Must be some very good reason, although i can only think of one. It's not as polished/finished as they make us beleive.
That's it for me, not going to buy this game for 60 bucks without a free sneak peek. Going to wait until it gets cheaper or there are free 14 day trials.
/shrug. I consider myself a pretty harsh critic of this game, but honestly, you have to be pretty ignorant to think that the game won't **AT THE VERY LEAST** deliver a month of solid Mass Effect-type gameplay.
It may very well end up as a crappy MMO, there is really no way to know now, but it's definitely going to give people who liked KOTOR or ME another one of "those" games (and probably with several times the story).
So value-wise, it's pretty much guaranteed to be as close to a "sure thing" as an RPG fan can expect. Don't need a free trial of this anymore than i need a trial of Mass Effect 3 to know that it's about.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
This game is banking on hype to boost box sales. A less than stellar open beta, even if the game is still decent, could topple initial box sale volume if it fails to meet the sky high expectations of many of the gamers eagerly awaiting this game. With a $100+ million being sunk into development, they need all of the initial box sales they can get to recoup development costs as soon as possible.
Not only that, but the game itself is very static content based. If players are able to jump into open beta and plow through the first several hours of gameplay, then there is an increased chance that they may not feel like repeating it over again for the fact that the game itself is heavily story based.
/shrug. I consider myself a pretty harsh critic of this game, but honestly, you have to be pretty ignorant to think that the game won't **AT THE VERY LEAST** deliver a month of solid Mass Effect-type gameplay.
It may very well end up as a crappy MMO, there is really no way to know now, but it's definitely going to give people who liked KOTOR or ME another one of "those" games (and probably with several times the story).
So value-wise, it's pretty much guaranteed to be as close to a "sure thing" as an RPG fan can expect. Don't need a free trial of this anymore than i need a trial of Mass Effect 3 to know that it's about.
This, the above reasoning is why I most look froward to TOR as a game, the MMO part will be hit or miss, the one redeeming aspect of that is my old guild from SWG is going to be setting up shop in TOR. However I can say with certainty if the PVP is bad, we won't stick around.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
lol OP is mad because they aren't using an open beta to let him try the game out for free? People like you are exactly what went wrong with beta testing and consequently the reason companies like this won't offer an open beta.
Open Beta would probably be more of a negative thing for this game than positive, considering that it's very storyline focused, having an open beta would allow too many people to play for free and experience the story before they buy the game. They're smart to not have one. What they do need to have instead, is stress tests that cap players at level 15 or so in order to stress the servers to death and find any immediate bugs that pop up with such a massive population. Also, the game has been in "closed beta" for a while now.
This really is just a semantic choice in the sense that open betas originally were meant for stress testing a game, often just a few short days long. It sounds like they are calling that closed beta here, and that may well be so they can keep the NDA up without a huge backlash from the community.
Open Beta would probably be more of a negative thing for this game than positive, considering that it's very storyline focused, having an open beta would allow too many people to play for free and experience the story before they buy the game. They're smart to not have one. What they do need to have instead, is stress tests that cap players at level 15 or so in order to stress the servers to death and find any immediate bugs that pop up with such a massive population. Also, the game has been in "closed beta" for a while now.
Pretty much said what I was thinking.
I know this past tuesday they started allowing select guilds to invite friends to the beta, so based on that we know beta is already expanding, but the exact numbers in beta right now are not known. So speculating on if open beta/stress testing is needed is nothing more then speculation until we have tester numbers.
Open Beta would probably be more of a negative thing for this game than positive, considering that it's very storyline focused, having an open beta would allow too many people to play for free and experience the story before they buy the game. They're smart to not have one. What they do need to have instead, is stress tests that cap players at level 15 or so in order to stress the servers to death and find any immediate bugs that pop up with such a massive population. Also, the game has been in "closed beta" for a while now.
Pretty much said what I was thinking.
