Is the game failing? :(

[bbbmmmlll]

Unless Stephen Reid is lying through his teeth, the game is most definitely not failing.

 

What you're seeing is the result of a) more even distribution of population across all level ranges, and b) people taking it easier now that the game's been out for a month.

 

Based on box sales? Which is always an increasing number. Or maybe his growth indicators are based on the number of tickets submitted or forum posts? Or some of the metrics they posted early about the number characters created etc... We now have 1.2 million Jedi Knights created! Obviously server populations isn't the metric he's using. The real growth indicator is subscriptions and that hasn't been tested yet, but they're not going to publicly talk about that metric.

 

That said, 'failing' is a vague term. The hype will bring in a lot of people and many won't stay for various reason. The loss made worse by the amount of hype - think of the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'. This is perfectly normal. Success is more about where the subscriber levels stabilize at. And if that number is over the 500k number that BW stated they need to be profitable. In about 3-6 months the fate of the game should be obvious.

[Ommm]

I think the server numbers and populations are fudged.

 

I am on a high/full server and in some planets and areas there areonly a small handful of people. How can my server be full?

 

 

this. :/

 

it does not feel like an mmo.

Edited January 12, 2012 by Ommm

[Yeren]

I normally don't respond to threads like this because they are loaded and often more tilted than people thing in opinions out the gate. I'm a Star Wars fan, but I'm a realist so hears my responses and some other notes.

 

1. Server populations ... some are going to go down. People are leaving the game. This normally occurs in new launches. Some people didn't like the game. Some people put too high of expectations on the game (if you claim they didn't then you need to reevaluate). Some simply couldn't put up with some of the other issues in game.

 

2. Ability lag ... I myself do not have much of an issue with this until I load into pvp (see #3). I do know that a few others have experienced this in my guild alone, but it isn't an overly game breaking thing .... especially since they are aware of it and are working to fix the issue.

 

3 PvP ... I'm not a big pvp fan, but I've actually had quite a bit of fun in pvp. My main issue is the straight up lag ... another issue they are working on. The only imbalance issues I see right now are really in the CC heavy state of things and geared lvl 50's versus everyone else. Patch 1.1 is implementing a 50 only bracket that will smooth some things out in that regards.

 

4. Poor Graphics ... this is two fold. I for one think the graphics are good. Some of the movements themselves maybe are a bit odd or clunky, but overall I like them. Many are actually complaining about art style and not the outdated graphics. Others are complaining about no 'high' setting .... again something that is being worked on (see the anti aliasing in patch 1.1 notes)

 

5. Immersion ... Okay so it's not like SWG where the wildlife moves all the time (non creature wildlife that is), no day/night cycle, no weather cycle. I think these are really cosmetic and can be done later on. It's a matter of priorities and these I think are towards the bottom of the list.

 

6. Crafting/Crew Skills ... Crew Skills as an idea were great. Execution from the start was sort of poor, but based on information I have read from Dev Posts (see the dev tracker) they are working on making end game purples fully modable and allowing the set bonuses to be transferable as well .... another thing they are working on.

 

7. UI ... Honestly I've not really had a problem with the UI. I'm not sure how people have it labeled as clunky. There are a few items I'd probably like moved and items I'd like to have fixed (The chat tab selected changes after a loading screen). This is a personal preference and so I can see where people would want to change their other stuff.

 

8. Space Combat ... they say they are working on it. I like the rail shooter that is currently in the game. I was not a big fan of SWG's JTL and I never played EVE, but the space combat currently in the game is a nice break from questing.

 

I guess I'll leave it at that and I hope this satisfies your 'questionnare'. I think one of the issues with the thread is that you haven't once even said 'Your right' to those that have said you are comparing off peak hours to launch ... and using that as your base for 'the game is failing'.

 

All games have their issues at launch .... SWTOR isn't any different, but I think to say that this game is still in alpha (as one post has said) is simply inaccurate. Even WoW went through several graphical updates with high textures and such.

 

Enjoy SWTOR!

[mutharex]

And you are the mother troll, since you took the time to invent categories for all the people with an opinion, which you like to call trolls.

 

Regardsless of the bile that you are spewing (and which I'm guessing you have been spewing since you joined these forums) I AM a fan of star wars and I love playing MMO's, when a HUGE portion of the playerbase on your MMO is complaining about very relevant things, it might be because there is reason for it and I just wanted to make sure these issues aren't being forgotten, like so many FANS of the game are because it's a genuine concern to them.

 

If you would take the time to think before you post, you would realise that you and others like you are the ones creating the elitist and frankly quite childish attitude which is ruining the community.

