TOR is amazing! =) ...But the game management is awful :(

[LeonBraun]

Without question, TOR is a fantastic game that has many great assets and is fun to play. The game now performs the best it ever has and many issues that players have had since launch have been and keep being addressed and fixed.

 

That said, perhaps the biggest issue players have had since launch, this being dev/management communication and interaction with the community, still remains and continues to be a massive detriment to this game.

 

Despite the game being in the best shape it has been in since launch, TOR continues to have an active and burning stigma that the game is bad and that it is dying, when this is simply not the case, nor need it be the case.

 

The biggest reason for this nagging overtone the game currently has is because of the incredibly poor management of this product at the highest level.

 

Perspective and appearance play a massive role in these kinds of games and the optics with respect to TOR currently are absolutely brutal.

 

Players are loosing faith, hope, and patience with this MMO because the management of this game at the highest level is giving the players no reason not to feel this way. There is simply nothing for players of this game to be excited about right now on a daily basis. There are no active and engaging news updates on the site, no contests, no discussions, no friendly two way communication by mods in threads.

 

Issues players bring up on the forums are not addressed, rumors and unconstructive conjecture are not quelled by those in the know, and the general negativity is allowed to propagate itself by those at the highest level who should be communicating and actively interacting with subscribers.

 

The most successful MMO’s use communicative momentum to their favor when it comes to keeping the players and communities engaged. Over a month ago, Joveth Gonzalez sent out message to fans and players of the game that things around TOR would be changing for the better in this regard, but since then has basically fallen of the planet with respect to communicating with and engaging the player base.

 

Now things around here do not need to be like this. As a player of this game from day one, a committed guild leader, and a fan of Star Wars and TOR, I am asking for the leadership of this product to please step it up, take some charge, and don’t be content to stand idly by as a very decent MMO continues to sink. I am very open to being contacted by the management of TOR to help out or to offer further (and specific) plans of action to inject life into this game to stimulate its revival.

 

I’m certain many other dedicated TOR players/fans feel the same way.

[Nosamm]

Without question, TOR is a fantastic game that has many great assets and is fun to play. The game now performs the best it ever has and many issues that players have had since launch have been and keep being addressed and fixed.

 

That said, perhaps the biggest issue players have had since launch, this being dev/management communication and interaction with the community, still remains and continues to be a massive detriment to this game.

 

Despite the game being in the best shape it has been in since launch, TOR continues to have an active and burning stigma that the game is bad and that it is dying, when this is simply not the case, nor need it be the case.

 

The biggest reason for this nagging overtone the game currently has is because of the incredibly poor management of this product at the highest level.

 

Perspective and appearance play a massive role in these kinds of games and the optics with respect to TOR currently are absolutely brutal.

 

Players are loosing faith, hope, and patience with this MMO because the management of this game at the highest level is giving the players no reason not to feel this way. There is simply nothing for players of this game to be excited about right now on a daily basis. There are no active and engaging news updates on the site, no contests, no discussions, no friendly two way communication by mods in threads.

 

Issues players bring up on the forums are not addressed, rumors and unconstructive conjecture are not quelled by those in the know, and the general negativity is allowed to propagate itself by those at the highest level who should be communicating and actively interacting with subscribers.

 

The most successful MMO’s use communicative momentum to their favor when it comes to keeping the players and communities engaged. Over a month ago, Joveth Gonzalez sent out message to fans and players of the game that things around TOR would be changing for the better in this regard, but since then has basically fallen of the planet with respect to communicating with and engaging the player base.

 

Now things around here do not need to be like this. As a player of this game from day one, a committed guild leader, and a fan of Star Wars and TOR, I am asking for the leadership of this product to please step it up, take some charge, and don’t be content to stand idly by as a very decent MMO continues to sink. I am very open to being contacted by the management of TOR to help out or to offer further (and specific) plans of action to inject life into this game to stimulate its revival.

 

I’m certain many other dedicated TOR players/fans feel the same way.

 

Thank you for this post! it's exactly how i feel!

