Good day, forum dwellers! I have two ideas on how to make some (relatively) minor changes, which I feel will revolutionise the PvE aspect of this game. They will be split in to two posts so that they do not become diluted and each point can be critically analysed. Please keep feedback constructive. The first suggestion: Changes to the default attack model -- use movement to vitalise combat. One of my major qualms with this game is that combat feels stagnant -- in a broad sense, you and your opponent stand and face each other until one of you falls over, which, aside from detracting from immersion, makes each fight feel exactly the same. In order to make this kind of combat a little more exciting I propose controlled dodges, rolls etc. be added. - What do I mean? Simply: Double tap left to dodge left. These dodges can range from quick sidesteps (quick, double-taps of a direction), dives (direction and jump) to full-on rolls (double-tap and hold). These dodges will be initiated by the keypress and controlled by the mouse. For example: If you roll, you can use your mouse to partially control the arc of movement. - Why? To make combat more immersive and cinematic by providing damage reduction of the incoming attack(s) as motivation. Note that I am not suggesting dodges completely avoid all incoming damage, rather they mitigate it, depending on the player's dodge rating, type of incoming attack (aoe, cleave, single-target) and the type of dodge. What this means is that larger dodges will reduce more damage but also prevent the use of abilities for longer. - What issues does this raise? This obviously raises a balance issue with NPCs, which is why they will also be able to dodge/counter dodge. This new mechanic will mean fights are much less 'contained', yet feel much more immersive and provide additional levels of play. This also kinda screws with rotations, doesn't it? In the interest of maintaining steady combat, the default attack will be redesigned to an auto-attack, freeing up (in some cases much-needed) space on action bars Damage from auto-attack may also need to be increased to compensate for the dps loss of dodging. Abilities would still function as they always have, and will only work if range permits. Larger enemies will probably not be able to dodge in this manner, however players may still partially dodge some of their more powerful abilities. - What about PvP? In PvP, I can see this spicing things up a little as well, but as a primarily PvE player, I'd appreciate some feedback as to how this may change things. I look forwards to your feedback!

I'm more concerned about the Electrocute/Force Stun nerf to be honest. As an Assassin tank I've found the 30m range incredibly useful for stunning mobs which I can't immediately pick up and require time to get to (for example, a ranged dps attacking the wrong target as they ALWAYS do) or when in dps spec and I notice... well, the same thing. Either the tank hasn't picked up his targets properly, a ranged dps is attacking the wrong target, the healer has aggro, whatever the case, a quick stun can save lives. Before the arguments that this means these players aren't doing their jobs properly then in a lot of cases yeah, you're right, but isn't that half of what these abilities are there for? As a tank, the Overload/Force Wave nerf doesn't particularly affect me as I generally WANT everything to attack me, but I've seen it be incredibly useful for Sages/Sorcs when rushed by a group of weaker enemies, say the adds from the last boss in KuS, or better yet first/last boss in LI where the tank isn't expected to pick up the adds. I was quite happy with the balance on these abilities, but I can see why they were nerfed for PvP. Couldn't some kind of 'dampening field' or 'resilience' buff be applied while in PvP zones rather than screw with PvE mechanics?

Yeah, though I wasn't assumed this was an issue with my desktop when I started using that after my laptop died a death. It's more powerful than my laptop was, so I was curious about the performance hit. I'm getting around 30 fps on max settings, but occasionally gameplay will become choppy with a framerate of 0.5, gradually ebbing back up to 30 over the course of about 90 seconds, although the actual framerate indicator will still state that the game is running at ~30fps. This usually happens just after zoning in to a new area (such as the Fleet), but can also happen when using Taxis and talking to NPCs. Conversely, I've never had any issues with this choppiness inside a Flashpoint.

I have no idea why that made me laugh so much.

Given the nature of my role, not to mention my desk's location in the office, it is sadly impossible for me to play at work. That being said, I've spent more than my fair share of time playing QWOP when I've been stuck on a particularly tricky algorithm.

Sounds like SCRUM is what they've switched to to me. Smaller teams, quicker release cycles. Fits with the layoffs and promise of shorter release cycles. At my company we're developing new content at the same time as fixing bugs in the current and two older versions of our system and we're using SCRUM. Hell, at the minute I'm working on an enhancement and looking at our Radiator I can see several bug-fix/testing stories lined up for this Sprint.

