[Do You Like SWTOR In It's Current State? YES/NO]

Yes.

 

But not for long, I guess.

 

Reason: Levelling is fantastic. Endgame is horrid.

 

So: Yes for now, soon to be No.

 

(levelling 2nd Chat ATM, lvl 21)

[No more load screens!!!]

It's possible! I can show you how.

 

The new setup will look like this:

1. Head to your ship.
   
2. Hop on your ship.
   
3. Set your destination.
   
4. Cutscene of you leaving the planet/station.
   
5. Enter hyperspace and travel for 1-2 mins. (Destination loading in the background IE no load screen)
   
6. Cutscene of you landing on the planet/station.
   
7. Leave your ship and BAM you're there.
   

 

Problem solved.

 

This, a thousand times this!

 

I don't mind travel times. Travel is pretty fast as it is. What I do mind are

• Loadscreens
  
• Running to elevators
  

 

Remove those and improve quality of game.

 

Also, I wouldn't mind my ship picking me up anywhere on a planet. (As long as it's outside and not in a heroic area. Not in heroic area since there's too much grond-to-air action to expected there for me to let that stupids droid navigate there.)

[Request to unbind the " \ " key.]

It's almost the same in Germany, but here it's the ^ key (but it's exactly where you describe your | key is). Some keybinds work for that key, while others do not, I put my map there, when I accidentally hit that key in combat I can close the map by simply press that key again (but I would like to have on that spot a more useful ability for combat instead of the map, but it seams that only stuff that opens a window can be put there to suppress the costumer service window at moment).

 

Aside from the map (wich does something), you can also bind it to switch to quickpane 1 (that is, bring the buttonpanal 1 to the original button-row). Unless you change the quickbutton-row (noone I know ever does that aside from "switch to uneeded stuff when out of combat, then quickly switch back") that means that the "^" (German keyboard) has no function at all for you.

 

First thing I do on new alts, unbind this key.

 

Oh, I'm at work and for the love of god, I can't remember what the keybinding I'm talking of is actually called, but I think my lengthy description was sufficient.

 

TL;DR Try to bind it to different stuff. It can be bound to some functions, but not many.

EDIT: Found a video. I bound it to "Quickslot -> Quickslot Page 1

[Why an LFG-tool won't help at all]

Stopped reading at (There's probably)

Your wrong its needed.

 

You should have continued reading, maybe. Nowhere do I say that an LFG-tool isn't needed or should not be implemented. All I'm saying is that if it's implemented, it's not going to help a lot.

 

If you want to bring LFG-times down for DPS, you have to make tanking worthwhile from level 10 all the way to the endgame. SW:TOR fails at this (and badly so; I've so far tanked in every MMO I've played, but in SW:TOR, I found it to be so bad I'd rather heal) and SW:TOR does not have "offspecs" to allow for players to "also" tank later in the game or outside OPs.

[Why an LFG-tool won't help at all]

There's probably not enough tanks for flashpoints. There are normally too few tanks for instances. In SW:TOR, I think the way the game is designed actually makes this worse.

 

Why?

 

I've noted this elsewhere before:

 

An MMO should have a learning curve. For DPS, this usually means "start with few abilities, then add more later on so you gradualy learn to use them".

 

For tanks, this learning curve is generally reversed: "Start with few abilities that help you, no AOE-threat, no taunts. This way, the worst of all possible tanking experiences is what you start off with. We'll teach you early on to hate your chosen profession."

 

As a result, new tanks learn that it's OK to be a bad tank ("I'll just tank this one guy, screw the group, they can do with the others whatever they like."). Alternatively, they learn that they are bad players because they try to keep aggro tabbing through groups and they still lose it. And while frantically trying to tank as many mobs as possible, they'll not learn to be aware of their surroundings, to keep an eye open on pats or groups that might add, to have an eye on their healer etc.

 

I've tanked through four MMOs so far, but SW:TOR was so bad, I rerolled healer. And it's a wise choice I guess. For not only is tanking the worst experience while levelling, it's also ****** in endgame.

 

Why is tanking ****** in the endgame? Well, in flashpoints, you want to have 25% tanks. In OPs, though? Tankspots in Raids are hard to come by. MMOs like Rift have the advantage that you have multiple roles you can switch between, so a raid may have 4 tanks but most of the time, 2 of them are DPSing or healing, tanking being a role they take turns at. SW:TOR, though? Respeccing for up to 50k for raiding? No thanks.

