I mentioned in a follow-up post that Non-PVP servers could still use the bounty board feature to hunt special NPCs or be given the opportunity to opt in. And Greedo shot first and missed, then Han shot him. Everyone knows that.

I don't think people would add them arbitrarily - they would have to pay the bounty up front each time. They would also have to go out of their way to add them to the bounty board, monitor the board, and re-add him or her after the bounty were collected. Even if they posted the bounty at a low amount to cover the cost, what bounty hunter is going to hunt a person for one kill just for a minuscule amount of credits? It's self policing, really, so I don't think it's a "terrible idea" given the mechanic. In terms of being only PVP or not, that's a simple fix, simply allow choice to participate in the blacklist on non-PVP servers. I'm sure alternate mechanics could be created to make the blacklist feature fun for non-pvpers. Like including special NPCs in the list, for example.

Well, I don't know if that one guy would get jumped. Maybe make anyone involved with the blacklist targetable/attack able to anyone else. It would be choice driven to the hunters, and even if 30 people jump him, he only dies once. It doesn't have to be for bounty hunters only, I'd say. Everyone has a reason to hunt someone.

This is pretty cool man. Thanks!

Hello all, I've been thinkin long and hard on the idea mentioned in the title. The idea is simple enough and could really bring PVP to life with an added edge. I did some searches for similar topics and did not find anything like this. If I missed it, I apologize. In any event, here's the idea: In-game we approach a console located in shady territory. Places like Nar Shadaa or Tatooine. The console is sizmilar to a Galatic Trade Network node, except you can only post. A player would then specify a name of a character, the bounty, and the length of time for the bounty to be valid (or no time for indefinite), and would pay the bounty up front. Bounty Hunters register themselves as hunters of the blacklist and have a special bio scanner in their inventory. Once an individual is placed on the black list, his name becomes yellow to any hunter registered and can be attacked. Once claimed, the bounty is removed and the player can no longer be attacked. While he bounty is active any member of the blacklist can attack him, including same-faction. Once the bounty is collected, the reward is sent to the hunter. If multiple hunters were responsible for the kill, whoever scans it gets the bounty. If he is supposed to share, he will. If he doesn't.... Well, you could always put HIM on the blacklist. In terms of being only PVP or not, that's a simple fix, simply allow choice to participate in the blacklist on non-PVP servers. I'm sure alternate mechanics could be created to make the blacklist feature fun for non-pvpers. Like including special NPCs in the list, for example. I think this will bring a sense of competition and notoriety to the player base. It costs money to put someone on the blacklist, so it won't be abused and it won't cause griefing because it resets once it is collected. The system itself, in terms of technology, could be managed by the developers. I won't presume the difficulty surrounding this system in terms of implementation, but I imagine it is certainly within the realm of possibility to implement. I would appreciate any constructive feedback on the idea. Please spare us all the commentary about how there's probably better things the developers could spend their time on, and other such canned and generic troll answers. There wouldn't be a suggestion box if they didn't want to hear ideas. I look forward to hearing your constructive ideas! Edit: I've decided to add a little scenario to better depict the flow of how a bounty would be placed and collected. In this scenario we'll use Han, Jaba, and Greedo. Han is the target, a republic smuggler that angered Jaba. Greedo is the hunter, also a republic smuggler. Jaba goes to a blacklist node on Tatooine. He enters the following information into the node: 1. Name: Han 2. Bounty: 100,000 credits 3. Expiration: 2 weeks 4. Information: Han dumped a shipment at the first sign of imperials and owes me money or his life. Ooga la boonta gama! Ho ho ho ho Han was last see on Tatooine. Jaba creates the bounty. Meanwhile, on Nar Shadaa, Greedo goes to a blacklist console and sees a big bounty for Han. He accepts the bounty. Now Han's name turns yellow to Greedo (and, menacingly, to Han). Greedo begins searching Tatooine. The Blacklist menu displays possible locations for Han based on NPCs he's talked to. There's a mark next to Hans name so everyone knows there's a bounty on his head. Greedo finds Han in a cantina, and decides to have words with him. Greedo keeps it short and tries to surprise Han with a poorly aimed blaster shot. He misses, and Han blasts him with his own pistol. He lives to fight another day. Hope that sheds some light on the idea and how much fun we could all have with this sort of system. Well known bounty hunters can emerge across the player base, rivalry and PVP is given a Star Wars edge and feel, and the hunted gain their own infamy!

