Please explain, in your own words how a high GS makes you a better player than one with lower.

You CAN do one thing that works depending on what you want to find. There is a sort function so if you want to find your own post, sort it after Thread Starter and then start scrolling. Beeing in the later half of the alphabet, my posts are around page 1100+.

The discussion of the LFD-tool's to be or not to be has pretty much split the community into two factions - those who want it and those who don't. This issue is almost bigger than the technical difficulties of SWTOR. Both sides defend their arguments with near zealous degree. The antagonists claim that it "will destroy community" and those who are for it say the game will fail without it. Arguments (and flameposts) are thrown back and forth like grenades in a trench war, where neither side will want to give in to the other. What does the lack of an LFD-tool do to a community? Well, it does one thing. It forces players who want to participate in an instance to find a team, to interact with each other. Either you start one yourself, or you answer to a LFM-request. It's very possible that you look at your list of friends, players you teamed with before and thet you trust and start from there. Then maybe you announce in the chat to fill one last missing spot. At any rate, it's quite possible that you know at least some of the players in the team. What does the presence of an LFD-tool do to a community? Nothing. Well, in reality it's hard to tell if the LFD-tool alone is responsible for any shift in the community. But it does allow players to que up for a team without having to search for one themselves. It's all handeled by a pre-programmed script. There is no need to talk to anyone prior to the instance, and there is less need to make friends since a machine does the job at finding "friends". It's unlikely that you know the players - even more so with a X-realm LFD-tool. What about jerks and LFD-tools? I don't think it will change that much but what I DO think is that if a player knows he is at risk of getting a bad reputation for doing a certain thing, he will think twice before doing it. But saying that introducing an LFD-tool will make ninja-looting run rampart is taking it a but too far. Personally, I didn't see much change in jerks when WOW introduced the LFD-tool. So what is the real take on an LFD-tool? It's really up to each player. With the LFD in WOW, you can que and then go off to do your daylies or whatever. Eventually, the tool will port you to the desired dungeon. It grants a degree of effectivness, where you otherwise would watch the chat in the main city to see if some one wants to join you. The irony of it all is that everyone STILL sit around in the large cities doing.... well.... stuff. What's my personal opinion of an LFD-tool? I agree that some sort of tool should be in order. I would like to see som kind of "billboard" type where you can announce what you want. Like the one we have today only far more enhanced. This would also allow you to find players who want to to other teambased stuff. It would still force players to interact with each other which I think is good. I'm not comfortable with the idea of a program deciding who I should team with. At any rate, I hope that there won't be any X-realm instances. TL;DR LFD are convenient tools for finding teams without having to interact with other players prior to an instance. If that's a good or bad thing is up to you. But saying that it alone will destroy any sence of community is like blaming the fall of the Roman Empire on one single emperor.

The discussion of the LFD-tool's to be or not to be has pretty much split the community into two factions - those who want it and those who don't. This issue is almost bigger than the technical difficulties of SWTOR. Both sides defend their arguments with near zealous degree. The antagonists claim that it "will destroy community" and those who are for it say the game will fail without it. Arguments (and flameposts) are thrown back and forth like grenades in a trench war, where neither side will want to give in to the other. I thought about trying to look at the whole issue abit more obectively and try to see what an LFD-tool (and lack of one) will do without putting too much opinion in it. What does the lack of an LFD-tool do to a community? Well, it does one thing. It forces players who want to participate in an instance to find a team, to interact with each other. Either you start one yourself, or you answer to a LFM-request. It's very possible that you look at your list of friends, players you teamed with before and thet you trust and start from there. Then maybe you announce in the chat to fill one last missing spot. At any rate, it's quite possible that you know at least some of the players in the team. What does the presence of an LFD-tool do to a community? Nothing. Well, in reality it's hard to tell if the LFD-tool alone is responsible for any shift in the community. But it does allow players to que up for a team without having to search for one themselves. It's all handeled by a pre-programmed script. There is no need to talk to anyone prior to the instance, and there is less need to make friends since a machine does the job at finding "friends". It's unlikely that you know the players, even more so with a X-realm LFD-tool. So what is the real take on an LFD-tool? It's really up to each player. With thw LFD in WOW, you can que and then go off to do your daylies or whatever. Eventually, the tool will port you to the desired dungeon. It grants a degree of effectivness, where you otherwise would watch the chat in the main city to see if some one wants to join you. What about jerks and LFD-tools? I don't think it will change that much but what I DO think is that if a player knows he is at risk of getting a bad reputation for doing a certain thing, he will think twice before doing it. But saying that introducing an LFD-tool will make ninja-looting run rampart is taking it a but too far. Personally, I didn't see much change in jerks when WOW introduced the LFD-tool. What's my personal opinion of an LFD-tool? I agree that some sort of tool should be in order. I would like to se som kind of "billboard" type where you can announce what you want. Like the one we have today only far more enhanced. This would also allow you to find players who want to to other teambased stuff. It would still force players to interact with each other which I think is good. I'm not comfortable with the idea of a program deciding who I should team with. At any rate, I hope that there won't be any X-realm instances. TL;DR LFD-tools are convenient tools for finding teams without having to interact with other players prior to an instance. If that's a good or bad thing is up to you. But saying that it alone will destroy any sence of community is like blaming the fall of the Roman Empire on one single emperor.

