That's a major issue... Not something that a team of 1,000+ people all highly paid, highly talented people shouldn't be able to work out fairly easily... And, you know, they are the first people to ever merge any kind of database, let alone game server databases... - Please don't defend them. Communication is key, they have not provided ANY. This task has been done by most MMO's shortly after launch (by shortly I mean the first couple of months, not the first six). There really isn't any excuse other than wanting to save face to the media. They should've really addressed the server issues before rolling out legacy. They've just built themselves an extra 20 stories on the building they've got to scale.

My followup to which would've been; "There's something on the website!?!?!? :eek:".

/SIGNED 2+ more bars... Why give so many skills, implement new skills, require the use of quest items, provide stims and buffs, vehicles, vanity pets... When we barely have room for each move? I also like to have some moves on my bars twice, which I can't do at the moment. C'mon, we're not asking for much, and it's been over a month now...

You would really rather get a weekly blog post, than daily interaction with developers? Really? If so, can I ask why?

By stopping there, you simply prove the rest of my post, and make me lose hope in the future of the industry... I encourage you to read it, but if you want to act like a child, then so be it.

I don't see why there needs to be an argument about X-Server and Same-Server queues... Would a tickbox to specify which we would like be totally out of the question... You know, like a choice? Best of both worlds? If you don't want the chance of someone needing your epic lootz that you've been hunting for forever, and disappearing back to their own server, then don't queue for X-Server... If you just want to get some XP, have fun, make some cash, get some playing experience, or just live on a low pop server, then queue for X-Server. I really cannot fathom why there has to be an all-or-nothing approach from game developers these days. GIVE PLAYERS A CHOICE. We can make up our own minds how we want to play...

Ha... The game looks alright in 3D as is... Not the conversations obviously, the convergence is all off. But the most part it's fine. Nameplates and healthbars do render at the wrong depth as well, but these can be turned off. But, honestly, I want to get better than 8fps average on some planets before they even start looking at 3D options.

You sound pretty, well, extremely defensive over this. People aren't saying they don't like the game. People are saying that it is flawed (which is true), contains a lot of bugs still (which it does), and has much emptier servers than in January (which it does, on some servers, cripplingly so). People who have cancelled their subs (myself included), post here for numerous reasons. Personally, I still like the game, but find it simply too buggy, frustrating and empty to play. I have since gone back to WoW for a while and am enjoying it. Anyone who says that WoW is terrible, I can't quite see why you love TOR so much, and hate a game, that for the most part uses all the same mechanics, and plays nearly exactly the same, so much. I can only assume that it's the fanboys vs. haters relationship that seems to of developed over the years. Back in time people used to just play what they wanted, no one felt obliged to play a game because it would feel like cheating if they played another one, people would just play what they liked to play... But I digress. Fact is, anyone who's played since late January will tell you that their server is a lot emptier... Forgetting the Light, Standard, Heavy, Very Heavy, Full ratings... Just by playing it, you can tell it's pretty barren compared to previously. Some people might say, "My server had a 20 minute queue last night, I don't know what you're talking about!", well, you're one of the lucky ones who rolled on the correct server from the start. Around 70% of them are suffering, and around 20% have less than 200 people playing on them - total, at peak times... I made characters, I did the maths, and those are fairly accurate figures. I really don't want TOR to fail, I want them to continue their work, and make it into the game it can potentially become. But terrible (or, more accurately, no) communication to your customers over population issues (or most 'negative' things tbh) and providing free time to more hardcore players, and not those that have supported you since closed beta (I'm talking about myself here) I simply don't wish to pay to support. I'm not alone in this, I assure you. 5 friends started playing at launch, I was the last to unsub. To answer the thread question: Is it in decline? It depends on what you're considering its peak... As it's a new game, there hasn't been a stable peak. But I would say in terms of general server populations, yes. There's too many servers for the amount of people actively playing the game. I think that's a fair assessment that most would agree with. Can it be saved? I don't think it's going to go anywhere, so I don't think there's too much to really 'save'. I think the HeroEngine is a piece of crap though. And a house built on crappy foundations won't last long before the cracks start to show, and the building starts to crumble, before, inevitably, the foundations have to be reinforced. But no, I don't think it's in real trouble. At least not at the moment.

