Bioware, we find your lack of imformation disturbing..

[A_nonymous]

Maybe there's no ETA because...there's no ETA and if they give one and end up missing it people will howl. BioWare got burned on this before so I can see why they'd not what to say ANYTHING until something is a done deal. Live with it.

 

If there is no ETA, then just say that. Here's the thing with customer support. If you say nothing at all, people will always assume the worst. Always.

[kevlarto]

OP, I do agree with you post, back when the game was under an NDA, I could see this, but the morale in this game seems very low and information could be a good shot in the arm, one problem is they can not talk specifics and dates, if they miss that date or have to make a change, you know what happens the forums explode with you lied to us, you told us XXX would happen, followed by personal attacks on the staff. It is a thin line.

 

Lets look at what we know that might be coming sometime next year.

 

Makeb even though they could give out a bit more info since they want us to pre-order they don't have a good marketing hook.

 

The new ilum

 

The secret space project

 

The cathar race, for what it is worth

 

I am not looking for time lines of when these things will come out, I would just like to know what to look forward to in the future, we have few things. I don't think they can ever do anything to please everyone..

Edited December 24, 2012 by kevlarto

[spectreclees]

Welcome to what same gender advocates have been feeling the whole year.

 

A very small population of the community actually has been demanding this. It's usually the same people bumping those threads. I'm not saying it shouldn't be added, it should because it's part of the story which is one of the big things this game succeeds at. But it's low priority because of this as well, as the game needs help in other areas more.

Edited December 24, 2012 by spectreclees

[Alec_Fortescue]

?????

 

I been here since day 1 of web site opening in Oct of 08 and I have no clue what you are speaking about?

 

LACK of communication has been a issue since the day this site opened and the game was officially announced.

 

I dont recall a single period in time where they were saying to much?

 

Legacy updates, free Makeb, hood toggle and so much more. It's nowhere to be seen or arriving any time soon. Some were confirmed to be worked on months ago and there is neither eta nor confirmation that they were cancelled.

 

They gave too much information and promises than they were able to deliver.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Alec_Fortescue

[Shwarzchild]

This is just the way business works....

 

It's as if you people come crawling from under a rock and only just realize that publicly traded companies don't just throw about their ideas, their ideals, their plans and their stages of development. It's simply not the thing the market accepts, as every company has hundreds if not thousands of ideas they come up with. However, over 90% of them getting shot down as eventually it doesn't work out, will for people who do not see competitors announcing this be reason to pull their stock as it is interpreted as a sign of weakness.

 

This all is not going to change people. All announcements coming from publicly traded companies are carefully picked, carefully worded and therefore will often include a lot of repetition on details most of us already know.

 

No matter which of the major publishers you look at, whether it's THQ, EA, Activision/Blizzard, etc. It's all the same. When it comes to development of their games, they're all going to be tight lipped, and information released, is hardly shocking.

 

Moreover, there are also other reasons you do not want to release information too soon on gameplay mechanics in this genre. As sometimes it may be very easy for another MMO to copy a certain feature. And hence if you have it planned as mechanic along the release of something different, the other company may just as well beat you to it, quickly introducing it into a patch.

 

 

TL;DR This ain't going to change. This is simply the way publicly traded companies work.

 

This isn't completely correct. Maybe you do have a point concerning strictly video game companies. But, share holder meetings generally give the holder a very clear idea of the direction. Take Amazon for instance, they held their share holders meeting and they absolutely told those in attendance the direction of the company. I can understand being tight lipped for the sake of holding off competitors. That's not the issue I don't think. It's the feeling of everything being closed off. I can understand possibly why. There are a good many people who act extremely rude/hateful/insert any other word to describe deplorable behavior. This seems like a very apt time to actually come forward with more information about the game seeing as how it very recently switched from sub to free to play. Maybe that's what the new free to play video is supposed to do.

[ShepardSpock]

I find their lack of information on the expansion disturbing.

 

I find their lack of information on the Cartel Coin bugs disturbing.

 

etc

 

So no more money from me.