 

Mate, I didn't invent any category, they already exist. I am just putting into the one you belong to. You come up with troll/flamebait posts, people will call you for what you are

 

And bile? LOL a troll talking about spewing bile...hahaha

[GalacticKegger]

Patience good padawan, patience. I really think other MMOs (who've had years to work stuff out) have conditioned their player base with the expectation that everything is prepackaged, and spending a mere 3 minutes in the microwave will cook it to perfection. Yes this is 2012 where tools & technologies are way ahead of where they were 10 years ago. But it's still all 1s and 0s (albeit increasingly complicated applications of 1s and 0s) that have always been - and always will be - ridiculously stubborn and elusive SOBs that constantly play tricks on their programmers. The game will succeed, some just lack patience and won't be around to see it when it happens.

 

As far as server traffic, I'm on Mask of Nihilus and not only are there players everywhere on every planet up through Balmoora & Quesh, but there is occasionally competition for quest mobs as well. So we end up grouping a lot to help others do heroics. Lots of grouping in chat as well, especially for world boss parties which seem to happen almost every night. I'm Central U.S. on a west coast server, which is the perfect peak hour play time for me.

Edited January 12, 2012 by GalacticKegger

[Jalliah]

Well here in the US... if you (JUST) logged in... Most of us are at work or in school OR SHOULD BE.

 

SO the best time to log in is a Friday , Saturday, Sunday type thing... knowing that is when the most people play.

 

I dare say... a lot of the people that play this game work and are older... 27 years old.. or so I would not doubt is the avg player of it even.

 

My entire guild works .... so I see this myself.

 

 

Yeah my guild is like this. I think the youngest member is around 21. The rest much older. During the day (work hours) it's usually just me and one other person. Everyone else logs on in the evening. Then on weekends the number doubles.

 

I'm usually on the game every day for at least a little bit but then I game a lot whether here or somewhere else. I raid 3-4 nights a week in another game(not WOW) and play SP games on my own. As much as it would be great to think that this is 'average' for most gamers it's not. Many, many people do not play games every day. I've noticed though that it's quite normal that when someone starts a game they play tons and push their game time. The initial 'yes' new game. Then things settle down into a less crazy and intense schedule.

 

That's not to say that SwTOR won't lose people. It most definitely will. Some sooner and some later. This happens to a certain extent in every game. WOW only had me for three months before I couldn't stand it any more.

 

It's just way to early to tell what these numbers will be.

[Yeren]

Very informative tbh, I'm no developer but I do know that bug reports are essential which is why I have been making them during beta and now still in the actual game.

 

I'm just... dissapointed, I was hoping that they would somehow hit that X-factor like wow has, you know what I mean? When you take all these things that the game consists of, graphics, sounds, community, infrastructure etc. etc. etc. and they all come together in harmony to give you that "wow" feeling. Cuz wow did give us that feeling when it was released, yes there were bugs and plenty of things not working right, but even then it had the "wow" feel, it had the x-factor and this game just doesn't have it. I truly hope they find it though... crossing my fingers all the way.

 

The wow factor ... it might have had it for you. For me it was a way for me to hang with some friends from previous games. WoW was never overly impressive to me. It's a difference of opinion that's all. Then again no game has really ever given me a wow affect.

[failr]

MMOs have a very short time frame to prove themselves, a lot of people here are saying be patient they will end up fixing it some day etc. Well that is the same stuff people were saying about AOC and WAR, and issues in those games did get fixed eventually, except there was noone left on the servers by that time. If MMO does not prove itself to be good within the first month people leave it and never look back. SWTOR is in danger zone right now, we ll see how it goes tho.

[Yeren]

MMOs have a very short time frame to prove themselves, a lot of people here are saying be patient they will end up fixing it some day etc. Well that is the same stuff people were saying about AOC and WAR, and issues in those games did get fixed eventually, except there was noone left on the servers by that time. If MMO does not prove itself to be good within the first month people leave it and never look back. SWTOR is in danger zone right now, we ll see how it goes tho.

 

It's not just about good in the first month .... it's about the promise of improvement .... AOC and WAR didn't have that for me.

[failr]

It's not just about good in the first month .... it's about the promise of improvement .... AOC and WAR didn't have that for me.

 

WAR put out massive expansions very shortly after release, adding new classes and content and fixing majority of the issues people had with it. It was a triple AAA title as well and they had a large dev team so issues were resolved pretty quickly. Except it was too late at the point cause the game was also released in a pretty bad state. If you head back to WAR or even AOC you will notice how much better those games have become since release.

 

Point is, and I know its wrong and wish it was the other way around, people do not stay for promises of the future.

Edited January 12, 2012 by failr

[Evangelist]

What was the point of a beta if they didn't fix anything that was brought to their attention in beta? This game has some serious issues, but yet fanboys keep convincing Bioware that there are no issues.

