SWTOR Beta Preview by an old fart

[cravenm]

Graphics - 4/5
Gameplay - 4/5
Story - 5/5 (limited exposire for me)
Fun Factor - 5/5


Story... I played an IA, to level 24. I loved the class quests, I have to admit I stopped caring as much about the non-class quests after a while but I didn't skip the cut-scenes I just didn't complete my final zone Balmorra.

Gameplay was alright, I started to notice it got more fun the more talent points I got to spend, it felt less rigid I hope that continues to get better. IA cover system was something new, will be interesting to see how well that fits in the game in endgame content, CC and ranged dps was quite a fun mix.

Graphics, I really like them, they aren't too realistic, WoW got this spot on. I did notice my system struggle with everything on High and Max Camera distance etc, but it is a couple of years old.

Fun Factor, I am gutted that my Beta weekend is over. I guess that speaks for itself.

Overall, I was a noob exploring a territory and that felt great, I didnt think once about endgame I didn't check my XP bar ever, it took me back to my Vanilla WoW days, made me remember how Amazing WoW used to be first time around and left me hoping that SWTOR succeeds.

i couldn't agree more!!!

[Ajaxthegreat]

Can I ask:
Are/were you a WoW player, and if so - did WoW's dungeons draw you in? More? Less? At all?

Yes, I played WoW for quite a long time and did everything there really is to do in the game (arenas to a moderately high level, tons of bgs at max level and twinking, heroic level raiding). For me, WoW dungeons and raids did have a pull in that I wanted to see how challenging the mechanics were, and to kill a boss I remember from Warcraft RTS. Questlines also drew you into dungeons as part of the storyline even though the presentation of WoW lore is less engaging. in SWTOR, the questlines felt vastly superior to WoW and definitely hooked me, but didn't seem to lead me into dungeons/raids. (Note: if this changes at max level, I do not know and will not hazard a guess.) SWTOR felt like Fallout: the Old Republic to me with some KOTOR mixed in.

One of the big differences between the games is this: WoW has a "rush to max level and raid/bg" aspect that simply isn't there in SWTOR. That isn't a bad thing and, in fact, I find it very refreshing. The story comes first and it makes for a more enjoyable experience. I'm not sure a monthly fee on top of the $60 to buy the game is justified, though. I'm sure other people feel different than I do and will rush to rage at me, but these are my opinions.

[Alasdair]

Alasdair.. totally unrelated but I think you killed me on my DK last night when I was hurting people with flowers and a basket full of eggs..

lol... i was playing SW:TOR lastnight, couldn't have been me O.o

OT: Noticed a lot of people saying the UI seemed too big. I did, too, at first but then found the UI scale slider and it was much better. but thats all opinions anyhow.
My biggest concern with the game is what would it be like once the newness is worn off. What woudl you do at max level (50)? From what I've gathered your class quests essentially continue throughout and will continue on into expansions etc.

Trade skills were a lil odd for me, as its your companions that do the bulk of it.

[Deleted]

lol... i was playing SW:TOR lastnight, couldn't have been me O.o

OT: Noticed a lot of people saying the UI seemed too big. I did, too, at first but then found the UI scale slider and it was much better. but thats all opinions anyhow.
My biggest concern with the game is what would it be like once the newness is worn off. What woudl you do at max level (50)? From what I've gathered your class quests essentially continue throughout and will continue on into expansions etc.

Trade skills were a lil odd for me, as its your companions that do the bulk of it.

Your companions goes on missions and assists "people" and bring back materials, its an interesting twist but crafting is still a massproducing factory a la wow/rift
And sending them on missions costs.
I first thought it was a source of income.. until i hit 0 credits and wondered where it all went.

[Gallahadd]

Graphics - 4/5
Gameplay - 4/5
Story - 5/5 (limited exposire for me)
Fun Factor - 5/5

TOTALLY agree, after playing pretty much solidly for four days I'm SO excited about this game :s I was worried that after the weekend I'd be disappointed... nope , if anything I'm more into the game now, because I have a solid playbase to go back to.

