There are so many ways this launch reminds me of Vanilla WoW, including the long Queue times. I remember waiting up to an hour to play Vanilla WoW, back in the days when there were few servers and thousands of players. It's great to see that same level of interest in SWTOR. I just hope that the formula doesn't wane. I think based on what I've seen and done in SWTOR that Bioware has got the formula right, regardless of some missing elements such as the LFG tool.
Players and fans of the game are already beginning to shape the game in ways which will help everyone down the line, through suggestions and comments I've seen throughout the forums. It was the same with WoW. So many things were scrapped changed or completely redone since Vanilla WoW, that if you looked at the game side-by-side with it's 2004 counterpart, you would see almost 2 completely different games. I can only assume that over the course of the next 6 years that the SWTOR we see today will be even more refined and polished than it is right now.
To be honest, just like everyone else, I hate the Queueing, but I understand its a necessary evil. I don't know if Bioware under-estimated the interest in this game, but I think that based on the number of subscriptions that were purchased from the day they announced them being available they should have had a pretty good idea then.
Aside from the Queueing, the infrastructure obviously needs some serious overhaul, including the ability to modify the UI to our liking. At least give us the ability to move/resize or adjust the UI to better fit what we might be used to from other games we've played. The Flashpoints and other end-game elements will need some tweaking too, but all of this reminds me exactly of Vanilla WoW.
I'm not saying the games are identical, at least that's not my attempt here. What I am saying is that based on the interest I see, and the level-of enjoyment people are getting out of the game that it's deffinately on the right track to being the next big thing. Which is awesome really. I had a feeling about this game, and now it seems to be panning out the way I thought it would.
So in a backhanded way, just wanted to say congratulations Bioware. I think you all deserve a nice pat on the back for a job very well done.
Regards,
-fresh