[RobNightfall]

It's certainly a big part of the problem. Do I think that the game engine can be fixed to support large numbers of players in environments for a real MMO experience (my #1 gripe)? Yes. Do I have any faith that EA/BW will ever do this? No, none at all. It's why I'm moving on.

[Flyceratops]

The communication was actually pretty good once they started the dev Q&A.

 

It just went downhill once they fired Georg.

[metalgearyoda]

The communication was actually pretty good once they started the dev Q&A.

 

It just went downhill once they fired Georg.

 

By the 3rd q and a they stopped answering real questions and started answering things like

 

Q"Does every frogdog have his day?"

A"Yes"

[Nastynas]

Star Wars: The Old Republic and all things pertaining to it are government secrets.

 

Any bit of information must be approved by 100 separate individuals before public consumption.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Nastynas

[Knockerz]

By the 3rd q and a they stopped answering real questions and started answering things like

 

Q"Does every frogdog have his day?"

A"Yes"

 

That tend to be the strategy of any mmorpg that gets into trouble. Wow did a reddit session last week and didn't even answer the highest voted question, but instead dove into mostly useless lore. Basicaly, gave answers to question that were already known. The same is true here.

 

Nothing will kill an MMORPG faster than management. Armchair generals who never been in combat.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Knockerz

[Jedi_Tyran]

Yep, agreed.

 

/signed

[Thornsbane]

Very true. Its a little over the top the secrecy about future updates.

 

I know......people can go nuts if it doesnt all go to plan but........its better than them just going.

 

In the end its just a game, this massive amount of secrecy is perhaps more over the top that the forum whinging brought about by late releases.

[Autumnpuma]

The reality is that the vast majority of players don't check the forums of a game, don't follow a game's twitter feed, don't listen to podcasts about a game. They just buy a game and play it. Communication may be a big issue to us minority that frequent the forums, but we are just that... *the minority*.

 

TOR has had a laundry-list of problems. So have other games. So *will* other games. Time will heal all of this. The-Game-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named has had abysmal customer relations until just recently and some would argue it's still bad.

 

What TOR needs is this:

 

1) Implement the free-to-play model in conjunction with a television / gaming magazine ad campaign immediately, before that new free-to-play war of guilds 2 can solidify their player base.

 

2) Don't restrict the free-to-play model in ways that will annoy players.

 

This game is solid. It doesn't *need* more than this right now. It competes very well with the other MMOs on the market.

[LeonBraun]

Very true. Its a little over the top the secrecy about future updates.

 

I know......people can go nuts if it doesnt all go to plan but........its better than them just going.

 

In the end its just a game, this massive amount of secrecy is perhaps more over the top that the forum whinging brought about by late releases.

 

The vast majority of MMO gamers are not looking for constant play by play info on what happens on a daily basis inside Dev HQ, but they do wish to know that their game of choice is in good shape, that bugs are being fixxed, that concerns are being addressed, that ideas are considered, that two way discussion happens, and that they see a commitment from the top that their MMO is going to continue to be supported with continued content.

 

MMO's are incredibly symbiotic projects in nature, between the devs and the players, and for them to thrive, continuous strong and positive interaction is needed. There is no MMO without one or the other and if the player side of the relationship is not engaged and communicated with in a regular fashion, the project ceases to be viable.

Edited September 17, 2012 by LeonBraun

[Kraye]

Without question, TOR is a fantastic game that has many great assets and is fun to play. The game now performs the best it ever has and many issues that players have had since launch have been and keep being addressed and fixed.

 

Without question, Tor is a horrible game that is still, unbelievably, missing so many features and is a bore to play after a short time. The game now performs barely any better than from launch and has so many issues that are not being addressed that it drove away so many players that a massive amount of servers needed to be shutdown and is going F2P to try and squeeze the lemon dry.

[Imhotep]

Without question, Tor is a horrible game that is still, unbelievably, missing so many features and is a bore to play after a short time. The game now performs barely any better than from launch and has so many issues that are not being addressed that it drove away so many players that a massive amount of servers needed to be shutdown and is going F2P to try and squeeze the lemon dry.

