Very true, but I think the core problem still exists there- a fear of creating a really good story. Even if, say, you have only, say, three endings for each storyline, the focus should be on first creating as strong a story as possible, but say that you start with having, as here, eight starting stories, and then you branch from there. How much should each story branch when it gets to the end of that chapter? The best limitation would probably be two. That means you end up with sixteen story arcs for the next chapter, and yes, it can become unmanageable passed that because the next time you end up with 32 possible storylines, and past that, 64, and so forth. The best way to handle that is by making each story littered with flavor assignments that match the decisions in the last chapter. For example, you're an Agent, and you chose to be a double agent. Occasionally, you get assignments that are for the Republic, but most of the time, your assignment has to do with staying on that specific path of serving the Empire. Overall, the choices would color your story, but not require an entirely new one. Still, my point is that they need to start by focusing on making the best story they can and work from there.

I know. Unfortunately, I think that a lot of the problem is that they don't start out to tell a good story. Too often, the stories are rather cliched, mundane, and I think that the biggest limit on the storytelling has to do with people being afraid of not churning out the usual run of stories- the same way that we've gotten loads of movies that are nearly identical. I think that, if they wanted to, they could write really good stories that work with the technology and give the players a lot of choice in how the story develops and unfolds.

The way I would set it up. . .of course this would be if I could just completely rewrite the whole blasted game and give it some really interesting stories. . .would be that Droids start out as androgynous, and can choose not only how they look, but the pronouns that they would be using. I would probably do a lot of oddball things with the game, if I could rewrite it from the ground up. For instance, Droids wouldn't start with a particular class, but their origin story would include breaking their core programming. In truth, I'd probably start my stories out very differently. You don't choose a core class until several levels into the game. For instance, there would be a handful of starter planets such as Dromund Kas, Corruscant, Tattooine, Hutta, and for Droids, say Balmora. Your initial storyline involves either breaking out of a life of poverty/enslavement or coming from a well-off household and at the end of the storyline you've chosen, either the House you belong to has been destroyed or you get sent off to train as a Sith/Jedi. (Droids get to break their programming and with the right upgrade can access the Force, though this could be through either sentient metals or becoming slightly cyborg. At the end, the Droids get to chose things like looks, core personality, and gender). There's then a montage of you learning your trade, and then the story begins again with you setting off on your own as the lowest level full member of your class. Of course, this is how I would rewrite the game. Sometimes I think that the big problem for games is that they don't hire storytellers to write the stories.

I kind of wish I could play a Droid.

Today, yes, but fifty years ago, cars were designed by men period end of discussion. Women were heavily pushed to do things like not design cars.

of course, I'm left wondering- should we also be pushing for robosexual romance options in game? I'm just being silly.

SCORPIO is also something of a reference to Metropolis (1927). Her design is heavily influenced by the design of the robot in that movie, and that design also heavily influenced the design of C-3PO, at least from an aesthetic point of view. I haven't read anything to back that up, but that's what it looks like.

I just wish that such people would. Instead, they spout out stuff from various texts they think back up their points when they really don't. And they deleted that entire thread about the Two Year Anniversary scout ship skins.

Tried it, it was boring.

That's ok, it's been that kind of weekend for me. Had a transphobic idiot on one of the other forums I visit.

I'm very good at being polite if snarky. Besides, his first comment was largely a personal attack, which I have not reported. But, yes, I have a feeling that they will either ignore the comments or delete them. I'm just tired of being ignored.

That doesn't surprise me. So far, most of what they've done seems to be the minimal they can get away with and still make money.

And I really am being a pain in the backside in that other thread. At this point, I don't care if they delete all my posts or even sanction me. I'm tired of them ignoring us and putting us into this ghetto to be ignored.

Two years on, I think they could have gotten this fixed by now if they weren't busy mucking around with Ewoks and Space PvP.

Basically, the same rule they have for us regarding playable species. Which most of us think is idiotic.

I read somewhere that, absent social pressures, most people fall between the extremes on the sexuality scales. Most people are at least a little bisexual with only the margins being the most firmly one or the other. Their theory was that the real minorities are heterosexuals and homosexuals, but bisexuals made up the bulk of the population. Not sure if I buy into that, but that would be another solution.

I would love to go back and completely scrap the game and rewrite it from the ground up with the option to chose specific companions along the way- maybe with different abilities at each step. Like with the Bounty Hunter opening, you get to choose between, say, Mako and Jori as your companion. Or as an Agent, you end up being offered the chance to strike at Fathra, and you can choose between either Kaliyo or some other guy as your backup. Have this happen at most opportunities, or maybe even with all of them. Some would be romanceable, but not all.

I've been kvetching about this over in the Two-Year Anniversary thread ( http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=697903 ). So far, most of what I've gotten is "but romances are so badly done in this game" and "this is off topic", but I think my favorite was the person who whined about how I should be able to judge how poorly done the romance arcs were done by doing the straight ones. Her reasoning- well, lots of straight people loved Brokeback Mountain. Of course, the fact that I never liked Brokeback Mountain (sorry, I don't like romances- even LGBT ones and finding decent non-romance-type books or stories with lesbian characters is very difficult) doesn't seem to factor into this. Plus, I find heterosexuality to be 'icky' and undesirable. I tried doing a straight romance, but deleted the character after two interactions with the companion.

I'm the same way. I mean, I do some space missions, but they don't seem to actually give anything worthwhile, and I hate PvP. Meanwhile, it's been two years now and no SGR's with the companions. To me, that's just frustrating and wrong. But my Sorcerer would probably either feed those guys to Khem or sell them off as slave labor.

Well, in all honesty, my fighter crew are going to probably grow old and die waiting for me to actually take off and fight in one of those.

I'd much rather use my class ship than the small snub fighters.

Yeah, "Amina Arraff". . .

Oooo...I was on the sidelines of a scandal that involved something along those lines. Okay...I use to work for a blog where the owner was secretly pretending to be a lesbian, and, well, he brought in a new lesbian blogger, supposedly from Syria, who turned out to be a man from Georgia. I really hated that. I laughed though, but the whole thing really hurt because of how few friends I have, and how very few lesbian friends I have

Don't worry, I wanted to drop Quinn out of the airlock the second he tried to get on my ship, so I never learned his story line. In fact, I really wish we could swap out companions we don't want.

At this point, I think they could easily go back to the drawing board and rebuild the game from the bottom up.