I've been wondering for a while now which project-management methodology does BioWare use for SWTOR. Is this the same method they use for their other games, or is it different? Could the ramp-up of development releases which is coming with the F2P option indicate a switch to SCRUM from something like Waterfall? Now I'm no game developer so I don't know how the intricacies of the industry, but I am a software developer and certainly in my opinion, SCRUM would be a step in the right direction if they're not already using it. Thoughts?

Did any of you play WoW from vanilla through to Cataclysm? I did. Can you recall how massively the game changed? From a simple "here are NPCs with missions to go kill x of y." until you reached the level cap, and then there was "Here's an instance you can do". No armour sets, no raids, no group finder. Nada. This isn't a "SWTOR has stuff WoW took ages to get" thread, this is a comparison I'm making to show how much a game can change. What SWTOR looks like today will be completely different to what it looks like in a year. Complaints come in about things like linear worlds, but need I remind you that even these environments are subject to change, and it's totally possible. Warcraft redesigned Azeroth with the introduction of flying mounts, and once again with Cataclysm. Phased mission progression changed the world to give you a feeling of progression as scenery you destroyed in quests were gone forever and you got to deal with the repercussions of that (be it a no longer accessible location, a new area to play in or a flood of enemies that takes over an environment). Hell, even vehicle combat is a thing. So this implementation of TOR that we take for granted can, and probably will be changed for the better somewhere along the line. Even if you're not enjoying the game now, remember that nothing that's in place is concrete, the game can only get better. I'm enjoying what's in place now, even with its flaws and I'm excited to see what the future brings for the game.

*THIS* is the kind of thread the forum needs more of. It's constructive, it's telling the devs what they want, not just complaining about what you've got. Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order, I know the first couple may sound like I want to turn the game in to EVE or something, but I see them as totally feasible: Space: 1) 3D PvE & PvP space battles - it would be nice if these could be integrated in to Ops/FPs/WZs somehow (i.e not just standalone things - you fight to board an orbital platform, dock, destroy a shield generator or something and then drop from the station to the world below to begin the Ops proper [a bit like you do at the start of EV]) 2) New/customisable ships - I know the devs said a while back the class ships were integral to the class and could not be easily changed, but still - it'd be nice to see 3) Free space flight around the fleet - Possibly also some planetary systems, maybe including random world-event style attacks on the Fleets or conflicts above conflicted worlds (Hoth, Taris etc.) Social: 4) More than one gathering point per faction - Presently the social gathering point for a faction is the Fleet, which gets old after a while -- let's face it; they're not the most interesting of places. More social hubs which are - and this is the important part - not only quick and easy to travel between, but also provide strategic advantages for access to certain regions of the galaxy (could be tied in to the space random events mentioned above?) will spice things up considerably. Immersion: 5) More epic capital cities - Currently Kaas City and Coruscant feel like little more than passages on low level planets rather than sprawling capitals. When walking through Kaas City, I'm not feeling immersed in the awesome power of the Sith empire, I'm wishing the taxi routes were connected so I don't have to walk through it. It'd be nice to add more tall buildings, monuments to the Sith, more facilities and make the place feel less like a few buildings dumped in a jungle and more like the capital city of an empire 6) More epic battlefields - Some of the inter-NPC fighting in the game is brilliant for immersion, more of this! In some Flashpoints or Ops, it'd be great to see some of your fellow faction you're supposedly fighting with actually joining in with you. I'm not saying they should help the party, rather they should be at least seen to be taking part, holding checkpoints or whatnot. There is already some of this in-game, more would be great for immersion. Environment detail slider could control how many of these NPCs are rendered to control performance hit. 7) Phased Mission progression - Although I'd rather not have brought it up, what Warcraft did in Lich King was revolutionary for an MMO. Phased mission progression lets you see a permanent change to the world based on your progression through the mission. For example, on Taris when destroying a Republic base, after the explosion you're still free to walk in to the building as if nothing happened. It would be nice if this building was now permanently a smouldering ruin to you (other players would exist in other phases where the building still exists), and this is only one of the more minor things that can be done with phased missions. 8) Dialogue options that make a difference - This can be tied in to the phased missions above to produce some pretty dramatic effects, it could also be used to control more important factors in the game, such as which companions join you rather than it being pre-set. This doesn't need to be applied to all companions, obviously. In order to maintain integrity there could be counter-companions (identical role-wise) who will join you if the other has decided not to. Many of the dialogue issues could be worked around by using non-Basic speaking aliens/droids with voice modulation. 9) Usable speeders rather than Speeder Travel droids - Rather than magically appearing speeders, it would be far more immersive if the parked speeders were clicked for travel and came with you. Phases (in the same manner as the mission progression above) could be used to control the travel in such a way that other players would be able to use the speeder no differently. General development and player satisfaction: 10) Gradual in-game hints to new content - As a precursor to major patches with new content (such as the upcoming Dread Masters), it'd be great to see events requiring a server-wide effort in building up to this. For example, the Dread Masters are bunkered down in their lair (wherever the Op takes place), and both Republic and the Empire are battling to gain first access to them. In order to do this, each faction must reach a certain level of some special resource which can be obtained as a part of some sort of server-wide event (much like the Rakghoul event). As each faction reaches certain levels of this resource, they begin to gain more and more glimpses of what is to come, until one faction gathers the resources required and after a culmination of the event, only then can the Op be accessed. This would also offer the opportunity for PvP players to partake if the resource collection is competitive enough. Furthermore, it would stop people complaining about long waits for new content. TL;DR In no particular order: 1) 3D PvE & PvP space battles 2) New/customisable ships 3) Free space flight around the fleet 4) More than one gathering point per faction 5) More epic capital cities 6) More epic battlefields 7) Phased Mission progression 8) Dialogue options that make a difference 9) Usable speeders rather than Speeder Travel droids 10) Gradual in-game hints to new content

