regarding the XP grind (which i also hate about MMRPGs), maybe the space combat won't be affected by it too much. I mean, even if they force you to fly a Z-95 or TIE Fighter at lower levels.... you should still have fun. And you're not gonna be completely helpless against the more expensive ships.
And the guy who said it should be like Allegiance..... no way man, I think Sony actually wants to make money with their space combat engine (not to mention it has to be like Star Wars movies!!). Allegiance failed and failed hard for many reasons, and one of those reasons is the fact that not a single Newtonian physics space combat game has been a hit. I-War 2 is the closest anything has come, and while I loved that game, games like Freespace 2, Xwing, and Wing Commander probably beat I-War 2's sales by 10 fold.
Someone should do something about the whole XP grind thing. It's cool, but to me the greatest thing about playing a game of any kind is... playing it with your friends. RPGs are especially like this. But with XP grinding, you can play with ur friend, then come back the next day and he's too much stronger than your char cuz he neglected to go to sleep, or something like that. And so you can't quest with him anymore. That was my problem with Diablo 2, and Neverwinter Nights. Maybe there should be some sorta way to donate your XP to friends. I'd have no problem giving away XP if that means i can quest with my buddies again. And in this way, every action you do can be seen as helping everyone along.
Plus if you look at a lot of RPG games, such as NWN, the spells SCALE. THat is, the lower your level, the weaker the spell. So even if you gave away your XP, and lost, say, 2 levels.... I believe the game should still let you keep the new spells you got from the advanced levels. And then simply make sure it scales down correctly, so u'r not overpowered. For me, the best thing about levelling isn't the HP or attributes... it's the spells and abilities. So lemme keep those while i donate Xp to my buddies and lose HP and whatever. Ahem ok, not like any RPG designer is listening......
This comment was edited on Apr 21, 13:33.