Penny Arcade comments on Old Republic footage
by Seraphina Brennan 
Dec 18th 2008 at 1:00PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic
Tycho's comments, while negative, can ring truthful to those who have been following SWTOR since the great announcement back in October. It seems that we keep hearing about this great "story pillar" of the game and how most MMOs don't contain an intense storyline, but veterans of Asheron's Call's monthly updates or Wrath of the Lich King's new emphasis on story will certainly recall that some games have already put story in as their main pillar.
Of course, Tycho also brings up the fact that it's odd for someone with an infinitely sharp laser beam sword to slash at the same monster multiple times, but we think you get the idea. Check out all of Tycho's comments in his Penny Arcade blog post and make your own decisions on what you think of the first gameplay footage.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Lethality said on 1:23PM 12-18-2008
I wish people would stop giving credit to Penny Arcade for "thinking" - they really really are overrated.
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JP said on 1:39PM 12-18-2008
Ya, they rarely have nice things to say, and personally I don't like their constant cynical POV.
and jesus, enough with the "I should slice through everyone in one swing!! It's not cannon!!" crap. People need to suspend their disbelief. Every biped uses cortosis in their armor, and all animals/beasts drink water infused w/ it. There. Explained. Now, stfu about it.
Coldbrand said on 1:58PM 12-18-2008
Yes God forbid that we finally have a game that isn't a fucking bland auto-attack fest and actually has visceral gameplay with consequences for what should be extremely lethal and devastating attacks.
Fucking corporate apologists, I hate how you are the lube through which these lame designers can slip their pre-historic gameplay deep inside the gamer's ass. It's 2008 now, and this MMO won't be out for another year or two, it's time for innovations to gameplay, you shouldn't even be ALLOWED to have such tame, uninspiring, and plainly unrealistic combat in your games anymore.
Your "cortosis in their armor" horseshit is just an excuse for these people to be intellectually lazy.
JP said on 2:21PM 12-18-2008
LOL. Lighten up, spunky. You lobby for “perma death” penalties all you want. No one is listening. Those days are long gone, just like that type of player’s mindframe. Ranting and raving about “lazy” development won’t change shit. People don’t want to sink free time into a character, when one false move ends the game. That’s just dumb. It’s not the real world, and shouldn’t have realistic consequences. Further, and more important that type of game will not attract subs, which means they make little money.
But, if you find a game that’s fun for you and has those tough consequences, enjoy. You just won’t see many people there as it’s an old ideology that a stagnant few “mmo vets” can’t let go of. I think it’s a loss of that 16-hour-a-day elitism over the 9-5 father, but it could be something else for you.
Arashikou said on 7:38PM 12-18-2008
I keep re-reading this thread, and I still can't figure out where permadeath entered into the conversation.
Tony said on 1:40PM 12-18-2008
LotRO also follows some of AC's standards as well. I think we're at the point where story is finally being injected more regularly into MMORPGs and it's not something Bioware can rely on as a crutch. At the same time, you'll notice that Bioware always says "most MMORPGs" when they talk about this. Most MMORPGs do lack these things still.
As for the lightsaber, welcome to every Star Wars game ever made. I don't know why it should have special significance for this title.
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z4ck said on 1:54PM 12-18-2008
Don't get sidetracked by the PA guys comments about lightsabers.
Seriously, watching that video, weren't you disappointed?
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JP said on 2:22PM 12-18-2008
It didn't thrill me, but it's early and want to see more before I pass judgment. I'm still wondering where the MM in this MMO comes into play. How can players pick-up and team up w/ such rich and meaningful stories will colide?
Ingrod said on 3:10PM 12-18-2008
I liked the lightsaber clash, and combat. But for the most is common Star Wars stuff, similar to KOTOR 1 and SWG, we need see more.
Scopique said on 3:16PM 12-18-2008
OK, but Tycho DOES make a few good points. Storytelling hasn't been as absent from MMOs as BioWare has been claiming it to be. It's there...people just blow though it by reading enough to know where they need to go and what they need to do. I applaud BioWare for their past efforts, but I've heard comments from SWTOR folks in interviews, and they DO seem to be excited about features that aren't entirely new (one developer comment about "having crafting, because other MMOs have it" really boiled my nuts...that's the WRONG reason to include ANYTHING in an MMO).
And for a game that's being hyped (by BioWare) around the "storytelling" and allowing anyone to be a hero, Jedi or not, why are all of the in-game clips of a Jedi in combat? Where's the storytelling? Where's the non-Jedi?
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bob said on 8:21AM 12-19-2008
Actually. Ever since I played AoC's Tortage part I kinda feel mmo's have 0 story in them at all.
This might be because it made me lazy, and not wanting to read more now that I have seen the light that is voiceovers.
But hell no! The games mentionned there does have absolutely zero story.