 

And then, DPS are complaining about not finding groups for flashpoints. I say: no wonder! There's likely a tank-shortage, judging by how SW:TOR treats tanks. So, blaming the publisher is actually the right thing to do. They designed a game in such a way that of the needed roles, at least one is bound to be underrepresented.

 

Having said all this, I come to the topic of the post.

 

If there are less than 25% tanks, DPS are going to wait for flashpoints. The average waiting time will be evened out over servers if an LFG-tool is cross server. The average waiting time might even drop slightly (for statistical reasons) if the pool of players waiting to be matched grows. However, this drop will likely be insignificant (for the same reasons).

 

Tanks will get instant-invites using the tool, just as they do in Rift or WoW. DPS will still wait. Speaking from experience, healers will be somewhere in the middle, sometimes getting instant invites, sometimes waiting a minute or two - but not much longer. An LFG-tool will not conjure up tanks and healers out of thin air.

 

So, will there be an LFG-tool? Of course, if only so BW can say that they did everything they could.

Will it be cross-server? Of course, if only so BW can say that they did everything they could.

Will it reduce waiting times for DPS? Not significantly, but when the social aspect of having to look for other players is handed to an engine, the players can do something else and maybe pass the time in a more worthwile way.

What will come next? DPS complaining that waiting times are too long for them. They'll be answered by tanks and healers telling them to either tank or heal or to shut up. DPS will not do this because it's not fun for them. They'll still complain, though.

 

TL;DR Tanking in MMOs is generally implemented poorly, the learning curve is upside down and in the endgame, half the tanks are not needed anymore. SW:TOR is worse in this respect than most other MMOs. LFG-tool will come but it won't solve any problems.

[Lack of graphic detail - I've solved the mystery.]

You misquotet Occams razor. And "follow the money" is from "Watergate".

 

Aside from that (if we must argue in proverbs) I'll go with "Never attribute to malice what can easily be explained by stupidity.": They were in Beta, Beta is for testing. Testing showed that Hi-res textures were a problem in certain cases, Hi-res textures were disabled.

 

What many seem to forget: Beta is not "sneak peek" preview night of the finished product. Beta is Beta test, test of something unfinished. And if they find problems they can't fix and test before launch, they'll disable what doesn't work. I know that I'd do so.

 

And even if they sell Hi res as DLC for money in a few months, even that would not prove that Hi res wasn't disabled because it caused problems. If in a couple of months they find that they have something at hand that people would be willing to pay for, why not cash in? If they planned it for launch or not does not matter in this equation (though I dearly hope they'll not do so).

[DMG Meter kommt!]

Ich hab' einiges im Thread gelesen und dabei wurde mir nach und nach klar, was mich an DPS-Metern stört. Ich bin in vielen MMO Heiler, und als solchem wird mir immer wieder vor Augen geführt, dass es leider nicht weige gibt, die Statistiken nicht lesen können und daher falsche Schlüsse ziehen.

 

Und wenn ich sage "nicht wenige" dann meine ich damit "fast alle".

 

Warum sage ich, dass mir das als Heiler besonders auffällt? Ich habve bisher noch kein MMO gesehen, in dem nicht irgendwann die HPS angesprochen wurde, wenn's nicht so recht klappen wollte. Ich habe keine Lust jetzt hier seitenweise darzulegen, warum HPS so gut wie nie irgendeine Aussagekraft haben. Warum sie weit öfter "lügen" als helfen. Nichtheilern scheint das jedoch nicht klar zu sein.

 

DDs haben sicher ähnliche Probleme, auch da sind DPS sicher nicht alles. Indem man DPS jedoch messbar macht reduziert man den DD auf seine Schadenszahl. Dadurch wird den DDs natürlich Verhalten antrainiert, das auf den DMG-Metern gut aussieht.

 

Das gilt natürlich auch für manche Heiler. Da wird der kleinste Schaden sachnell mit dem teuren Intsant weggeheilt ehe die ohnehin schon laufende Gruppenheilung zuschlägt.

 

Aus diesen zwei Gründen wäre es mir lieber wenn es kein DPS-Meter gäbe:

- Umerziehung der Spieler weg von gutem Gruppenspiel hin zu Hitlistenspiel.

- Falschbeurteilung der Zahlen, die nur einen Teilaspekt des Spiels wiedergeben.

