I see you've heard of EA before then?

I have... Spoken to their customer services on two separate occasions, never had an issue. They charge the earth for bags, but that's another story. Point is, I book a flight, that flight is delayed, they contact me in advance when possible to let me know it will be delayed, what my rights as a consumer are, and what my options are. I'd call that pretty good customer service.

I expect it to be from high ~> low, only. Then pay for anything else. Which, obviously to everyone who isn't BW, won't work. Also, lets look at this with a water and jars scenario. Water = players, Jars = servers. You have 10, 1 litre jars. You have 2 litres of water. At the moment, TOR has: 1 jar full 1 jar half full 8 jars 3/100 full, a little less than 1/25th full. Now, if you now share out all of the water from the full jar, to other, barely filled jars, you end up with: 1 jar half full 9 jars 4/25th full. As this example shows. You can have all the jars in the world, and move the water around all you want. At the end of the day, if you've got too many jars, or not enough water, you're still not going to want to wander around the desert with them in your bag. The only way to solve the problem is very simple, you either: a) Get more water. or... b) Remove some jars. Getting more water, I'm sure, is BW's main objective, but outside of their control for the most part. Which leaves option b) as the only viable option. Which BW has stated they're not really considering at the moment. The result is that we're going to be going thirsty for some time to come.

I realise that, but purchasing or merging with a company that developed a game independently, is not developing one yourself. That was the point I was making. The people who make DAO, haven't made MMO's before. That's what I was getting at.

This isn't exactly cracking PR... Nor is losing half a MILLION subscribers in 3 months.

Couldn't agree more. I think it's becoming very clear that this is BW's first multiplayer game, and I think it's showing when it comes to communication with their online (and paying) community/customers. It's like picking up the phone to LG, and being told to **** off.

All we've been told about server transfers is that they're coming. We haven't been told when, other than the vague 'summer-time' response. We haven't been told what they'll entail. Are these transfers going to occur like: High Pop ~> Lower Pop Lower Pop ~> Standard Pop Low Pop & High Pop ~> Standard Pop All Pop ~> All Pop We haven't been told if there are any special requirements that are necessary for customers to be eligible for free transfers. If I had booked a flight with Ryan Air, and they were rearranging my flight, I'd expect, as a paying customer, to be given answers to any and all questions I wanted to ask. I would also not expect their response to be, effectively, "go somewhere else if you don't like it", as any company that does that is unlikely to last. Simple admission that there is a HUGE issue would at least be a start. I asked for that two months ago, a simple admission. Great PR.

Yes and no... Yes, there's more math. No, it's not that hard with modern day machinery. We're not living in the world of COBOL, with mainframe computers, and RAM sticks as big as your face. EvE was released in 2003. They achieved this. 9 years on, technology has come a long, long way. Pentium 4's were the average consumer CPU at that time. Xeon based servers were still unbelievably expensive. nVidia PhysX didn't even exist at the time... The year is now 2012. Quad core processors are now standard in the majority of gamers rigs, and most OEM manufactured offerings. With 8gb+ of RAM, sporting an incredibly powerful, sum eating MACHINE of a graphics card. Let alone with CUDA technology, tessellation, improvements in directX... The maths based calculations are based CLIENT SIDE. They're nothing to do with the servers. All the servers do is convey information. If a server had to do all the maths, games like Aika, that offer 1,000 vs 1,000 RvR battles would grind to a halt, especially when looking at a distributed remote client base of 2,000 workstations. When you jump and land again on the ground, or click a button and do damage to mob, all that information, all that maths is being done on YOUR PC. Not on BW, or anyone else's servers... You can tell this, without knowing anything about remote network infrastructure, simply by looking at MMO hacks. Because all the files reside on your computer, apart from the raw data about your character (items, HP, stats, etc.), then you can edit them (if you can decompile them, or patch them with an assembler). If you have the knowhow, there's no reason you can't make your character fly around the maps. You'll simply send a vector to the BW servers, and they'll display that vector to everyone else who's rendering that scene. Things like buildings, foliage, etc., has nothing to do with the servers. If the servers didn't exist, you'd still see them, and be able to run around, just like you would in a single player game. It really isn't out of the question to expect a modern day server, or WELL designed server cluster to handle 1,000's of simultaneous users in the same workspace. The problem isn't so much the hardwares' ability to cope with it, nor really the ability to program it. The real problem comes with jumping to overpopulation in hubs, lack of raw materials, etc. The things I've outlined here are exactly why SWG, WoW, Ultima Online, etc., private servers can operate, legally. You've already purchased a copy of the game files. The server itself just has to respond to any calls it receives. To setup a private TOR server, you wouldn't use ANY BW code, at all. It would be illegal to do so infact. All the server would do is respond to the calls made by the client(s), and the game on the clients machine will know what to do. http://www.galaxiesreborn.com/ - Explains this incredibly well... Anyway, bottom line, having one huge server for millions of people is probably stretching it, but having one for 10,000+ simultaneous players isn't reaching into the land of make believe, by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, it exists at the moment, with eastern companies with much smaller budgets than TOR, and has done for some time.