 

You're either new to MMOs or you're...well I won't go there. You must have never experienced a content patch or expansion from Blizzard, and I'm talking after they became the 800kg Gorrilla of MMOs where money was basically no object. Abilities nerfed, buffed, and nerfed all after they've been on the PTR for months, same for bugs, etc. With all the money Blizzard was/is pulling in you'd think they at least would be able to release a polished product after months of testing.

 

They can't or won't, so how would you expect a start up product to be perfect? It's par for the course in MMO's. Things will get fixed. Finding the cause of the bug, fixing it, and testing the fix take time. The game's official launch was a little over 3 weeks ago have a little patience and use a little perspective.

 

Some people will not be happy no matter what they play, if they play WoW they will be saying, "I can't wait for <insert new hyped MMO here> to come out and then I'm gone." and Guild Wars 2 will come out and the same crap will be all over their boards too.

[GalacticKegger]

MMOs have a very short time frame to prove themselves, a lot of people here are saying be patient they will end up fixing it some day etc. Well that is the same stuff people were saying about AOC and WAR, and issues in those games did get fixed eventually, except there was noone left on the servers by that time. If MMO does not prove itself to be good within the first month people leave it and never look back. SWTOR is in danger zone right now, we ll see how it goes tho.

I think there are enough BW/LA franchise faithful to maintain a solid player base, even if it takes dev 6 months to fix what needs to be fixed. Though I'm guessing it will be more like 2-3 months for stability to meet expectations. Once that happens and word gets out players will come back. WoW will release Pandaville and some will go there until they get bored. Then they'll come back. Rinse and repeat this churnover cycle with most titles because of MMO market saturation. TOR will be fine as long as EA doesn't prematurely pull the plug like they did on Earth & Beyond. Edited January 12, 2012 by GalacticKegger

[Kadoozy]

Several things...

 

In the US, it's between 6am and 9am - People are going to school/work.

In the EU, it's between 2pm and 4pm - People are at school/work.

 

The servers have been down all morning for a patch and only recently came back up.

 

No, this game isn't failing, but I think you might be...

 

This. Come back in about 6 hours and the servers will be full. People have other things to do during the day besides play a game.

[Yeren]

WAR put out massive expansions very shortly after release, adding new classes and content and fixing majority of the issues people had with it. It was a triple AAA title as well and they had a large dev team so issues were resolved pretty quickly. Except it was too late at the point cause the game was also released in a pretty bad state. If you head back to WAR or even AOC you will notice how much better those games have become since release.

 

Point is, and I know its wrong and wish it was the other way around, people do not stay for promises of the future.

 

I agree ... I just said its not just about that. For me it is promises. AOC didn't have an engaging story. Graphics were great .... WAR .... just wasn't a game for me. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

[Jayrune]

Very informative tbh, I'm no developer but I do know that bug reports are essential which is why I have been making them during beta and now still in the actual game.

 

I'm just... dissapointed, I was hoping that they would somehow hit that X-factor like wow has, you know what I mean? When you take all these things that the game consists of, graphics, sounds, community, infrastructure etc. etc. etc. and they all come together in harmony to give you that "wow" feeling. Cuz wow did give us that feeling when it was released, yes there were bugs and plenty of things not working right, but even then it had the "wow" feel, it had the x-factor and this game just doesn't have it. I truly hope they find it though... crossing my fingers all the way.

 

The synergy of a complex system with all it's parts working smoothly in tandem. Yes i agree WoW had and has that, but i think that WoW got that at launch because of the relative "newness" of the MMO genre. Granted MMO's were around for years before but until WoW they were a niche market. WoW had it's launch bugs as you noted but i think the players were much more apt to overlook them for WoW than they are for SWTOR.

 

Of course the trouble with this sort of discussion is subjectivity again. I have been having a blast playing SWTOR, in my opinion they have that x-factor, and that factor will shine through brighter and brighter as bugs get squished. though i will say that some classes seems to have that x factor more clearly than others.

 

For example, playing my tank spec juggernaut i was having a blast, killin mobs, taking names, diggin the story, feeling engaged by the combat. i started running a tank spec assassin... not so smooth, but still very good. i actually attribute this to the companions available at the time cause with Vette and the jugg stuff just dropped like rocks, no noticable responsiveness issue with the companion cause she's ranged DPS. Khem Val? little less. Still worked pretty well for me since he would be in melee range same as i when combat starts, but he's a tank companion for a tank. Once i got andronikus (spelling?) all was kicking butt and taking names like the jugg.

 

Tried a sorc, hated khem val cause he has to run across the field to actually start tanking. found it easier to just unload damage via lightning and knockbacks. Really found it weird that Khen has to sprint, where as kaliyo (a RANGED tank) has an instant jump to target ability...

 

playing either my jugg of my sin now, i barely notice the bugs like the sound on the speeders or the like cause of the fun factor, but it can be very easy to mess up that synergy and that does worry me a bit.

 

Having said that, I'm confident that Bioware can resolve those issues. Only time will tell though.

