Star Wars: The Old Republic – Announcement Video

Revan 23456 on Sat, 1st Nov 2008 2:24 pm 

–see “KOTOR announcement article”–

Amen brother Nicholas. Of course this isn’t what the TRUE fans want. Heck, this isn’t even what the SWGALAXY’s crackheads want. Lucasarts intends to make a game that the most shriveled, lifeless, cat-assing, poop-socking WoW player POTENTIALLY wants. (Not that there’s anything wrong with WoW players – i mean, not really…;)
The point is, WoW players are an ENORMOUS potential market, and are all more than willing to pay monthly fees, micro transactions and the like. As soon as Lucasarts and Bioware saw both the popularity of KOTOR and the crack-like addiction power of MMO’s, they realized that it was possible to come up with a, should I say, metaphorical method of combining a finely aged gourmet cheese(KOTOR), with herbal cigarettes(MMOs), to create some not-so metaphorical gold. Its just too bad that, in doing so, they will inevitably create a monster; a blocky, cartoony, brick-lightsaber wielding, will-run-on-all-computer-systems monster. A monster, I fear, that cannot be killed by the torches and pitchforks of the true fans.
It was just unfathomable for me, and no doubt for others, to imagine this kind money-grubby behavior from two of the greatest game developers of all time; I mean, think of all the great games they’ve made back in the day! Lucasarts especially! Since when was quick, easy money their prime motive! And Bioware! The premier RPG maker of the West! When did they start whoring themselves like this!…. then, it came to me- (not THEN, but a few days ago), that, in all honesty, this probably isn’t the doing of either Lucasarts OR Bioware! “What!” you say? “How is this possible?” you say? Well, remember a few months ago–well, a lot months ago, I guess, On MSNBC there was an article in the “Games” section, about good-ol EA having its filthy eyes on that pretty-little Bioware. (This was the same year that EA took, or attempted to take, control over several game companies). EA got its wish to take over Bioware a few weeks later, just in time to slap DRM onto the PC version of Mass Effect. Oh yeah, you know where this is going- It is my hypothesis, that EA, -that evil empire, that filthy pimp-, is to blame for this whole TOR-MMO trainwreck. Bioware, which is controlled by EA, came to Lucasarts with an offer they couldn’t refuse: turn the KOTOR saga into an MMO, and MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE – SCREW THE FANS AND CONSUMERS. That is the creed of EA, after all. I pity the poor souls who are destined to buy TOR, and I shudder to think of what kind of “Limited installs and Activations” await them, – EA, after all, isn’t a company known for its user-friendly installations (see: BATTLEFIELD 2142).
But, what really makes this gamer mad is not the MMO status, not the ridiculous “Playschool toys” graphics, not the fact that Lucasarts seems GENUINELY SURPRISED at the fans negative reactions, and not even EA’s interference. No, what really gets under my skin are the brainwashed denizens of the Lucasarts official TOR boards. Here is a group of SWG playing Lucasarts brown-nosers, the like of which the Earth has never seen. I mean, seriously, have you SEEN the official site boards!? They loudly trumpet the “greatness” of the MMO decision, heartily applaud the “styalized graphics” and generally agree blindly with Lucasart’s every deluded plan for the game. And don’t expect to get far with them on the boards; anyone who post a mildly discontented comment is quickly and mercilessly ostracized by the brutally single-minded community. Worst of all, I have heard, but cannot verify, that a small handful of particularly strongly-opposed comments have been deleted outright! If this is true, than there is some scary stuff going on-very scary stuff. EA-style scary stuff. Its a pity that the tiny minority of supporters gets to project their voice as if they were a majority-delivering the false illusion to the TRUE KOTOR fan that the opinions among the gamers are evenly split on the issue. At least we still have great sites like this though, where the articles are unbiased and the opinions of the people are not stifled (thanks Mr. Admin!
-sigh!- :*(
Still, we shouldn’t just give up hope; if the “true fan majority” that we are was to rally, than it is probably within the realm of possibility to get the companies, even EA, to notice us -and perhaps one day, in a future where cars can fly and people live on Mars- we the gamers will finally get our KOTOR 3!

-but, I digress… I guess I just stole a good 5 minutes of your life (and a good half an hour of mine , but I suppose if there were any reason for one to rant, this would be it. Show em’ what were made of KOTOR fans! Laterz.

Revan 23456 on Sat, 1st Nov 2008 2:28 pm 

Sry for the double post - i just wanted to keep the thread alive.