WoW is having its loot changed in MoP. There won't be rolls anymore, instead when you kill a boss it will automatically roll against yourself to see if you receive a piece of gear, that's always specific to your personal class and build. Can you say: "bu-bye ninja's"? Also, mob stealing isn't an issue in GW2, where everyone is grouped as soon as you get near each other, and everything gets shared fairly by simply generating a little more loot, or again, automatically picking who gets what. These systems are NEW, REVOLUTIONARY... TOR's are OLD and UNINSPIRED. Voice acting is great, story is great, but it's like a film in so many ways. You don't watch the same movie everyday, over and over again do you? In terms of gameplay mechanics, there are other games out there that play basically the same, only better, and have much more content to boot, as well as some form of community on the majority of servers, let alone dev's that a) have a clue, and b) listen. Not to mention having EA looming over you.

It's not that hard... I've done it everyday for the last 7 years. Piece of piss nowadays. Of course, some people are brighter than others, and some people are on different pay brackets to others. I can't help but feel BW have gone for the 1,000 monkeys writing Shakespeare is better than having Shakespeare himself, and pay a little more for the privilege. They should appoint someone to be a community liaison. Forgive me if they already do, but I sure as hell don't know who they are, and they don't seem to address problems, and fail to even comment on most issues raised. I reported a bug about a month ago. Simple thing, that the /channellist commands didn't work. Still don't work. Simple enough fix, just return the data from your table/array, ordered by name. It's an entirely text based command, so nothing else is needed. Shameful.

Recently started playing EvE, and have to say, I'm having a great time. Everywhere you go there are people, EVERYWHERE. Always worrying if someone is going to scan you down and destroy your ship you spend 3 weeks to earn. Great stuff. In regards to it not being possible, I don't think much is possible with this engine. It really is a piece of $h1t...

People bang on and on about 1.3 million this, and 1.3 million that. I don't work for BW, or EA, nor am I an investor in either company, so I don't give a crap about how many SUBSCRIBERS there are. I care about how many PLAYERS there are. Around 180 servers, worldwide. Average server population at their peak time, is reckoned to be about 400-500 on the majority of servers (based on my own research across EU realms). That's an AVERAGE - Taking into account the highs and lows of all servers. Which means a: Low of: 400 x 180 = 72,000 Playerbase and a... High of: 500 x 180 = 90,000 Playerbase These are the numbers I care about... That's not a huge number. EvE online has a much smaller subscription base, but houses one huge server, which averages between 35-45,000 playerbase at any one time. That's really healthy for the kind of game it is. Talk about subscription figures all you want. Doesn't make it any less lonely, or any easier to get a group. I figure probably ~7% of subscribers opted for a 6-month subscription when the game came out, which would still be ongoing.

Ahh yes... However, there is zero community on 95% of the servers... So, there's nothing to destroy. This appeals to the casuals, I'm a casual, and it's who EA and BW want to attract. Hardcores will carry on playing regardless, only quitting when they get bored. People like myself are the casual, and the majority. We are fickle, and don't want to work to play the game the way we want to. We have little time to spend playing video games, and want to use that time to play, not spamming a chat channel. Good move, but too late I fear. Dead servers will still face the same problem of no one to play with. If anything it will just divide dead servers of 60 players in total to trying to do WZ's and FP's, so people will cancel each other out, and no one will be able to do anything. Oh well. Play EvE instead. At least CCP communicate with their customers on a daily basis.

Nope... FIFA 11 is the largest selling sports game ever made apparently. Not largest ever. Largest is Wii Sports, with 71 million sales... It was bundled with the every copy of the Wii sold though, so that's not really fair. The Sims (16 million shipped) - http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/feb/1114806.htm In terms of a series it's the largest selling, but not as an individual title. I think Tetris is probably the largest selling game of all time if you want to look at it objectively. I mean, everyone and their dogs owns a copy of that in one form or another. Be it on the gameboy, mobile, PC, whatever.

I remember reading somewhere that FIFA 10 was the largest selling computer game of all time. Not sure if that was exactly it, but yeah, HUGE market.

I have a feeling, as they have said they aren't working on server MERGERS, that unfortunately the transfers aren't going to be what people think... It doesn't make sense to give all the incredibly low pop servers the ability to move to higher pop ones, because then you would just merge them. The same things are going to have to happen whether characters transfer or merge. No. They'll open up transfers off of higher pop servers to lower pop ones. On paper it looks like a wonderful idea. But who would want to leave a server like the fatman, to go to a low pop server... Go from playing with 1000+ people to playing with 50? Never going to happen. But from what I've seen of BW's management of this epidemic, that would be my interpretation of what's going to happen.

It's a shame... If there was just 6 months more development on it, to iron out the bugs, get the box advertised parts of the game in for launch, and put in a contingency method of merging servers, this game would've been a huge success imo. The lack of server mergers - the huge delay (still no announcement for them) - and the state of denial, only digs a deeper and deeper grave.

