Bioware, we find your lack of imformation disturbing..

[Shingara]

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.

 

Have faith in the system, they are like pokemon, they have to get them all or no turkey. Tobe honest though what sympathy i had for them (csrs) is long gone now. viva la revolution i say now pull that cracker.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Shingara

[Fornix]

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.

 

Seriously, a flat out F U would be better?

 

Beyond that, they have disclosed the following:

 

Hi everyone - I asked Jeff Hickman for some clarification for you on whether Makeb will feature an extension of class stories. Here's the info:

 

"The intent for Rise of the Hutt Cartel is to continue your character's story, but envisioned as part of the ongoing struggle of the Empire vs. the Republic. There are lots of great moments for you to enjoy, and it will be shared as two clear storylines. No class specific storylines are included, though I know you guys are going to love what RotHC has to offer."

 

We hope this helps clarify!

 

To give you all a better idea of Makeb's scope, it's a planet of equal size to our larger planets and it contains a variety of areas – sprawling mesas, underground caverns, garden estates, and more. It introduces faction-specific storylines, new Heroic missions and bosses, repeatable mission series, and new Datacrons! The 5 new levels will occupy players for a fair amount of time, and there's plenty of content to get you there (including a lot of stuff tucked away for the explorers out there). Keep in mind that this announcement is just the start – as we approach Makeb's launch, you'll see more details about the content coming with Rise of the Hutt Cartel!

 

Hi everyone! While we can't address every concern raised in this thread right now, we can reassure you that the gear you've obtained in our current endgame will continue to be relevant after the expansion is released, and it will provide a great bootstrap into the higher-level content offered by Rise of the Hutt Cartel. You won't be replacing your Dread Guard gear with gear you pick up as you level, and thanks to improvements in the way item power is calculated, we won't be handing out any entry-level gear at the new level cap. You'll hear more about RotHC as we approach its launch, and we'll continue to answer questions and provide more details!

 

We know you're all very interested to hear about how the new level cap is going to affect your class, and I wanted to share a little information about the upcoming changes with you. As part of the new content, every skill tree will be expanding and you can expect significant updates. Players will earn a new skill point with each level, and new skills will be available in each skill tree. Additionally, a new active ability will be introduced for each Advanced Class. We'll have more details about many aspects of Rise of the Hutt Cartel as we approach launch, so keep your eyes on the website and dev tracker!

 

We think players interested in lore are going to really enjoy the story in Rise of the Hutt Cartel, and I'd like to share a few more details – this seemed like a good thread for it!

 

The people of Makeb have remained neutral in wars between the great political powers in the galaxy. Relying on their wealth, isolation, and an army of mercenaries, the citizens have enjoyed centuries of prosperity. However, in the midst of the current galactic conflict, the Hutt Cartel has recognized the planet as a crucial stepping stone to increase their organization's standing and reclaim the strength of their ancestors’ empire. They've hired Makeb's mercenaries away and have made the citizens prisoners in their own homes, forcing them to reach out to the Republic in a desperate bid for rescue.

 

The Republic recognizes the Cartel's seizure of Makeb as a bid for galactic power. With victory over the Empire seeming possible for the first time in decades, Supreme Chancellor Saresh is determined to respond to Makeb's request for aid to stop the Cartel before they can become an even greater threat and compromise the Republic’s chance for victory.

 

Taking advantage of the chaos erupting between the Hutt Cartel and the Republic, the Sith Empire makes their own bold play for the hidden power of Makeb, seizing their chance to regain some of the strength lost to internal struggles and at the hands of the Republic's military resurgence. They plan to outmaneuver all their enemies to usher in a new era of Imperial dominance.

 

In other words, they once more confirmed that it will NOT be a continuation of class-specific story, they gave us an idea on what to expect in terms of the scope of the planet, they gave us some more insight on new skills to be recieved and the decision that our current endgame gear won't directly be gone to waste and they gave us some more hints lore-wise.

 

Furthermore, they've let us know that there currently are no plans to release RotHC on the cartel market:

 

To answer the question posed here about purchasing Rise of the Hutt Cartel:

 

We'd like to clarify that Rise of the Hutt Cartel will be available for purchase through SWTOR.com/buy only, and there won't be an option to purchase it using Cartel Coins.

 

 

 

It's not that they're silent, it's that as explained before certain members of this community is only looking for an answer to their liking. To the rest? They blind themselves.

