My Thoughts on the SWTOR Hate

Pretty sure this whole topic was created so someone could just plug his Youtube video to get more than 10 hits.

FWIW, comparing SWG and TOR is silly from the start since they were both designed very different to appeal to different audiences in different time frames.

That said, TOR shouldn't really even be classified as an MMO. It's lacking far too many features to fit in the genre and I am hard pressed to think of any MMO in the last 8 years that has been as prohibitive regarding grouping as TOR.

The fact that they walled off story content all but ensured people wouldn't group much during leveling because unless you create groups of the same class everyone can only stay grouped for limited times before the group blows apart so people can do their class/story missions. Finding groups for heroic quests and flashpoints is like pulling teeth because the infrastructure is absolutely horrendous for finding people; I don't necessarily mean the lack of a LFD queue but just the core components of the game (chat channels, for example, completely suck for trying to find people, and flagging LFG puts an icon that's nearly impossible to see but little else).

Just because the interface looks like an MMO doesn't mean it's an MMO. Plenty of other games have ripped off MMO style interfaces and "talent trees" but remained either single player or small coop games. An MMO, to me, implies three things exist in a relatively stable balance: Exploration, Social, and Content. Exploration in TOR is non-existent because the game is basically Mass Effect 2/3 style "hallway worlds" with little to see, and large parts walled off by class quest divisions, while space is just point, click, you're there. Content is decent, but because the worlds are so damned linear and with so many non-class quests being the same, it gets boring REALLY fast after one or two classes on the same faction. Social, as I've already lamented, is terrible. Grouping during level is almost actively discouraged, which is a lousy way to design an MMO since the entire leveling process is supposed to help people learn how to play their class both alone and in groups - but as it stands people are getting to max level and jumping into groups and have no earthly clue how to play in a group environment. And, of course, server populations are in the tank.

I know this is all hypercritical but TOR fails on the most basic levels of being an MMO. It's 50 levels of single player with tacked on MMO elements and a sad "end game". At least in SWG I felt like I was part of a community while I was playing. In TOR, I feel like I'm on my own if I'm playing anything that ISN'T level 50 or on a server designated as "very high" population.

I see you completely missed the point of my thread...not surprising. So I'll make it real clear:

Anybody can pick and choose narrowly focused 'features' and then ascribe them a completely arbitrary number in order to create a fake game score. You want to take it seriously, whilst I was making fun of you.

My main beef. I loved the idea of being the freelance pilot in the background, it felt real and promoted Immersion. SWTOR is ok but I dont like the idea of being the greatest Sith in the Galaxy.

Agree to that 100%

Besides, isn´t it funny how people neglect facts if someone does a simple checklist, a feature list comparison between two games, which goes beyond "game X is great because I say so, game Y sucks, because I say so".

Guess they do not even read and compare because some like to neglect obvious facts.

Indeed, for SWTOR it comes all together and even makes sense in concept, if you realize that it isn´t an MMO but a single player game with four co-op modes called "Flashpoint", "Warzone", "Heroic 2/4" and "Operation".

I predict "Space" will be another instance you "beam" yourself into a pilot seat, shoot some fighters PvP, get a loading screen and you´re back on some planet afterwards.

It will never be an explorable, open world universe with actual player population.

End of story.

In the Army we like to say that the worst post is the one to which you're currently assigned, and the best post is the one you're reporting to next.

Right-fps has NOTHING to do with the game engine at all. Finding a group just means spamming general and whispering people that don't respond.

So going to the front lines in Afghanistan is better than being stuck on a base in Oklahoma?

I guess not enough people flagged that one guy's post as agenda spam.

Meh, my original response was deleted for being "political" though I didn't see it. Suffice it to say, I've been deployed to a theater of combat twice, and yes, deployment to a theater of combat can be better than where one is.