Realistically, nothing. This game is too far down a path I don't like. Turning it into something I'd enjoy would pretty much mean starting from scratch.
Reading this and other threads of similar kind, makes me happy that I never bought the game. At least my experience still left the Star Wars IP with some hope. Sadly, I dont see an Obi-wan anywhere in conceivable future.
DAoC - 00-06 - And every now and then WoW - Online since launch - and now back again. EVE - Online since 07 - and still on, and on, and on.. WHO - Online 08-10 LOTR-O - Online 06-08 Also played : Asherons Call, EverQuest, EQ2, Dungeons & Dragons, Cabal, Dark & Light, GW, GW2, LA2, Ryzom, Shaiya, SWG, Allods, Forsaken World, ArcheAge, Secret World, Darkfall, Rift, ESO, Tera.
I play Massive Multiplayer Online games... not Massive Marketing Online games.
Why SWTOR sucks (for someone like me):
Extremely linear zones that are littered with mountain walls and exhaustion zones. The entire game is a mere funnel.
The voice questing seemed cool at first. However, they quickly turned into long-winded segments of verbage before having to do the same old bs: click on supply crates or collect bantha paws.
The story seemed cool at first. However, after about level 14 or so, it completely lost its luster. My character didn't feel like mine, but just another page-turner story character. It got boring, anyways.
Even the music in SWTOR sucks. Seriously... no John Williams? No Duel of Fates? No Obi Vs. Anakin music during the fights? It's like going to a Guns 'N Roses concert without Axl Rose.
Crap Performance - Due to the mediocre cartoon graphics, I was expecting superior performance. I didn't realize how poorly optimized it was until I played Tera - a vastly larger and more beautiful game that runs butter-smooth on max.
Space Combat - I thought it was a sick joke a first. I still can't believe how stupid their development team was / is. How could anyone that claims to be of the MMO genre approve this?
Massive Multiplayer? Not even close. There is nothing massive about tiny zones and instanced pvp. In all honestly, Battlefield 3 is more of a MMO than SWTOR.
Warzones - Are you serious? More Battlegrounds? This is probably the biggest reason I refuse to delve into SWTOR. BGs are an embarrassment to the genre. A clear lack of innovation.
My very own space ship? Sweet. Can I use the furniture? Barely. Can I place furniture? No. Can I do anything outside of travel? No. It feels more like renting a space ship.
You know what? Forget it. I can go on and on about this terrible pos. What's the point? The game is not a MMORPG. It's KoTOR 3 for xBox.
Enjoy your game, Daniel Erickson. That guide you wrote on what MMORPG players really want is true, eh? lol. Try again.
For me, the game needs a complete combat overhaul and brand new enemy AI as well as handcrafted planets, mob placement and other non rushed aspects from true artists/designers.
Fighting clumps of mobs statically placed from level 1 to 50....is the most boring approach to enemy AI and mob placement I haven't seen since Warhammer tried to pull the same crap.
Combat doesn't feel right either, it doesn't pop and flow and every class feels like every other class and just isnt' fun to just go mow down mobs all day if I felt like it. Not that I really do that, but the option should be there. I should be able to see a new mob and just want to kill it for sheer fun of combat, but this game makes it so tedious and annoying that I would rather avoid mobs half the time. That's bad design, IMHO.
Hmmm, that's not a good enough reason though. I don't know, I had fun playing... yet for some reason I just didn't resub. It's just... it could have been AMAZING. For example, if it was more action-oriented, like say, Jedi Academy with the MMORPG elements, then that's my definition of amazing. The story stuff that awesome and all that, a cool feature.... it's just.... the engine is weird, and the game world feels so.... digital? Yeah, more action oriented, it's hard to feel like a Force weilder when you press a button to use the lightsabers, instead of having more control with the lightsabers.
It took so long to make the game, and the decisions they made to make it similar to a 2000-2005 releases is what hindered the game for me.
