Smuggler Archive
Thread: The Central Problem
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dlc3007
Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:23 am
#1
Last night I was wandering through the cheap section of computer games (I'm a "Cheap B@start") when I encountered Jedi Academy for $10. I'll try almost any game for $10 so I picked it up. I'm sure most people have encountered the game already, but for those who haven't, you start with a saber and some basic Force powers. From there, it is basically like all theother LA FPSs.
Herein lies the problem with SWG. Ever since everyone complained about not using a saber in the first Dark Forces game, all (or most) of their games have focused on the saber. The problem is that they think of SWG as one, giant FPS rather than as a mmorpg.
Once I realized this, all of their really stupid, destructive design decisions make sense. "What they decided makes sense, from a certain point of view," to borrow from Obi-wan.
Of course, this does nothing to resolve the problems that SWG faces. They obviously are so stuck in this mind-set that they will, in my opinion, never let SWG really be fixed. From all they know, this is they way it should work.
What this means is that I'm now content with my decision to cancel my account. I'll play a $10 game if I want an FPS. If I'm paying a subscription fee, I want a different type of game. It also means that I don't think that SWG will ever get better. If you want to play a FPS with a bunch of friends, then you'll enjoy SWG. If you want an emersive environment and what, imho, an mmorpg should be, then I think you'll just continue to be frustrated.
dlc3007
Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:19 am
#3
from_beyond wrote:
Hmmm, in that case what is your opinion of Project X?
I really don't know any details about Project X except that it exists. I read some of the threads "over there" when it was originally proposed but not much since then.
The point I was making was about the style of what an mmorpg should be. It should be emersive -- you should be able to feel like you're actually participating in a virtual world. When I first started playing, it was more like this. The astoundingly wide range of viable, interesting professions took my breath away. The fact that one could have a satisfying game experiene without ever wielding a weapon was fantastic.
Now, however, everything is combat oriented. All the expansions are combat only -- I don't care about cryptic hints from the dev chat. That's BS and we all know it. The only way to get anything meaningful out of ROTW or TOW is to be a lvl 80 combat prof, preferably j3d1.
No one would play a FPS where the goal was to collect resources, craft items, or dance. Those don't make sense there, but they do for an mmorpg. As I stated in my original post, LA is designing a giant, perpetual FPS. Since I don't know the capabilities of the tools used for Project X, I can't say anything about how it will turn out.
TalKurgan
Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:44 am
#4
An FPS with theadded excitement of scouring the galaxy to get your equipment! Ooo... Nothing like a vendor search to get the blood pumping!
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