[Fornix]

This isn't completely correct. Maybe you do have a point concerning strictly video game companies. But, share holder meetings generally give the holder a very clear idea of the direction. Take Amazon for instance, they held their share holders meeting and they absolutely told those in attendance the direction of the company. I can understand being tight lipped for the sake of holding off competitors. That's not the issue I don't think. It's the feeling of everything being closed off. I can understand possibly why. There are a good many people who act extremely rude/hateful/insert any other word to describe deplorable behavior. This seems like a very apt time to actually come forward with more information about the game seeing as how it very recently switched from sub to free to play. Maybe that's what the new free to play video is supposed to do.

 

The EA shareholder conferences also give a good deal of information and a general idea of the direction. However, keep in mind that SWTOR is just a small element of the bigger EA picture. Just like Amazon will not always be completely focussed on for example just their Amazon Web Services but also discuss their other products the EA financial meetings will not only be about SWTOR.

 

Moreover, just like Amazon doesn't disclose all of its plans on their public discussion boards, EA/BioWare isn't going to disclose all of their plans on the discussion boards.

 

Don't forget, you may be a subscriber, you may be a customer, but most of us are not a shareholder (unless you actually have EA stock obviously).

[darklordpotter]

OP, I do agree with you post, back when the game was under an NDA, I could see this, but the morale in this game seems very low and information could be a good shot in the arm, one problem is they can not talk specifics and dates, if they miss that date or have to make a change, you know what happens the forums explode with you lied to us, you told us XXX would happen, followed by personal attacks on the staff. It is a thin line.

 

Lets look at what we know that might be coming sometime next year.

 

Makeb even though they could give out a bit more info since they want us to pre-order they don't have a good marketing hook.

 

The new ilum

 

The secret space project

 

The cathar race, for what it is worth

 

I am not looking for time lines of when these things will come out, I would just like to know what to look forward to in the future, we have few things. I don't think they can ever do anything to please everyone..

 

A comment saying we are still committed to doing these things would be good. A comment saying we are still committed to dong these things and we currently intend a new race and revamped Ilum by end 2013 but SSSP will be 2014 at the earliest would be even better.

[Fornix]

A comment saying we are still committed to doing these things would be good. A comment saying we are still committed to dong these things and we currently intend a new race and revamped Ilum by end 2013 but SSSP will be 2014 at the earliest would be even better.

 

They have already stated that Ilum revised will be one of the things for the first half of 2013, that the SSSP would be something for the long term and that as a new race Cathar is in the works.

[opriv]

Here is what I had assumed. They were stringing us along by breaking up finished content, so they could release a huge expansion that was in the works.

 

I no longer assume this. This mini expansion tells me that there IS NO MAJOR expansion coming in 2013. I could be wrong. I would love for Bioware to prove me wrong.

 

Sadly, I have to withhold my money from them till they prove otherwise.

[Shwarzchild]

The EA shareholder conferences also give a good deal of information and a general idea of the direction. However, keep in mind that SWTOR is just a small element of the bigger EA picture. Just like Amazon will not always be completely focussed on for example just their Amazon Web Services but also discuss their other products the EA financial meetings will not only be about SWTOR.

 

Moreover, just like Amazon doesn't disclose all of its plans on their public discussion boards, EA/BioWare isn't going to disclose all of their plans on the discussion boards.

 

Don't forget, you may be a subscriber, you may be a customer, but most of us are not a shareholder (unless you actually have EA stock obviously).

 

You are definitely correct. My main point was that it was possible to allow this game's followers an idea of what the future can hold without giving away too much, and without making their customers feel somewhat out in the cold. Being a subscriber, or customer has very little to do with the ability of the company to communicate. But, I can see both ends. Why would they want to communicate when they receive such negativity regardless. A no win situation for sure. At least in the present construction of community to company

[Fornix]

You are definitely correct. My main point was that it was possible to allow this game's followers an idea of what the future can hold without giving away too much, and without making their customers feel somewhat out in the cold. Being a subscriber, or customer has very little to do with the ability of the company to communicate. But, I can see both ends. Why would they want to communicate when they receive such negativity regardless. A no win situation for sure. At least in the present construction of community to company

 

The thing is, they do communicate. Pretty much all what is disclosed during the financial calls, also is released to us bit by bit.

 

However, personally I fail to see the need for them to keep repeating themselves, when it's already answered. And the forum is simply filled with things such as these:

 

A comment saying we are still committed to doing these things would be good. A comment saying we are still committed to dong these things and we currently intend a new race and revamped Ilum by end 2013 but SSSP will be 2014 at the earliest would be even better.