I know this past tuesday they started allowing select guilds to invite friends to the beta, so based on that we know beta is already expanding, but the exact numbers in beta right now are not known. So speculating on if open beta/stress testing is needed is nothing more then speculation until we have tester numbers.
At the time of the video he said they have 1000+ testers, depending on how their server tech is going to work, that may be enough for inital stresss tests, but no matter how many they add the chances for something to be broken around lauch day are still there, stress tests just haven't been able to predict everything that can happen in the past. Another reason why the may be forging an "open" one again to keep the NDA up.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Come to think of it, I'm less concerned about whether there's an open beta, and more wondering how long they'll keep the NDA up.
How long does a book publsiher tend to keep an NDA up? Or a studio such as MGM? NDA isn't just protaecting the integrity of the product, it's also protecting the integrity of the story elements as well.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Come to think of it, I'm less concerned about whether there's an open beta, and more wondering how long they'll keep the NDA up.
They can keep the NDA as long as the can. No reason to stop the NDA early. Timing suggests you want to give them some time to hear about it but not so much that the internet whack jobs get a long period of ranting about any little thing.
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
I'm not sure I agree with #1. But #2 is dead wrong.
If you spend 150million on a game then you need it to be a big success. And as had been pointed out endlessly on these boards, "open beta" is more a marketing tool than any real beta test. Its the last big marketing push before launch. With so much at stake, not doing an open beta is just odd.
Did you just say TOR needs more marketing, maybe I'm mistaking your meaning, but it sounds an awful lot like you did?
Of course it does. Becuse a new large budget MMO made by a well known company like bioware, based on a multigenrational beloved Sci Fi IP that is famous world wide, needs all the help it can get.
(yes that was sarcasm)
Funny... i am calling Cocal Cola Company to tell them how idiotic they are for continuing to market their products, i'm sure they 'll agree.
I am buying this game as soon as its out period. I haven't seen a MMO this interesting sense 02 when I first seen previews for WoW. You have to face the music and the facts MMO fans. You have yet to play a MMO that tops WoW in all means. It just hasn't happened, and I have looked at and played MMOs for years. However, I can look at SWTOR and tell right off the bat it will be a ground breaking MMO. It will be the next big thing on the MMO scene... You have to ask yourself will you be apart of a well polished fine game or you will remain in a search spending cash on all these second rate MMOs.
Well not me, I am not going to buy anymore of these crappy MMOs that bring nothing to the table but annoying bugs. Age of Conan, Fallen Earth, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, Darkfall Online, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars... All of these I was siked for, but they turned out to be utter crap in the long run. They lost population, fanbase and subs because they stunk up the MMO world. There can only be one MMO at the top we all should know that by now. If there will ever be a game to take the crown WoW has been holding, its SWTOR. I am a fan yes, but I am a fan of all MMOs... don't label me as a fanboy, but someone who speaks his mind, I've been doing MMOs for 12+ years.
Well they are in kind of a closed beta right now with their "Testing" phases. I just want them to have a closed beta associated with pre-orders and then I will be happy.
I am buying this game as soon as its out period. I haven't seen a MMO this interesting sense 02 when I first seen previews for WoW. You have to face the music and the facts MMO fans. You have yet to play a MMO that tops WoW in all means. It just hasn't happened, and I have looked at and played MMOs for years. However, I can look at SWTOR and tell right off the bat it will be a ground breaking MMO. It will be the next big thing on the MMO scene... You have to ask yourself will you be apart of a well polished fine game or you will remain in a search spending cash on all these second rate MMOs.
Well not me, I am not going to buy anymore of these crappy MMOs that bring nothing to the table but annoying bugs. Age of Conan, Fallen Earth, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, Darkfall Online, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars... All of these I was siked for, but they turned out to be utter crap in the long run. They lost population, fanbase and subs because they stunk up the MMO world. There can only be one MMO at the top we all should know that by now. If there will ever be a game to take the crown WoW has been holding, its SWTOR. I am a fan yes, but I am a fan of all MMOs... don't label me as a fanboy, but someone who speaks his mind, I've been doing MMOs for 12+ years.
