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Let's celebrate what is good about SWTOR


Lhancelot

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I want to dedicate this thread to what SWTOR has become over the years as the game has evolved through the years... That being the ultimate space Barbie dress-up game ever!

 

If you love to RP, love to dress up in virtual outfits, enliven said outfits with an endless supply of ingame emotes I honestly believe SWTOR is going where no game has gone before!

 

Used to be, I logged in and did nothing but PVP for hours on end. It was sickly. It was unhealthy. It was fun! Sure, we had a nice collection of outfits in the beginning too, but we could not create and save them in bunches like now!

 

Instead, we once had to wear armor sets that had "slots" that could be filled with gear mods, so we were limited in our choice of presentation! Now, gears mean nothing, we can wear any outfit appearance available to us in the game!

 

As the outfitting system for our toons evolved, it eventually reached the point where it can't get much easier than it is now, and other than a ***few slip-ups, the process of the outfitting system for the game has only improved.

 

***One notable slip-up imo is how we once could save dye colors not only per slotted armor piece, but to the actual outfit inventory sheet equipment slot. The dye would be removed/destroyed if that armor piece was pulled out of that saved/allotted equipment slot. This little work around for coloring was pretty neat because you could actually color some of the old armors that had no dye slot available. This enabled us to come up with some unique color schemes which I felt was a nice touch to allow us more ways to create/invent something unique with our outfits.

 

I just wanted to give SWTOR props for what they have done good, instead of tearing them down for doing things I might not have agreed with or understood.

 

I believe if they can get the game to follow suit in other facets, SWTOR could be the best MMO of all time. I view the evolution of the outfitting system on SWTOR as an indication of what BW can do when they really want to focus and improve upon the game.

 

 

 

Things they ought to consider next to work on:

 

 

 

1. Make conquest fun. This is easy, they already had a conquest system that was fun, shouldn't be hard to trace the good things about that older conquest system and add them back to the present conquest system.

 

 

2. Change the class power pyramid, meaning buff weak classes, make them as solid and fun as the classes that have been "FOTM" for 3+ years! This meta is STALE.

 

 

3. Ranked WZs need a better scoring system, or tons more moderation to ensure cheating isn't ruining the contests.

 

 

4. Improve the petition system.

 

 

5. Add new races. (+1 here, they adding Nautolans!)

 

 

6. Add a new healing class. (Because I like healers, and SWTOR has no melee-style healer. Think of a Disciple of Kaine, or a Warrior Priest on WAR!)

 

 

7. Improve gearing so it's not a grind for PVPers who simply want to be on even ground when in PVP matches! This is elementary! PVPers care about PVP, not having to grind for months just to get their PVP toons geared so they all can be on equal footing as those in top gears!

 

 

8. Make new interesting stories throughout all the older planets! Perhaps add small side story lines that simply enable a player to experience new stories with new characters on the old planets! These "small" stories could actually be very detailed and engaging plot lines, and they could be used for the addition of new companions.

 

BW could even take old familiar characters from the older planets, and make them recruitable companions for your characters! These companions could be recruited by any class, and would not be class-restricted. They could always make class-restricted small quest driven stories, too of course.

 

Instead of these gigantic, grand, epic schemes as stories I believe smaller story lines could prove really fun and engaging, and this could be a new way to use old zones and make new content that doesn't upset the larger picture of the main stories. (I mean they have a massive canvas to paint on, I don't understand why they keep trying to add more canvas.)

 

 

9. Fix the bugs. This goes without saying, tbh.

 

 

10. Make some changes to the old events! The Rak Ghoul Virus event, etc. Add character's we can meet and/or recruit as permanent companions via this event! They could make rare companions available, that only are available during special events. They could also add more quest lines to the bigger events that offer rare loots, too.

 

 

 

 

That's just some of the things that came to my mind. What about you guys, what would you like to see added or changed in SWTOR?

Edited by Lhancelot
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Things they ought to consider next to work on:

Kick PvP out of SWTOR altogether, because....

1. This is an RPG not an FPS or Battle Royale. A bit of PvP is a nice addition to the main game, much like a Night Life event or seeker droid missions, etc, but it shouldn't be anyone's main focus.

2. I'm tired of listening to PvP'ers complaining. Go play something like Star Wars: Battlegrounds if you want PvP.

3. I'm tired of the constant changes to skill sets, etc, screwing with the PvE game in the constant attempt to make PvP "balanced".

