For true Star Wars fans, the end of 2011 is bittersweet with the ending of Star Wars Galaxies but the dawning of a new saga with Star Wars: The Old Republic. In today's column, MMORPG.com's Mike Bitton expands on that thought a bit. Check out Mike's thoughts and then leave a comment or two.

Now, the date is bittersweet due to the symbolism that can be inferred (especially if you love to wear tinfoil hats!) in the shutdown of Star Wars Galaxies and the almost immediate launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic. I don’t buy into some of the conspiracy theories that Star Wars Galaxies is being shut down simply because The Old Republic is launching. I do generally take them at their word that this has more to do with the fact the license is up and of course the fact the game isn’t really doing too great anyways. Why renew it at this point? In any case, one can’t help but see such close dates as having greater meaning, all conspiracy theories aside. If you factor in the Early Access program, it’s quite plausible that SWG will shut-down on the 15th followed immediately by the beginning of Early Access for The Old Republic on the 16th. A metaphorical passing of the torch, if you will.

Read more of Mike Bitton's Star Wars: The Old Republic The End of an Era and Beginning Anew.

I personally feel like we have went backwards.

SWG (before Jedi) was a Star Wars game for the adult, e.g., player driven economy, gigantic worlds with player housing, player cities, player malls, superior crafting, in-depth surveying and harvesting, endless clothing options, deep space content, randomized item stats, incentives to use the social tools (cantinas / med centers) etc.

Most everything about SWG was self-sustaining. There was always something to do.

SWTOR, however, is a Star Wars game for the youth. It has story (not yours of course), which will ultimately come to an end. And what of end-game? Can I start a store? Can I plant a house? Can I go off and explore gigantic worlds? Can I go dicken' around in my starship? Can I plop down a guild hall? Can I do anything other than talk to quest giver, collect bear paws, and participate in redundant instanced PvP (Warzones)? NO.

SWTOR is so tied down and linear it's not even funny.

We will see ...but seriously these articles are getting redundant.

I understand the reasons for shutting SWG down relating to their license expiring, but I dont think replacing a sandbox mmo with one on rails is a good trade imho.

The king is dead, long live the king.

Ah well, SOE kind of let the IP slip through their fingers. And I think noone in their right mind would have expected Lucas Arts not to jump to the chance on a fresh IP milking session with millions of dollars of sweet profits to make. Star Wars isn't your average IP.

To those who feel bad about SWG's demise: Don't blame Bioware or Swtor, blame the IP farmer and the legendary size and popularity of the IP itself. (i.e you also have yourself to blame).

Personally I am really looking forward to Swtor.

I to find it kind of interesting that one seems so close to the other. I'm more inclined to see it that  smed got some inside info on when ToR was dated to release and said that he mind as well stop just before hand when he knows that people will start leaving that game to go to the other. So i don't think theres a concidence here at all. 

As for the switch, doesn't matter to me. I'm going from a game (SWG) that i liked to one (ToR) that looks be really great and keep me interested for a long time to come.

It's funny really, i'm not even a star wars fan but thats all i've been able to talk about for some time.  Heres hoping Bioware (and no you guys aren't being clever with the change) gets it right.

SWG was amazing when it first came out.  The game had loads of options and specializations to choose from, to build your Star Wars character into whatever you truly wanted.  Then along came the Combuat Upgrade.  The CU changed much, but it was still a pretty fun game, just not quite it's former glory.  Much later along, came the New Game Experience.  Well, the NGE killed the game.  It took your loads of character class options, condensed them down to 9 with set progression, and took the ultra-rare jedi that required LONG LONG periods of time to unlock, and made it a class available to everyone.

Pre-CU SWG will be missed greatly, the game as it is now, will not be missed by this player.

TOR is looking great, only I wish they had player housing, although I'm sure that's something they'll add in later in the game.  There is plenty that they can still add in post-launch, just as SWG added in later patches/expansions.

precious328 writes:

I personally feel like we have went backwards.

 

SWG (before Jedi) was a Star Wars game for the adult, e.g., player driven economy, gigantic worlds with player housing, player cities, player malls, superior crafting, in-depth surveying and harvesting, endless clothing options, deep space content, randomized item stats, incentives to use the social tools (cantinas / med centers) etc.

Most everything about SWG was self-sustaining. There was always something to do.

SWTOR, however, is a Star Wars game for the youth. It has story (not yours of course), which will ultimately come to an end. And what of end-game? Can I start a store? Can I plant a house? Can I go off and explore gigantic worlds? Can I go dicken' around in my starship? Can I plop down a guild hall? Can I do anything other than talk to quest giver, collect bear paws, and participate in redundant instanced PvP (Warzones)? NO.

 

SWTOR is so tied down and linear it's not even funny.

