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Space combat looks awesome!
Gajari
Member Posts: 984
I'm getting tired of people ragging on the space combat in SW:TOR. It looks fun and involving and a really nice change of pace to the usual. I like that you can still get xp in ways, complete bonus missions as they pop up, acquire upgrades for your ship, etc., while you're doing it so it is a reasonable way to spend your time in game and still see some progression if you feel less inclined to play the usual MMO bits.
If they made an open, free-roamable space, then the combat would be dumbed down and it would get boring and stagnant quickly for many. I would even say 100% positive the majority of players would not enjoy that as much once it was out as they will the current system.
Space itself is boring. The intense, action-packed space battles that will be possible with the current system is not.
Space in Star Wars was never the main focus of attention. The current space battles more accurately reflect what the movies were like than open space would. They'll even have you and your partner and whoever else talking to each other, making comments about situations as it goes on in the final product, which is also really cool. I think they'll make it pretty entertaining with all the elements combined.
Who's with me?
This is all just my opinion, don't take anything I say about the playerbase as meant to be entirely factual or anything.
Comments
People need to realize this isnt Star Trek.
I wont go into the OP's assumptions about open space for spacecombat (my advice for him is to look at swg's JTL and EVE). But does he know that spacecombat in SWTOR will be a solo experience? Or has this changed ?
what baffles me is all the people that are pissed this game isnt launching like its been out for 7 years already with all of this massive content. SWG DID NOT launch with space combat. Hell it barely launched with anything at all.
Yeah space combat isn't the big selling point but heres hopping that they will build on it and make it much better; SWBF2 flight, pvp, or guild ships(said be be added later). More would be nice but just having it at launch is a bonus.
I'm pretty positive that, if SWTOR launched with free-roam multiplayer PvP space combat... the OP wouldn't be making a post asking for a ship-on-rails solo experience.
I'm not saying this game will suffer because it won't have free-roam, but my bet is that the game will thrive a lot better if it had free-roam space combat as opposed to what it has now.
Heh, I think the folks are scared because of what EA/BioWare have done in the past. They make good games, no doubt, but sell off TONS of DLC. It might not have anything to do with space combat, but it might just have everything to do with it. ;p
I took both JTL and Eve into account when I said space was boring. There's a reason both those games are very niche with a smaller community, and one is closing down (being replaced, I should say).
As far as I know it's a solo experience. I do think it would be awesome to do it as multiplayer, though! Have multiple gunners, maybe someone to help repair the ship at certain times, or even have everyone in one game with their own ships somehow... that would all be cool. I can't see why they wouldn't try to expand on it in the future, though, so it might come to be that way, or some variation.
But either way, it looks fun to me from the video's I've seen, so it's all good. It actually looks better than the rest of the game. lol
No, it's true, I probably wouldn't have even given it any thought because it wouldn't be what was offered. I would likely completely avoid space as much as possible and stick to the planets unless I was forced. I would also likely be complaining about how boring space and space combat is.
The game's longevity is not going to be based on space at all. It's just not a main focus. Why spend so much time and money developing something that the majority of players aren't going to be super interested in?
And if they did spend the time and money putting it together to please the minority, it will undoubtedly take away from other aspects of the game and it'll basically just be down hill from there.
They chose their focus as the ground combat/indoor missions on planets and ships and such. People are going to enjoy exploring those planets, not spending forever floating through vast nothingness to navigate there with the same result.
Yes, I realize any one of you reading this could be thinking the exact opposite of everything I say. Unfortunately, you're too few and far between, and you're not the market for this game.
JTL seemed to play out in a free roam setting and that didn't increase sub numbers to that game nor do I recall many people praising the fact that it was free roaming.
The free roam was nice, but in the end it was just the same repetitive grind that the ground was. After about the first 10 ship spawns it got old real quick.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
I think the main argument about the current design of space battles in TOR, right now, is that space in Star Wars IS a main focus of attention. The main plot of the movies may runs around the two Skywalker.. But most of the movies starts or finish with an epic space battle.. A lot of people wants to have this translated into the game in a MMO way..