 

I know PvP is here to stay, but if they did delete it, I wouldn't mind. :)

Edited by JediQuaker
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Kick PvP out of SWTOR altogether, because....

1. This is an RPG not an FPS or Battle Royale. A bit of PvP is a nice addition to the main game, much like a Night Life event or seeker droid missions, etc, but it shouldn't be anyone's main focus.

2. I'm tired of listening to PvP'ers complaining. Go play something like Star Wars: Battlegrounds if you want PvP.

3. I'm tired of the constant changes to skill sets, etc, screwing with the PvE game in the constant attempt to make PvP "balanced".

 

I know PvP is here to stay, but if they did delete it, I wouldn't mind. :)

 

I'm assuming this is joking, or just trolling...

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I'm assuming this is joking, or just trolling...

 

Or it could be a genuinely held belief.

 

I've never seen one single MMORPG that was improved in any way by the constant battle to try and balance PvP.

And historically only 20-30% of total players regularly engage in PvP.

 

Most MMORPGs are significantly disrupted and diminished by the constant pandering to a very vocal minority.

And, let's face facts, MMORPGs are just about the worst gaming platform possible for genuine skill-based PvP.

 

All in all I genuinely believe that, in the long run, SWTOR would be better off without PvP.

 

 

All The Best

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I want to dedicate this thread to what SWTOR has become over the years as the game has evolved through the years... That being the ultimate space Barbie dress-up game ever!

 

You really got me there for a moment when I saw your name and read the headline.

 

But then I read the first paragraph and was relieved. Everything is still normal.

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I have some strong opinions against where this thread has turned, but I don't think we need a PvP flame war in this fine post.

 

The best part of SWTOR is and will always be the original class stories. I'll never be tired of creating new characters and running through them with different personalities.

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I really love the effort put in by the time.

 

I don't mean that as a joke. I know the devs get a lot of hate.

 

But SWTOR has never gotten the support it's needed since launch, and still the devs work away, trying their best to deliver new content. And despite all of the struggles, they've made pretty huge gains in certain areas.

 

The worlds are more beautiful and vibrant than ever, and I honestly, truly believe the devs want to provide the best that they can.

 

I feel passion when I play SWTOR, even if it's imperfect and sometimes annoying.

 

Oh, wait, this is a troll thread. :confused:

Edited by jedimasterjac
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Don't get me wrong, there's some stuff this game gets VERY right.

 

The original class stories are some of my favourite MMORPG content in any game; in fact for me they are only eclipsed by my first play through Moria in LOTRO.

 

And for all that I see all the negatives that are attached to PvP I genuinely hope that the PvPers get some love; but let's not dress things up - roughly only 1/3rd of all players will ever PvP.

 

So every fix for PvP is very likely messing something up for 2/3rds of the playerbase. That's why people who don't PvP sometime get angry about it.

 

All The Best

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I have some strong opinions against where this thread has turned, but I don't think we need a PvP flame war in this fine post.

 

The best part of SWTOR is and will always be the original class stories. I'll never be tired of creating new characters and running through them with different personalities.

 

I had written out a medium-length post stating my own opinions in defense of PvP, but then I read your post here and was like, "You know, you're probably right."

 

For me, the personal RP experience is the greatest selling point of this game. So many ways to customize your character, strongholds, and experience through different choices. As you mentioned, the original class stories are amazing and I always enjoy playing through them.

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Celebrate what's good about SWTOR... I really like the stories, some of them are very good; I think that's one reason the players do the "Class Stories" so often. SWTOR's stories actually do have a "Depth", considerations to be taken along the way. Results to be weighed from the decisions and typically include social issues that will form our character later on. The Companions do actually have a backstory, personalities, likes and dislikes of their own, not simply mindless drone's like the other games. Other games are wispy, they mean nothing beyond Run, Click, Shoot, brainless and shallow.
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I think my sarcasm meter might be faulty on this one. I've never seen anyone bring up the space-barbie aspect in anything other than a pejorative dig at the people who take that semi- to fully- seriously. Maybe it's carry-over hate from the insinuation that because it's mostly tied to the Cartel Market it must be evil and responsible for devs' focus being pulled from making a new Operation every month and new PvP maps every week and putting the VA's on retainer to make constant, new, lengthy cutscenes for desired weekly story patches.