This game is very underrated by so many level's
I am one of the lucky ones to be part of the "testing" portion, while i cannot give any details on the game itself I can tell you it is a GREAT game to play. I have a small gaming background of playing WoW for almost 6 years and Aion/Rift for a few months which I lost interest faster than I wanted too. Been playing video games (mostly console) for almost 20 years as well.
This game has alot of potential to be the top game out there, I dont think it will be "right away" meaning after the first month of subs, but content patches will hook player's in the game. It is easily better than Rift with it still in mediocre beta, and has the possibility of being the "wowkiller" term people seem to use, if you liked WoW/Rift/Aion/LOTRO give this game a chance i guarantee you it will not dissapoint. These are my opinions about this game, and from the actual tesing I have been involed in.
Hope this helps anyone coming from the type of background I am coming from
I am buying this game as soon as its out period. I haven't seen a MMO this interesting sense 02 when I first seen previews for WoW. You have to face the music and the facts MMO fans. You have yet to play a MMO that tops WoW in all means. It just hasn't happened, and I have looked at and played MMOs for years. However, I can look at SWTOR and tell right off the bat it will be a ground breaking MMO. It will be the next big thing on the MMO scene... You have to ask yourself will you be apart of a well polished fine game or you will remain in a search spending cash on all these second rate MMOs.
Well not me, I am not going to buy anymore of these crappy MMOs that bring nothing to the table but annoying bugs. Age of Conan, Fallen Earth, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, Darkfall Online, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars... All of these I was siked for, but they turned out to be utter crap in the long run. They lost population, fanbase and subs because they stunk up the MMO world. There can only be one MMO at the top we all should know that by now. If there will ever be a game to take the crown WoW has been holding, its SWTOR. I am a fan yes, but I am a fan of all MMOs... don't label me as a fanboy, but someone who speaks his mind, I've been doing MMOs for 12+ years.
This game is very underrated by so many level's
I am one of the lucky ones to be part of the "testing" portion, while i cannot give any details on the game itself I can tell you it is a GREAT game to play. I have a small gaming background of playing WoW for almost 6 years and Aion/Rift for a few months which I lost interest faster than I wanted too. Been playing video games (mostly console) for almost 20 years as well.
This game has alot of potential to be the top game out there, I dont think it will be "right away" meaning after the first month of subs, but content patches will hook player's in the game. It is easily better than Rift with it still in mediocre beta, and has the possibility of being the "wowkiller" term people seem to use, if you liked WoW/Rift/Aion/LOTRO give this game a chance i guarantee you it will not dissapoint. These are my opinions about this game, and from the actual tesing I have been involed in.
Hope this helps anyone coming from the type of background I am coming from
PS I do not work for bioware :P
Well after 100$+ millions of dollars and years of developement that doesn't sound like much.
And why did Elikal change his view on the game after trying it for a few days? It has to be an amazing game to cause that effect on him.
No open beta is an incredibly good idea. All we would see is everyone and their sister logging into the game to try it out for a few hours, no actual beta testing would get done.
Further, I'll bet there is enough massive interest in the game that they could recruit thousands of closed beta partcipants and have them all carefully test the game.
After Aion I won't even consider buying a mmo without a trial, I get the feeling SW: ToR will end up a huge letdown, its too hyped up and is just setting itself up for a fail. They'll prob recoup alot of dev costs off box sales but box sales don't say how successful a mmo is, how many people are left after the free month and into the 2nd and 3rd month they need to sub to play, thats when you decide how successful it was.
