A Quote from FAQ on the official site:

Can I play alone?

While there are some tasks that cannot be completed without the cooperation of others, the majority of the game can be accomplished by playing alone.

Some would say YES why I have to say NO only becase of the fact that the whole back ground story to Start WARS is the fact the the day was always won by less then a Handfull of brave HERO'S

Others may argue that this will be a GRINDING game at this point most of us here have had more then enough of playing games that GRIND.

Anyways what are your thoughts???

I say no, because why would it? It's the nature of mankind to cooperate/fight with each other

For those who enjoy a solo gaming experience, no, it will not hurt TOR. (and they are the majority it seems)

Of course, for those looking for a more group oriented gaming experience, it will ruin it for them.

Nothing different than most modern games really, and no one said solo gameplay can't be fun.

Originally posted by Isturi

A Quote from FAQ on the official site:

Can I play alone?

While there are some tasks that cannot be completed without the cooperation of others, the majority of the game can be accomplished by playing alone.

Some would say YES why I have to say NO only becase of the fact that the whole back ground story to Start WARS is the fact the the day was always won by less then a Handfull of brave HERO'S

Others may argue that this will be a GRINDING game at this point most of us here have had more then enough of playing games that GRIND.

Anyways what are your thoughts???

 

Well, I don't know. I do know that their inclusion of solo play guarantees that I am now going to buy it. So there is one sale at least.

While every TRUELY successful MMORPG encourages group play (EVE, EQ, WOW, original SWG, DAOC, etc) every single one of them also had (or has) the ability for players to play ALONE.  A GOOD MMORPG will not FORCE people to group but it WILL provide enough benefits for groups that people have a strong motivation to work as a team with someone.

In WOW/EQ the motivation to group was simple:  You need(ed) a group/guild to accomplish certain aspects of the game (primarily raids/epic quests)

In EVE/DAOC/SWG(pre-nge) your motivation is(or was) based upon the need to have a strong guild/corp/alliance in order to accomplish many of the end-game goals (having a strong town/controlling space/conquering territory, etc.

Bottom line:

You can have a decent MMO with one, or the other.  But to have a TRUELY great MMO... you have to support both solo and group play.  Because a lot of the time people wind up playing solo while waiting for their group to log in.  If they can't play solo while waiting they get bored and leave.  Thus the game stagnates or just never reaches it's potential (Just look at DDO for a prime example of a game that has loads of fun aspects but dies due to lack of things to do when your group isn't around).  As long as there is something meaningful to do for everyone the game will thrive and hold people.

Almost every single MMO supports soloplay including Wow and it is doing pretty well.

As long as you need to group to get the really cool stuff it's ok. If you actually gets the same stuff as easy solo or in group however we have a problem.

Will it ruin the game? Nope.

Every MMO released has some form of soloing and no MMO would be successful if they left out the ability to solo.

Will it have negative impacts on the community? Maybe, maybe not. If they make the game like WoW where you solo grind to max level then group up only for raiding then yes it could have negative impacts. If they put content in that encourages grouping through the entire game (better gear, better exp, more group based dungeons) and has soloing available at a slower but steady rate then it will be fine.

It is too early to proclaim anything.

This goes to both the "no pre-cu SWG, the game will suck" morons, as well as the "OMG EPIC TRAILER GIEF ME GAME <3" spammers. Patience, wait for an article from a journalist who has actually played the game, then you have something to base your opinions on.

Accommodating solo play has never been the downfall of a game.

But yeah, it's too early to say yet .. we still don't know the extent of the solo-friendliness, we still don't know what the end-game content will be like, (or even if the game will have one). In fact, we know virtually nothing about the meat-and-potatoes elements of the game. Excessive optimism/pessimism is just silly at this point.

You mean boring ass solo play like in SWG? Nope, since there is actually content that doesn't include grinding the same lame lairs for months and months to level.

I don't think we know enough about how the game will work out for groups to say that it will be mostly solo.

Most other MMORPGs have a lot of content that can be completed solo. In fact, its pretty normal to be able to get all the way to max level just completing content by yourself. That doesn't mean that these games don't also have tons of group content that encourages people to work together...

I'm sure there will be dungeons and other scenarios similar to other MMOs that will require players to work together. The biggest difference in my opinion will be the amount of fun had when people are soloing. If the game is more immersive and story-driven, the journey from 1 - ?? will be much more entertaining. At least in my opinion.

didn't hurt WoW any... Yes you need others for instances, etc.. but Blizzard has stated you can reach level cap ALONE.. i think it'll be that sort of feel.  You CAN group, BUT solo play is the main push.

Why too early to judge, but so far they are making me believe thsi game is going to be a Guild Wars clone.  However we will see, were still long away to make judgements still.

Originally posted by Sovrath

Originally posted by Isturi

A Quote from FAQ on the official site:

Can I play alone?

While there are some tasks that cannot be completed without the cooperation of others, the majority of the game can be accomplished by playing alone.

Some would say YES why I have to say NO only becase of the fact that the whole back ground story to Start WARS is the fact the the day was always won by less then a Handfull of brave HERO'S

Others may argue that this will be a GRINDING game at this point most of us here have had more then enough of playing games that GRIND.

Anyways what are your thoughts???

 

 

Well, I don't know. I do know that their inclusion of solo play guarantees that I am now going to buy it. So there is one sale at least.

