The Asari are mono-gendered - their species has one gender, female. They're not hermaphradites, which have both male and female organs (Heh, that would be soo funny though if it were true - the 'straight-male' gamer rage would be awesome to behold ) If the Asari were not female, my Femshep would still be single now But, yeah, all female race who reproduce via a form of parthogenesis. Nit-picking I know, sorry Back on topic - flirts for all please

See, this actually got my hopes up with my Sith Warrior - Vette appreciates the courting gifts from her just fine - as does Kira on my Jedi Knight. Now I know that technically it could be said that courting gifts are just another type of gift - but their very name and the fact that some same gendered companions give affection gain and the other myriad hints and not-so-sub-subtexts (My Imperial agent is having a cold shower every night having to listen to both Kaliyo and Temple - even worse when Watcher Two makes a call ) lends credence to the theory that most of the content is already there just waiting to activate. I've dabbled in modding previous Bioware games before and assuming they've kept the same tlk/dlg file set-up (From the leaked Mass Effect 3 script - which I am trying to avoid at all costs - it appears they have) - it really is as simple as removing the gender qualifier from the dialogue tree. Of course some re-editing of the voice work will no doubt be needed to remove non-neutral gender pro-nouns if they are used, but it's more time consuming than difficult - certainly would take a lot less time and resources than creating a whole new set of companions - especially when the consensus is that we like the ones we've got just fine. So, um, yeah - let us romance who we already have please (And give us that ETA, thanks)

Just want to add a big THANK YOU to the mods for helping to keep this thread clean and thriving. Since I subscribed to the thread I get emails whenever there's a reply, so just saw one particular reply that was posted and I assume immediately removed - thank you for that. Differing viewpoints are always welcomed in a civil discussion when they stay civil without the name-calling a lot of us still experience in daily life, it's nice that we can come here to discuss our concerns without that same vitriol. So thank you again moderators

I'm with you on that, if this was Edmonton I've no doubt this thread would not be needed. I'm actually tempted to post something along the lines of "Could you pass that memo over to Austin" next time one of the Devs posts about the 'inclusivity' over at the BSN With Mass Effect 3 just around the corner, the anti-brigade will no doubt make their voices heard again over there soon enough. My response was more a general comment on the mentality that SGRAs automatically equals lost money when a number of other high profile games have not lost money by including them, Bioware games or no. Let's hope we get some sort of update on Friday

There was no 'ignore' feature for the same gender content in Fallout 3 and New Vegas, The Fable games, Skyrim, or the Sims, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, KoToR (Yes it was there, for us girls anyway - Juhani), Luxa flirting with the female Exile in KoToR 2, or Jade Empire. Non of these high-profile and in some cases award winning games were adversely affected sales-wise because of the same gender content, so the argument that SWTOR will lose significant amounts of cash is one that really doesn't hold up. If anything these games increased in sales by having that content and thus reaching out to another audience who might never have played the games in the first place - much the same as having a choice of a male or female protagonist has opened up gaming to a larger audience. (And still there are gamers who complain about that ) It's funny how the players who don't want he content as they think it will somehow effect their relationship (or lack thereof) with the companions. Yet they have no problem with the fact that other players can change that companion's physical appearance as well as gear. Can chose to befriend them or ignore them, can choose to take a number of differing paths with that same character. If they can happily play the game while thousands of other men/women romance 'their' companions - it shouldn't matter that those other players are the same or opposite gender. And that's my thoughts for the day, 'tis past mmidnight and time for my bed

I'll be playing both. Funnily enough, the day-long maintenance we get in the EU will bother me even less than usual on the 14th - that's when the ME3 demo is out Because of health problems and a sort-of job that has me working for weeks at a time then nothing for a month I have loads of free time, so won't be a problem fitting them both in. Besides, even if some people do take a SWTOR break to play, it's still money in Bioware's bank account.

I feel the exact same way - I have a few characters, level 41, 31 and below, and would quite happily re-roll. Infact, I'm actually playing them much as I do a single-player game at the moment anyway, a first playthrough for the story before I commit fully to a set path. It almost feels to me as if I'm playing a demo at the moment, and I'm fine with that. I can quite happily play a single-player game over and over again (I'm looking at you Mass Effect series ^^). So, um, yeah, I agree with the above - plus it gives future characters a little boost with legacy points etc Pretty much everything that comes out of my female Agent's mouth sound like a flirt anyway (Jo Wyatt has the best snarky/flirty voice ever hehe), hopefully it won't take too much time to be able to fully realise our characters. Certainly for an Agent it would open up more problem solving opportunities - would have been great to

Not here, but there was a huuge storm in 2006 regarding recruiting for a GLBT guild in WoW, and again last year with a blizzcon video incident - not going to post links as there's quite a few pages on the incidents. But yeah, despite our issue with lack of info at the moment, Bioware is a lot more welcoming than other comapnies.

