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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit Apropos of Nothing - ACKBAR IN CAPITALS - The Lit Forum Social Thread, v2.0.15

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Master_Keralys, Jan 1, 2009.

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  1. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004

    But some of them are way to cute to die :(

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Cynical_Ben

    Cynical_Ben Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 12, 2013
    I played TOR as an Imperial Agent for a little while, but I simply could not get into it. There is way too much of the MMO grind for it to be enjoyable as a single player experience for me. I don't want to be stuck doing inane sidequests for XP and items when I could be doing the story instead. And, in all honesty, nothing about the story intrigued me in the time I played it, either. It probably gets better as it goes on, but I didn't bother trying to get that far.

    I usually play RPGs for the story more than the grind anyway, that's why I love KotOR and KotOR II so much: there isn't any need to level grind. You get enough experience just from doing the main story missions to finish the game. I dislike a lot of RPGs on principle because the idea of having to level grind before a boss frustrates me. MMO RPGs are designed around stretching the game out for as absolutely long as possible, and have the same problem. The longer they can keep a player involved, the longer they can hope to eek out subscription fees (or F2P microtransactions). If the player isn't ready for an area, enemy type or boss by the time he gets to that point in the game during a normal playthrough, having followed the intended route the entire time, your game is poorly designed.

    Honestly, if we could get a group from Lit together and try to hash through some of it together, it'd be a lot better. MMOs are really meant to be played in groups, and trying to do one solo like I have really sets you up for disappointment.
     
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  3. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jul 22, 2010
    [​IMG]
     
  4. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Feb 17, 2004
    Cynical_Ben

    Agreed. I've done the full story for a class from each faction, and I think the game has some remedies, as there are some interesting side quests involving stuff like Czerka and the Rakata, or anything on Nar Shaddaa, and the flashpoints in general that make the grinding entertaining on a similar level to the main story.

    I think for the most part SWTOR does better than other MMOs I've played in masking the grind with story, though there were times I had to take a break.
     
  5. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    I wouldn't necessarily agree that TOR is poorly designed; by MMO standards, it's perfectly fine. It's those "MMO standards", I think, that so many KOTOR fans, myself included, can't stand. I love that so many MMO's are attempting to break away from MMO trappings, but I know there are some people who love the genre and all the grinding it offers. I myself never had the problem of being underleveled my first playthrough, as I did everything that was offered; doing that, one will find that TOR has an extreme exp surplus. It's just that I can't work up the motivation to do all that a second time.

    It really wasn't a good idea to market the game as a sequel to KOTOR, because it attracts an entirely different crowd. As an MMO, it's quite good, easily on par with some of the better ones. As an RPG, it's flat, repetitive and dull, not to mention far too time consuming (I don't have 200 hours to spend on every story, dammit). I really do feel like this would be solved with a simple option to do only story missions if one wishes. Still, I plan to try out this new expansion; if it's consistently fun (and offers fast leveling), it might work out very well as an alternative to side quests.
     
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  6. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

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    Feb 17, 2004
    Oh, and I would be interested in starting a new character for group play.
     
  7. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Now for something completely different: Has anyone else read Raising Steam (Discworld) yet?
     
  8. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jul 22, 2010
    So far I've only read The Colour of Magic, which was great.
     
  9. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

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    May 23, 2005
    It gets far better than that. Wait until you reach Guards Guards and Hogfather.
     
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  10. Lugija

    Lugija Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Oct 3, 2009
    I'm going to say something that was said to me eight years ago when I said those exact same words: You haven't read anything yet. It only gets better to the 13th or so book.

    And I haven't read Raising Steam yet. With Pratchett I'm always a year late because I buy them in paperback. Having a line of 67 Pratchett books all in paperbacks looks great.
     
  11. RC-1991

    RC-1991 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2009
    So, I had an Anthro exam at 8 AM this morning. I legitimately based my answers regarding physical differences between Neanderthals and modern humans on Steven Erikson's descriptions of the T'Lan Imass from the Malazan novels.
     
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  12. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Hey, what am I supposed to do when I feel like I am a second class fan for being as much of a fan of the EU as I am the films, since LFL seems to want the EU to ultimately mean nothing and for the EU, especially the Holocron, to be little more than an idea farm for Lucas himself.
     
  13. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2004


    From the makers of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo :D So it will no doubt be just weird and entertaining, or entertainingly weird.
     
  15. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2012
    They are just doing what Bantam and Dark Horse did to Marvel and the Jedi Prince serie


    This make me think of Tek Jansen
     
  16. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    If Del Rey really wanted Marvel to be meaningless, then Lumiya would have stayed dead in Marvel and, therefore, wouldn't have been a part of the post-NJO osik.
     
  17. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

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    Feb 17, 2004
    Lumiya died in Marvel. Her usage really isn't different than Quinlan Vos in TCW.
     
  18. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jul 22, 2010
    I wish Lumiya was made into a surfer dude.
     
  19. DigitalMessiah

    DigitalMessiah Chosen One star 6

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    Feb 17, 2004
    Valley girl I would say.
     
  20. Gorefiend

    Gorefiend Chosen One star 5

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    Oct 23, 2004

     
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  21. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jul 22, 2010
    I can't like a post that features Frank Zappa enough. Guy was a Shakespearian level talent.
     
  22. SithStarSlayer

    SithStarSlayer Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 23, 2003
    If only.
     
  23. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Not yet, but the first page was promising. I partly don't want to read it because I know it'll be good!
     
  24. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Want to know the worst part? TOR is more bang for you buck than most MMOs out there because it at least has that embryonic dialogue-driven story. I beta tested TES Online and my god was that game boring. It was astonishingly pretty and had some of the finest character creation I've seen in a game, but it's seriously nothing but a series of quests. I mean, they at least don't have "kill 10 rabbits, [bonus] kill all the rabbits, their wives, and children" like TOR but still...

    And yeah the agent story seems by far the best, but I just cannot get over my aversion to playing bad guys.
     
  25. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    One final exam down (Networking Essentials), one to go (Logic) and then I might actually have enough time to read some EU again... this semester has been murder between the actual content, reading load and real life interferences (moving, additional jobs, etc).

    <- On the plus side, I still have Kit Kats left over. :D
     
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