have they given the rewards for this yet? namingly the companion, the pet, etc.the stuff that was supposed to come out after the event ended? 'cause I logged in today and found all of my progress in the dark vs light event zeroed out... did they just do that so they can restart it next year or did I just get screwed.

saw this, and noticed people still weren't taking note of it, so i figured it bore repeating

aside from the fact that the rest of the game has been mostly uniform, as far as the class stories go (unless you mean that it will be the same story regardless of what class youre on, but i guess i just figured that wasnt an issue because the previous expansions were like that). I'd just wanna be able to redo it in case a companion dies, or leaves. or i make a choice where the consequences aren't what I like for that specific character. having to get to 60 to play expansion content, only to have one choice i dont like screw up my playthrough would be silly. Yes, there are decisions you make, and you live with the consequences, but typically in games that do that, you either have an infinite amount of character slots, or you have new game plus.

I realize that technically it wouldnt be NG+ if it's handled like first couple missions of the last expansion released (ie, where the missions are just repeatable in an instance). But if that is the way the devs are going I don't see how you can have real choices affecting the story, so I doubt that's how it will work again. Given the fact that we have a limited amount of character slots, there should be some way to be able to go back through the expansion's story once it's been completed, whether it be like mass effect, where we start afresh but with all the items and xp earned; or if it's unlocked at the new cap (whatever that may be).

1) its optional 2) given the fact that i've been playing this game since about 2 months after launch and i have only ever had one guy at level cap... pretty sure no, its not.

i realize this happened a while ago, but anyone know a good site that fills the same role as something like torhead? I'm mostly looking for loot tables and where i can find certain things but its still a good thing to have.

the idea of having personal (or guild based) structures to defend isn't entirely out of the question, the idea of it being open world, however, is. There's just not enough of the worlds to allow something like this. That being said they could do something along the lines of allowing you to pick a planet, which determines the environmental palette, then let you build up defenses and add rooms, etc. Then they could have various HQ points around the world that people to go to to try to invade other peoples stuff. They could even make it so you can't invade peoples stuff till your stuff is open to being invaded which means you gotta get ur stuff ready. but again. theres no way, not a chance in hell, that they'd do it out in the world.

Ok, so I'm gonna get this out of the way and tell you that I've been an active subscriber since I bought the game in early 2012. I really like the game, which is why I was upset to see it going in a direction that can only cost it players. Why can the plan to go free to play only cost players? Because it's punitive, when it should be welcoming. What I mean by that is, rather than welcoming in new players, which the company needs, it restricted what you can do by only allowing a certain amount of dungeon runs and pvp matches per week, basically punishing you for not being a full time subscriber. This is a bad way to do things, and I'll tell you why, it gives the impression to outside observer that the only players that Bioware cares about are the paying ones, and the only ones who can pay, are subscribers. An alternative to this would be alternate means of becoming a paying customer, by introducing (and I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it really is a good idea, regardless of the stigma that has been placed on it) microtransactions (I'll get back to this). Yes, I'm aware that the current plan includes the ability to pay for dungeon/pvp passes, but that's not the way to solve the problem. Rather than restricting the amount of pvp and dungeons you can run, give everyone (including free to players) infinite runs of both, BUT free to players will have a lower priority in the que than will those who subscribe (obviously). Also, (and I honestly dont know how many raids there were at launch, but I'm going to say, 3) allow non subscribers to run 1 of each raid per week (with no runs just there for item farming/gold etc.) unless they purchase a raid pass, and allow people to only run any future raids if they subscribe OR if they purchase the DLC associated with each raid. I am well aware of the fact that most players of MMO's don't make it to end game because of how daunting it is, which is why they should begin releasing DLC, the same way you would if you were running an RPG or any other game. One example of a successful case for this is DCUO, which maintains it's success despite a subscription rate of less than 15% of it's playerbase. DLC as said above could be anything from raid packages (you could even think about doing raid season passes so theyre bought in bulk) , to daily mission packs (comprised entirely of missions made for that pack, not pre existing ones), new companions (like the HK47). the ability to customize the aesthetic of your ship, or even name it., or even something as large as an alternate leveling zone that takes your character's story in a different direction, (for instance say you don't want to level on Alderaaan again, if you buy the expansion pack for this planet, every class now has a choice to make that will effect their character's story, to level here or on planet -X). And subscribers would get all this content free, as long as they stayed subscribers. Not only would this give players more of an opportunity to customize their playthroughs of the game, but it would also allow bioware to make more money, easier, without seeming like they're trying to punish those who don't subscribe.

aside from unlocking new abilities for your characters, does linking people on the family tree actually do anything? I got the impression that there was supposed to be added cinematics or something if you have people on your family tree, but... so far no dice...

I really am greatful that you guys gave me another reason to continue playing. I was just wondering when you guys were going to get to work on the whole same sex relationships thing?

I would agree with you, except that because its a new game it doesnt have time. Games like wow and rift have time, theyve had time to build up their membership and thus they could rest on their laurels (less so for rift) for a bit... but SWtOR is still building, it's offically begun its winter phase and so far its not going well for them. If they want those that left/stopped playing to come back they need to give them a reason to. I love this game too... but right now things arent looking so hot, I hope I'm wrong

Never said they did give a clear cut release date, I was merely lamenting the fact that one of the devs said in the podcast that it was so close that it was basically out already, which got me excited. Also patience may very well be a virtue, but I fear it's not one that very many gamers have, given the most recent decline in players due to lack of endgeme content. Especially given the Mass Effect debacle (which may have only taken a small chunk, but dont kid yourself, it took a chunk) and the fact that diablo 3 is coming out in a month and a half, this game needs good news quick.

... is a dungeon que system. Say what you will about constantly getting arrogant toe jams who only think they know what theyre talking about... but it doesnt happen NEARLY enough to make leveling quicker, getting better gear, and actually getting to experience most of the content on lower pop servers on more than a weekly basis. Plus considering there is only 1 planet for most of the leveling brackets it would help with leveling quicker if we could que for something other than just pvp. Also it would help breathe new life into the game, just as it did in literally any other game that has that kind of system. The advantages here FAR outweigh the single disadvantage, which given that the community in swtor is, in my experience anyway, FAR superior to wow (WoW has quantity, SWtor has quality) in almost every respect, I doubt the single disadvantage would effect the game that much.

so despite the podcast saying that the release of the new patch was so soon that it was basically here... its still not here... any1 know the deal? cause every week they dont release it i get the feeling that theyre gonna start losing players (even more)

actually no... i can still talk to my wife... should make it like dao where you can still talk to them...