 

That's all concerns which have been previously addressed. They keep on getting repeated. Without change in the situation, there's nothing more to add to that really. However, the community fails to grasp that. And if they get no response, they're upset, and in case the message does get copied, they're still upset even though they got a response..

 

Fact is, many players aren't looking for a response, they're looking for an answer to their liking. Something which is much less likely going to happen on these forums. Just wait for the next financial meeting, major gaming convention, etc.

[Shingara]

Its not just a lack of response thats bad, half if not all of the posts talking about the previous talks over makeb from people like james ohlen are being systematicly removed, and posts that are not so shining about makeb and how its being handled are being edited and re-arainged to the degree of posts from one topic moved into another or simply removing some posts whilst editing the quotes out but leaving the replys so it looks like people arnt bothered. Edited December 24, 2012 by Shingara

[Avengerfx]

Maybe there's no ETA because...there's no ETA and if they give one and end up missing it people will howl. BioWare got burned on this before so I can see why they'd not what to say ANYTHING until something is a done deal. Live with it.

 

Well my friend this is what I made this post for in the beginning. People WANT to know what is being worked on, and they want to know far more than when its going to be released. We want to know they actually are making it a priority and that we will see it eventually. The problem with what you're saying is that when they simply don't release information at all, people just start to feel like whatever issue that is, isn't important to them. And people will deal with it, for a time. However at a certain point...months of no information, that's how people end up leaving the game.

[darklordpotter]

They have already stated that Ilum revised will be one of the things for the first half of 2013, that the SSSP would be something for the long term and that as a new race Cathar is in the works.

 

Wouldn't have bothered but as you keep using it. "long term" means what not before end of 2013? not before end of 2014? - you don't know and neither do I. Heck there is a serious discussion in another thread about whether it is still happening at all. Ilum I'll concede I missed (probably because I don't pvp) and "in the works" is even more useless than "long term". What I was asking for is a rough (very rough) +/- year date not "long term"

[Avengerfx]

I don't think that BW is acting much differently than any other company. But you're entitled to your own opinion, of course. And not only you, actually everybody is entitled to his own opinion. This is why it would be highly appreciated if you'd draft your posts accordingly, i.e. that you (and not 'we') find the lack of information disturbing.

 

Thank you for letting me know I am entitled to an opinion, truly sir. And the reason I put "we" is because I am not the only one who feels this way. Believe it or not I do spend time reading forums, time in game reading chat. Therefore when you talk about something that more than 1 person feels the same way for, I becomes we. Perhaps you should rethink the way you comment on someones post beforehand and think of a better way to show your disagreement with their post. But I guess you are entitled to your own opinion as well.

[Shwarzchild]

 

Fact is, many players aren't looking for a response, they're looking for an answer to their liking. Something which is much less likely going to happen on these forums. Just wait for the next financial meeting, major gaming convention, etc.

 

I just cropped your quote to what I think was probably the most accurate point overall. They do communicate, I agree with you there. I think they've done a better job thanks to Allison. Those types of things are much appreciated on my end. I think you're spot on with the first sentence there: "..to their liking". I am absolutely guilty of this as well. I want to hear about class stories + companions. Those were the biggest drawing points for me, and as a company making one feel incredibly engaged by a class story, and closeness to the companions are two things Bioware is extremely strong in. I do know I'm being greedy with those desires, so I try to keep them as unspoken as I can. You're definitely very right (again..darn you for being so right ! ). that patience is needed from us all for events that would lend themselves to the passing of information to us from Bioware. A lot of times we think that because we have a 24/7 connection to Bioware via the forums we should be given more information at a quicker rate. It's hard to separate that constant connection with how information flows. I think you've convinced me to back down on my assertion that more communication is needed.

[Fornix]

Wouldn't have bothered but as you keep using it. "long term" means what not before end of 2013? not before end of 2014? - you don't know and neither do I. Heck there is a serious discussion in another thread about whether it is still happening at all. Ilum I'll concede I missed (probably because I don't pvp) and "in the works" is even more useless than "long term". What I was asking for is a rough (very rough) +/- year date not "long term"

 

Thing is, giving years creates deadlines, and if deadlines aren't made, shareholders get upset and players get upset. See the SWTOR launch itself, which was delayed by half a year. See Makeb which was first announced as a 2012 thing. It is best not to make deadlines public, till you're fairly certain, that deadline can be made.

