SWTOR is losing it's identity

[Shadowhawk668]

It feels like the new devs don't understand the art style and direction of the game at all, Hutta has had all the charm and character sucked out of it and turned into a dull brown mess, and now the character models look like 60 year olds with neck wrinkles and grainy faces, that completely clashes with the game's cartoonish art style. Also random NPCs have been changed for seemingly no reason, like Lt. Xorem on Ord Mantell now has a full beard and a man bun despite being a military officer.

[Shadowhawk668]

I do think the new devs are missing the point though, they're trying to add more detail and realism to a game that has a very stylised look. The new skin textures don't fit the rest of the game, and Hutta has no character anymore.

[Shadowhawk668]

Originally posted by Zero McDol:

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I overreacted and flew off the handle.

I think that you're frustrated by the changes and simply expressed your opinion in your OP. There's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, disagreements tend to happen when opinions differ.

It's more because of my past experiences in game forums, I usually get people responding to me by calling me an "entitled gamer" for complaining about something I paid money for. So my instinct was to react the same way I did to those types of people, but in this case I misinterpreted the situation.

[Zero McDol]

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

Originally posted by Zero McDol:

I think that you're frustrated by the changes and simply expressed your opinion in your OP. There's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, disagreements tend to happen when opinions differ.

It's more because of my past experiences in game forums, I usually get people responding to me by calling me an "entitled gamer" for complaining about something I paid money for. So my instinct was to react the same way I did to those types of people, but in this case I misinterpreted the situation.

Ah. Understood.

[Raansu]

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I do think the new devs are missing the point though, they're trying to add more detail and realism to a game that has a very stylised look. The new skin textures don't fit the rest of the game, and Hutta has no character anymore.

I agree. All the art changes over the years have been pretty terrible.

[CryptoScroogeMcDuck]

im redownloading it now, so im bout to see what the dealio is and whats changed.

[76561199810712062]

The only thing I'm not a fan of, having finally been able to play for the first time - is the merit system and writing. Someone explain to me how helping a sith student betray her master is a morale choice that nets you light side gains? The overseer at the academy is also getting on my last nerve. Make this make sense:

Overseer: "The first prisoner, why did you kill her?"
Me: "Because she screwed up, she failed her mission."
Overseer: "You failed to grasp the point. You should have turned her."
Overseer: "The second prisoner, why did you duel him?"
Me: "I wanted to test his worth."
Overseer: "While I can respect your choice, it was a waste of time. Failure cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated immediately."
Me: -insert Travolta GIF here-

[Shadowhawk668]

Originally posted by R3KL3SS H4Wk:

The only thing I'm not a fan of, having finally been able to play for the first time - is the merit system and writing. Someone explain to me how helping a sith student betray her master is a morale choice that nets you light side gains? The overseer at the academy is also getting on my last nerve. Make this make sense:

Overseer: "The first prisoner, why did you kill her?"
Me: "Because she screwed up, she failed her mission."
Overseer: "You failed to grasp the point. You should have turned her."
Overseer: "The second prisoner, why did you duel him?"
Me: "I wanted to test his worth."
Overseer: "While I can respect your choice, it was a waste of time. Failure cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated immediately."
Me: -insert Travolta GIF here-

This game also has the issue of dialogue options not matching the text. Sometimes you'll pick an option and your character gives the exact opposite reaction to what you thought they would.

[Punished Jeremy]

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

Originally posted by R3KL3SS H4Wk:

The only thing I'm not a fan of, having finally been able to play for the first time - is the merit system and writing. Someone explain to me how helping a sith student betray her master is a morale choice that nets you light side gains? The overseer at the academy is also getting on my last nerve. Make this make sense:

Overseer: "The first prisoner, why did you kill her?"
Me: "Because she screwed up, she failed her mission."
Overseer: "You failed to grasp the point. You should have turned her."
Overseer: "The second prisoner, why did you duel him?"
Me: "I wanted to test his worth."
Overseer: "While I can respect your choice, it was a waste of time. Failure cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated immediately."
Me: -insert Travolta GIF here-

This game also has the issue of dialogue options not matching the text. Sometimes you'll pick an option and your character gives the exact opposite reaction to what you thought they would.

A lot of dialogue based games suffer this issue. Unlike those however you can always just exit out of the conversation and redo it if you dont like what you hear

[Jank]

Idk about the whole "losing identity" part but the new faces are a drawback for sure

[Fastspectre]

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I do think the new devs are missing the point though, they're trying to add more detail and realism to a game that has a very stylised look. The new skin textures don't fit the rest of the game, and Hutta has no character anymore.

i'm kinda sure they are missing the point
for all that have not noticed yet
items sold to vendors give less credits, they reduced that in multiple stages
everything gives less xp (not a bad thing necesary since you level to fast anyway)
locking unlocking bank slots behind the sub/store you could unlock some without a sub before with credits, not anymore (you need a sub now to do that...)
adding stuff to the store
they are doing stuff to force squeezze money out of the game, more then bioware/ea did before
not a good direction

the new faces, i only locked in once since the patch for a short time the chars i looked at seemed fine tho

and the games identity should have always been more like clone wars/rebels even more comicy it would just age much better then it does
look at wow it ages great in comparison (i gotta admit it gets regular grafic updates tho, engine is more modular, devs have more money)