I've gotta say the biggest surprise for me was the non force-users, Trooper especially was ALOT more fun that I'd though, the story is just... wow, can't wait to see how it ends

it really felt like being back in TBC, very very good thing for me.

[zealous]

Your companions goes on missions and assists "people" and bring back materials, its an interesting twist but crafting is still a massproducing factory a la wow/rift
And sending them on missions costs.
I first thought it was a source of income.. until i hit 0 credits and wondered where it all went.

1. Not everything has to be revolutionary. There are some traditional features of the genre, like crafting. I'm personally glad that at least it has some refreshing features.

2. Costs... isn't that the same with every profession in any game? You pay one of two: your time (on farming nodes) or your money (that also has to come from somewhere). Since you don't spend your personal time in TOR running around grinding nodes (remember flying hundreds of circles around Sholazar or Icecrown?) you spend your money. Seems logical to me.

If you want pure money gain - take slicing. It produces credits a decent rate and gives some minor gearing possibilities.

Yes, I played WoW for quite a long time and did everything there really is to do in the game (arenas to a moderately high level, tons of bgs at max level and twinking, heroic level raiding). For me, WoW dungeons and raids did have a pull in that I wanted to see how challenging the mechanics were, and to kill a boss I remember from Warcraft RTS. Questlines also drew you into dungeons as part of the storyline even though the presentation of WoW lore is less engaging. in SWTOR, the questlines felt vastly superior to WoW and definitely hooked me, but didn't seem to lead me into dungeons/raids. (Note: if this changes at max level, I do not know and will not hazard a guess.) SWTOR felt like Fallout: the Old Republic to me with some KOTOR mixed in.

I seriously can't agree with any of this. I can respect your right to an opinion here, but I can't agree with the opinion itself since I don't see where it's coming from.

I played WoW consistently for almost 5 years, did every dungeon the game has to offer and rarely ever felt engaged by them at all. I was mildly interested in the pre-ICC 5 mans but the interest was short and minor, since the story there was quite shallow. Other than that none of the WoW dungeons ever drew me in even remotely. Felt like a treadmill with gear dangling above your head, even the bells and whistles attached were so miniscule I could never regard them seriously.

I did Hammer station and the next flashpoint after it (god, can't remember the name...) and they were far superior to me in terms of "hooking" me in than anything WoW ever had to offer of a proportionally comparable level.

I guess we're just very different people.

P.S. To any who might want to flame me for this post : the above should be interpreted as "I hate WoW, it sucks." I played the game for many years, there has to a reason for that, right?

[gherkin]

Map Bug - click to a new location and back again fixed it for me every time.
Loot bug - Tap shift once and it fixed it for me every time.

[zealous]

Map Bug - click to a new location and back again fixed it for me every time.
Loot bug - Tap shift once and it fixed it for me every time.

Changing resolution to another one and back also fixed all UI related bugs for me, no exceptions, including the map bug. Sometimes relogging or changing location didn't help with that one.

[Prag]

I seriously can't agree with any of this. I can respect your right to an opinion here, but I can't agree with the opinion itself since I don't see where it's coming from.

I played WoW consistently for almost 5 years, did every dungeon the game has to offer and rarely ever felt engaged by them at all. I was mildly interested in the pre-ICC 5 mans but the interest was short and minor, since the story there was quite shallow. Other than that none of the WoW dungeons ever drew me in even remotely. Felt like a treadmill with gear dangling above your head, even the bells and whistles attached were so miniscule I could never regard them seriously.

I did Hammer station and the next flashpoint after it (god, can't remember the name...) and they were far superior to me in terms of "hooking" me in than anything WoW ever had to offer of a proportionally comparable level.

I guess we're just very different people.

P.S. To any who might want to flame me for this post : the above should be interpreted as "I hate WoW, it sucks." I played the game for many years, there has to a reason for that, right?

Great response. I felt the same way. I know that my bias towards Star Wars and exposure prior to SW:ToR is probably the reason, but I felt much more involved with the game. Instead of me questing for the game, I felt like I was questing for myself and can probably count on 1 hand the number of times I looked at the experience bar.

