Hello everyone,

Long time MMORPG news reader, casual forum browser, but I wanted to bring a topic to the attention of the MMORPG community.

It seems that the games developers are pushing out the door these days (MMORPG wise) are cliche carbon copies of each other with varying flavor or color. The hundreds of free to play world of warcraft clones should have been a sign of this oncoming apocalypse, but us lowly MMO gamer's should just stand by and allow sub par work to be delivered, right?

WRONG

We must rebel when they are at their weakest.

And so, my humble MMO player, do you ever wonder to yourself when you will be able to play around with physics like in Red Faction Guerilla? I would say sometime in 2012, right as Microsoft's Natale makes connection with extra-terrestrial life, and Obamah shakes hands with Jesus. I jest.

What are we looking forward to?

We're looking forward to Star Wars STORIES IN MMO's! Oh wow, I'll get to play Knights of the Old Republic online. Do you really think bioware is going to cater the way Star Wars Galaxies has in community? No way. It will be the same rehashed world of warcraft community, being led mindlessly by the proverbial carrot on a stick.

Speaking of Star Wars Galaxies, the community I left 2 years ago is still thriving on Starsider. Granted it's basically the only server alive, and unless SOE Jumper Cables the bad boy at Fan Fest I don't see the mindless drooling jedi's sticking around once TOR hits shelves.

What the games are missing, folks, is the fact that we all share one thing in common - we log in to a game screen to play a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ROLE PLAYING GAME. Story and character design should come MANDATORY, while instead they are being flaunted as new-found features.

I want to see destructible environments like in Red Faction and Battkefield: Bad Company. We have seen Planetside work online, now why aren't any SOLID MMO / third person shooter hybrids stepping up to the table? Because they aren't ready? I would argue it's because they know they don't bring anything the market has ever seen.

If you want to change this industry, you need to do something that the console gamers haven't seen. You need to blow the level of development up two notches instead of one, because currently we are badly lagging behind and I fell that my MMO games are more like social interfaces.

Voice of survival, out.

Yet again, another old and tired out complaint thrown at TOR from a SWG vet or whatever. Dude, i played SWG from launch and even though it was my first MMO, that i spent countless hrs. playing, i honestly have started to despise the whole game and people just like yourself that was or is part of that community. You come here to a forum and bitch and moan about how TOR will not be SWG2, and think somehow BioWare owes you a sandbox SW MMO. Get over yourself and grow up.

Planetside did NOT work, as evidenced by its gradual, painful demise. While it was an amazingly fun game, it couldn't attract the numbers it needed to survive. Then add SoE's godawful attempts at upgrading (BFRs made all other content irrelevant), and you have a failed MMO.

There have in fact been a hefty number of MMO shooter games (Neocron, Neocron 2, Tabula Rasa, a skillion f2p nobodies...), and none have been a success. This isn't to say I don't want to see them work but uh...

Look. You have MMORPG players. They want developing characters that grow and become more powerful. Then you get FPS players, who rate success by a kill count.  I'm not sure these two worlds mesh all that well. I like peanut butter, and I like starbursts..but peanut butter coated starburts? I dunno....

I'm not a major in MMO designing, but I'm pretty sure a complex physics engine will take a considerable amount of server load, when you include tons of players and many objects to mess with, and/or destroyable environments. There will be just too many variables. Not saying it's impossible, but I don't expect a Crysis-like MMO, at least not now. I personally would prefer if developers think more about alternate progression types or a different approach to the gameplay itself.

As for TOR, I don't have big expectations for it, but having played a few BioWare games, I hope to be pleasantly surprised, if they offer a trial.

But yeah, they don't owe you another fine sandbox. I would say, be glad if they don't go the old and tried path.

Argh, all well and good points. Perhaps I am young but beaten with my own dislikes at the same time.

So it's a mix of Fundamental character design with the quality of an immersive story  [Which comes with big budget voice acting, shiny lights, and probably more of the same.)

I'm not the designer here. I would love to be, and maybe one day will learn my share of code. But I would like to see some taste to the flavor I take my medicine in, don't you?

Also,

Alright, alot of your responses were aimed at the fact that I'm an SWG Vet, and enjoy an actual interactive community to the player-cloned hybrids. But it's all an immersive experience.

The center piece here seems to be Sony Online Entertainment, don't you think? It's almost as if we're stuck in this MMO rut, where you have Blizzard - SOE - {Now] Bioware Vs. Any other game company attempting to make an MMO.

So what, you love that shiny new Darkfall, who knows when the servers will go under? At one point is it too much pressure from major developers to shut a game down. When does Age of Conan start turning profit?

But those points don't even matter in the scheme of things.

IF you want to get my attention, blow my mind. Do something in an MMO that I haven't seen before, haven't played before, have never experienced.

the mmo industry is quickly heading to the gutter if it follows like it has the past 2 years. I don't want that, that's why i'm attempting to make critical discussion.

Before I start   go to MMOGAMER.com and read their interview of SW:TOR - they got the best most informative explanation of

story end game and grouping. You will likely realize a lot of your concerns are already addressed. Now I will begin.

I played Kotor and Kotor 2 over a dozen times each.   I played Jade empire on Xbox 4 times.  Bioshock twice.

I am a MMO gamer. I have played alot of MMO games. However I am still a gamer, I also play other games.  I have played more

then my fair share of RPG's RTS and FPS games.  

To me I am happy about story in an MMO. I did not play ten's of thousands of hours of RPG games over my lifetime to get to the

end. I played them for the story.  When Kotor came out I was amazed at the paths I chose. The first few times I found it

impossible to kill the cute cuddly Wookie all alone in the woods ( no spoiler ), But finally I came to terms with my dark side being

evil became natural powerful, and rewarding. ( Trust me much more rewarding )

I wrote a huge amount more, then I re-read your post. I realized you had no valid arguments. What is there to say, I love the idea of story, and so do you but complain it should be a given in all games.  I could care less about physics and you care.  I mean, we are different types of gamers. I have played over 40 MMO's you appear to have played less. I have played every top 3 selling game since 1997 you likely couldn't name the top three selling games of last year. I agree with some of what you said, but I don't like your reasoning behind it. Is story not innovative enough for you? I mean to be honest your decisions in quest in a mmorpg's have never reflected on your characters before. Sounds innovative to me.

My suggestion, look at the games Bioware has made. Did you like any of them? No? Then SW:TOR may not be for you.

Originally posted by Gamedoctor

 

So what, you love that shiny new Darkfall, who knows when the servers will go under? At one point is it too much pressure from major developers to shut a game down. When does Age of Conan start turning profit?

Age of Conan already is turning a profit. Contrary to popular belief a game can be successful with 300k active subscribers. Every

game does not need 10 million subscribers to break even.

Why do people make up things? Do you really bealive Age of Conan did not turn a profit? The sad part is I think alot of gamers

think like that. Most people don't realize the initial box sales more then pay for a game. I assure you if a game is not turning a

profit the servers close down very quickly.  To put it in a context you should understand and know about....... did you know SWG

has stated they will not turn off the servers until subscribers are below 20k?  Why 20k? Because at this point that is what the

game costs to run. 20k x $15 a month.