Working within the system and subverting the system are not opposites. See also: welfare cheats. And if a lesbian decided to legally marry a guy so she could get more welfare (not that that would work, but whatever), and you went, "Wait, I thought you didn't like guys!" you'd sound kind of clueless.

That's not the same thing. You're a spy. Subverting the system is your entire job, not working with it.

I always find it hilarious when people start going "WON'T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!" for PG-13 content. Have you ever met a thirteen year old? Trust me, they know what sex is, and they know gay people exist. And if they don't I'm sure they have parents who won't let them play this game anyway, because if they play a game with space magic the devil will claim their souls or something.

Yeah, half the point of this thread is griping to let steam off, and now that we're getting actual options there's less of a need. I figure we'll get a jump in traffic when the game starts bringing back old LIs, particularly if some of them end up bisexual.

I gotta be honest, I've been rooting for Koth pretty hard.

*shrugs* OGRA fans, if you want to be pedantic. If a player specifically wanted to play a straight guy (and a lot of gamers do) and they didn't enjoy the Consular's romance with Nadia, they could easily switch to Knight and go for Kira. If they liked the way Consular plays, they could switch to Inquisitor, which is pretty similar, and go for Ashara. If they're only going to play Consular no matter what, then yeah, they're stuck with Nadia. And again, that's not a great situation, but if you're turning down that many choices to start with then you kind of have to expect to have your options limited. I'm happy to play whatever classes are available, because I like variety. But if I want to play a gay guy, and Theron's my only option, then there really isn't any variety anymore. It doesn't matter if I'm willing to change every other aspect of the character, that one choice means I get one option. That's way too limiting for an MMO, particularly one that prides itself on story.

You're comparing apples and oranges. Straight players definitely got options before, they were just spread across the character classes - that's not a great situation, but it's understandable when all eight story paths had their own content. It's ridiculous to compare one romance option for each character class with one romance option for the entire game. In any case, Lana and Theron are both available for all genders, and we'll probably have the romances from pre-50 coming back, so OGR fans will, most likely, have options now.

Doubt it. They'll probably talk about story changes separately from mechanics changes.

You get that the thread is still right there for reading, right? Jump back ten pages and follow the discussion. Not hard. Ride eternal, shiny and chrome, by arguing on an online forum. Sounds legit.

If we're judging art by that standard, we've already kind of stopped doing it. Every companion fits into a group of five, and every group of five covers Ranged Tank/Melee Tank/Ranged DPS/Melee DPS/Healer. If a group of writers came up with a companion list with five tanks, they'd have to go back and change things to fit the game.

SWTOR is a group project with a lot of writers. They have to make alterations to their work or the pieces might not fit together. I wouldn't exactly say they always have to change things, but generally you should start writing with an awareness of where you need to end up, and if you get off-course along the way you should at least try to step back and figure out how to get back to the original plan. That may not be an option in some cases, but it should be your first impulse. That said, I've always been a little baffled at the a-writer's-work-is-sacrosanct argument, as much as it seems to be popping up pretty much everywhere. Writers should be flexible, and they should be able to make changes if that'll improve the work. I used to write as a hobby (not well, granted) and with the people I knew, if a writer couldn't take constructive criticism and make necessary changes, that was seen as a sign of emotional immaturity.

...Not really getting your logic. If the writers had planned to make everyone playersexual from the start, then it wouldn't be a cop out? I doubt that's what you're saying, but I don't understand what you mean otherwise.

I get that, but I'm a little bit tired of gay characters mostly existing so straight viewers can sympathize with them. And I'm a little bit tired of having to cover Homosexuality 101 every time we get a few new stragglers into the classroom. I mean, yeah, it's important stuff, but we're never going to have everybody on the same page, so either we keep spinning our wheels with the same stories forever or we get up and get moving. I'd definitely prefer it that way. At this point I'd honestly be fine with either - if playersexual is what they need to get everything to work, I'll live with it happily.

Fair to say, listening to random groups of fans is not the most accurate of polling methods.

I won't drag this out - because it's off topic, you're right - but it's damn nice to hear that someone else feels that way about it. I think Quinn's the second most-hated companion, based on what I've heard from random groups of fans. That said, some people seem to like him, so it's not exactly impossible.