[LeSamourai]

No.

 

If you are in the US and just logging in right now....most people are either at lunch (East Coast), just going to work (West Coast), or working (Central), or sleeping (Hawaii).

 

Not only that, but it's also NO LONGER WINTER BREAK. If you play ANY game, you would have noticed the same trend: tons of people playing during early December, lot less playing now. Is it magically because the game became popular again? or is it because people had too much free time?

[Morpain]

When the game goes ftp THEN you can troll about how the game is failing.

[Evangelist]

WAR put out massive expansions very shortly after release, adding new classes and content and fixing majority of the issues people had with it. It was a triple AAA title as well and they had a large dev team so issues were resolved pretty quickly. Except it was too late at the point cause the game was also released in a pretty bad state. If you head back to WAR or even AOC you will notice how much better those games have become since release.

 

Point is, and I know its wrong and wish it was the other way around, people do not stay for promises of the future.

 

I did on both titles, about a year later for AoC after I got a newer rig and just last year for WAR. AoC was still terribly buggy, and WAR still had terrible and clunky animations. The wolves were goosestepping FFS. I played both titles for 2 months after launch and didn't see much in the way of improvement when I returned.

[Xaehl]

 

No, this game isn't failing, but I think you might be...

 

Oh ya.. got a new sig!

[Chaostie]

I don't understand how people compare a 7 year old game, with 7 years of fixes and updates and tweeking, to a month old game. I just don't.

 

Population has already been explained to death. But all the bugs are expected in a brand new game that isn't released to platform, and therefore is constantly being improved upon.

 

If you want to continue to compare it to WoW, compare it in equal states. Guess what? New WoW versus new SWTOR, SWTOR wins hands down.

[Gilbara]

I don't understand how people compare a 7 year old game, with 7 years of fixes and updates and tweeking, to a month old game. I just don't.

 

Population has already been explained to death. But all the bugs are expected in a brand new game that isn't released to platform, and therefore is constantly being improved upon.

 

If you want to continue to compare it to WoW, compare it in equal states. Guess what? New WoW versus new SWTOR, SWTOR wins hands down.

 

People who can't figure these simple things out on their own likely have some kind of learning impediment. It's not their fault.

[myrmexaw]

I don't understand how people compare a 7 year old game, with 7 years of fixes and updates and tweeking, to a month old game. I just don't.

 

Population has already been explained to death. But all the bugs are expected in a brand new game that isn't released to platform, and therefore is constantly being improved upon.

 

If you want to continue to compare it to WoW, compare it in equal states. Guess what? New WoW versus new SWTOR, SWTOR wins hands down.

 

By your logic we should compare windows 8 to windows 32 ?

What about a brand new car ... 2012 car compared to 1913 ?

[Aisar]

I am not sure if the game is failing or prospering since Bioware does not make that information public and I do not know where else reliable information can be found.

 

I can tell you the game failed for -ME-. That is about all anyone can tell you.

[Rhysling]

I just logged in and took an overall look on the servers... I see maybe 1 server with a high population and 30-40 servers with light/standard)

 

Are people leaving this game? Is it failing?

 

I'm kind of a fanboy when it comes to star wars and I TRULY want to love this game. So far I'm loving the awesome voiceovers and the combat system (even though many complain about it cuz of sucky pvp).

 

But the graphics engine is just... horrendous, the feel of the game is so bad... the world doesn't feel stable and working but glitchy and static, the audio bugs OMG I can't run my speeder for 2 mins without the hovering sound dissapearing all the time replaced by other environment sounds etc. cuz they are poorly programmed they overlap each other I think?

 

Is serious fixing coming to this game? Do you think it will get the overhaul that it needs?

 

I'm really worried that the EA budget money making machine, has saved resources on this game in places where they really shouldn't have.

 

I'm never going back to wow or anything like that, but seriously I'm praying for a golden overhaul for this game cuz I just don't see myself sticking around for anything other than the storylines so far.

 

I'm sorry if some of you people who can easily ignore all these issue are offended, call me a troll all you want. But I really hope we can get enough attention on these matters, so that one day they will take it serioulsy and throw the resources needed into the game.

 

No amount of talking about how good it is, can obscure the truth, that this game needs a major overhaul to compete properly.

 

Please at least try to hold back the trolling monster inside you if you wanna comment on this thread.

 

Thank you but this is my honest 10 cents and it has nothing to do with trying to bring the game down or promote other mmo's, I want this game to be all it can be and imo it has long way to go.

 

You logged in at 9:00 am on a Thursday and wonder why no one is on?

[Tedstery]

Why do people think a game is failing if all servers are standard during non-peak hours. Not everyone can sit at home and play all day.... World of Warcraft has tons of Normal populated servers, I don't see "Is WoW dying" on their forums -.-