Sw: ToR to me looks like yet another wow clone just with a diff skin, it sounds like it, with its linear quest based gameplay and such. At least thats what it sounds like tome based on what people have said, i'd have to play it myself to really tell. Bascally if I like how the game plays after playing it for a few hours thats all I need to decide if its worth buying or not, can even get this done in a closed beta. Since the core gameplay and such won't change radically usually.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Well after 100$+ millions of dollars and years of developement that doesn't sound like much.
And why did Elikal change his view on the game after trying it for a few days? It has to be an amazing game to cause that effect on him.
Who is wrong?
There is no right or wrong, there's just opinions and personal experiences. Some will like it, some will not, just like it works with everything. Some happened to have the chance to play it for a while and enjoyed themselves, some might still feel 'meh' about it even if they got the chance to play it extensively. Different tastes and all that.
Although so far it looks like the majority of people who had handson time with the game genuinely enjoyed themselves quite a bit, even a number of those who hadn't expected it. However, how many of the MMO playerbase really will like it or what the game's longterm appeal will be, we'll only find out after launch.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Lets just clear this up for everyone. This game is going to suck because you all are expecting the best game ever. It wont be. It will be good, but not great. No game has excelled to greatness besides World Of Warcraft Vanilla - TBC. That game only reached greatness because it innovated and was a huge reason why MMORPGs are so well known today. Personally anyone who gets there hopes up to the fanboy stage will normally be dissapointed because for one since there wont be a Closed nor Open Beta you will be walking into a cluster fck of bugs, server crashes, etc that happen in every games launch besides Rifts (Because of MANY open and closed betas). Like I said, this will be interesting to see exactly what the population of this game will be after the first 3 months. I know for a fact im not buying it on release because its always a bad idea to do this unless the company took the Rift approach and brought the community in to fix the game. This games either going to be good, or a catastrophic failiure. Not great because it doesnt extend to fantasy gamers like my self who dont picture them selfs in the Starwars world.
Saying this though I will probably still buy it and see, but thats only because im a reviewer, I like to share knowlege and opinions on games to allow the consumer to make an educated choice to know what they are walking into. Cant wait to see how this all turns out... Bioware is putting there entire reputation on the line by doing this project.
I'm not sure I agree with #1. But #2 is dead wrong.
If you spend 150million on a game then you need it to be a big success. And as had been pointed out endlessly on these boards, "open beta" is more a marketing tool than any real beta test. Its the last big marketing push before launch. With so much at stake, not doing an open beta is just odd.
Did you just say TOR needs more marketing, maybe I'm mistaking your meaning, but it sounds an awful lot like you did?
you heard me right yes.
unless you think the folks at EA/Bioware are sitting back with satisfaction, nodding to eachother saying "oh yeah, we've done enough". Like I said, 150mil is a big gamble. Only a fool would declare victory several months before the game has even launched. But I know its very fashionable in some circles to believe that everyone is already going to buy the game just because its starwars and its bioware.
Does it need more marketing? It needs everything it can get.
The game cost between $80-$100 million to make, not $150 million.
And Bioware does not in any way need a very poor marketing tool like an open beta to increase hype for the game. The hype levels for SWTOR are already through the roof. A company like Bioware, which releases games that all sell very well, and an IP like Star Wars, which has been around for more than 30 years, and a game that is based on popular past games and been in development for almost 6 years now, does not need open beta to market their product.
Open betas are very poor marketing tools anyway. People are more likely to log into major lag as ten trillion peopletry to log in as well than anything else. There, now your game has a reputation for being laggy.
Plus, from a marketing perspective, one single 30 second television spot would do far, far more to attract people to the game then a thousand open betas ever would.
I'm not sure I agree with #1. But #2 is dead wrong.
If you spend 150million on a game then you need it to be a big success. And as had been pointed out endlessly on these boards, "open beta" is more a marketing tool than any real beta test. Its the last big marketing push before launch. With so much at stake, not doing an open beta is just odd.