 

I'm struggling to think of a segment of the population beyond generically subbing that does more to pay the bills around here than the Cosmetic Fluff crowd.

 

If you were being genuine, I agree that it's pretty amazing. The only thing better would be an update to add more faces to the game, as well as adding further cosmetics like piercings, jewelry, glasses (what, this galaxy has 100% perfect vision in every corner?), tattoos in places other than the face like a drunken Mike Tyson would do, etc.

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If you were being genuine, I agree that it's pretty amazing.

 

Why would I be kidding about that, the customization for player characters especially the amount of outfits available is amazing. My two favorite things on SWTOR is dressing up all my toons and PVPing.

 

I got 16 outfit slots open per toon. Frequently I end up making new ones over top those 16 initial outfits as I play my characters.

 

My point (well, one was) if they put the amount of ingenuity and creativity into other parts of the game like they did into the outfits, this game would be unstoppable.

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There are a number of things we can enjoy and celebrate:

1. Story driven quests and characters. While some would debate this endlessly in lieu of peaceably finding a place to thank those who work hard at providing what we DO have.

 

2. Hundreds of details through out the game that some of us understand and appreciate. Yeah this is a bit old fashion ... but then again .. ha ! I guess that's about where I fit in !

BTW... I did notice the dance style of the small group of people in the market area of the "Traitor amoung the Chiss". They were doing the "swim".

Funny thing is that there is an amazing resemblance between the Yavin 4 Jungle Fern and a large potted plant on the campus of Duke University (the gardens that are adjacent to it). I'm quite sure it's a coincidence ... but when I passed by not one ... but a third and a fourth .. I couldn't help but to smile at the remarkable likeness... right down to the size of the large pot that they are in.

 

3. Related to that: trying to design so many items... details.. outfits etc.. Yes I'm quite aware of those that are "reskinned". I might miss one or two ... but not that many. I enjoy doing 3-D modeling just for fun. So I see another aspect of the game. And I enjoy it !

 

4. Forums: They can be good .. and bad ! All of us get emotional at times. Lately for me a slightly different reason. But I do like trying to brain storm ideas. And who knows... maybe one day I'll actually come up with something that's worth while ! (OK ... maybe that's pushing it ! ) SORRY !

 

5. Companions: while we still have them. I'm certain that they will be around for a while yet. The question is: to what degree? For some players the companion is just something to put up with ... a necessary evil. And they have other goals in mind in the game. PvP ? Possibly ? But I wouldn't go thermal on the PvP players over it. (see #6) Other players might place too much emphasis on them. I personaly like the idea and how this game has manage them thus far... Well let's say for the most part. IMO WoW companions are worthless ! They're kind of on the other extreme. Room for improvement ? Oh YES... my stars yes! That's one of the reasons I make suggestions in that area from time to time. They do help make the game something MORE than the usual grind of MMO's.

 

6. PvP. No I don't do that part of the game any more. I use to in another game long ago. I go pretty good at it. No... never a top 10 % contender .. or anything like that. But in a group setting I could hold my own. I just wanted to go on record showing my support for those who do. And yes .. I have been dead serious about previous posts regarding PvP as a integral part of this game, or any other MMO for that matter.

 

7. The appearance tabs. Good idea actually. We can have a large number of appearances without swaping out armor all the time ... Nicely done !

 

8. An occasional appearance from a couple members of the team. Thanks to Eric (and others). Some games you never hear a word from anyone. Here's the game ... enjoy... or not . I just see this brief communication from time to time as a positive.

 

9. Strongholds: I LIKE them.. a LOT ! I don't buy as many as some. One of them I probably shouldn't have : Tatooine. Too bad I can't hire a realtor for this one ! But that is on me ! I do have my own suggestions in this area ..(no not a good place to bring that up here).. But they are fun and very useful.

 

Oh and there is more... so much more !

 

All of these are just my opinions ... I have no doubt that many will differ. I'm just glad to be back and hope the game has a great future for several more years to come !

 

OH ... we were supposed to be in a bad mood ?

OK !

 

Gripe ! Gripe !! Gripe !!

 

Growly Growl ! ( Cookie Monster style )

 

;)

Edited by OlBuzzard
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My point (well, one was) if they put the amount of ingenuity and creativity into other parts of the game like they did into the outfits, this game would be unstoppable.

 

Really?

 

Many of the outfits look like a stoned intern made them on a lazy Friday afternoon, and no one cared enough to check them before them going live the following Monday.