 

And what do you expect a company to say against the question whether something is justifying the cost? I mean seriously, you really.... really can't figure that one out yourself?

 

Regardless, let me explain it for you. They decided to put it up for roughly 20$ for F2P, roughly 10$ for P2P, because they believe it to be worth it. It is entirely up to you whether you desire to buy it now or not. You can always wait for a discount in the future or choose not to buy it and stay to the current content.

[Transcendent]

The lack of meaningful interaction from the Community and Development teams is a big problem with this game, as it gives the impression that Bioware do not care about the player base or the game.

 

Ideally, it should be filtered through a community manager. One who is active on the forums and providing information about upcoming patches / events / plans and also allowing a two way communication between players and developers.

 

Does this game even have a CM?

[darklordpotter]

Ideally, it should be filtered through a community manager. One who is active on the forums and providing information about upcoming patches / events / plans and also allowing a two way communication between players and developers.

 

Does this game even have a CM?

 

Joveth something or other he occasionally shows up in bugs thread to post the standard meaningless platitudes. Other than that I have no idea what he does.

[Transcendent]

Joveth something or other he occasionally shows up in bugs thread to post the standard meaningless platitudes. Other than that I have no idea what he does.

 

Oh......... never heard of him.

[SickTag]

I tried to look at the info on the upcoming expansion pack, and nada. Same stuff I found on the pop up. New Planet and it will be cool...really...really...buy it! But what is it? A planet, buy, and there are, buy, new stuff on it, buy, that will make it, buy, worth buying...buy.

[darklordpotter]

Oh......... never heard of him.

 

I somehow am not surprised. Don't worry the only person who actually says anything worth listening to of the CSRs is Allison and you can get her stuff via dev tracker - see Fornix's compilation above.

 

@Fornix - nice compilation why you had to do it for them rather than them having a sticky I don't know but nice job nonetheless.

 

If only they could provide that kind of information on things when they weren't trying to get (more) money from us the forums might even be pleasant.

Edited December 24, 2012 by darklordpotter

[A_nonymous]

Here's an example of how you communicate w/your customers. This is from DCUO and details their plans for next year - http://www.dcuniverseonline.com/news/archive.vm?id=175&month=current&locale=en_GB

 

It lists the various DLC they have in mind (none of which they charge subs for btw) doesn't set specific dates for any of it and doesn't really give specific details either, but is enough to get someone excited about what they're adding - player housing, league housing, revamping some of the power sets, new raids, new endgame single player content, etc..... This is a game I don't mind subscribing to as I feel my sub is actually funding new content (weird I know).

 

Just look at the Facebook pages for both games. TOR doesn't even have any acknowledgement that they're having any sort of outage. Scroll down on the DCUO site. They actually tell you if they've got outages and maintenance. This is my biggest gripe about the game - the customer support is extremely lacking. This isn't about the actual game. It's about the customer service that goes with the game. I'm close to getting a toon to lvl 50. Once that happens I may never come back.

 

The game launched and was buggy. I get that. It happens with new games. Problem is that it's still buggy. And beyond the fact that it's buggy there seems to be no progress in fixing the bugs. Worse than that, we've had a few WZs added, but that's about it. No real new content. And even worse the new content that's coming out now they're going to charge everyone for. Ugh. Why am I paying for this bad customer service?

[Tatile]

Joveth something or other he occasionally shows up in bugs thread to post the standard meaningless platitudes. Other than that I have no idea what he does.

 

Joveth Gonzales. As Community Manager I'd guess he's also supposed to manage the Community Representatives and those working under the CommunitySupport account (assuming that they aren't the same as the named people), but Ms. Berryman and Ms. Woods usually appear more active on the boards, which isn't saying much.

 

Mr. Gonzales approves the flavours of copy-pasta you will receive. There is no sauce.

[iamthehoyden]

It's not that they're silent, it's that as explained before certain members of this community is only looking for an answer to their liking. To the rest? They blind themselves.

I think you do a lot of the people looking for more information a disservice. The reason you're seeing some questions asked multiple times when they were answered months and months and months ago is that it is fairly clear that what's on the table has changed with f2p. For example, Makeb was originally talked about as being a large piece of content free to subscribers. That is no longer the case.