Exactly, It's win-win! Plus, us subscribers get some extra stuff! What's not to like?

I'm 50, I don't even *do* Ops and I'm going to continue subscribing. I'm not even fussed about the vanity goods. I enjoy unlimited Flashpoints, the option for Warzones (which reminds me - PvP players will want to subscribe), and all the customisation options. Not to mention all the convenience things, such as Quick Travel, Fleet Pass etc. which make things much more enjoyable. Sure I plan to do Ops at some point, but I'm paying for so much more, including supporting the development of new content.

I was originally rather sceptical about this Free-to-play model, but I think it's been executed rather well. It rewards paying subscribers and restricts non-paying subscribers rather well. You attract players with Free-to-play, if they enjoy it, they can subscribe and do Ops or Warzones for better gear. Despite people that are quitting, this new payment scheme will result in a net gain of players. In due course, it's likely many of these players will subscribe to get access to the advanced content and newer updates, so whatever current players may feel the game will ultimately wind up with a larger, happier playerbase. Presently paying subscribers who go F2P get to play the game without paying (albeit with restrictions), which -- and I can't stress this enough is far better than the 'Don't pay - don't play' option they currently have, while paying players get no change, but added commodities -- including the undocumented bonuses that come with a F2P option, such as an increased player base to group with and the option to play with friends who otherwise could not afford/were reluctant to pay. As for content speed, I don't think the issue will be as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The SWTOR product group isn't getting any smaller and it's not like they'll do less work now that it's not entirely sub-based. I believe we're presently AT the point of slowest development, and with the introduction of new players and potentially new subscribers, things are looking up.

If you stop playing you stop getting the benefits of the sub model, so while I doubt they'll strip you of these items you've bought with in-game currency before you stop paying, you'll then have the F2P restrictions apply, such as no longer being able to do Ops, restricted FP / WZ access etc.

