So, I'm guessing this has been asked many times before, but I'm curious why they didn't just overhaul the x-wing flight simulator for the space combat part of Old Republic. I spent many, many, many hours playing each of those games and the current simulator is much too simple.

 

You could have kept the mechanics and just replaced the spacecraft models with period specific stuff. Hell, I keep hoping they're going to roll out an updated version of the original games so I can play them in Windows 8.

I'm not sure how would this work. X-Wing Alliance was the latest game in that series, and it had been released in 1999. Trying to combine it with a modern mmo would cause all sorts of compatibility issues. In fact, I'm almost certain that it would be far easier and faster if they just scrapped that and started from scratch. At the end of the day this is just a question of: how much time should they spend on this minigame? The answer in my mind is - not much. This is why it's an on rails shooter - it didn't make sense to pool a lot of resources out of the other stuff.

I'm not sure how would this work. X-Wing Alliance was the latest game in that series, and it had been released in 1999. Trying to combine it with a modern mmo would cause all sorts of compatibility issues

 

I think what he wants is a space combat system similar to X-Wing or TIE Fighter, but obviously with todays graphics standards. Can the hero engine even handle free flight? or is every space and flight sim based on the hero engine on rails?

swtonewbie is correct in that I was more focused with the complex and entertaining game mechanics of the X-Wing series and how much fun it was playing the game that way. I made the mistake of trying to talk game development speak.

 

Having the free form ability to hunt down the interdictor cruiser, wipe out the tie fighter escorts, or bravely take out the star destroyer that was providing space superiority support. You could fly anywhere within the battle space area, you had to manage power between speed, weapons, and shields. You had to coordinate with your fellow fighters...who weren't always the smartest pilots. Having to manage some many things made the game challenging and fun at the same time.

Maybe I should ask if this is a scale or cyclical thing? I mean I remember Star Fox growing up. It was a rails game that I never really liked...because it was rails... but others did (you'd have to ask them why). The space simulator that SWTOR has right now reminds me of Star Fox with new graphics.

 

Is that because SWTOR decided they didn't want to invest heavily in space simulators and decided a Star Fox was good enough (i.e. we'll focus on the land) or because we have to cyclically go back through Star Fox to convince ourselves to eventually build an X-wing?

 

I will admit that I'm heavily biased though because I am a member of a group of gamers that remembers x-wing, t.i.e. fighter, x-wing vs. t.i.e. figher, and x-wing aliance...and we're all waiting for another one...

 

Or should I ask, is there a game out there that has the same mechanics?

swtonewbie is correct in that I was more focused with the complex and entertaining game mechanics of the X-Wing series and how much fun it was playing the game that way. I made the mistake of trying to talk game development speak.

 

Having the free form ability to hunt down the interdictor cruiser, wipe out the tie fighter escorts, or bravely take out the star destroyer that was providing space superiority support. You could fly anywhere within the battle space area, you had to manage power between speed, weapons, and shields. You had to coordinate with your fellow fighters...who weren't always the smartest pilots. Having to manage some many things made the game challenging and fun at the same time.

 

People who play RPGs aren't necessarily the same people who play twitch-based games. Look at how many people already complain about the difficulty of the on-rails space missions. Now imagine if they had to actually PILOT the ship.

 

You can compare Dragon Age with Mass Effect. Dragon Age has clicky-style target selection where Mass Effect requires you to aim a bit, even though it still gives a "pause" feature. I don't know how much of a return on their investment Bioware would get from adding X-Wing style content to the game.

 

Maybe something that is more EVE-like would work, but I don't know.

While I have enjoyed the ToR space minigame, lets face it, its a far inferior product compared to the X-Wing / TIE Fighter games, its also inferior to the space game of SWG. Hell its even inferior in some aspects to Elite!!!!

 

This is STAR Wars, space combat, space exploration, space ship looks, design, upgrades are integral to the IP.

 

Who in their right mind would release a game now which is inferior to what came before it?

So I had this dream once after watching Eve Online: EVR Trailer. EVR is developed in Unity for the Oculus Rift. Where I put on the goggles and I was in an X-Wing fighting TIE fighters in space. Doing space battle scenes from all six movies. Flying into planet atmospheres like you could do in SW:BF. And then I woke up and started brainstorming story ideas.

 

About an hour after this I realized something, well a few things. One I don't know crap about programing, two I'm broke as..hell :/ . Three if I got past one and two and I made a game everyone hated. People would kill me.

swtonewbie is correct in that I was more focused with the complex and entertaining game mechanics of the X-Wing series and how much fun it was playing the game that way. I made the mistake of trying to talk game development speak.