The problem here isn't that "lightside" doesn't fit, it's that the bounty hunter is hunting bounties but is pinned into the Empire's storylines. It makes no sense for a Bounty Hunter to be defaultly aligned to the Empire - even if the Mandalorians ARE helping them. I play my bounty hunter with the idea that I am hunting bounties and that most of my employment comes from Empire because the Republic is too squeemish to hire me. I completely agree that the questlines on planets like Taris don't make much sense because of the Empire's inherently sadistic nature, and the bland coverup of doing it for money can only take you so far.. especially since I am not utterly wealthy as a result. I think this is a good opportunity to point out that the Smuggler and the Bounty Hunter should both be part of a freelancer's faction.. and basically have access to every quest hub on each planet, based on their choices or maybe through some alignment scale. That way you can hunt bounties for whatever reason. Just my two cents.

This basically sums up the substance of this thread. There's always someone who will complain about anything that anyone ever does, ever.

You know, I have read several of your posts and you really seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I like how you explain your point of view through experience and logic, and that goes a long way to getting your point across. I agree with what you're saying. Working together as a team is ideal. And that Shadow you faught was probably a good duelist and thought he had the situation under control, and probably would've perpetuated that ideology had your team mate not come by to obliterate him. But let's say Padawan Johnny McNewbPants joins a warzone because he liked playing BGs in WoW and so here he is. He's not stupid, but he also doesn't understand SWTOR's unqiue experience. The fundamentals are the same, but he doesn't know anyone. Our young padawan joins the group and it has no healers, and the people seem genuinely closed off. No one responds to his "Hi" .. no one really bothers to come up with a plan. So the match starts and he begins to explore the match himself, hoping to be an asset, hoping to enjoy some PVP in SWTOR ... When suddenly he is nuked by a premade team of players who have their victory planned before they even queued. Padawan McNewbPants is discouraged, utterly. The sheer magnitude of his defeat - the absolution and definition he was smited with is so cognitive - so utter - that he now feels hopelessly inadequate. And what about that premade team? They went into a Warzone and dominated it with cold efficency. And now they're out of the warzone. Maybe they had fun. But eventually they will long for a the true challenge of a good pvp fight. I absolutely love games where it's close. Even if I lost, I would shake every single one of the opposing team's hands because we had a good game. It wasn't dominated by one side, that ultimately stops being fun for everyone. But in an alternate reality where Padawan McNewbPants joined a match-made group with proportionate roles and experience (possibly from valor? I don't know) and now he see's how his team can strive. If he's smart, he'll see that the healers need protecting and in exchange, heal him. I really agree with some of the other posts here too in terms of intelligence. A premade group of idiots is still a group of idiots. A random group of intelligent people who think and work well with others is probably going to be successful against their opposition. I think at the end of the match, you see the winners as the group of more skilled and more intelligent people, as a whole. Exceptions apply, but that's ultimately what I believe. Edit: So as to touch on your final point about skill, I think skill has its place in any fight. A team of cattle, grazing across the Warzone will be defeated by the fewer, more intelligent group trying to complete objectives. If a team is full of intelligent people, but those intelligent people aren't very good at the game (somehow, that seems unlikely to me.. if they're intelligent they will learn quickly) - if they storm mid but can't hold their own in a fight, their team of 8 will lose to the opposing team of 6. Opposing team will capture mid and take grass or snow, and the skill-less team will be left riding speeders back to their doom. Just my opinion.

