I enjoy quests and a nice storyline, but If I wanted to play a structured story driven RPG, I sure as heck wouldn't pay 15 dollars a month to do so. I don't mind TOR being very story driven and quest oriented, but some of the things I've heard about the actual gameplay causes me to raise my eyebrow in worry. Such as, the majority of the game can be completed solo, but some of the quests require a "few" friends to complete.. Now, I don't know what few means, but I surely hope this isn't going to be like a diablo mmog where u can do everything by yourself but If u wanna hang out with friends, it's your choice but not necessary. To me and many veteran MMORPGamers that's not what we call a true MMO..
So far, it seems to me that TOR is trying to follow a Lotro approach where almost all the contents can be soloed, but some required grouping. In lotro, there is both instance and free zone with mobs. The instance allows for better quest design, while the free zone are better to give a sense of "this is a real world filled with people". Lotro is story based and it works relativaly well too, although the story is the same for everybody, while TOR will have a different story for "everyone"...
If Bioware were smart about it, and it doesn't feel like they are going down that road, they'd combine awesome storytelling with, yes, sandbox gameplay. You can have both, big surprise there. But if they go down the themepark alley, then TOR is practically doomed. It has nothing to do with quality. MMO's can thrive on two things - social hype, the "everyone plays it!" mentality, which only a few games achieve by the virtue of sheer chance, and replayability. And nothing beats a sandbox when it comes to replayability. The problem with sandbox designs is that usually they require players to get involved in some way in order to create content for themselves - hence the term. You get the sand, you've got to build your own castles. This is something most gamers are not willing to do. But, as I said, you can have both. You can have a sandbox where you are not constantly guided along on pre-scripted tracks, boxed in by a rigid class system or forced to play in a world bounded by artificial, immersion-breaking limitations; AND have a deep, meaningful storyline to enjoy. Do I hope for this in TOR? Yes... but its a cynical type of hope. All the information they released so far points to the same old rehashed-to-death themepark style MMO with Star Wars flavor. If it turns out as such, it will have a great reception, and pretty much simmer down to a gentle and barely visible spark next to the still roaring inferno of WoW. Because WoW sucks up all the social hype. And WoW does not do that because its somehow a mega-brilliant game, but because it was in the right place at the right time. All the developers that are trying to take a piece of that pie simply do not realize that the result can NOT be repeated by making a "better" product of the same type. The sooner they give up on that and start trying to actually be original in their game design, the better.
good post there.. /clap
I would love to find a good sandbox game. I had hopes that SWG was going to be it, but that fell thru.. It didn't take long before all the errors, bugs and poor designs showed up.. The problem you have with a true sandbox is that the devs have to keep up with the everchanging world.. As with real life, sandboxes changes day after day, and the SWG devs did not have the grey matter to handle it.. Sandboxes require a shit load of manpower to keep it running.. In addition to keeping up with changes in the current game, sandboxes need add on changes as well.. This means adding new content, trades items, personal belongs and maybe even geographical changes.. Without change, any sandbox will become boring in time..
I seriously doubt you'll ever find a true sandbox game anytime soon.. It just cost too much to design and upkeep..
Dare I bring this thread full circle? The best sandbox game on the market, and in my estimation one of the best games ever made, is eve online.
Originally posted by FikusOfAhazi Originally posted by illorion i was hoping that this game would be kinda like eve except avatar based and the quests wouldnt be horribly boring. However after reading all the dev crap i realize that it wont be what i was hoping for. SWG except with better combat and customization. However it looks like its gonna be one of those linear hand holding games
Still doesn't mean it won't be fun as hell. Also, we know little about the actual game..don't give up hope yet.
Exactly, So it may just be a SWG except with better graphics, nothing fancy.
Comments
So far, it seems to me that TOR is trying to follow a Lotro approach where almost all the contents can be soloed, but some required grouping. In lotro, there is both instance and free zone with mobs. The instance allows for better quest design, while the free zone are better to give a sense of "this is a real world filled with people". Lotro is story based and it works relativaly well too, although the story is the same for everybody, while TOR will have a different story for "everyone"...
good post there.. /clap
I would love to find a good sandbox game. I had hopes that SWG was going to be it, but that fell thru.. It didn't take long before all the errors, bugs and poor designs showed up.. The problem you have with a true sandbox is that the devs have to keep up with the everchanging world.. As with real life, sandboxes changes day after day, and the SWG devs did not have the grey matter to handle it.. Sandboxes require a shit load of manpower to keep it running.. In addition to keeping up with changes in the current game, sandboxes need add on changes as well.. This means adding new content, trades items, personal belongs and maybe even geographical changes.. Without change, any sandbox will become boring in time..
I seriously doubt you'll ever find a true sandbox game anytime soon.. It just cost too much to design and upkeep..
Dare I bring this thread full circle? The best sandbox game on the market, and in my estimation one of the best games ever made, is eve online.
Try it.
I did , and hated it.. I couldn't even make it past the 14 day free trial..
/delete Eve
Still doesn't mean it won't be fun as hell. Also, we know little about the actual game..don't give up hope yet.
Exactly, So it may just be a SWG except with better graphics, nothing fancy.
Why would Bioware come out with an Eve styled game? That's crazy talk. "Um... I want the new Bungie game to be like Hello Kitty Island" wtf?