Hmmm….. I wonder what they mean by “a movie exclusive deal in place with a US broadcaster”…. interesting.

mustang on Sun, 2nd Nov 2008 8:39 pm 

Revan 23456 totally agree with you and the post you made earlier on megabong356highdude. that was priceless but nontheles true. the line you were asking about above is what i presume to be the reason they didnt show the gameplay footage. you see it was supposed to be included in the announcement video. But bioware struck a deal with those Broadcasters to not telecast it.

bigE on Tue, 4th Nov 2008 1:58 pm 

we were so close to having a kotor 3, and now we’re stuck with an mmo. awesome. all ive wanted in a video game for years is a conclusion to the revan story, and to play as revan. wtf… obviously its too late for them to change it now, i just pray to god that lucas arts wakes up and does the right thing

Christian Haugen of Norway on Tue, 4th Nov 2008 2:01 pm 

This is terrible news!!!
I cant buy knights of the old republic 3 if it’s an online game!!! Awww this is ruening all of my hopes and dreams sins I first finished kotor2!

Revan 23456 on Wed, 5th Nov 2008 12:53 am 

Ooh, right. Thanks for the answer to my query/thought Mustang. Don’t know how I missed that… must’ve been that darned box of Chinese baby formula I ate. Guess I should of added water…

mustang on Wed, 5th Nov 2008 6:37 am 

Lol… No probs dude… anytime…

angrykotorfan on Thu, 6th Nov 2008 10:41 pm 

this is giving me a traumatic flashback of the max payne movie (shakes)

PO-edKotorFan on Sun, 16th Nov 2008 9:21 am 

I hate you Bioware. . .I hate you more than you could ever know

Serondil on Mon, 17th Nov 2008 2:39 am 

OK,

I understand the panic done by this decision, but let’s not all go apocalypse now…

Believe it or not, this could actually turn into a positive thing over time.

Let’s face it, apart from a limited group of SW-addicts the Star Wars saga’s popularity is eriously declining. Even Lucasarts had to make some drastic decisions because of that. Now maybe with this game we can educate some of the more main stream gamers with a touch of SW magic.

Yes, It’s not really what we wanted (i can totally agree with that)
Yes, It will prolly be a really cheesy rip off of the great story that was KOTOR
Yes, Most of us will curse their hearts out when they see every single char online running around with a lightsaber.
NO, this is not the end of the world.

In all honestly, I was counting the days when they announced a SW MMO, being that Sony’s SW MMO sucked balls on many levels. It was inevitable, immo

In any case.. I’ll hold my opinion on the game for now untill i see what they used from the KOTOR series (really curious about how they will do combat now, seeing that RPG rolling simply can’t be done in an instant-time MMO)

Curious and waiting.

-Seron

Darthmullet on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 10:00 am 

Lucas Arts is stupid for trying to get into the MMO world. WoW is too good for players to want to switch, especially with WotLK expansion just launched.
99% of WoW players will NOT switch. So why spend the $ to develope a game, when all the MMO fans are glued to WoW? Now you may make lots of new MMO fans that were previously KotOR fans, but I dunno how many will.

If you made a 3rd instalment regualr RPG kotor 3 it would be a national best seller, whether it was shit or not.

I am a WoW player, and a KotOR fan, I would stop playing WoW for a month or two to play KotOR 3, I would not however switch MMO’s. A lot of people have the same viewpoint.

A KotOR MMO is a real disapointment for me. WE better get a single player RPG too…

Cedarstriker on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 4:44 pm 

Well this actually sucks. Why could they leave well enough alone. They were doing so good. What I was thinking for the Third one was a combination between Revan and the Exile…That would have been so cool. There is nothing wrong with A MMO game but you can only do that with certain games. I just don’t know what to say I’m very disappointed by their choice. Hopefully in the future they will correct the problem that they have cause and actually finish what they started instead of walking away leaving it to rot.

Revan 23456 on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 5:41 pm 

MR. SERON DIL…..

It is not my intent to soil the bedsheets of your child-like innocence, nor is my stark refutation of your short-sighted and ignorant belief any personal attack on your character- so, before I mercifully attempt to lift the thick veil of delusion from your so obviously damaged eyesight, let me first make note of the points you made that I happen to agree with. Obviously this will be a short list.

1. I agree that the generic “Star Wars MMO” concept itself is a goldmine of potential gaming ecstasy- I mean, c’mon, its frickin’ STAR WARS!
2. I begrudgingly agree that PERHAPS it would beneficial to the physical well-being of gamers to give Lucasarts and Bioware the benefit of the doubt; if not only for the peace of mind….. and the severe potential for heart failure due to the sheer levels p!$$ed-off’erone involved here.

