SWToR is finally live.

I have spent a long time waiting for SWToR to go live.  I have spent many months in anticipation for the game.  At first I was very excited.  Then I started to get kind of bummed.  Then I got excited again.  Then I stopped giving a fuck altogether.  I saw several videos come out and make the game look hilariously shitty.  I heard from some beta testers that the game was being built around shit that they didn't find important and that I, subsequently, didn't either.  It has been a rollercoaster of anticipation and it's finally all over.  The game is out (for me) and I've had a couple of days to spend with it.

I don't have a ton of time and I haven't progressed very far.  Don't take my early opinion to heart.  This is my opinion and it's without even getting into the meat of some of the classes.  Honestly, though, how do you get to the end of the game without experiencing everything in between?  This should be an important part of the game and it is the part that will determine if people stick around.  If leveling and development of a character sucks ass... who is gonna keep playing?

I decided to play a Smuggler a LOOOOONG time ago.  I've been in a guild for about 2 years for this game and I've been following it for longer than that.  Upon joining this guild I saw a severe lack of Smugglers and figured that I should try that role out.  I enjoy being useful.  I almost always end up as a healer, since no one wants to play them, but this time around a DPS role caught my eye and I was stoked.  I've learned in the last couple of WoW expansions that DPS classes are obviously in larger numbers, but I don't care.  I have spent most of my MMO gaming career as a healer or filling in the voids that were there.  It's time for me to devote my time to a single character (though I may roll up an alt that fills a different role).  I do not plan to max out more than a character or two.  I still want to play other games and have interests that are vested more heavily into other games anyway.

As you begin the game in this particular class you find yourself landing on a planet that is seemingly at war and getting your ship stolen.  The story is less than spectaculat, even though that seems to be what they really intended to pull you into the beginning of the game.  The first thing I wanted to do was start questing.  Every game has figured out that people would rather do quests than grind on mobs endlessly.  This game is the same.  Yes, I still stop to kill EVERYTHING, but I do so on the way to my next quest-giver or objective.  You move from one area to another, all while trying to trying to follow your main quest.  There are several quests that you shouldn't simply refuse, because you may need them to move your character story forward or to get your Advanced Class.  This kind of takes away from the free world and roaming options that you hoped to have in this game.

The game has several features which are interesting.  You have the same stat system that everyone should be used to be now, but each class has a different stat that helps their character in more ways than one.  You also have bonus and/or extra stats (think hit, crit, etc), but they mostly exist as flavor.  For a Smuggler my main stat will be Cunning.  Smugglers have the ability to heal, as well as DPS, and Cunning will cover the entire spectrum.  This is a nice change from having to have multiple gear sets to do different jobs, or not having gear optimized to make your heals worth a damn.  A Scoundrel, the healing Smuggler, can DPS pretty well AND you can heal at the same time.  While you obviously get less benefit if you don't go into the healing tree, you will still be better than a Gunslinger... who can't heal at all.

Another feature which I found strange was the story quest system.  If you are with other people and they are doing a story quest you have to be allowed with them into places that you can go normally, out in the world.  A place where you should be able to go will be blocked off, if they have a quest there.  It's a very strange system.  Questing together seems a bit off in a way, as well.  I love playing with other people and plowing through stuff, but this game is so entrenched in it's own story that sometimes that can hinder playing as a group.  It's a bit frustrating at times.  The game does do a good job at synergy between classes and I've found myself with Troopers who make my life much easier.

Companions are kind of new.  Guild Wars already had a very good system of having a henchmen to help you out, but this goes even further.... which Guild Wars also did with the Hero system.  You can gear out your companion... just like a hero.  The companion will react in certain ways to you and how you go about doing things.  To maintain your relationship with them, you will simply need to give them gifts.  Since I don't have a companion I can't really comment, outside of what I've been told and/or seen.  The system seems interested, but it also seems very disappointing.  I don't really want to do instances or have to have a nagging NPC by my side all of the time.  I'm hoping that this particular gimmick doesn't weigh too heavily into the actual gameplay of the game, but I fear it will.

The graphics have to be my biggest gripe.  The game looks like garbage for 2011.  Yeah, yeah, I know it's an MMO, but you have visually amazing games out now and with as must focus is put on instancing and phasing MMOs now, this should be a non-issue.  Vsync doesn't work.  There are very few gaphics settings and even less setting for advanced graphics.  No AA or AF, generic incrementals for everything else and no real representation of the game being on high... when it is.  Low and high look similar enough that I might not even be able to tell the difference.  The game also seems poorly optimized in some aspects, which might explain the lack of advanced graphics features.  In a world where technology is rapidly moving forward, I expect a little more, ya know...  We have quad core tablets on the way with video cards that are nearly as good as what most average gaming PCs have.  I can't see how it's hard to push the envelope a little or even develop an engine that makes use of what we have now better.  This game is expected to run on a wide variety of machines and while I respec that, I expect a certain level of performance as well.

The biggest thing behind this is the nod from Lucasfilms and Star Wars.  I think it is one of the few things that will keep this game afloat and help it find any success.  There isn't a whole lot in the game that makes it different or better in any way. It is hard for me to say that this game does anything innovative or does things much better than anything before it.  I've seen games like WAR and WoW do things better.  I've seen games like RIFT start out well and then wind down a bit.  Again, I think the only thing that will save this game from sinking is the fact that it's a Star Wars game.  That could also be a reason that I end up pushed out of the game.  I don't give a fuck about Star Wars lore or any of that and if there are changes that piss of the community I could see it making that rabid fanbase go batshit and run off TONS of subscribers.  WoW nerds raging is one thing, but the Star Wars kids... fuck that.  I'd rather put my dick in a blender.


Don't think that I hate the game, really.  I don't!  It's fun.  It is interesting and has some neat stuff going for it.  The quest system and story system is kind of fun.  It tells you where to go.  You can take your side quests, too.  Some of the quests auto complete and drop large chunks of experience on you.  The combat system seems fun enough.  The abilities that you get to regen health are kind of cool and provide flavor to each class.  There just isn't a lot new and not a whole lot that gives me a wow factor after years of playing so many different MMO games.  The game isn't bad, just frustrating after this many years and all of these setback, I just want the game to be much more than it.  I am sure as I go up in levels and progress in the game some of these things will make more sense and the game will get more fun and more interesting.  I plan to stick with it and invest at least some of my time to it.  I'll give it 3 months to see how everything shakes out, but I've got a bunch of other games that are all pretty good to play.