What Bioware should have done [Post in this thread, not your own]

[looopy]

This thread will be a compendium of cool ideas Bioware should have implemented into SWTOR. This thread is NOT a QQ thread and is not a thread full of things that can still be implemented into the game but rather ideas that it is either too late or irrational to implement into the game. Try and give a brief reason at the end of your post to explain why it is to late for it to be put into the game if it is not blatantly obvious. Try and stick to my format if possible for simplicity for readers.

EX's of an unacceptable thread: Bioware should have added arenas, X class, Better space combat, etc.

I repeat, do not come here to QQ but rather come to share your cool ideas with us. Their are far to many threads saying Bioware should have done this.. Bioware should have done that.. So I thought we can consolidate. I will try to keep this updated by editing your ideas into my original post.

I'll get us started,

The Idea: I think Bioware should have made the classes of Bounty Hunter and Smuggler neutral classes that at level 30 choose their allegiance. This would have fit in perfectly to the story arcs because these classes start out as a nobody and eventually become important to the grand scheme of things. So it would sort of be like, You trying to avoid being swept up in either side of the war but eventually you become so prestigious that you have caught the eyes of the higher ups on both sides and are kinda forced to pick a side.

Why?: Personally, i think it would truly make the choices the character is making throughout the story feel more important. In its current state the game allows you to be a bad Jedi or even a good Sith Warrior but it will never allow you to actually switch sides (probably for technical limitations). I think that system is extremely necessary for most classes but for Smug. and BH specifically it would have been interesting to see how this would have panned out.

Why they Didn't?: Many obvious reasons include pvp, development time, confusion to new players. The list goes on and on

Its to late Because: It would cause a complete redo of a large portion of the game, and as we've learned from SWG, complete redo's = bad.

Side Note: It would also be cool if they did this but the classes remained neutral throughout their entire careers. Though in the eyes of a developer this would make far less sense.


Idea #2 by Doylez:
They should have made the game an Action/FPS MMO instead of a hotkey/tabtarget MMO.
Mass Effect gameplay for ranged classes and Witcher 2/Force Unleashed/Skyrim kind of gameplay for melee classes.


Idea #3 by VenomousCarnage:
The Idea: Everyone starts off as neutral. You would first start off as choosing one of 3/4 "beginner classes". Kinda what they have already but more intense of a start from a neutral beginning. Examples being:
Ruffian - an odd-job, under the radar type character doing what they can to survive. Early on you get to choose your initial story, Smuggler or Bounty Hunter (then possibly branching into the options currently given in the game)
Malitia/soldier - You start as a combat trained soldier of a planet you get swept up in a separatist/republic scuffle and choose a side. You then later become a Trooper or get recruited to be an Imperial agent (then possibly choosing a specialization that exists in the game)
A Force Sensitive (combat or force arts) - You start in a jedi academy and soon get a choice of jedi master (with one obviously being light and one clearly being dark). If dark you rebel and join the sith. This could possibly be broken up into the 4th class from the start to give the better variety offered in the current game. You then later specialize down the paths the game currently has.

Why? It would really add a whole new dimension to the "choice" aspect of the game making your initial character truely molded to your liking from the start. It would be more like the KOTOR games just with non force user characters. It would be like the MOP panda thing except it would actually make sense and would be better (since story is way better in SWTOR then it ever will be in WoW) and not just a desperate ploy from a dwindling game but a fresh idea from one that is just starting.

Why they didn't - It would be a huge balance problem. Since all classes start off very much the same it would be more difficult to differentiate the eventual classes gameplay wise. The changes would have to happen real soon and fast in order to get into the "true story" of your final class otherwise people wll get bored, frustrated and there would be more to balance. If the classes did eventually end up as they are in the current game the starter classes would mess things up like the different need of stats for troopers and IAs, Stats would either have to start off very neutral for all classes for the first 10 levels or so or some classes would have to make drastic changes in stat needs when they specialize. Weapons could possibly miss match depending on what would be needed by the starter classes. Basically many many problems with how diverse the paths are and making it smooth for all of them.

[Deleted]

The Idea: They should have added an Hide Hood option

Why?: Well with hide headslot and hide sith corruption, hide hood doesent seem so weird to me

Why they didn't?: probably forgot?

Side note: its only fair!