Well, now that thats over with, we can proceed with the execution.
FIRST of all, just were in the blankity-blank galaxy does your reasoning that quote: “apart from a limited group of SW-addicts the Star Wars saga’s popularity is eriously(hee-hee:)) declining” come from! Do you, uh, have a link that would lead me to an exhaustive survey that shows just how many “self-described star wars fans” are out there? Hmmmm? And I, oh-umm, suppose that the same survey would describe the “level of fan devotion” among said population? Yeah? Is that right? Yeah? No? Didn’t think so.

As if your audacity to to just “make up a statistic” wasn’t bad enough, you also seem to think that the “education of mainstream gamers about star wars” MUST come from an MMO. Dude… First of all, perhaps we should explore the meaning of the term “mainstream gamer”. But if we are do that, then first we must understand the basic concepts of a “hardcore gamer” and a “casual gamer”, and where the two intersect.

A typical “hardcore gamer” is creature that devotes its entire life to joys of the game-at any and all costs. Its favorite games are most commonly MMO’s, preferably sprinkled with Dungeons and Dragons. Such unsavory behavior like skipping work, forsaking meals, and abandoning family and friends are sadly commonplace. And when taking into account their aversion to healthy food consumption and lack of basic movement (much less exercise), the average lifespan of these increasingly (and fortunately) rare creatures dwindles to levels comparable to that of those living in the middle ages. How thick the irony is.

The “casual gamer”, on the other hand is a beast nearly as mythical as the unicorn, or perhaps Ann Coulter. Its free ranges are rumored to be the west coast suburbs, were it is reported to enjoy its prosperous and wealthy life of horseback riding, eating at “the Olive Garden” with its nuclear family, and paying taxes; it is, after all, a model citizen… I should note, however, that all available information on the creature comes from the advertising departments of Best Buy and Wall-Mart.

But anyway, the point I wish to make is that the grand group of those who frequently play video games is in fact, far more diverse; I, for example, on a scale of 1 to 10(with 10 being the most obsessed), would probably be a 7- I love games to death, and I play them more often than I probably should, but I never put them in front of family and friends on the priority list… at least, I don’t most of the time.

Luckily for the human race, the vast, vast majority of people who play games are between 2 and 6 on that list; I know its not a scientific fact, but is one that MUST be true- over 3,000,000 people play WOW right? And millions of other people play other games right? Thus, because untold millions haven’t quit their jobs and alienated themselves, the majority of gamers therefore MUST be, indeed, “normal people”.
So Mr. Dil, you can see how your reasoning is flawed when you said one must create an MMO to appeal to all. Quite the opposite, in fact, when you consider the general appeal the the Star Wars brand has in and of itself- I can see an average, middle aged customer reaching for an online shooter(Battlefront 3, anyone?), or an fps(Republic Commando 2, perhaps?), with far less hesitation that an MMORPG- after all, if you have a job and a family, who has time make an avatar or go on a raid, anyway? One can see why mmo’s aren’t very “average Joe” (or Jane) friendly.

Yes Mr.Seron, It’s not really what we wanted
Yes Mr.Seron, It will “prolly” be a really cheesy rip off of the great story that was KOTOR
Yes Mr.Seron, Most of us will “curse their hearts out” when they see every single char online running around with a lightsaber.

And oh yes Mr. Seron, how it will suck when we can’t differentiate female avatars between male avatars due to such extremely distorted (or should I say “stylized”) animation?
And will we ever be truly able to stifle our giggles when we see our Playschool-toy Jedi light up his mighty Brick-Saber? Of course not.
But will it truly be the end of the world? Well, technically no… but man, will it suck- and who wants that to happen?

At any rate, if the common gamer takes your advice and plays as the timid and submissive sheep, than yes, the game will suck, yes Lucasarts will lose a lot of money and another little chunk of its reputation, and yes, as you said, life will go on for the star wars fan and gamer.