Played RIFT for two months. Good game but it really doesn't take ANY risks as to trying anything new or innovative. Everything it does is either copies or enhancements of stuff seen in other MMOs (multispec, world raids, crafting etc). I enjoyed it at first after several years with WoW but unfortunally, reality caught up. The same things that bored me in WoW also bored me in RIFT. Still, it's not a bad game. SWTOR I've yet to decide. I still feel the urge to play each time I get up in the morning and that's a good sign. Time will tell.

I can only speak for myself but I THINK that what gets on our nerves (we who still have faith in the game) is all the threads in the line of "Fix issue XXX or the game will fail!!!" Threads made by self proclaimed game and market analysts and doom prophets who all believe that THEIR listed issues are the ones that count. Personally I have no idea if this game will fail or not. I enjoy it but I do think that BW should concentrate on the following issues before anything else: - Technical fixes (bugs, crashes, FPS, latency) - Combat smoothness (don't need to comment this one) - Customer support (if it is as bad as many seem to claim, it's a big issue) Make the game playable in it's most basic form first. Then they can start implementing all the good stuff like customizable UI, dual specs, LFD-tools and whatnot.

Indeed. WoW tried this prior to introducing the LFD-tool, and it became a massive flame and troll chat. It was later removed entirely from the game.

It's amusing to read all these self-proclaimed analysts and doom prophets who all "know" how things will be. Also, SWG lasted for over eight years.

But I think most of us agree that with WoW came a paradigm shift in MMORPG playing. I tend to believe that WoW attracted far more "non-MMORPG-players" than any other game. By that I mean that WoW opened the door for players who otherwise never would have touched said genre because it's a rather special niche of gaming. WoW has gone through fire and brimstone to make WoW appeal to the largest possible audience. The game has something for everyone, be it just leveling, raiding, crafting, trading or what you like. WoW has set a standard, like it or not, as to how the average Joe thinks an MMORPG should be. To me WoW has turned into a very advanced webinterface, where you can accomplish pretty much everything by sitting in the same spot. Sadly, here is where design and marketing has to meet. A subscribed game has to yield revenue to the company, and the easiest way is to attract a large player base and that means developing a game that reaches beyond us MMORPG "nerds" (yes I am one of those nerds). Making the game too "niched" will attract a very devoted albeit far too small playerbase for the game to be profitable. True and interesting design ideas has to give way for more nobbing around. WoW may not be original, but it has had the same impact on MMORPG genre as religion has had on society, like it or not.

Sadly, THIS is the main issue with the game. Forget clogged up servers, bugs and glitches, bad UI, linear worlds and whatnot. If the combat doesn't flow well, nothing will be able to save this game, cause it's such a core part of gameplay. I personally like this game. The storyline is good, the environemt is nice some things are new and intuitive and it feels like BW really put an effort in alot of things. Even the character skills are nice and interesting. Unfortunally, it seems they forgot the main thing - fluid combat and gameplay. That's why WoW succeeded so well despite having a much worse launch. The combat and gameplay alone could make up for the other major flaws. This is not the case in SWTOR. All the feeling of "beeing one with your class" is instantly body slammed to the ground by klunky and unresponsive gameplay. It's like having a relationship with someone you do like, but that person has one gigantic flaw that no emotion in the world can overcome. If that person doesn't change, you will see no other solution than to end the relationship.

