Star Wars: The Old Republic [KOTOR MMO]

A point I have made in the SW area several times (along with my opinion that I don't actually think they really have a plotline for KOTOR III so it will never happen) is that 'Galaxies' was a fundamentally rubbish setting for an MMO. The Civil War is no good for a standard MMO experience because both sides, plot wise, are totally imbalanced; it is a guerilla war, mostly, and you just cannot represent that in the crafting/levelling/social world of an MMO without getting it entirely wrong. And what happened? Well... they DID get it entirely wrong, didn't they? The setting is absolutely nothing like Star Wars, and that's before we even get started on the Jedi debacle, and that's before we even get started on the gameplay issues.

Now, a KOTOR-set (roughly) game is a MUCH better idea. There you can have a balanced set-up from the off- strong 'empires' on both sides, lots of Jedi, lots of Sith, lots of freedom. It's a much more sensible setting.

Not that I will be playing- because a. monthly fees put me off immensly, b. it will be ruined by other people playing noble Jedi like Leiasucksme785 and c. I'll lay you any odds that their interpretation of Lihgt Side/Dark Side, the Force and morality in SW will piss me off.

But all that aside, it's a winning idea and it will be far more popular than the reaction in, say, the Star Wars EU section has made it out to be. Frankly, I reckon not many people will care about a KOTOR III before long.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Now, a KOTOR-set (roughly) game is a MUCH better idea. It's a much more sensible setting.

😱 I'm adding this to my sig.

Looks pretty nice.

Hopefully the classes are more customizable.

Damn, just missed out on the edit time...

"In designing content that works equally well for both saints and scoundrels, many MMOs are left with rather generic stories where the only real roleplaying is whatever the player projects onto the action.

The solution is to give each class its own story arc. While it means the writers have to create a lot more content, it also pays tribute to the fact that "not everybody's fantasy was to be Luke." There's plenty of opportunity to tell equally interesting stories for other possible character types like smugglers, bounty hunters, politicians and moisture farmers. Okay, well, maybe not so much with the moisture farmers, but those other possibilities seem like they'd have experiences that are every bit as exciting as you'd get as a Jedi.

In creating a specific story for each class, the writers can actually heighten the drama and highlight the key moments and moods that work for the type of character you're playing. So your class story will start right away with you being introduced to your class, not based solely on the mechanics of gameplay, but in terms of what motivates your particular class and how you should start thinking about your opportunities. "

Sounds interesting, but also kinda restrictive. What if you want to create a hybrid class? Or Jedi-turned-smuggler?

I can confidently say that just about no-one ever wanted to be Luke.

When it coems to being Jedi/Sith, the inspirations come from the PT, mostly.

Also I am highly unconvinced that there can be any equivalent experience at all for a politician in a computer MMO. In the end, these things are action based.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I can confidently say that just about no-one ever wanted to be Luke.

When it coems to being Jedi/Sith, the inspirations come from the PT, mostly.

Also I am highly unconvinced that there can be any equivalent experience at all for a politician in a computer MMO. In the end, these things are action based.

No one ever said the politician couldn't enter "aggressive negations"

Got a source ofr all of that Mist?

Originally posted by MIŠT
Looks pretty nice.

Hopefully the classes are more customizable.

JEDI MASTER CHIEF! 😱

I'm sold! 😂

Originally posted by Nactous
No one ever said the politician couldn't enter "aggressive negations"

Magnificently not the point, is it?

Unless your Politicans are somehow just as hard in a fight as all the Bounty Hunters and Jedi, in which case it is an equally bad design move.

Yeah, politicians are generally not as combat-ready as character classes that are...designed for combat...aggressive negotiations from some Senator that's figured out the correct way to hold a blaster isn't going to mean anything when you compare it to a character class that makes a living off of their ability to fight and kill.

Anyway, eh. I won't play it. I'm not fond of MMOs for the most part and even less fond of the idea of paying to play a game I've already paid for once. Nor did I care for KOTOR much (I don't get why people praise the plot so much, it's not THAT great). But an MMO in that era could work well. I like playing Jedi (Dark Jedi if available), and it's at least an era where there were plenty of them around, more or less.

Personally, I'd still prefer something in the PT era as that's my favorite setting in the SW universe, but this could work out to be a decent game if they handle it well.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Magnificently not the point, is it?

Unless your Politicans are somehow just as hard in a fight as all the Bounty Hunters and Jedi, in which case it is an equally bad design move.

Not all XP has to be gained through combat you know... As a politician you could have people fight for you, like droids or body guards.

Originally posted by Peach
Nor did I care for KOTOR much (I don't get why people praise the plot so much, it's not THAT great).

That's your opinion, I may not agree with it, but I do respect it.

Originally posted by Nactous
Not all XP has to be gained through combat you know... As a politician you could have people fight for you, like droids or body guards.

That XP comment is utterly irrelevant, and not only will a system where you have other people fight for you not work (other players will just target you instead), it also is simply an incredibly boring way to play that people won't like.

So it won;t be done like that, for sure, even if it was a good idea, which it is not.

No matter what you say, the dichotomy remains. A computer-based Star Wars MMO game is action heavy- action dominated, in fact. A politician class simply does not work in a game like that unless he is as useful in a fight as any other class, which then beggers the question of why you would have the class in there at all.

It's a design mis-step if true. The 'if' needs saying because I suspect this is more something being assumed than a confirmed feature.

Couldnt you have been an artisan in SWG though? As well as a medic?

Trsding is a little different- that actually you can pull off because the game can give you something continuous to do- however, I still rate that as a very poor idea, left over from the Ultima Online school of thinking. Whilst a Medic is just a Healer, a staple of these games (although a staple which actually is an error as Healers end up becoming either ineffective or too important). Even in Galaxies, Politician is only a sub-class. Of course, let's not forget that Galaxies is simply not a very good game, which is why this is replacing it.

An MMO has a monthly fee and so there has to be something there that keeps you coming back each month- be that gridning or some other form of fun repatable activity. You cannot do that with a politician class.

All things like crafting and trading- and for that matter politics- should be subsets of what other characters can do. Look at WoW and Guild Wars, two games which knew how to make themselves successful. Every single class is built around what it does in a fight; all other options are equally available to all.

It's the only approach that really works in a game like this, especially when the majority of players will be waving lightsabres in your face. When you try and make primary professions based aorund totally non-combat areas, you start to tie yourself in knots and it will inevitably go bad.

TOR isnt replacing SWG.....Both will still be up at the sametime.

Yeah, sure, 'not replacing'...

This game only exists because SWG was a bit of a cock-up. They'll milk the subscriptions out of Galaxies for as long as they can before it quietly dies.

Hardly anyone plays SWG anyway; I'll bet that a lot of the people who do play it will jump ship once this comes out.

Originally posted by Nactous
Not all XP has to be gained through combat you know... As a politician you could have people fight for you, like droids or body guards.

Considering that MMOs in general, and especially a SW-related one, are action-oriented...no, that really wouldn't work. Nor would it be any fun.

Purchased Galaxies, but never played it. Always heard bad things...

Originally posted by Peach
Hardly anyone plays SWG anyway; I'll bet that a lot of the people who do play it will jump ship once this comes out.

Considering that MMOs in general, and especially a SW-related one, are action-oriented...no, that really wouldn't work. Nor would it be any fun.

I don't know... I always thought it would be cool to be a senator.