 

Then why are you here? Thi sgame has issues for sure but it is far from horrible. TORS first and biggest mistake was listening to whiners regarding servers and queue times at launch. Had they held their ground and opened servers at a far slower pace it would have set TOR up to be much healthier now.

 

Now Im not saying thats the only issue with this game but lets be fair, if you are still here then it is probably far from horrible. Else you wouldnt be here.

[Master-Nala]

The title of this thread concerned me, but I must admit that the Original Poster is right on point. I must agree. I would truly love to see more communication and interaction with the community.

[Master-Nala]

Without question, Tor is a horrible game that is still, unbelievably, missing so many features and is a bore to play after a short time. The game now performs barely any better than from launch and has so many issues that are not being addressed that it drove away so many players that a massive amount of servers needed to be shutdown and is going F2P to try and squeeze the lemon dry.

 

What the point of a post like this? Why do you play a game if you feel this way. There's really no excuse. The game has been out for 9 months. If you don't like it, then please go find a game that you do like.

[smilefunk]

HATE.

 

why do you stop for two/three months at a time?

Edited September 17, 2012 by smilefunk

[Uluain]

Without question, TOR is a fantastic game that has many great assets and is fun to play. The game now performs the best it ever has and many issues that players have had since launch have been and keep being addressed and fixed.

 

That said, perhaps the biggest issue players have had since launch, this being dev/management communication and interaction with the community, still remains and continues to be a massive detriment to this game.

 

Players are loosing faith, hope, and patience with this MMO because the management of this game at the highest level is giving the players no reason not to feel this way.

 

Issues players bring up on the forums are not addressed, rumors and unconstructive conjecture are not quelled by those in the know, and the general negativity is allowed to propagate itself by those at the highest level who should be communicating and actively interacting with subscribers.

 

I’m certain many other dedicated TOR players/fans feel the same way.

 

Condensed to the main points I want to hit, as I get more specific.

 

I know y'all are tired of hearing it, because saints and angels know I am tired of asking about it, but a year after we were told same-gender companion romance will be a post-launch feature, we are no wiser to how that is being approached, whether it will be available with current companions, whether it is still on track for the vaguely promised implementation "this year" and a host of other questions.

 

Those questions have been restricted to a single forum thread for easier troll management. It is nine months old today. It has had half a million views. It has had one staff reply, and no anwers ever. Q&A questions on the subject were ignored. I understand that this is a sensitive topic, but people do care about this content, and not talking about it at all, combined with shoving any and all discussion over to Story and Lore makes a poor impression.

 

EA & BioWare, you know better. You've handled this content before. Quit treating it like something you need to put in a leper colony and talk to us already.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Uluain

[Kraye]

What the point of a post like this? Why do you play a game if you feel this way. There's really no excuse. The game has been out for 9 months. If you don't like it, then please go find a game that you do like.

 

I have one friend who plays it and I can easily afford this pile of dung. I play it to play with my buddy (star wars fan extremist) who is working 2000 miles away, not to play the game itself. And I made a post like that to show the reality of TOR, the real side, the truthful side. Can you refute the massive losses, continual losses? The massive server shutdowns? The now going F2P because TOR is failing so hard? etc.. You simply can't because its true, its that simple.

Edited September 17, 2012 by Kraye

[DashaAdair]

It seems the thing the developers are not effectively hearing is the stability problem. Not the technical meaning, but the problem of providing a consistent, stable experience. I subscribed to one MMO for 13 years with two accounts. The reason I enjoyed it is because I didn’t have to fiddle with core characteristics every few months because developers were tinkering with the game.

 

Renaming isn’t just a name problem. I now have to rename potentially multiple characters, again, and then regenerate my friends list with all of their renamed characters, not to mention I have to rebuild ignore. My friends also have to do that for my renamed characters. If I have to do this every few months it becomes a less than fun experience.

