Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to shock the MMO world.

[Mad Hatter]

If they actually started to make a game like this set during the original trilogy, I might be tempted. But the Old Republic is just lame.

 

[OmarFW]

Did it ever occur to anyone that bioware WANTS you to think it will change the mmo industry?

It's called marketing hype. mmo's are still mmo's when you peel away the fluff.

 

[Octarine]

^ Thank you Captain Obvious.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

But the Old Republic is just lame.

Lol. Ever heard of Star Wars Galaxies?

That was set during the original trilogy and didn't work out too well.

The problem was that I didn't fit with canon that there would be as many sith and jedi running around as there ended up being. Also, the factions were quite unbalanced as the empire had most of the power during that time period.

During the old republic, a time period which bioware has spend almost a decade fleshing out, the factions are well balanced and there are tons of force wielders running around. So the realities of the game end up fitting well with the time period.

 

[JocktheMotie]

Yeah, the Old Republic is a far more ripe time period in which you can take more creative license with the universe. Ultimately I think it's far more interesting. Like Disco said, you run into canon problems and can't do as much when it's set in the movie timeline. Although Galaxies' failures go beyond setting. Actually, I bought a couple months worth of Galaxies for the space combat alone. Made a shipwright, min/maxed the hell out of my TIE Interceptor, danced across the skies.

/nostalgia

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I enjoyed the social experiment aspect of SWG quite a bit myself.

It wasn't a bad game before SOE cocked it right up.

 

[Litvyak]

It's "going to shock the MMO world", great news. Even more people ensnared by a virtual reality, spending most of their time on their computers consoled by the comfortable illusion of belonging somewhere...? More addicts and mental issues, less active workers and less resources to actually progress in our world? When was it the last time we landed on the Moon? Why aren't we exploring planets, where are the great inventions of the last century? I'm not talking about fucking iPad.

Further entanglement in virtual systems does not help humanity imo, we need to expand. Instead of using our increasing power to find meaning in this world, we re-create the eggshell we've already left behind to protect ourselves with fake truths. MMOs seem to take us closer to our peers while in reality, we're further and further alienated. I'm not happy.

[/rant]

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Says the guy spending time on an internet forum.

 

[JocktheMotie]

It's a legitimate concern, but not one unique to MMOs. You may as well indict entertainment as a whole, from film to fictional literature. I would argue that those who become addicted to such escapism would simply find something else to fill a particular void.

 

[Litvyak]

Says the guy spending time on an internet forum.

I've expected a little more than that from you.

Small dose = medicine, bigger dose = poison.

1. Internet forums do not require three-four hours of active presence on a daily basis. Ever played WOW? You either stay a 'noob', or you take your gameplay on a professional level, in which case you have to join a team, and if you play any LESS than they do, you'll be kicked out. It's a lot more time-consuming, and you have to stick to a strict schedule even if it hurts your real life achievements/relationships.

2. The level of addiction is not even comparable because of the complexity and "realness" of an MMORPG. Real graphics, sounds, gameplay etc. MMOs are lot better substitutions to real life than an internet forum will ever be, and thus they are more dangerous.

3. There is an ever-increasing and fragile second economy based on developing people's characters and managing virtual transactions, in which the "supplier" gets paiment for slaying fake orcs in a fake wilderness. MMOs are a greater brain drain than an internet forum can ever be, see my first two points.

The growing numbers of less and less transparent / more and more fragile interconnections makes this a dangerous playground, and I'm not sure what to expect from it, but I can't think of a positive outcome. I also definitely think there are not nearly enough studies based on the social effects of MMOs.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Everyone has their vice.

Show me one who says otherwise and I'll show you a liar.

I would argue that cell phones have had a more detrimental impact on the quality of human interaction than MMO's ever could.