[Moralo Eval]

Originally posted by R3KL3SS H4Wk:

The only thing I'm not a fan of, having finally been able to play for the first time - is the merit system and writing. Someone explain to me how helping a sith student betray her master is a morale choice that nets you light side gains? The overseer at the academy is also getting on my last nerve. Make this make sense:

Overseer: "The first prisoner, why did you kill her?"
Me: "Because she screwed up, she failed her mission."
Overseer: "You failed to grasp the point. You should have turned her."
Overseer: "The second prisoner, why did you duel him?"
Me: "I wanted to test his worth."
Overseer: "While I can respect your choice, it was a waste of time. Failure cannot be tolerated and must be eradicated immediately."
Me: -insert Travolta GIF here-

There is nothing wrong with the writing. The first prisoner he considered to still be a useful asset. The second he knew was a pathetic Sith (Which is true) and that he had used up his usefulness and should be eradicated. The Sith don't treat people as equals. The prisoners are all different people, like anybody and have different reasons for being there so why should they be treated the same? This is also the Sith we are talking about.

As for the Malora apprentice one i'm not sure... that one has been debated for years.

You can press ESC before finishing dialogue to test the other dialogue options.

[Moralo Eval]

Originally posted by Fastspectre:

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I do think the new devs are missing the point though, they're trying to add more detail and realism to a game that has a very stylised look. The new skin textures don't fit the rest of the game, and Hutta has no character anymore.

i'm kinda sure they are missing the point
for all that have not noticed yet
items sold to vendors give less credits, they reduced that in multiple stages
everything gives less xp (not a bad thing necesary since you level to fast anyway)
locking unlocking bank slots behind the sub/store you could unlock some without a sub before with credits, not anymore (you need a sub now to do that...)
adding stuff to the store
they are doing stuff to force squeezze money out of the game, more then bioware/ea did before
not a good direction

the new faces, i only locked in once since the patch for a short time the chars i looked at seemed fine tho

and the games identity should have always been more like clone wars/rebels even more comicy it would just age much better then it does
look at wow it ages great in comparison (i gotta admit it gets regular grafic updates tho, engine is more modular, devs have more money)

Yeah they seem to change things we have been used to for years and some of it sort of punishes the players for no reason, including Nar Shaddaa Gambling event they nerfed it. But new players wouldn't know the difference. I think people had got comfortable with bioware abandoning the game for a while though. Some of the newer updates stuff I do like to be fair but some of it I don't and each update has been flawed and not perfect for a while now.

I really care about the game so i'm gonna list everything I think is wrong with the game and everything I know they have broken!

I liked yellow Hutta it's more fun, creative and cooler however it did look overly bright at times. I understand they tried to make it look like in The Clone Wars episodes which is another uneducated artistic choice as Clone Wars has it's own art style and live action comes first ALWAYS even though we don't know how live action Nal Hutta would look like so it doesn't matter. Also did they consider that Hutta 1000s of years ago could have had a different atmosphere perhaps by the time of Clone Wars it had changed.

Some graphical changes are good but some are straight up badly made even for 2024 and frustratingly illogical like changing the Korriban statue models entirely. Nothing will make this game look like new out games today in 2024, it's just a fresh coat of paint.

The character graphics update is a mess though I don't get why they rushed it out and approved of it? Not only is it bugged. Much of it is also illogical like young characters looking old such as Mako and Kira Carsen, Jaesa which is awful. However some characters look fine, women look worse than men in the update. Some of my characters look better! Overall it's unprofessional to me that they had no problem to put out a bugged and unfinished update, we've had 3-4 patches to fix stuff like how every cu tscene had a yellow lightsaber and other stupid bugs. The character update isn't even finished half the races are not done and then you have low-res armors and other stuff throughout the whole world making an even more inconsistent artstyle, are they really gonna upgrade every texture and model, effect in a reasonable time? So whats the point?

I get the impression that none of them actually play the game and they don't think things through in a logical way for consistency as well as respecting legacy. No QC, not enough testing. Do they realise that some of the stuff they are changing people have been used too for years much of it was fine. Or perhaps they are just being pushed and rushed by the higher ups!

I agree with a graphics update if it was higher quality textures but same art style and toggle options. Even the lighting updates are playing into this as that is also badly made and not fully QC tested, I bet they never visited every planet and location to test that it looks all good.

The games always had shadow bugs and a neck seam which was sorta hidden but never fixed, unfortunately the new update makes them much more noticeable and stick out.

They bugged all the stronghold npc decos of twi lek dancers who are supposed to spawn in different skin colours, still not fixed! And they broke other npc animations. The twi-lek dancer who is the best in canon lore or something has lost her dance animation and plays the wrong one at Nemros.

