How do you not know the names of staple species of Star Wars?

I think it's not so much about punishment and consequences, it's just a developmental oversight.

First world problems.

Hmm? SWTOR is a Lucas approved franchise, commissioned by LucasArts/LucasFilm LTD and as such is a C-Canon product. The only things that supersede it in matter of continuity conflict are T-Canon or G-Canon licenses.

I'm only level 15 right now, but I'm still in neutral, I have almost equal amounts dark side and light side points. This conversation isn't really about the viability of playing as "true neutral," it's about the poor design decision (which has already been addressed by the devs) of not making neutral or mixed alignment based specialty items

Did they actually say that? If so, counterpoint - http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cocktail-party-physics/files/2011/11/435_hanshotfirst.jpg

Just a preface, I'm only level 15 in the game, so perhaps I just haven't gotten that far in, so if I mention something that's already in the game just call me out on it. So far I think this game's fantastic. I'm level 15 as an Imperial Agent and level 10 as a Jedi Knight on two separate RP-centric servers. The community is supportive and usually mature, the gameplay is fun, the worlds are interesting, and the story content is superb. What irks me though, is some easy fix items that should have been in the game at launch, that seem to remove the social aspect of an MMO. Social activites, whether they are strong guild/clan support, better constructed rest zones, mini games, Roleplaying events, etc, are the backbone of an MMO in my view. They build a community which far outlasts any content a developer can produce. Its concerning that Bioware has seem to ignored that aspect entirely. So here's my little list of what Bioware really needs to add to vitalize the social aspects of MMOs. Player Housing The game is already heavily instanced, and full of worlds teeming with towering condos and luxury apartments (Coruscant and Dromand Kaas namely.) It seems odd then that there really is no player housing. Sure you have your personal ship, but its not really something thats furnished and yours, it's just another static location. These give players and RPers places to go, it provides a good money sink for players interested in expressing themselves, and grounds you in the world. Interactive Environments Anybody else find it odd that you can go into a Cantina, but can only stand around unless you wish to sit on the floor? You already put so much life into your characters, how much more drawn into the world would you be if you could lean on a wall, sit in a chair, or rest over a bar top? Mini games! Bioware, what are you doing? You have a well constructed mini game already, with art assets and rule sets, that can be played against NPCs and PCs alike, and produce items that are an easy money sink for players to dive into. Pazaak. come on, seriously? Chat Bubbles It can get really confusing to figure out who's talking to whom in the world when resting at a location. Chat Bubbles are a standard in most MMO's, and seems like an odd exclusion for a game like this. Character Profiles Again, a weird exclusion. There's really no way of looking at other people's characters except for glancing encounters. You really miss the opportunity to support competition and community growth by not having some type of profile sheet. You could have medals and achievements to display (another way to add longevity to a game,) roleplayers have a way to outline their characters bios, and guilds can present their information in a clear way. Changing Nametag colors I was really confused the first time I joined up with a group in a heroic area, to find that they still had the solid "star wars blue" colored name tags floating above their craniums. SWG and Anarchy Online changed their colors depending on whether they were friends, in a specific chat, or part of a group, and that was in 2003. An odd exclusion

Why are people playing Jedi, characters who are half Samurai and half celibate Monk, and getting flustered at their limited options for romance?

And when I say active, I don't mean player count, I mean actually In Character RPers. I joined Ebon Hawk and was sadly disappointed to find it void of actual RPers at all. I don't expect much in the general chat, but not even on the ground. I'm too invested in that character to walk away, but I'm looking to start up both a Republic and a Sith character on a new RP server, which is the best for RPers?

It may be a battle for lightside and darkside (I guess, I wouldn't really agree, but whatever.) But it's not all about pure light and dark battling it out. With the exception of Palpatine, nobody in the movies is pure evil, they all have motives that place them somewhere near one end or the other, but not totally. Darth Vader's feelings for his son change his path where he normally would've mowed people down. Obi-Wan Kenobi is all about using the force for good, and not evil, yet allows himself to manipulate others with his abilities and even lies for "a greater good." The Jedi believe in peace and harmony, but have their heads in the cloud from ego and position. Plus, when you get into the greater lore, you know that while the jedi/sith battle might be a darkside lightside war, much of the other people (who would be represented in the game as Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, Troopers and Imperial Agents.) live a much grayer affair -- Han Solo is hardly a paragon. Sure, he swoops in at the end of the day to do what he feels is right, but he isn't afraid to shoot first. (regardless of what the newer editions want us to believe!)

A lot can occur in 3,000 years, including major steps backwards. Take for example our history. We lost almost 1,000 years of technological innovation because Greece and Rome both collapsed culturally. We lost written language, historical context to our past, and scientific innovation, all within one singular moment. The Star Wars universe has already had dark ages and periods of great calamity that stagnated progress and pushed cultures back. The entire galaxy forgot about the enslavement of the Infinite Empire, for example. As for dark ages, not much is known between this time period now and until Darth Bane. It could have been the result of a major disaster, a plague, a great world that disrupted major civilizations, or it could have even been a political movement that erased a part of history entirely. (We already have seen evidence of that occurring by the Jedi Orders hand in Episode II.) As for technology, there are scientists that already theorize that there exists plateaus to technological innovation. One such hurtle is coming up in the next couple years with computers. circuitry is becoming too small to pass electrons back and forth. Until that hurtle is overcome, there will be no more growth in computer based technology. I can only imagine what plateaus a space faring civilization would reach. It is quite possible that it looks like not much has changed in 3000 years because, well, nothing may have really changed.

This is a major oversight of the game design, obviously coming from the MMO design vets on Bioware's team. Alignment shouldn't be min/maxed. If Bioware want's people to play the story "correctly," they should completely revamp the alignment reward system, or providing mixed alignment gear. For example, gear requirements not being just "dark II" but perhaps "Dark I/Light I" combined.

Because they aren't the "good guys."