The Old Republic

[Araciel]

Has finally gotten a release date - in North America it's December 20th according to their site.

Here's to it not getting pushed back!

Lightside or Darkside!?

[Pike]

I still don't know if I want to try this game or not. I was excited at first, way back when they first announced it, but I dunno... I'm kind of all MMO'd out right now.

I think I'll take a "wait and see" approach with this game.

[Skyblade]

I still don't know if I want to try this game or not. I was excited at first, way back when they first announced it, but I dunno... I'm kind of all MMO'd out right now.

I think I'll take a "wait and see" approach with this game.

Don't play it as an MMO. Just play it as a sequel to KotoR.

With a longer story. And multiple stories. And better combat. And more exploration. And...

Having quit WoW quite a while ago (about two weeks after Cata, when I ran out of stuff to do), I am getting to the point where I am looking for another persistent-world game. And I am willing to put up with other players to get that, so I can stand the annoying fact that it's an MMO.

[Rostum]

I am still unsure if I'm interested. If anything Final Fantasy XIV* has taught me to actually wait a month or two after release before getting hyped over the next big thing.

I have a deep desire to invest myself in to an MMO, but I'm not overly excited for anything coming out really. I guess this and Guild Wars 2 looks good, but can only wait and see.

I personally love the social interaction in MMO's. I am unsure about WoW's community since I straight away joined a friend's guild and didn't really bother to deal with the general population, but I made some life-long friends in Final Fantasy XI and really enjoyed the community for the most part there.

*I do realise it was the worst release of any MMO to date, but still... Can't hurt to be conservative.

[Araciel]

Yeah understandable - any new game these days I approach with jadedness - someone preordered it for me for my birthday so I'mma get this when it launches - I'm sure I'll enjoy it for a few months at least just from the previews I've seen though - from the previews of ff mmos I didn't think I'd like them and I was right.

[Jiro]

I would really have preferred they just give me a proper sequel because anything online is basically a no-go for me.

[NorthernChaosGod]

I would really have preferred they just give me a proper sequel because anything online is basically a no-go for me. MMOs are never-ending.
:colbert:

[Tainted Angel]

29:30!

When people wanted KOtoR+MMO they did not want this.

Did you know the Sumggler and the Bounty hunter are faction locked classes?

Bioshit is suckig the OT off so hard it's trying to steal the chrome plating. If you saw any gameplay previes, it looks like a scifi WoW. Most quests are 'Kill X' quests or fetch quests. (IE: Not Fun.)

Why is anybody excited about this?

[Rostum]

When people wanted KOtoR+MMO they did not want this.

There seems to be millions of people who disagree with you.

[Jiro]

Giving the entire world the chance to have a lightsaber at the same time and interact is smurfing awesome no matter how it turns out.

Also I don't see any other way you can do quests, really. Aren't they always a slight variation on "go to this tit" "kill this tit" "talk to this tit"?

[G13]

All I have to say is: Darkside.

[Araciel]

Horde players=Darkside players, but that's fairly obvious.

[Rostum]

Bah, now I am considering it. I just need to stay strong! Must not jump in to an MMO on release ever again...

[Skyblade]

Bah, now I am considering it. I just need to stay strong! Must not jump in to an MMO on release ever again...

Not sure which launch issue you are referring to here, but most of them seem to be handled. The amount of content I've heard talked about from those who have actually played it indicates that there is going to be plenty to do in this game, so it isn't going to be an FFXIV launch. And BioWare has done a lot of work to make the standard server overload go away. From temporary insantiation of starter zones, to a staggered launch to reduce the number of players who go active all at once, this launch is looking to be handled relatively smoothly.

Especially compared to Blizzard and their "Eh, who cares?" launch strategy.

[Pike]

My brother is in the beta, today he told me he had the following three opinions of it:

"It's a WoW clone, but it's decent for a WoW clone";
"It's basically KotOR crossed with WoW";
"It's better than I was expecting, but still mediocre"

Obviously his opinion is just his opinion, but he is a longtime MMO player/WoW raider and a KotOR fan so I'm inclined to put some stock into his judgment.

As for me, I'll still wait and see. More and more I'm feeling done with MMOs until Blizz's new secret project.

