Rumor: The Old Republic's Space Combat Lacks Freedom [UPDATED]

[Loonerinoes]

According to PC Gamer's issue, whose pages have already been splattered over the SWTOR general forums by now, they decided not to model it after X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, but rather after Rogue Squadron.

From a design standpoint this actually makes sense, because it'll provide a seperate, more intense and shorter challenge than what is found in MMOs usually (the missions within the hotspots, that would be unlocked through ground quests, are said to last between 2-8 minutes). And they've pretty much said that they'll add co-op and PVP not at launch but within a latter expansion, which I find fair enough I guess.

All in all, some might be dissapointed...but as said, from a design standpoint it makes sense to me. It won't give you unlimited freedom like X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, but it won't be like Rebel Assault either. The German translation was a bit bogus on that. Instead, look to what the Rogue Squadron series did - something like that it seems.

EDIT: Hrmm...actually it looks more like the Starfox space shooter at this point. Still, considering they promised Co-Op or even PVP in latter expansions, I don't see how they can go any other route to implement that other than evolving into Rogue Squadron eventually, where there's a bit more freedom to it.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

I still Hope that Battlefront III will be better than this semi-improvised game...

 

[Worgen]

sounds like its gonna be kinda like starfox

 

[FaceFaceFace]

Dissapointing, yes. The ridiculously short length hurts too. But if this causes you not to get the game, you're being ridiculous. Certainly a Bioware Star Wars MMO didn't interest you solely because it would have space combat. If it did, you probably would have had a miserable time seeign as how you wanted a space flight sim but were playing it through an MMO RPG.

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

Umm, actually. The Ships are free to fly, it isn't rail shooter like what was insinuated.So it is only a rumor, a cruel false one. More info at my SWTOR group.

 

[darkonnis]

In gaming, if you aren't willing to develop something properly, then don't do it at all.

This has better be optional, being honest all the have to do is take freelancer and have that as the space combat, make it optional and everyones problems are pretty much solved. A few minor tweeks and it'll be great. I sincerely hope bioware don't run to far with such a bad an idea as a rail shooter

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

snip

Tom, since this news is kind of bothering everyone waiting for the game, could you update it with this?

And allow me to point you to Bioware stating that it is not on rails [http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=182698]

I also bring a screenshot of space combat.

Looks more like Battlefront's space combat. And Battlefront's combat wasn't on rails.

Hopefully people will read this post.

I mean, people who really care have already seen this screenshot (myself included), but for some it's still a deciding point and news like this could wrongfully influence their decision.

 

[archvile93]

Did anybody really expect advanced gameplay from an MMO?

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

I don't quite understand all the doom and gloom over this. In fact, I think it's probably a good sign that the final product will be quite polished. Let's face it, MMOs are even more susceptible to the trap of feature creep than regular games. Especially in the current climate, where almost every game is competing directly with WoW but for the sake of appeasing investors they're basically remaking WoW with a few bells and whistles; in the designer's mind, the more bells and whistles, the better. But I think they regularly underestimate just how many resources are required to add some of these mechanics. Age of Conan is the best example I can think of: that game was in development for over five years and they STILL had to launch it without the much touted battlekeep pvp system.

Point is, a basic, TIE fighter-esque space sim between planets sounds simple enough, but in reality might take a whole pile of resources away from other areas of the game. Plus there's always the possibility that they could add it later via an expansion or content update. Really, when it comes to MMOs I think we should be applauding people who step back from the desire to shoehorn as many different ideas into their game as possible, and give us a product that's not the usual slop bucket that most MMOs are when they're first launched.

 

[Deathfish15]

This sucks, and anyoen who is on here defending it is not a fan of piloting combat or sims. Space Combat should not be limited to being a turret gunner, thats stupid and boring.

That's the thing, this is NOT a pilot combat game or a space SIM. It's a MMORPG that emphasizes the ground combat and ground character progression. Honestly, we're lucky that Bioware sticks in space combat at all, as it's not a main factor needed within the game's universe; it's more background white-noise that only helps slightly push the main story, which is the ground conflicts between the Empire and the Republic.

And, lets be truthful here about these things: I (and probably many of the targeted MMORPG audience) would much rather have Bioware spend more of their resources on extensive quests, character creation/animation, NPC variety, world(s) locations, itemization, and so much more than to just spend time creating an in-game action shooter that would get repetitively old after the 3rd time doing it or so.