I laughed far more than I probably should have at this. Thank you for that.

Hiya. I just started reading the last few pages of this thread so if this was said somewhere in the last few hundred pages that I missed, I apologize. In a lot of ways I can agree with what you're saying. The idea of a premade group is to deliberately have an advantage over your opponents. Wouldn't it resolve those issues you mentioned above if they simply added better criteria during the match making process? In reference to the quote above: 1. Composition - matchmaking could compose the PuG with those who are speced into a particular role (or they could choose a role to perform, like in FPs). Composition would not be streamlined as well as in a premade, but at least it wouldn't be grossly offsides. It would also provide the structure for inexperienced players to participate as a member of a team, and not just a guy with a group of other guys (or girls) trying to nuke every guy they see without any concept of teamwork. I will say that no matter the composition, bad player are bad players until they're not bad anymore. So you will always have people who don't call out incoming, don't protect nodes, and aren't good. Not everyone can be a good player and that is an advantage premades will always have. They have picked their members' with the understanding that they are a good group. But a good PuG with congnitively sound individuals playing with roles attached to the matchmaking system would probably give those premades a run for their money. 2. Coordination. Situational Awareness is something that some people have naturally and some people are completely without. It is also something that can be developed. This is a personal development, not a team development. It's habitual. That being said, having the game provide a built-in VOIP channel solution isn't unheard of and would bridge the gap between the Teamspeakers and the rest. I've been in a premade as a guest and people in the premade didn't call things out or use their VoIP as intended and the group suffered for it. These limiations exist everywhere - but again, composition goes a long way. Premades normally hand pick their members and thats why they are so good. 3. Gear. I think Bloster is actually really cool and personally I enjoy it the way it is... Combining the idea of bloster taking gear into consideration on a comprehensive level with a better market for PvP gear in general, the PvP community would benefit I as a whole, in my opinion. Ultimately, to develop new PvPers as players in the game, they should be exposed to the right way of doing things from the start. Utterly randomized groups of people seems silly to me. I think that if they added roles to queuing, tools for randomized groups to coordinate with each other, and refined scaling of bloster to provide accolades to those who worked for their gear but still a competitive edge for those who are newer, we would see the lines between premade groups and how amazing they are and randomized pugs blur. And if the line blurs, people will naturally grow into being better PVPers. In time, the community will host a variety of good players and we will all enjoy challenging competition. Sorry for how long the post was. I really enjoyed reading everything that everyone has posted so far and I look forward to reading your responses.

Are any of these things beyond Bioware to do? No, they are not. You're assuming a lot here. This is an example of finely choosing problems that would naturally be addressed during the hypothetical implementation of faction defection. And besides, the infrastructure is there - if you defect, you stop going to the Imperials side and start going to the Republic's. All Republic classes share common quests. Unique quests are your class quest. Just curious.. why is this the best solution? Why are we assuming there's no possible way any defected character could ever have a storyline? It makes more sense for the storyline to lead you into the defection than to simply cut you off and half-*** it. That's not what they would do. Storylines are a funny thing. They usually direct plot towards an outcome less anticipated and often characters can find themselves in situations they normally wouldn't. I don't know if it would make any sense to lose your companions and ship without any reason. It would make more sense to use the unique storylines of each class to bring them to a position through class-related quests to choose the opposing faction. In the end, I think the story can be out greatest tool in making this smooth and seamless. Don't you think?

