[Dat Jump, still not Fully Fixed.]

Hi JaceMatai,

 

As the Known Issue has insisted, jumping makes players REALLY want a weapon out. We've been able to quell this desire in most instances, but it's clearly a really pesky issue if you're still seeing it. Can you update us with your Species on these two?

 

For anyone who's still seeing issues with jumping animation: please post your Class, Body Type, and also your Species.

 

 

Female Twi'lek Sorcerer body type 1

Female Miraluka Sniper body type 1

[Harbinger Guild Leaders]

I have signed up. I think this is a fantastic idea.

[A little note to <Dynamite> on the Republic side]

Last night my guild went to Section X to try and tackle dreadtooth, which was a first for many of us. We pulled him and promptly got the beatdown of a lifetime twice, so we were waiting for him to come back around while trying to see what we were doing wrong.

 

Then, <Dynamite> spawned into our instance with a 16 man group.

 

There was this tense moment (we were pvp flagged), but pretty soon it turned into a dance party. My raid leader spoke to the guild leader of <Dynamite> who told us we could have the spawn and they would go to the other instance or go do something else.

 

I just want to say that my guild was blown away by your generosity. I cannot say that were we in your position that we would have done the same thing, and I think that is something to really think about.

 

The design of this game tends to put a rift between the factions (as is appropriate) and I think that sometimes we all forget that those Pubs or Imps are really other players just like us who are trying to have fun and achieve similar goals. It's easy to get caught up in the whole Pubs vs Imp war that we are surrounded by.

 

You really gave me something to think about as a player and as a guild leader. Thank you.

[Why did Jeff Hickman lie to subscribers about the future of the game?]

Video Game EULAs give the developer free reign to **** you over and change what they offer at anytime. Your only option, truly, is to not sign it. If you check the box saying you agree, they have the right to do anything they want with the software after that.

 

What you say is pretty much true, although a bit hyperbolic, however if the EULA is unreasonable, it may be unenforceable.

 

One crazy thing that IS enforceable are things like the valve EULA which actually strips you of your right to form a class action lawsuit and forces you into binding arbitration. The courts have upheld that this is completely legal.

 

Also, this is a good read if you like legal stuff.

 

While we are discussing legality:

 

Promises become binding when there is a meeting of the minds and consideration [Ed. something of value] is exchanged. So it was at King's Bench in common law England; so it was under the common law in the American colonies; so it was through more than two centuries of jurisprudence in this country; and so it is today. Assent may be registered by a signature, a handshake, or a click of a computer mouse transmitted across the invisible ether of the Internet. Formality is not a requisite; any sign, symbol or action, or even willful inaction, as long as it is unequivocally referable to the promise, may create a contract.

 

Is something a developer says on a game website enforceable in court? Well, to know if it is in this case, you'd have to read the EULA from Bioware, which we all agreed to by installing the game.

 

This EUALA grants you a limited license to use the Software to play the Game. You have no rights to or in the Software and/or the Game or its content.

 

We are paying for a license to use the software. Our payment in no way implies that we have any right to content. Bioware doesn't "owe" us anything just because we pay a subscription.

 

And then there is this bit.

 

Entire Agreement. Except as specifically set forth in this EUALA, this EUALA constitutes the entire agreement between you and EA with respect to the Software and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings, either express or implicit, regarding such subject matter. No amendment to or modification of this EUALA will be binding unless made in writing and signed by EA. None of EA’s distributors, agents, or any of their respective employees are authorized to make modifications or additions to this EUALA.

 

Nothing anything the employees say can override the EULA. So, "promises" made by Bioware employees are not official and are not binding. Oh, and if you'd like to take EA/Bioware to court and argue this in front of a judge, I give you this:

 

By entering into this Agreement, you and EA expressly waive the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action.

 

And, as I stated earlier, the courts have withheld this behavior entirely legal within the confines of a EULA. So, your only choice is to go into binding arbitration if you'd like to sue EA. Personally, I have better things to do with my time and money.

[Armor Dyes]

The dye system could have been great.

 

1. Black and white should be directly purchasable from the cartel market. Maybe gray, but I tend to think the shades of gray would be better in the reputation/CE/SK vendors.

2. Crafting Crew Skills should be able to create a "dye pack" with 1, 2, or 3 slots. (some armors have a third color zone)

3. Rep, SK, and CE vendors have special colors or schematics that can only be purchased there.

4. All other dyes can be crafted by artifice.

5. You buy the dyes you want and the "Dye Pack" with the number of slots you want to use to recolor your armor. You slot the dye's into the dye pack. Dyes can be pulled out of a dye pack so you can slot in the dye and then preview the color combination.

6. You slot the dye pack into your armor. At this point you cannot pull it out without destroying it (as the system exists now.)

 

This system is A) much more customizable B) adds something to the crew skills C) generates money for the two most wanted colors in the game and D) doesn't piss off the users nearly as much

[Good luck getting those dyes to work right]

All complaints about implementation aside, I want to point out something annoying.

 

On my agent, I saved my Tionese armor because I knew dyes were coming and I want to look like the Security Key Vendor.

 

So, imagine my delight when I find out that the white-red combo is for sale and cheap! Here's what my armor looks like before coloring.

 

And this ugly piece of work is what it looks like after coloring.