This is such a flawed statement for the fact that when SWG  was out the "fans" of the game did nothing but bitch and complain about how good the game "could" have been, and talked about nothing but what was wrong with the game.  Now that it's gone and ToR is coming out all these flames about ToR are popping up saying that SWG was such a great game and ToR will be trash.

I guess it's human nature to only want what you cannot have and to never be happy with something until you've lost it but I mean come on...  SWG was a fundamentally bad game, even (like I said before) the hardcore so-called "fans" of SWG did nothing but bash it.  The direction that ToR is going is the modern age of MMO and the future of the mass market.



 

Out with the old, in with the same ol', same ol.'

Originally posted by agriffin85

precious328 writes:

I personally feel like we have went backwards.

 

SWG (before Jedi) was a Star Wars game for the adult, e.g., player driven economy, gigantic worlds with player housing, player cities, player malls, superior crafting, in-depth surveying and harvesting, endless clothing options, deep space content, randomized item stats, incentives to use the social tools (cantinas / med centers) etc.

Most everything about SWG was self-sustaining. There was always something to do.

SWTOR, however, is a Star Wars game for the youth. It has story (not yours of course), which will ultimately come to an end. And what of end-game? Can I start a store? Can I plant a house? Can I go off and explore gigantic worlds? Can I go dicken' around in my starship? Can I plop down a guild hall? Can I do anything other than talk to quest giver, collect bear paws, and participate in redundant instanced PvP (Warzones)? NO.

 

SWTOR is so tied down and linear it's not even funny.

This is such a flawed statement for the fact that when SWG  was out the "fans" of the game did nothing but bitch and complain about how good the game "could" have been, and talked about nothing but what was wrong with the game.  Now that it's gone and ToR is coming out all these flames about ToR are popping up saying that SWG was such a great game and ToR will be trash.

I guess it's human nature to only want what you cannot have and to never be happy with something until you've lost it but I mean come on...  SWG was a fundamentally bad game, even (like I said before) the hardcore so-called "fans" of SWG did nothing but bash it.  The direction that ToR is going is the modern age of MMO and the future of the mass market.







 

 

 

 

There will always be complainers. There isn't a game without them.

You're clearly over exaggerating.

The complaint is obvious: People are sick of the same old, same old.

Really... you think the timing in all of this is a big coincidence? You can't tell me that the folks at EA Bioware didn't have a "soft" release date in mind for a while now. You can't tell me that they didn't lean on LucasArts, who in turn became even more heavy-handed in dealing with SOE in regard to getting SWG shut down when the license was up for renewal, thus giving us the Dec. 15 end-date.

Well, you can tell me those things... I just won't believe them.

That left just one last potential hiccup... even though they are different genres, the other big PC release that EA Bioware wanted to avoid was Diablo 3. When Blizzard blinked first and admitted on Friday that the game would have a 2012 release, the path was clear and within HOURS, we had a Dec. 20 release date announced for SW:TOR.

Expect Blizzard to try and do their best to have WoW patch 4.3 release as close to and perhaps slightly ahead of Dec. 20 (if not on Dec. 20 itself) in order to try and foul up what some see as the "WoW Killer"'s release. We've seen that with other patches, expansions, even other Blizzard games like Starcraft 2. They'll do whatever they can to keep the WoW money-printing machine cranking out unimpeded.

SWTOR will be the begining of the end of the Themepark on rails MMO's.

Originally posted by agriffin85

precious328 writes:

SWG (before Jedi) was a Star Wars game for the adult, e.g., player driven economy, gigantic worlds with player housing, player cities, player malls, superior crafting, in-depth surveying and harvesting, endless clothing options, deep space content, randomized item stats, incentives to use the social tools (cantinas / med centers) etc.

Most everything about SWG was self-sustaining. There was always something to do.

SWTOR, however, is a Star Wars game for the youth. It has story (not yours of course), which will ultimately come to an end. And what of end-game? Can I start a store? Can I plant a house? Can I go off and explore gigantic worlds? Can I go dicken' around in my starship? Can I plop down a guild hall? Can I do anything other than talk to quest giver, collect bear paws, and participate in redundant instanced PvP (Warzones)? NO.

SWTOR is so tied down and linear it's not even funny.

This is such a flawed statement for the fact that when SWG  was out the "fans" of the game did nothing but bitch and complain about how good the game "could" have been, and talked about nothing but what was wrong with the game.  Now that it's gone and ToR is coming out all these flames about ToR are popping up saying that SWG was such a great game and ToR will be trash.

I guess it's human nature to only want what you cannot have and to never be happy with something until you've lost it but I mean come on...  SWG was a fundamentally bad game, even (like I said before) the hardcore so-called "fans" of SWG did nothing but bash it.  The direction that ToR is going is the modern age of MMO and the future of the mass market.



 

 

 

I agree completely -  all I ever saw on this forum were people bitching about SWG (after the "change"). Jokes and drama posts were everywhere. Now like a bunch of whiners, they don't want to let it go. I am glad because SW TOR will revitalize the MMO genre.

