Somewhere over the years, the black and white morality of Star Wars has morphed into red-vs-blue amorality.

@MMO.Maverick -- my membership here long predates the column I now write, and my handle here is the one I've used on the intertubes for much longer than I'm comfortable admitting. I wasn't desperately keen to use my real name for the column, but it's policy here and I do see the sense in it (mostly). Changing my profile name to match my column authorship name is probably something I should do, but... I don't particularly want to.

But we're not here to discuss forum handles. ;)

All the hype  has triggered my spider sense not to buy it, I also didn't feel excited watching the footage of  the game which is also a factor in not  buying into it at pre order and launch prices, a free to play demo will be out next year soon enough. Now planetside 2, that's got me excited.

Im kind of on the same page about SWTOR as the OP. I will play it probably, just because I loved KOTOR and the idea of a KOTOR type MMO that I can play with friends is appealing. But Im not really feeling the same hype as so many players. I wont preorder and I want to see some early reactions and reviews after release first.

I play most of my MMO's with the same friends and because we lvl on a different pace, a MMO with a solid sidekick/mentoring system has our preference. Or scaling (to lvl) content. So at this moment, our interest goes to GW2 first. Then SWTOR depending how the release will be.

Just remembering the swtor screen shots of the fine female specimens with thier bust measurements refined to eye googling perfection, I've got to say with a little shame, that it got me excited... but thats probably not the excitement you are looking for, right?

I don't see how others reactions, and marketing ploys can affect someone's decision so effectively to change thier perception on what is actually tangible, the evidence, which speaks for itself. However, this so called proof seems to be some kind of machina rendtion of what to expect, so not all videos show what is to be expected as the actual feel of combat, since the machina is synchronized to have one event after the other, which would mean it should be more hectic when in game, to the point that a person would go cross eyed trying to gather everything all at once... for extended periods. Warning health hazard from over exposure to awesome gameplay, downplayed to prevent a trip to the ER. (As I would have myself beleive)

My reason for being dissapointed is, I am not getting some kind of server in my area. So I might have to put off the game, unless someone is willing to smuggle me in right next to the client server. Here's your chance to role play a smuggler in real life! No, I am not serious in case you are wondering. I would not want to cause any trouble.

I assume swtor will be everything that it is advertised to be, just like GW2, but it is only our imagination or expactions that decieve us. I am somewhat pessimestic, or realistic, and that can be a downer, but at least it is the kind of conidtioning I put myself through for certain things so I am not dissapointed.

Originally posted by depain

This is why I'm bummed about SWTOR:

I was born during the release of the original Star Wars: A New Hope. Thus, I was raised within this precedented sci-fi realm. It's something that you just don't grow out of.

HOWEVER, this doesn't mean that I haven't mentally evolved with the genre. I'm older. Pure simplicity doesn't sustain my interest. I yearn for a certain degree of depth and complexity. SWTOR doesn't seem to offer that. It seems to be more geared toward the new blood of Star Wars - those who grew up with Episode 1, 2, and 3 (the young).

I'm not asking for SWG 2.0. I do, however, wish that the game contained some on-the-side forms of social-sandbox elements, e.g., planets spefically made for housing, cities, player shops, incentive to hangout in the cantinas, etc.

The game, in my opinion, would be a sure win had it contained the perfect blend of Sand Box and Theme Park elements.

 

This was me during the Empire Strikes Back Days (look at the couch!):

This painful because I was 16 when episode 4 came out! Ouch!

The one thing I think this title really has going for it is, it seems like it's can be expanded readily. That may allow for an evolution into something more than a story driven MMO. As long as they expand horizontally as they expand vertically.

Originally posted by AzurePrower

 

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Originally posted by Chilliesauce
It is allright. It would be foolish to expect that SWTOR is going to appeal to everyone. Which goes for any other MMO out there. Different strokes for different folks.

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Pretty much this.

Some one doesn't like SW:TOR. Don't see why this has to be front page news.

Because it creates more traffic than any positive article.

No, you're not the only one Isabelle. The difference, though, is that I won't be buying SW:TOR at all. I've spent many years gaming in one facet or another and a bunch of time gaiming in the SW universe. I've had my fill of playing "Iconic classes" and saving the galaxy every day. That's not the "story" I want to play in the Star Wars universe anymore.

No, I want to play out my own characters I have come up with over the years that for the most part don't give a care about the struggle between light and dark, good and bad. They just want to make credits, lots and lots of credits, in a variety of ways. Yep, Star Wars Galaxies was great for that before the NGE.

