Game News Star Wars: The Old Republic - It's about being an hero

[Ismaul]

Everyone knew this was coming. No surprise there. No interest either, if the best we can assume as far as dialog and C&C goes is Mass Effect dumbed down for mass content and player base.

 

[Lingwe]

Needs more epicness.

 

[Shannow]

In response to community pressure to scrap this game and just make Knights of the Old Republic 3, the team suggests that there's enough content in Star Wars: The Old Republic to call it "Knights of the Old Republic 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9."

An MMO with 130 hours of playing time in it? Isn't that rather short? (For an MMO). The players would be finished within a month...

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I was pissed off yesterday. Then came to the realisation that getting pissed off over a video game is really, really sad.

Still, as a gamer, I'm very disappointed with the news. I liked KOTOR and KOTOR 2, I still replay them often, and I was looking forward to the cliffhanger at the end of KOTOR 2 being resolved in another KOTOR single-player game.

I had been expecting this MMO for a while now, with all the rumours it was hard not to. But I tried hard to believe the game would not be Old Republic related... I knew that if it was, all hopes for KOTOR 3 would die.

And no surprise, it is Old Republic related. And Lucasarts/Bioware see this as the future for KOTOR. It's fucking stupid.

I wouldn't mind if they announced a KOTOR 3 too, to fill in the blanks between KOTOR 2 and this MMO. But they haven't, and they never will.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

For all of you longing for Obsidian-developed KotOR III:

Pic courtesy of Mixnmojo.

 

[FalloutBR]

Don't you all despair yet... Just wait four years when they announce the Planescape: Torment MMORPG...

 

[thesheeep]

I smell whining.

 

[denizsi]

Lead writer Daniel Erickson talks to Shacknews:

On the way story will work in The Old Republic:
"We have classes in the game, and every class has a different story. Every class has a story that will take you from the first level of the game to the last level of the game, and none of those stories are the same.

In the same way, faction stuff is split out between the Empire and Republic. So the takeaway note from this is, if you roll a Jedi character and you play them from the first level to the last level, and then you roll a Sith and you play them from the first, you will not see one repeated quest, line of dialogue, or piece of content. It is a 100% different story experience.

That is not to say you won't see the opposite side of the conflict. It is about war. We don't play common people. We play huge heroes in the Star Wars universe, which means the war is important."

On the idea of choice-based story in an MMO:
"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

On how the story will change depending on your companions:
"The things you get to see are going to be dependent on who you're traveling with. If Han had never hooked up on Luke, he would have never had a perspective on the Force."
http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1033

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1033

Sounds like they are overshooting. Either that or letting Erickson fantasize until the suits give the ultimatom "it's gonna be kill+loot+level, fuck everything else".

On the other hand, has anything similar been done with a MMORPG? Scratch that: with any SP RPG? (ie. parallel but still an entirely different experience depending on how and where you start)

 

[sabishii]

Lead writer Daniel Erickson talks to Shacknews:

On the way story will work in The Old Republic:
"We have classes in the game, and every class has a different story. Every class has a story that will take you from the first level of the game to the last level of the game, and none of those stories are the same.

In the same way, faction stuff is split out between the Empire and Republic. So the takeaway note from this is, if you roll a Jedi character and you play them from the first level to the last level, and then you roll a Sith and you play them from the first, you will not see one repeated quest, line of dialogue, or piece of content. It is a 100% different story experience.

That is not to say you won't see the opposite side of the conflict. It is about war. We don't play common people. We play huge heroes in the Star Wars universe, which means the war is important."

On the idea of choice-based story in an MMO:
"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

On how the story will change depending on your companions:
"The things you get to see are going to be dependent on who you're traveling with. If Han had never hooked up on Luke, he would have never had a perspective on the Force."
http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1033

http://www.shacknews.com/featuredarticle.x?id=1033

Sounds like they are overshooting. Either that or letting Erickson fantasize until the suits give the ultimatom "it's gonna be kill+loot+level, fuck everything else".

