I came from City of Heroes, myself, so I got spoiled rotten when it comes to community. (Seeing NCSoft axe the game was heartbreaking even if I haven't played in years) It wasn't perfect, but overall it's been the most newbie-friendly. The big problem for me hasn't been gender issues (my main is male) so much as I'm not all SRS BZNZ about my gaming. Not knocking players who are, but what they consider fun and what I consider fun aren't often the same thing. So we tend to frustrate each other, which is why I prefer teaming with newbies or people I already know. The latter are equally as laid-back as I am, and newbies are still getting their SWTOR/MMO feet wet. So you're always welcome in my teams!

I think those are names for animals that don't exist on Earth/in real life, i.e., manka cats, womp rats, etc.. Though that does raise the question of why in-universe versions of these animals have yet to make appearances.

OK, I got to Tatooine and got treated to this. I have officially changed my opinion of him. I guess that means I like all my companions in some way or another.

I can't help but like the guy. Playing a male Smuggler I can't romance him, but having him around as a buddy is awesome. Not to mention he's surprisingly philosophical in the personal convos. The only companion I'm completely "meh" on so far is Khem Val. I hear he gets better once you get up to a certain affection level with him, but for the moment I'm getting sick of hearing about his mancrush on Tulak Hord.

I'm fairly certain humans and near-humans (Mirialans, Miraluka) can have children, since it's theorised they're really sub-branches of humans which evolved a certain way due to their respective environments. (In the case of Mirialans, Mirial's sun Siel puts out a high level of radiation, which is why Mirialans have greenish skin. At least, according to the RPG books, anyway) I'm not sure about the other races, though. As for whether my Consular is married or engaged, I can't really tell. I thought after exchanging Sarkhai vows they were, but one of Nadia's letters talked about "if we get married" so maybe it's an engagement? The marriage convo was the last one I had with her, so it's a little vague. I think my ship's bugged. Even Nadia's cousin somehow knew. Nice bit of lampshade hanging when she mused HOW DID SHE FIND OUT? Spies are everywhere, man.

Ah, beat me to it. Also, let's not forget the Green Jedi/Corellian Jedi. They're known for their familial ties, and the Council may not officially like it, but there's not really anything they can do about it. At least not without casting out a large part of the Order and cheesing off Corellia in the process.

Personally, I really enjoyed it. I'll admit it might be a little too cerebral, but I'm a raging nerd for mind puzzles so I had fun with it. And there were some interesting surprises I wasn't expecting, where you really have to consider what the possible outcomes might be. For example, on Balmorra, Oh good heavens this. Nar Shaddaa was one of the best parts of the class story. I was particularly amused when It's highly YMMV; it really depends on what you want out of a story. You stand a better chance of liking this one the nerdier you are.

I was planning on replacing my monitor, anyway.

Absolutely. What you generally get out of any companion is what you're willing to invest in them. I now point and laugh at the Shadow guides which claim Nadia is useless for any of the Shadow skill branches, because I got her in some decent armour and proceeded to tear through Elites in no time so long as I kept aggro off her. Tharan's healing is nice enough, but it would take me forever to get through some mobs/enemies. That's to say nothing of a few times where he just couldn't keep up with the damage or stay out of AoE range. (With Tharan, AoEs were the bane of my existence) By contrast, a decently-armoured Nadia can take a decent amount of abuse long enough to drop a mob or Elite. I imagine Guardian tanks work the same way? YMMV of course, but I've found melee DPS works better for me personally as long as said melee DPS has good gear.

This, this, and a thousand times this. I've been playing MMOs off and on for longer than I care to admit, and abandoned all but two because of the lack of an immersive story. The whole reason I'm playing TOR rather than any other game is precisely because of the story and the real opportunity to create characters -- not just avatars -- and tie them (and their companions!) into a family in ways that you just can't do in any other game. Sure, I can say that my Forsaken Mage was the best friend of my Tauran Shamen before she was killed and became undead, but it's not reflected in the game at all. It's only in TOR that my Sentinel can be the daughter of my Shadow and Nadia within the actual game. Companions are a crucial part of that as far as I'm concerned; it would be nice to see some more added to their stories. Especially if your romance options don't become a real part of the crew until much later on, sometimes not even until you're practically at the endgame. Risha's hanging out in the cargo bay of your Smuggler's ship, but you won't be able to team up with her until after Chapter 1. Sure, Nadia is technically on your ship right at the beginning of Chapter 2, but she won't become your companion until right before you head for Voss. But even that's better than Iresso, who you don't so much as meet until you get to Hoth. I adore the both of the Consular's romance options, but I'd really like to see their stories fleshed out beyond what they have. Three letters after marriage is nice and all, (and they were such cute letters) but I miss having conversations with Padawan Genki. tl;dr MOAR PLZ. And I don't think it's any more over-invested than having favourite characters in, say, a TV show. If anything, it's a testament to the writers' fantastic ability to write real and believable characters and the amazing voice actors who bring them to life. With the way the developers talk in interviews, I'm fairly certain that our reactions are what they were aiming for in the first place. Same here. I'm sure Doc is nice and all, but Kira is Kira.

My Consular is generally fail at being stoic and is pretty soft-hearted... he's a Jedi mostly for the people-saving and scholarly parts of it (the technical term is "shonentard" within some circles) so the romance with Nadia was just going to happen. Shonentards usually go for Genki Girls, just sayin'. And the way she spazzes at a proposal is awesome. But I must now try to level up my Agent just to get to Vector because he sounds amazing. (Though I admit Kaliyo is fun to team with, it reminds me of a British sitcom)

Tharan. Sure, I can see how he can get on the nerves of some people, but I find him actually pretty amusing in an odd-couple-heterosexual-life-partner kind of way. He stole the scene against Captain Valon, definitely. And I totally trolled him when he wanted my Consular to sign something to get out of his debts. Lost two affection points, but it was so worth it.