 

Jetzt kann man sagen, ich sollte mir doch Gruppen suchen, die nicht so spielen. Das Argument klingt gut, scheitert jedoch an seinem Unrealismus. Ich suche mir Gruppen, die zu den Zeiten spielen, zu denen ich Zeit habe, online zu sein. Gruppen, die ich auch abseits des Raids nett finde. Gruppen, die auf meinem Server und auf meiner Fraktion spielen. Gruppen, die den selben Raidcontent bespielen, den ich angehen kann und will. Nachdem ich diese Filter angelegt habe bleiben leider keine drei Dutzend Raids mehr übrig, die man sich ansehen könnte.

 

Was soll's, jedes MMO "muss" ein Combatlog und ein DPS-Meter haben, wie es scheint, also wird auch SW:TOR eines bekommen.

 

Aber an alle die sich freuen, weil es ihnen beim Content hilft habe ich eine Botschaft: Der Hersteller eines MMO hat in der Regel eine Vorstellung davon, wie viele Contentpatches er im Jahr herausbringt. Er hat in der Regel eine Vorstellung davon, wie viele seiner Spieler in welcher Zeit diesen Content gesehen haben sollten. Und er wird die Schwierigkeit entsprechend anpassen.

 

Wenn die Spieler toolgestützt besser werden wird der Content entsprechend schwerer werden. Nicht interessanter, einfach schwerer im Sinne von mehr Boss-HP.

 

Alles, was solch ein Tool erreicht ist also, dass die durchschnitts-DPS der Raids steigt und dass der Hersteller die Enragetimer / Boss-HP entsprechend anpasst. Gewonnen hat dann keiner was, aber die Spieler dürfen sich jetzt auch noch mit diesem Tool herumschlagen und sich ärgern, wenn ein Mitspieler mal wieder nur die Zahl sieht, aber keine Ahnung hat, was sie bedeutet.

[Private combat logs?]

How do I "Actually talk" to someone who is actively attempting to slack and lie about it in a full raid?

 

In a PUG raid? Probably not at all. But I was talking about halfway decent progress raiding which in my experience mostly involves more or less stable groups, be they guild or more loosely formed. PUGs will rarely down bosses that not at least some of them downed before, maybe on a different char.

 

And if I asked you hov your sage is specced and what heals you use when and if and when you intersperse them with what damage casts and you are a slacker trying to lie to me, you'll not go unnoticed.

[Private combat logs?]

Who are you to tell that Tank how to play? He's roleplaying and roleplayer's feel that abilities with cooldowns break immersion.

 

Or maybe he doesn't want to debate technicallities with you in a game. Like that he was saving the CDs for the boss' next special which he fears you couldn't heal him through.

 

What about great players, competitively raiding and all? Too distracted by their rotation to see if there was a robot flying past them at the boss or that that gravel hit the lifted add?

 

Look at it this way: There will be competitive raiding. Someone will kill a boss for the first time in the whole world. There will be raids not progressing as fast as they would if they were different raids with different raidmembers (read: if they kicked the slacker). And there will be raids with truly good members who talk, talk about their rotations, who are good enough to see what their teammates are doing.

 

If you're against slackers, I'm against slacker-raidleads who don't have a clue but think they don't have to have a clue since they have a DPS-meter.

 

You want to find out if the prospect for your raid is a slacker? Ask them about their rotation. If they answer back that they don't have any but that they follow this prio-list and that list is reasonable, they're not a slacker. But that would be hard work, it would mean actually talking to people, maybe getting to know them In an MMO, no less! What a horrible thought.

 

Edit: spelling

Edit 2: Raidleads who talk with prospects need to have a clue about the prospects' classes. Oh the horror!

[Private combat logs?]

I for one have been raiding in four MMOs, I've been DPS, Maintank, Healer, occasionally Raidlead...

 

...and I really like the fact that there's an MMO that does not have any form of combatmeter or -log. It fits the "story driven" part and while I'm certainly not going to slack, it does takes some stress and frusttration out. Stuff like "damn - after 1.5, my DPS as marksman dropped by almost 10%" not happening feels like a good perspective.

 

I'm doing what I can and someone out there will do the numbercrunching necessary for me to optimize my equipment.

 

TL;DR: If I have no way to read my combatlog noone's going to tell me what buttons to press in what order so I'll do 10% more DPS, so I can play the way that's fun for me.