Did you just say TOR needs more marketing, maybe I'm mistaking your meaning, but it sounds an awful lot like you did?
you heard me right yes.
unless you think the folks at EA/Bioware are sitting back with satisfaction, nodding to eachother saying "oh yeah, we've done enough". Like I said, 150mil is a big gamble. Only a fool would declare victory several months before the game has even launched. But I know its very fashionable in some circles to believe that everyone is already going to buy the game just because its starwars and its bioware.
Does it need more marketing? It needs everything it can get.
The game cost between $80-$100 million to make, not $150 million.
And Bioware does not in any way need a very poor marketing tool like an open beta to increase hype for the game. The hype levels for SWTOR are already through the roof. A company like Bioware, which releases games that all sell very well, and an IP like Star Wars, which has been around for more than 30 years, and a game that is based on popular past games and been in development for almost 6 years now, does not need open beta to market their product.
Open betas are very poor marketing tools anyway. People are more likely to log into major lag as ten trillion peopletry to log in as well than anything else. There, now your game has a reputation for being laggy.
Plus, from a marketing perspective, one single 30 second television spot would do far, far more to attract people to the game then a thousand open betas ever would.
Gamers watch television? I know I do, I play on a laptop so I can keep my wife company while she watches television, but overall I don't think that's the best way to reach your target audience, unless of course, you are trying to draw in a new market segment not currently served. (much like the Blizzard ads brought in the younger crowd)
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I'm not sure I agree with #1. But #2 is dead wrong.
If you spend 150million on a game then you need it to be a big success. And as had been pointed out endlessly on these boards, "open beta" is more a marketing tool than any real beta test. Its the last big marketing push before launch. With so much at stake, not doing an open beta is just odd.
Did you just say TOR needs more marketing, maybe I'm mistaking your meaning, but it sounds an awful lot like you did?
you heard me right yes.
unless you think the folks at EA/Bioware are sitting back with satisfaction, nodding to eachother saying "oh yeah, we've done enough". Like I said, 150mil is a big gamble. Only a fool would declare victory several months before the game has even launched. But I know its very fashionable in some circles to believe that everyone is already going to buy the game just because its starwars and its bioware.
Does it need more marketing? It needs everything it can get.
The game cost between $80-$100 million to make, not $150 million.
And Bioware does not in any way need a very poor marketing tool like an open beta to increase hype for the game. The hype levels for SWTOR are already through the roof. A company like Bioware, which releases games that all sell very well, and an IP like Star Wars, which has been around for more than 30 years, and a game that is based on popular past games and been in development for almost 6 years now, does not need open beta to market their product.
Open betas are very poor marketing tools anyway. People are more likely to log into major lag as ten trillion peopletry to log in as well than anything else. There, now your game has a reputation for being laggy.
Plus, from a marketing perspective, one single 30 second television spot would do far, far more to attract people to the game then a thousand open betas ever would.
Gamers watch television? I know I do, I play on a laptop so I can keep my wife company while she watches television, but overall I don't think that's the best way to reach your target audience, unless of course, you are trying to draw in a new market segment not currently served. (much like the Blizzard ads brought in the younger crowd)
I expect TV advertising would be a great way to draw in Star Wars fans and consol/single player game fans (running spots during the Clone Wars cartoons would be a good bet.) But I would expect such advertising would come when the game has matured a little, like with WoW.
To be honest. I dont even want to play the beta of this game! Yes i hope this game will be awsome and i belive it will be awsome. But none the less, i want the full experience the first time i play the game. If i play the beta i will play it, knowing i will go through a lot of the game one more time. I know some people say, thats cool, then you can grind faster to max.....But i dont want to enjoy this game fast. I want to experience the universe and the stories. I want it to be all new when i starts my chars (hopefully) epic journy through the star wars universe.
And if i get dissapointed? Well, 60 bucks is not the most expensive dissapointment i have ever experienced!