 

Refunding skill points and forcing a rebuild falls in the same inconvenience category. It points to inconsistent development goals/focus and creates a shifting landscape that we the players have to try and stand on. I pick the skills I use because I like them and I want them. I want to be rewarded for my foresight, not punished for the developer’s lack of it.

 

There are viable places to fix things. First, look under the hood. If you can fix it there we will thank you for the improvement, but also appreciate the effort to not inconvenience us. Second, add don’t subtract. I’ve enjoyed other games because they added skills, abilities, events, missions, and activities. I have really enjoyed your events because they are additive to my experience if I choose to get involved. Add to my experience, don’t delete and force me to rework it.

 

At a certain point ‘sorry for the inconvenience’ becomes disingenuous. One solution is to effectively measure the stability of the player experience and use it in the decision-making process.

 

I like this game, but I’m not at 13 year subscription like just yet. Thirteen year like is being able to log in next year and see the same name, friends, abilities and have some new/added options for skills, missions, and activities.

 

YMMV

[VarKoE]

I have one friend who plays it and I can easily afford this pile of dung. I play it to play with my buddy (star wars fan extremist) who is working 2000 miles away, not to play the game itself. And I made a post like that to show the reality of TOR, the real side, the truthful side. Can you refute the massive losses, continual losses? The massive server shutdowns? The now going F2P because TOR is failing so hard? etc.. You simply can't because its true, its that simple.

 

Ok whatever. Your opinion is as valid as any but still is only your opinion. I personally could care less about "truth" and "everyone". But by all means carry on.

 

Glad you subscribe tho so i hope one day you start to enjoy the game.

[Kraye]

Ok whatever. Your opinion is as valid as any but still is only your opinion. I personally could care less about "truth" and "everyone". But by all means carry on.

 

Glad you subscribe tho so i hope one day you start to enjoy the game.

 

Massive sub losses and massive server shutdowns are not opinion, going F2P because TOR is failing is not opinion, lol, they are fact. And no , I do not like the game nor will I ever so you can take your "hope" and spend it on world peace or some crazy thing

[Master-Nala]

I have one friend who plays it and I can easily afford this pile of dung. I play it to play with my buddy (star wars fan extremist) who is working 2000 miles away, not to play the game itself. And I made a post like that to show the reality of TOR, the real side, the truthful side. Can you refute the massive losses, continual losses? The massive server shutdowns? The now going F2P because TOR is failing so hard? etc.. You simply can't because its true, its that simple.

 

You don't own a telephone? I have friends who live a long distance away, I just talk to them. No, that's not the reason. Sadly, the mods don't allow us to point out the truth about posters like you. But I will say this.

 

I thank you for your continued financial support of a game you supposedly hate.

[VarKoE]

Massive sub losses and massive server shutdowns are not opinion, going F2P because TOR is failing is not opinion, lol, they are fact. And no , I do not like the game nor will I ever so you can take your "hope" and spend it on world peace or some crazy thing

 

Ok thanks have a great day.

[SikrouDeco]

That said, perhaps the biggest issue players have had since launch, this being dev/management communication and interaction with the community, still remains and continues to be a massive detriment to this game.

 

Their attitude has been and remains, buy it or don't. Play or go away. They were once the Titans of the gaming world, now they make SOE/SWG look like WOW in comparison. Honestly I wish they would bring SWG back. LA goofed they need to give SOE back the license.

Edited September 17, 2012 by SikrouDeco

[Kraye]

You don't own a telephone? I have friends who live a long distance away, I just talk to them. No, that's not the reason. Sadly, the mods don't allow us to point out the truth about posters like you. But I will say this.

 

I thank you for your continued financial support of a game you supposedly hate.

 

You only talk to your friends while I take a more proactive approach. Just because you don't think your friends are worth more than just a few words on a phone is no reason to drop your emotional garbage on me, save it for a counselor. I don't like TOR, anything it about in fact, but I don't hate it, perhaps you should search the meaning of hate. And ya, no problem to paying for a game I can spend time with my friend, your welcome.