Yeah... lol... the game didn't even feel as "smooth" as KotoR 1 and 2. Too "digital"... not enough Dagoba.
from a sandboxers point of view, this game is the most themeparkish game you can imagine. it is the Antichrist so to say.
i was very impressed by the good storylines, because i like good singe-player RPGs and so i played SWTOR like such a game and it worked perfectly. and yes i am convinced, that good but non-linear quests without hubs are compatible with the sandbox scheme. i also liked the voive-overs and i do miss them now in other games.
but honestly, they have to implement a player-driven economy and at least 10 additional planets with huge, open, unruled, imbalanced non-factional, territorial pvp (similar to EVE but on planets). and the they have to get rid of the linear quest system and replace all quests but the storyquests by a dynamic event-system.
if these few features are implemented i would resubscribe.
Hmmm, that's not a good enough reason though. I don't know, I had fun playing... yet for some reason I just didn't resub. It's just... it could have been AMAZING. For example, if it was more action-oriented, like say, Jedi Academy with the MMORPG elements, then that's my definition of amazing. The story stuff that awesome and all that, a cool feature.... it's just.... the engine is weird, and the game world feels so.... digital? Yeah, more action oriented, it's hard to feel like a Force weilder when you press a button to use the lightsabers, instead of having more control with the lightsabers.
It took so long to make the game, and the decisions they made to make it similar to a 2000-2005 releases is what hindered the game for me.
Yeah... lol... the game didn't even feel as "smooth" as KotoR 1 and 2. Too "digital"... not enough Dagoba.
I'd go back if they paid me. My time is worth more than the game to me. Just not my thing in the least. So uninspired, lifeless. It was not the Star Wars universe I was looking for. Honestly though it would take a complete redesign of the game for me to want to come back. Just can't stand the linear, kill 10 rats, get purples and go raid stuff while sitting in a battleground queue stuff anymore.
Reading this and other threads of similar kind, makes me happy that I never bought the game. At least my experience still left the Star Wars IP with some hope. Sadly, I dont see an Obi-wan anywhere in conceivable future.
Honestly the game isn't even a fraction as bad as it is typically made out to be here. It's not very good, mind you, but not nearly the disaster the combination of (rose coloured glasses) "It should have been SWG II and nothing else is acceptable" crowd and the depressing number of people who keep buying PvE-centric games and then are shocked -- Shocked! -- that the PvP in them inevitably sux, would have you believe.
Actually, come to think of it, I can't think of any MMOs that you'd get a reasonable feel for by coming to this site -- typically they're either absurdly over-hyped (anything unreleased, and Eve) or, often unfairly, savaged. The place is occasionally entertaining primarily for its endless supply of vitriol, real or useful information is not its forte.
As for what it would take to get me back to ToR, sadly I haven't left. Mind you I'm not having the greatest time of my MMO career, but too many of my friends apparently are, so I stick around to play with them. Some of what I'd like to see is coming -- guild bank and the ability to customize the UI just a little -- and some of it is depressingly half arsed -- the UI will still blow, it needs more than just a little customization to change that, and the self-only combat log is frankly one of the stupidest ideas in MMO history. Honestly what I'd like to see is a cross server LFG -- that the game didn't ship with any meaningful LFG (no, flagging yourself in a pain in the arse to use /who is not an LFG) astounds me. Getting groups is a pain in the butt and pretty much not worth the bother when leveling. I'd also like to see some content that's even halfway difficult -- and preferably not balanced entirely on the backs of healers, which seems to be Bioware's plan right now.
Right now ToR is easily the easiest MMO I've ever played -- when my guild one-shot our first raid I honestly couldn't believe it. Sadly I think Bioware wants it that way. The self-only combat logs are just another in a long list of things indicating they're trying to cater to the most casual of casuals. Might be a smart marketing move, I tend to doubt it but time will tell, but that's not the kind of game I'm interested in.
Now if only my friends would get sick of the whole "It's Star Wars!!11!!!1one!!!" thing so we could move on to something else.
It's not worth the sub price. I just don't see myself going back unless the game radically changes, and there's no chance of that happening. It was bad enough that it's actually spurred me to go try out That Which Shall Not Be Named On These Forums.
___________________________ Have flask; will travel.
Actually I think that's what it takes to get hired by Bioware.