 

If I'd give my personal guess on the SSSP? I'd say 2014 at best. I don't think we'll be seeing it in 2013. After all, don't forget that making a solid space feature isn't just introducing a mini game, it's essentially making a full-fletched game within a game. And that's something, which is going to take time to develop.

[LeonBraun]

Hop over to WoW official site an look at what they dropped on their fans for Friday for post holidays... A single image of the next content patch soon to hit the PTR.

 

Oddly enough, now in their forums their community is whining that content is coming out too fast, lol. MoP does have a TON of content though.

[A_nonymous]

The EA shareholder conferences also give a good deal of information and a general idea of the direction. However, keep in mind that SWTOR is just a small element of the bigger EA picture. Just like Amazon will not always be completely focussed on for example just their Amazon Web Services but also discuss their other products the EA financial meetings will not only be about SWTOR.

 

Moreover, just like Amazon doesn't disclose all of its plans on their public discussion boards, EA/BioWare isn't going to disclose all of their plans on the discussion boards.

 

Don't forget, you may be a subscriber, you may be a customer, but most of us are not a shareholder (unless you actually have EA stock obviously).

 

Once again, no one is asking them to disclose all their plans. People are asking that they simply respond to customer complaints. Look at the "expansion pack". There is quite an uproar at the moment from people who argue (and reasonably so) that it's not enough to justify charging extra. All people are asking is that BW respond to this concern in some way shape or form. Even a flat out F U would be better at this point than just silence. But this is how BW responds to every concern people have it seems.

[ranako]

all they had to do was just make this expansion "Rise of the Level Cap". It goes along with their ever expanding pay 2 win format...everyone has to buy this expansion if they want to stay competitive. How well do you think a level 50 with fair against a level 55?

[Nitblade]

Its not just a lack of response thats bad, half if not all of the posts talking about the previous talks over makeb from people like james ohlen are being systematicly removed, and posts that are not so shining about makeb and how its being handled are being edited and re-arainged to the degree of posts from one topic moved into another or simply removing some posts whilst editing the quotes out but leaving the replys so it looks like people arnt bothered.

 

How many people here have been hit by this here. I know I have and i've seen some individual forum posters being hit a lot more then me. I also noticed a few times post vanishing as I was reading pages and hitting refresh. I seen page counts drop me back 2 pages at a time when i wanted to go to page 6 and I ended on page 4.

[Master_Kyp_Sazen]

I'm Commander Shepard, and I agree with this message.....

 

Oh wait, I forgot, I'm not Shepard in this game.

 

I don't post very often, but I think the OP is totally on point. All EA/Bioware is doing (for me anyway) is turning me away to go play other games and spend my money elsewhere.

 

There are so many F2P options and MMO options in general to pick and choose from, Bioware isn't doing a whole lot to make their game stand out from the crowd. The only thing they really have going for them is the fact that its a licensed Star Wars game with a built in fan base.

 

However, the tighter they grip their information, the more subs will slip through their fingers.....

[A_nonymous]

How many people here have been hit by this here. I know I have and i've seen some individual forum posters being hit a lot more then me. I also noticed a few times post vanishing as I was reading pages and hitting refresh. I seen page counts drop me back 2 pages at a time when i wanted to go to page 6 and I ended on page 4.

 

I've had the exact same thing. I've hit refresh to find entire threads gone forever. Like millions of voices cried out and were suddenly silenced.

[darklordpotter]

How many people here have been hit by this here. I know I have and i've seen some individual forum posters being hit a lot more then me. I also noticed a few times post vanishing as I was reading pages and hitting refresh. I seen page counts drop me back 2 pages at a time when i wanted to go to page 6 and I ended on page 4.

 

And hey oh look the post you quoted? Yeah that's been deleted as well. Interestingly a post I made yesterday complaining about their rather 1984 forum moderation tactics survived where as a whole of my other posts didn't.

 

Consistency FTW I guess?

 

I have not however been warned, told how I (presumably) broke the terns of service or even informed that posts were being deleted.

Edited December 24, 2012 by darklordpotter