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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Star Wars Online done right?
Being on holiday I nearly missed the announcement from EA at E3 that yes, the unnamed Bioware MMO in the works is Knights of the Old Republic Online. Or maybe has a different name, but will certainly be based on the Knights of the Old Republic role-playing games. Good news indeed.
To understand why everyone is so excited, one has to have played some of the previous Bioware games. They are generally well done, smooth flowing gameplay, and have a stronger focus on storytelling than other RPGs. How that translates into an MMORPG is anyone's guess, but it could be quite exciting.
And of course any KotoR Online game will be significantly different from WoW in not having the typical orcs and elves. Star Wars is a great license to build on, and the previous MMORPG with that license, Star Wars Galaxies, got quite a solid number of players (for the time) in spite of lots of bugs, dubious game design decisions, and complete changes to gameplay in the middle. It is hard to imagine how Bioware could be doing *worse* with that license, so this has a shot at the "next big thing" label.
Of course we might do better to forget about it at the moment, and don't feed the hype. I don't expect this to come out before 2010, and we don't know anything yet about gameplay etc., so maybe it's best to just wait and see.
- posted by Tobold @ 4:27 PM Permanent Link
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Its what should have been done in the first place for a star wars MMO as everyone wants to be a jedi which fits in well with the KOTOR storyline/universe.
One of the problems of the original Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) was that they put the game in a point in the story line (after first movie but before the death star) when there was only supposed to be a couple of jedi. The game developers just couldn't hold back the flood of people complaining that they couldn't be jedi and kept altering the game away from the original vision.
Its kinda funny. In SWG, I often told people that whined about not being a jedi, that they should go play KOTOR. Hehe, well now they have KOTOR online.
One of the problems of the original Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) was that they put the game in a point in the story line (after first movie but before the death star) when there was only supposed to be a couple of jedi. The game developers just couldn't hold back the flood of people complaining that they couldn't be jedi and kept altering the game away from the original vision.
Its kinda funny. In SWG, I often told people that whined about not being a jedi, that they should go play KOTOR. Hehe, well now they have KOTOR online.
I can't wait. When I saw this news pop over the weekend I was so gorram happy.
MMORPG? Check. Lightsabers? Check. Force powers? Check. Fun backstory for the world? Check.
Now they just need to not screw up the game mechanics and weave a good story into it, and I'm a guarenteed customer.
MMORPG? Check. Lightsabers? Check. Force powers? Check. Fun backstory for the world? Check.
Now they just need to not screw up the game mechanics and weave a good story into it, and I'm a guarenteed customer.
I loved KOTOR as a single player RPG. How will that world be when you will be the one hero/jedi. .out os a thousand other heroes?
Can a great single player RPG transition to a MMO?
Hopefully.. I do look forward to this. I just wonder how it will be as an MMO.
Can a great single player RPG transition to a MMO?
Hopefully.. I do look forward to this. I just wonder how it will be as an MMO.
# posted by 
: 22/7/08 18:17
: 22/7/08 18:17
You forgot to mention that the time period for KotOR allows Jedi to be common-place. And Star Wars fans love to play Jedis, which is one of the cited short-falls of Galaxies (not that I agree with that).
KotOR has a killer setting and all Bioware needs to do is put a good multiplayer spin on it to be successful.
KotOR has a killer setting and all Bioware needs to do is put a good multiplayer spin on it to be successful.
Bioware doing a Kotor MMo was not an official announcement.
Every article references an unsubstantiated interview posted on portfolio.com. There has been no corroborating announcements from any parties.
Every article references an unsubstantiated interview posted on portfolio.com. There has been no corroborating announcements from any parties.
# posted by : 22/7/08 20:53
: 22/7/08 20:53
While I am excited about what Bioware could bring to the genre with regards to storytelling, I'm concerned about the viability of a mmorpg with a single character class.
Am I wrong in my assumption that the lore would dictate the Jedi to be the most powerful class?
That said, KotOR Online and THQ's Warhammer40K mmorpg are the only two releases on the horizon I'm following.
Shame that horizon is 2010+ at the earliest.
Am I wrong in my assumption that the lore would dictate the Jedi to be the most powerful class?
That said, KotOR Online and THQ's Warhammer40K mmorpg are the only two releases on the horizon I'm following.
Shame that horizon is 2010+ at the earliest.
# posted by : 23/7/08 00:08
: 23/7/08 00:08
Many people will be quite disappointed by this when it comes out. The expectations for SF related MMOs are always over the top. Had the Perpetual Entertainment design team (who failed with Star Trek Online) tried to implement all the features required by the audience (and there were some pretty hardcore-Trekkers on board) the game would have been not a game anymore and also cost $500m to make.
Same here. "The People" will expect the vastness of space to be filled with dozens - no, hundreds of worlds, but not generic worlds of course. Also, some comments on the page you linked to referred to "meaningful" Space Dogfights. I am waiting for the first person to request permadeath PvP...
Wake up.
Expect a couple of worlds, a full-blown Jedi story with probably some features like in LOTRO (epic storyline). Expect Jedi Knights/Sith not to be superior to normal combat types (mercs/soldiers) otherwise you'll lose balance.
I see hundreds of negative comments pouring into the forums of the net when the first information is sent out. Just imagine Mass Effect with other people and more Sidequests, if they manage to produce that, then the game will already beat most other games out there.
In order to make KOTORO successful and a mass-selling product, they will cater to the average player. Not the hardcore content-eaters. I hardly believe those people actually read through all the quest texts and conversations in KOTOR / Mass Effect. I hope for a game similar in design to LOTRO. Not put the focus on the endgame, strong level/quest game. Maybe PvP (Sith vs. Jedi comes to mind) as the constant "endgame-content" plus crafting and daily missions.
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Same here. "The People" will expect the vastness of space to be filled with dozens - no, hundreds of worlds, but not generic worlds of course. Also, some comments on the page you linked to referred to "meaningful" Space Dogfights. I am waiting for the first person to request permadeath PvP...
Wake up.
Expect a couple of worlds, a full-blown Jedi story with probably some features like in LOTRO (epic storyline). Expect Jedi Knights/Sith not to be superior to normal combat types (mercs/soldiers) otherwise you'll lose balance.
I see hundreds of negative comments pouring into the forums of the net when the first information is sent out. Just imagine Mass Effect with other people and more Sidequests, if they manage to produce that, then the game will already beat most other games out there.
In order to make KOTORO successful and a mass-selling product, they will cater to the average player. Not the hardcore content-eaters. I hardly believe those people actually read through all the quest texts and conversations in KOTOR / Mass Effect. I hope for a game similar in design to LOTRO. Not put the focus on the endgame, strong level/quest game. Maybe PvP (Sith vs. Jedi comes to mind) as the constant "endgame-content" plus crafting and daily missions.
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