Rhyft Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 With the addition of HK and (soon) Treek, the one-companion-at-a-time limitation feels now more than ever to be a glaring, outdated hindrance - and simultaneous opportunity for improvement - in the game. The purpose of this thread is not just suggestion-based, but also to discuss the overall track down which BW is traveling by providing additional companion characters. I'd argue that, if this track continues, multi-companion content is simply an eventuality once the pool grows too large to manage one at a time. As for how to implement it? I leave that to the experts. Personally, I enjoy all my character's companions (even *gasp* Tharan), and I hate having to choose just one every time I leave the fleet to do anything. The option for multi-companion content has been something I've wanted to see since early-access, as it plays to the nostalgic elements of being able to strategically select my team in KOTOR 1 and 2. Having areas - even instanced ones - that allowed for the same in TOR would be a dream come true. This also (but not necessarily) presents an interesting opportunity for end-game content: running multi-companion-operations would certainly provide an interesting take on traditional end-game raiding, while potentially making it easier to group up for this content (fewer overall player-characters needed). I bring this forward merely to satisfy those hard-core gamers who'd criticize the development of this type of content over additional ops, etc. All I'm saying here is that it doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. Realistically, an overhaul of all areas is an impossibility at this point. Moving forward, however, if BW is going to continue to add to the companion roster, I'd love to - and believe we will - eventually see implementation of challenging content (areas or instances) that allow and scale for having multiple (even just 2) companions out at a time. Cue the necessary "anyone else feel this way?" post ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesaberisa Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) I don't think it's likely, for a variety of reasons. (1) Technical - I'm guessing the game's designed around having only that one companion out, and it is probably trickier than it seems/sounds to have a second (2) Intent of extra companions - I might be a bit cynical here, but HK and Treek seem to be more about relatively cheap/easy to make content that Bioware can also make some money off of than companions intended to be deeply tied into your character/story. I imagine any future companions will also be designed in a similar manner (3) Balance - Will Bioware have to balance the amount of multi-companion content with single-companion content? Or will they have to balance the content to scale based on the number of companions? (4) If companions continue to be tied to the cartel market (to varying degrees), it might alienate part of the community to then have content that benefits those that actually buy them (not just in the sense that HK and Treek (from what I've read) are particularly strong, but also because it would have minor benefits w/regards to crew missions as well, to a point) (5) Intent of the game - yes, leveling can often times be the equivalent of a watered down single-player RPG, but I don't think Bioware wants people to view group content as something players should automatically assume would be soloable, or else you end up with players who are inexperienced/uninterested in group play later on. If they start having substantial amounts of content aimed at a player and 2+ companions, it opens the door to people expecting more/preferring that to actual group play. (6) Resources - Would Bioware even have the resources to do it, even if they had any interest in doing so? I don't know....content releases have been somewhat sparse/limited, and I'm not convinced there's enough value in this to justify spending time/money on something with a fairly narrow audience that has other issues attached. In any case, while I could see them trying to do it anyway, I'd prefer they don't. The companion content I'd prefer would be additional story/conversations for our existing ones (and our classes). Edited July 7, 2013 by Lesaberisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) ^^^^^ Agree. Yeah, it's not going to happen. The entire solo side of the game is tuned for 1character+1companion. And writing new content for 1character+multiple companions would be a nightmare to tune. I guess they could just unlock FPs to be solo+3 companions... other then the novelty value.. what's the point really. It just opens a whole new can of whine-festing for players whou think they are better game designers then actual game designers. Edited July 7, 2013 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theUndead Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 I don't think it's likely, for a variety of reasons. (1) Technical - I'm guessing the game's designed around having only that one companion out, and it is probably trickier than it seems/sounds to have a second (2) Intent of extra companions - I might be a bit cynical here, but HK and Treek seem to be more about relatively cheap/easy to make content that Bioware can also make some money off of than companions intended to be deeply tied into your character/story. I imagine any future companions will also be designed in a similar manner (3) Balance - Will Bioware have to balance the amount of multi-companion content with single-companion content? Or will they have to balance the content to scale based on the number of companions? (4) If companions continue to be tied to the cartel market (to varying degrees), it might alienate part of the community to then have content that benefits those that actually buy them (not just in the sense that HK and Treek (from what I've read) are particularly strong, but also because it would have minor benefits w/regards to crew missions as well, to a point) (5) Intent of the game - yes, leveling can often times be the equivalent of a watered down single-player RPG, but I don't think Bioware wants people to view group content as something players should automatically assume would be soloable, or else you end up with players who are inexperienced/uninterested in group play later on. If they start having substantial amounts of content aimed at a player and 2+ companions, it opens the door to people expecting more/preferring that to actual group play. (6) Resources - Would Bioware even have the resources to do it, even if they had any interest in doing so? I don't know....content releases have been somewhat sparse/limited, and I'm not convinced there's enough value in this to justify spending time/money on something with a fairly narrow audience that has other issues attached. In any case, while I could see them trying to do it anyway, I'd prefer they don't. The companion content I'd prefer would be additional story/conversations for our existing ones (and our classes). Agreed. OP I've said it before I have no problem with the devs making new solo content with perhaps the inclusion of multi companions. What I do have a problem with is the idea of making operations soloable with companions. This should never happen. Period. Simply because that should remain strictly group content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhyft Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 Agreed. OP I've said it before I have no problem with the devs making new solo content with perhaps the inclusion of multi companions. What I do have a problem with is the idea of making operations soloable with companions. This should never happen. Period. Simply because that should remain strictly group content. Definitely didn't mean to give the impression I was suggesting solo-able operation content - merely multi-companion group content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althene Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 While I can't speak for the developers with regards to their intentions, I did encounter a strange bug on Alderaan the other day while questing with 2 friends. We were all partied up doing the heroic 4 mission to escort and defend the engineers while they download data from some sensor towers. About half way through the battle to defend the guy, I noticed that every one of us still had an active companion and they were all going to town on the mobs. It was probably he most fun I think I've had doing that mission watching 3 companions and 3 players decimate waves of strong and elite mobs. With a bit of balancing or perhaps making better use of their scaling technology they've been using for he new GSI missions, I can honestly see it happening at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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