 

They've gone down the "let's have stupidly ridiculous shoulders like WoW does" route and have recently started to double down on it. If there is one thing that no game, ever, needs to take away from WoW it is the shoulders.

 

The outfit system is a barely adequately implemented, overly-monetised copy of LOTROs - and that's about it.

 

 

All The Best

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Really?

 

Many of the outfits look like a stoned intern made them on a lazy Friday afternoon, and no one cared enough to check them before them going live the following Monday.

 

They've gone down the "let's have stupidly ridiculous shoulders like WoW does" route and have recently started to double down on it. If there is one thing that no game, ever, needs to take away from WoW it is the shoulders.

 

The outfit system is a barely adequately implemented, overly-monetised copy of LOTROs - and that's about it.

 

 

All The Best

 

I am all for dogging BW when they deserve it, but if they did anything right with SWTOR, it's the outfit system. Now, is it perfect, and do I personally enjoy every outfit? Nope.

 

But! This is a highly subjective topic, as what looks good to me may not look good to you.

 

For instance, I see tons of people with ugly/dumb looking outfits, however I bet if asked, they would say what they wear is appealing or enjoyable to them.

 

Nothing is perfect, the world is not black and white (yes there are many shades of grey in between) and I don't think every outfit is a home run.

 

Many outfits are really neat looking to me though, in fact since I logged in for the first time in months I got to see what outfits have come out since then and I see many nice new ones out that I never seen before.

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2. Hundreds of details through out the game that some of us understand and appreciate. Yeah this is a bit old fashion ... but then again .. ha ! I guess that's about where I fit in !

BTW... I did notice the dance style of the small group of people in the market area of the "Traitor amoung the Chiss". They were doing the "swim".

 

SWTOR does have a real charm to it, which comes from the original game that launched 7 years ago what with all the nuances and sounds from the environment to the different worlds and chatter of all the NPCs as we move through the world.

 

Things like you mention above are some of the charming facets to SWTOR. The original devs that did all the groundwork for SWTOR really created a game that was unique in it's own right, even if they admittedly felt they needed to make SWTOR more WOW-like. I honestly do not see much resemblance between the two games, and think this point is overblown because it has come out that this was indeed the case.

 

If they were trying to re-create WOW, they failed miserably imo.

 

As for the newer devs, I hope they are finding ways to navigate through the old code effectively so they can fix the plethora of bugs that are crawling through SWTOR at this time. I don't think it's fair for these devs to get the blame for the technical problems that arise due to new launches having what seems to be a never-ending number of bugs that pop up every time they add new content to the game.

 

To further digress, blame ought to be placed on others, not the devs that have taken over the responsibility of trying to add new content to SWTOR.

 

I bet they came into this with little preparation to deal with what appears to be a true Frankensteinian-like monster of a game. With a patched together custom made engine along with who knows what else, I imagine no amount of schooling or training could prepare these newer game developers for what they ran into when they were hired on to add content to this game.

 

Taking a break from the game has really given me a sense of calmness about the state of the game. I actually wasn't trolling when I wrote this post, I genuinely want to read people's opinions on the good things SWTOR has, or even better what people think could be added to improve it.

 

 

 

And, yes! I actually do love playing Space Barbie.

 

 

Things to add to Outfits:

 

 

1. I see, they still have NO casual footwear yet... Why?! Please add beach footwear, sandals for casual outfits!

 

2. MORE HATS! Casual styled hats... more.

 

3. Jewelry kits for wrists, neck, ears, nose, fingers... I mean imagine all the styles of jewelry they could create!

 

4. Create some retro style outfits from our own styles on Earth! 70s bell-bottoms, fashion sneakers, track suits from the 70s/80s, 90s etc. These don't have to be exact replicas, but a heavy influence from these styles would be fun to wear.

 

5. More styles of sunglasses.

 

6. Prescription eyeglasses.

 

7. Fix the black hair color so that it is black with all hairstyles. (I realize they acknowledged this and plan to fix it. They told us it's just more difficult to fix than people realize, much like many of the bugs that have popped up in the game.) This appearance glitch annoys me to no end tbh because it limits what styles I can wear which sucks because I like black, especially black goth hair styles. That's one of my more petty whines about the game, but hey! I can't play a gothy looking character when the black is a pond scum blackish green.