I, for one, will need to play the actual thing in order to make an opinion on space combat in TOR.. But from what we've seen so far, it could be a lot of fun.. I'm a big fan of Star Fox, and if they can nail it right, it could be a great alternative, like fishing or any other activity there is in other MMOs..
I would prefer 0 space experience. I was a hardcore swg player and when jtl came out, the towns went from high population to ghost towns. The only thing that would make it fun would to make it a multiplayer Experience like the endgame ship content in allods. Everyone had a duty on the ship, gunner, navigator, pilot and so on.
i just had to stop and laugh at this one.. boundless optimism i think.. isnt even close..
SW;TOR really doesnt gain anything from the space game within it.. far better to have released the game without a space game, and possibly add something later.. than the poor attempt they did make.. its so clearly a hasty bolt on.. that.. really do have to wonder why they even bothered.... goodness knows they shouldnt have
It doesn't hurt anything. It's no different than the little mini-game quests you play in WoW. It's a nice diversion, and gives people something else to work at.
Plus, its not like they are married to it. They can always rework the space aspect of the game at a later date.
Star Wars is more about space combat than Star Trek
much as i would like that to happen.. i think we both know that its not going to .. though if they do rework the space combat.. i'll be the first to stand up and cheer them on.. probably.. i doubt i'll be alone
People have to nitpick every little thing...
The space combat kind of looks like starfox 3.0 lol.
Its fun looking, its basically just a mini-game.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
Space combat in Star Wars, when looking at the big picture, was a relatively small portion. The best way to get the feel of the movies in this game is the way they're doing it. Introducing it in a way like Eve, SWG:JTL, or Star Trek Online wouldn't add much to the actual game and won't be able to create big, intense battles like in the movies when there are hundreds of other player ships around. Unless you actually prefer just kinda slowly flying up to something and spamming a button over and over to fire a laser while not moving. That's the only way I'd see it happening.
At least this way you can move around, dodge asteroids, ships, etc., shoot down a lot of enemy ships, try to do any bonus objectives you come across, and just be in the action from the get-go.
I suppose the current system might be of more interest to a casual player than to someone who spends 10 hours a day playing, but meh. That's not really an issue, I guess.
In any case, I've not played it and am only going by videos, so it might turn out to be shitty after all. But I'm glad they took this route anyway, because it's the only way I'd even remotely consider taking place in any space combat/exploration in this game.
I find it funny that you make assumptions and claim them as facts. Minority not wanting free roam space combat and assuming that there is no market for that type of gameplay. Obviously EVE is doing fine with 300,000 subscriptions. It's the same argument with sandbox gameplay. Everyone claims that it's niche, yet there's still 30,000 players in Ultima Online and it's 14 years old.
Here, I'll ask you some questions. If this game were to release with a free-roam space system in place, how would that make the planetary systems weaker? Also, why would you completely avoid space? Why can't there be quests/missions in free-roaming space, like there would be in an instanced/solo space map? Try playing Black Prophesy. While it is instanced, the instances are designed in a way to not make it boring. Giving players an alternate way of progression is a good thing, and in no way would it negatively impact a game with this financial backing.
The only thing it would do is add depth to a game where it wasn't betore, thus making it better by giving players more options as far as freedom is concerned. That is, unless you're assuming that Bioware backed by EA will ship the game unfinished in other areas. I believe that assumption would be foolish, as we all know how much money and experience there is with the two.
it just irks me when people make assumptions on little or no factual information. I respect your 'opinion', but that's all it is unless you throw out some stats to prove your theories. Until then, that's all they are, opinions and theories.
Dude, don't try to make a point by throwing out a number like 300000. That IS a minority. 300000 people is NOTHING when looking at the possibilities of what they COULD get by using a better system.