Originally posted by BlackUhuru

SWTOR will be the begining of the end of the Themepark on rails MMO's.

 

That's a difficult assumption. However Let's first allow the game to be released and played before we make these bold predictions.

I gotta admit.. Star Wars Galaxies to me felt like a mmorpg for a more mature player base, but just like the New Star Wars Episodes and on cartoon network, they gotta cater to the younger audience, because thats where the moneys at.

SWTOR does cater to the mass player base (young and old), the reason they went the theme park route.

You damn kids, get off my lawn! LOL!

SWG was a great game and is now closing... weird how such a great game ends up like this... or is there a possibility that in fact it wasn't so great after all?

"SWTOR will be the begining of the end of the Themepark on rails MMO's."

"People are sick of the same old, same old."

How can some people be so sure? The fact is that there are other formulas out there, sandboxes, different combat styles, etc etc, and who keeps the lead at this point? Same old...

I would appreciate some innovation although I don't need a revolution. I would dare to say that there are many interesting concepts and ideas out there, splited through games that for one or another reason failed; whoever mixes the right ones will bring out the winning formula. Meanwhile I will entertain myself with some same old, same old, even if it is new.

Originally posted by precious328

I personally feel like we have went backwards.

 

SWG (before Jedi) was a Star Wars game for the adult, e.g., player driven economy, gigantic worlds with player housing, player cities, player malls, superior crafting, in-depth surveying and harvesting, endless clothing options, deep space content, randomized item stats, incentives to use the social tools (cantinas / med centers) etc.

Most everything about SWG was self-sustaining. There was always something to do.

SWTOR, however, is a Star Wars game for the youth. It has story (not yours of course), which will ultimately come to an end. And what of end-game? Can I start a store? Can I plant a house? Can I go off and explore gigantic worlds? Can I go dicken' around in my starship? Can I plop down a guild hall? Can I do anything other than talk to quest giver, collect bear paws, and participate in redundant instanced PvP (Warzones)? NO.

 

SWTOR is so tied down and linear it's not even funny.

 

LoL, you need to read more info about swtor. Is not all about instanced pvp, they have opvp and rvr, that mean a fight in contested planets where players need to capture objetives and the enemy base in the Open world. Also swtor worlds are really huge like swg or even bigger, they have 17 plantes and a few moons, thats a lot more than what we found in swg, and where you can find hidden secrets to be discovered. Players cities?, ghost town you mean, i did remember planets with empty cities everywhere. stop trolling and get some real info about the game, you will be suprised. 

I have played SWG, fundamentally it was one of the most excellent mmos you will find up to today but also fundamentally mismanaged and misdeveloped over the time.
I will play SWTOR bcs STWOR offers something i miss in every other mmo and that is the RPG-Part (not fomr the RP part of the gamers but the game itself) aka the story.
Tortage was one of the best mmo experiences i had and if SWTOR delivers something of even or better quality i am happy.
If the other parts of the game will be any good is still a question unanswered.

I guess that SWTOR will be No.2 as soon it is released.
I hope that EA-Bioware will not go the route of WoW and refine the threadmill parts of the game over and over again and also freeze the evolution of mmos for the next ten years again but is bold enough to put a part of the money they make into innovative, progressive development of gameplay in future mmos and SWTOR itself.

WoW was a good game when it started but shame on WoW, shame on Blizzard for what they have done with it after release.
I hope You, Bioware, wont be the grey man of mmo develoment stealing time from your customers offering nothing in exchange for it!

Originally posted by precious328

Originally posted by agriffin85
 

This is such a flawed statement for the fact that when SWG  was out the "fans" of the game did nothing but bitch and complain about how good the game "could" have been, and talked about nothing but what was wrong with the game.  Now that it's gone and ToR is coming out all these flames about ToR are popping up saying that SWG was such a great game and ToR will be trash.

I guess it's human nature to only want what you cannot have and to never be happy with something until you've lost it but I mean come on...  SWG was a fundamentally bad game, even (like I said before) the hardcore so-called "fans" of SWG did nothing but bash it.  The direction that ToR is going is the modern age of MMO and the future of the mass market.
 

There will always be complainers. There isn't a game without them.

You're clearly over exaggerating.

The complaint is obvious: People are sick of the same old, same old.

I don't think he's exaggerating. The complaint obviously also applies only or foremostly to the group of burntout, jaded MMO vets. Not 'people' or 'MMO gamers' in general.

Originally posted by BlackUhuru

SWTOR will be the begining of the end of the Themepark on rails MMO's.

 

And what if it's not? How many more years do you think you can spend waiting for an MMORPG that's fully to your taste? Or will you be happy playing other MMO's that will be released next year, or be happier to leave MMORPG's alone for a couple of years, and check back then?