This surprises you because..?

I really wish people would stop comparing TOR to vanilla WoW. You don't sell someone a PC and say, "This little baby has 256MB of RAM. 7 Years ago you'd be paying through the nose for that kind of setup!" TOR has a HUGE development team compared to Blizzard when WoW launched, as well as substantially larger budget. Technology and development tools have come a long LONG way since then too. Developers are arguably better trained and more highly paid, and therefore more dedicated. Processing ability of modern computers is so much better compared to 7-10 years ago. Hell, even creating animations and 3D models takes a fraction of the time compared to back then. 3DS Max was an infant, and trained individuals scarce. zBrush? Forget about it. So why, oh why are people constantly comparing this launch, and first year in operation to something that happened almost a decade ago, in the fastest evolving industry in the world?

Custom channels are broken, much like most of the simple stuff in the game... Try typing: /ChannelList Flashpoint Or: /List Flashpoint (I forget which does what, but it's definitely one of those - At work at the moment so can't check) That should bring up a list of users in that channel... It doesn't however. It just says: 'Users in Channel:' - Then never lists anyone. To be honest I unsubbed last week. Love the game, but there's far too much that needs to be worked on for me to warrant paying monthly for it, whilst I slum it with bugs, incomplete features and terrible frame rates in the majority of places. I check the forums, and the news sites keeping my eyes and ears out for signs that things are getting better. Maybe in patch 1.3? I'm not holding my breath though. Bottom Line: They're broken, I reported the bug I specified above over a month ago, still hasn't been fixed... Says a lot about development really, imo anyway.

I meant when the gear wasn't 'For Kira', that didn't exist in the beta. It was just gear, and they could wear it. Plain and simple.

You're post is too large to quote properly. So I'll simply say this. If you read my post, you'll see that I really wanted to like this game. But there really is nothing that SCREAMS, "YOU ARE LIVING IN A BUBBLE!" like not being able to leave a town, and fight some creatures, without having to fly 200ft over the desert to get to exactly the same bi of desert for no reason, other than the engine doesn't allow for a continuous space of that size. That is a flaw. A huge one in my opinion. I love star wars, and I love MMO's. EvE also has closer to 400k subs, and another 100k that use PLEX's to keep playing (and therefore don't appear on sub stats). TOR had, at its peak 1.2 million. That number has only dropped, and looking at the shift in sever populations, a great, great deal. Until the next financial quarter (read early June), numbers are speculative. But as EA is a company sitting in floatation, they HAVE TO DECLARE these things to the public, as they, as informed investors have to be able to make educated decisions about their investments. I don't think TOR is in trouble, and I hope it succeeds. I hope it grows into the game I wish it was at the moment. But for me, it's not. I don't understand why you would come into this thread, complaining and whining about what's been said in it, as well as quote and post a couple of hundred lines, when the thread is entitled: "I really like the game - but why I don't want to come back". People are discussing why they won't be subscribing or playing anymore, which is a fair topic of conversation. We don't need people like yourself telling us that our opinions are infact invalid... You sir are a troll, nothing more, nothing less.

The best credit sinks are for equipment... That's what people really want to spend their cash on. It has to be handled correctly, but if you intertwine it with a really solid crafting system, then it works perfectly. If you have to gather a **** ton of items, and rare items too (think PvP tradable rewards, FP drops, etc), to create your new super shiny boots, then people will sink millions into getting the trade goods to make it, by trading with other players. The game has very little trade incentive at the moment, and certainly no cash sinks. Again, a huge missed opportunity. Not to mention the gear you get while levelling... During the beta I remember the quest rewards were more like WoW. You got a light, medium, heavy to choose from. Some stats were relevent, some weren't. But because you had your companion, it allowed you to gear up in a more dynamic fashion. Your piece of armour doesn't have the right stats for your character? No worries, get the one that works for your companion. I first logged on after release and saw that they'd done away with that. Instead I get to choose between three pieces of equipment, all of which I can use, all of which are basically identical, none of which my companion would use... None of which are better than what I'm using at the moment... What's the point? I think it was downhill from there. They stopped innovating, and went linear, linear and super super linear.

