I've seen a trend forming on these boards about not being sandbox and all. I dont really know what that should mean, but i have a feeling though.

My definition of open world: Think WoW. 1 world where everyone is in the same "instance" of the world as anyone else (excluding those in instance raids etc)

Isnt this game gonna be a game where you can run into another random player, when scooting around the planes of Kashyyk or whatever?

We "know" that the planet you start on will be for your class.  We don't know whether it will be an instance just for you, or you will see others of your class running around.  We don't know how long it will be before you go to other planets.  We don't know to what extent other planets will be open world.  We don't know whether you will be able to visit the planets of other classes.

In short, nobody really knows the answer to your question at this point.

Umm, I pulling this one out of a vague recollection, but won't your story have an effect on the world?

This indicates phasing, which will (in theory) lock you out of seeing other players who have not progressed through the story as far as you.

This is one HUGE ASSUMPTION, it's not a fact and it's only something I think I remember reading...

So if I'm correct then doesn't that make it instanced to an extent?

I like the idea of your actions changing the world, but I'm not sure I like the fact of being in the situation of 'Hey I see you on my map, I'm in exactly the same place, but I don't see you!'.

Originally posted by Sidarkun

My definition of open world: Think WoW. 1 world where everyone is in the same "instance" of the world as anyone else (excluding those in instance raids etc)

Sorry I should have quoted this. You aren't always, think Icecrown if you've done all the quests and your buddy hasn't.

Originally posted by CazNeerg

We "know" that the planet you start on will be for your class.  We don't know whether it will be an instance just for you, or you will see others of your class running around.  We don't know how long it will be before you go to other planets.  We don't know to what extent other planets will be open world.  We don't know whether you will be able to visit the planets of other classes.

In short, nobody really knows the answer to your question at this point.

OK, really no reason to be worried then.

Although the Class specific planet idea, strikes me as a little odd, since to me a race specific planet would make more sense, it wouldnt be game breaking to me.

Originally posted by Sidarkun

Originally posted by CazNeerg

We "know" that the planet you start on will be for your class.  We don't know whether it will be an instance just for you, or you will see others of your class running around.  We don't know how long it will be before you go to other planets.  We don't know to what extent other planets will be open world.  We don't know whether you will be able to visit the planets of other classes.

In short, nobody really knows the answer to your question at this point.

 

OK, really no reason to be worried then.

Although the Class specific planet idea, strikes me as a little odd, since to me a race specific planet would make more sense, it wouldnt be game breaking to me.

I think the logic there is that you aren't starting out where you were born, you are already an adult and are starting out where your "career" kicks off.  Makes sense from that perspective.

 It is not an open world and you cannot affect the world.  You can only affect your story.

how do you know this? :(

Originally posted by Sidarkun

I've seen a trend forming on these boards about not being sandbox and all. I dont really know what that should mean, but i have a feeling though.

My definition of open world: Think WoW. 1 world where everyone is in the same "instance" of the world as anyone else (excluding those in instance raids etc)

Isnt this game gonna be a game where you can run into another random player, when scooting around the planes of Kashyyk or whatever?

From the developer videos and interviews I have seen it has been implied that at least part of the game will be open world and part will be instanced when you activate a major arc quest.  Not certain about this, but it may be close to being accurate.
 

Originally posted by demalus

 It is not an open world and you cannot affect the world.  You can only affect your story.

You know this how?

deleted

i dont wanna play a single player mmorpg, WTF? :-O

Short answer - we don't know at this point.   We don't have enough details about the game to tell how the world is set-up. 

This game had better be open world like SWG. Sandbox, grr...I hope not.

Originally posted by Syno23

This game had better be open world like SWG. Sandbox, grr...I hope not.

Certainly won't be a sandbox, that much is pretty damn certain.

What we do know is that the game is being made with the Hero Engine.

This engine has extremely advanced netcode and is fully capable of open world environments like those seen in games like World of Warcraft (for example).

What we don't know is how Bioware intends to implement it. They could very possibly choose to implement tons of instanced zones if they think that will better serve their vision of the game. For some portions of the game it might be necessary for them to instance off sections of the game world during cut-scenes and important storyline missions.

Fortunately, I think that the game will eventually be all open-world style. Since we know that the Hero Engine is capable of some amazing things, I see no reason why Bioware would choose not to make the game world open once most of the storyline has been completed.

To early to know.  It will be interesting to see how it comes out.  Nothing we can really say either way right now. 

Either way the it is not a sandbox because it is story driven is an interesting idea.  Then again FFXI did the story thing while being sandboxy :)

Originally posted by Joppari

Umm, I pulling this one out of a vague recollection, but won't your story have an effect on the world?

 

This indicates phasing, which will (in theory) lock you out of seeing other players who have not progressed through the story as far as you.

 

This is one HUGE ASSUMPTION, it's not a fact and it's only something I think I remember reading...

 

So if I'm correct then doesn't that make it instanced to an extent?

 

I like the idea of your actions changing the world, but I'm not sure I like the fact of being in the situation of 'Hey I see you on my map, I'm in exactly the same place, but I don't see you!'.

Funny you should say that as wow has started doing the same type of thing in a small way, just take a look at icecrown. As you progress through certain quest the vault opens up and you see more players and quest npcs. I think there was one other zone that did that too. I actually like the idea of it and it was a refreshing change from the norm.

I don't think there is enough information released at this point to accurately answer this question.  I for one hope that it is open world.  If it's not then it may be a deal breaker for me.  But we will all have to wait and see on this topic.

I prefer open dungeons over instanced ones )

Actually we know close to nothing substatial.

EDIT: correcting myself, I recall for CERTAIN an interview where they said it will have instances, but people can expect an open world. It wasnt said it had heavy instancing, just "some", sou you can expect an open world, yes.

EDIT2: found it:

Will the game make use of instancing?

Rich: Yes, there is going to be a form of instancing. That's very important to a lot of different things – being able to do storytelling, being able to do experiences that aren't disrupted in public areas ... they are a part of our game. We do have both though, and we want to make sure you don't feel like you are in a single-player game.

Jake: We feel because it's an MMO and players play MMOs because they want to feel like they're a part of a vast world, you can't make too heavy use of instancing or you take that feeling away. It is a balance, though, like Rich was saying.

Rich: I met my first friends online by getting in trouble with a monster and they came over to rescue me. That is the kind of experience you can't get without public areas.

SOURCE: www.massively.com/2008/10/23/swtor-overview-part-2/

Originally posted by Elikal

Actually we know close to nothing substatial.

EDIT: correcting myself, I recall for CERTAIN an interview where they said it will have instances, but people can expect an open world. It wasnt said it had heavy instancing, just "some", sou you can expect an open world, yes.

EDIT2: found it:

Will the game make use of instancing?

Rich: Yes, there is going to be a form of instancing. That's very important to a lot of different things – being able to do storytelling, being able to do experiences that aren't disrupted in public areas ... they are a part of our game. We do have both though, and we want to make sure you don't feel like you are in a single-player game.

Jake: We feel because it's an MMO and players play MMOs because they want to feel like they're a part of a vast world, you can't make too heavy use of instancing or you take that feeling away. It is a balance, though, like Rich was saying.

Rich: I met my first friends online by getting in trouble with a monster and they came over to rescue me. That is the kind of experience you can't get without public areas.

 

SOURCE: www.massively.com/2008/10/23/swtor-overview-part-2/

Oh awesome, thanks for the clickage Elikal.