SW:TOR First Impressions
Aug 14, 2014 6:37:57 GMT -5
Post by ioreth on Aug 14, 2014 6:37:57 GMT -5
As has happened in the last 4 MMORPGs I have played, it is a game where as I play I am always saying to myself, "I wish that <insert game here> had this." "Why can't this game do this more like <insert game name here>" All in all, it's really kinda fun. First, dislikes. I hate cities, I really really hate cities. Anything bigger than the city I grew up in I flee from. Big cities, ie. New York and Los Angeles, terrify me. So far in SW:TOR what do I see? BIG CITIES! Well, space station, but it is basically a big-ish city. First there was the bombed over little island (I think it might be an island) with the huge wrecked spaceship in the distance and really nicely crafted distant snow covered peaks. But it is still a bombed out landscape. Except the Jedi, they get beautiful forests with green grass and weird mean creatures that I can see coming and run like **** if I don't want to fight. Did I mention the beautiful trees? Next is space station, mentioned already. I didn't mention naughty companion NPCs and that everyone in space station that stays for any amount of time is out to 'get some' (more later) After that is horrible city that is so big I can't see the ground and barely see the sky. What is this? A warning for what will happen after the apocalypse? Then next they send me to a big city blown up. Aw boy, is this thing ugly with mutated diseased creatures and the regular, healthy type ones are simply annoyed at the world. I can live with that - there is GRASS for heavens sake, and both of my feet are on the ground finally. Happy sigh is heard. Caves, I can handle them. Don't particularly like caves, but OK. They designed the silly things so that I can actually see in there. Especially nice since my monitor/laptop video card is grumping at me and I don't want to overdrive it. But they are nice caves, nothing jumps out and tries to get me that I didn't see first. So, a bombed out city with trees, OK, good. Except one poor character who ends up back in newby-ville, bombed out island with bad people, to do her quests. I have a couple of characters now who are moving past huge, bombed out city to next planet. It turns out that bombed out city place with trees and grass and poor critters who used to be people once was as big as city number one. I say we bomb city number one so it looks like place with grass. On to planet three... OH no, you guessed it, it is another big city with space scooters everywhere and traffic jams no where near the ground (what happens if your space scooter stalls anyway?) I didn't look to see if I could see the sky, I died too fast. So... it is back to green bombed city to make some more levels. After that, who knows. Poor Jedi on bomb crater covered war torn island probably will end up in awful city of 3-trillion people or something like that.
Then there is the dark side. Why is it the dark side folks get a planet with trees to start with? The sun never shines, but the lighting is good enough that most the time I actually can see things before they try to eat me. But hey, there are trees and grass. I can't remember if my character has got to go to the next place yet, but she got a really ugly companion. He fights pretty good, we haven't gotten killed too many times. Where she started was the combination of Afghanistan and the Third Reich, eh, se le vie.
Some things that are like no other game I have played before: The crafting of the player characters. They are limited on some faces and body types but of course had a mess of races (they call them species - which my hubby says is more correct) and then some they didn't make playable, yet. But they are beautiful to see, and have nice expressions and actions. Which comes in handy when getting and turning in quests. Something that will drive the players that hurry through to the end completely crazy is that you get a little dialog movie type thing for every quest you pick up and hand in. I like them, as the quest is explained you get a little circle that has 3 choices of answers. One is usually a dark answer, one a neutral answer, and then there is a light answer. If you are playing the light side sometimes there are all just light answers. There are answers (you learn if you have a lot of characters to level) that just get to the next question without much conversation. There are answers that encourage the NPC to tell you more (good for first time in the area) All the while the NPC and your character actually use their mouth and have some expression. Since they have such lovely face crafting I like to watch and forget to poke a choice on my circle.
There are the usual space scooters and such. Everyone gets a space ship (designed for their class) and a series of partners (called companions) as they go along. Some are human like, some are more creatures. You can buy fighting companions from the store (like an ewok, SHE is a great companion and fights well) There are also pets of different type. The mounts, scooters and animal types (banta, lizard things, I think some others) Normal type stuff. Most you buy at the store with real money, but you come across some you can buy with the money you earn in game. There are several types of money, money for quests, money for space fighting, other money for other types of space fighting, money for pvp. All buys things like weapons, gear, space ship gear, whatever. The real money in the game is that there are some really cool stuff you buy from the store. Already I have spent more than I should.
Um, I think I used up my letters a long time ago. One more thing. Those silly companions? If they are human type form and opposite sex from you they will make out with you (with permission) after you two get to know each other better (about level 25 I'm told) OK, whose bright idea is this? The RP crowd is long used to picking up each other for the purpose of making out, why did they make the companions do it too? Anyway, I'm on Ebon Hawk (with Aleyne, who else) and Begeren Colony (Iaryel is my main there, another name from the Ethaia books) My Legacy on both worlds is Ethaia, and I'm thinking of seeing if the name Ioreth is available (for a Jedi healer of course)
Then there is the dark side. Why is it the dark side folks get a planet with trees to start with? The sun never shines, but the lighting is good enough that most the time I actually can see things before they try to eat me. But hey, there are trees and grass. I can't remember if my character has got to go to the next place yet, but she got a really ugly companion. He fights pretty good, we haven't gotten killed too many times. Where she started was the combination of Afghanistan and the Third Reich, eh, se le vie.
Some things that are like no other game I have played before: The crafting of the player characters. They are limited on some faces and body types but of course had a mess of races (they call them species - which my hubby says is more correct) and then some they didn't make playable, yet. But they are beautiful to see, and have nice expressions and actions. Which comes in handy when getting and turning in quests. Something that will drive the players that hurry through to the end completely crazy is that you get a little dialog movie type thing for every quest you pick up and hand in. I like them, as the quest is explained you get a little circle that has 3 choices of answers. One is usually a dark answer, one a neutral answer, and then there is a light answer. If you are playing the light side sometimes there are all just light answers. There are answers (you learn if you have a lot of characters to level) that just get to the next question without much conversation. There are answers that encourage the NPC to tell you more (good for first time in the area) All the while the NPC and your character actually use their mouth and have some expression. Since they have such lovely face crafting I like to watch and forget to poke a choice on my circle.
There are the usual space scooters and such. Everyone gets a space ship (designed for their class) and a series of partners (called companions) as they go along. Some are human like, some are more creatures. You can buy fighting companions from the store (like an ewok, SHE is a great companion and fights well) There are also pets of different type. The mounts, scooters and animal types (banta, lizard things, I think some others) Normal type stuff. Most you buy at the store with real money, but you come across some you can buy with the money you earn in game. There are several types of money, money for quests, money for space fighting, other money for other types of space fighting, money for pvp. All buys things like weapons, gear, space ship gear, whatever. The real money in the game is that there are some really cool stuff you buy from the store. Already I have spent more than I should.
Um, I think I used up my letters a long time ago. One more thing. Those silly companions? If they are human type form and opposite sex from you they will make out with you (with permission) after you two get to know each other better (about level 25 I'm told) OK, whose bright idea is this? The RP crowd is long used to picking up each other for the purpose of making out, why did they make the companions do it too? Anyway, I'm on Ebon Hawk (with Aleyne, who else) and Begeren Colony (Iaryel is my main there, another name from the Ethaia books) My Legacy on both worlds is Ethaia, and I'm thinking of seeing if the name Ioreth is available (for a Jedi healer of course)