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If (and when) SWTOR fails, can Obsidian make a good Star Wars game?
Fruxy
Member Posts: 32
Obsidian Entertainment seems promising. At least more promising than EA, who layed off their (SWTOR) staff, and currently can't possibly sustain a good SW game with rapid content (beyond rehashes of existing content).
Obsidian keeps pushing and pushing. They want it at least. They don't get it handed to them.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05/08/obsidian-hoping-to-work-with-eabioware-on-star-wars/
“We are certainly going to try,” he said. “We would love to work on another Star Wars game, and if it was possible for us to hook up with BioWare and EA to do so, that would be pretty amazing.”
Since Electronic Arts holds the Star Wars license, I'm EXTREMELY skeptical. It doesn't help that George Lucas has left the building.
If a new Star Wars MMO comes out, please let it be anyone but BioWare / EA. Thus Obsidian comes in to play.
That was my original thinking. Then I began to wonder about the influence of a publisher on a developer, and .. well I'm still wondering, but I think the overall effect will be negative when EA is involved. Even if a terrific developer gets a stab at a new SW MMO game, EA still lingers, imposing cash shops and a deteriorization of game quality.
This is one of my last interests in Star Wars. Current implementations of anything Star Wars have fallen flat. I'm tired. George Lucas has sold the company, BioWare has sold their company. LucasArts is owned by Disney now. SW is no longer owned by original financial interests.
The next Star Wars will need to be really freiikin good. Really good. Which brings me back to ..
Can Obsidian or any other company make a stellar & convincing Star Wars game?
Comments
I doubt there will be another SW mmo for a long time, though I would be interested in what Obsidian could come up with. But honestly I would rather see an Obsidian Fallout MMO.
Kotor II was a buggy nightmare to play. Most of that was because of LA's deadline to launch before christmas but when a fan has to finish your game for you so others can actually play it.... I don't really see this company as the great hope for a new and better star wars game.
Maybe working with better people will mean all the difference for obsidian but I wouldn't get too excited about anything they're working on till it's done.
My answer to your question is yes, but as time goes on I'm starting to wonder if the story we all know to be Star Wars is now old and dated. Perhaps the new movies will give us a new take on the star wars universe and not the same one that has been playing in our minds for the past 30 years.
and until the end of my days I will never understand how/why Disney gave the exclusive Star Wars games license to EA...
It just doesn't seem that likely that another MMORPG will come out with a SW IP. The single player games and the Lego SW games made tons of money, but the MMORPGs do not perform the way the developers or publishers wanted. Plus, the development cycle for single player games is faster than MMORPGs, so if one of them tanks, a new one, with different mechanics or better mechanics is just around the corner.
**
Of course a good Star Wars game can be made. What a silly question. If a good game can be made, then a good Star Wars game can be made.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
SWTOR was extremely buggy too at launch, so I'm not too worried about that. SWTOR: numberous stuck spots, broken class quests, and a huge amount of other minor bugs (can't remove old quests, for instance, and the max quests is 25). Can't play the game because you can't log in (problem with transition of Beta players to Live). There were many other issues, but I think the stuck issue was my #1 problem, because when even walking near a tree I got "stuck", and couldn't move.
I'd take KotOR 2 bugs any day. They weren't that bad.
But I'll agree that deadlines will kill a game. Definitely.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
Diss other games all you want, but SWTOR was my first game that I experienced so many bugs in such a short period of time.
KotOR 2, buggy as it was, was a lesson for Obsidian / EA / BioWare / EAware. A "Do not do this" lesson .. but of course big trashy companies don't listen. /snap
KotOR 2 > SWTOR. /shrug
edit: Even then I fail to see a comparison .. KotOR 2 had bugs which pale in comparison to SWTOR.
Obsidian might not know about player satisfaction, but they sure as hell know more than EA. Which makes them already better, even if slightly (which we all know is more than slightly, I'm just humoring you).
I hope Obsidian comes through with a new Star Wars MMO personally.
Right... Disney bought it all, form Lucas for some stupid amount....they are currently working on more/reboot?/remake movies...there will be another game...
*off to wash vomit out of my mouth*
I'm not sure obsidian could do star wars credit, they need to focus on fallout and get that off the ground first. Never let bethesda near it, ah lets face it, any existing developer would be hard pressed to do a star wars mmo credit, star wars is to many things to too many different people to make a game even somewhat acceptable to a sustainable audience. Too many nay sayers and doom boys out there, and too many developers riding the hype train instead of building a game. that goes for stand alone titles or multi player ones. Star wars has probably had the most horrible games put out over the years than any other IP.
Developers have to stay off the hype train and build a game. Games used to be built by gamers for gamers, now their built by executives who have never played a game let alone had any desire to put out a quality product, they see game development as a revenue stream and a way to diversify a portfolio on teh off chance the product their funding actually takes off.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
^^ this
KOTOR made by BW >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KOTOR II made by obsidian
There is some humor in this. One of the most staunt supporters of SWTOR never played at launch?