 

What is being developed has obviously changed, but we don't know what's still in the works and what's not. It is not unreasonable to want that clarified. So a current confirmation of content that's in the works or a "we had planned to put that in, but it's not coming, sorry, folks" would do a lot to clarify what's coming.

[Fornix]

I think you do a lot of the people looking for more information a disservice. The reason you're seeing some questions asked multiple times when they were answered months and months and months ago is that it is fairly clear that what's on the table has changed with f2p. For example, Makeb was originally talked about as being a large piece of content free to subscribers. That is no longer the case.

 

What is being developed has obviously changed, but we don't know what's still in the works and what's not. It is not unreasonable to want that clarified. So a current confirmation of content that's in the works or a "we had planned to put that in, but it's not coming, sorry, folks" would do a lot to clarify what's coming.

 

All of these quotes given, were quotes from roughly 4 - 7 days ago, not quotes from something months ago. It are answers given to the threads people post up. Yet, people keep on answering the same questions, even though BioWare has already given them a recent, up-to-date answer.

 

And concidering as to how the initial anouncement of Makeb included very little details, what exactly is it of which we are unsure of it still being in the works or not?

[siegedeluxe]

BioWare no longer exists, it's just EA now.

[Eurynamous]

I agree but to a limited extent. I am a firm believer in transparency but I also understand the necessity to not let the cat out of the bag.

 

Now, for core mechanic improvements, size of content, expected playtime, additional minor features, species unlocks, new vehicles and the such, by all means, share. These things are unique to the Star Wars MMO universe and would be hard to replicate in any other mmo.

 

For major content and mechanical changes/updated, this needs to be kept under wraps. For three important reasons...

 

1) Stop the idea from being imemented into another game and risk the chance of it being reiterated into something better.

 

2) The Hook that players did not expect. An oh wow, I did not see that coming, well done. That's very important and worth taking a risk on.

 

3) What if it can't be done. What if the idea, once executed, no longer seems like a good thing to implement. What if it just doesn't work as intended? It has to be cut and players were expecting it.

(Diablo 2 Guild houses and clan tags is a prime example)

 

It's how it will have to be, because in all honesty, it's better this way.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Eurynamous

[Trenter]

So please stop with the super secret plans every time you are asked any questions in interviews or Q&As open up and give us the information we are looking for, at least enough to give us hope for the future.

 

It doesn't work, mate. I hear what you're saying, definitely. I'd love to hear more on what lies ahead and what they have planned. But it won't work. There are people who can't accept that things change. Makeb is the most recent example. It was a huge free content patch, planned to hit late 2012 I reckon, since it was featured in the "coming soon to SWTOR" trailer. A lot of people left the game however and they had to adapt and switch to a different business model and with the new business model Makeb would no longer be free. They gave out info they couldn't deliver on and look what happened. My guess is they won't try that again for quite a while. There'll be less info, not more. That's what I'm betting on atleast.

[iamthehoyden]

All of these quotes given, were quotes from roughly 4 - 7 days ago, not quotes from something months ago. It are answers given to the threads people post up. Yet, people keep on answering the same questions, even though BioWare has already given them a recent, up-to-date answer.

 

And concidering as to how the initial anouncement of Makeb included very little details, what exactly is it of which we are unsure of it still being in the works or not?

I was referring to long-standing issues, not only the recent situation. BW's lack of communication with Makeb is part of a larger, more entrenched pattern of not addressing the concerns of the players. Many groups have been waiting months and months to receive even confirmation that the game element they're interested in is still in development.

[RepublicPilot]

Game doesn't have the funding to roll out high quality content regularly anymore, EA have blacklisted the game as a failure already and before the bioware doctors fled they slammed F2P models for not being able to invest in the same way as a subscriber model.

 

For now, we'll hear nothing if the 3 or 4 left over community reps aren't around - most of the people were fired or just left so they're operating a skeleton crew in comparison to what they had this time last year. I sense a lot of patch notes with a list of cartel market additions/discounts outweighing the list of actual content/QOL features or bug fixes.

[arunav]

Game doesn't have the funding to roll out high quality content regularly anymore, EA have blacklisted the game as a failure already and before the bioware doctors fled they slammed F2P models for not being able to invest in the same way as a subscriber model.

 

For now, we'll hear nothing if the 3 or 4 left over community reps aren't around - most of the people were fired or just left so they're operating a skeleton crew in comparison to what they had this time last year. I sense a lot of patch notes with a list of cartel market additions/discounts outweighing the list of actual content/QOL features or bug fixes.