I might be blind but you say "both" processes. Which one besides "swtor.exe" are you refering to? Edit: Saw it now. There are two identical processes.

It seems that this occurs when taking "natural" cover, i.e. rolling behind a rock or such. Try rebinding your keys so that you take cover on the spot instead. Not that I've only read about this and haven't done any extensive testing.

I'm having fun playing it, and that's all the matters to me.

Ah, but wasn't the WAR combat system an even more shamless copy of WoW? It even had a class with a 5-point combo system. But I can honestyl say that I never felt WAR gameplay being good. It was both clunky and boring - even with the entertaining resource system of the Black Orc or hillarious ability names of the Squigg Herder. Just because you copy something good doesn't mean it IS good. SWTOR is the first MMORPG since WoW where I feel that I can fall in love with the gameplay. I love the gameplay of WoW, and would probably still playing it if it haden't taken the turn it did at 4th and Bananas.

The general forum is filled with posts about how this game needs this and that or else players will leave and it will fail. The heaviest topic is probably that about a LFD tool. There are other things as well, such as the UI of the AH. But aren't those things really just minor issues? Are we not forgetting what's the core part of a game - the gameplay? I don't think that any amount of LFD-tools, AH improvements and whatnot will ever save a game if it's gameplay is bad. Likewise, I don't think that the LACK of said tools will do THAT much for those who enjoy the gameplay. Not for a start at least. If gamplay and combat flows nicely it will make up for many flaws. On a personal note, my biggest gripe is not the LFD-tool but the non-customizable UI. Still it's not enough for me to stop playing because I enjoy the gameplay, even with the lagspikes, wierd glitches and FPS problems. TL;DR - Gameplay is what will make or breake SWTOR and if you're not enjoying yourself while playin, no amount nifty UI-enhancement will change your mind. P.S. - I wish for BW to not change a SINGLE gamplay aspect until the technical issues are sorted out.

And in the end it didn't do THAT much to shorten que-times. For me it's not only about community but also immersion. The feeling I get beeing part of a wide community is instantly body-slammed to the ground when some "out-of-this-world"-mechanic randomly mixes me up with other players in a "parallel universe". LFG-tool - YES X-server - NO

I'm from Sweden and there seem to be a trend in giving your character the same name as ordinary (or not so ordinary) food. Morotskaka - Carrot cake Löksoppa - Onion soup Köttsås - Meat sauce Also, the occasional odscene swedish word that won't get caught in BW:s profanity filter.

Every time I go to the bathroom...

An interesting reflection indeed. For me it was about playing IA. I wanted to be an AGENT, the extended arm of the government doing the dirty work behind the scene. Much like Sam Fisher. If there were a republic agent, I would have gone republic. Smuggler you say? Sorry, I'm a sucker for RP so agent it is. I've been pondering the thought about good vs evil since it's so much more distinct in SWTOR than in WoW. One could argue that Alliance is good and Horde is evil, but both sides comit atrocity to furtherl their own goals, as well as showing true acts of honor and kindness. I'd say that the noblest race are the tauren and humans are among the most wicked. In SWTOR, the Empire is pretty much a totalitary government mirrored somewhat by any given dictatorship on our own world. Free thinking is a blight in the eyes of the rulers. I actually had a hard time playing through the starting zone as a Sith warrior, since their actions go totally against my own personal moral, and I tried to play as a "true Sith". I keep this in mind when playing my agent. I play her as a loyal tool of the Empire who still isn't afraid of questioning the motives of the employers, and she definately despises the Sith way of life.

... why do you insist on writing on these forums how much you dislike it? Why do you even bother wasting your energy here instead of doing somethin you actually enjoy? Are your lives really that miserable? I hate golfing. Tried it once and it's not my cup of tea. That doesn't mean I take frequent trips to random golf courses and shout at the players how stupid they are for enjoying something I don't. But that's exactly what you are doing. Why can't you let us "deluded fan bois" enjoy this "linear", "bugged out", "empty", "what-ever-fault-you-can-find", game?