 

Front uncolored

 

Front colored

 

And, once again, desired look.

 

This is not the only armor with issues. I am disappointed.

[Question of the Day 5/8/2013]

/getdown

 

If you aren't aware, it's a dance emote.

[Nar Shaddaa casino (with cartel coins)]

But what is the difference? If, for example Nar Shada had 'slot machiens'. No matter what you would get some sort of return, would it not be the same buying a cartel box?

 

Instead of a box you have a machine, they both give you random chance of a return.

 

Another example would be a claw machine. Or sport Dave and Busters, arcades that return tickets for prizes. They all are considered chance but yield no cash returns and are not considered gambling.

 

I give to you a letter by the attorney general of Washington State

 

Please note that gambling laws differ from state to state.

 

The court, in the decisions it has approved, has ruled that three elements are necessary for machines to be considered as gambling devices ‑ (1) risk of something of value (consideration), (2) a prize, and (3) chance, a risk of loss or winning.

 

So, in order to be considered a gambling device, 3 things must be considered. You mist risk something of value, there must be a prize, and the chance of losing.

 

So, let's look at a cartel pack.

 

1. Yes, you risk something of "value"

2. Yes, there is a prize.

3. There is no risk of loss because you always win something.

 

(2) The method of pay-off [[payoff]], as long as there is a pay-off [[payoff]]of some kind which induces the player to play, is of no particular significance in determining whether such instruments are gambling devices.

Again, because there is always a pay-off, it cannot be considered a gambling device.

 

And about your "Dave and Buster's" retort

 

At this point, of course, it would be of distinct assistance to have before us a factual summary as to the mechanics and details of the operations of each device involved to determine whether there is any element of skill involved or more important, whether skill predominates over chance. Your correspondence merely states "In these machines it can be generally said that they are subject to a degree of control by the player." In the absence of having before us detailed information as to the operations of the specific machines in question, we can only turn to a review of court decisions involving similar devices.

 

If both elements of skill and chance are present, the test is whether the element of chance predominates over the element of skill, or whether the element of chance is present in such a manner as to forte the element of skill. Commonwealth v. Plissner, 295 Mass. 457, 4 N.E. (2d) 241 (1936), Commonwealth v. Ward, 281 Mass. 119, 183 N.E. 271 (1932).

 

Most games at these sorts of establishments are in fact primarily games of skill (even if a small amount of luck is required) and not games of chance. Thus, because they are games of skill, they do not fall under the jurisdiction of gambling devices.

 

I'd wager that, since Dave and Busters isn't being shut down in every state, that most states tend to follow similar logical conclusions about such games.

[Nar Shaddaa casino (with cartel coins)]

I believe you're correct. The Cartel Packs are gambling boxes, after all. As long as there remains no way to get money out of the game and they use a virtual currency I think they should be safe.

 

You are basically drawing the conclusion that purchasing a pack of Magic the Gathering cards is the same thing as going to the casino.

[Nar Shaddaa casino (with cartel coins)]

It is against federal law for a bank to perform transactions for online gambling. Bioware's bank would either A) drop them as a client or b) be indicted by the US Government for breaking federal law.

[Nar Shaddaa casino (with cartel coins)]

No cartel coins.

 

Cartel coins are linked to real money, which means bioware has to treat SWTOR like an online gambling game, which have their own rules and regulations. We don't need them spending more of their budget on lawyers and compliance and certifications for an optional feature.

 

It should be that credits are transferred into tokens. You gamble with tokens, you win tokens and casino reputation items. There is a casino store with items that require levels of rep and tokens.

 

Cartel coins should not be offered as full time rewards or this begins to dictate a transfer rate of credits to coins to real money and can have an impact on the economy.

[Please Bring Back Schematics for Depricated Armor Shells]

When 2.0 launched, many armors became unobtainable, and with them the looks of some of these armor are now gone. Please bring back the schematics for crafting the empty shells for Tionese, Rakta, War Hero, and Elite War Hero gear sets. If not in sets that could be purchased as previously, then please add them to the appropriate crafting skills as schematics that can be purchased from your crew skills vendor.

[Lazy As Sin]

Near Dead Companion:

After fight you are in good nick but they are not - don't heal up, send to sell junk 5 secs later they are back as fresh as a daisy. Or better still dismiss and recall (though you still need to get rid of the junk that way - hard work!)

 

Mount up, or if you have it, use rocket boost and then immediately click your regen. Your companion will be at full health when you dismount.

[Lazy As Sin]

Sometimes I sit at the character selection screen for a good 10 minutes because I can't decide what to do. "Play on my PvP toon? Sure! Oh, that character really needs money. I should go do some dailies. No, this other one needs some new gear. I need to run an op." And then I just end up running crew skills across my toons because I can't be bothered to leave my ship.

[Bounty hunting and other class quests]

I really like this idea, but some of those example mission types could apply to other classes. For instance, some bounty hunters will take any job that pays credits. I think limiting certain mission types to certain classes is too restrictive.

 

I feel like they could bundle several of those mission types together in an overall weekly mini-story with each faction.

 

I think making it too dynamic will involve too much of a development effort. They could just make several different weekly missions with their own set of tasks/locations and make it random which version of the weekly you get. They can release a couple new weekly missions each dev cycle, and leave all interactions to non-voice scripting to keep things moving quickly and cost-effective.