True, but still they're letting her openly ask for a guild knowing the potential backlash and not just shutting her down as certain other game developers have done in the past with similar requests, so there is at least a little 'public' inclusiveness going on there - in my overly optimistic head annyway

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but some-one posted asking for a lesbian/bi friendly guild in the General Discussion thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=271907 Interestingly the mod merely told her to post a new thread in the Server forums and use her original message - I don't want to get my hopes up too much but this appears to be a step forward at least?

Indeed, they did say to keep asking each week if our question does not get answered after all - would be rude not to take them up on the offer

Adding my support to OP

It always makes me laugh - not in a good way either - when people try to say an existing character showing an interest in the same gender somehow changes their entire personality. Or that it somehow becomes a 'retcon' that they might be interested - as if every single minutia of a character's phsyche is shown to the player. If that was the case, then everything they do or say in a future expansion must then be some sort of retcon since nothing was ever mention before-hand. Pro-tip to those that think this - just becasue you see some-one drinking coffee whenever you're together, doesn't mean they ONLY like coffee.

Just popping in to say I've added my voice to the Dev Q & A thread, here's hoping we get somewhere soon

Could you please give us an ETA on when SGRAs will be implemented (not just the sock 'post-launch' answer we keep getting) and will they include the companions we've grown attached too, especially since some of the conversations are rather suggestive (Kaliyo especially here)? Thank you

Same here - I call it 'The Ali Hillis Effect' (That's the voice of Liara in Mass Effect/Lightening in FFXIII to those who don't know ) Back on topic - while having a mix of sraight/gay/bi companions WOULD be more realistic, we're not playing for realism here. Plus, how much worse would it be if the exclusive gay character suddenly became bi down the line because the hetero players complained that it wasn't fair that they couldn't romance whomever they wanted - THAT would probably do more harm to Bioware's reputation in my eyes than their silence is now. For the first time I can honestly say I'm no longer enjoying a Bioware game because of this - the lack of info more than the exclusion itself. Luckily I have a Mass Effect 2 playthrough to finish before the 9th March to keep me occupied.

Keep in mind also, that not all gay gamers are as open as some of us are. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I can happily live my life out of the closet (have done for the past 20 years), as I have very open minded family and friends, as well as living in a country that is tolerant (England). Not every LGBT person has this luxury. There may only be 160 or so of us (and tolerant straight gamers - thank you to those ) openly discussing the issue, but you can bet there are a lot more out there who for very valid reasons are unable/unwilling to. We represent those gamers as well as ourselves

Even the voiced responses can be failry easily re-edited with a little patience and creativity - I've done it with the female player/Bastila mod that's out there. I still not perfect in some places but workable (and not yet finished). I even re-wrote some of the dialoge between the pc and other npcs - just having trouble with the lipsync - that and other games keep getting in the way The only strange thing for me with the Morrigan mod is towards endgame - the pivotal scene in Redcliffe. I tend to remove the mod then. I always romance Leliana (/sigh ) with my FWarden anyway, but do enjoy being able to flirt with Morrigan even if it would never lead anywhere. From a RP perspective, my cannon Warden and Morrigan become best friends over the course of the game, and a little friendly flirting fits that perfectly. Much as some of us flirt with our straight friends in real-life - nothing will ever come of it, and it's more of a mutual confidence booster than anything else, but we're comfortable in our friendships/sexualities to do so. So, um, yeah, my point is that with some TLK/DLG file edits and some creative audio editing, it is relatively easy to use existing characters. Whatever way Bioware decide to implement things, I't just be nice to have something other than the usual pre-launch statement. As for Valentines day - Bioware are already giving us the Mass Effect 3 demo then so I'm not expecting anything more there. (Yes, I'm well aware it's a different team, but still.) Anyhoo, thats my ramblings for the day