[Doylez]

They should have made the game an Action/FPS MMO instead of a hotkey/tabtarget MMO.
Mass Effect gameplay for ranged classes and Witcher 2/Force Unleashed/Skyrim kind of gameplay for melee classes.

[Deleted]

Idea: Keep Orange items useful at level 50 - by making the best items mods and not actual gear - or alternatively give us an appearance tab.

The why: I'd say it's quite obvious. It's nice and fun to look unique, and you can do so relatively well throughout levels 1-49 but once you hit the big 50 and start getting the obviously better gear you soon start to look like every other level 50. In addition, an appearance tab would solve this better due to the fact that a lot of the aesthetic items - social items mostly - are light armor which is essentially useless to anyone but Consulars and Inquisitors.

[looopy]

They should have made the game an Action/FPS MMO instead of a hotkey/tabtarget MMO.
Mass Effect gameplay for ranged classes and Witcher 2/Force Unleashed/Skyrim kind of gameplay for melee classes.

are u thinking of dragon age combat?

[abovebeyond]

What BioWare should have done: Extended beta testing for another 6-12 months.

Why? Sheer amount of bugs, glitches, and worst of all, typos in the game. Product is worse than something already available on the market.

Why they didn't? Wanted to have a holiday release for extra sales.

It's too late, because: All the bugs and problems I run into playing every day demotivate me to play the game, let alone pay a subscription cost, severely impacting the game's future.

[StationaryHawk]

They should have made the game an Action/FPS MMO instead of a hotkey/tabtarget MMO.
Mass Effect gameplay for ranged classes and Witcher 2/Force Unleashed/Skyrim kind of gameplay for melee classes.

Gosh, I can hear the complaining now. Skyrim combat typically consists of either crouching and shooting, or walking backwards and swinging.

The few changes I'd have made, adding PvP brackets and the ability to choose your warzone, are being worked on. So I guess that's a plus.

[looopy]

Idea: Keep Orange items useful at level 50 - by making the best items mods and not actual gear - or alternatively give us an appearance tab.

The why: I'd say it's quite obvious. It's nice and fun to look unique, and you can do so relatively well throughout levels 1-49 but once you hit the big 50 and start getting the obviously better gear you soon start to look like every other level 50. In addition, an appearance tab would solve this better due to the fact that a lot of the aesthetic items - social items mostly - are light armor which is essentially useless to anyone but Consulars and Inquisitors.

I may be misunderstanding your post but as far as the modding goes, I think you just described how it works in the game currently

---------- Post added 2012-01-08 at 06:53 PM ----------

Gosh, I can hear the complaining now. Skyrim combat typically consists of either crouching and shooting, or walking backwards and swinging.

Agreed, i could have done SW:FU like combat tho.

[Deleted]

I may be misunderstanding your post but as far as the modding goes, I think you just described how it works in the game currently[COLOR="red"]

For 1-49 mods and orange items can be used with great effect yes, but as soon as you reach level 50 the items that can't be fully modifiable become better meaning you wont be wearing orange gear anymore. Meaning you wont be customizing your looks as much anymore if you want to be effective. Which I think is quite a loot/gear issue they need to look at.

[herpecin]

The Idea: They should have added an Hide Hood option

Why?: Well with hide headslot and hide sith corruption, hide hood doesent seem so weird to me

Why they didn't?: probably forgot?

Side note: its only fair!

there is a "hide helm slot" option.....

[Deleted]

there is a "hide helm slot" option.....

Hiding helmets doesn't hide hoods attached to robes (Chest armor).

[Ghul]

i think they should have made their own original talent-tree instead of copying an existing outdated model.

i dont see the joy in speccing 1% precision at all :/

[Doylez]

are u thinking of dragon age combat?

No, even more action based, Dragon Age is also pretty much a "target enemy, press hotkeys, wait for global cooldown" game. Mass Effect would be a better example because of the direct targeting. Or Star Wars Force Unleashed.



edit: I think TERA online goes in that direction.

[VenomousCarnage]

I actually had an idea similar to the OPs. I realize it would create a lot of problems as well though. The thread probably should of been called what Bioware COULD have done instead.