[Skyblade]

My brother is in the beta, today he told me he had the following three opinions of it:

"It's a WoW clone, but it's decent for a WoW clone";
"It's basically KotOR crossed with WoW";
"It's better than I was expecting, but still mediocre"

Obviously his opinion is just his opinion, but he is a longtime MMO player/WoW raider and a KotOR fan so I'm inclined to put some stock into his judgment.

As for me, I'll still wait and see. More and more I'm feeling done with MMOs until Blizz's new secret project.

See, hearing "KotOR crossed with WoW" is good news to my ears. It's pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. WoW's persistent and expansive world, with KotOR's story and characterization. It's what I've been hoping for since I first heard about this game. I was a WoW player since launch. I spent years immersing myself in that world. Reading every quest log, talking to every NPC, exploring every tiny little place I could. It was wonderful (until, y'know, Blizz decided to remove everything but endgame from WoW). Now I will get to do that all over again, with actual good writing.

Blizz's "secret project" has basically zero interest to me. Blizz's recent history is nothing to spark confidence. Cata and SCII all have major issues, and Diablo III is currently not looking any better. I don't see why I should get excited about a project that they have told us nothing about when I think most of their recent work is junk.

[Pike]

You and I have a difference in opinion then; WoW has issues but I still think it was the greatest MMO ever made, and I have confidence in Blizzard more than anyone else to be able to duplicate that feat.

I could end up being completely wrong, of course.

But ultimately I'm not getting my hopes up until I see what exactly it IS, anyway :tongue:

[Araciel]

If it's a WoWclone, I'll enjoy it - WoW is an EQ clone and so on etc to infinity and beyond, and that's not a bad thing.

I never liked MMos that much beyond the mid levels because most of them entail a larger chunk of time at higher levels - WoW did this well, the quests don't always lead you into instances or raids.

From the quest structure I'm seeing this game will be similar and the individual quests will be more of a story tailored to the class which is one of the main draws for me.

[Rostum]

Most people are comparing it to City of Heroes than WoW, but even so all I'm hearing is how polished the game is and how much more immersive it is when compared to WoW.

The Old Republic preview | PC Gamer (http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/09/30/the-old-republic-preview/)

[Mogi]

I've been looking forward to ToR for a long time, but I'm definitely not going in right on launch, mostly because I don't have the money to do that. Also because I'd like to wait and see how things go. Also because I'll probably still be too preoccupied by Skyrim. Fuck yeah.

[Araciel]

Skyrim is out a month and a half before - 45 days x 3 hrs a day minimum = enough time for me to have one roaring playthrough and then some :P

[Mogi]

Except that I probably won't get Skyrim on launch either ;_;

[Araciel]

That.... that makes me frown.

[Pheesh]

So I received a Beta key and have been playing for most of the test weekend and it is soooo awesome. I wouldn't say that it's up there with the KotOR games but that said I have no friends playing with me which I think would increase the fun factor ten fold, and that's because the social aspect is done awesomely. When you are in a group you all get to partake in conversations as a group, you pick your dialogue choices individually and then roll on them in the same vein as loot systems. It's so engrossing to see one character say a line and then another character say the next line, it sounds like a little thing but it helps you to forget that you've just done a fetch quest, and gives you more to look forward to than just loot. As far as gameplay it's all pretty standard fair for an MMO, you have your skill bar, and you click on things and kill them. Every character is given a companion after a little bit though which means that you don't really have to go looking for groups every time you want to do a harder quest, and the companion works in true bioware fashion and will ask to speak to you at certain points. I'm only lvl 11 currently and just got out of the sith acadamy area (just got my lightsaber as well :cool: ), so I can't report on huttball, or any of the other higher level stuff yet, but I'll say more as I continue to play.

Basically, if you really despise MMO's then you probably won't want to get this game because it still plays like an mmo, and when you're doing fetch quests it certainly feels like an mmo. But if you despise MMO's because they usually have little to no story, no immersion besides the lure of getting better gear, and get old very quickly then I would advise you to give The Old Republic a chance because Bioware have done an amazing job with putting the RPG back into (if it was ever there) MMORPG's. Also, the voice acting(!), score and sound effects are fantastic, nothing beats the first time you get to swing around your new lightsaber.

