wilder]

the models look like WoW-Star Wars, imo. in other words, cartoony.

[GSTGuy]

so it's disappointing to see that they took WOW and stuck a story mode on to it.

I think that's the best part about it. It gives the RPG part of MMORPG some life. Instead of just looking at general chat spam about the recent meme and/or people jumping around like ADD inflicted Jedis, I can attach myself to a semi-personalized story, and even go through it with friends who enjoy the same aspect. It adds a dimension that alone is worth the price of entry.

I'm sure SWTOR will do well and make lots of money, but ask yourself this: If it didn't have Star Wars on it, how well do you think it would do? What if it some new IP with no big name draw?

If WoW didn't have orcs and trolls and taurens and night elves attached to it, it wouldn't be Warcraft and I wouldn't have played it. Had Final Fantasy not had the name attached to it no one would have played it (well... kinda bad example). The setting has a lot to do with it, and that's just fine by me. KOTOR was the best game I played until Mass Effect. Attaching Star Wars to this story driven MMO makes it a blast to play until I hit a grinding phase that just makes it like any other. And that's OK.

[Mk3WhiteWolf]

The character art looks nothing like The Clone Wars...

I'm not sure what you posted, but it's not from The Clone Wars 3D animated show, which is exactly what these characters look like (Cartoony.) I was disappointed by the models as well.

[Village Idiot™]

I think that's the best part about it. It gives the RPG part of MMORPG some life. Instead of just looking at general chat spam about the recent meme and/or people jumping around like ADD inflicted Jedis, I can attach myself to a semi-personalized story, and even go through it with friends who enjoy the same aspect. It adds a dimension that alone is worth the price of entry.

And I think it's great, but what other new and innovative things have they added other than that? There's small things here and there but it's nothing like I expected. I'm just disappointed because I expected so much more out of Bioware for this.

If WoW didn't have orcs and trolls and taurens and night elves attached to it, it wouldn't be Warcraft and I wouldn't have played it. Had Final Fantasy not had the name attached to it no one would have played it (well... kinda bad example). The setting has a lot to do with it, and that's just fine by me. KOTOR was the best game I played until Mass Effect. Attaching Star Wars to this story driven MMO makes it a blast to play until I hit a grinding phase that just makes it like any other. And that's OK.

WOW has the name Warcraft attached to it along with it being a Blizzard product. It also brought a new fresh look to the genre that's been copied many times over. SWTOR is no WOW, Everquest, or EVE.

But like I keep saying, I'll end up playing it at some point.

[Hostile]

WOW has the name Warcraft attached to it along with it being a Blizzard product.

SWTOR has the name Star Wars attached to it along with it being a Bioware product.

See what I did there?

Sorry, but the Warcraft IP had nowhere near the brand cache as Star Wars- especially considering the entire Warcraft IP is completely lifted from Warhammer.

Regardless, I'd bet the vast majority of current WoW subscribers never even played the RTS games or have heard of them.

Anyway. I've played my fair share of MMOs and I'm thoroughly enjoying my time in the Old Republic.

[Allsops]

For reference, this is the Clone Wars that was being referenced:

[Hostile]

I'm not sure what you posted, but it's not from The Clone Wars 3D animated show, which is exactly what these characters look like (Cartoony.) I was disappointed by the models as well.

I posted the original Clone Wars animated series from 2003. I didn't realize they re-did it "3D" more recently.

Regardless, SWTOR doesn't look like any version of the clone wars. Even this newer series is highly stylized.

Zabrak from The Clone Wars


Zabrak from SWTOR


Those are two distinctly different art styles...

[A.Wilder]

Those are two distinctly different art styles...

Hows life with rose tinted glasses?

Maybe to a Star Wars super-fan they can list a hundred differences but to 99.99% of us, they are nearly identical, except one has boobs.

[quinntendopower1]

I can see what Hostile means, but for the most part the differences are in the facial structures.

the game still looks 4 years old.

[Hostile]

It doesn't take a super fan of anything to recognize two distinct artistic styles...

[Hostile]

I can see what Hostile means, but for the most part the differences are in the facial structures.

the game still looks 4 years old.

It's not just the facial structures, it's the bone and body structures of the characters themselves. The style of SWTOR leans more towards realism where The Clone Wars leans in the opposite direction with edgier, more exaggerated forms.

And, as someone who has played it extensively at this point, the engine hardly looks 4 years old. Is going to give Skyrim or BF3 a run for their money? No, but MMOs don't go with cutting-edge game engines. But that being said, SWTOR has some of the best looking vistas and environments of any MMO that I've ever played.