Since I never bought the game, the go back part is a moot point for me. But as to what it would take for me to actually take this game seriously again, the only thing I can think of is if the game was taken out of the hands of these clowns and given to another game studio to unf*ck everything Bioware botched.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
I haven't really left, just playing a lot less, once a week instead of every day.
BUT for me to come back full time:
- dynamic content, events
- open world (= planets) with exploration, maybe linked with the above ie planets for 50ies to experience new things instead of doing same content day by day (dailies and raids)
- meaningful FPs (when doing ops there is no other reason to go to FPs other than the story), give us rare drops like speeders, social gear, housing/ship items
- housing -> furniture eg from factions, crafting etc
- able to modify/decorate your ship
- factions
- if you turn dark side/light side you'd have a chance to go to the other side... you know, really go to the empire side/republic side
- able to do diplomacy yourself, ie solve issues between races, individuals etc peacefully ie to use your head instead your weapon
I don't want this thread to devolve into a hater v fanboi thread.
I would actually like to keep on topic and hear from people who have played SWTOR and would consider coming back if certain (reasonable, i.e., not make it into a sandbox, etc) changes were made.
I had a lot of fun with this game for the first 30 days, and a bit more in the second month. I would like to come back and use my 60-day time card, but I don't feel like what's on offer in 1.2 is going to do it.
I do think it is within BW's capacity to get this game over a hump where it can retain a larger segment of MMORPG players that it is currently. I would like to see a thread with reasonably constructive suggestions.
The reason people get off topic is the changes most people would want, including myself, are so fundemental to the core game itself that it would be easier to make a new MMO from scratch then fix SWTOR. I'll admit I had a decent time playing the game through once, its just not a proper MMORPG and frankly it never will be.
Comments
Realistically, nothing. This game is too far down a path I don't like. Turning it into something I'd enjoy would pretty much mean starting from scratch.
Reading this and other threads of similar kind, makes me happy that I never bought the game. At least my experience still left the Star Wars IP with some hope. Sadly, I dont see an Obi-wan anywhere in conceivable future.
DAoC - 00-06 - And every now and then
WoW - Online since launch - and now back again.
EVE - Online since 07 - and still on, and on, and on..
WHO - Online 08-10
LOTR-O - Online 06-08
Also played : Asherons Call, EverQuest, EQ2, Dungeons & Dragons, Cabal, Dark & Light, GW, GW2, LA2, Ryzom, Shaiya, SWG, Allods, Forsaken World, ArcheAge, Secret World, Darkfall, Rift, ESO, Tera.
IMPOSSIBLE
I play Massive Multiplayer Online games... not Massive Marketing Online games.
Why SWTOR sucks (for someone like me):
Extremely linear zones that are littered with mountain walls and exhaustion zones. The entire game is a mere funnel.
The voice questing seemed cool at first. However, they quickly turned into long-winded segments of verbage before having to do the same old bs: click on supply crates or collect bantha paws.
The story seemed cool at first. However, after about level 14 or so, it completely lost its luster. My character didn't feel like mine, but just another page-turner story character. It got boring, anyways.
Even the music in SWTOR sucks. Seriously... no John Williams? No Duel of Fates? No Obi Vs. Anakin music during the fights? It's like going to a Guns 'N Roses concert without Axl Rose.
Crap Performance - Due to the mediocre cartoon graphics, I was expecting superior performance. I didn't realize how poorly optimized it was until I played Tera - a vastly larger and more beautiful game that runs butter-smooth on max.
Space Combat - I thought it was a sick joke a first. I still can't believe how stupid their development team was / is. How could anyone that claims to be of the MMO genre approve this?
Massive Multiplayer? Not even close. There is nothing massive about tiny zones and instanced pvp. In all honestly, Battlefield 3 is more of a MMO than SWTOR.
Warzones - Are you serious? More Battlegrounds? This is probably the biggest reason I refuse to delve into SWTOR. BGs are an embarrassment to the genre. A clear lack of innovation.
