I don't see a reason for mockery, to be honest. It's actually kind of cool, it's a reminder of something long past, something that not everyone currently playing even knows about

There are 8 classes - 4 for the Empire and 4 for the Republic. Each class can be played both as a male and as a female. That means that each class needs two voices - one man and one woman. Hence 8 x 2 = 16.

No, sure, that's absolutely right - text is cheaper than V.O. no question about it. But my point was that they probably go for the text route not because it's cheaper but because it's also quicker. Look at Treek, who you gave as an example. She doesn't have any actual V.O. as it were. She just squeals gibberish and you read the lines. I don't think it's because they didn't have the money to hire an actress to voice her, but because it was just quicker and easier that way.

Malgus was ahead of his time. The Empire just wasn't ready to accept his new ideas. Luckily, Darth Marr seems to have learned the lesson the hard way and he's willing to change the Empire. Maybe not in such a swift and radical way as Malgus, but after the events in Vanilla SWTOR most of the ******* crazy members of the Dark Council are dead and Darth Marr seems a much more reasonable and sane leader. He has realized that the Empire needs to get its act together and stop the infighting before the Republic crushes them. It's a start.

1. New Class storylines that continue our own journey. Makeb was cool but it had only two stories (Empire & Republic) and it wasn't really personal. I want to know what happens to my characters and my companions. 2. At least one new species - I'll be perfectly happy with either Togruta or Nautolan. 3. Mini-games that are not combat-related. Swoop/podracing, Pazaak, Holochess - that sort of stuff. 4. Various "quality of life" improvements - toggle Hood, more dyes and gear (that don't look atrocious) etc.

I think that the whole thing is not so much a matter of money as it is a matter of time. Voice Overs are not that expensive, but it takes time to write each line, each response for each class, and then to voice them. There are eight characters of each gender, and that means sixteen actors - and that's only for the players, not the NPCs. The quickest way is to have the quest written in a mission terminal.

Styrak was merely the first of you to fall. You are nothing more than rebels, rabid dogs that need to be put down. Same as Grathan, same as Malgus. You are the Dread Masters, but the Emperor's Wrath is not afraid.