The Idea: Everyone starts off as neutral. You would first start off as choosing one of 3/4 "beginner classes". Kinda what they have already but more intense of a start from a neutral beginning. Examples being:
Ruffian - an odd-job, under the radar type character doing what they can to survive. Early on you get to choose your initial story, Smuggler or Bounty Hunter (then possibly branching into the options currently given in the game)
Malitia/soldier - You start as a combat trained soldier of a planet you get swept up in a separatist/republic scuffle and choose a side. You then later become a Trooper or get recruited to be an Imperial agent (then possibly choosing a specialization that exists in the game)
A Force Sensitive (combat or force arts) - You start in a jedi academy and soon get a choice of jedi master (with one obviously being light and one clearly being dark). If dark you rebel and join the sith. This could possibly be broken up into the 4th class from the start to give the better variety offered in the current game. You then later specialize down the paths the game currently has.

Why? It would really add a whole new dimension to the "choice" aspect of the game making your initial character truely molded to your liking from the start. It would be more like the KOTOR games just with non force user characters. It would be like the MOP panda thing except it would actually make sense and would be better (since story is way better in SWTOR then it ever will be in WoW) and not just a desperate ploy from a dwindling game but a fresh idea from one that is just starting.

Why they didn't - It would be a huge balance problem. Since all classes start off very much the same it would be more difficult to differentiate the eventual classes gameplay wise. The changes would have to happen real soon and fast in order to get into the "true story" of your final class otherwise people wll get bored, frustrated and there would be more to balance. If the classes did eventually end up as they are in the current game the starter classes would mess things up like the different need of stats for troopers and IAs, Stats would either have to start off very neutral for all classes for the first 10 levels or so or some classes would have to make drastic changes in stat needs when they specialize. Weapons could possibly miss match depending on what would be needed by the starter classes. Basically many many problems with how diverse the paths are and making it smooth for all of them.

[Dhrizzle]

The Idea: I think Bioware should have made the classes of Bounty Hunter and Smuggler neutral classes that at level 30 choose their allegiance. This would have fit in perfectly to the story arcs because these classes start out as a nobody and eventually become important to the grand scheme of things. So it would sort of be like, You trying to avoid being swept up in either side of the war but eventually you become so prestigious that you have caught the eyes of the higher ups on both sides and are kinda forced to pick a side.

I was saying this to a friend in-game last night. I also think Sith / Jedi who reach a certain amount of Light / Dark side points should be able to switch sides and become their mirror-class.

[herpecin]

It's too late, because: All the bugs and problems I run into playing every day demotivate me to play the game, let alone pay a subscription cost, severely impacting the game's future.

i now have a lvl 49 AI, and while ive seen a few bugs they are mostly graphical, or when the screen goes black when starting a convo you just esc out and do it again.

nothing game breaking and nothing so off putting as to completely ignore a game you payed 60$ for.

[VenomousCarnage]

The Idea: They should have added an Hide Hood option

Why?: Well with hide headslot and hide sith corruption, hide hood doesent seem so weird to me

Why they didn't?: probably forgot?

Side note: its only fair!

What they really should of done is add a hide helmet/hood option for companions.

Unless I turn Corso black you cannot see any difference with almost every single hood/helmet/hat I ever put on him. What is the point of a customization slot on him if the helmet overrides whatever makes him look "unique" 99% of the time.

It's too late because? It's not too late someone at bioware needs to get off their ass for 5 seconds read one of my many notices of this problem then take a minimal amount of time to add the same option they have to players for companions.

[Haph]

No, even more action based, Dragon Age is also pretty much a "target enemy, press hotkeys, wait for global cooldown" game. Mass Effect would be a better example because of the direct targeting. Or Star Wars Force Unleashed.

[video]

edit: I think TERA online goes in that direction.

Imagine having an MMO that looked like that -.-.

[looopy]

Imagine having an MMO that looked like that -.-.

Thats the way its going as technical limitations dissolve. Hot-key mmos are going out of fashion and Guild Wars 2 is the first step toward it. Then Tera takes it one step further but i think tera is too ambitious, may fail, and push this mmo evolution back a few years.

[Jalek]

Thats the way its going as technical limitations dissolve. Hot-key mmos are going out of fashion and Guild Wars 2 is the first step toward it. Then Tera takes it one step further but i think tera is too ambitious, may fail, and push this mmo evolution back a few years.

The problem with that would be for people with bad ping (Australians like me). Hot-key is so much better for lag as everyone is limited to one action every 1.5sec, actually trying to hit a target with 200ms in a FPS would not be enjoyable, but I can WoW and SWTOR with barely any issues at all (except I have to move out of the bad and interrupt that much faster than our American friends).