You click the quest npc, have instant questdescriptions. Click accept, and look at where the location of your quest is.
Again, absolutely ZERO story!
BookhouseBoy said on 3:21PM 12-18-2008
I give PA some credit for remarking on the Emperor's New Clothes. One thing they are definitely right about is the apparent commonality in SWTOR of light sabers. This was one of the main complaints about SWG when they lifted many of the barriers to fast Jedi attunement. Yes, I know that in the time of the Old Republic, the Jedi were at their prime and all that, but it's very easy to imagine that the class balance in SWTOR is going to be 85% Jedi, and the other 7 or so classes will make up the other 15%. "3 Jedi LFG... need tank and healer !"
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WrrLor said on 3:28PM 12-18-2008
Some, if not most, of the non-Jedi characters in KOTOR were the coolest in the game.
This isn't even in alpha stages yet. I expect to see a lot of changes before it is even a game, and not some random FMV sequences using a graphics engine.
This one has a long way to go. Let's refrain from doom and gloom until it at least gets moving.
P.S. Expect to see at least one non-humanoid, non-Jedi named WrrLor running around somewhere. :D
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darksideslight said on 3:42PM 12-18-2008
Story in mmo's has been done before, its called roleplaying, and no developer, the holy Bioware included, will ever be able to hold a candle to the content created by roleplaying guilds in games such as SWG and even the Jedi Knight series multiplayer environments.
TOR will be the perfect starter mmo for your average SW fan: the late 20s/early 30s semi-nerd who grew up with the saga, had to sell off his action figures at the behest of his wife, and has now popped out a gaggle of kids and so can relate to Jar Jar and all of the other unbelievably juvenile additions to the mythos that have steamed out of the Lucas content factory since the late 90s.
TOR will be light, accessible, and probably pretty shallow, tailor-made for all these 9-5 types who're bored with their Wiis and need a simplified mmorpg to call their own.
This game, like nearly everything else SW, is pure family marketing, and only exists as a platform for merchandising tie-ins. One of these days it would be great if people could realize how creatively bankrupt Lucas' universe actually is, and stop giving him the money-printing license to continue defiling its corpse.
But they won't.
"OOOOoooooh lightsabers!!!!"
/whack off
/rolleyes
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JP said on 3:56PM 12-18-2008
HAHAHAHA!! Awesome. You're suggesting they cater to a very very very very small and secluded group of essentially discontented group of anti-social elitists… or make tons of money from the millions that still live on Earth and want to have a harmless and short term, yet fun escape from reality?
Good job. Get out of your mother's basement once in a while.
Sincerely,
9-5 dad.
Syme said on 4:11PM 12-18-2008
You would think from reading Tycho's latest screed that he has never played KOTOR. You hit thing with your lightsaber all the time without slicing them in half.
As for all the combat footage being of Jedis and Sith, those are the only classes they have announced, so they aren't going to show the others yet.
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darksideslight said on 4:30PM 12-18-2008
@JP:
I'm not suggesting any such thing. We all know full well they'll go where the money is, and I can't fault them for that, I've done the same.
What I am saying, and what you failed to grasp in your rush to proclaim your parenthood, is that SW is a tired piece of overcooked shit, and people who like it are either a) very young, or b) completely devoid of original thought.
In any event, enjoy the next 18 years, and I look foreword to further comedy in the form of your posts.
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JP said on 4:52PM 12-18-2008
I grasp your elitism. I just didn't acknowledge it. I find you and your ilk reprehensible and no different then the Jr. Varsity team that beats up the nerd, only b/c he’s different. You’re one in the same. Except now the internet allows the nerd to belittle people, in this case an entire fan base of millions, w/out having to curtail for fear of more beatings. Anonymity is frugal and heartless lover. You should try less telling others how dumb they are for enjoying something you don’t, and instead, stay quiet.
BTW – I’ll spend the next 18 years teaching him to never pick on someone like you for enjoying something different, but also never let some small minded cretin disrespect him.
Have a fabu day, sweetheart!
WrrLor said on 5:27PM 12-18-2008
Piece of over cooked shit?
I am sorry, I can not agree. Are you referring to Star Wars as a whole, now, or just the recent stuff. I can not quite tell from your posts.
Yes, the recent movies, etc. have been a let down to some, but they never could have been as good to us, or to anyone else.
That being said, I do not feel that any of it has ranked in the "over cooked POS" category. The story itself is great, and I love the fiction and lore that fans and other writers have produced.
Star Wars was its own worst enemy, in that it jumped right out of the gates and had almost nowhere to go but down.
Still, in my childhood, there was nothing as grand as the epic adventures I had with my SW toys and figures. No game has come close, but I am hoping this will, in some way.
Tasogare said on 5:03PM 12-18-2008
JP, you do realize that you are really no better than any of those people right? For someone who loves to talk about the fact that you're a father, you've got the maturity level of a high school kid.
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