Warning! Long post! Beware! Looking at the broader scope, the next big expansion should focus almost entirely its story on the on-going war. We had the beginning in Vanilla SWTOR, where the Empire restarted the war and then the Republic kicked them out of Corellia and Balmorra, and the Jedi Knight defeated the Emperor. Then, in RotHC, we had Makeb where the Empire, having learned its lesson, started to get its act together and they managed to get their hands on Isotope-5 (which was so valuable that Darth Marr was willing to sacrifice the loss of a few star systems just to buy the Imperial players time to successfully get the material). Now, as the dust has settled, what do we have? Let's see: - the Republic got a few big and inspiring victories. It presumably has a lot of built-up momentum. - the Hutt Cartel tried to play with the big boys as a third side only to get promptly smashed. - the Empire suffered a bunch of bad defeats, but has presumably learned its lesson and is coming around. So, the next logical step would be to build up on that - the Republic is barging in on more and more Imperial territory, liberating star systems along their path. However, they start to underestimate the Empire, relying a bit too much on the inherent willingness of the Sith to backstab and betray their own comrades if things get too bad. Eventually, the Republic designs a daring crusade into the heart of the Empire; their first target is the ancient Sith world of Ziost, and after that they intend to march on Korriban and Dromund Kaas itself, finally ending the Empire once and for all. Darth Marr, however, has learned of this attack and has prepared a trap. The Republic, unware that the enemy is expecting them, arrives at Ziost expecting to rout the Imperial forces quickly before they can organize a proper defense. Instead, they find the Imperial Navy waiting for them, armed with awfully powerful prototype weapons created with Isotope-5. The rout turns into a massacre, a D-Day gone horribly wrong. The story then should be elaborated with the Class plotlines: on the side of the Empire: - the Sith Warrior - as the Emperor's Wrath, the Sith Warrior is contacted by the Hand with the order to go on Ziost and prepare to butcher the Republic survivors that land on the surface of the planet after their initial attack turns into a disaster. The Sith Warrior is also given the charge of the Imperial forces on the planet. However, the exposure on this corrupted world begins to take its toll on the Warrior's mind and he/she begins to hear the voice of the Emperor inside his/her head, as well as having terrifying hallucinations and premonitions concerning their loved ones (for example, Vette or Quinn, or whoever was romanced (or had the highest affection, if no romance option was chosen)). - the Sith Inquisitor - as a member of the Dark Council and the head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, the Inquisitor begins a holy pilgrimage on Ziost with the goal of finding some knowledge that will help the Empire crush the Republic forces. Eventually, he/she finds the secret on how to create a most terrible weapon of the Dark Side - the Thought Bomb, but will he/she be prepared for the consequences? - the Bounty Hunter - he/she is tasked with the greatest bounty in their career - assassinating the leader of the Jedi Order, Satele Shan herself, who has crash-landed on the surface of Ziost during the orbital battle. The whole story plays out as a chase, a game of cat and mouse between the Hunter and Satele, who soon proves to be the biggest challenge we have ever encountered and the Hunter can (and will) become the hunted. - the Imperial Agent - his/her skills in subterfuge are put to the test when he/she has to infiltrate the Republic armada prior to the attack on Ziost and do a lot of sabotage that ensures that the Imperial Navy will get the upper hand. After the battle in the orbit of Ziost, the Agent silently descends on the surface of the planet in order to ensure that the survivors won't escape. on the side of the Republic: - the Jedi Knight - he/she, like many others, crash-lands on Ziost after the horrible orbital battle. The Knight immediately begins to rescue survivors, slowly managing to regroup the remains of the army and trying to send a signal for help. However, the Sith intercept the signal and the survivors are attacked relentlessly. At the end, the Jedi Knight once again has to battle the champion of the Dark Side, as Darth Marr challenges him/her to a personal duel to the death. - the Jedi Consular - he/she is among those who don't crash on the surface of Ziost, but he/she is tricked into descending onto the planet by the surviving Children of the Emperor. Once there, they capture the Consular and drag him/her into the depths of Ziost where they prepare to brainwash and torture the Consular turning him/her into a slave like Stark. The Jedi Consular has to escape the Sith labyrinths and tombs of Ziost in time to reach the rest of the survivors before they make their escape and he/she becomes stranded on Ziost forever. - the Smuggler - as a privateer and the Voidhound, the Smuggler is among the commanders of the Republic fleet during the attack on Ziost. He/she has even brought a ragtag fleet made of pirates and mercenaries to help the Republic. Once hell is unleashed during the battle in orbit, however, the Smuggler's friends turn on the Republic and his/her flagship is destroyed. He/she barely manages to escape in time, only to promptly crash on the surface of Ziost. As luck would have it, the Smuggler crashes into a fairly remote zone and has to trek through the dangerous terrain in order to reach the remains of his/her ship. Along the way, he/she encounters more survivors and applies his/her talents in order to find a way to "smuggle" them out of Ziost. - the Trooper - the only class who would not be a part of the initial attack. Instead, Havoc Squad is tasked with the mission to rescue as many lives as possible and take them out of Ziost ASAP. They are deployed on Ziost after the battle and lead a black-ops/rescue mission (that would intersect with the groups of survivors in both the Jedi Knight and the Smuggler stories). However, even Havoc Squad is not beyond the reach of the Sith Intelligence and the Empire sends a black-ops team of their own in order to thwart the Trooper in his/her own game. The result of this would be this - the Republic loses the Battle of Ziost and suffers heavy casualties. The Empire pushes them back, having won a reinvigorating victory. However, the war is far from over, but the scales of power now start to tip in favor of the Empire - but only to the point when it doesn't seem like the Republic will crubstomp them any moment now, in order to prolong the longevity of the war. In terms of statistics I would add: - new level cap: 60. Of course, this will come with new skills and abilities. - one new planet, Ziost. It's a Sith world deep within Imperial territory. It has to have a fairly spooky atmosphere in and of itself, and the players would be constantly reminded that there is a terrible battle waged all around them. Quests and zones would be designed in such a way that Imperial and Republic players should have a very different experience in terms of atmosphere - Imps should feel a bit of a cruel power trip, hunting down wounded survivors or setting traps etc. while the Reps should feel like prey - and just like prey, when they become sufficiently cornered, they are encouraged to strike back viciously. Ziost will have an overall story for each faction (the Empire chasing down the survivors, the Republic trying to organize a rescue mission and retreat) that will be heavily tied with the Class stories. So, regular quests, planet-wise story quests, Class quests and a few Heroic quests here and there. - if no new species are released by the time of the expansion, add Togruta (for the Republic), Kaleesh (for the Empire) and Nautolan (for both factions); they would not be necessarily tied with the overall "Battle of Ziost" story. - new Space Missions centered around the Battle of Ziost in orbit. - various "quality of life" improvements such as mini-games like Pazaak and/or Swoop/Podracing (those would not happen on Ziost, of course, it would be rather a bunch of race tracks on some of the lower-level planets like Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine, Voss etc. that would encourage players to visit even after they have out-leveled them), graphic and performance improvements, new sets of gear etc. And, wow... that has become quite long... So, tl;dr version: - story centered around the Republic getting cocky and trying to attack the heart of the Empire. Turns out to be a spectacular failure that allows the Empire to regain some momentum in order to prolong the war. Strongly tied with the continuation of the Class storylines. - new level cap, new species, new gameplay perks - more or less the standard stuff.