Lets just clear this up for everyone. This game is going to suck because you all are expecting the best game ever. It wont be. It will be good, but not great. No game has excelled to greatness besides World Of Warcraft Vanilla - TBC. That game only reached greatness because it innovated and was a huge reason why MMORPGs are so well known today. Personally anyone who gets there hopes up to the fanboy stage will normally be dissapointed because for one since there wont be a Closed nor Open Beta you will be walking into a cluster fck of bugs, server crashes, etc that happen in every games launch besides Rifts (Because of MANY open and closed betas). Like I said, this will be interesting to see exactly what the population of this game will be after the first 3 months. I know for a fact im not buying it on release because its always a bad idea to do this unless the company took the Rift approach and brought the community in to fix the game. This games either going to be good, or a catastrophic failiure. Not great because it doesnt extend to fantasy gamers like my self who dont picture them selfs in the Starwars world.
Saying this though I will probably still buy it and see, but thats only because im a reviewer, I like to share knowlege and opinions on games to allow the consumer to make an educated choice to know what they are walking into. Cant wait to see how this all turns out... Bioware is putting there entire reputation on the line by doing this project.
So...in order to be great, a game has to have a fantasy setting ?
I mean, I actually prefer fantasy myself, but I think this is a pretty bold statement to make. There have been plenty of very successful Star Wars and other Sci-Fi games in the past. I think it's a bit presumptuous to write something off just because it's not fantasy. This kind of seems like the "I don't like it, therefore it will not be successful" argument.
Comments
/shrug. I consider myself a pretty harsh critic of this game, but honestly, you have to be pretty ignorant to think that the game won't **AT THE VERY LEAST** deliver a month of solid Mass Effect-type gameplay.
It may very well end up as a crappy MMO, there is really no way to know now, but it's definitely going to give people who liked KOTOR or ME another one of "those" games (and probably with several times the story).
So value-wise, it's pretty much guaranteed to be as close to a "sure thing" as an RPG fan can expect. Don't need a free trial of this anymore than i need a trial of Mass Effect 3 to know that it's about.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
This game is banking on hype to boost box sales. A less than stellar open beta, even if the game is still decent, could topple initial box sale volume if it fails to meet the sky high expectations of many of the gamers eagerly awaiting this game. With a $100+ million being sunk into development, they need all of the initial box sales they can get to recoup development costs as soon as possible.
Not only that, but the game itself is very static content based. If players are able to jump into open beta and plow through the first several hours of gameplay, then there is an increased chance that they may not feel like repeating it over again for the fact that the game itself is heavily story based.
This, the above reasoning is why I most look froward to TOR as a game, the MMO part will be hit or miss, the one redeeming aspect of that is my old guild from SWG is going to be setting up shop in TOR. However I can say with certainty if the PVP is bad, we won't stick around.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
lol OP is mad because they aren't using an open beta to let him try the game out for free? People like you are exactly what went wrong with beta testing and consequently the reason companies like this won't offer an open beta.
GG, you are the problem.
Open Beta would probably be more of a negative thing for this game than positive, considering that it's very storyline focused, having an open beta would allow too many people to play for free and experience the story before they buy the game. They're smart to not have one. What they do need to have instead, is stress tests that cap players at level 15 or so in order to stress the servers to death and find any immediate bugs that pop up with such a massive population. Also, the game has been in "closed beta" for a while now.
This really is just a semantic choice in the sense that open betas originally were meant for stress testing a game, often just a few short days long. It sounds like they are calling that closed beta here, and that may well be so they can keep the NDA up without a huge backlash from the community.
Pretty much said what I was thinking.
I know this past tuesday they started allowing select guilds to invite friends to the beta, so based on that we know beta is already expanding, but the exact numbers in beta right now are not known. So speculating on if open beta/stress testing is needed is nothing more then speculation until we have tester numbers.
At the time of the video he said they have 1000+ testers, depending on how their server tech is going to work, that may be enough for inital stresss tests, but no matter how many they add the chances for something to be broken around lauch day are still there, stress tests just haven't been able to predict everything that can happen in the past. Another reason why the may be forging an "open" one again to keep the NDA up.
