If this game starts charging for paid expansions, then i would expect them to scrap the subscription model permanently first. Cause that's why, that existed in the first place, to bankroll new content. But its obviously, not doing us any good. And i have a hard time imagining, that it all that lucrative for them too. What with the black market and all. But after that, yeah, bring on paid expansions. 20-40 bucks of appropriate content. Say, at least double, what we are getting now in expansion. New class narratives, new Raid, new PVP, new Dailies, or some other appealing activities, that offer cool rewards. Maybe a return to bigger, sandboxy environments. Heck i pay 20 bucks, just for them to fix all the deplorable crap, that's bringing this title down. Better yet, ill pay 100 bucks, for this game, repacked as single player title with coop options, sporting the original gearing mechanics, options to kill unlikable companions and difficulty modes. That way, ill have a game to play in 5 years.

The experience of 1-60 is objectively too easy and Bioware is fully aware of this fact. Well, why not - its completely intentional. Now subjectively, some people will be not be bothered by this in the slightest, some will find it a positive and others yet will go "Its true, but i'm here for the story, or end game, or PVP, or whatever, so hey-ho". OK- OK. Still doesn't change the fact, that its too easy. Hell launch was easy. This leveling experience is literally designed to play itself. You can switch your companion to DPS Mode, switch his abilities off, then target almost anything in the game and that thing will surely die. Your participation and input is not required. And somehow, lots of people are perplexed, why the topic keeps coming up. :rak_02: All you need to do is yell "Sick him boy", and your little pet will shred some to the lore toughest enemies to shreds. Now this trend for casualising an MMO's content, after the honeymoon period is over, is certainly nothing unique too Bioware's approach. The " No drooling mongoloid left behind. " is certainly standard procedure, yet somehow i think even other MMOs will laugh this game out of the room. Or like i said, at least the 1-60 experience will. For a while there, Bioware's been quite happy to ignore this chunk to the game. "Yeah, whatever, its there, if its so important to ya. But End Game is where the cool kids are at, or our new Chapters, that have less role-play and more corridor. Look, they even have difficulty modes, cause you wouldn't stop crying about it." "But Bioware", says I, " I want to play in the big, pretty and expansive sandbox area, that obviously took a lot of work and effort and also want know that if i slip for a bathroom break, i'll come back to find my companion a weeping mess, quietly sh***ng itself on the floor. " And regardless of what others say, there really is no way to mold the experience to your liking. You know, short off dismissing your chum, thus making the USP of this game a none-thing. You can stroll around naked and beat your companion, until they can barely hold their blaster, and its still too easy. And the thing is, it's its easily rectifiable in many ways, but why should Bioware fix it, or, at least, offer some sort of adjustable band aid, when they got the excuse " Well a lot of our players, prefer it this way. So you know, p*** off."

Look i really dont ever want to be mean, but this presentation/stream was horrible. Just The Tutorial, on how NOT to do a live-stream/ marketing event. First nothing worked, your stream issues are unacceptable for anything outside private user, and even then, nowadays, most people would just leave immediately. It was incredibly laggy, with constant freezes and bad, choppy, echo-crackling audio. This in not new tech right? And you are a legitimate businesses ? Secondly the content shown was incredibly short with repetitious marketing double talk, over what little character dialog was comprehensible. Oh and whats wrong with spoiling more of the story, setting and characters, to actually hook people for the full expansion. I dont care about any of these new companions, the new setting, or the current conflict, witch means i have no interest in the new expansion, because you have not shown anything to care about. Five more "stable" minutes, to establish why this conflict/ stakes are epic, would have done wonders. The new setting ( is what i'm going to call it, for i don't see anything OLD REPUBLIC yet ) was a soft disappointment for me since the start, but it can be pulled off. However, so far you haven't shown anything that spells: Sith vs Republic > Zakuul Empire. Couple all this, with yet more lack of gameplay info and well...... Overall, right now i subscribe, because of the current content, witch i'm quite pleased with. And its based on that quality alone, that im willing to try KOTFE. Look, i expected bad, but not that bad.

Well that content, has been the thing keeping the game a flout. It shore aint the end game content, for that there are quite a few superior alternatives.

Yep, every day, i'm getting scared-er. For a lot of reasons. If i had a choice, right now, to play the current iteration over the expansion' changes this October.

