/signed. Been away three years and this is still being asked for.

I actually agree with you. I unsubbed three years ago and recently resubbed because watching Episode VII got me all nostalgic for SWTOR. In three years I cannot believe how little has been fixed. Ilum PVP still missing, no new huttball maps, no new pvp anything! The engine still lags, textures are poor, bugs everywhere. The game is a complete mess and it saddens me. I thought the money generated from the Cartel Market may have been put to good use in fixing or replacing the game engine. Alas, SWTOR limps on like the old, often ignored family dog at the park. All it can do is watch as the other MMO's chase subscribers off into the sunset. As it sits in the park wondering why no-one will put it out of it's misery, it is overtaken by younger MMO's that were once thought dead. Such as FFXIV, that MMO that was also given a terminal prognosis. However it's owners cared for it, took responsibility and admitted their mistakes. They took FFXIV to the vet and paid for the expensive and much needed operation to improve it's quality of life. Now it run's freely in the MMO park, with it's new companion Heavensward for company as they chase those lucky subscribers off into the distance. Until EA/Bioware put their hands up just like SquareEnix, I can't see this game ever being able to truly improve.

It's a shame. Since I returned to the game my PC has had a pretty hefty upgrade, including a new SSD. Other, much more graphics intensive games load up so fast, almost instantly. Even Fallout 4 on Ultra settings. SWTOR still feels like its running on my old HDD. I actually had to log off and make sure I clicked on the correct shortcut to ensure I wasn't loading the game from a different directory, it's still that slow to load. I also get really irritating jerks when running anywhere, it looks like the game is dropping frames. It's incredibly disappointing from a game that had so much promise. However it's even more disappointing to see the developers and EA have not taken the opportunity to turn things around in three plus years

The last time I played this game for any length of time the dev's said they were working on revamping Ilum PVP and fixing it. Fast forward a few years later, I resubbed for KotFE and still there is nothing......This is very disappointing. I don't understand why it is so hard for the dev's to create a large instanced PvP zone like Alterac Valley in WoW or even the massive PvP map in ESO. Thus reducing the issue of lag and the engines poor ability to handle large amounts of players in one open area (i.e.The Original Ilum). The PVP in ESO actually runs on it's own server if I read correctly (apologies if this is not the case), why can't something like that be implemented? Ok, so I am no programmer. This would probably involve a massive undertaking and I cannot comprehend the cost involved, but it's frustrating when other games have better PvP than SWTOR. Even FFXIV's broken PvP system is still fun, open and active to actually play. ESO's while frustrating for newbie's is a LOT of fun if you get a group. I find it a shame that nothing has been done to tackle the glaring PvP issues in SWTOR. The new story is cool and all but every other MMO has some kind of PvP that is active and fun. SWTOR's just seems stale. Ah well, rant over . Flame away.

Thank you Damion It's nice to know that the work is on going. Not that I ever doubted you guys weren't working on it lol It gives me some confidence that the game is progressing in quality as well as quantity (by this I mean content). In my opinion quality should be first. If I was to ask one more question it would be: What problems are the Dev's encountering in optimising for lower end systems? For example is the engine just not designed to run on older PC's or those with limitations like Laptops etc or is that part of the improvements that are on going? And one last cheeky question: As someone has already mentioned, would an 8 week patch window ever be dedicated to just engine improvements and no content? And for the community, would you accept that in order to improve fps and loading times? Thank you for the responses so far BW. It is very much appreciated and does give me a sense of satisfaction that SW:TOR will regain it's crown.

Very much this. There are still big issues with crashing, like th end of the Esseles FP. This badly needs to be addressed.

Exactly. And I just read this thread http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=642216 Even more reason we should have this answered. With open PvP proving too much for the engine to handle in it's current condition are there plans to improve the engine so it can handle Ilum PvP again? We need to know BioWare! Please

Good idea, I never thought of it that way. To add to that idea and to make it more in line with the trooper story, rather than have your CO give you the jobs it could be the intelligence service who gives you black ops missions to off some local crime boss etc. We have already met them in other cantinas throught the class story, it would maybe fit better with the trooper in general.

I guess it could be done through expansions, kinda like how Outland uses a slighty different, modified engine in The Burning Crusade to allow flying mounts etc... The the full modifications came to the whole game in Cataclysm along with other improvements. Anyway in relation to SW:TOR I would be interested to know what the Dev's would like to improve first? If anything of course and what would have to be improved to implement particular features. i.e. to give players feature A we need to implement fix B, C and D which is in progress

I guess I don't have a complaint with it as such, I like the game and I love playing it but I just wonder what the Dev's plans are in relation to this. I think it would generate a lot of confidence in the evolution of the game. As it exists at the moment, I like it but for new features, game play etc and of course modernisation over the years it would have to be updated. Which is why I would love to get some kind of BW response on the subject.