 

Having the free form ability to hunt down the interdictor cruiser, wipe out the tie fighter escorts, or bravely take out the star destroyer that was providing space superiority support. You could fly anywhere within the battle space area, you had to manage power between speed, weapons, and shields. You had to coordinate with your fellow fighters...who weren't always the smartest pilots. Having to manage some many things made the game challenging and fun at the same time.

 

Well you may be getting what you want. As Bioware is working on a super secret space project for TOR and there has been some datamining involving on some space pvp project with various styles of fighter ships in heavy medium and light armor

Edited August 4, 2013 by MisterBlackJack

People who play RPGs aren't necessarily the same people who play twitch-based games. Look at how many people already complain about the difficulty of the on-rails space missions. Now imagine if they had to actually PILOT the ship.

 

Maybe something that is more EVE-like would work, but I don't know.

 

X-Wing and TIE Figher style space combat is pretty close to how EVE space combat works. One of the differences other then the obvious graphics and game engine is how controls work. EVE is point to click, and it was designed this way because one of the devs stated it was to reduce latency. Same thing with not being allowed to LOS behind most objects in space combat, this was also done to reduce latency. Instead of space controls that allow you to adjust pitch, roll and speed along with every other player on the server they opted for a click to move system. If you think about it this makes sense, constant control means you have more data being sent. EVE's system is basically 'go in this direction or orbit this at XXXX meters'.

 

And if they were to change the space system it would be pretty stupid to not also change how many fighters and capital ships come at you. In those older games you usually went up against a small groups of say 3-4 at a time, sometimes 6-8. And instead of 15 small capital ships, you would only deal with maybe 2-3 or 1 larger ship. Point is, they can rebalance it so that it isnt impossible. Not that any of this really matters cause i dont see them doing it anyways....

One of the things i think that would suck about a fully free flight space system is the possible need for a controller or joystick. WASD might feel kinda clunky, but this is just a wild guess.

 

 

I have kind of a cool story bro moment about that. Before i started playing XW and TF i was playing other flight sims where i used a joystick and throttle setup. But with XW and TF i instead used a gamepad, like an older version of a Microsoft Sidewinder. It was actually pretty cool, i used the D-pad on it for major movements and it mimicked what a WASD movement system would been like but i was able to do it with my thumb. My right hand would activate keyboard commands when needed, but it also assisted in flight with my mouse. RMB hold and D-pad would allow me to roll and while D-pad was used for big movements i used my mouse for very fine movement and also for aiming. I even remember if i took my mouse and went left-right-left really fast the ship i was in would do a weird barrel roll.

While I have enjoyed the ToR space minigame, lets face it, its a far inferior product compared to the X-Wing / TIE Fighter games, its also inferior to the space game of SWG. Hell its even inferior in some aspects to Elite!!!!

 

This is STAR Wars, space combat, space exploration, space ship looks, design, upgrades are integral to the IP.

 

Who in their right mind would release a game now which is inferior to what came before it?

 

the Jedi Knight game series didn't even have a spaceship minigame

For a time, flight simulators pretty much faded into the background. EA closed their Jane's line, Origin got bought out and pretty much shut down, Lucasarts switched from the X-Wing model to the Rogue Squadron model, and so on. Even MechWarrior got back-burnered with MechAssault. Crimson Skies was a very different game on PC than it was on Xbox; the PC version was a "flight sim," while the Xbox version was like MechAssault with planes. Now, these were all great, fun games. But they never scratched the same itch that X-Wing and MechWarrior did. Wing Commander's loss was greatly felt when the new trilogy that was supposed to begin with Prophecy never came to fruition.

 

In the past few years, though, flight sims have been making a comeback. Microsoft, of course, has kept their Flight Simulator franchise going continuously. But there were two notable Kickstarters last year in Star Citizen by Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander fame) and Starlight Inception from Escape Hatch (i.e. Gary Gaber, formerly of Lucasarts), which is the spiritual successor to X-Wing.

 

The military flight sim crowd is also making a resurgence with some incredible flight sims on Steam in the DCS package.

 

I am hoping that this comeback will take root in the SSSP, and we'll see fighter combat some day. I'm also hoping that Disney will release a new X-Wing-style game for the new trilogy under their Lucasarts label.

Thanks all for the great responses. I'll take a look at those alternative suggestions out there. I just happened to stumble upon Star Citizen after my last response and he literally said its the continuation of Freelancer which I loved and had always hoped they'd scale up.

 

I'll also keep my fingers crossed that Bioware busts out a super secret space spinoff so I can join a squadron of fighters and reek havoc on fighters, capital ships, and space stations.

PS - Mechwarrior...good call on another great series that I haven't played in a long time...Looking forward to that xbox one game that looks like its trying to bring back a Mechwarrior type game.