I said from the beginning that it's my opinion, and not meant to be taken entirely as fact, but looking at the numbers, more people are interested in things not related to space, that's why many other non-space related games have more players.
Like I said, if they focus on the space game, which relatively few people are interested in, which your numbers have proven, then they'll have less people working on the parts the majority of people care more about.
In the end, I'm sure they realized this and that's why they're not going to be adding it in. Don't immediately think BioWare is stupid or lazy for not introducing a free-roam space feature. There's a reason.
In the end, it would take far too many resources on their part with very little benefit. Also the game would not be releasing this year (barring unforeseen circumstances), but that may not matter to you.
To the OP:
Space combat in TOR is like fruits you can find in most shops now: It's nice, it's big, it's shiny and that's it: it tastes nothing.
So yes the space combat looks good but it will get old very very fast. You can try out CWA's one if you want to have a close preview. Pretty sure you won't get addicted.
The fact that Ultima Online is still alive and fairly strong considering it's age is the whole point to that statement. It is 14 years old and draws more interest to this date than a lot of games that have come after it. Obviously if UO was remade with Diablo 3 graphics and combat, with an emphasis on pre-trammel systems but with the lessons learned and UI of modern games...yes it would fair significantly better. However, 300,000 subs in today's MMO market is considered VERY good. So those games are not niche, there just aren't many companies at the moment that will put the time and effort in to make a good sandbox game.
Back to the topic at hand. You are claiming space games are less popular than what we normally see with games like WoW/War/Rift etc. Yet, you come back with still..no factual evidence. Just like sandbox, there are not many to choose from as far as space games. Not because the concept is bad, but more because there are very few companies with the financial backing and time to make a game with such a large scope. That I will agree with. I think gamers will play what is fun and what is available in most cases. A good modern sandbox is not available. Neither is a good space MMO available. Adding freedom to a game that is already supposed to be good, how is that bad?
You are right in saying that it doesn't matter to me if the game takes another year to release. The MMO genre as a whole is suffering from greedy companies chasing the proverbial carrot. WoW will never be recreated. Just like the big economical boom with computers, it cannot happen again. Once people understand that there is more to video games than killing things, the sooner this genre will be able to see the light. I'm not saying killing things doesn't appeal to the majority, just that adding something else to the mix isn't going to hurt. I personally like that they added some space flight systems to their game. it's a smart idea in my opinion. They can build on that in the future.
Something to ponder, what is the last successful game with housing?
I still don't understand why some people are saying this is a bad idea. Or, at least implying that it's bad. If you don't like space combat, then don't take part in it. How is this a bad thing for them to offer another avenue of progression for players? Don't include something that some other people like, just because you aren't interested in it? Why do people have this mentality today? It doesn't make sense to me.
I could understand if it was a game breaking thing like making the entire game 1st person instead of the widely popular 3rd person views, but this is just simply pushng a positive addition to a game away because of greed. At leas that's what it seems like.
It looks pretty fun, and its just a starting point for them.
You're right, actually, I'm a bit closed-minded when it comes to such things. They should try to cater to a degree to as many people as they possibly can within reason. Hm... damn.. maybe if they combined the two?
Like... you can travel around in an open free-roam space... but you can travel, unlock things, maybe have some crafting happen while in space, but when you get into a battle, the battles are the shooter game they have at the moment...
They wouldn't have to abandon their system at the moment, and it would expand the game quite a bit for those that are interested.
Even if they only had a small team devoted to it, and they released it in a SWG:JTL type expansion.
Would something like this work fine for you?
PS: The UO information here isn't exactly what I'd call relevant to the actual topic, so I'm not bothering to respond to it. I'm not ignoring it, though.
Proof of minority being interested in space, if based on the number of Eve players compared to the rest: http://www.mmogchart.com/Chart1.html
It is better than a loading screen, hopefully in time it can be turned into a random encounter system in a full space system as an expansion.