The flashpoints were also great in that you knew exactly WHY you were there, what the objective of that sub-section were and when you were finished, you felt like you had actually FINISHED.

Map Bug - click to a new location and back again fixed it for me every time.
Loot bug - Tap shift once and it fixed it for me every time.

CTRL + U + U <--- That's the magic key sequence for all UI issues!

Also, Alt + Tab'ing out/in fixed my map errors, both times I got it.

[DaGhostDS]

2. Costs... isn't that the same with every profession in any game? You pay one of two: your time (on farming nodes) or your money (that also has to come from somewhere). Since you don't spend your personal time in TOR running around grinding nodes (remember flying hundreds of circles around Sholazar or Icecrown?) you spend your money. Seems logical to me.

If you want pure money gain - take slicing. It produces credits a decent rate and gives some minor gearing possibilities.

actually you can farm for components with archeology on crystals nodes, you dont just send your companion out.

Also, im pretty sure it shows the credit price on the crafting tab before sending the companion out, so the issue isnt with the game but more with the player that just hit random button.


I can see that most of you never worked in the game industry, as a professional QA testers ive seen things change from build to build and get fixed in the next, if you think when they do a new build they actually release it to their closed beta on the first week you are misguided.. I think the build they released this weekend was really a bad choice on their side, it wasnt the best one.

[zealous]

Also, im pretty sure it shows the credit price on the crafting tab before sending the companion out, so the issue isnt with the game but more with the player that just hit random button.

Ofc it shows the cost, more than that - if you cancel the mission before it's done, even if it's 99% ready, you get a full credit refund.

As to refunds however, one important thing:

iirc there are none for commendation vendors. I accidentally spent all my Nar Shadda commendations on a double bladed saber as a Jedi Knight.

Now I know, brainfart... but I imagine if I did that, many people will do so too. And since you can't refund anything, I foresee thousands of tickets opened on this issue and lots of angry rants on forums

They should just copy what WoW did in this regard and give a short grace period where you can get the badges back. Or else expect trouble and a stream of whiney tears.

[Nihilim]

Ofc it shows the cost, more than that - if you cancel the mission before it's done, even if it's 99% ready, you get a full credit refund.

As to refunds however, one important thing:

iirc there are none for commendation vendors. I accidentally spent all my Nar Shadda commendations on a double bladed saber as a Jedi Knight.

Now I know, brainfart... but I imagine if I did that, many people will do so too. And since you can't refund anything, I foresee thousands of tickets opened on this issue and lots of angry rants on forums

They should just copy what WoW did in this regard and give a short grace period where you can get the badges back. Or else expect trouble and a stream of whiney tears.

100% agreed. I can't even count the times I've accidentally bought something when I only wanted to view it in the dressing room. "Oh I just spent 5k or 16 commendations on something I can't use, great".
Then 2 minutes later the same thing. Then again and again.

[Valeron]

34 is an old fart?

[zealous]

100% agreed. I can't even count the times I've accidentally bought something when I only wanted to view it in the dressing room. "Oh I just spent 5k or 16 commendations on something I can't use, great".
Then 2 minutes later the same thing. Then again and again.

This needs to be addressed ASAP or there will be a massive outcry. And since nobody is willing to forgive TOR even the smallest faults lately since it seems to antagonize so many by simply existing, I feel like BW should act on this fast.

[Valeron]

An easy fix would be a full refund on a time limit, like 15 minutes or something like that.

[zealous]

34 is an old fart?

I'm 21 and I sometimes feel like an old fart when it comes to gaming.

"Huh, you actually played RPG games with turn based combat? Lol, dude, why would you do that?"

I also can recite the exact BiS item set for a kicksin in Diablo 2, but I think that just makes me nerdy rather than "old".

---------- Post added 2011-11-30 at 01:14 AM ----------

An easy fix would be a full refund on a time limit, like 15 minutes or something like that.

As I said, I think they should just copy WoW in this. It has a 2 hour limit iirc.