SW:ToR Open Beta Weekend - Some Thoughts

As always I am very happy to play a great MMO (or any game for that matter) when I get the chance to. Sadly though - I was slightly disappointed by the build that was made available during ToR's Open Beta Weekend, though I am not disappointed by the game one bit!

The build that was put up this past weekend had a few bugs, that for me, made the game unplayable for the most part. I do however have faith in the BioWare team that they will be fixed by launch. As of now ToR has its release candidate build up and ready to be played on (though none of the servers are up currently). So to me this is a very GOOD sign in how far this game has come over the years.

I have every bit of faith that the game will be one of the greatest MMO's to date, and seeing how fast the team in Austin stomps out many of the issues - I have to say this game will be very playable for almost all of us come Early Access and Release.

I have played in enough Beta Weekends to not be aggravated by the few bugs that occurred (clipping issues for both graphics and terrain, crafting issues, and some other very minor things). For the most part I let these slide, as at the moment I am not completely interested in playing beta - I am waiting for launch to do my playing right now.

I know there is (and was) a fair amount of talk about how ToR is just like WoW - but for the most part, I feel as if ToR is a breed of its own. Yes there may be things from WoW, but honestly how many things did Blizzard and WoW take from all of the other popular games at the time Vanilla came out. For the experienced gamer, you could easily point out the items that came from games like EQ, DAOC, UO, AC1 - the list goes on.

For people to say ToR is anything like WoW is ridiculous. In the market of creating online games - a lot of thought processes are "rehashed" as many of the developers either come from the previous company where these ideas worked in sustaining a player base, or they know the ideas work and use them to score and all out success for the game (hopefully - I've already seen how things went with SWG trying to do the same).

My theory on this is - lets put all of the stuff about how a game is like another, and just play it! If you don't like it, cancel your account or STFU. It's not worth it in a community aspect to gripe and complain about how something is or was - unless someone in that game actually CARES about your degrading thoughts of the game.

I have always disliked the aspect of "Chuck Norris" jokes in a chat or things hateful toward the game (but they always happen). Again, if you don't like what you see - cancel your account and save yourself an extra $15 every month instead of ruining the atmosphere fro everyone else trying to play.

I pretty much hated that in the Weekend Test - yet I know all the "kiddies" are coming out of the wood work now (from WoW) and are testing the amount of patience the CSR Staff has (and also the players who enjoy the game).

Lets hope a lot of these "tards" will be gone by launch - off the forums and from the game itself.

Here's to a successful launch and smooth running early access! I for one hope to see everyone at launch and have the chance to play with them! As for now - I'm out. See you all sometime soon!

./save

./logoff

SW:ToR Beta Weekend #3 - Marketing Ploy or Bug Removal?

This week BioWare had announced that beta weekend #3 had come to the surprise of many of its fans. As this weekend is upon us I simply find myself asking one little question - "Why are we still testing a game that is nearly ready for launch?" I do understand the concept behind all the testing and such, but are these weekends being used as a way to "draw" the undecided into either A). Purchasing a Pre-Order, or B). Refining a game that is still incomplete.

In some aspect I believe it is a little of both. The part that frightens me a bit is that if in fact it has a little to do with the second option, what does this mean for launch day? Will the game in fact be complete and rid of the bugs that were found in previous builds that had been tested?

I have been around too many MMO's that have been launched and tested that have come out of the box feeling like they were missing pieces here and there, or just did not have the right pieces where they should be at all. I have no doubts that BioWare will have a completed game come December 20th - but I feel like I should be a little weary with the amount of "testing" this is still happening a month or so before the game arrives at my door step.

I am a very jaded Star War Galaxies player of old, and that game was so incomplete that at times it was totally unplayable. I do not wish the same for ToR or any other Star Wars branded game, as I have a huge undying love for anything in the Star Wars Universe. To think that there COULD be that chance that something will go awry would be devastating to me - and thousands of others who have been wronged by SOE and the SWG model of play.

No I am not saying ToR is anything like SWG (it certainly is not, from what I have seen), nor am I comparing BioWare to SOE's business model (money first - screw your loyal costumer base after). I just feel that there is something that is "unseen" (as with anything in the development process), that many of us wish to see and know.

I know many of the people playing SWG right now will not be satisfied until ToR completely sinks and fails, where as the old schoolers (like myself), are looking forward to this like a kid running downstairs on Christmas morning.

All I wish to convey in this piece is that sense of uncertainty that many of us feel in our gut when we take a log back on the past, and are trying to look ahead to the future of the gaming realm. Sure there have been things like World of Warcraft that have come out - but that slowly went downhill and then turned into an "NGE" of sorts that SWG had done previously!

I hope and pray that BioWare sticks to their guns and keeps the game the way that they have planned from the start and does not falter when the community demands there to be some sort of radical changes that could be utterly detrimental to the game (as development companies usually do). I want this game to be great! My friends want it to be great! For it to be anything else then that - would be heartbreaking.

I am looking forward to December 20th like many of you out there and hope to see you in game. Let us all make this game last and become one of the best out there to date! I know this was a bit off the cuff, but I feel it needed to be said.

Cheers All!