Star Wars: The Old Republic

KOTOR was a single player game, so zoning wasn't a big deal and in many cases just made sense to keep the player on track.  There was very limited 'free roaming'.

However, TOR will be an MMORPG and it would be a shame for the worlds of Star Wars to be reduced to be restrictive in freedom of movement.  It can really spoil immersion.

This was one of the major flaws I found with Age of Conan - Invisible walls and terrain obstructions delibertly in place to keep you walking 'down a hallway' or 'trapped inside a box'.  The zones often felt very constraining rather than allowing a player to go off and explore the world...

I've always been a fan of the OPEN WORLD concept with the 'If you can see it, you can go there' approach - kind of like SWG/Vanguard.

Now I'm not saying the game should be a HUGE open space with no content just barren land, but a few of the screenshots look as if they are large zones but boxes nonetheless.  Granted it's early and I'm not saying the game is going to be so restrictive, but I hope it won't feel like I'm just going from one giant room to another giant room through zones with unrealistically laid out terrain obstructions.  I think that kind of design really goes against what an MMORPG world should be all about.

i prefer open world as well since it can add so much options for end game. i haven't a clue what direction Bioware is gonna go. the only good thing i can find out it being in there mind is that they don't want alot of instance's. they wanna keep instance's for certain things but they want alot of of the game to happen outside of instance's so alot of unintended player interaction occurs.

i don't think bioware will do an open world like in SWG and vanguard though. i see it more like AoC to be honest unfortunatly which means this game will be terrible if so and prolly won't ever steadily keep above 100k subscribers.

Just give me SWG pre cu and LA can do whatever the fuck they want with this game.

If you check out the HeroEngine website, there is a video which explains how the engine is able to make it so that you could move between zones and not even realize it.  I didn't completely understand it all because I was barely paying attention to be honest but I know it's on the site.

Hopefully that will make it feel less 'closed in' if they do go the AoC route. 

Apparently WAR is pretty restrictive as well?  I don't know the game never really intersted me so I didn't try that one...

Either way, I just know I'm going to let out a sad sigh if my path is blocked all around me by unrealistic object placements or a 'dense wooded area' that I apparently cannot cross between... hopefully BioWare has a solution of their own.  They're clever folks after all and have hired some serious pro's.

Originally posted by John.A.Zoid

Just give me SWG pre cu and LA can do whatever the fuck they want with this game.

I heard there is a stess test on December 6th for the (unnamed) project.

Yeah I like open worlds as well, but then again I don't expect to be able to walk up an 80% wall either, though I should be able to jump off it.

A vast world like VG or SWG would be ideal, yes. But even a good compromise like LOTRO would be good. With the extended zones even with zoning I never felt confined like I did in WAR or AoC. Its by and large not so much a matter of the actual size but of the design and placement. The LOTRO zones feel considerably larger because whoever designed those zones was a master of placement, visual composition and design. In many ways.

Take the Old Forest. In real its relatively small, but with the visual design, when you first enter it and get lost in it, it feels like and endless, giant maze of a forest. I found it a bit a letdown they now added a larger map to that place. But still, you can do a lot if you know about zone design to make it not to make people feel confined even though the zones are in real not that big. Riding all over LOTRO from Forochel Bay to the Gate of Moria takes LONG, even tho LOTRO world isnt endless open. But it strikes me as example for a good compromise.

The theme park hook nosing of WAR added a LOT to make the small zones feel considerably smaller than they were, similar AoC.

Yeah, this will be one of the deciding factors for me: when I touch down on a planet will it feel like a real place wth open terrain and wilderness that can be freely explored (on foot or by vehicle) and PvE-adventured in along with other players, and maybe against them if it's a PvP-server.

And all of this without encountering a loading screen or being placed in a "story instance" or a "there's a maximum of 48 people in this zone/instance"-thing a lá Age of Conan as soon as I leave a major population centre like a city or a spaceport. We shall have to wait and see, I guess :)

Originally posted by Ordero

Yeah, this will be one of the deciding factors for me: when I touch down on a planet will it feel like a real place wth open terrain and wilderness that can be freely explored (on foot or by vehicle) and PvE-adventured in along with other players, and maybe against them if it's a PvP-server.

And all of this without encountering a loading screen or being placed in a "story instance" or a "there's a maximum of 48 people in this zone/instance"-thing a lá Age of Conan as soon as I leave a major population centre like a city or a spaceport. We shall have to wait and see, I guess :)

Same for me-