My very own space ship? Sweet. Can I use the furniture? Barely. Can I place furniture? No. Can I do anything outside of travel? No. It feels more like renting a space ship.
You know what? Forget it. I can go on and on about this terrible pos. What's the point? The game is not a MMORPG. It's KoTOR 3 for xBox.
Enjoy your game, Daniel Erickson. That guide you wrote on what MMORPG players really want is true, eh? lol. Try again.
Bye'OWare
For me, the game needs a complete combat overhaul and brand new enemy AI as well as handcrafted planets, mob placement and other non rushed aspects from true artists/designers.
Fighting clumps of mobs statically placed from level 1 to 50....is the most boring approach to enemy AI and mob placement I haven't seen since Warhammer tried to pull the same crap.
Combat doesn't feel right either, it doesn't pop and flow and every class feels like every other class and just isnt' fun to just go mow down mobs all day if I felt like it. Not that I really do that, but the option should be there. I should be able to see a new mob and just want to kill it for sheer fun of combat, but this game makes it so tedious and annoying that I would rather avoid mobs half the time. That's bad design, IMHO.
If it was F2P I'd play.
Hmmm, that's not a good enough reason though. I don't know, I had fun playing... yet for some reason I just didn't resub. It's just... it could have been AMAZING. For example, if it was more action-oriented, like say, Jedi Academy with the MMORPG elements, then that's my definition of amazing. The story stuff that awesome and all that, a cool feature.... it's just.... the engine is weird, and the game world feels so.... digital? Yeah, more action oriented, it's hard to feel like a Force weilder when you press a button to use the lightsabers, instead of having more control with the lightsabers.
It took so long to make the game, and the decisions they made to make it similar to a 2000-2005 releases is what hindered the game for me.
Yeah... lol... the game didn't even feel as "smooth" as KotoR 1 and 2. Too "digital"... not enough Dagoba.
from a sandboxers point of view, this game is the most themeparkish game you can imagine. it is the Antichrist so to say.
i was very impressed by the good storylines, because i like good singe-player RPGs and so i played SWTOR like such a game and it worked perfectly. and yes i am convinced, that good but non-linear quests without hubs are compatible with the sandbox scheme. i also liked the voive-overs and i do miss them now in other games.
but honestly, they have to implement a player-driven economy and at least 10 additional planets with huge, open, unruled, imbalanced non-factional, territorial pvp (similar to EVE but on planets). and the they have to get rid of the linear quest system and replace all quests but the storyquests by a dynamic event-system.
if these few features are implemented i would resubscribe.
played: Everquest I (6 years), EVE (3 years)
months: EQII, Vanguard, Siedler Online, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2
weeks: WoW, Shaiya, Darkfall, Florensia, Entropia, Aion, Lotro, Fallen Earth, Uncharted Waters
days: DDO, RoM, FFXIV, STO, Atlantica, PotBS, Maestia, WAR, AoC, Gods&Heroes, Cultures, RIFT, Forsaken World, Allodds
Jedi Academy combat with SWG mechanics.
That is my dream game.
I'd go back if they paid me. My time is worth more than the game to me. Just not my thing in the least. So uninspired, lifeless. It was not the Star Wars universe I was looking for. Honestly though it would take a complete redesign of the game for me to want to come back. Just can't stand the linear, kill 10 rats, get purples and go raid stuff while sitting in a battleground queue stuff anymore.
Honestly the game isn't even a fraction as bad as it is typically made out to be here. It's not very good, mind you, but not nearly the disaster the combination of (rose coloured glasses) "It should have been SWG II and nothing else is acceptable" crowd and the depressing number of people who keep buying PvE-centric games and then are shocked -- Shocked! -- that the PvP in them inevitably sux, would have you believe.
Actually, come to think of it, I can't think of any MMOs that you'd get a reasonable feel for by coming to this site -- typically they're either absurdly over-hyped (anything unreleased, and Eve) or, often unfairly, savaged. The place is occasionally entertaining primarily for its endless supply of vitriol, real or useful information is not its forte.
