Why im bummed about 2.0.

You're missing the usual point when you spout this kind of crap.

As a customer, I have money to spend on MMOs NOW. That means I will go out and compare the products that are available on the market right now.

I don't care that SW:TOR at launch was better than WoW at launch because that does not help me make an informed purchasing decision right now. All I really care about are the features that each various game can offer me, and then I can make a decision about which game suits me.

You can apply all the comparisons you want between different games at release, but such comparisons are truely meaningless. All that matters to us, the end consumer, is which game currently on the market can offer us the best consumer experience. Developers have to make a product that is superior to their current competitors, not what their competitors released 8 years ago.



So, that is all you need to worry about: does SW:TOR currently offer you what you want from an MMO?

If yes, great, good for you! If no, is there an alternative out there for you instead? Personally, SW:TOR doesn't offer me what I want from an MMO. I waited / played for a year hoping that the game would improve and because there was a lack of alternatives. I have now cancelled my subscription because 2.0 has proven an unwillingness to improve so I no longer hold any hope for this game being what I, personally, want.

^QFE.

Indeed.

But you've just hit the problem right there - SWTOR is just WoW remade at a time when people are getting turned off WoW-type games.

WoW set the template and SWTOR followed it - far too slavishly in a lot of people's opinions. I'm lucky in that I didn't play WoW so have stuck around, but I can see why lots of people got turned off playing a game that's been around for years and years and left.

SWTOR doesn't have years to grow, and unless there's a radical overhaul or lots of investment - what we have now is what we've got: A gear-grindy WoW in space clone.

If it had even launched with some form of unique mini-games like pod-racing, pazaak or meaninful space battles (possibly space PvP) it might have been different. But it didn't even launch with a barbershop.

^QFT

Indeed. But, EA and EAware don't seem to see this.

Now you rais an interesting point. PVP space missions or Pod racing would be a really really intesting way of engaging new subs to the game. And from a development point, the pod racing could be done relatively quick as Lucas Arts have the code for this from the stand alone game that came out years ago! This would be a welcome 'distraction' from the gear grinding.

Good point well made Sir. I conced

2.0 is really more of a game reset with a massive content expansion than a true reset. They basically used the last year to determine how they wanted to do dailies and weeklies and it was a big test. And now they are changing all of that to be the way it goes from 2.0 forward.

Now if we look at it this way, it makes some seance about all the changes in comms and gear since the game went live. I hope this is now the start of the proper development.

As I mentioned- I remain a big fan of both the SW universe and the SWTOR game. Come on BW get it right please!

Everything in WoW is a knockoff of something else that came before it and everything after it is a knock off of everything before it. WoW only exists because games like EQ that came many years before it spawned it's existence.

*sigh*

Its dumbfounding that so many people get this wrong.

2.0 is a PATCH.
It will NOT include the level cap increase and the new skills. Those will be part of RotHC, but are being tested on the PTS.
The new areas and most of the content from RotHC is not being tested on the PTS, but in a closed test server.

So parts of what is currently one the PTS is from RotHC but most of it is just the patch.


You dont pay for the patch, you get that for free, but if you want the level increase and makeb (and all the other goodies in RotHC) you have to pay.


Also, please note that not everything on the PTS will be in the final patch (that goes for all patches being tested on the PTS) so dont take the PTS changes as unchangeable.

EDIT: just to be clear, the patch will increase the level cap, but you cannot level past lvl 50 without RotHC so in effect the level cap is still 50 if you dont buy the expansion.

Well... it is the same old, same old. And I'm not talking about the game.

Look. I'm not sure what some of you where expecting... innovation? A revamp of the genre? 2.0 is exactly what I expected, a refined SWTOR but more of the same. The patch is simply a mechanic improvement and so much the better. The content will come from Makeb. And that is just fine.

Gamers and in particular MMO gamers are always looking for that mythical immersion experience that captures everything they want. But the player base is schizophrenic. Some want a sand box, some want a theme park, and some want something totally new. Some want more difficulty, some want easier progression, and some want to ride around on banthas.

So... what to do? Well you begin by improving on the code base and mechanics you have. That is the game. Then, you add layers. You don't revamp the game into something new in version 2.0. And... there will be dissatisfaction no matter what you do.

BW, you have made great strides with 2.0. Stick with it. Keep adding layers. Those looking for new shinies will come and go.