+1 I would say though, if your server isn't offered a free transfer, and mergers still aren't being planned, then just find a new game. Insult to injury is: - Paying BW for a game. -- BW puts your guild on a soon-to-be dead server. - Paying BW a monthly fee. -- BW communication is non-existant (just look at a company like Blizzard or CCP - they REGULARLY respond to PAYING CUSTOMERS concerns and opinions). - Paying BW to transfer your character to a server with more than 50 people on it. Lets look at this financially: Box = £50 Sub = £70 (£10 x 7 [assuming transfers come in mid-summer]) Transfer = £15 Total = £135 Sounds like a lovely business model, also sounds like your totally screwing over your customers and supporters. Don't get diddled. Unsub. Come back when transfers go up. See if yours is free. If not, learn to play the piano or something.

Yeah, not having to sit in the same place for hours to find 3 other people to play with for 40 minutes, instead - actually being able to do your dailies and what have you whilst the game does the legwork for you. What were they thinking!? ***... Also, have a read of the new WoW loot system... Ninja's are going to be a thing of the past in a couple of months. The vast majority of people who play - the casual gamers - do so for the gaming, not the community (of which TOR has none anyway). They have their own friends, they don't want more from a video game, they just want to be able to pewpewpew. Which there's absolutely nothing wrong with. EDIT: Also interests me when EA invest the largest amount of money into a computer game in recorded history, then prioritise SimCity over it, comparing TOR to Tiger Woods Golf. -- ALARM BELLS!!

Don't listen to the fanboys here... You're right, there is a problem. 4-mans might be doable by two people IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT CLASSES. If you and a buddy are both Jedi Sentinels, and don't have Doc, then you're never going to be able to do it, ever. The majority of servers have about 40% of their population at max level, or 40% below level 15... On my main (now abandoned) server, I'm usually the only person on the planet I'm questing on at peak hours. I don't even bother picking them up anymore. What's the point? I'm never going to find anyone on the deserted planet to play with. Shame, as they were fun whilst I was able to do them a couple of months back. People who comment saying, 'The problem is with you', or 'they're easy, just two man them' are in denial that there are problems with the core mechanics of this games setup. Live in denial if you want, but be aware that's exactly where you are. They weren't designed to be two manned or skipped, they were designed to be done and enjoyed by any and all who wish to partake in them. If that can't happen, which evidently, it can't, then it's broken. Plain and simple.

Doesn't really work like that... But yeah, the problem is with their server polling and hi-res models FOR EVERYTHING... Generally you build your environment from low res textures (the floor, tree bark, etc), and use high res for things like the skybox, character models, effects, etc. As the division in their models are really high (for no real reason other than it being quicker to make a good looking model, at a HUGE hit to rendering time), then the majority of mid-range PC's will stutter a lot. The majority of lag that I experience is down to my PC, and the more happening planets having too much going on in terms of high res effects (cannons going off in the background, etc). Things like the loading screens are their server issues, and they're far too frequent for a modern day game too. The engine needs to be overhauled, server calls need to be reduced, and low-res/lower division artwork needs to be made, and have some TLC to make it look EXACTLY THE SAME. Yes, it is possible. But rushed development teams take this approach to save time, and work with less competent artists. Will these ever be addressed? At least in our lifetime? Doubtful. EA is paying the bills, and as has already been mentioned sooo many times, they're driven by marketing and PR departments. They don't give a cr4p what the developers have to say, they're lackies, and they need to program what they're told. i.e., cute little tautaun pets.

To my mind, every game that has moved from pay to play ~> free to play, has always adopted a hybrid setup. You can still subscribe and play exactly as you did before. You can also play for free, and choose if you want to purchase higher level content, bag space, etc. That model has proven to work incredibly effectively. Games like LotRO and DDO have used it to become massively profitable. I've played both to a fairly high level, and enjoyed both of them. Would I of purchased the game as a sub? No, I don't think I would have... Would I download it and play it for free, then spend some cash on it to further my fun, if that seemed like a good idea? Yes, I would, and I have. I even subscribed to DDO for a couple of months and had a blast. Just because a game goes f2p doesn't mean it makes less money, and doesn't mean that it's a sign it's doing badly. Free to play is the future believe it or not. SWTOR was pipped as being the last serious pay to play game that was ever going to be released (source: GameSpot analyst). It's failure to capture a large market share just pays homage to the fact that the pay to play model is failing, and consumers, as well as developers/producers are slowly moving away from it.

BW F-ed up by adding way to many servers (over double) the originals. I'm not paying for their poor decisions.

Well, I can imagine it won't be good. I would personally be asking why my shares have dropped 25% in value in just the last quarter, and why they've dropped 40% in the last fiscal year. Source: http://www.digitallook.com/cgi-bin/dlmedia/security.cgi?csi=20043&username=&ac= Is it because of TOR not living up to the financial forecasts? Who knows... We'll find out in a couple of weeks I guess.

Apparently so, at it's peak it was 570... Still doesn't dilute my statement at all. If RIFT and WAR can do it within 60 days, with development teams closer to 200, why shouldn't TOR? SOURCE: http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/08/star-wars-the-old-republic-development-team-reached-570-members/