Um, not meaning to threadjack but... what? I did the HM Foundry for the HK part literally last night and I don't get what you're saying about waiting over 4 hours. I mean, it's just a clickable item, right next to the chest after you kill Revan...

Sounds to me like a real marriage Kidding aside, I agree with this. I was actually hoping that the interactions with the companions would be continued and expanded upon in RotHC, but alas... As a proud husband of Vette myself, I would very much like to interact more with her and I keep hoping that BioWare will continue both the Class and Companion storylines.

If you want my honest opinion, it sounds like either your gear is just subpar or you don't use your defensive/healing skills well enough. There are plenty of videos and walkthroughs out there, so I won't record anything - find them for yourself. I can just give you my word that with the proper gear, no planet is way too difficult on the same level with the character. To be honest, it's not impossible to do a planet when you're a level or two below the recommended level; in such cases, yes, you may die a bit too often or find combat to be a bit too challenging, but if you're stubborn and focused enough it's doable. The trick is to always keep an eye out for new and better gear (and I don't even mean some impossibly difficult to obtain armors, just keeping an eye out for loot and quest rewards, as well as mods) both for you and for the companions you play the most with. And if the problem is not related to gear, learn the specifics of your class and rely on their strengths; for example, a melee tank class such as a Sith Juggernaut or a Jedi Guardian can withstand a lot of damage, hold aggro and utilize a lot of defensive abilities/stuns/interrupts etc. and if you're playing solo, use a DPS companion.

It's one of those ideas that sound very cool... but are ultimately impossible. I mean, think about it - say that you, for example, have a LS Sith Warrior and defect to the Republic. That alone rises a couple of questions, such as: When do you defect? Does the player choose, at any point? Or does it happen after you've finished the final Chapter of your class story? If the player can defect anytime he/she wants, what happens with their story? Continuing with the Sith Warrior example, your story is firmly centered in and to the Empire; how can you defect to the Republic and still be Darth Baras' apprentice and, later, the Wrath? That would mean that there needs to be an entirely new story for each defecting class - and that is way too much work for BioWare to bother with. And if the player can defect only after they've finished the story, then what's the point? Not to mention that when/if BioWare continue with the Class storylines, this would have to be taken into account and effectively double the time for writing and VO. Sorry, man, I just don't see it happening.

I don't get it. What is difficult in the game? If anything, the game is on the easy side. Maybe the OP has tried to solo a Hard Mode Flashpoint? Or something?

I'm in the process of getting HK and it's not that it's way too difficult - it's not. It's just that a lot of it is a waste of time and reliance on stupid mechanics. I hate the jump-and-run element of certain tasks and quests in this game, and I loathed the Theoretika for that - even though the ship had such an awesome atmosphere; and don't even let me get started about the search of the HK part on Dromund Kaas...