Just my two cents here. Let's assume some obvious groundwork before I go into this. 1. This would have to be an expansion. This is due to the heavy voice work, story work, and programming work. 2. Said expansion would have options for not defecting. If my Sniper goes SIS, that means he basically bailed on the Empire. Easy implimentation. Lose your ship? Nope. I stole it and went SIS (or alternately, SIS gives me a different one through story driven content, or alternately to the alternate, they mod my ship to broadcast friendly Republic frequencies so Carrek and such know me and don't shoot me. Obviously this is a no brainer). Not a sniper anymore? Not true. Let's take a moment to presume the SIS are the Republic's equivilent to Imperial Intelligence. He falls right into the role he's been in all along. Just change the picture on all my menus. Companions won't like it? Ahh, that's hit or miss. Some might resent the idea, others might not. Stories are funny like that though, especially in Star Wars. Things that you didn't think would happen sometimes do. Maybe they wouldn't go Republic if you straight up asked them.. but if you were imperial.. then a lone gun.. then picked up jobs.. and got scooped into a storyline that planted you in the Republic.. well. That's certainly possible and feasible. Gear would change! Look at the Cartel Market. This is a non-issue. But.. but... but...! Listen. Let's not beat around the bush. Let's call it what it is. This is a video game cast in an incredibly rich and vast universe. It has people who develop, and people who write, explicitly for the purpose of it's progression. Saying silly things like "Faction Defection isn't possible!" is just code for "I don't like it and it sounds like too much work!" ... We, as players, have no idea how much work it would be or what direction they will take this game. If rebuilding the story to encorporate faction defection means more people will play for longer, and that's their best course of action - I guarentee you they will do it. And not one person in this forum has any clue what Bioware will or will not do unless they explicitly communicate it.

Free-lance groups unoffiically united. Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, etc. are technically members of this group. In SWTOR, they happen to serve larger organizations.. but exceptions apply.

I agree completely. Also, I just want to point out that your signature is not only completely true, but also my underlying reason for replying.

Hey, X-Wing Alliance was an awesome game for it's time. There were player-developed levels where you had to smuggle stuff through areas while enemies attacked. It was really fun. You could even pick up cargo, store it, fly with it, drop it off, etc. I think what the OP is going for is that free-form flight, mixed with the ability to actually interact with space stations, not just notionally click on them on a map. XWA also had this cool method of traveling from one zone to another by way of Hyper Buey. You basically couldn't jump to hyperspace until you got to a buey. Made for some really epic fights where you had tons of enemies on you and you had to make it to the buey to get away. That's a dynamic that I really think SWTOR's space program could benefit from. In the end, I'd love to get on my ship, fly out to space and either hyper to my destination, or run into the surprise attack or run through a blockade to add that edge of not just having a taxi of a ship, but to truly captain one.

This entire thread cracks me up. The OP is hilarious, albeit misinformed and difficult to follow, but hilarious nonetheless. Thank you for this gem of a thread. It's reasons like this that I browse these forums.

Sadly, the amount of truth and good ideas in this single post astonish me. A great idea, all around. A third, non-affiliated dynamic would make perfect sense. Able to go to every world, able to partake in every (non-class) quest. Their own class quest could allow decisions to join either side or to remain neutral or freelancing. Adding a free lancer outpost would be all it's own. Alas, as you mentioned, the playerbase may not be there and the amount of work that would have to go into it would be such a huge undertaking.. and at this stage, I don't personally know how I would pitch this as a good idea now. It would have been a fantastic idea earlier in development.

Not to rehash an old item, but I am still throwing paper-rock-bees at my opponents and I don't like it. I really, really, really wish it was a Project Storm! Without revealing anything.. during the Consular storyline, you're exposed to an individual that does what appears to be Project Storm regularly during your fight with them. All I could think of while fighting that particular person was "Why can't I do that? When can I do that? I want to do that." Should... Should I write a letter? To someone? I'll write a letter. I will so write a letter.

Man you called that one.

