Loved the podcast. I think Bioware is doing a great job. As a software developer, it's great to hear some of the behind-the-scenes stuff, like their approach to feature teams, etc. For all the QQ'ers ... we *hear* you already, as I'm sure they do too. Seriously, my 6-year-old has more restraint when it comes to repeating "I want this, I want that." Server transfers are coming early summer, ranked warzones are coming "soon", and it seems like both are coming before 1.3.

I'm on Jung Ma, only 0.1 higher (or 100 av pop higher), and have *no* trouble finding groups. Of course, I tend to ping nearby players and not use General chat. Most people I know have turned off General chat on Jung Ma, which might be why some have trouble finding groups. Or it could be the RP factor. Lots of people have done something and just feel like helping.

This happens to us when we were running through Parallels on the Mac, so I imagine it might happen for older Windows PC's etc. Usually advice applies: * update your graphics drivers * add RAM * turn down your graphics settings The stalling hasn't happened since we starting running through Bootcamp with lower settings, new drivers, etc.

Great stuff! Here's something similar (in text), with some potential new ideas: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4298311

(during an NPC mob fight) Ogg: (smash Jedi tank) "Hey Grogg, you see that guy in the back waving his arms every so often?" Grogg: (smash Jedi tank) "Yeah." Ogg: (smash Jedi tank) "You see how this magical glow comes out of his fingers and then this guy we're bashing seems to get stronger each time." Grogg: (smash Jedi tank) "Yeah." Ogg: (smash Jedi tank) "Do you think it's important? Should one of us attack that arm-waving guy?" Grogg: (smash Jedi tank) "Nah."

These are great! Found a web comic that has several real-life/gameplay jokes as well: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=168785

On my RP-PVP server a while back, a group organized a bounty on non-RP names. Not sure how it went down (whether the player was told about their name before the bashing began), but it seemed quite popular for a while. Sadly, the names themselves weren't posted in the forum thread, which I cannot find right now.

My wife and I are playing in the Lehigh Valley, on Jung Ma as well! Nel'quen / Kasmar / Monnassa (me)

Another morning of SWTOR bashing on the forums, with tricky topic titles to get people to click them, only to find the same QQ points, over and over. Topic creation in the general forum is really out of hand, as we all know. So I started thinking ... if I were a competitor to SWTOR, or even just a competitor to EA, what would the most cost-effective way to decrease their earnings? Simple ... pay people to subscribe and post negative information about the game on an ongoing basis. Any journalists or current/prospective subscribers would then come to these forums (or other forums) and see the outrage, helping sway their opinions. Kinda like jury tampering, only less direct. The practice is pretty solidly established with paid "human spammers" that add forum posts to improve website google rank. I suspect the practice is also established for political campaigns. I don't know about gaming sites though. Are there known instances of such paid trolling with other games? Do you think some of our fellow forumites are simply here to bash for cash? (And before calling this a conspiracy theory, etc, consider the financial benefit to such an approach. Using good English speakers in foreign countries could be very cost-effective, as with human spammers. Compare this to the much higher costs of in-store promotions, mass marketing, or even paid social networking.)

Here's a place we can talk about those areas of the game where things feels unrealistic, but for gameplay reasons we all grow to accept. To have some fun, it's in the form of characters talking about such things at the cantina, wondering why their world doesn't quite seem normal. Please don't bash each other or Bioware. Let's keep it light. I'll start . . . (overheard at the Dealer's Den) Monnassa (consular): "Hey Zerpa, I have a confession to make. You know how Jedi's are supposed to kill only when necessary, how unnecessary killing leads to the dark side?" Zerpa (jedi knight): "Of course." Monnassa: "Well, there are times when I feel compelled to kill *everything* in the room. It's like I can't stop until they're all dead. Sometimes I need to keep going into the next room and kill everyone there too." Zerpa: "I thought I was the only one! I even started counting them, feeling guilty, trying to cut down. You know what I found? My need to kill usually goes away after a round number, like 30 or so. Weird." --- (overheard at Silent Sun) Nel'quen (smuggler): "I swear, everyone on this planet is both nearsighted and deaf. Not that I'm complaining, but I'll be walking down the middle of a well-lit room, with bad guys on both sides, jumping up and down, and no one hears me." Kasmar (trooper): "Tell me about it. Even when you do that thing where you shoot coins while you're reloading, no one hears it. Guess that's good for us."

Jung Ma ... 150+ in fleet usually, always someone to help with heroics, daily/weekly RP events, etc, etc. And the maturity level is mostly pretty high ... less offensive talk in General.

My wife and I moved to Jung Ma a few weeks ago, and finally got our characters back to the level they were on the dead server (Anturi Reach). It's DEFINITELY WORTH IT. Can't even tell you how different a game it is. Fleet is usually 150+, there's also people to do heroics with, usually people who help you find datacrons, RP'ing events, etc, etc. Before I felt like I was playing a two-player coop console game, now it feels like an MMO.

Make sure you check mail in-game, even if it looks like there's no message. My tauntaun was waiting but nothing indicated it on the mailbox.

My wife and I are playing up in Bethlehem. Played Wow before this and Neverwinter/Layonara before that.

My wife and I reached 20 on a low-pop server and recently recreated our characters on a high-pop server (Jung Ma) and are very glad we did. Not only are there more people around to do group things with, but the trade market is much more alive, meaning there's more of a market for the things you craft. We're still trying to get back to 20, but from what I hear, 20 to 50 is a *much* longer ride than 1 to 20. (If you join Jung Ma, send a message to Monassa or Nel'qen and we'll group with you.

Corso... "Now you're dumb, ugly, *and* dead."

I would like this as well.

Hi everyone, I'm one of the many, many very satisfied TOR players who occasionally reads the forums and laments the persistent negative tone that overshadows an otherwise useful resource. First, let me thank the positive-tone posters in the many negative threads. More often than not, you speak for me, and likely the rest of the silent majority as well. Truth is, we silent types should chime in more to help balance things out. I personally will try more to do this. I also want to thank the posters who express disappointment over particular issues in a civil and balanced manner. Hopefully, yours are the voices that will be actually heard. My personal thoughts echo what many have already said .... * SWTOR is a huge undertaking that serves many different people and playstyles. * As a longtime software developer & manager, I know that unexpected things happen in large software projects that are nearly impossible to predict. Nothing in Bioware's recent actions surprises or annoys me, because quite frankly I've been there many times myself. * In software, hard choices often need to be made regarding priority of features given limited time and budget. Such choices are always painful for someone. I believe Bioware is doing its best to accommodate the wishes of the greatest number of players, not simply the loudest ones in the forums. * I believe that Bioware made an explicit decision to initially favor PVE casual players over PVP hardcore players, which given game demographics was likely a wise financial choice. Given the game's emphasis on story, it seems natural to initially favor PVE, since spacebar'ing your way the story is not what the game is about. * The last minute removal of ranked warzones was a tough decision, I'm sure, as indicated by the free 30 days for hardcore PVP players, which I'm sure was expensive. As many have said, better to get it right than complain about unfair ratiings. Anyway, I just wanted to chime in as one of the silent majority who is enjoying the game to help counterbalance the overabundance of entitled immaturity in these forums. I encourage others who feel the same way to post more often, even if only to say, "I agree" when you read a positive post. I really do hope the tone of the forums becomes more constructive over time, especially this general forum.

Apologies if this has already been suggested. Change the "free month" terms to: Add up all your characters levels ... you get it if it's 50 or greater. This rewards effort, but doesn't exclude altaholics. Likely would have to adjust for higher difficulty of greater levels.