On the other hand, has anything similar been done with a MMORPG? Scratch that: with any SP RPG? (ie. parallel but still an entirely different experience depending on how and where you start)

Sounds like a bunch of hype and/or wishful thinking. I'll come back in a few years and see what the game's really going to be like.

 

[Xor]

That's almost as rich as some of the original Fable hype.

 

[BethesdaLove]

What the pig said.

 

[Morbus]

Still, as a gamer, I'm very disappointed with the news. I liked KOTOR and KOTOR 2, I still replay them often, and I was looking forward to the cliffhanger at the end of KOTOR 2 being resolved in another KOTOR single-player game.

There was no cliffhanger. There was game that was rushed to the shelves before it was finished.

 

[Volourn]

"I still replay them often"

Another tool wastes his time.

 

[Section8]

On the other hand, has anything similar been done with a MMORPG? Scratch that: with any SP RPG? (ie. parallel but still an entirely different experience depending on how and where you start)

Sure it has. In Dark Age of Camelot you got a class specific quest every few levels, and then you'd get a permanent choice of rewards. It's exactly what he's described and just as grindy and unfulfilling as the rest of the genre.

 

[inwoker]

I wonder what's unannounced new next-gen game is... Is that new franchise, post-apoc game or maybe next-gen is turn-based, who knows. It may be soccer prg.

 

[Drakron]

"We have classes in the game, and every class has a different story. Every class has a story that will take you from the first level of the game to the last level of the game, and none of those stories are the same.

Oh you mean like in WoW were classes have their own quests?

In the same way, faction stuff is split out between the Empire and Republic. So the takeaway note from this is, if you roll a Jedi character and you play them from the first level to the last level, and then you roll a Sith and you play them from the first, you will not see one repeated quest, line of dialogue, or piece of content. It is a 100% different story experience.

Oh you mean just like in WoW were I pick a Alliance character and never see Hoard quests and vice-versa?

That is not to say you won't see the opposite side of the conflict. It is about war. We don't play common people. We play huge heroes in the Star Wars universe, which means the war is important."

You mean like I had to go to Scarlet Monastery for some Alliance Quests and that instance happen to be located on the Hoard Undead Starting Location?

"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

Fine, there is no WoW analogy for this but really ... I can see exactly what the choice is going to be "fall/redemption" were we simply switch fractions.

 

[Dire Roach]

"You're 60 hours into the game on the light side, and you hit this huge choice. You know exactly what you want to do, and you look for the save button, and you realize there is no save button. I'm gonna make this choice, and this choice is going to be my choice forever. It makes not only the individualism of we're actually telling this story, but the power of making these choices stronger than they've ever been in any BioWare game."

Fine, there is no WoW analogy for this but really ... I can see exactly what the choice is going to be "fall/redemption" were we simply switch fractions.

It's just like choosing between joining Aldor or Scryers in WoW.

 

[Data4]

Fine, there is no WoW analogy for this but really ... I can see exactly what the choice is going to be "fall/redemption" were we simply switch fractions.

Any game that allows me to switch from 1/2 to 3/4 is just fine with me.

 

[Ion Flux]

Fine, there is no WoW analogy for this but really ... I can see exactly what the choice is going to be "fall/redemption" were we simply switch fractions.

Any game that allows me to switch from 1/2 to 3/4 is just fine with me.

I want one that would let me divide by zero. Planescape could do it.

 

[ushdugery]

Even if the MMO was good you just know it will be full of retards making dick jokes about lightsabers.

 

[kris]

If they wanted huge choices with consequences then they should combine sith and Jedi into one classes. Let those choices determine what you will be. They could have it branched further into the game.

 

[Severian Silk]

There was no cliffhanger. There was game that was rushed to the shelves before it was finished.

 

[Dingus]

I think once you've already crossed that line between awesome saga, into the realm of barely watchable/playable gutter trash, you might as well go full throttle and and fuck it up completely. Sesame St. and Jar Jar for all!