Likewise, and I don't think I am. You shouldn't be so dismissive, EVE Online never generated a lot of revenue and the developers overhauled it's engine. Anyway I don't mean for it to be overhauled in the way CCP did. I would expect the changes to come slowly with content patches, making small changes to avoid bugs and develop them over time. Also slight improvements to the engine also provide an opportunity for better items and features in the Cartel Market. Regards,

Agree. I think the graphics are fine in the basic sense, any MMO which has ultra realistic graphics ages very badly. The graphics in SW:TOR are just right to avoid that. WoW is the same, it has aged pretty well. I still love running around on Tatooine, awesome scenery.

No offence but I think thats a pretty limited view. An engine improvement would certainly generate more income as it would attract more players and improve playing quality. As I mentioned other games have done it but they didn't just roll out a massive update. I think Blizz started with a new shader model, then added better water effects and optimisation with large expansions over the course of years. It would be nice to get a yellow BW post on this, even if was just a "Yes, this is something that is still being considered" It would certainly make me more confident in investing my time into playing this game because I really do like it. There are so few good Sci-Fi MMO's and this one is Star Wars too! It fixes all my geek tendancies

This isn't meant as a 'OMG BW!! OMPTEEMIZE NAO!!!' or a demanding post attacking the dev's. I am just simply curious. I have searched for the answer on the internet but I cannot find anything concrete. I have been wondering if BW do have plans to update or optimize the engine in future updates and has there ever been a response on the forums indicating yes or no? The reason I ask is that I have been reading a lot of posts, all across different websites, about the limitations of the engine and the effect it has had on open world PVP as it cannot handle a lot of people in one area. Of course I do remember the lag-tastic days of the first ilum pvp matches, I was fortunate enough that my machine handled those matches fairly well, but other people were reduced to a slide show. Loading times are of course still an issue and my machine still takes over 2 min to load Makeb, others is my guild have loading times of 5 min plus for Makeb and the Black Hole areas. During my search I have been reading that the Hero Engine has since received major updates improving it's quality etc but I have also read that these changes are not applicable to SW:TOR due to the modifications made during development. With that being said other MMO's have updated and improved their engine as time went along, Blizzard have updated WOW's with almost every major expansion not only to improve looks but to add new features and of course CCP did the complete overhaul on EVE Online years ago which was extremely impressive. Is this something the Development team are considering for the future of SW:TOR or is it still to early in the games life to consider this? What about bypassing the performance issues faced in open world pvp or large player numbers in areas? Is this something the Dev's are working towards? Might we see large (but instanced) objective based PVP again soon? I realise a BW response is slim, you can't answer everyone but at the same time if you don't ask, you will never know! Thanks

/signed From the descriptions of the new Dye system I thought this was how it was going to be! Alas we were scammed, time to fix it BW

It would make things a lot more interesting, it doesnt even have to be that detailed in terms of the interaction with your passengers/clients - it could even be done without conversation cinematics.

Thank you It may not suit every class but thats kinda the idea. There could even be consequences of being a trooper and your CO finding out about you moonlighting as a bounty hunter. It's also something to break away from the daily mission grind and allow you to develop your character. Plus, it's very Star Wars