{mod edit}

Just treat it like any other $60 video game (You really don't need the $150 CE version), play it for a month, then if your still 'meh', put it on the shelf with the hundreds of other $50-$60 dollar games you've purchesed and shelved/finished over the past twenty years...

A $60 MMO, Star Wars or otherwise, is the same as most $60 single player games.  You'll play through it until you get bored and find something new...If your bothered by the price of video games it may be a good time to take a look in the mirror and consider a different, less expensive hobby.

I get it, I really do. SW:TOR isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know it's been said before, and I know Isabelle doesn't read the forums. I'm still going to point out that we read all of this stuff on the forums every day, though, and it's very, very tiresome.

It's one thing to not be excited about a game, but when I'm not excited about something, you know what I do? I just ignore it. It doesn't make sense for me to make comments to everyone about how unexcited I am, or point out it's many percieved flaws, unless of course I've been directly confronted about it. Which I'll allow she may have been behind the scenes.

Not that negative feedback isn't beneficial, but it really has to be done in the form of a review from a person who's actually played the game. Then if there's any negativity, it's justified. This is just blind negativity for the sake of misliking a marketing campaign and pining for an older game that was done wrong by it's developers.

Anyway, I know you mean well, but it hits a nerve to see the haters on this site given any sort of validation in the form of a featured article.

I see nothing wrong with a healthy dose of skepticism over such a highly anticipated title, with such a large budget, in a genre that has brought many consumers little but dissapointment for such a long time. Especially so when a previous game made around this IP could be considered the blueprint on how NOT to behave when making an MMO.

Anyone who has more than a few months experience with the world of MMOs that still believes in that magic bullet, or golden messiah of a new MMO, I see akin to those people that stil honestly believe that any day now we will find Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness Monster.

So while you will get no flaming from me about having a rational outlook on a new MMO, I do have to ask why this article was even necessary. Have things grown so quiet in the MMO world that the best article idea one of the major columnists here can think to write is "Hey Guys, You Know That New Game Coming Out That Everyone Keeps Talking About? To The Point Of Nausea? Yeah? Well I Don't Really Care."

And before you take that last paragraph as a flame, honestly going by the MMO news I've read the past month or so, it probably really was the only thing worth writing about.

Originally posted by Khalathwyr

No, you're not the only one Isabelle. The difference, though, is that I won't be buying SW:TOR at all. I've spent many years gaming in one facet or another and a bunch of time gaiming in the SW universe. I've had my fill of playing "Iconic classes" and saving the galaxy every day. That's not the "story" I want to play in the Star Wars universe anymore.

 No, I want to play out my own characters I have come up with over the years that for the most part don't give a care about the struggle between light and dark, good and bad. They just want to make credits, lots and lots of credits, in a variety of ways. Yep, Star Wars Galaxies was great for that before the NGE.

 {mod edit}

You're probably right in your assumption, I think that SWTOR has little to offer for everyone that favors the kind of gameplay that SWG had above everything else. In fact, I'd advise any hardcore sandbox fan to steer clearly away from SWTOR.

As for themepark fans or people who are able to still fully enjoy themepark MMO's, well, SWTOR will have one of the biggest MMO worlds around, easily a lot larger in worldsize and content than LotrO, Aion and definitely much, much larger than AoC or Rift. So to me as someone who still likes themepark MMO gameplay that certainly is appealing.

As for the crafting, well, it may not be on the level of SWG - again, advice to sandbox fans to steer clear from SWTOR - but from what I've learnt so far SWTOR crafting looks to be quite better than most other themepark MMO's, WoW included.

SWTOR is not one of the game releases i am excited about, the action looks slow and the mechanics seem tedious ,the game world looks highly instanced,  which is just a glorified multiplayer imho,the armor system looks liek we are all going to look the same, and i absolutely hate that . the games that i am excited about are guild wars 2 and secret world online, both games are going out of there way to apeal to a larger audience, and hopefully my idea of there features will not be like my expectations of  Rifts character class , what a lame joke that turned out to be

 I would hate to be in the gaming industry. People are always talking about this "savior" of a game that nothing ever lives up to..  everyones got a vote for which game is going to "change the face of mmos" next, and they never do.  Personally I realized along time ago, due to technical restraints and and development costs this game that will change everyones lives and kill game X, or whatever is not going to ever happen.   I decided to have fun with games, accept them for what they are (a very very small part of the digital world, a much smaller part of the real world) and have fun.  If a game is amazing, Im goin to play it until "the cows come home", if its a stinker i will probably never think twice about it.  

Originally posted by rygard49

I get it, I really do. SW:TOR isn't everyone's cup of tea. I know it's been said before, and I know Isabelle doesn't read the forums. I'm still going to point out that we read all of this stuff on the forums every day, though, and it's very, very tiresome.

