Edit: Moved this response to my OP

I agree that we wouldn't travel to places we've been again. However, isn't that a design mistake? I mean, if there is no reason to go back it's because there is no reason to go back. Forcing me to watch my speeder travel over empty land for 5 minutes because I am on cooldown doesn't seem like a great way to revisit areas.

Saving time is not lazy. It's smart. In fact, being able to spend more time playing the game, and less traveling through empty fields and waiting for load screens is also more enjoyable

First, I'll start by saying that I'm sorry if mentioning GW2 breaks forum rules, but that's where I saw the ideas I am about to list. I'm not talking about dramatic changes to combat (I actually enjoy SWTOR combat). Here is a list of things, that were influenced from another game, I would like to see in SWTOR: 1. Waypoints. Get rid of the quick travel cool-down in SWTOR. If anyone in any game universe can be airlifted on demand, it should be someone in the Star Wars universe. We could also use more waypoints...like in the ship... 2. Open Mail anywhere. Once again, even in this world I can read my email on demand (through my phone). A person in Star Wars should never have to run to a mailbox. Any droid could bring me a package anywhere. 3. Auction house from anywhere. Same as above. These are all convenience things. I honestly don't believe they break immersion; all of which could easily be explained in the Star Wars universe. What they do is prevent me from wasting my time. Edit based on responses: I didn't want to get into a debate about GW2's (and SWTOR's) major design choices. Like many are saying, GW2 is still in beta, plus this is a SWTOR forum and that doesn't seem very tactful. However, the things I did list are things that (I think) make sense and can easily be lifted

You are correct. It is tatooine

I think a lot of the ugliness is because of the JPEG compression. The main thing I was focused on was the reflective properties. I put a note on my OP

I haven't noticed much difference in grass textures (they still look rather lame on close inspection). The biggest difference I noticed is on reflective surfaces. The imperial fleet looks absolutely amazing

I've been doing the various graphics tweaks that are out there, and I know people have been saying they don't work on the armor textures. However, look at these screenshots. She is very...reflective and those are not cut scenes. I tried to screenshot a cut scene for comparison, but failed; however, it looked pretty identical. http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6845/screenshot2012012122300.jpg http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/290/screenshot2012012122304.jpg Note: some ugliness is because of JPEG compression. Focus on the shiny! Do you have the shiny? Btw, if those really are high rez armor textures, or if people just want to know how to get the best possible graphics out of swtor, look for the "-3 LOD bias" tweak Edit: Here is a thread post that shows what the LOD bias tweak can do. Even if it can't fix the armor, it makes this game so much prettier. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=167957&page=50 Edit: On further inspection (as I sit here staring at Kaliyo's chest), I think the LOD bias tweak only enhances reflective surfaces. However, the underlying texture is still ugly. Too bad, but it does make a big difference. Thanks for humoring me everyone!

Well, I agree with you that things can be coded badly, but we're talking about textures here. Just because they up the textures doesn't mean they add a bunch of lousy code on top of it. The scale up to the higher textures should be linear. i.e. a more powerful card should be able to handle it.

I'll respond to your posts again. These are machines. They are meant to run at 100%. If you are not running at 100%, you are just wasting electricity, since you have more processing power than you can utilize.

The exact point (although more eloquently delivered) that I raised earlier. He still has not said what "marked improvement" means. I highly doubt it is much better than what we have now

But it is something we would like to do at our own peril. If they gave me the option, and a big warning, then I'd be happy. It's not up to them to tell me what my PC can handle. I know what it can handle. Also, if I lose a GPU because of graphics processing, then either it was a POS, or I was overclocking way too much. These machines are meant to process things. That is their purpose

I appreciate the response; However, I do still question what "marked improvement" means. I suspect it is still not the high-rez textures we are all ranting about. I hope I'm wrong.

This is getting thrown around a lot, and it begs the question. Isn't this something that can be tested by watching the internet connection with wireshark or something? Not really my area, but it seems to be in the realm of possible...unless they are also encrypting it too

I am a fanboi, and I am mad. I've always liked Bioware, and I've always loved starwars, but this situation is making me strongly doubt a continuation of my subscription. I don't care what their reason is. Whether it is forced optimization, or some lousy DRM, I want this game to look as good as it can. Honestly, I'm at a loss. I waited years for this game, but this is unacceptable.