I rolled a Jedi Knight and the starter zone seems tiny compared to the zones in other MMOs such as FFXI and WoW. I thought it would get better later on but Coruscant felt even smaller and the corridors did not help one bit.

 

I subscribed to see what the full experience of this game would be like but I am currently disappointed. Does it get better later on?

The planets get much bigger. Taris won't feel terribly epic or huge, but Tattooine and Hoth definitely feel more "I'm so far from town right now and Quick Travel is on cooldown. =("

 

And if you have a good computer you can see for quite a distance on those planets.

Yes, the planets get bigger and bigger as you level. Tatooine, Hoth, and Belsavis are huge. The reason why planets feel "cramped" isn't really a size issue, but the fact that you're on a planet that is unconnected to other worlds, and the world design isn't very exploration friendly lots of dead ends, walls, etc.. Edited January 4, 2013 by chuixupu

They're still small, and most planets are nothing but paths with unclimbable obstacles on either side.

They're still small, and most planets are nothing but paths with unclimbable obstacles on either side.

 

100% disagree. What you have expressed is an opinion.

 

In my opinion what you have is a huge area filled with stuff. Hills, mountains, cliffs, rivers, canyons, plus outposts, towns, cities and lots of wreckage (previous city planet, starships, other stuff). A lot of that stuff you just can't walk over. Sometimes you have to go through passes or tunnels or something else to get to another area (another zone).

 

I have been out backpacking in the mountains and guess what? You can't just walk over them (and jumping doesn't help). Honestly most MMOs (including this one) are far more open than the real world is.

You'll be complaining about how big they are by the time you get to Hoth.

Taris is long, and all the quests are run around and kill Rakghouls, like this one here: Seriously, I only liked one side quest on Taris.

100% disagree. What you have expressed is an opinion.

 

In my opinion what you have is a huge area filled with stuff. Hills, mountains, cliffs, rivers, canyons, plus outposts, towns, cities and lots of wreckage (previous city planet, starships, other stuff). A lot of that stuff you just can't walk over. Sometimes you have to go through passes or tunnels or something else to get to another area (another zone).

 

I have been out backpacking in the mountains and guess what? You can't just walk over them (and jumping doesn't help). Honestly most MMOs (including this one) are far more open than the real world is.

 

This is a really good point and one I have thought about myself. The amount of "exploration" you can do is just about what you can do in real life. See the huge mountain off in the distance....yeah, you aren't going there. And what exactly do you people want to them to do? Build miles and miles of useless, empty terrain? why?

They are small and their design makes them seem smaller. Add to that virtually insta-travel everywhere and they seem even smaller still.

 

It's really a shame, the visuals on most planets are really impressively done. A 3 dressed up as a 9.

This is a really good point and one I have thought about myself. The amount of "exploration" you can do is just about what you can do in real life. See the huge mountain off in the distance....yeah, you aren't going there. And what exactly do you people want to them to do? Build miles and miles of useless, empty terrain? why?

 

Because a 100 square mile virtual world with brain-dead clusters of enemies every 20 yards, with linear marked paths running everywhere feels like a level in a solo RPG.

 

A 1000 square mile virtual world with terrain and monsters logically placed, and open to exploration feels like a real world.

 

You know... linear solo game vs. open-world MMO?

It's just a reflection that Coruscant is a city planet i.e. lots of corridors.

 

If you roll Empire, the Sith capital planet opens up a lot more and you don't get the corridor feeling until Na-Shaddah.

They are small and their design makes them seem smaller. Add to that virtually insta-travel everywhere and they seem even smaller still.

 

Small compared to what? Alderaan, Tatooine, Hoth, Belsavis, Voss, Corellia, Balmorra & Taris are HUGE. With multiple areas on each. Take Alderaan. Each faction has a very large 40+ area which is just bonus series. But each area is big and it's only a part of that huge planet.

I rolled a Jedi Knight and the starter zone seems tiny compared to the zones in other MMOs such as FFXI and WoW. I thought it would get better later on but Coruscant felt even smaller and the corridors did not help one bit.

 

No one can help how you 'feel' about Coruscant, but objectively it's not that small. The Galactic Market, Black Sun, and Justiscar areas each take a while to traverse. You can easily spend an hour doing the stuff in the works and the Jedi Temple itself is huge for just a big building.

 

The Senate is so big it's annoying to me that we can't use our speeders in there.

The planets are big. The problem is that there is no chill room, everything is all fight, fight, fight. There is "chill room" but no one chills there. Cantinas need more immersion. Cities, towns, and bases need players to sit around on chairs, chilling out.

Small compared to what? Alderaan, Tatooine, Hoth, Belsavis, Voss, Corellia, Balmorra & Taris are HUGE. With multiple areas on each. Take Alderaan. Each faction has a very large 40+ area which is just bonus series. But each area is big and it's only a part of that huge planet.

 

Compared to "classic" MMO's, the zones are small.

 

For a story based game, they also do way too much abstraction (shortening) of distances... On some planets you can literally see "the lost whatever" from the place you get the quest from. "Hey guys, it's not "lost", it's that giant crashed spaceship 100m from us!"

Compared to "classic" MMO's, the zones are small.

 

For a story based game, they also do way too much abstraction (shortening) of distances... On some planets you can literally see "the lost whatever" from the place you get the quest from. "Hey guys, it's not "lost", it's that giant crashed spaceship 100m from us!"

 

I know what you are talking about, and that is a problem, but it is much better here than in WoW. There is a line you have to walk between immersion and boredom. Honestly Hoth does more on the immersion side, but it strays dangerously close to boring trying to get from one place to another on that planet.

I know what you are talking about, and that is a problem, but it is much better here than in WoW. There is a line you have to walk between immersion and boredom. Honestly Hoth does more on the immersion side, but it strays dangerously close to boring trying to get from one place to another on that planet.

 

I haven't been to Hoth yet. The closest I've seen to an actual "world" feel has been Tattoine. Taris is actually quite large as well, but it's such a blatant maze-disguised-as-a-world that it gets annoying once you notice that. And the quests are endless and repetitive as well.

 

I think the boredom from the planets doesn't have anything to do with their sizes, it because there is nothing dangerous in them. There isn't a mob that you can't outrun or avoid entirely.

My biggest complaint is compared to the early planets, the later ones take so long (if you do all side quests, and I am completionist so I do) that I am utterly sick of the planet and can't wait to move on. And yes, Hoth is pretty boring traveling from one place to another nothing but white snow after white snow.

Because a 100 square mile virtual world with brain-dead clusters of enemies every 20 yards, with linear marked paths running everywhere feels like a level in a solo RPG.

 

A 1000 square mile virtual world with terrain and monsters logically placed, and open to exploration feels like a real world.

 

You know... linear solo game vs. open-world MMO?

 

Its funny that you say that because I was just thinking to myself that the enemy placent is quite nice in several areas. I like that on Tatooine some of the sand peole are collecting junk from piles and that others are hiding on rock formations with a riding bantha and a forward lookout several yards away from the group.

 

Alot of the mobs are placed in typical random mmo fashion, but those few that are stealing parts off speeders, or sittingaround a camp fire really help the immersion factor!

Edited January 5, 2013 by fluttersniper