Comments on: The New Old Republic: Coruscant

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:47:06 +0000

Wow…I think that looks really great !

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:56:56 +0000

I don’t think of that as “socializing,” though, I think of it as, I dunno, like reading the flavor text on a Magic card, or exploring for clues. The only RPG experience I’ve had that I would categorize as “socializing” was in Dragon Quest VIII is when I would actually want to go talk to the princess and see how she felt about things. I ended up with kind of a crush on her… kind of a unique experience.

By: Nalano

Nalano — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:37:38 +0000

Anonymous Coward said:
Space-New-York (completed with gang-warfare-ruled areas) is the greatest symbol of hope for democracy in the galaxy? With its literal economic hierarchies, and the rich and powerful literally crushing down on top of the poor and powerless?
New Crobuzon seems more friendly than Coruscant!
Did the designers miss the fact that Trantor, on which Coruscant is obviously based (see people above) fails horribly?
Gahhhh!

The problem is Star Wars is a space opera, and trying to tack on anything more complex and nuanced a world or system onto it turns that complex and nuanced system into a ham-handed social parable so obvious it makes children's books look subtle.
Star Wars is not a particularly strong platform for exploring cities. It will never depict a city so vibrant as Blade Runner's Los Angeles or Ghost in the Shell's Tokyo. It cannot explore the duality of man or ask the nature of society.
What it has offered and what it will offer is a midwestern American suburbanite's impression of Manhattan: The comic book Metropolis or Gotham, depending on whether it's a "good" or a "bad" urban form, with less depth of character than the DC universe's Metropolis and Gotham have engendered, because such images might spoil it for the family.
That's what I expect to see from it here. Difference will be depicted as a plethora of alien lifeforms that are crafted to be as visually weird as possible, but who are then pigeon-holed into Planet of Hats or worse, without division. A bar will service everybody equally, and everybody will go to the bar. It doesn't matter what species, ethnicity, gender or economic strata the merchant is; his background is flavor only and will act exactly like any other merchant.
Diversity will be implied only in looks; conformity is the reality. It's picture perfect. It is so unreal as to become unbelievable.

Anonymous Coward said:
What was that about "the socializers can hang out up by the airport, the explorers can go down in the tunnels"? Is he saying you could have an enjoyable experience just talking to people coming and going? Is that something supported by gameplay, or is he saying there are people who really play games just to hang out and talk to the NPCs by clicking X?

Remember every single other RPG in existence where if you clicked random people they'd have a stock phrase to say, or they'd be caught in a stock argument forever as flavor for the area, or they'd all allude to some local event that you're supposed to be the cause/protagonist/savior of?
Like that. Except this time they hope you'll actually remember some of those stock lines.

By: Major Goose

Major Goose — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:36:56 +0000

If there’s one thing this game has going for it…. The trailer just made me go buy a chewbacca t-shirt…

Multiple shades of brown awesomeness!!

http://www.80stees.com/products/Chebacca-Costume-Star-Wars-T-shirt.asp

By: ET

ET — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:02:24 +0000

Actually, there are! One of them here, anyway.

This doesn’t look very exciting to me, though. I’m a settings person, and their view of how Coruscant works…….is kind of been there, done that.

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:26:51 +0000

What was that about “the socializers can hang out up by the airport, the explorers can go down in the tunnels”? Is he saying you could have an enjoyable experience just talking to people coming and going? Is that something supported by gameplay, or is he saying there are people who really play games just to hang out and talk to the NPCs by clicking X?

By: moshegy

moshegy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:29:48 +0000

I wonder if my lack of interest in this means I’ve outgrown Starwars or Bioware.

By: luminosity

luminosity — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:19:02 +0000

I really don’t see how you think it’s any worse than what was in KOTOR 1/2, and I say that playing 2 through again right now. It’s turn based combat where each turn you get to choose to use a special ability/attack. the only way a WOW-esque semi-turn based cooldown / global cooldown system would be any different is you can’t pause combat any more.

By: Frosty

Frosty — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:42:04 +0000

Do not go on the official forums and look at the massive fight that has started over why Coruscant has not died of global warming. A fight of BS Star Wars science and those claiming global warming is a myth. Sigh.

By: Sonic Goo

Sonic Goo — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:40:54 +0000

I’d be happy if I could jump in a flying car and join in that traffic jam in the sky.

By: Peace of Eight

Peace of Eight — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:27:04 +0000

That’s the one.

To be fair, everything in SW is a rip-off of fifties and sixties sci-fi novels. That’s what Lucas does; he’s the JKRowling of scifi.

They’re also both filthy rich, so take my standing-on-hind-legs criticism for what it’s worth. =)

By: Thingus

Thingus — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:35:53 +0000

You have no idea how hard I’m fighting the SW fanboy urge to explain how Coruscant’s weather system worked in the books. It involves mirrors…IN SPACE.