Star Wars - The Old Republic (Online)

[Melbosa]

Main Character: Melbosa
Server: The Fatman (PVP)
Faction: Imperial
Guild: Sinister
Other Characters: Melbasa

So I've been playing this MMO since release... well since beta, then pre-release, then release.  I thought I would give it a try being that Bioware makes some of the best content based games, and that I had a bunch of friends going to try it as well.  I also thought I would spice it up and try a PVP server to boot, just to add a bit of conflict to my gaming.

My biggest worry when trying a new MMO these days - Is it going to be a WoW clone?  Not just a "take the best parts of WoW and add them to the game" but a complete WoW clone.  Rift was this way.  Lord of the Rings Online was this way (although the story arcs were more linear focus for game progression).  DC Online... well that was something that should have taken hints from WoW instead of trying to go all original and failed with interface issues!

So what about SWTOR?  While it takes some of the best aspects of WoW in terms of Interface and Character Development, it definitely is not a WoW clone.  In fact I wish it took some of the more speed-up stuff from WoW just to make the grouping a little easier (and every MMO has the group up hassle of some sort), but otherwise they have actually oned-up WoW in some areas IMO.  SWTOR is not a WoW clone - I want that to be very clear.

Pros:

• Quest Arcs - these are some of the best I've seen in games ever!  Even have a Guinness Book of World Records about the content.  It makes you want to play one more mission, not for the loot, but to find out what happened next or to get that light or darkside response.
• Immersion - The game does a fantastic job of making you feel like you are really contributing to a conflicting galaxy between the Republic and Imperials.  You get emails from NPCs about quests you did with them or their subordinates.  The loading screens "star wars style summarize" your progress of where you are and what you are doing.  Your companions will talk to you and propose suggestions/quests to explore their backstory.  The lore in the game not only comes with XP rewards but also some stat buffs, you exploring the worlds is more than gathering some achievement for bragging rights.  Your story choices can have an effect on future encounters and faction affiliations - as well as your companions like or dislike of you.
• Crafting - they took the whole sit and grind out of the crafting.  Instead you send your "crew" off to do crafting missions (to get materials - which you can also farm or gather on your own, or ask your "crew" to craft up the items.  Downside is if you only have 1 crew member (before lvl 15-20ish this is the case), you can either having him doing your crafting stuff or being your Pet (called Companion in the game and everyone gets them), not both at the same time.  Crafted items are usually better; yes I said better; than anything you get from quest rewards or drops, save the large group instances called Flashpoints, or PVP purchase rewards.
• Companions - what a concept of pets this game has.  Allowing every character to have a pet makes solo play a little easier, as each companion can play a different role.  Their personalities can add some pretty comical situations and conversations with NPCs if they are with you when you initiate conversation. Plus if your inventory is full you can send your current companion away to sell "crap goods" you have, a nice little feature they added over WoW and other MMOs.
• Space Combat - as with most Space based MMOs, you have some type of ship combat.  This particular MMO has a style not unlike Star Fox for the SNES, which actually translates to the PC mouse and keyboard very well.  I enjoy doing the quests here daily as they are pretty fun - I have yet to see if there is a grouping version of this part of the game - have only solo played this.
• Group Quest Conversations - If you are in a group, when you initiate conversations with NPCs you have the option to wait for other players to join the conversation.  This has a positive effect as you get "social points" for group conversations which can get you gear.  Although only one person responds in the dialog (which is a random roll between all involved), it is definitely interesting addition to grouping!

Cons:

• No Guild Bank - I hope this is coming but right now you have to use communication means to share crafted items or loot with guild mates instead of a central storage to deposit into.
• No Game Mechanics Feedback - although you can see damage numbers flying by, there isn't a "combat log" or "system log" that tells you how much damage you did or counter parts, or how your healing did over time, etc.  Helpful to determine if a gear configuration is better or a combat style is working.
• Subscription Based Only - with the success of some other MMOs going free with Micro-Transactions, with a Subscription option, I was surprised to see this follow the traditional MMO subscription style. This limits some people's access to the game.
• Game Queues - although not very long, you would expect with a known subscription base that EA would lease out server space to be over capacity rather that allow servers to fill up then slowly react to population increase.  Not any different than any other MMO, even the free ones or WoW was in the beginning, but I thought they would have learned form so many other MMOs.  I suspect this one to go away as subscribers increase and the game ages (as it did with WoW).
• No RW Members Playing - I consider this a con cause I miss playing with you guys in an MMO.  I know people's lives don't allow this or the cost but still a con for me.