 

This is why I cancelled. Until it becomes clear regular, quality content is making its way into the game, and bugs are kept to the standard they were before F2P, I can't support SWTOR any longer. And that's even though I really enjoy what the game generally is and its potential.

 

I simply have lost faith EA is investing into making SWTOR better. It seems like they are trying to use what content they have to generate as much revenue as possible on the cash shop side, and from a very short-run perspective.

Edited December 26, 2012 by arunav

[Costello]

I would love to know what the next update is going to be.

 

So far of the things promised for 2012 we have seen space, which was awful and even worse was the implamentation of the new gear in the cartel market. We have seen the warzone, we have seen the new area and companion. We know Mekab will be a pay to play expansion coming sometime in spring and we know the Cathar will be a cartel market item. Yet we have no clear idea of what the next update is going to be or even really what will be rolled out as part of he game for subscribers in the next year. Cathar, Makeb and anything in the cartel market good or bad should not be considered subscrber content as you have to pay for it.

 

We have accepted the excuses of restructing and the launch of free to play as why there has been so little new content but what is next? It seems to be very little information for the devs and little concern by them over building any sort of communication with the community.

[Nitblade]

We know Mekab will be a pay to play expansion coming sometime in spring and we know the Cathar will be a cartel market item. Yet we have no clear idea of what the next update is going to be or even really what will be rolled out as part of the game for subscribers in the next year. Cathar, Makeb and anything in the cartel market good or bad should not be considered subscriber content as you have to pay for it.

 

Quick answer...Nothing

It's what I expect, considering the way the new lead is going where they suddenly call a big update into an expansion just to rake some more money out of the already paying customer. And forget about paying with Cartel Coin if you're a Subscriber, it's not bringing new money so expect cash only

[Brexten]

Sadly have to agree with the OP

We do not ask for definite dead lines or a detailed five year plan or something like that.

But just some confirmation. If certain things aren't beeing made then simply say so... Do not leave

us in the dark! Frustration is afterall only negative for this or any game :/

[QseftJohn]

I find it sad that the mass effect 3 forums has more staff to player comunication than this game. I know that I have no right to tell someone how to do business, but I wish they would hire some just to talk with us and help us understand what is happening in the company.

[symke]

They don't care any more. If they ever did.

We, subs, are a dying breed of idealistic fools, who think that our monthly involvement gives them some feel for us. They only "feel" Cartel market flow now. And it doesn't look like this is going to change anytime soon. Their first intro with P2W items (crystals and ship parts) was described as "internal miscommunication" by one of them.

What does that mean? That their in-house communication is even worse than is their customer communication. It isn't possible. Which only leaves one conclusion.

They will continue to push P2W and other Cartel market items with the same enthusiasm as they have done so far, and they will continue to push all other stuff to side track. After all ... there are numerous players that are still paying for Cartel market stuff. They don't need information. Just new trinkets.

[darklordpotter]

They don't care any more. If they ever did.

We, subs, are a dying breed of idealistic fools, who think that our monthly involvement gives them some feel for us. They only "feel" Cartel market flow now. And it doesn't look like this is going to change anytime soon. Their first intro with P2W items (crystals and ship parts) was described as "internal miscommunication" by one of them.

What does that mean? That their in-house communication is even worse than is their customer communication. It isn't possible. Which only leaves one conclusion.

They will continue to push P2W and other Cartel market items with the same enthusiasm as they have done so far, and they will continue to push all other stuff to side track. After all ... there are numerous players that are still paying for Cartel market stuff. They don't need information. Just new trinkets.

 

It's worth noting they haven't and probably won't fix any of the issues with ship parts and crystals aren't going to change.

[Angelshooter]

I completely agree with the OP. It seems like the developers have given up on the game and are willing to throw it under the bus just to milk a bit of extra cash from its subscribers. There have been so many broken promises that have yet to be fulfilled, and it seems all of their attention has shifted to the cartel shop. I mean really, $20 for a reskinned armor set? Are they out of their minds? And not only that, they have pages and pages of great suggestions for what fans want to see in the cartel shop, but so far not of it has even made it into the shop. Just another example of bioware pretending to listen to its fans with they actually don't give a crap. Bioware needs to break the silence and start listening to its fanbase, otherwise they will run this game into the ground.