Star Wars: The Old Republic – State of the Game #2

[Oggthebase]

It just feels like a copy paste from what James Ohlen wrote at the same time last year, and nothing about the super secret space project.

[Lexlo]

Hours and hours of development time spent so people can watch a fade-to-black scene followed by 2 mails with Tier 3 Purple Gifts in it. NOW FEATURING SAME-SEX EMAILS!

 

And yet you haven't added chat bubbles.

 

You haven't added a GOOD means to talk to the opposite faction and build rivalries like a Faction-Neutral chat channel. Using /say is not cutting it.

 

You made CC's I-win buttons and threw out any form of competitive pvp with insane burst damage specs.

 

And you still haven't balanced the animations yet (HINT: Shadow/Assassin Pull abilities instantly move the target to your location, Powertech/Vanguard pull has a noticeable delay that is constantly exploited against.)

 

But thanks for the SGRs! I can now play out my fantasy of seeing my Female BH receive saucy emails from Mako/Female NPC X. The 20 seconds of aesthetic lovey-dovey fluff far outweighs the balancing of content I put hours into.

 

Bravo.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Lexlo

[TUXs]

where is dual spec?

 

where is paid character transfers?

 

where is ranked warzones?

 

where is more class stories?

 

cathar race when?

 

where is new companions?

 

where is upgradeing alpha version of hero engine to the beta version, let alone the regular hero engine, and hero 2!

 

Probably the same place Open World PvP is...their "design wall". Better luck in 2014...

[Grammarye]

A teensy bit light on the detail, Mr Hickman? I know we're a bunch of whiny complainers most of the time, but really, you do have to tell us more than 'watch this space, it's going to be great!'. I was disappointed you didn't say more about Makeb and how it's priced and what you actually think about all of that, seeing as you probably decided it.

Funny thing is SGR is just enough to put the final nail in this games coffin. We have been fine without it, now I expect bad press and another reason for players to quit the game.

 

Why add something so controversial when you should be trying to get more players in the game?

 

Just another example of management prioritizing the wrong game elements when they should be looking into adding things into the game that make current players happy and wanting to keep subscribing.

Just because it's not making you happy doesn't mean it's not making current players happy. You clearly missed the significant threads about this issue from a fairly hefty number of players. Bioware by comparison did some counting it seems. Apparently I'm unusual in that I can just not click the [Flirt] option if I don't want to. Then again, I'm quite comfortable in my sexuality, playing the opposite gender in some games to see what happens without needing to clutch a teddybear.

 

If people actually leave the game over SGR (or don't subscribe), then thank god for that. I have no desire to play with bigots, and I don't even care about SGRs that much. It's about damned time some major industry player stood up and said 'you know what, maybe we should be adults about this'.

 

I think EA could make some good PR out of it actually.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Grammarye

[-ThEoNe-]

Really mixed feelings about the State of the Game letter. I'm really glad they the end game is going to be expanded on heavily, but the open world pvp system that's in the works not being out this year is really making me shake my head. So many people left this game b/c the OWPvP element was totally absent (after starting a guild with around 50 people, 20+ left solely b/c the OWPvP wasn't there) and I know a lot of people still in the game are really looking for that open world element to really bring some life to the planets.

 

I'm really hoping these "PvP areas" that you keep talking about Jeff have an open-world element to them. I know for sure it would keep me in the game for a while.

[Orlesian]

Pretty good read. I admit I am kinda curious about the SGR in Makeb! My Sorcerer will pursue them allright.

 

I wonder what they have planned for us and our Companions!

Edited January 3, 2013 by Orlesian

[dpwms]

It's about damned time some major industry player stood up and said 'you know what, maybe we should be adults about this'.

 

Bioware's "romance" is nowhere near adult, in either the 'mature' or 'erotic' sense.

Edited January 2, 2013 by dpwms

[Nigredo]

Probably the same place Open World PvP is...their "design wall". Better luck in 2014...