On the contrary, I think the Bioware programmers have done an exceptional job, the game is relatively bug-free (certainly for something as massive and complex as SWTOR) and what they've done has been executed very well. As a software developer myself, I can tell you that it's not the programmers who are to blame for the design decisions, it's a conglomerate of Developers. Programmers are told what needs making and they go and make it in the order specified internally. Generally this will be game-breaking bugs (i.e. bugs that crash servers/clients), issues that impair performance/enjoyability and bugs that have a work around but are annoying first, then new content later (don't read this as bug fixes are always before new content, rather they will generally have a higher importance). As such, a feature like cross-server LFG is going to be waaaaaay down the line. Say, for the sake of argument Bioware are using SCRUM and are working on 2 week Sprints (a Sprint is kind of a work cycle in which you try to complete all of the tasks you set for it at the beginning of the Sprint), you're going to have a backlog for each team of things that need doing (one of which will be cross-server for one of the teams) , these will then be prioritised in order of what needs doing first and what they can reasonably accomplish in a Sprint. You'll wind up with something like: Release ver: 1.4 Sprint 22 : - MUST [bUGFIX] As a player with an nVidia card, I want to be able to log in without my computer exploding so I can play the game. - MUST [bUGFIX] As an ATI user I need Soa's Mind Trap effect not to turn my game in to a slideshow so I can survive the encounter - SHOULD [bUGFIX] As an ATI user, I want the Lord Shoop encounter on the mission 'Imperials Stole my Herpderp' to stop making the walls invisible when I cast Reload. -SHOULD [bUGFIX] As a player on the mission 'Defend the Shipment' I would like the crates which are clickable to be marked so I know which ones to use. - WOULD [NEW] As a Miraluka I would like more helmets to be visible on my character Something like cross-server LFG (I know I keep ripping on this) is a massive undertaking and is far less important than clients crashing when they're trying to load the game, so it gets put back by the product group until it's feasible to introduce it. I sort of forget where I was going with this, so on to my next point: Couldn't agree more. Tanks/healers need to be a more appealing choice. Multi spec should help massively with this because where's the excuse not to have a useful spec then?

Provided: a) It had no negative repercussions on my current job b) I had somewhere to live that didn't cost me c) I was watered and fed d) I was legally allowed to work for them/all my paperwork was taken care of Then yeah, totally. I'd jump at the chance to work for Bioware. Partly because I think they're a great company, partly because I love Star Wars, partly because I love SWTOR, but mainly because I have a Masters degree in Computer Science with Games Development, of which I barely get to use any of the 'Games Development' part in my present job. Plus, it's something to put on my CV, isn't it? Valuable experience. Now, back to work....

Yes, it's a lovely idea, but class-balance is a tough nut to work out as is. Introducing a new class is only going to make this process harder in a game that is still trying to get on to it's feet. This is not to mention all the other implications of introducing a new class, such as story, dialogue etc. Put simply: It's just not practical. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it *can't* be done, just that in all likelihood we're not going to see any new classes - at least not for a few years.

True, but there's no real skill involved, but that's besides the point. Legacy 50 is not rewarded, no, but you have the advantage that you will be able to unlock all Legacy unlocks right off the bat (provided you meet the other requirements). Once the Legacy system is expanded further, I'm sure you'll see some sort of rewards for maxing out your Legacy. This raises an interesting point though; will the Legacy level cap remain at 50 when the character level cap raises? If so, this could mean there are no planned rewards for reaching Legacy 50.

There are some minor annoyances for me with the group finder; to list them: The leader cannot manually add a player to the group, you cannot re-queue to find replacements more than once, the 'group-found' acceptance screen needs a loud, clear sound effect when it appears, there is no indication of the roles filled so far by the group finder, there is no indication of the time-in-queue. Another thing that irks me is that under-geared players can queue for the harder Flashpoints/ops, though realistically this is less a fault with the group finder and more an issue with inconsiderate players. On to the issue of the time it takes to find a group, as has been said, it's simply a lack of Tanks. I recently respecced Tank as I was fed up of waiting all evening to find a group (I once spent all Saturday looking for a LI HM group, had 3 groups pop, twice a player declined and the group that got in was undergeared and had no idea what they were doing [don't get me wrong, I'm fine with people not knowing content, but after I'd wasted most of the day it can be *extremely* infuriating]), which has a 50/50 chance of containing undergeared and/or unskilled players. After respeccing, groups pop the instant I click 'Join Queue', with my longest wait so far being in the region of 30 seconds. As with my earlier point, this isn't a problem with the group finder, but a problem with class distribution, milti-spec will help with this, cross-server LFG more so. And for those who thought "TL;DR": Ever played QWOP? Fun game. More of this in SWTOR.

Would it not be beneficial to have a loud, clear indication when a group is found and the ready check is performed? I have missed invitations several times by being tabbed out when the check popped (and ironically nearly just did again) . Furthermore, an indication of the time spent in the queue would be interesting information, as would an indication of roles found so far by the finder.