Since before this game was officially announced, a healthy debate raged between many of us over on the main BioWare forums (remember how we used to debate everything in ONE thread, guys?), relating to the concept of levels versus skills-based progression.

Generally-speaking, it was the more old-school MMO gamers who preferred skills-based progression and while the retort to this was, “This won’t be SWG…” be advised that most were suggesting it because of their experiences in Ultima Online, not SWG.

Meanwhile, and again generally-speaking, it seemed to be the newer MMO gamers who preferred levels. After all, levels is what they had grown up with in games like WoW and, indeed, many BioWare RPG players also couldn’t see past the concept of levels.

And, lo and behold, TOR will have levels.

That doesn’t mean I have to like it, nor the old-school gamers who I see creating threads on the topic every day. But rather than fight something that’s already decided, I think it’s time to shift attention to a level-based issue that really annoys me.

Ever play an MMO where the levels, essentially, mean nothing? Virtually every MMO I’ve ever played has had a level system that means nothing. Say you’re level 36… is it really so radically different to being level 42? Level 48? These games that push people into the 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond are just… well, to be frank, there’s no point to it for the gamer.

But sure, there’s a point to it for the company in question… it hopes to keep its mice on the treadmill for extra time, the more levels there are to achieve. I find this kind of repulsive, myself. I’d rather have a game that had a cursory 20 levels, or whatever, and the rest of the game was about the content, moreso that repetitive tasks to gain levels.

The BioWare RPGs were kind of like this, with low level caps, so I wonder if this game will follow suit? If it slavishly follows the WoW model, and others, I suppose that will be out the window, but we can dream, I suppose, right readers?

My ideal would be leveling to something like Level 20 via a series of ‘noob quests’, at which point the game decides you are maxed out, and the rest of the game is about adventuring and enjoying the story. And, yes, even ‘phat lewt’ if you’re into that kind of thing.

What’s your ideal?

You know the concept of the glass is half full/empty? In the spirit of the phrase, I present four of the top TOR elements that are being discussed over and over:

Glass is half full:

1) Loads of quests! They’re gonna be different for every class!
2) No boring harvesting or crafting! This crafting will be simple and heroic!
3) Highly solo-able! Play with your NPC party from start to finish!
4) Everyone’s a hero in this game, because everyone wants to be a hero, right?!?

Glass is half empty:

1) So it’s a quest grind to gain levels? Gee… awesome. Great innovation. Not.
2) It’s the “boring” harvesting and crafting that makes an MMO for some.
3) Great… we’re paying a monthly fee for what boils down to be a solo game.
4) No, they don’t. Indeed, if “everyone” is the hero, it kind of ruins the concept of what a hero is.

Yes, I’ve got my tongue planted firmly in cheek, but I think this illustrates not only what people are talking about, but how each element can be viewed — quite legitimately — rather differently by people.

Got any more?

Does it bother any of you as much as it bothers me that the technology in the Old Republic, some thousands of years before the Star Wars movies is, to many degrees, comparable to the movies? Droids look different… but they’re essentially the same. Laser weapons look different… but they’re essentially the same. Ships fly from planet to planet… and they’re essentially the same.

Anyone want to speculate why technology seems to stand still for thousands of years and then in the space of one generation, we go from Anakin’s mechanical monstrosity of an artificial hand to Luke’s which looks extremely lifelike. Weird, eh?

Is it just me, or are all these people complaining about KOTOR now being “lost for all time” blind to the fact that TOR has been set 100s of years into the future of KOTOR precisely so BioWare, or a partner, can go back there in the future and make more games?

I really can’t get my head around this concept that TOR = no more KOTOR. If anything, to my way of thinking, the time setting for TOR points to the fact that there WILL be more KOTOR games in the future. The series is far from over. Your thoughts?

There are people out there who love PvP.

There are people out there who hate PvP.

There are even people out there who are indifferent to PvP, either way.

Which are you?

And, once you identify which you are, take this topic for a walk and see where it leads us:

Does PvP have a place in a story-driven world? By which I mean, PvP is often an end-game kind of proposition, or a way for people to extend the game (think LotRO, WoW, etc). When it is not used in that context, meanwhile, it tends to become the focus of the game (think Age of Conan PvP servers or Dark Age of Camelor or even WAR!).

But where does it sit in a story-driven world? ie: We’re not looking at a traditional end-game, nor are we looking at a game where combat across all levels = content.

So does it have a place? And will the answers to this question correlate with the type of gamer making them? ie: will PvP-friendly people conclude it has a place and PvP-haters say it doesn’t? Or will the results be more mixed? Have at it, ladies and gentlemen…

Since Day One on the TOR forums, there has been a passionate brigade of folks, eager to leap from the shadows the second anyone has criticised an aspect of the game, shouting, “The game is only pre-alpha! What’s wrong with you?” and variations on that theme.