But whether we survive or not is beside the point. The point is simple: who wants an ugly game? And who wants the great story of the original to be butchered for the sake of money? Nobody. Doing nothing and “hoping for the best” just ain’t gonna cut it pal; would you just stand by and watch if great works of art and literature were torn to pieces by an angry mob and burned? Just for the money? Well, if they had guns, you might want to… but guess what! Lucasarts doesn’t have guns!
And guess what? Lucasart’s disastrous decision to make KOTOR an MMO isn’t just bad for us- its bad for them. In creating a stupid and ugly game, any last shred of dignity the company has will be gone, and with its recent layoffs, and with the economy in the toilet- all the factors are right on for an disaster so terrible, so heartbreaking, I don’t even want to type it into this post. Lets just say I don’t want “The Old Republic” to be the last Star Wars game I ever play….

Of course, I admit such tragedy is highly unlikely, but is it really worth risking? And even if NO MORE STARWARS GAMES EVER weren’t a possible factor, would you REALLY be willing to stand by and do nothing as a cr@ppy game was being made? You shouldn’t! Let Lucasarts and Bioware execs KNOW were unhappy with the basic concept and art design! Constructive criticism is just another aspect of development for great games; I would hate to imagine what the video game world would look like without it. You know what I’m saying… criticism of games isn’t just something do when your mad- its your OBLIGATION.

So, to all those furious- keep up the criticism. To all those angry but silent, make your opinions known. And to those silly few who support the idea-go play some SW Galaxies and keep your noses OUT OF OUR KOTOR!!!

And as for you Mr. Serondil-I certainly hope I’ve changed your mind about remaining stoic to creation of the game; and I certainly hope I changed your mantra from “Curious and Waiting” to “Frustrated and Complaining”. It may not exactly sound like an improvement, but you were paying attention, you’ll know such a motto is for the better.
Laterz.

-Sincerely, Reven 23456

austin on Tue, 18th Nov 2008 8:14 pm 

I WANT KOTOR3!!!!!! As do all the other true fans of kotor! An MMO is just plain screwed up and an effort to make money only! The graphics are horrible! and theres no way you could match the great stories from the first two with a horrible MMO!

gm on Sat, 22nd Nov 2008 5:41 pm 

This is going to really suck. I already have enough MMOs to play. KOTOR 1 and 2 were fantastic, why not do a number 3? Sure MMOs are good but I hate investing the time. Were not all dateless nerds that live with our parents.

jens on Thu, 27th Nov 2008 9:47 am 

if bioware really was taked over im afraid i am going to be filled with a bit off dread i mean kotor wasnt the only awesome game they made fx. nwn thats perhaps why theyre already making the next expansions “shudders”

Serondil on Sun, 30th Nov 2008 4:52 pm 

Revan3456,

Appearantly u are not interested in discussing this. All you did was bash and flame with a number of low-content arguments. Furthermore you did not only try to attack my comment but appearantly more.

Well dude, i really feel sorry for you that you are not able to debate stuff in a normal way. First of all you said i made up statisctics… no idea where you got that but appearantly flames and slander was your goal instead of actually discussing something.

Calling me childish does not help either. I posted an opinion saying that we should not all go ‘appocalypse now’ becuz of this decision and becuz you have a different opinion you just go ahead and flame me a bit. Really feel sorry for you.

So that’s that, note that any posts i make on this site are meant for everybody except u since u don’t seem capable to debate on content.

(hope you find some more typo’s, since you find that so comical)

grtz

-Seron

Mandalore B on Mon, 1st Dec 2008 4:51 am 

I see the points your trying to make Dil but i think for alot of us it’s the same point of view. We all loved kotor I & II which were pretty much the same style of game but now..what Lucas Arts have chosen to do with it? I keep trying but i can’t understand their reason. Even kotor II made millions (with it’s flaws), so when i look at after all this time the MMO is all they came up with i can’t help but be pissed off. I’ve agree with the majority of Revans posts, his POV normaly represents the feelings of alot of people just in more detail than we care to write : P
I’d like nothing more then a member of lucas arts to find and read all the ‘flaming’ comments. Go back to old george and say ” Meh, we may have been mistaken? ” because THEN and only THEN would they attempt to cut their losses and make a profit by giving us all what we want. The ending game to possibly the greatest gaming trilogy ever, Kotor III.

-B.

ben on Mon, 22nd Dec 2008 4:43 am 

fellow KOTOR fans. whos gonna bomb bioware headquarters.
i think we need to get the message through.

no mmo.
we would have gone to SWG if we were that stupid.

joe on Mon, 22nd Dec 2008 8:54 am 

I have good news my fellow haters of mmo.If you dislike the fact that this game is a mmo,like me.Go to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 Petition.This is the tag of the website.www.petitiononline.com/KOTOR3/petition.html.We need all the help we can get,soo go there and PETITION.