Fleet Pass is a weekly review of the SWTOR community, a small and non-comprehensive collection of the funny, the insightful, the controversial and any other interesting picks found anywhere but generally in the SWTOR Forums. Have a suggestion? Send it in to us with a source link if available, and the name you’d like to be credited with.
Threads
Hendrickson – General Discussion
Theme Park vs Sandbox, What Do The Players Think?
I have seen many posts regarding this subject and the pros and cons of each but I would like to get a feel for what the players really want.
MMO developers seem to think that sandbox is now a niche area and theme park is the way to go. Many sandbox MMOs are still going strong even though they have changed their subscription model in an effort to retain their existing players and entice new players to give their game a go.
Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, World of Warcraft, and, in my opinion, the daddy of them all, Eve Online is still going strong. I have returned to Eve twice over the years and recall the newbie chat channel and the opening channel after that is full of constant chatter which is what gives it its name Massive that it deserves.
And of course, take a look at the fourth coming Guild Wars 2. The devs have decided to change course from the famously heavily instanced original Guild Wars, although extremely popular, to a more open sandbox world, going completely against the grain of what the gaming masses are supposed to enjoy the most.
It is a matter of opinion but for me, when GW2 is released, that is where I will be going because I believe that heavy instancing takes the massively out of the game thus demeaning its goal. Having said that, I still dont know what the majority of the MMO fraternity think and want.
So maybe we can find out from this post whether or not the devs took the right direction and so will keep their players for many years to come or will they leave en masse to return to the sandbox idea that the MMO genre originally embraced?
Bethmora – Crew Skills
Cybertech DEAD, no sales, Thanks BW
…
Before 1.2 : LvL 49 Purple earpieces sold at 40k to 60k
After 1.2 i dropped them down to 5k with No sales
Grade 4 ship parts: before 1.2: 20 to 30k
After 1.2: 5:k No Sales
Purple Ship parts before 1.2: 50 to 80k
After 1.2: No sales at 25k
…
Xanikk – Story & Lore
Is it possible to master both the light side and dark side at the same time?
Is it possible to master both sides of the force without the darkside totally consuming you?
Like would it be possible to use both techniques to use the force: Focusing and clearing your mind of emotions AND using your emotions to harness the force just at different times: AKA dark side usage and light side usage.
…
If I recall correctly, didn’t the early jedaii who evolved into the jedi practice both the light and dark side without becoming corrupted by the dark side?
Quotes
Back & Forth – Suggestion Box
Lightmotion
Sometimes I wander on a planet and get lost. I just wish I could return to my ship fast.
My suggestion : Fast travel should offer an option to return you to your ship.
GString
A new companion that is space ship only called Scotty”
“Beam me up Scotty”
Other
Voldemorton – Fan Art
RL Armortech and Armstech
Ok in addition to my 3d Lightsabers and character portraits I like to do, and when the wife and I aren’t doing the Ren Fair thing….my other hobby is working on my Mandalorian Costume
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The Theme Park is fine, but you need elements of a sandbox so players can create their own experience. Once you ride a roller coaster a few times, it’s no fun. But if you create your own story and have a dynamic economy and customization — yes SWG features — then you have something amazing. The bigger issue with SWTOR right now is the PVP arenas. It’s going the way of Warhammer Online. Geared pre-mades dominating the prime time matches. You can only take so many losses before you walk away.