SWG was the best game i ever played, prior to the NGE, but even after the NGE i feel I could still do more things than i can in SWTOR. I could play all day and not do any combat at all. The first year i played swg i didn't even leave Tatooine, because i didn't know i could leave the planet. But that was ok because there was so much to do. I can't say the same thing for SWTOR. So far my experience with swtor is that it's pretty much all about combat. the story, wz, flashpoints, etc are all about combat. go over there and kill so many soldiers and then go back talk to that person, make light/dark decision, etc. I like combat, but for maybe an hour, then i don't want to do combat anymore.
In SWG all the items, furniture, weapons, armor, clothing, houses, droids/pets, speeders, etc were created by the players. In SWTOR it seems that BW makes everything. Decay was essential for the economy. In SWTOR you can simply pay so many credits to repair all items at any vendor. That is not the kind of decay that swg had but it works for the kind of game that SWTOR is because SWTOR isn't really player driven. In SWTOR i feel that the planets need to be more for the players and not leveled theme planets with paths that you go down to do story and missions. and once your done with the story/missions on that planet you will not return to that planet because it is for a certain level that you have now passed. is there a good reason to go back to Hutta. i can't see one.
I loved it in swg when i bought my first house from a player vendor and plopped it down on tatooine. I was able to decorate my house with furniture, pets, and items that i won, like the hero of tatooine sculpture. I put a harvester outside and a fusion generator. In SWTOR they say that your ship is your house, but i don't know why they say that. I can't decorate my ship and there is nothing in the game to decorate my ship with. I can't move anything around on my ship. Even the companions are stationary and say some random comment when i click on them. i can't even give them a companion gift when im on the ship. in swtor my ship is the most boring place to be. IMO i feel that BW can greatly expand the planet environments to allow for player housing so that you still have the theme part of the planet, but outside of that you have player environment. so win, win.
The character customization in SWG was far more complex. I could move the nose up and down, eyes, mouth. i could change the body type by a scale. in SWTOR there are set face types. and yes it has happened a few times already, in the game, where im standing next to another player that looks exactly like me in the face and body type. Also in swg i could change my character customization once i was in the game. I don't think you can change your face/body type in SWTOR, once you're in the game. and because of this i will not choose miraluka because im positive that i will get tired of the set mask type.
Don't get me wrong. I love SWTOR! I think it does have a better combat system than SWG had and better PVP, and better graphics. The story (voice over) is awesome! But I feel it is only a small fraction of an mmorpg. I also like the companions, with hopeful improvement to their AI. The best thing I like about SWTOR is that there is a lot of potential with the game. BW is always talking about new things they will implement. and BW seems to listen to their players. Something SOE failed at. I hope BW takes after SWG when it comes to other things to do in a game besides combat, with a better crafting system player driven economy, player housing, and better character customization.