Re-voting to take into account the new option. I'll go with 3 please Also am agreeing with other posters who are having a hard time progressing the game at this point - it just doesn't feel like the Bioware a lot of us know and love at the moment - especially when on the Bioware Social Network (the 'official' Bioware site for those that don't know), John Epler et al are actively promoting the Bioware creedo of inclusivity (in response to the s/s in Mass effect 3) - basically telling those that are vehemently opposed 'It's a Bioware standard, if you don't like it, don't get the game or just ignore the option' (paraphrasing). This above all is the reason, I think, that the issue is such a sore spot at the moment - if it wasn't a Bioware game, most of us would be disapointed, but not as hurt as we are. Even if there were no romance options at all, it might be strange for the developer not to have them in their RPG, but not as bad as this. Even if the answer is new companions only with an eta - at least we would know, but as it stands we're left in the dark to draw our own conclusions - and that is never a good thing I'm taking the existence of this thread and the moderators' actions is removing the insulting posts, while pointing posters this way as at least a nod to our concerns - so thank you moderators

My Bounty Hunter pretty much goes where the credits are, the same as my Smuggler (the little I've played of her so far) - I think it'd be interesting to have those two classes as neutral in allegiance - It wouldn't be possible with the current stories, but in a future expansion perhaps these classes could be opened up so that they were able to take missions from either Empire or Republic side. Their respective class stories could still play out the same as they do now, but on the planets you visited to do the class quests, perhaps you could choose any side quest from any faction - albeit making it a little more difficult to persuade opposite faction questgivers that you were on the level - Republic citizens are more likely to be wary of Bounty Hunters for example. For more traditionally viewed 'patriotic' classes - Sith/Jedi, Trooper/Agent, a story expansion where you get to either follow the path you're on and stick with the Empire/Republic, opening further story quests in that direction, or you have the choice through the story to defect - opening up a whole other story path would be brilliant in my opinion. It gives the option to those that want to defect, without the loyalists feeling left out since they would also get extra content reflecting their decisions. As to whether or not I would with my sith Warrior I don't know - I play her as loving the Empire since it's her home, but hating the tyranny/bullying against the weak and the ingrained speciesism that holds so many back. She's light side but within her experiences - she doesn't believe that it is necessary to repress all emotion to truly serve the light and wants to change the Empire to be something of a hybrid Empire/Republic. How this will actually play out I don't know yet as I'm just on Hoth so have a ways to go, but in the future it could pose an interesting dilema. So, I think there's a lot of potential there and hopefully Bioware could pull something out of the bag in the future

It wasn't the 'gay community', it was a few straight-male gamers who blew the whole thing out of all proportion, completely ignoring the fact that Anders hit on Lady Hawke the same as Hairy Hawke - boils down to Anders being intensly needy and mis-reading a supportive comment in the wake of his recent emotional trauma - much like people do of both genders in real life. Despite Anders' neediness, most other gay people I've discussed it with actually like the way it was implementeed in DA2, for the reasons stated in a previous post of mine. Not getting into that again though.

Trust me , us girls were burned by ME2 as well - all thaose suggestive conversations and camera-angles with Jack/Miranda and Tali? Yeah, we got those too. Except with us the whole thing just stopped without warning at a certain point leaving a lot of rage - ESPECIALLY since we got the 'linking suits' comment from Tali, then Bam! Nothing. Sorry but Mr Boring McToothy (Jacob), best bud/drinking partner Garrus or emo kermit, ahem Thane, Sorry are even remotely on my FemShep's radar. At least Kelly provided some amusement (until I got scared of Liara coffee-cupping me so re-loaded ). And Samara /sigh - stoopid heartbreaker Anyhoo - ETA please Bio? Fankenoo

Have to say, I quite like the gift idea. Personally I don't mind re-playing a character, but understandably many do. With the gift option it would open things up nicely for those who want it - same or opposite gender. Perhaps a player romances Vette then decided on Jaessa for example, with the gift it would be a simple do-over. Yup, a good idea - and love the 'New Hope' terminology. While I'm here, I found this link on IGN about gay gaming that is not as bad as most IGN articles, a little light reading compared to how deep the article could've gone, but still a nice nod to our issue: http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/121/1217180p1.html Edit - blergh my spelling sucks today - I blame the tiny notebook I'm using and definitely not my failing mental faculties

Aww, and there's me thinking Jawas were going to get a /panic dance Just curious though, where do people keep getting the 'bleeding subs fast' info? Are there actual figures out there or is it just more hyperbole born from assumption and personal dissapointment? Not flaming, just wondering.

I like this idea - would save on credits sending things through the mail at the very least