Also, if anyone is wondering why I'm not playing right now it's because I still have 30 minutes left until servers are back up from maintenance :p

[Skyblade]

Not playing because I have to go to bed, but it is absolutely incredible. Gameplay, style, execution, story, all brilliant. Everything I loved about KotoR and WoW, and none of the things I hated. BioWare has made one heck of a game here.

Level 17, on my way out of Coruscant, and it looks like I've only just finished Chapter 1.

[Rostum]

Yeah I really like it. They did an incredible job, whilst not really having the need to innovate the genre. Basically if you like the good aspects of MMORPG's, and you like the Mass Effect series, you'll love this game.

I probably won't get it on release though. But that has nothing to do with the game itself.

[Skyblade]

Early Game Access starts in two days.

The Beta time I got was enough to whet my appetite, and now with the release so close, I am counting down the time until I get into the game. Honestly, it is one of the releases I have been most looking forward to.

BioWare's idea was to create an eternal RPG, one that is constantly updated and built upon indefinitely. If they can support it that much, keep up the MMO flow with their own quality, then it is going to be one of my all-time favorite games.

[Pheesh]

We should join the same server do we can quest and flashpoint together. I pre ordered and have early game access as well!

[Skyblade]

I'm on Vornskr. Already level 15, loving every second of this game.

Also, Holocrons are awesome.

[Del Murder]

I wish my girlfriend was a Star Wars fan. I may have to convince her to play this anyway.

[Skyblade]

This game is consuming all my free time. Seriously addictive. It is just so well crafted. Every day, I find something new that makes me go "why didn't WoW do this?" (also applies to most other games in the industry, but WoW is the principle comparison point).

People have asked if this game is a WoW-killer. It isn't, WoW has way too much of an insane rabid fanbase who will never leave. But this game should be, because it is far, far superior.

[Ashi]

Thinking of getting the game sometime soon. But I am wondering about a few things if people that play can give me some insight, my research is coming up with nothing:
- do you get access to different servers if you buy the US or European game? or rather, are the americans and europeans able to play on the same servers?

I am just concerned because I have friends from the US that play but at the same time I would prefer to be on servers closer to my own timezone (european). I did hear that everyone has access to all servers but can someone verify this?

[Skyblade]

Two of my guildies, including my guildmaster, live in Sweden. So, yeah, everything is fine there.

If anyone is going to play but hasn't yet, join Vornskr. It's my server, and I can craft you stuff and help you kill. :)

[Pheesh]

I live in Australia and I'm playing on a US server, and in the Beta I played on a EU server so you should be fine.

[Ashi]

Great to know!! Thanks everyone. I guess I will pick up the game soon. ;)

[darkchrono]

Do you still have to do a whole lot of monster bashing in order to do anything on this game. That is what killed all the enjoyment for me with games like this. Monster bashing is fun for about ten minutes then it just gets ridicuously old.

Have they improved the leveling systems in recent years or is it still as horrible as it was when you had to do mindless monster bashing for hours on end just to be strong enough to get to the next zone without getting creamed.

[Pheesh]

It plays the same as most MMO's with trash mobs and grinding, but there's a pretty amazing story that really does a great job at keeping you engaged with your characters main story line, and most of the side quests are interesting as well.

[Skyblade]

Do you still have to do a whole lot of monster bashing in order to do anything on this game. That is what killed all the enjoyment for me with games like this. Monster bashing is fun for about ten minutes then it just gets ridicuously old.

Have they improved the leveling systems in recent years or is it still as horrible as it was when you had to do mindless monster bashing for hours on end just to be strong enough to get to the next zone without getting creamed.

They did their best to specifically avoid that levelling process. Most monsters give pitiful exp, while quests give quite a lot. And there are very few regular "go kill this many monsters" quests that are main quests, most get put aside into bonus quests, which pop up while you're doing other quests and disappear just as quickly. It sounds weird, but it actually works really well, in my opinion.

[DMKA]

You should ask /v/ about this game!

[theundeadhero]

I bought it on release concerned that it would steal me away from being a WoW raider. It has not. It's basically something I occasionally play when I don't feel like doing anything else. I'm having a hard time justifying my account but at least I have a founder title now.

[Ashi]

Heh I got The Old Republic because I got bored of being a WoW raider! Funny! My game got here today finally!

Anyway, I will probably pick a European server but who knows yet.