I think its a poor change and a horrible genre practice. MMOs, being the persistent, updated and managed beasts they are, are constantly being altered, in subtle or major ways, sometimes not event by the original dev team. A lot of changes are not made for a better game, but to trim down any aspects that could possibly alienate someone, eliminate the learning curve. Its an every MMO occurrence, that i've ever tried, watched, or read about. (LOTRO, WoW, Galaxies ...)After all, everyone can swim in shallow waters. Probably the worst dumbing down, i've heard of, was the NGE. It was done supposedly, because the company wanted instant gratification for players "kill, get treasure, repeat" and wanted to eliminate the scary depth. Now, i'm NOT saying that's what KOTFE is. But think, what do we gain by this change? Even if it doesn't affect a thing, as of currently released information, the answer is nothing. Its a pointless alteration, that adds nothing to the game, but takes away gameplay. Never take away gameplay, or customastion. Yes mastery = strength in practice, only now everyone can wear strength gear. So now all heavies can wear Jedi gear. (yes im aware of Adaptice peices) The Class loses its unique gear/its visual identity, everyone needs on every piece*(reducing chances even further), crafting is all messed up, etc.. As for supposed positives, i don't think altering the basics around the least attentive persons, who cant be bothered to read a sentence, should be the norm Bioware agenda. Its still solves nothing. Having a Tank show in DPS gear, still makes him useless. Is it really so difficult to instruct the clueless. Those who wanna learn, will. Those who wont, why do you want them in your group. Its a bad change, even in lore. Jedi dont just mass Strength randomly, but because they rely on their physical condition, They use the Force to augment it, because they are primarily martial artists. Strength = Harder Hitting and is rightly so in all RPGs. Gotta say, if the rumors are true about companions losing the ability to wear gear, i dont really wanna play this.

I would say get a powerful single-thread processor, the newer the chip design the better, since TOR only uses 2 cores, but its heavily CPU bound. You never see your I5 or I7cores fully utilized, but this should be your heaviest expenditure. Then get an SSD, TOR demands that and lastly a 6 or 7 series Nvidia Card. Could go more modern, if you want to future proof, or are going to play in resolutions above 1080p. Otherwise, i don't see a 980 or equivalent, doing anything for ya. Don't really know Radeon products, though they do go cheaper, so you know, if you can find an equivalent, go for it. These slightly older games loved Nvidia more than Radeon, so there could be some performance issues.

KOTOR 1. Not just favorite RPG, favorite game. And I doubt that would ever change, though i don't play it much these days. Nothing has ever come close. Great characters, great story, great mechanics (love D&D System), great worldbuilding, great twist, great graphics, pacing, re playability, setting, etc, etc .... I'm not gonna say it was perfect. But it was GREAT, in an era of great games, innovators from the dawn of Entertainment Computer Software. Yeah i know, nostalgia's defiantly influencing that statement, but i have nothing but good memories of that game. Even if it did lag like a ***** in spots for the fist year.

Thats garbage. I'm a casual player. I play for story and fun gameplay. And i could play this game for years ( maybe an occasional sub laps trough burnout), even repeating all content, provided an adequate community, environment and a smidgen of new features, every six months or so. Theres always new thing to do and try, if you dont rush yourself. Of course they are players, that always move to the next big thing. But provide specific content for a specific crowd and a respectful and social community and any MMO can thrive. And im absolutely fine with Hard Core Content, being out of my reach. I still like to be eligible to quality for SM content though, without people expecting pro MLG preparation, skill and time completion. Ill tell you the problem with Hard Core players. They expect the same performance from everyone else, they expect Company A to cater mostly to them(since their are the upper echelon), they rush trough everything, their arrogant and condescending and sometimes they just don't care about other people's experience. Of course that is and HUGE MEGA over-generalization, but you get my point. Agreed. There should always be ways for the best of the best to test themselves. But if you could nerf their ego after, Bioware, that would be peachy.

Pretty much this. Could have shown one single quest, edit out the "boring combat" and show that "return to Bioware storytelling, marketing keeps regurgitating everywhere ". And call it rightly gameplay trailer.

1)Uhh Lana Beniko might possibly be a companion. (witch btw the trailer did not suggest) Color me exited. One potential character. How does that not beat showing several familiar squadies, Nico, or Malgus, in the span of what, like 5 seconds. "meet new companions and reunite with existing companions ready to offer you their loyalty. " Show, dont tell. Trailers are useful. 2)Why did i expect this? I dont know, might have something to do with the press release on day 1. You know " streamlining the release content " Still curious, what that "streamlining" means... Ah there we go. "http://www.swtor.com/fallen-empire/features" Look under "Your Personal Saga". Next time, dont bite people's head off prematurely. 3)Guess its an opinion thing. I like continuity. People, characters, places are established, evolve and grow. The Story flows nice. KOTOR- KOTOR2-TOR-TOR Expansions- Disconnected Plot Twist! Still, its Bioware. They could properly handle such a sharp turn, but boy was the, i should really call it teaser, weak.