I think pets have lost there spawn sounds such as Model Hutt barge.

Thanks for reading lol.

[Shadowhawk668]

Originally posted by Lore Master:

Originally posted by Fastspectre:

i'm kinda sure they are missing the point
for all that have not noticed yet
items sold to vendors give less credits, they reduced that in multiple stages
everything gives less xp (not a bad thing necesary since you level to fast anyway)
locking unlocking bank slots behind the sub/store you could unlock some without a sub before with credits, not anymore (you need a sub now to do that...)
adding stuff to the store
they are doing stuff to force squeezze money out of the game, more then bioware/ea did before
not a good direction

the new faces, i only locked in once since the patch for a short time the chars i looked at seemed fine tho

and the games identity should have always been more like clone wars/rebels even more comicy it would just age much better then it does
look at wow it ages great in comparison (i gotta admit it gets regular grafic updates tho, engine is more modular, devs have more money)

Yeah they seem to change things we have been used to for years and some of it sort of punishes the players for no reason, including Nar Shaddaa Gambling event they nerfed it. But new players wouldn't know the difference. I think people had got comfortable with bioware abandoning the game for a while though. Some of the newer updates stuff I do like to be fair but some of it I don't and each update has been flawed and not perfect for a while now.

I really care about the game so i'm gonna list everything I think is wrong with the game and everything I know they have broken!

I liked yellow Hutta it's more fun, creative and cooler however it did look overly bright at times. I understand they tried to make it look like in The Clone Wars episodes which is another uneducated artistic choice as Clone Wars has it's own art style and live action comes first ALWAYS even though we don't know how live action Nal Hutta would look like so it doesn't matter. Also did they consider that Hutta 1000s of years ago could have had a different atmosphere perhaps by the time of Clone Wars it had changed.

Some graphical changes are good but some are straight up badly made even for 2024 and frustratingly illogical like changing the Korriban statue models entirely. Nothing will make this game look like new out games today in 2024, it's just a fresh coat of paint.

The character graphics update is a mess though I don't get why they rushed it out and approved of it? Not only is it bugged. Much of it is also illogical like young characters looking old such as Mako and Kira Carsen, Jaesa which is awful. However some characters look fine, women look worse than men in the update. Some of my characters look better! Overall it's unprofessional to me that they had no problem to put out a bugged and unfinished update, we've had 3-4 patches to fix stuff like how every cu tscene had a yellow lightsaber and other stupid bugs. The character update isn't even finished half the races are not done and then you have low-res armors and other stuff throughout the whole world making an even more inconsistent artstyle, are they really gonna upgrade every texture and model, effect in a reasonable time? So whats the point?

I get the impression that none of them actually play the game and they don't think things through in a logical way for consistency as well as respecting legacy. No QC, not enough testing. Do they realise that some of the stuff they are changing people have been used too for years much of it was fine. Or perhaps they are just being pushed and rushed by the higher ups!

I agree with a graphics update if it was higher quality textures but same art style and toggle options. Even the lighting updates are playing into this as that is also badly made and not fully QC tested, I bet they never visited every planet and location to test that it looks all good.

The games always had shadow bugs and a neck seam which was sorta hidden but never fixed, unfortunately the new update makes them much more noticeable and stick out.

They bugged all the stronghold npc decos of twi lek dancers who are supposed to spawn in different skin colours, still not fixed! And they broke other npc animations. The twi-lek dancer who is the best in canon lore or something has lost her dance animation and plays the wrong one at Nemros.

I think pets have lost there spawn sounds such as Model Hutt barge.

Thanks for reading lol. :jawagrin:

I'm starting to think this was some attempt to make the game fall in line with ESG or other modern policies in the industry now, since most of the female characters have had the ugly treatment.

[Thander]

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I'm starting to think this was some attempt to make the game fall in line with ESG or other modern policies in the industry now, since most of the female characters have had the ugly treatment.

There's definitely a movement at a lot of companies to adopt DEI policies. "Inclusion" is often part of that. When it comes to video game characters, some companies are choosing to make their characters less like perfect specimens of the human race and more like the average person, thinking that the average player will be able to identify with their character better.

I'm not sure if this is what Broadsword is thinking, but it's possible. This was just my first impression from what Eric Musco said about the artwork/textures. I get the feeling they are going for more realism, making player characters less like superheros with perfect looks and more like a typical people with blemishes and imperfections.

[Shadowhawk668]

Originally posted by Thander:

Originally posted by Shadowhawk668:

I'm starting to think this was some attempt to make the game fall in line with ESG or other modern policies in the industry now, since most of the female characters have had the ugly treatment.

There's definitely a movement at a lot of companies to adopt DEI policies. "Inclusion" is often part of that. When it comes to video game characters, some companies are choosing to make their characters less like perfect specimens of the human race and more like the average person, thinking that the average player will be able to identify with their character better. I'm not sure if this is what Broadsword is thinking, but it's possible.

I don't want to identify with my characters, or have them represent me, I play RPGs to roleplay.