 

8. As mentioned earlier by others, tattoos would be nice.

 

9. More facial options for some of the alien races like Twi'lek who have 1/3 the options humans got. Cyborgs need more options, Rattataki, many of the alien races actually.

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Really?

 

Many of the outfits look like a stoned intern made them on a lazy Friday afternoon, and no one cared enough to check them before them going live the following Monday.

 

They've gone down the "let's have stupidly ridiculous shoulders like WoW does" route and have recently started to double down on it. If there is one thing that no game, ever, needs to take away from WoW it is the shoulders.

 

The outfit system is a barely adequately implemented, overly-monetised copy of LOTROs - and that's about it.

 

 

All The Best

 

Hey bud.. not trying to go sideways on ya .. BUT.. IMO this is why we MUST use the Equipment customization appearance section.

 

It's hard enough to get a drop that has any kind of real value to it ... but the "fashion" designs ...UGH. Republic is far worse than the Empire.

 

To quote Kira: " Have seen what the Sith are wearing? It's like every fashion designer in the galaxie joined the dark side" ... And she was RIGHT !

 

At any rate. Once I figured it out it comes in real handy !

 

OH BTW... anyone have any idea where I can find one of the "Hoth" heavy winter coats? (sorry I forget the exact name for it). The last time I was on Hoth with Lana and her normal outfit ... well I really don't have to give you all the details... right ?

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Why would I be kidding about that, the customization for player characters especially the amount of outfits available is amazing. My two favorite things on SWTOR is dressing up all my toons and PVPing.

 

Some people apparently don't get the joke that is Space Barbie. The humor, the self-deprecation... the injustice.

Edited by kodrac
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I'm assuming this is joking, or just trolling...

Neither one. It's "serious" trolling. That is to say, it is actually how I feel about it, but I was aware when I said it, that some PvPers will react negatively to it. (It's not an issue that greatly affects my willingness to sub, though.)

 

On an unrelated note in regard to other posts in this thread - I like (among other things) the dress-up Barbie (and Ken) aspects of the game. It fits in well with my general RPG/PvE approach.

My main "Barbie" is up to 5 outfits now. "Ken" only has 2. :)

(Imperial Barbie has 3)

Edited by JediQuaker
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1. I see, they still have NO casual footwear yet...

2. MORE HATS! Casual styled hats... more.

3. Jewelry kits for wrists, neck, ears, nose, fingers... I mean imagine all the styles of jewelry they could create!

4. Create some retro style outfits from our own styles on Earth!

5. More styles of sunglasses.

6. Prescription eyeglasses.

7. Fix the black hair color so that it is black with all hairstyles.

8. As mentioned earlier by others, tattoos would be nice.

9. More facial options for some of the alien races like Twi'lek who have 1/3 the options humans got.

I wholeheartedly endorse most of this. :)

I'd especially like some "cargo shorts" or just shorts, a la Lara Croft.

Edited by JediQuaker
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Some people apparently don't get the joke that is Space Barbie. The humor, the self-deprecation... the injustice.

 

As I mentioned it's a pejorative used by a lot of forum members here who think the devs spend too much time on that aspect rather than giving them all other content at a more furious pace, so that's why I was iffy to be all in on the topic. I think, as Lhancelot responded, it's one of the things that sets this game apart from a lot of others. I hope they really consider adding more customization. Not necessarily at the expense of everything else (which I don't think is how they are operating). I do a little of everything and I like new content as well. But the three things that keep me playing near constantly is the quality of VAs, the story from start to Ziost, and the outfit system.

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My personal "done good" list, in no particular order...

 

The dance emotes. I have yet to see another game that had such a variety. And I actually think they are pretty cool.

 

The strongholds. Personally, I don't do strongholds at all. But I have to admit that some of the ones I've been in that people put together are pretty cool. The size of some of them, not something I excepted from "space doll house". :D

 

PvP cap mechanics. Ok, this would probably be at the top if I were to do them in order. :D I know that others hate this, but I absolutely love the "discrete channeling" to take nodes. I hate the "stand there near it" to take nodes thing that most games do (and O/APG does). I want to be able to rush in and save the day by "interrupting the cap at the last second".

 

Original HB, when played as HB by two good teams.

 

Hoth. I'm a winter soul. So wandering around Hoth is just cool. No pun intended. :D

 

About 1/2 the original class stories. Some I find boring and formulaic. Well, I suppose they are all a bit formulaic, but several of them were fun for me.

 

Voice acting.

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