Pretty sure, im just expressing an opinion and trying to defend it. To rant, id have to be angry and pretty sure im not. But you seem bent on painting me as way over-hyped. Hard to tell, really, its the internet. I'm glad you liked the trailer. Plenty didn't and they had a reason to. BB

Why are we whining. Personally, im just mildly dissapoined. Im not really expecting much out of KOTFE, and the trailer was still "whatever:" Cant people discuss their reactions, without the Bioware Defence Force labeling them whiners. Considering, the bothered making a Pretended Cinematic for this 3 year old game..., anything is possible. That and calling it a gameplay trailer kinda directed my expectations. Its not that outlandish (huh get it), Blur trailers arnt cheap. Id be hard pressed, to tell it apart form Ziost and Revan trailer. All rather mediocre. Nah, that aint fair, those are actually better, if still generic.

I don't think so. Maybe, im just old school. The trailer was generic. And since, they are plenty, complaining on these forums and dulfy, i doubt i'm some mad man, who over-hyped himself. Bioware didnt put enough effort, or the actual news is yet to come. Either way, i though it was a mediocre effort.

Then, they should not have hyped the date so much. The first ever live game-play reviel trailer. Really, is that what we got. People are hardly entitled for buying into EAs bulls***, they are just naive. And so was i, i guess. I usually know better. This time seemed different. Oh well. Just stop calling it gameplay, when its not, plllleeeeeeeeeezzzzzzeee...

I dont know. Show me a snippet of new redesigned storytelling in a cherry picked quest, with heavy editing. Probably skipping most of the combat, showing only cinematics/ choice matters/ decisions. There is gameplay for ya. Or maybe some combat, see new abilities or enemies. Or maybe a returning/ new faces trailer... with edits of potential squad-mates dialog. Or a remaster/ redesigned quest from the Old Game, side by side with the original, to see that streamlining in action. Hell even a boring crafting trailer, remember those from pre-release, highlighting changes to those systems. Really, anything of substance, anything that answers some questions, leaves some impact, would be fine over this: Uuuhhh, Imps and Pubs are no more, im the Outlander......yada, yada, yada, "Join me and together will will rule the galaxy as father and son." But, i should have known.

HUGE expectations, I have none for the actual expansion. I just expected a gameplay trailer for obvious reasons. Gameplay. Those trailers carry the most weight (i speak for myself here), because they show the moment to moment experience, that you can expect. Or at least, what the devs are shooting for. Even if it never materializes, its still more substance than CG and Hype pointlessness. Normally, you are right. But seeing as how they've been pushing this expansion hard with pricey pre-rendered pixels and this conference in particular, i though lets get a little bit exited for ones.

OK, well, then hype me for that. Not the 1 AM Press Conference, witch btw as a whole was somewhat... EH. Where can i watch that, anyway. Oh, i cant, cause they are not streaming it. So much for game-play then. Still, they are positives to information blackout. Least for me.

Then why bother at all. Just stick the link on twitter, or load it up on their youtube channel. Heck, im interested in SWTOR and was still underwhelmed with the trailer. Why would the audience care, then. Maybe if you showed them something... a chunk of the story/ questline, you'd have your WOOHUH's at the end. Meanwhile, couldn't care less for Battlefront Online, but still found the trailers somewhat enjoyable and exiting.

It means, they are irrelevant. Its all about your character and his story. Factions don't matter. I sorta get how the Empire could be beaten back so quickly - all that infighting. But a government as large and old as the republic?

Even so, i still feel, it was underwhelming. Why no 6-7 min gameplay, or dialog, or something footage. It works so well, as MS showed.

