I'm not trying to turn this into a Pre-CU vs SWTOR; I just want to know if anything has been said about the social atmosphere of SWTOR. It seems that all of these new MMOs leave out the social hangout. I only brought up SWG due to the fact that it's one of the only games I've ever seen where it's possible to witness players who neither fight nor craft. I've met countless individuals who bought the game only to chitter-chat, decorate houses, make fan videos, and/or socialize in the cantinas. You just don't see that anymore ;/

Look at the folks in this video: www.youtube.com/watch - They are just dicking around and having a good time. Other than LoTRO's ability to make your own music, where else can we find something like this? I haven't seen anything of the sort in AoC and WAR.

I'm really hoping that SWTOR will have this type of hidden depth. Maybe the mere fact that it's Star Wars will help?

I thought I remember hearing them say something about cantinas and social hangouts,,,(hopes I'm not missplacing a quote) It is part of the Star Wars Lore and fosters great role playing which is a huge part of BioWare games. You may even find part of your story revovles around these social places. I would just stay tuned a bit longer and we may find out within the nest few months.

Well, if they don't add social features it will hurt the game. Those kind of features are what make a game feel 'alive.' I don't play MMOs anymore. They are ALL crap. I have a feeling this one will be more of the same (no matter what hype these business men try to sell us).

RIP MMORPG's.

God i hate the fact this game exists, just  because i still miss SWG.  But i hope it does have the same social aspects. Rez the dancer class.

I can see it having cantinas built into the cities and an emotes system.

That's about as far as I see them taking it, though. Decorating houses, hosting guild parties with fireworks and party favors, and other player craftable items that allow players to get creative and make content don't look to be in this game's future. Those items aren't heroic enough, it seems, and neither do they give you a feeling of living in the Star Wars universe.

Hey, don't look at me. Those look to be the thoughts of one Rich Vogel. Yeah, the same guy who was a part of the original SWG team that gave you those same options with that game.

Go figure. Note below that things that aren't combat oriented and heroic must be small (interpretations of "feels right") and not inconvienencing to the hero!

From http://www.massively.com/2008/10/24/swtor-classes-part-2/

You can't talk about classes in particular, but are you going to include anything in the game that isn't combat oriented? Smugglers, tradesmen, that sort of thing.

Gordon: We will definitely have crafting.

Rich: The core classes we'll start off with will be based off or heroic, combat oriented experiences ... Star Wars, right? We are going to have crafting, because that's a big part of MMOs. We're going to implement crafting in a way that 'feels' right for Star Wars. For the longest time we struggled with that. You know, crafting at its heart is not really what the universe is about. But one of the designers came up with a great idea, which I can't talk about because it's not implemented yet, of how to incorporate crafting into Star Wars without forcing a hero to do something that's very non-heroic.

What about the tradition of Jedi crafting their own lightsabers?

Rich: With the way that MMOs work, gaining and upgrading loot over levels, you're not going to end the game with the same lightsaber you started with. That might mean a succession of different lightsabers ...

James Olen, Studio Creative Director: Yeah, our game is about loot. There are things in our game that as you progress you definitely can tell a new player from a high-level player.

obviously there are things TOR cannot do that SWG did because it's not in their vision of what the game will be.  i do think they need to learn a couple lessons from the Pre-CU SWG.  One things mainly is the social structure, player housing, badges etc.

you need variety in a game, in order to keep players long term.  even the hardest of gamers, eventually become burned out when all they do is log on... and do the same principal things.  Kill, Receive Loot, PVP, rinse repeat.