 

[Yureina]

Depressing... I remember those old Star Wars flight Sims, and those were some of the funnest games I played during my early gaming years. If TOR had something like that, it almost could have made me want to check it out.

 

[Naheal]

Depressing... I remember those old Star Wars flight Sims, and those were some of the funnest games I played during my early gaming years. If TOR had something like that, it almost could have made me want to check it out.

I'm guessing that the best we can hope for is something following the model put forth in Star Wars Battlefront

 

[Devil's Due]

This is really disappointing for me and few of my friends. One thing we love about Star Wars Galaxies is that it allowed a large amount of space combat, from small fighters to multiperson ships that required a large crew to operate. Heck, some could say that the space combat was more fun than the ground. A on rails shooter... is just a limitation that disappoints the "spacers" from SWG.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Shame, but it shouldn't be too bad. Afterall, this means that the space combat is like Lylat Wars! Everyone loves Lylat Wars.

Do a barrel role!

It surprises me that people hoped so much of this, by the way. I mean, it's still a relatively traditional MMO. Did anyone really expect that they would've put a flight sim in it?

 

[MasterSqueak]

It surprises me that people hoped so much of this, by the way. I mean, it's still a relatively traditional MMO. Did anyone really expect that they would've put a flight sim in it?

They did in SWG.

But yeah, I'm fine with Starfox style flying, the problem for me is the lack of ship customization, and the fact that space combat was just a sidenote. You get one ship, based on your class, and the space combat is a few minutes long at most.

It's not like Star Wars is a SPACE series.

 

[Hoplon]

*ill-mannered snip

*reasonable snip*

*condescending whiny snip*

Whoa there man, he kind of has a right to favour certain aspects of a game you disliked, doesn't he? there's no inherent "right" or "wrong" here, no matter what you might think. What's with the defensiveness? is his opinion really just "false"?

I wasn't debating that, I was pointing out that talking about them like it is the only way to make a good game was not really constructive.

I may still of been out of line though.

 

[Hoplon]

This is really disappointing for me and few of my friends. One thing we love about Star Wars Galaxies is that it allowed a large amount of space combat, from small fighters to multiperson ships that required a large crew to operate. Heck, some could say that the space combat was more fun than the ground. A on rails shooter... is just a limitation that disappoints the "spacers" from SWG.

weren't they always going to be disappointed then? This is KotOR on-line, which never had a heavy space component, the rest of the game is not a sand box, why would space be?

 

[Icehearted]

I was hoping for something more like Battlefront, but then my expectations for World of Star Wars isn't all that high as it is.

 

[Devil's Due]

This is really disappointing for me and few of my friends. One thing we love about Star Wars Galaxies is that it allowed a large amount of space combat, from small fighters to multiperson ships that required a large crew to operate. Heck, some could say that the space combat was more fun than the ground. A on rails shooter... is just a limitation that disappoints the "spacers" from SWG.

weren't they always going to be disappointed then? This is KotOR on-line, which never had a heavy space component, the rest of the game is not a sand box, why would space be?

Because some of us had hope that BioWare would improve upon the last Star Wars MMO with the features that worked and made them better, while fixing the ones that didn't. To limit players, regardless how heavy they're trying to make their story, is just a down-grade in many fellow SWG player's eyes, which is probably why a lot of us (and surprisingly there is quite a bit of us left) are not interested in KOTOR because of their choices in how they're making this game. To each their own, I suppose.

 

[Kimarous]

This is really disappointing for me and few of my friends. One thing we love about Star Wars Galaxies is that it allowed a large amount of space combat, from small fighters to multiperson ships that required a large crew to operate. Heck, some could say that the space combat was more fun than the ground. A on rails shooter... is just a limitation that disappoints the "spacers" from SWG.

I, for one, am glad for this. I used to play Star Wars Galaxies in the earliest days and Jump To Lightspeed is what killed it for me. Suddenly nobody seemed to care about the ground; it was all about the space flight now... a space flight system that SUCKED! In my eyes, Star Wars Galaxies was all about the role playing, the character's skill... and then you add this horrible space combat system that relies entirely on the PLAYER'S skill! Oh, and then they have to restrict you by only letting you get better ships when you miraculously manage to fill out your XP bar to the next level! TIE Fighters are crap enough, but now you're telling me that I can only use a CRAP Tie Fighter before I can use a REAL Tie Fighter? WHAT... ARBITRARY... SILLINESS!