I think that the whole point is that this is all a big set-up for the future development of the story. The Empire lost key planets like Balmorra and Corellia which is an awful setback; the Empire gets some wins like taking Taris or having the Bounty Hunter take down the Supreme Chancellor but in the long run those victories are meaningless - Taris is worthless and the Republic swiftly elected a new Supreme Chancellor. At the same time, the Empire loses very important worlds, the Jedi Knight deals a really heavy blow against the Sith by defeating the Emperor and the Sith - as it's evident with both the Warrior and the Inquisitor, and with Malgus' rebellion - just waste their time and strength with infighting and backstabbing. And the result is that the Empire was losing the war. Then Makeb happened. I think that Makeb was very crucial for the Empire. Sure, the Republic saved the lives of the civilians... but so what? The Empire got their hands on Isotope-5 and that's much more valuable than the civilians. And Darth Marr seems to have finally realized that the Empire needs to get its act together. I think that the Imperial win on Makeb is an indication of where the story of the war is going - the Empire started badly and got a few awful defeats... but now they're coming around, having learned their lesson.

Especially in regards to Jedi (and Sith, for that matter) wearing heavy armors, this does make very little sense in-universe. I mean, the Jedi at the times of SWTOR are facing a whole empire worth of Sith - enemies who wield lightsabers and the Force; against that heavy armor is as useful as a t-shirt unless it's made of some lightsaber-resistant material like cortosis (and that is so extremely rare that there is no way to mass produce armors made of it). So for Jedi it would actually be better to wear as little gear as possible since armor is useless against the Sith anyway so they can rely on quickness and Force-enhanced instincts for defense. The same is just as true for the Sith. I love the game but a lot of the gear sadly looks awful and I have a very hard time creating the looks I want for my characters and their companions. I'm not even mad that the gear is not Star Wars-y - the far worse offense is that the gear just doesn't look good from an aesthetical point-of-view. I mean, there are some really cool pieces here and there, but there is also... well, a lot of crap.

That Sith Warrior was Darth Malgus and the Twi'lek wasn't Vette, it was his wife Eleena Daru. The Sith Warrior and his relationship with Vette is more or less inspired by Malgus and Eleena.

From a storyline perspective, you say? To be honest, I have wondered about the same thing myself. My guess would be that since we know that SWTOR's Sith Empire will fall at some point, the Republic seized its weaponry and tech. Kind of like spoils of war, you know. And after that they slowly integrated the Empire's tech and weapons into their own. Hence, by the time of the movies, the Republic's Star Destroyers during the Clone Wars are simply a modern version of the Sith warships that were captured, studied and integrated millennia ago. That's my theory, at least. The real (non-storywise) reason is that these looks are considered iconic and easily recognizable in Star Wars fandom.

I think that this is generally among SWTOR's problematic areas. The worlds are beautiful, some of them are very iconic and cool... but they feel like painted sceneries from an old movie. Almost like a huge, beautifully drawn canvas - but lifeless. Places like Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa are supposed to be teeming with life of all kinds, shapes and forms; instead they are a bunch of beautifully designed and modeled empty streets with the occasional NPC or two. Cantinas are depressingly empty. Another problem is the static feeling; not only the worlds are empty, they are almost like they're all frozen in time, like a photo. Add a day/night cycle, add dynamic weather. I'm not buying how it would be hard to implement this in an MMO - much older games did it years ago. With today's technology and BioWare/EA's resources I'm not buying the "but we just can't!" excuse. The mobs are also problematic. I knew that this was going to be case long before the release of the game, by watching clips from beta and so on. The mobs are just dumb, inexcusably so. I don't mean their A.I. in battle, I mean just how immersion-breaking is to see your character attacking a group of enemy mobs while their friends and comrades are, like, 20 meters away and watch helplessly as you slaughter the poor saps, waiting their turn to die. Make things more dynamic, more unpredictable, add more patrouls other than the occassional silver mob who won't even turn his head as you ignite your lightsaber and blaster shots start echoing behind him less than 15 meters away.