So, I noticed some weird things with my ship, the animation of where the game thinks I'm going, and where I'm actually going. Additionally, some thoughts on space combat. DISCLAIMER: I'm not very good at finding things on these forums and you'll tell by my post count that I don't post here often. Please don't rip me apart if some or all of this is mentioned already. Kindly link me if you so choose and I will humbly thank you. TRAVEL 1. I just wanna grab something quick... wait, where are we going? I don't always go to my ship to leave. Doesn't it seem a littler odd that I go to my ship and immediately take off ... just to grab something out of my locker. Then I have to land again to get back to the planet I'm on! 2. Hey, we missed a turn back there! So, my ship flies towards the planet, but I'm on the space station's air lock?... What? I know the animation exists for us to land on the ship, so .. do it! 3. Hyperspace? What Hyperspace? So, no matter where in the galaxy you want to go, you're in hyperspace for 2-3 seconds, then you appear right in front of where you're going. In the case of the Republic Fleet, you are TOO CLOSE, and then the game jerks ya back to the default view of the fleet. Werps, ya came out of hyperspace a little LATE on that one, so ... ya almost smashed into a Corvette. Good job. SPACE COMBAT So, by now I'm sure we've all heard the requests for free roam flight. I don't know where the current topic stands with the developers - assume that when reading this part - these are just my humble thoughts based on my unique experience with Star Wars. So, if any of you ever played X-Wing Alliance for Windows 98SE, you'd remember the cool functions that game had. If you never heard of it, it was a space flight simulation game revolving around a small family in space running a simple cargo delivery business and being swept up into the Rebellion shortly after the Battle of Hoth. The game was great. It let you pick up stuff in space by docking with it, it had automated turrets on some of the light cargo ships (including the YT-1300, the ship nominclature for the Millennium Falcon, only.. different ships), YT-2000 (new to that game), and other cool ships in the Star Wars universe. They also had free roam flight and used a hyperspace buey system to keep you in an area until the objective was completed, thus unlocking the buey. Using the buey would take you to one place because that was the hyperspace route it was marking. Some levels had multiple bueys, etc. I tell you all this because this would be a great foundation to bring into our beloved Old Republic. Imagine hypering into the Republic Fleet and being able to fly around and such - being able to form Ops Groups to attack enemy stations and planets as a team (squadron?). It would add an entirely new dynamic to the game - my humble opinion is that people would LOVE IT! I know I would! Feel free to look into the game more yourself to see what I mean. Thanks for reading!

This crew skill system should have indicators at the tier changes.. honestly, there's no rhyme or reason as to what you're working for. I need materials for Artifice that Archaeology can make and there's no indication when I'll be able to make it.

The game hasn't been out that long. Keep that in mind. There are several articles on MMOs and what makes them great. Honestly, its about what the playerbase likes. If the playerbase likes mini-games and little events and cool things to keep ya going even when there's nothing else to do, then thats what drives development. A big problem games had years ago was that there wasn't enough End Game content. You'd push and level and enjoy the process and then got to the max level and you had essentially beat the game. WoW had a great way of providing end-game content in the form of Raids, PVP, and the tiered gearing system so that even if you capped out your character, you still had so much more to do in the End Game that you had essentially begun a new leveling system. "Fluff" can go either way. The idea is that people need to feel like they're actually accomplishing something that is beneficial to their character in some way. The Achievement system in WoW filled in those cracks. Bored? Do the seasonal event, or go Fishing, and that helps your Cooking, and that makes you more valuable at raiding, and that makes your guild progress, and that fullfills some deep seeded desire to be the best and to work with your friends to get there. What I'm really saying is that random mini-games that don't make sense isn't the direction that I'd like to see this game go. I'd like to see directionalized time-pots that still further your character's usefulness and, at the same time, give you a break from the monotony and ritiuals of leveling or persuing end game content.

Generally the first thing you do when you're having intermittent lag issues - or intermittent performance issues in general, is to restart the item having the issues - in this case a server. So, they're rebooting the servers, as the sticky indicated. What do you want? A play-by-play on exactly every single thing they're doing as they do it? Basic reading comprehension would tell you the following bits of information: 1. The servers are being rebooted because of intermittent lag issues. 2. They will be up once they believe the issue is resolved. 3. They are communicating to you that they are aware of the issue, that the servers are down, and gave a description as to why. Get an in with a BioWare SysAdmin who works on the servers and you'll get all the inside scoop information you want. 'Til then, that's all you get - and its all the customer base should get.