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An Epic Battle in the Making

Star Wars Galaxies vs. a Knights of the Old Republic MMO

By Chris "Spare" Higgins

Rumors have been flying around the game industry that BioWare is talking with LucasArts to develop a Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) MMO.  No official announcements have been made nor any game designs leaked, but I thought it might be fun to compare Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) to the rumored KotOR MMO.  

I have broken down this battle into four main topics: Timeline, combat, crafting, and - of course - Jedi, then at the end we will tally up the points and see who emerges the victor.

Timeline

KotOR

The Knights of the Old Republic timeline is rife with unexplored plots and planets, more so than the SWG timeline.

Both of the single player Knights of the Old Republic RPGs were based in the 3950 BBY (Battle before Yavin) timeframe. The 3900s is when we see a firestorm of activity happening in the Star Wars Universe. In a 50 year span, there are two Sith wars and the Mandalorian Wars. This gives any game company a virtual smorgasbord of content. The availability of three factions who truly hate each other also provides a lot of player-based content through PvP and role-play.  No matter where this game would pick up in this timeline, writers would be able to write a new chapter in the Star Wars Universe with ease.  

SWG

Star Wars Galaxies takes place between the movies, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. This is the time where - some would say - Luke is a padawan and learning the basic ways of the force and Jedi are being hunted down. The Rebels are now being tailed across the galaxy for their success in blowing up the first Death Star. Everyone within the known universe feels the weight of the Empire. It is a dark time for all. A game company would not have much breathing room in this time line because it’s always been the most popular. Scores of novels and short stories have been written during this particular era, and I would imagine it would make it extremely challenging to create an epic plot and stay true to timeline.

Winner - KotOR

Clearly, KotOR would have a cleaner slate and the opportunities to provide new and exciting content are much greater. This is not to say the timeline for SWG is not compelling, because personally I prefer the SWG timeline to the KotOR timeline. However, you cannot have a compelling storyline if so much of the information has already been written for you. So my choice has to be KotOR.

Combat

KotOR

A real time combat system is essential to making a pure Star Wars atmosphere.

I am going to base this purely on what I saw in both KotOR games, so don’t get the notion that the KotOR MMO combat system has been explained at all.  It hasn’t.

I personally did not like the combat systems for either of the existing KotOR games.  The stop motion aspect of the turn based combat was somewhat of a game breaker for me.  Star Wars, to me is a fast paced thrill ride and that can only be achieved with the dynamics of a real time combat system.  

However, I understand that stop-motion turn-based combat wouldn’t be employed in an MMO. Rather, I simply worry that a slower combat style might be employed to handle the nuances of an MMO, and that just wouldn’t work.

SWG

While I am not a huge fan of the NGE, it's still not a very bad combat system.  Many of the changes we have seen in the past year or so have made the combat system into a CU meets NGE system that is not bad.  Combat is in real time, can be thrilling, and presents a challenge.

Winner = SWG

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the KoTOR games but that stop action combat was something I did not like.  However if the MMO that is developed includes a real time combat system vs. what was in the games, I would have to change my answer.

Crafting

KotOR

Crafting things like houses and speeders makes Star Wars Galaxies a step above KotOR.

With the KotOR universe as the background, I have a hard time seeing a pertinent crafting system making a whole lot of sense in KotOR.  Even the single player games were very combat/adventure oriented; there wasn’t a whole lot of time or room for building houses or making speeders. The console games had a “form” of crafting, but it wasn’t pretty skimpy. KotOR would probably lack in this department.

SWG

I cannot emphasize this enough; SWG has one of the best crafting systems seen in MMO’s today.  The sheer amount of knowledge and factors that goes into crafting is mind-boggling.  Everyone can be a crafter in SWG but not everyone will be a great crafter.  Crafting has taken a few for the team in the past few years but if decay was added back into the game, the economy would be booming like it was Pre-CU.

Winner - SWG

SWG wins hands down in my opinion.  Of all the crafting systems I have tried SWG is by far the most complex and engaging system I have ever played.  The system allows you to use business sense and manufacturing systems to compete vs. just collecting items. You set up your shop and start selling and in the process you have to monitor prices, quality, resources, and stock.  You really set up a virtual business to succeed and make money.  The amount of effort you put into it determined how much you made in the long run.  Granted its not like it was but you can still make some decent money crafting in SWG.

Jedi

KotOR

You could not throw a rock in this timeframe without hitting at least two Jedi and a Sith.  This was the period in the Star Wars Universe where Jedi reigned supreme and were the dominating force in the galaxy.  My conclusion here is that Jedi would probably dominate the player character’s path, if not be the only real choice offered to players.

Jedi in Star Wars Galaxies seem a little out of place compared to the KotOR timeline.

Also the light and dark Jedi system in the KoTOR single player games allowed us to choose our own paths and be slightly evil or a complete villain.  Your choices also allowed you to wear certain gear and get certain items.  The Jedi system in these games was very innovative and allowed the player to really be a Jedi or a Sith.  

SWG

It’s been argued Jedi have no place in this game.  I however feel Jedi do have a place in SWG, but how it’s presented is not accurate to the time line.  This is a time where the Emperor and Darth Vader would kill any Jedi on sight and would also try to turn Force sensitive beings to the Dark Side.  In the expanded universe, Jedi are around but not standing in a Star Port in Mos Eisley dueling each other.  This topic deserves its own editorial so I will be writing one in the future to address this concern.  

Winner - KotOR

KotOR really gets no competition on this front; the Jedi Knights were the mainstays of the Old Republic and were prevalent everywhere. In the single player KotOR games, you could truly feel like a Jedi or a Sith while playing, and I think this would be echoed in the MMO as well.

In SWG, being a Jedi is really just about being a profession and how you look in the world.  Your in-game actions do not have any effect on character development.  As a Light Jedi, I could kill commoners all day without any fear of reprisal. This is something that should be changed in SWG…along with other aspects of the Jedi.

Conclusion

So the final total is, KotOR 2 and SWG 2. I hate ties, because I know how much everyone likes having a winner and a loser.  These two tie because both games have a place in the Star Wars game library and can co-exist in the MMO market.  Hopefully the rumors are true and there is a KotOR MMO in the works but even a third single player RPG by BioWare would be nice.  As Star Wars fans all we can do is wait and hope.