As for what it would take to get me back to ToR, sadly I haven't left. Mind you I'm not having the greatest time of my MMO career, but too many of my friends apparently are, so I stick around to play with them. Some of what I'd like to see is coming -- guild bank and the ability to customize the UI just a little -- and some of it is depressingly half arsed -- the UI will still blow, it needs more than just a little customization to change that, and the self-only combat log is frankly one of the stupidest ideas in MMO history. Honestly what I'd like to see is a cross server LFG -- that the game didn't ship with any meaningful LFG (no, flagging yourself in a pain in the arse to use /who is not an LFG) astounds me. Getting groups is a pain in the butt and pretty much not worth the bother when leveling. I'd also like to see some content that's even halfway difficult -- and preferably not balanced entirely on the backs of healers, which seems to be Bioware's plan right now.
Right now ToR is easily the easiest MMO I've ever played -- when my guild one-shot our first raid I honestly couldn't believe it. Sadly I think Bioware wants it that way. The self-only combat logs are just another in a long list of things indicating they're trying to cater to the most casual of casuals. Might be a smart marketing move, I tend to doubt it but time will tell, but that's not the kind of game I'm interested in.
Now if only my friends would get sick of the whole "It's Star Wars!!11!!!1one!!!" thing so we could move on to something else.
Nothing would get me back on a monthly sub, but I would play again if it went F2P.
It's a decent single player rpg that's pretending to be an mmorpg. I won't pay monthly for the same experience i can get from Skyrim or Mass Effect 3.
It's not worth the sub price. I just don't see myself going back unless the game radically changes, and there's no chance of that happening. It was bad enough that it's actually spurred me to go try out That Which Shall Not Be Named On These Forums.
___________________________
Have flask; will travel.
Nothing would make me go back to it.
I am one of the people who will give a game a try on opening day and if I find it lacking or not fun to play. I just walk away and never return to it.
Nothing! I'm still pissed at myself when I see my CE box on top of my bookshelf and my useless authenticator.
What a scam!
lol, true that... I use mine as a foot rest under my computer desk.
If they add this I am all in :
http://uk.gamespot.com/kinect-star-wars/videos/just-the-way-you-are-kinect-star-wars-gameplay-6369860/?contsessid=51647ed23803a8cca195456fd9b72fd0&prevBounce=6369707
Just kidding, nothing.
Actually I think that's what it takes to get hired by Bioware.
Since I never bought the game, the go back part is a moot point for me. But as to what it would take for me to actually take this game seriously again, the only thing I can think of is if the game was taken out of the hands of these clowns and given to another game studio to unf*ck everything Bioware botched.
"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves, we were called by the Admin of the site . . . "
F2P
RIP Orc Choppa
I haven't really left, just playing a lot less, once a week instead of every day.
BUT for me to come back full time:
- dynamic content, events
- open world (= planets) with exploration, maybe linked with the above ie planets for 50ies to experience new things instead of doing same content day by day (dailies and raids)
- meaningful FPs (when doing ops there is no other reason to go to FPs other than the story), give us rare drops like speeders, social gear, housing/ship items
- housing -> furniture eg from factions, crafting etc
- able to modify/decorate your ship
- factions
- if you turn dark side/light side you'd have a chance to go to the other side... you know, really go to the empire side/republic side
- able to do diplomacy yourself, ie solve issues between races, individuals etc peacefully ie to use your head instead your weapon
- legacy between players
1. 3 factions
2. keep siege
3. rvr
4. x-wing space combat
guess none of those are on their list b/c all they care about is their single player story.
I still play and enjoy doing so but......
I would love to see end game evolve into open pvp on a grand scale that works with the additon of space combat over time.
More raids is fine, flashpoints are fine (those flashpoints need more love though).
Mini games and more social events.
More options in story and a couple new classes over time.
Expansion of planets and the want and need to explore (not just datacrons)
The reason people get off topic is the changes most people would want, including myself, are so fundemental to the core game itself that it would be easier to make a new MMO from scratch then fix SWTOR. I'll admit I had a decent time playing the game through once, its just not a proper MMORPG and frankly it never will be.
If they made it SWG Pre CU and took out those stupid armor sets.
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"