Just read this @ http://www.swtorhub.com/pax-east-2012-swtor-interview-james-ohlen: James Ohlen: Our strategies are based on how our fans react. Ten Ton Hammer: The ability to choose your own warzone has been one of the most requested features since day one, if that’s going to be a feature at some point, what will it take to facilitate that? Is there any support for population balance? James Ohlen: We felt that warzones popping was more important than players being able to customize their experience. What does that tell you? Your fans are reacting by constantly asking for something... You decide that you don't want to implement the feature. Feeling that various gameplay mechanics are more important than players being able to customise their experience is another reason I don't want to return anytime soon... This kind of arrogance offends me. Like I wouldn't be able to work out how to queue for a warzone without some kind of assistance. That's offensive.

I want to hear him whine... This is a forum. People talk/complain/argue/agree. You don't like that? Bug off and play the game then. To quote your rudeness sir.

It certainly is not. I cancelled my sub a couple of days ago. Until server mergers happen I won't resub. Even then, the more I think about my time playing, the more it puts me off returning. If anything it makes me think of the fond moments I had running around aimlessly in WoW, getting ganked, then growing up, and ganking others. Raiding capital cities and climbing to the top of hills to find crazy unbuilt areas with huge multicoloured squares on the floor, hidden away on the other side. That to me was great fun. I compare that to what I had in whilst playing TOR, and I don't have any of those kind of fond memories. I have memories of enjoying the story, meeting some nice people. But the story ends, and the people leave, all too quickly. Then I have no other fond memories, I can remember lots of lifts and flying around on transports. Doing some jumping to get a small box. Killing countless enemies with a variety of cool looking moves, the only problem being that as a Jedi Sentinel I spent 90% of the time looking at the hotbar and focus bar just to survive a fight. , missing all the cool looking moves as I'm watching some icons and bars instead. I find myself wondering why I would want to return. All the fond memories I have of TOR are gone, I can't re-experience the twists of a cool story again, I can't bring back my virtual guild mates, and the fond memories I had from WoW can't exist in TOR, because BW won't let me do them. It really is a shame. I wanted, and I tried so, so hard to really love this game... But if it wasn't set in (a pretty dull version of) the Star Wars Universe, I don't think I, nor anyone else, would've battered an eyelid come release day.

Exactly. Couldn't agree more. There's no conflict to experience, outside of the story and what you're told is going on on the planet you're currently playing on. You never actually get to take part in this outside of 'kill X' who is in 'area Y'. There's no open battlefields for you to enter into to push back and try to control certain points on a planet, maybe to unlock more quests, or the bonus' series? Not a chance unfortunately.

Tattooine was the biggest disappoint to me. It really hit home how linear the worlds where when I got there. Huge open sprawling land mass... Can I use my own scooter to travel from the town to the desert 20 seconds south of it? Nope... Can the imps attack Tattooine and massacre everything they find there? Nope... It's just all wrong for an MMO.