Now I am only 34 out of 50 for levels, so I am not sure what the end game is like yet.  I am enjoying the PVP aspect of the game as much as the PVE stuff, which is new to me so that is why I did not list it as a Pro, being that I am a noob at it, and have no reference to it in other games.  The questing really sold it for me, as in WoW I really didn't read much of the questing stuff anymore, just skipped it all and moved on.  With the live action and voice acting quests I find it so much more enjoyable and really only look at the loot when I am clearing my inventory or have a choice in quest rewards - but still only look at them at the end.  WoW I would quest based on the items given and the xp.  Here I quest to see what the story is about.

If you guys want to hear more I'll keep updating you.  If not, well at least you have my perspective on the game .

[Lazybones]

Due to time commitments, I think Free to pay/play is the only model I can justify, but I am very interested in your feedback on the game.

[Thorin]

Nice to hear there's a game where the story is the reward that drives you, rather than the phat lewt.

[Melbosa]

Edited the first post to give you details encase anyone wants to show up.

Also note that you only need Standard Edition to play, as the Digitial or CE Editions only add stuff that is fluff to your character, and a speeder which is only 8K in Credits in the game (which is something by that level that you could afford with 3 quest turn-ins).

My guild was the first one to take down a "World Boss" (which every planet save the starter planets has one) on second day of pre-release - something that I personally have never experienced, being the first to take on and beat a big boss, on any MMO I have played.  We youtubed the fight if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYiDI-wP9dk&feature=colike - pick a higher res to actually see "Melbosa" in the character listings .   If you are looking for me I am mostly on the right side of the video popping in and out of AoE range dropping heals on party members.

[Mr. Analog]

Having now seen a few livestreams and such it looks pretty interesting but like Lazy, time is usually a factor for me. I'd really like to get into group gaming again but I really couldn't spend more than one night a week I think (heck I even missed my weekly Minecraft on Sunday).

I was surprised by the cutscene system for quest stuff, it seems like a good idea at first but when you have to do repetitive stuff (which is gonna happen) they get a bit tedious (I know you can skip it, but still).

The only other critique I have at this point from what I've seen is the UI text size and use of colours, one of the big advantages of WoW was a customizable HUD.

[Melbosa]

The only other critique I have at this point from what I've seen is the UI text size and use of colours, one of the big advantages of WoW was a customizable HUD.

Both are customizable, colour and text size.  I always create a new Chat Window, change it's scale and location, change the "channels" that you use and customize my font size and colours the way I want them.  Lucky for me I don't have to do too much in comparison to others.  But those features are there.

[Melbosa]

The time constraint thing I can see and totally agree with (even me I don't have a lot of time to invest in a week).  I myself usually only put in about 6 hours in a week, although I did put in some long hauls during the xmas break!

That is where I think the free-to-play model works better overall as you don't feel like your $15/Month is wasted when you only log in 4 times in a month on average.

That being said, this game can be very easily played in a casual way.  Being that it is very soloable for the best parts (the story line) it is very easily played at your own pace.  So the pressure from a "gotta keep up with the guild" isn't there as you don't really need to do so in order to enjoy the game.

But if you have only 4 hours a month to play... well no MMO and probably most Story Based RPGs are off your list.  Stick to the arcadies or sport games as they cater to the quick games much better.

[Mr. Analog]

I had to time-box my gaming to Sundays/Mondays otherwise they take over all my free time (as well I can plan around it) but I will happily play games anywhere from 4-8 hours a week.

Sunday is turning into my main gaming day, particularly games that require some time investment, it turns out that laundry / baking / games go together quite well

I think this weekend I'll take a break from Minecraft, finish MW3 and start Batman.

One of my Christmas gifts was XBL points so I'll be picking up the DLC for LA Noire and a game that came highly recommended from my sister in law (Bully). I also need to get griding chieves on UMvC3!

I also want to get playing Red Dead Redemption, it's been on my back burner for a while.

I'm actually quite happy that this year seems slow for games, beyond Bioshock Infinite I'm not really interested in anything else...