All these ideas are well and good but we have to consider what we currently have as well as the existing mechanics of the game. So, with that in mind, my opinion is this: - a "Force user" of any kind would be redundant. We have the Jedi and the Sith represented as fully as possible at this point. - a pet class (like the Hunter in WoW, just for example) is not a bad idea but we have to consider the fact that the companion system kind of makes pets obsolete - a lot of the classes already send their NPC ally to fight on the front lines while they go "pew-pew!" from afar. - a droid class. A cool idea but since we're all getting HK-51 as a companion I don't know how valueable it is. Also, how different could the gameplay be from the current Bounty Hunter/Trooper and the Agent/Smuggler classes? There is only so much you can do with a character that relies on gadgets and guns without falling into their (already established) categories. Just putting a "robot skin" on isn't enough. - a "noble" class centered around political intrigue is an awesome idea. It could make for a cool story, especially with SWTOR's conversation system. However! How would such a class fare in combat (and let's not kid ourselves, combat is 98 % of what we do in the game)? A noble is not a soldier/fighter type, so it has to be a ranged class that doesn't have military-grade heavy armor but instead would rely on shooting enemies from afar, preferrably from cover, and maybe he/she could throw in a heal or two. In other words, an Agent/Smuggler type put into a story with political intrigue. I think that BioWare has chosen/designed the classes all too well. There is really not much you could add there. To be honest, if they add something new in expansions, I'd prefer it to be more diverse character creation species (go Nautolan! go Togruta!) and continuation of the storylines of the existing classes.

Makeb is a new planet that BioWare created that someday will be included into the game.

Generally speaking, I think that "good" and "evil" are sort of loaded terms that can't be absolute. With that in mind, most Sith indeed are power-hungry, opressive, vindictive, callous and self-serving. If those qualities define them as "evil", then yes, they are evil. I think that the Sith are a good illustration of what would happen if most people had such god-like powers. In general, people adhere to morality mostly out of fear of reprisal if they demonstrate deviant behavior. Without that fear, they will be free to do as they please and that would include trampling others who might stand in the way. That's pretty much what the Sith are about - to be free from the shackles of morality and law so they can become perfect and all-powerful.

This whole thing was one of the few disappointments I had with the story in this game. Being forced to spare Quinn totally broke my immersion in the Warrior's story and even now I can't look at him and think about it. I blame the players more than I blame BioWare, though. There was an option to kill companions in beta... but people complained and whined like they always do. Apparently after pressing the 'Kill him/her' button they were surprised that the companion was gone forever.

You're welcome, I enjoy having meaningful discussions here. Pity it hapens so rarely... Anyway, I think that The Thing Czerka Found is kind of a strange example of what you're describing. Now, it's been ages since I've played KOTOR but isn't the only connection between that quest and KOTOR the Rakata guy? To be honest, when I played through that quest I didn't even think of KOTOR and I was very pleased with it. I find it to be exactly the stuff you say it's generally lacking in SWTOR's storytelling. Belsavis is another odd example, IMO. Ok, sure, we have the Rakata's fingerprints there as well but this is a loose connection at best. As far as I can tell Belsavis' lore is generally SWTOR's product. Now, sure, there are things like, say, the Endor Spire or the Promised Land quests on Taris that are more directly tied to KOTOR, but where's the harm in that? This is the same setting, after all, and the two games are made by the same studio. I rather enjoy such nods and they don't take away anything from newer players who don't know what KOTOR is. I think that's the key here. SWTOR isn't relying on KOTOR's stories; to me such examples look more like homages. As to the overall storytelling in MMOs, it's just that it's such a hard format to tell a (good) story into. Everything they do has to be understandable and playble for a lot of people at once, the world can't really change (i.e. that's why our characters don't have a visible impact on the world even if their stories told us otherwise), the general conflicts have to always stem from and lead to a stalemate (i.e. that's why the whole Cold War thing was invented and why neither side will win in the game) and so on. When you factor in all this it's really hard to come up with something that is truly exciting, original and epic. For what is worth, my opinion is that with SWTOR BioWare has come as close as pulling it off as it is possible in an MMO.