Wow... I don't think I've ever agreed with someone so much in my entire life. I expected a lot from TOR, and it gave made good on a lot of those expectations... The only problem is, I think I had the wrong expectations. The MAJOR problem for me is just how linear the game is. WoW had a massive world to explore when it was first released... TOR for the most part, has 2 separate level 1-10 areas for each faction, then you're forced to level through exactly the same planets, through exactly the same areas, through basically exactly the same quests, all the way through to 50. At least in WoW there was variety. I could level in 3 different areas at any given time, not one. It meant that levelling an alt was interesting, because you could see a lot of environments you might never of gone through before. Not to mention the lack of world PVP. I don't know if it's just because the server pops are far too sparse, or whether the game was designed to play like this, but I have yet to encounter anything that even resembles Stranglethorn Vale in WoW. A shared quest hub, constant ganking and PvP occurring... Not to mention the sterile fleet environment, and the inability to raid any opposing factions town, unless BW allow you to, which 90% of the time you simply can't. The main problem is that TOR is so incredibly theme park, it's just not scalable enough to build a long lasting 'world' for people to immerse themselves in. I've never been playing and felt really free to do what I want. Never been able to think... "What the hell, lets solo their fleet for a laugh", or "let's try and take down their transport droid". There's no option for this kind of freedom. All I can do with my game time is what BW wants me to do with it. Either do daily's, stale and unimaginative PvP, or repetitive Flashpoints. There's no diversity, no freedom. That is why this game isn't doing so well. Once you've seen the stories, got bored of the linear warzones, and completed all the FP's and OP's, there's nowt all else to do. BW missed a trick here. They took every feature that exists in other MMO's (FP's, Ops, warzones, world PvP [Ha, Illum = joke], quests, crafting), added a story, but simply couldn't break free from their single player routes to create anything diverse. People want freedom from an MMO, and this doesn't offer that. There's no sense that you, as a play can make a change to anything around you, or affect anyone else's gaming experience, because, quite simply, you can't. You can affect your own game, and that's it. That's not very MMO imo, not very MMO at all.

Couldn't agree more. Unfortunately MMO's are a genre, and therefore follow a pattern of sorts. Coupled with the fact that all originality has been bred out of game developers in the last 15 years, then such novel and often realistic ideas will never, unfortunately, be incorporated into any game produced by a multi-national corporation. You'll have to look at indie games, much like Mortals Online, if you want something that strays from the standard structure. Developers and investors just aren't prepared to take the risk on innovation anymore. It's much safer to invest in a project that everyone has experienced, and bought into, a thousand times before, as there is a proven market for it. Sad, but unfortunately very true... Just look at how many people rush out to buy the next game in the Call of Duty franchise, when in reality all that happens is multiplayer gets 10 new maps, guns get changed slightly, and the progression is altered in an incredibly minor way. No big innovation, yet they out sell every other game on the market every year.

Simply........ Outstanding! +1 from me. Fat chance of it happening though. Unfortunately.

Picturing that actually made me laugh out loud... Which is rather embarrassing when you're sat in a quiet office full of people.

I quite like this drivel. I definitely like a lot more than saying something, getting no response. Saying, 'Can anyone hear me?', and still getting no response. Chat is all but dead outside of fatman and tomb of freedon nadd servers. You really don't like conversation do you? What is your idea of community? Mine is people discussing, flaming, cussing, sharing, helping, loving, joking... All those emotions and vocal points that make people what people are, human. I've had many a LOL moment from reading and chatting in WoW's [Trade] channel, as I'm sure countless others have. Your idea that it destroys whatever the hell you think a community is, is completely unfounded, and makes you appear arrogant. I'm not specifically backing a server-wide chat away channel. If it means that I might actually be able to talk to someone though, then its better than silence. I also really like the idea of a level restricted channel, because basically, there has to be something put in place as the current system (or lack of) simply doesn't work. I have made a post: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=391463 Which describes a method to get people off the fleet that has been used to great success.

Because they're being praised by the gaming community for even admitting there's an issue? Acknowledgement would be a step in the right direction. What we're looking at at the moment is just flat out denial, or wishful thinking that 1.2 will make everything better. Which, of course, it won't. Do you know the number one thing that drives off new players? When you log into a game and see no one else playing it. That's the biggest killer. As well as Seeing: Full Heavy Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Standard Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low Low As your server choices. That's not a great impression either... I would also say any 5 year old could look at that list and say, "problem here. Need fix!".