Never stuck .. never had quest log issues .. lulz.
oO
In your opinion, SWTOR had the best launch ever, eh? oO
lulz, alrighty. Now I know the source of such propaganda :P
Many people who played at launch had severe problems, such as stuck characters. I still have them even today, though to a lesser extent. At launch, people would get stuck while just walking over a stone on a path, or getting too close to a tree. Nowadays it happens while jumping around searching for Datacrons. .. something dev's promised at launch would be fun to search for. Getting stuck isn't fun.
I also believe you never played at launch if you claim there was never a quest log issue. My quest log was jammed up for half a year before it got fixed. Some quests were automatically picked upon planet arrival (and talking to someone). They could NOT be abandoned, and the quest limit was 25.
Yeah.
Unfortunately bugs are still around, some get cleaned up at the expense of new bugs forming. PVP, while not technically bugged is currently a mess with gear / no gear shenannigans, for instance. PVP is already useless in this game, but to make instanced PVP useless is a lol-able moment.
LOL
There we go.
I don't mind defenders supporting this game, and hell, I'll support it too .. but when misinformation gets tossed around, I don't really want to be apart of the fan base. So many lies get thrown around on the official forums as it is.
So lets get back on topic with Obsidian! They want Star Wars! Let em have it, can't hurt.
^^ this
KOTOR made by BW >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> KOTOR II made by obsidian
This. KOTOR 2 was such a letdown.What a boring game. I was so glad when I heard that they were going to have nothing to do with TOR..Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
Agreed. If they can't even make a smooth single player game,how are they going to be able to do better with an MMO? I'd rather give it someone like Rock star.Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
A Rockstar Star Wars MMO? Oh lord...
5 Man Dungeon: Rape the Twi'lek Slaves and shoot their masters in the face.
Swtor already failed, but they will keep it running on the current ghost crew removing one after another until only a few are left to keep the servers up like they did with Warhammer Online. With EA having somehow magically aquired the rights to all Star Wars games there is almost no chance of seeing another developer making any Star Wars game in the coming years.
But I do think that EA will actually make some good Star Wars games. They have learned alot of lessons from Swtor I'm sure and fired many of the developers that let the Swtor mess happen. Even EA can make good games if they let the right people at em and EA seem to be changing quite alot how they are running things.
I found KOTOR 2 to be superior as well as inferior depending on topic. As an example while their story was FUBAR in terms of ending, I didn't find it as cliche in delivery as KOTOR's story. Same goes for many systems in terms of RPG mechanics, there were more dialogue options in 2 as an example.
I could also apply this to FONV over FO3. FONV and KOTOR were deeper RPG games IMO with better stories than their predecessors. They did have far more issues in regard to timing ( they are never fully complete) and updates ( user based for KOTOR 2) are needed to enjoy both games.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I quite liked KOTOR 2, except for the rushed ending.
But you take your chances with Obsidian, their games are usually a buggy mess, similar to Bethesda games.
Anyway, I really hope there aren't anymore Star Wars mmorpgs. Star Wars games? Sure but not an mmo.
Despite what these forums say, the game is doing well and not dying anytime soon. No it doesn't have anywhere near the WoW numbers EA was going for but still thriving nonetheless with a healthy player population.
And yes, I can guarantee another SW MMO will come out...eventually. Most likely after the release of the next trilogy. Though I doubt EA will want to share with Obsidian. Don't expect it until around the year 2019.
1. If I understand the "exclusive" deal that EA signed with Disney for the next few years EA are the only company who can develop SW games except for some things that Disney retained the rights to. So the answer to the OP is no.
2. As far as numbers go WoW isn't the benchmark. SWTOR has gone F2P. Consider this quote 4 months after the game went F2P:
"since City of Heroes' free-to-play conversion, Lead Designer Matt "Positron" Miller has said that the company has been "blown away" by the results.
According to an interview at GameZone, City of Heroes has witnessed not only an "incredible number" of subscribers, but also a tidal wave of returning and first-time players curious about the new model. Miller cites the popularity of the Paragon Rewards program as a key factor in Freedom's success: "We've really broadened the idea of what a free game can be to a lot of people."
(Essentially what every sub based mmo that has gone F2P has said in the last few year - and for anyone unaware CoH was closed. But this is EA .... who closed the Sims Online and other F2P games last month, and other F2P games a few months ago.)
Haven't we learned yet that Star Wars is just not an IP for MMORPGs?
It's impossible to make accurately given the nature of Jedi. Either everyone would have to be a minor Jedi or have minor force skills or no one would be able to be a Jedi. Either way, there is no way for players to be badass Jedi and still remain true to the original IP.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader owned Solo. None of this Smuggler vs. Sith Warrior PVP nonsense.
I don't think they're even trying to make an mmo ? They wanted to make another single player star wars game. I'm pretty sure fans wanted it to be an mmo and inserted that into all this.
I like single player star wars games and love rts ones. I'd be happy if they made one but I'd want to know it was finished before I spent any money on it. I wouldn't say I got burnt by them, I actually liked the playable parts of kotor II but I don't trust them either.