Maybe in-game footage trailer, but there wasn't a scrap of gameplay in it. In fact, it was just a rehash of the CG trailer, but naturally far less impressive. When you look at actual gameplay trailers from this very convention, this one was just pointless. I wish marketing would stop hyping mundane things for nothing. We got: - no actual gameplay, to measure difference between now and then. - no glimpses of returning, or new companions. - no details on any revamped systems or mechanics. - no glimpse of revamped 1-50 content . - no snippets of new Bioware Story Telling - their main selling point. It was completely uninspiring and by the numbers. Can we not have just a little bit of a taste of this new expansion, instead of vague, hypi buzz-words? Get us interested in it! Its all Outlander this and Outlander that, and the past doesn't matter, and oh brother! My eyes, they cant stop rolling. Also, Outlander is by far the lamest title any character has ever had. Does it even make sense? He is not from an alternative reality, you know... he just took a nap.

Well that seem awfully schizophrenic of them, don't it? Personally i think, it would bring so much depth to the game. And tension. But we cant have depth in a MMO, now can we. I'm not always happy with some of the choices that ive made in TOR, but that risk makes your class story choices exiting sometimes. The best times are when the game stumps you out of nowhere and you start fighting with yourself. How much more memorable would Quinns.... uhm Spoiler be, if you could permanently kill him for his SPOILER.

I wouldn't say afraid, but defiantly aware of the possibility of un-subbing. I think this quote for Dulfy, in reference to the new Bothers Short-Story, explains it well: While things like that story, the solable/scalable FPs and return/death choices for old companions and acquaintances are quite enticing, i'm very afraid this wont be TOR anymore.

Ill take C for 500 Alex... SWTOR is pretty much unplayable with the F2P model, witch relies on cosmetics for its profits. Its an obtrusive and extremely limited experience. No amount of sugarcoating can change that. When The Change happened, it was almost unanimously agreed (by critics and gamers alike), that it was a horribly implemented model. It punishes F2P and doesn't particular reward subs. Lets dismiss customization features like Unify and No Head, you are paying nothing after all. There are still Limited QuickSlots(UHG), extremely limiting chat, mail functions, very low credit cap ( especially considering price inflation, that Bioware introduced with the CM), no permanent escrow unlock, critically reduced exp gains (F2P don't get enough, Subs get way too much) and drops, that are useless. OH right limited revives and probes, so you can inconvenience other as well as yourself, alienating F2P even further. Those are hardly cosmetics, they are gameplay. Most people couldn't stand it and either subbed (Star Wars/ KOTOR fans), or just dropped permanently. ( MMO gamers, that moved to less draconian F2P games) Every time there is a new SWTOR news related article on gaming sites, the discussion runs something like this: "- Oh i heard it was F2P now, should i try it? -Dont bother its horrible." Refereed doesn't really fix the major offenders and friends bundle only fixes the cosmetics. The way i see it, the game doesn't know, what it wants to be. 1)F2P should drop all none-FP/ PVP gameplay restrictions, or at least heavily relax them. Instead, limit the playable races and classes. Like say, you can only play 2 Rep and 2 Empire classes up to lvl 50. Profit primarily from cosmetic shop, brand new expansion-exclusive content and potential class re-playability. New F2Players wont access all the available content, but the wont get gameplay, that constantly gets in the way of story enjoyment. 2)If F2P is just a taste, before you sub. Then subs need their value increased. What am i paying a Sub for, if things like new races are hostaged behind a pay wall. Cosmetic items and F2P unlocks are fine, but playable races? All other races are available, why are these so special? Cause they are new? Its fine to pay for mayor content expansions, but why are you nickel and dimming me, if im a sub? And speaking of the Cartel market, why be stingy with 500 cartel coins for 15 bucks sub? I get that cartel coins have a monetary value, but it wouldn't really be a problem, if new customizations ( new eyes, skin, hair colors and hairstyles models) were free for subs. But they are not! Why subs need to pay for any none-expansion content, like armors, companion looks and mounts is beyond me. But since WOW and half the market does it , i guess that argument is a lost cause. Guess i'm just Old School, I though the point of subs was, that i'm paying for my server mileage and the dev team's time after release, but now i'm paying for only part of that time. (CM) I guess, Bioware is greedy, or desperate, as neither model alone seems like enough profit. They were dipping into both cookie jars, making profits from cosmetics and customization options (, but not giving the game for free, aka F2P model ) and subs and expansions from the exact same client, until recently. Either way, i think all three SWTOR models require value increases. F2P needs to feel like its encouraging to sub, not discouraging to play. Not gimping player rewards and capabilities , but enticing you with extra expansions, more races and classes. And there needs to be tiers of preferred status, that differentiate - 5 bucks preferred / former long time sub that bought the CE -preferred and anything in between. If you read this far, i thank you for your time.