 

[Litvyak]

I don't think so for different reasons. I'm not going to list them all cause I have to go, but these are the ones that just popped in my mind: 1. you can't put out a fake persona effectively while speaking on the phone, which has a moderating effect, 2. speaking on the phone is usually less fulfilling since you don't see an image of your partner and you can't imitate doing activities together (which are not true in case of an MMO), 3. phone calls are not attached to an imaginative frame (see the world of Azeroth).

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

The user base of cell phone users is hundreds of times larger than that of MMO's.

When you're playing an MMO, you are not being distracted from RL in the same way you are from phones.

People don't drive into oncoming traffic accidentally because they're playing an MMO. Texting kills people on roadways.

MMO's can allow those who lack social skills to develop them where they otherwise would not (if just in some small capacity).

Also the kind of people that play MMO's as obsessively as you mention more than likely have the kind of problems that would manifest themselves elsewhere were MMO's not available.

Let's get back to talking about SWTOR though.

It's looking like it's going to be released in oct. and I can't wait!

 

[entropie]

I hope they make SWOTOR one of the pioneer games in an IT cloud, so you can play it as videostream on your cell phone. That would be cool, boring meetings -> adieu c'est la vie !

 

[kelric]

Okay, I just watched the cinematic trailer presented at this year's E3... It was hilarious at how blatantly they ripped off any number of scenes and characters from at least 3 or 4 of the movies, but... *wow*. Incredibly, incredibly well done. Frankly, it was better than a lot of the actual movie sequences were. It's a cinematic, and not actual gameplay video (unlike some of Disco's videos above, I think), but still... very impressive.

Almost makes me interested in playing this when it comes out.

I think I'll go watch it again... I don't usually like watching videos online, but this one is particularly good for an old Star Wars fan like me.

 

[You]

I have followed the development of SWTOR since the announcement in 2008. The magazines, news articles, local Gamestop employees and offical website have kept me eager. This in spite the fact that I can list the games I've played in the last 4 years on one hand. So, needless to say, I'll be picking this MMO up when BioWare releases it. And then creating my Jedi Knight. Then, if the Knight class sucks, I'm moving onto Smugglers. Then, if that sucks, I'm chalking this up as being an epic, storied failure to Star Wars Galaxies. Remember that bullshit? Me too. I was stuck playing that MMO in my teens for a year (off and on) until I gave up on SOE's inability to execute an amazing idea. I was patient. They've got a team of geniuses working over there....

However, I've seen the potential of BioWare and SWTOR, and I doubt anything lame will come from this project. At the very least, I'll likely enjoy the story; BioWare's bread & butter. Knight of the Old Republic (beside Halo ofc) made the X-Box worth the purchase, Jade of Empire was good, and Mass Effects - give me a break. There is no question they've got the RPG of the MMO experience down pact. The real question lies in if they are going to do anything fascinating with the MMO element.

From what I've heard, the drop date looks like it'll be sometime in October. So, if they get the iCloud off the ground, maybe I'll get to play in the back of class. And even if they don't, I still might - laptop in tow.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Remember that bullshit? Me too. I was stuck playing that MMO in my teens for a year (off and on) until I gave up on SOE's inability to execute an amazing idea. I was patient.

Haha yea.

SWG gave SOE just enough rope to hang itself.

And hang itself it did.

The core concept of galaxies was actually pretty interesting to me (the whole social experiment player run everything aspect).

If you have been following TOR closely I recommend Darthhater.com

I haven't seen another site cover the released info as thoroughly.

Hopefully we can get a few TypoCers on the same server and play together a little when it drops.

 

[JocktheMotie]

I pre-ordered the morning they allowed them. Just got regular version though.

Oddly, I still think as an MMO it's going to be hideously unoriginal. As long as the leveling and story experience is entertaining I'll consider it worth the purchase. I'll definitely try to complete it within that free month.

 

[Spamtar]

I have avoided the MMO genre. This may however be the game for me to take the leap. However I would have prefered if there was an Xbox360 version as I am also adverse to playing games on PC

 

[Kyrielle]

There is now a release date. 12-20-2011. I'm just glad to know when the wait will be over.