And, to some degree, there are reasons why, in general game terms, a pre-alpha game sometimes won’t cut the mustard and these people have a grain (a small grain, but a grain nevertheless), of truth to what they are saying; I will agree to that much.

However, TOR has been in development for a long time. Good heavens, most of you should realise this; it was the gaming world’s worst kept secret for a long, long time… and even when LA announced they were working with BioWare, it remained “secret”.

When I look at things like, for example, the graphics, I don’t think the whole, “The game is only pre-alpha! What’s wrong with you?” argument holds much water. I truly think what we’re seeing is the direction the game is going in. The bird has already flown, folks.

I can’t quite figure out whether the, “The game is only pre-alpha! What’s wrong with you?” brigade is made up of people who don’t like what they see and are thus passionately wanting to believe it will get a hell of a lot better… or people who genuinely believe that BioWare and LA would somehow go out to the market with a game direction and style that is, somehow, totally and utterly wrong and nothing like the “real” game… because it’s all part of some elaborate marketing stunt, worthy of a James Bond villain?

People, people, people. Please. Apply some logic to this scenario. Companies like LA and BioWare WOULD NOT go out with graphics and other game elements that were as far away from the finished product as you seem to want to believe. It makes no logical sense. I saw a thread recently stating that the images we are seeing were “the worst” possible, so that it would be a nice surprise when the real game launches. Bzzzzzzt, sorry about that. It’s a cute ideal to cling to, but real businesses don’t work that way. Companies of this magnitude DO NOT go out there, in a blaze of publicity, showing sub-standard work, particularly with no explanation thereof.

What you see developing, from the artwork down, is the direction the game is going in. We won’t hit beta and suddenly be looking at a new game. This is it, people. Learn to love it if you’re not enamoured with it, because the final game will be more like this than not.

Droids are a massive part of Star Wars. George Lucas will even wax lyrical at times that the movies are “the droids story”.

So how do you think they should be handled in this game?

For example, it’s unlikely they would be a playable race, IMHO, but I’d like to see them as more than NPCs. Companions, maybe?

Your thoughts, please…

No, I’m not asking when beta is…!

But what I do want to talk about is what you guys think of open beta programs. And I don’t mean pretend “open” beta programs where, somehow, people still aren’t allowed in… I mean, genuinely OPEN beta programs, where everyone’s invited.

In the few games I have beta tested that have these GENUINELY open beta programs, I’ve got to say that I thought they were a touch of genius. Why? Because they put the game client on everyone’s PC. All a person had to do was buy a game code and they were in.

I think a company has a greater chance of getting people to stay subbed after beta if they make it easy for people to be in beta in the first place, don’t you? None of this “win a place” nonsense (since when was beta testing a prize?); I mean a real open beta, once the game is pretty much done and dusted and been sent to manufacturing, ie: has gone gold, and beta enters its “fun” stage.

What do you think?

Inspired by the lifetime subscription thread here, which was itself inspired by what Turbine did for LotRO, in terms of pricing, I offer a different look at the same thing…

Founder’s Pricing

You see, Turbine offered a $199 lifetime sub to “founders” of the game (ie: people who were in the open beta, and bought a pre-order of the game and entered a game code before open beta finished), but alternately offered founders a $9.99 a month fee.

Yep, $9.99 a month. No catches. No, “buy three months at a time and get each month at $9.99″; this was a genuine offer to pay a flat $9.99 a month. Later on it started offering $9.99 pricing to non-founders, but they HAD to buy in three month blocks.

So if BioWare did consider offering a lifetime sub to founders, I would strongly like to petition that it offers a reduced rate to those who don’t take up the lifetime deal… and, from where I was sitting, $9.99 was perfect. That is a REAL sweet spot for people.

At the urging of Piratess on my TOR profile wall, I’m tossing some thoughts into this post about two related areas: potions and food.

Both are ways that MMOs typically allow players to regain health, spell points, or generally buff some area of their stats.

But what place do they have in the Star Wars universe?

Do they have a place at all?

Are you cool with the concept of someone gulping down energy drinks to keep their health up whilst fighting a boss, or does the idea make you want to puke? Would you perhaps rather that combat was somehow different so that people didn’t have to do it?

And what about food? Do you like the idea that if someone has a full belly, they will fight better? Or a blueberry pie will suddenly make you see in the dark or somesuch? Or is that all a bit silly, too? There’s no right or wrong answers on this one. Simply debate.