Star Wars: The Old Republic

**Beskar** · 06-15-2012, 21:01

It has been confirmed by EA.

I am so happy I didn't buy it.

**johnhughthom** · 06-15-2012, 22:47

Originally Posted by Tiaexz

It has been confirmed by EA.

I am so happy I didn't buy it.

Why exactly does the game going free to play make you happy you didn't buy it? I got a good three months play time out of the game, and mostly enjoyed it, the purchase price and sub was was more than good value for the hours I got out of it. My subscription has just expired and I doubt I'll be back, even if it does go free to play. The fact that it is going F2P has absolutely no bearing on the enjoyment I had playing the game, so how does it validate your decision not to buy it?

**Philippus Flavius Homovallumus** · 06-25-2012, 23:00

Originally Posted by Tiaexz

It has been confirmed by EA.

I am so happy I didn't buy it.

So am I, but I do believe this news may spell the end of my degree!

**johnhughthom** · 06-25-2012, 23:05

Don't want to spoil it, but I'm wondering if this "going F2P" that's been mentioned is just the free play to level 15 that was announced a while ago?

**Chaotix** · 06-26-2012, 00:28

Originally Posted by johnhughthom

Why exactly does the game going free to play make you happy you didn't buy it? I got a good three months play time out of the game, and mostly enjoyed it, the purchase price and sub was was more than good value for the hours I got out of it. My subscription has just expired and I doubt I'll be back, even if it does go free to play. The fact that it is going F2P has absolutely no bearing on the enjoyment I had playing the game, so how does it validate your decision not to buy it?

You might have missed what he was getting at here...

I think Tiaexz meant something along the lines of "so glad I didn't spend ~$80 on it when I can get to play it for free". A sentiment I kind of agree with. Charging a hefty price tag like that and then a subscription on top is just a little be asinine (which is what EA is known for).

I got super-hyped when the game first came out, but the price shot down my hopes - there were better, cheaper games out there. But if it is really going to be F2P like they claim, then... I'd love a chance to try it out. In fact, I would probably buy the game full price if I didn't have to pay a monthly subscription, too.

**Voigtkampf** · 06-26-2012, 07:07

Originally Posted by johnhughthom

Don't want to spoil it, but I'm wondering if this "going F2P" that's been mentioned is just the free play to level 15 that was announced a while ago?

Nope, this is more of the line of "going free to play all the way".

The question, however, is how will they make their F2P model. Considering who their bosses are and Bioware's complete ignorance in the MMO genre, the switch to F2P model might kill the game even quicker than leaving it on subs. Star Trek Online model would be fine, but I somehow got the feeling that the game will be F2P with the "amazing additional option to purchase the ability to move to your left, and not only to your right!!!"...

**Beskar** · 06-26-2012, 07:50

Originally Posted by Chaotix

You might have missed what he was getting at here...

I think Tiaexz meant something along the lines of "so glad I didn't spend ~$80 on it when I can get to play it for free". A sentiment I kind of agree with. Charging a hefty price tag like that and then a subscription on top is just a little be asinine (which is what EA is known for).

I got super-hyped when the game first came out, but the price shot down my hopes - there were better, cheaper games out there. But if it is really going to be F2P like they claim, then... I'd love a chance to try it out. In fact, I would probably buy the game full price if I didn't have to pay a monthly subscription, too.

You got my sentiment exactly right.

**Voigtkampf** · 06-26-2012, 11:20

That actually wasn't the real problem with TOR. The problem was, in relative terms, that TOR copied WoW and did a bad job at it. There was no endgame. There were no LFG tools. A mere ton of features and content were missing from the game that should have been there from the start.

To make an easy reference, let us say both BioWare and Blizzard were making cars. Blizzard made WoW-mobile and kept working on it, releasing new upgrades and versions all the time, and at the end, we had a full, mature vehicle. BioWare said, oh, we gonna copy that car and make it even better! The problem was, when it came out, the Bio-mobile didn't have AC, no MP3 player, no adjustable seats and no fifth gear. That about sums it up. People didn't drop TOR cause it was like WoW - hell, I would love another game of the scope and technical manner of WoW! - but because it actually failed to live up to all he features that WoW has and has also underperformed in the areas BioWare hinted they would excel at (storyline and narration, oh boy)...

For the record, I am not a TOR hater - I wanted this game to be good very badly. But TOR is a fail in so many aspects that it makes me a really, really said bear...

**Monk** · 06-27-2012, 14:26

Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube

You're right, of course. On release it was more of a WoW: TBC clone than a WoW: Everything Else clone. TBC was the last expansion I played for WoW, so it took me awhile to realize the game's problems.

It doesn't help that Bioware-Austin is incompetent. I played for a good number of months as a closed beta tester, not just a weekend tester. Some of the bugs I reported over 8 months ago are still in the game to this day. Laziness or incompetence, take your pick. I was absolutely dumbstruck when I poked my head in around April when they gave everyone free play time and saw the very same bugs.

Sights like this (note the message of the day):

Are common in the game - SWTOR isn't in beta anymore and it shows no signs of getting any better which is really the crux of why i decided to leave around February

While I enjoyed my time in both the beta and in the retail game earlier this year, I'm extremely disappointed in Bioware by their handling of their first, and hopefully last, MMO. I didn't even mind the fact it was a wow clone due to how the classes worked and the story and questing system. Healing as an operative was probably the most fun i've ever had as an mmo healer, and i've had my share of experience in that area.

I think SWTOR could have been a great game even being a wow-clone, but it will never get there as long as Bioware is in charge. Maybe the game going F2P will change that, but I doubt it.

**Philippus Flavius Homovallumus** · 06-27-2012, 14:54

You know, the more I think about it the more I think the problem is that it just isn't KOTOR4, with KOTOR3 being the time period they showed in the FMV trailers - the game they should have made.