 

more like better luck in the next SW IP, cause we dropped the ball

[JefferyClark]

Honestly I just keep hearing the same buzz words.

 

Here's BW dev team: Soon, stay tuned, keep an eye out, working on....

 

Here's SE dev team: http://dl.square-enix.co.jp/ffxi/US/2012roadmap.jpg

 

See the difference?

 

This.

[Grammarye]

Bioware's "romance" is nowhere near adult, in either the 'mature' or 'erotic' sense.

Well obviously. It's a teen rated game. Duh. I meant the industry & players acting like adults, not how far the themes go. They've got to get those past the American & Australian censors.

 

Frankly it's incredible we get to go near an evil Sith being sadistic, enjoying it, and even touch on the consequences. For a second.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Grammarye

[Felioats]

I'm glad to hear you are following through on SGRs. I had faith you would eventually.

 

I'm not even thinking about what's going to happen in the expansion and elder game content and all that -- I know it's all up in the air.

 

But I was hoping you would have some insights on the future of the Legacy system.

[Alynore]

Would love some incite on how the bugs are going to be tackled. We have bugs that have been going on since the launch of the game that yet to be fixed. The more content that is released, the more the bugs add up.

 

Also, what is going to happen with crew skills? Cartel Market takes away from Artifice. What will the other crew skills look like with the hutt cartel?

 

And please bring chat bubbles back.

[Maori_Guy]

Nice update but can we please get some more info on the oceanic server merge. The minor increase in player base from free to play has not made significant improvement. Our populations are still low and a merger of the servers to one Oceanic server is still the most popular option.

 

Since June 2012 oceanic players have been pushing for a response about this issue, in September we were finally told to wait as "bioware is looking at this issues" then after a few months of no acknowledgement oceanic players took some severe action, mass ticketing, posting on other threads, calling customer support daily for over a month then we get a response in November. "Wait until after after Free-to-play". Well its now January we are still waiting.

 

Many people ask why not leave? as so many others already have.... I personally stay as my guild is awesome and we have fun but very little of that is due to the game itself. We have built a community and swotr is one of our activities. The one that keeps disappointing us with its bugs/features but its sadder that we are seemingly ignored by the decision makers as our small patch at the bottom of the world doesn't seem to generate enough revenue to be listened to.

[Felioats]

Honestly I just keep hearing the same buzz words.

 

Here's BW dev team: Soon, stay tuned, keep an eye out, working on....

 

Here's SE dev team: http://dl.square-enix.co.jp/ffxi/US/2012roadmap.jpg

 

See the difference?

 

That team is clearly taking a different approach, and I think it's a worthwhile experiment other developers will be watching closely to see how players react when something on the roadmap is not delivered on time.

 

The conventional wisdom is that the payoff for giving early information is less than the disappointment/anger you get when you fail to deliver. I'm glad someone is testing it by jumping into the deep end.

 

But it's not just about that. I think most teams also like having the freedom to adapt to unexpected developments and change priorities for a while, if need be.

 

I wouldn't say one approach is better than the other. Though I do think people get frustrated if you don't commit to anything ever -- or you do it so seldom that that becomes the perception.

 

It's a difficult balance to strike. The SWTOR team has been playing it safe since before the game was even announced (it was the worst-kept secret in the video gaming world). They definitely know the demand for more is there. We just have to let them test the waters slowly.

[HiltoftheDragon]

Great read. I just hope that it all comes true and turns this game around into something nobody can touch from years to come.

[Tommot]

Damn, I must say that was a very disappointing read.

[DarthBuckets]

There's not really anything new that hasn't been pieced together from teases and interviews, but it is greatly appreciated to see clear, direct communication like this.

 

Thanks, Jeff!

