That's why they used the question mark in such a sensational (read: attention-getting) title. It's called journalism.

They're still factually true and you're still complaining about the tone, not the substance.

Neither reported anything that wasn't true, so your gripe is just the tone of their stories? Really? Your problem is that you take GBTV too seriously and can't appreciate the sardonic tone.

That's all he has to go on at this point.

If you're watching GBTV for anything other than game media entertainment, you're doing it wrong.

For one, they need to address the open world PvP issue--quickly. The game took a hit when Ilum was dropped. Unless SWTOR solidifies a meaningful open world PvP game, it's in trouble when GW2 launches.

The "transfers" were very much needed and I can only hope they will help the game. That said, it's extremely clear to me that these limited, one-to-one transfers are just mergers in disguise--all so BioWare (or EA) won't have to admit that they had to merge servers six months after launching the most anticipated MMO ever. Are they really that afraid of the word? And if so, why? Is it because mergers actually do portend a dying (at least hurting) game? Methinks that's the case. You can pull the wool over the eyes of many in this community, but not this guy.

Camera constraints is the usual excuse, which has some merit, but that begs the question, "Why not just fix the camera?" STO suffers from the same over-scaled environments and it's just as silly there.

So many people just angry at the OP and have nothing constructive to say at all... This community is crap.

I'm not stamping anything. I'm explaining what I'm unhappy about. The only one getting hot under the collar is you.

Wrong. The people working on chat bubbles wouldn't be the people working on your new warzones and flashpoints. Nice try though, Mr. Priorities. Also, thanks for understanding that not everyone enjoys the same things you do.

Wait. What? You're blaming the failure of 1.2 on its roleplay features? How about the lack of ranked warzones--a much more requested feature than anything I've asked for, but was pulled at the proverbial last minute? Or how about the fact that population decline had already started prior to 1.2, and that said decline compounded itself when people realized their servers were emptying? You also can't blame the poor implementation of the features that did make it (unsharable family tree that's incapable of multiple relationships per character) on the roleplayers. None of the features brought to roleplayers with 1.2, with the exception of the emotes (which you still had to unlock anyway), were not features the roleplaying community asked for. Chat bubbles only diminish framerate in this game, as you mentioned. It warrants repeating that such a simple feature was pulled because their choice of game engine--this by their own admission.

And, again, my point is that I (and others) have waited. How much longer do we have to wait?

Listing competitors would open a can of worms that provides other posters an opportunity to label me as a fanboy or hater and serves no real purpose to the discussion. So with that disclaimer posted in advance, I will say that the most recent example of a direct competitor is Guild Wars 2, a game which provides all of these requested with the exception of sitting in chairs and a barber shop (though they're already entertaining suggestions about this). In fact, they added chat bubbles very recently (between the two beta weekends) in response to suggestions by roleplayers to do so. They also added a local and map-wide chat suggested by roleplayers who were looking to have their roleplay broadcast in a smaller area. The level of commitment and quick response time by ArenaNet to provide support for roleplayers is refreshing when I compare it to my experience in SWTOR with BioWare. You brought up "seasoned roleplayers" as a clear appeal to authority in order to justify your opinion as being the right one. That's fine. Just don't be defensive when I do the same. Yes, of course. But then are you arguing that chat bubbles wouldn't help alleviate the problem? The developers have stated their awareness of how helpful chat bubbles are to large scale roleplaying. We completely disagree on what's important to roleplay then. Your preferences or my preferences, they're still just preferences. You're basically using the "priority" argument that says some features and content are a priority over others--usually based on the population that can get use out of them--because the developers have limited resources in which to develop said features and content. Absolutely correct. However, to that end, you should know that your custom instances would be developed by a completely different team than the one that would be working on my chat bubbles, which would both be different than the team working on our emotes. Six months later (longer if you were here for general testing) and we're still waiting on features--at least one of which we were told was prioritized "highly" and would be worked out following GUI customization (a feature which was completed two months ago).

They shut down one of the best for doing just that. A coincidence that it occurred before a new Star Wars MMO was released? I think not. Though it really doesn't matter what setting the game is in, provided it supports our ability to roleplay. Woah woah woah. I've attacked nothing. The fact is, when it comes to features that other games have had earlier (and at launch), SWTOR is behind. It's not attacking anything to point that out. And what's this about seasoned roleplayers who have worked with much less? Is that an appeal to authority? Experience? I've been roleplaying for twelve years. I've done it all--table top, live action, MMO, single-player, storycraft, in-character blogging, instant messengers, and forum communities. Who cares what you or I have done when it doesn't change the fact that this game--when compared to its direct competitors--lacks chat bubbles, barber shops, sitting in chairs, biographies, a good number of animated and voiced emotes, effective cross-faction chat support, and guild support. The point is this: While none of these features are necessary to do what we do, they support roleplay and make the experience more enjoyable. Anything that can be done to keep me in the moment without having to worry about scrolling through chat windows or taking an extra moment to angle my character just right to use a sit emote that has him clipping halfway through a table should be considered a win. Again, when those tools can be used by anyone regardless of their playstyle.