[quinntendopower1]

Wasn't aware skyrim had good graphics either. that game looks like ****. the animation is some of the worst of this entire generation!

[A.Wilder]

It doesn't take a super fan of anything to recognize two distinct artistic styles...

interesting, because my 14 yr old stepson and his friends said they wanted the game because it looked a lot like their favorite star wars tv show... I'll let you figure out which one that is.

[Hostile]

Wasn't aware skyrim had good graphics either. that game looks like ****. the animation is some of the worst of this entire generation!

Skyrim doesn't have good graphics? Now I know you're trolling.

Since when does how a game looks visually have to do with how the characters move?

EDIT: Oh, I forgot, you only play on consoles.

[Hostile]

interesting, because my 14 yr old stepson and his friends said they wanted the game because it looked a lot like their favorite star wars tv show... I'll let you figure out which one that is.

Teenagers are stupid.

[Village Idiot™]

It doesn't take a super fan of anything to recognize two distinct artistic styles...

Cartoon and cartoon? Hands bigger than heads, torsos that are bigger than two people combines, legs that look like they have stilts pre-installed. You could probably take SWTOR toons and put them in an espisode of the clone wars and people would never know the difference.

And, as someone who has played it extensively at this point, the engine hardly looks 4 years old. Is going to give Skyrim or BF3 a run for their money? No, but MMOs don't go with cutting-edge game engines. But that being said, SWTOR has some of the best looking vistas and environments of any MMO that I've ever played.

You honestly think SWTOR looks like is can be called the latest and greatest in MMO graphics? It doesn't stand out from the crowd at all.

Wasn't aware skyrim had good graphics either. that game looks like ****. the animation is some of the worst of this entire generation!

You are aware that you have to see it on one of those fancy computer machines to see what the graphics are supposed to look like?

[Hostile]

Cartoon and cartoon? Hands bigger than heads, torsos that are bigger than two people combines, legs that look like they have stilts pre-installed. You could probably take SWTOR toons and put them in an espisode of the clone wars and people would never know the difference.

It's pretty clear you haven't played (or seen SWTOR in person) SWTOR if that is your take on how the characters look.

You honestly think SWTOR looks like is can be called the latest and greatest in MMO graphics? It doesn't stand out from the crowd at all.

Please point out where I claimed that it had the "latest and greatest" graphics of any MMO and, while you're at it, find me a AAA MMO that does look better. I'll wait here.

BTW - One of the bugs is that hi-res textures are not displaying in-game. It's a stupid bug no doubt but

You are aware that you have to see it on one of those fancy computer machines to see what the graphics are supposed to look like?

I lol'd.

[GSTGuy]

I should post a pic of my Sith inquisitor assassin. He's only level 16, but looks like a badass. Well, a badass if you're into red skinned purebloods in hooded robes with a double bladed lightsaber.

I really love the environments in this game. Just running around feels like they were created in an organic matter rather than just "Hey this looks sparse, let's put a tree there."

[Village Idiot™]

It's pretty clear you haven't played (or seen SWTOR in person) SWTOR if that is your take on how the characters look.

It's pretty clear that if you've read this thread you'll see that I did and you'll see my first impressions of the game.

Please point out where I claimed that it had the "latest and greatest" graphics of any MMO and, while you're at it, find me a AAA MMO that does look better. I'll wait here.

BTW - One of the bugs is that hi-res textures are not displaying in-game. It's a stupid bug no doubt but

You're saying it's the best looking MMO you've seen to date as far as scenery goes. I say it's nothing spectacular. Pick one? Conan, Rift, EQ2, Aion, etc... None stand out and all have so so graphics compared to what could be done.

I get it. You're enamoured with SWTOR. It's OK that you've got blinders on to the faults of your new favorite MMO.

I'm saying what other people who are impartial are seeing. It's nothing special and the biggest draw is the name of the IP and the studio.

[03Aku87]

Star Wars themed WoW is basically how I've been describing this game to all of my friends.

It feels like WoW to me which is why I like it, and its star wars themed so it makes it even better. Add on the fact that there is no boring quest text that you would just skip over and instead replaced with really good voice acting cut scenes that allow you to chose how you want to respond makes it again 1 step better.

Is this the worlds greatest MMO? not a damn clue cuz all i've played before is WoW Also never played any of the old warcraft or starwars games so maybe i'm a bit ignorant.

Game was fun when I borrewed a buddies account and blinked and 5 hrs had past buy.

When I get home from work UPS will have dropped of my boxes containing parts for me to build my first ever desktop and I will cease to exist outside of work playing this game instead.