This has probably been suggested before, but here goes (I will put a TL;DR at the bottom): In the Star Wars movies, Tatooine and various cantinas across the galaxy are the place to go for casual 'work'. We all know how Luke and Obi-Wan found a ride to Alderaan for example. Well, in SW:TOR there are numerous cantinas across the game and they provide an ideal way to add new and adaptive content to the game. You could provide a series of randomly generated quests in them that range from bounties to simple cargo transport and escalate the danger of the missions randomly or base it on the players decisions. For example: So, I have done my dailies for the day, done the HM FP's and I have 3 more days to go before my OP's lockout clears and I am at a loose end. I head to my ship and check my terminal in the cockpit, it shows a list of possible prospective 'work' that may be available on various planets. I decide to head for Corellia, my terminal simply shows that there have been a few people asking about passenger transport in the local cantinas but I have to go there for details. I get there and head to the cantina and sure enough there are several NPC's with the quest icon above them. I talk to each one and find there are two people looking for transport off world, one paying credits for cargo transport and one guy asking for a 'specialist' and generally being very shady. After a quick chat it seems he is looking for someone to go after a petty criminal in Nar Shadda, he is offering a substantial amount of credits for such a small time crook, there is obviously something he is not telling you....do you take the job or settle for a simple and safe passenger run from the other clients? TL;DR Basically a new type of daily/weekly quest: Random quests found in various cantina's across the galaxy. You find out which planets have prospective work via the terminal in your ship's cockpit Once in a cantina you can choose the work you want. A simple delivery, an armed escort for a local business man, a smuggling run or a bounty that is just too well payed to resist - Perhaps your class affects the missions available. Some really are simple but others escalate. For example you find out the cargo crate you have really has slaves in carbonite in them, not alloys bound for the shipyards of Balmorra - Do you set them free, take on your employer or run the gauntet of security and get the massive pay off? As you travel between planets you could be attacked, requiring you to take part in a space battle or escape an ambush etc - Bringing space missions back into the game. Each decision affects your light/dark rating and your standing with certain reputation vendors - You cannot get champion with everyone, you must decide if you are gonna break the law or not. Breaking the law puts you in bad standing with legitimate reputation vendors but the rewards may be worth it! and vice versa of course. The missions could be in a staged format like the Makeb missions, progressing the story every few patch updates and only a certain number available each day or week And the companion you take affects the mission! If you are a trooper and want to do the bounty or smuggling missions you may need Tano Vik, otherwise Aric will just plain refuse to participate and you have to continue solo (unable to summon another companion until complete or you abandon) If you abandon the quest, you lose rep. Anyway, it maybe to difficult to implement any or all of these but it would help make some players really engage in their class. Smugglers can smuggle, bounty hunters can go after contracts etc. Other classes like the Jedi/Sith can take on the morally dubious ones where they have to decide if they complete the mission or go after their employer when they realise he's a crook. It would also mean you have to revist older areas and re-explore etc giving people an excuse to visit another planet for a change rather than the normal daily hub areas. Just an idea anyway, would help the roleplay element at least.

Don't we all. Look, I too ranted on here about 2.1 but even I, a former rant poster, is getting a little bored of these threads. I posted an apology last night and gave a little constructive criticism. I may not be a good critic or my opinions might vary wildly compared to others on here but there is only so much "OMG BW FFS" can do. Help the dev's by not stamping your feet and holding your breath. Tell them what is really bothering you about the game or don't post at all.

HA HA! ^^ This!

Bingo! For me it has to be the silence of the Dev's on BW's forums. All we ever get is a 'it's in progress' or 'it is in the queue but has had it's priority lowered' and 'There are difficulties when we try to implement' What are these problems? Why have things changed in urgency, what else has appeared? Tell us why! Blizzard have Ghostcrawler on WoW foums who does regular blogs on development (used to, not sure about now) and implementing new features and the problems they had when implementing them. It might help if we were kept in the loop a bit more and had an understanding of your struggles.

This is the one I read: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-01-10-biowares-increasingly-toxic-forum-repels-dragon-age-writer-david-gaider

I would like to see proper playable alien races, if that meant the loss of voice acted cutscenes for every mission...so be it. New areas opened up in planets like Coruscant, perhaps even flyable speeders in zones like this for a bit of exploring the lower levels. Free roaming space battles/missions obviously Planets being more open and wider, less reliance on automated speeders and make our personal speeders more like they are in the movies (i.e. a lot faster when we travel along an main road/route). A new story based upon your characters past, a skeleton in your closet reappears or friends murder leads you into a plot where you may have to fight people who were once allies in order to protect the empire/republic or do you join them instead and wage a new war?

It might be a case of doing what I did and unsub for a few updates. It's sad to have to do this for a game you like but I found myself so bored with no PVE and only logging on for a few PVP matches a day, I had to unsub and wait it out a few months. I was pleasantly surprised by the expansion, it is short but I am thinking EA have used it as a testing ground to see if people will pay up for new content. Makeb should have been a free addition, we all know this and it has probably been used as a cash generator to fund new development and a test to see if its worth funding new development. I might be being a little over optimistic with that idea but one can hope.

I was like the OP back in June last year however our preference for PVP was the exact opposite. I prefer PVE tbh, and for me PVP was something to do when waiting to raid. Once that was done there was nothing to do but PVP. I sympathise with you but I have never been quite sure how PVP could be better incorporated into the game. Ilum, as someone said, was perfect for a Hoth style Rep vs Imp battle and it was fecked up. Why this hasn't been resolved or a new large scale WZ hasn't been implemented is beyond me. Maybe 2.2 has something for you. I prefer casual PvP but I have always enjoyed large scale 'Alterac Valley' style pvp to just king of the hill or cap the flag.