Or... I can go to a game that has those things, adding my name to the list of 1.1 million people who are no longer here playing SWTOR. That's not good for you or BioWare, because I wouldn't be (nor am I) the only one leaving for this reason. I'd rather be here. I'm a big Star Wars buff. But the value of the experience, as a monetary issue, is far more valuable in other games that provide the services I expect to be present to facilitate a more enjoyable experience. You're right that none of it is necessary, but that's a pretty lame argument to stand on when the same can be said about anything in the game. None of this is necessary. I guess I just don't understand why people would argue against the inclusion of new features--especially features that anyone can use regardless of how they play the game (as opposed to a LFG tool or ranked warzones which will do nothing for me as a roleplayer). It boggles my mind that there are players out there who go out of their way to very vocally advocate against things other players want to have a better experience. It doesn't make sense. You make it sound as if the inclusion of these features could hurt the game...

Or, y'know, they could just engage in a two-way dialogue with their players. I don't need to remind you that their official response to calls for a better space game is "We're working on a super secret project we can't tell you about." That's unhelpful.

He left those toons because his experience was suffering due to the growing population decline. How is that his fault? His choices were: stay on a dying server and attempt to enjoy a suffering gameplay experience or move and get better value for his time and money. Who in their right mind wouldn't look for a better value?

Statements like those highlight how stupid it is to rely on behind-the-scenes metrics. If they actually interfaced with their players, rather than reading numbers, they'd know that the space game is a flop. Case in point: I played the space game frequently, but I didn't enjoy it. I gritted my teeth and subjected myself to it so I could earn tokens to buy the flight suit. Unfortunately, the rate at which you get said tokens made the experience that much less enjoyable.

You're again branching into a different kind of roleplay. World choices have nothing to do with my roleplay with a friend. Absolutely none. Not that this game gives you any options to change the world anyway... Barber shops for changing your character's physical appearance--not their clothing or armor. Yes. Where is that here? It's been asked for since beta and I don't believe we'd heard much other than "We want to do it." I believe it was Damion, the King of SoonTM, who said so. In terms of armor, other games provide dyes and transfiguration kits that do precisely the same without the needless barriers to do so and still remain effective in other aspects of gameplay (orange item mods). SWTOR went for a unique feature, but ended up with another clunky feature. As an added note, adaptive armor is on the test server which means it's still some time off. So you're arguing that the game supports roleplay by pointing to a feature that doesn't exist yet on the live servers. Would you say, then, that they've dropped the ball for the last six months when it comes to appearance? Nice ad hominem. No one here thinks they're a special snowflake--they just want to be treated like everyone else.

I believe the problem is that there's only one RP-PvP server.

That's not the point. What are roleplayers paying for here? Access to a virtual world? Good. So what are those same people paying for in other games? Access to a virtual world plus ease of use and tools that enrich the experience like chat bubbles, barber shops, and chairs you can sit in.

Roleplay != sandbox. Sorry.

Short sighted? Lazy roleplayer? No, it's a person who spends $15 /mo to roleplay in a viritual world as opposed to at his table--which he can do for free. There's an expectation of something more. Way to miss the point completely. So what is PvP, but two kids with nerf guns? PvE is just a kid, a magnifying glass, and an ant hill. Look, the point is that table top roleplaying is free. Free. Roleplaying in an MMO costs $15 /mo. Other playstyles get lots of support for their $15, but roleplayers have to scrape the barrel. That's expected, but how long do they have to scrape the barrel before they move onto other games? All of these people arguing against the implementation of chat bubbles are deluded. Other games have them, most of them before launch. The fact of the matter here is that we have a game that was light on content and features at launch, and even more so if you're a roleplayer. My imagination is free. So why am I paying $15 /mo to use all of my imagination in SWTOR when I can pay the same (or nothing at all) to roleplay in a game that makes the experience much much more enjoyable? The answer is this: I'm no longer paying to play SWTOR. That's on BioWare.

I've heard of Ilum and it's far too important a planet to just torch and forget about... http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ilum