Come to think of it, I'm less concerned about whether there's an open beta, and more wondering how long they'll keep the NDA up.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
How long does a book publsiher tend to keep an NDA up? Or a studio such as MGM? NDA isn't just protaecting the integrity of the product, it's also protecting the integrity of the story elements as well.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
They can keep the NDA as long as the can. No reason to stop the NDA early. Timing suggests you want to give them some time to hear about it but not so much that the internet whack jobs get a long period of ranting about any little thing.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Funny... i am calling Cocal Cola Company to tell them how idiotic they are for continuing to market their products, i'm sure they 'll agree.
I am buying this game as soon as its out period. I haven't seen a MMO this interesting sense 02 when I first seen previews for WoW. You have to face the music and the facts MMO fans. You have yet to play a MMO that tops WoW in all means. It just hasn't happened, and I have looked at and played MMOs for years. However, I can look at SWTOR and tell right off the bat it will be a ground breaking MMO. It will be the next big thing on the MMO scene... You have to ask yourself will you be apart of a well polished fine game or you will remain in a search spending cash on all these second rate MMOs.
Well not me, I am not going to buy anymore of these crappy MMOs that bring nothing to the table but annoying bugs. Age of Conan, Fallen Earth, Vanguard, Warhammer Online, Darkfall Online, Aion, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars... All of these I was siked for, but they turned out to be utter crap in the long run. They lost population, fanbase and subs because they stunk up the MMO world. There can only be one MMO at the top we all should know that by now. If there will ever be a game to take the crown WoW has been holding, its SWTOR. I am a fan yes, but I am a fan of all MMOs... don't label me as a fanboy, but someone who speaks his mind, I've been doing MMOs for 12+ years.
This game is very underrated by so many level's
I am one of the lucky ones to be part of the "testing" portion, while i cannot give any details on the game itself I can tell you it is a GREAT game to play. I have a small gaming background of playing WoW for almost 6 years and Aion/Rift for a few months which I lost interest faster than I wanted too. Been playing video games (mostly console) for almost 20 years as well.
This game has alot of potential to be the top game out there, I dont think it will be "right away" meaning after the first month of subs, but content patches will hook player's in the game. It is easily better than Rift with it still in mediocre beta, and has the possibility of being the "wowkiller" term people seem to use, if you liked WoW/Rift/Aion/LOTRO give this game a chance i guarantee you it will not dissapoint. These are my opinions about this game, and from the actual tesing I have been involed in.
Hope this helps anyone coming from the type of background I am coming from
PS I do not work for bioware :P
Well after 100$+ millions of dollars and years of developement that doesn't sound like much.
And why did Elikal change his view on the game after trying it for a few days? It has to be an amazing game to cause that effect on him.
Who is wrong?
An honest review of SW:TOR 6/10 (Danny Wojcicki)
No open beta is an incredibly good idea. All we would see is everyone and their sister logging into the game to try it out for a few hours, no actual beta testing would get done.
Further, I'll bet there is enough massive interest in the game that they could recruit thousands of closed beta partcipants and have them all carefully test the game.
After Aion I won't even consider buying a mmo without a trial, I get the feeling SW: ToR will end up a huge letdown, its too hyped up and is just setting itself up for a fail. They'll prob recoup alot of dev costs off box sales but box sales don't say how successful a mmo is, how many people are left after the free month and into the 2nd and 3rd month they need to sub to play, thats when you decide how successful it was.
Sw: ToR to me looks like yet another wow clone just with a diff skin, it sounds like it, with its linear quest based gameplay and such. At least thats what it sounds like tome based on what people have said, i'd have to play it myself to really tell. Bascally if I like how the game plays after playing it for a few hours thats all I need to decide if its worth buying or not, can even get this done in a closed beta. Since the core gameplay and such won't change radically usually.