Make that 2.  *Raises hand*

They are on their way to a million+ boxes sold the first week........

Look, solo play is not the end of the world. Get over it.

I'm pretty sure solo play will not be the downfall. I'm also pretty sure that if the game was more group oriented than solo, then THAT would be it's downfall.

While at first appears a contradiction to it's nature, MMORPG's need solo content/solo gameplay to achieve success. Oddly enough the same can not really be said about group content. ,
Despite what most tend to think, MMORPG doesn't, in essence, equal group play. MMORPG implies a game that supports a massive number of players playing at the same time.  Group content is a awesome playing experience enhancer.

Hell 75% of WOW is solo play, it seems to be doing Ok

Many mmo players who don't like solo play, do love playing normal single player RPG's. One of the issues of solo play that many MMO's have is the trivialness of quests, for example kill 10 rats for farmer john, only to return to hear your next quests is kill 10 boars. 

I think that with the promise of extra attention to storylines, Bioware might introduce to us far more interesting quests with deep storylines that immerse us beyond the regular single player missions we are used to. This is only speculation at this point, but if they manage to do so, then I believe SWTOR will be a real winner. After all if deep and varied group content where the secret of success, Everquest 2 would have outsold WoW, and instead of sony having to change EQ2 to allow people to easily level to the level cap, Blizzard would have been forced to cut the single player content and introduce forced grouping into their games. 

Like it has been said before, games need the option to group, with adequate rewards for doing so, but a player must always have plenty of solo content available for when he isn't in the mood or doesn't have time to find a group. The key word therefore is choice. 

Not really because people have more important things to do than rely on other people to advance their progression.

You mean, like, soloing quietly in a game to advance? Oh, how important ,really.

Seriously, take the drama down a notch. The mere existence of Solo or Group Content doesnt do jack for a game, its all in the implementation. Just because some OCD morons get their panties in a bunch when there is a bit of content they cant beat solo doesnt mean you have to excise anything even remotely social from a game.

ToR seems to be intended to be a hybrid Singleplayer/MMORPG, with a hefty monthly fee for it. If they succeed, they basically managed to make people pay more than regular price for a single-player RPG with options most supposedly dont even want. Big deal, yeah.

You know, I wouldnt be surprised if MMORPGs went full-circle and became singleplayer games with chat and added cost. At that point, you just turned regular games more profitable for including a chat room, and someone is going to come and create a social/group/guild/multiplayer game again, and the whole cycle starts all over, just that you have a ton of Online-Singleplayer-Games to feed those that never really wanted MMORPGs, but rather wanted Solo-Reward-Slotmachines with Chatrooms and a catwalk.

Who cares?

Originally posted by Hrothmund

It is too early to proclaim anything.

This goes to both the "no pre-cu SWG, the game will suck" morons, as well as the "OMG EPIC TRAILER GIEF ME GAME <3" spammers. Patience, wait for an article from a journalist who has actually played the game, then you have something to base your opinions on.

This person pretty much hits the nail on the head. Having part of the game soloable really means very little because almost every MMO out there has the same. My verdict will come when I can actually play the game.

However, I have really, really enjoyed Bioware's other games (Mass effect, Baldur's Gate, etc). Thus I will buy this game based on that reputation.

Originally posted by nmalthus

Not really because people have more important things to do than rely on other people to advance their progression.

This is the very reason I'm a fan of solo play MMOs.  I can't stand around and wait for others to show up just so I can play a game I'm paying for monthly.  This is what kept me in WoW for a while, I was able to solo level basically on my own.  I tried grouping, but groups took just as much time, because we had to recruit others wait for them to show up or whatever else went wrong.  On top of that, if they turn out to be idiots, that is just more waisted time because of their incompetance.  CoV was a fun game, but it took me soo long to level because the game really needed groups to level effeciently.

If SWToR uses anything from WoW, I hope it is their solo-playability, especially for me and my wierd play hours.

Originally posted by Kyleran

For those who enjoy a solo gaming experience, no, it will not hurt TOR. (and they are the majority it seems)

Of course, for those looking for a more group oriented gaming experience, it will ruin it for them.

Nothing different than most modern games really, and no one said solo gameplay can't be fun.

Why? those looking for a more group oriented gaming experience will not group together?

Originally posted by maritpra

Originally posted by Kyleran

For those who enjoy a solo gaming experience, no, it will not hurt TOR. (and they are the majority it seems)

Of course, for those looking for a more group oriented gaming experience, it will ruin it for them.

Nothing different than most modern games really, and no one said solo gameplay can't be fun.

 

Why? those looking for a more group oriented gaming experience will not group together?

This isn't a standard MMO where everyone gets the same quests and can choose to group or not. Everyone has different quests that might intersect with other classes stories.

It all depends on how they implement the system. if they allow my grouped friends to participate in my classes story then there won't be an issue. However if they cannot then there will be issues. The only group play might be in PvP or flashpoints. The flashpoints or other group content might not happen for many hours or levels.

Some people like to level exclusively with friends, their wife, their husband, etc. If they have to play solo until certain small events(flashpoints) then go back to solo play it will really ruin the experience. Leveling exclusively with friends is the funnest experience I have had in MMO's so I really hope they don't make it solo your own storyline until small group content or endgame.