It's one thing to not be excited about a game, but when I'm not excited about something, you know what I do? I just ignore it. It doesn't make sense for me to make comments to everyone about how unexcited I am, or point out it's many percieved flaws, unless of course I've been directly confronted about it. Which I'll allow she may have been behind the scenes.

Not that negative feedback isn't beneficial, but it really has to be done in the form of a review from a person who's actually played the game. Then if there's any negativity, it's justified. This is just blind negativity for the sake of misliking a marketing campaign and pining for an older game that was done wrong by it's developers.

Anyway, I know you mean well, but it hits a nerve to see the haters on this site given any sort of validation in the form of a featured article.

Well put, I agree wholeheartedly.

Just another clear-cut indicator of the sad state this site is in these days. I used look forward to reading new articles here every morning with my coffee, it was just one of those things that helped me start my day on the right foot.

However, these days I don't even have much motivation to check here anymore. Hate threads, trolling, and bait attempts are commonplace  (and all three have increased in volume here, rather dramatically, over the course of the last year or two) and I often find myself unable to keep a tight lid on my own opinions in those types of threads. So I have just been trying to avoid the site alltogether.

This morning I decide to check, and this is what I see on the front page, soldifying my decision to use other sites for actual mmorpg news. MMORPG.com has basically become an online tabloid, I wonder how long it will be before we see a front page article about Kim Kardashian sunbathing topless.

I am really tired of hearing about this game every god damn day, on every gaming site, it has become ridiculous. Its like hearing about that movie everyone hypes it up and says omg its really good you have to see it, then against your intuition you cough up the money to go see it, and because you have half a brain (you dont consider something good just because someone nitwit told you it was good) you leave the theater with nothing but dissappointment.

I have seen this strategy far too often lately, where a product is overhyped to sh%*, where the marketing stratey is to basically tell everyone "its great", "its the best", "its a revolution", blah blah blah, then the stupid masses take it in and mass market it themselves, and before you know it, it has become this sestimic virus that takes over all the social avenues, where you cant be part of the crowd unless you see it/play it.....its a brilliant strategy, but it still doesnt make a turd a shiny piece of gold.

Point: Can we stop buying into this marketing machine that hypnotizes people into thinking something that is mediocre is the best thing on earth.....so we can finally get back to making quality entertainment.

I feel exactly the same. Its a new game but I don't think there is really alot of 'new' other than that. I'll try the game but probably wont get alot of value out it personally.

Originally posted by AzurePrower

 

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Originally posted by Chilliesauce

It is allright. It would be foolish to expect that SWTOR is going to appeal to everyone. Which goes for any other MMO out there. Different strokes for different folks.

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Pretty much this.

Some one doesn't like SW:TOR. Don't see why this has to be front page news.

 

 It's front page news, because the TOR anti-hype machine is running full force, hoping to squash hopes at every opportunity.  In fact, it would seem this anti-anything TOR has been prevelant from the very beginning and dramatically much more vitriolic than I've seen leveled at any pre-release MMO to date.

It really comes down to your attitude about the game, if you aren't feeling it, chances are you won't enjoy it because it really comes down to the Meaning that you assign to the things in the game. A collection item could be very uninteresting, or a significant find that allows you to get that widget you have been wanting.

This is why the hype is there, as a part of the psychological preparation for the game, to allow people to build up hierarchies of anticipated tasks that will translate into a blueprint for the initial gameplay they experience.

MMORPGs are mind games first, which means that the game is not materially going to stand on its own (like some console games that feed you stimuli at a fast pace and with top level detail) and requires that you are into it.

If you're not into it, you shouldn't play it. Shouldn't be drama, just don't play.

Originally posted by Chilliesauce

Originally posted by lizardbones

I'm feeling pretty 'meh' about the game as well. I expect they'll do a really good job with the game, but I'm thinking I'm going to hit the "end game" and it will be the usual raid/gear grind. I suppose I could be pleasantly surprised, but I don't really think so.

What is the other alternative for end game then? PVP? re rolling alts? because no matter what activity you choose in the end everything becomes grind. I have played MMOS which has nothing to do at end game and players complain about it. FE is a perfect example.

So in my opinion in case of end game..damned if you do it..damned if you do not.

 

 The least they can do is make it a grind that most people want to do and not the niche raider crowd.  Why make end game about them all the time when they are the minority, especially in a casual oriented game?  Wouldn't it make sense to just make more of the same, questing / story / PvP / faction / crafting and etc. for end game instead of forcing the majority to either completely change their play style or leave?