Being a pessimist is a win-win pattern of thinking. If you're a pessimist (I'll admit that I am!) you're either:
A. Proven right (if something bad happens)
or
B. Pleasantly surprised (if something good happens)
Either way, you can't lose! Try it out sometime!
There is no right or wrong, there's just opinions and personal experiences. Some will like it, some will not, just like it works with everything. Some happened to have the chance to play it for a while and enjoyed themselves, some might still feel 'meh' about it even if they got the chance to play it extensively. Different tastes and all that.
Although so far it looks like the majority of people who had handson time with the game genuinely enjoyed themselves quite a bit, even a number of those who hadn't expected it. However, how many of the MMO playerbase really will like it or what the game's longterm appeal will be, we'll only find out after launch.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Lets just clear this up for everyone. This game is going to suck because you all are expecting the best game ever. It wont be. It will be good, but not great. No game has excelled to greatness besides World Of Warcraft Vanilla - TBC. That game only reached greatness because it innovated and was a huge reason why MMORPGs are so well known today. Personally anyone who gets there hopes up to the fanboy stage will normally be dissapointed because for one since there wont be a Closed nor Open Beta you will be walking into a cluster fck of bugs, server crashes, etc that happen in every games launch besides Rifts (Because of MANY open and closed betas). Like I said, this will be interesting to see exactly what the population of this game will be after the first 3 months. I know for a fact im not buying it on release because its always a bad idea to do this unless the company took the Rift approach and brought the community in to fix the game. This games either going to be good, or a catastrophic failiure. Not great because it doesnt extend to fantasy gamers like my self who dont picture them selfs in the Starwars world.
Saying this though I will probably still buy it and see, but thats only because im a reviewer, I like to share knowlege and opinions on games to allow the consumer to make an educated choice to know what they are walking into. Cant wait to see how this all turns out... Bioware is putting there entire reputation on the line by doing this project.
The game cost between $80-$100 million to make, not $150 million.
And Bioware does not in any way need a very poor marketing tool like an open beta to increase hype for the game. The hype levels for SWTOR are already through the roof. A company like Bioware, which releases games that all sell very well, and an IP like Star Wars, which has been around for more than 30 years, and a game that is based on popular past games and been in development for almost 6 years now, does not need open beta to market their product.
Open betas are very poor marketing tools anyway. People are more likely to log into major lag as ten trillion peopletry to log in as well than anything else. There, now your game has a reputation for being laggy.
Plus, from a marketing perspective, one single 30 second television spot would do far, far more to attract people to the game then a thousand open betas ever would.
Gamers watch television? I know I do, I play on a laptop so I can keep my wife company while she watches television, but overall I don't think that's the best way to reach your target audience, unless of course, you are trying to draw in a new market segment not currently served. (much like the Blizzard ads brought in the younger crowd)
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I expect TV advertising would be a great way to draw in Star Wars fans and consol/single player game fans (running spots during the Clone Wars cartoons would be a good bet.) But I would expect such advertising would come when the game has matured a little, like with WoW.
To be honest. I dont even want to play the beta of this game! Yes i hope this game will be awsome and i belive it will be awsome. But none the less, i want the full experience the first time i play the game. If i play the beta i will play it, knowing i will go through a lot of the game one more time. I know some people say, thats cool, then you can grind faster to max.....But i dont want to enjoy this game fast. I want to experience the universe and the stories. I want it to be all new when i starts my chars (hopefully) epic journy through the star wars universe.
And if i get dissapointed? Well, 60 bucks is not the most expensive dissapointment i have ever experienced!
So...in order to be great, a game has to have a fantasy setting
?
I mean, I actually prefer fantasy myself, but I think this is a pretty bold statement to make. There have been plenty of very successful Star Wars and other Sci-Fi games in the past. I think it's a bit presumptuous to write something off just because it's not fantasy. This kind of seems like the "I don't like it, therefore it will not be successful" argument.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?