[LUCASCASADEIS]

good for you, that you are making money. so maybe we can get back to the part where subscribers won't notice the change and quit the pay to win thing already. also please stop deliberately making things worse than they were before just to enforce cartel market purchases (example: you made the gunslinger sounds suck and the only solution was a blaster that is exclusive to cartel packs, that is a no-go .... really)

 

other than that, yeah now that you are finally making money, maybe now you can get back to making the game attractive instead of working on making it profitable.

 

ps always remember: the critic is a friend who reminds you of your mistakes.

 

please tell me you dont want to earn money? so EA spent +500 millions dolars for what???? of course they HAVE TO get money with this MMO

[Elfa]

What about Paid Server Transfers so we can finally unite our Legacies?!

[neurotico]

Boo. That is all.

[Blue_Leader]

While I appreciate these "state of the game" blogs to give us a little information, this one seems fairly pointless. Basically, it pretty much sums up to saying "we're doing stuff. We can't tell you what stuff, and you might not like the stuff, but we're working on stuff. But the game is great! You should love it. Now! Yay!"

 

I'm not trying to be snide but... the lack of information is getting really, really old. Honestly, if you can't tell us something, than don't even bring it up. I don't care if you can't tell me something. If you can't say it than don't mention it. I only care about the information I can be told.

 

The end-game content really has me worried. So far it just sounds like more operations, warzones,and things like that. What about players like me who don't enjoy PvP and don't always want to constantly group up? Yeah, this is an MMO so grouping with other players is something that happens, but I don't want to feel that I always have to be in a group to have anything fun to do end-game; I enjoy doing things by myself as well. Where's the single-player end-game content? What is there for people like me to do? Are there any plans for that, or is Bioware's answer to end-game simply endless groups and PvP? Are players like me, who sometimes want to tackle some content alone, simply stuck to lingering on the fleet station and aimlessly wandering around trying to find something to do?

Edited January 2, 2013 by Blue_Leader

[Lent_San]

Thanks a lot for finally addressing SGR content and implementing it with Makeb. It's been a long wait, indeed.

 

I do hope we will be getting SGRs with companions at a later point in time, but for now I'm glad we got an answer.

 

And I'm glad you guys are still committed.

 

It means a lot.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Lent_San

[Nozybidaj]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hickman

Topic #4: Same Gender Romance: Any news on this front would be great…

Answer: First of all, I want to apologize that this is taking so long to get in the game. I realize that we promised SGR to you guys and that many of you believed that this would be with a companion character. Unfortunately, this will take a lot more work than we realized at the time and it (like some other pieces of content we talked about earlier in the year) has been delayed as we focused on the changes required to take the game Free-to-Play. As we have said in the past, allowing same gender romance is something we are very supportive of.

 

Secondly, I want to reveal today that we are adding SGR with some NPCs on Makeb and do intend on pursuing more SGR options in the future. More details to come!

 

What a completely underwhelming turn of events. These guys are running quite the clown show out there. So a few SG NPC flirts is the bone they are throwing us. Now they can legitimately claim "Horray look at us, we totally support the GLBT community. We are so awesome!" Without having to actually support the GLBT community.

 

Totally done with this game now....

[theblaznee]

Dude, game director, you can't make a state of the game letter like that.. Seriously ..

 

We've had this carrot hanging infront of us for almost a year now about ALL THE LOVELY THINGS you have planned.. And you take major flack for it.. And now you just did the exact same thing, even with content only weeks away..

 

You need your state of the game letters to not be "here are the carrots you MIGHT see the next 6-12 months".. They need to be about "We know this and this is an issue, and THIS is being done to remedy it - expect a solution around update 1.8"..

 

You still talk about the game like you're pre-release hyping it at a games convention.. You had a nice setup in the article where you seem to aim at some of the issues we have, but you end up with the usual "we can't talk about it but we PROMISE that the holy land is JUST around the corner".. And you've been saying that since launch - and still no holy land.. We got useless systems like Legacy and ranked warzones.. Pucker up dudes!!

[-Holmes]

So, APAC still overlooked. How nice.