Continued class stories 'sooner' not later according to Bioware

[Karkais]

"They rather do planetary story arcs, than class stories, because the group experience is better, when playing through them (like on Makeb)"

 

This?

 

Makeb was a major disappointment to me, and I disagree with their statement. It is essentially x times LESS content, where x is the number of different character classes I have. I dont understand why I should be happy about Makebs generic 'content'. The longer the time passes, the less I like group content because of this games caustic community, which happens to be a byproduct of the wow-style gear progression-content progression design.

 

If they release another planet like makeb thats supposed to be purchased, I choose not to.

 

ps. I also soloed Makeb on my characters

Edited August 25, 2013 by Karkais

[joshohelp]

Calm down guys,

 

like mentioned the layoffs hit Bioware Austin pretty hard and making the class stories is very time consuming. But, they are going to get back to them at some point. Maybe not in the nearest future but at some point. It's all about being patient.

[Marb]

Its disappointing, but any story content is better then no story content.

 

For the next world arc I hope they put extra effort into adding more class exclusive dialogue options and mission objectives. As long as the new stories acknowledge my characters past choices, and continue to offer me new ones to make, I'm cool with world arcs.

[Prototypemind]

Fine, at some point, but in the meantime all we have is Ops and HM FPs to keep us occupied so lets get fixes implemented where they need to be and stop being put on ignore by the devs.

 

Honestly, had real timelines or a better open dialogue been put into place sooner about fixes then I think there would have been a lot more patience coming from the community in regards to both that and future content, but EA is clearly hard at work at all this creating the same atmosphere they did in the Battlefield franchise: give us your money and keep quiet. Time after time top players offered input as to rolling back negative changes that had been implemented and in regards to fixing in-game issues. Time after time that was ignored.

 

People still bought the DLC just like people still buy the hell out of Cartel packs here, and time will only tell if I'm right, but I don't even bother with BF3 for now despite the fact that it was a one and done payment, and I won't be surprised if BF4 falls short of what it could be in terms of community. Dice has an amazing engine and getting to experience real squad-based play is amazing, but the EA virus isn't something that I want anymore to do with.

 

Tangent over. TLDR: BioWare, talk to your players and be open about what's going on. That might be the one thing that separates you from all the other MMO producers out there--though I do believe EVE's crew is pretty forward and communicative.

[astrobearx]

Calm down guys,

 

like mentioned the layoffs hit Bioware Austin pretty hard and making the class stories is very time consuming. But, they are going to get back to them at some point. Maybe not in the nearest future but at some point. It's all about being patient.

no they are not. one thing bioware has been very consisted when they announce makeb, is they AREN'T DOING class stories anymore. the planetary arcs or "avenger like stories " is how they are going to do every new story from here and out. they said that lvl 1-50 is your personal story and 50+ is you being in greater schemes of things.

 

 

face it, class stories are dead in the water.you know with this definitely being said and pvp will be unlimited in 2.4 for f2p, i seriously wondering why am i keeping my sub.

[chuixupu]

they lied so what?

 

Making a statement one month and then having half the staff laid off the next month and another round a couple of months later and then having to change things is not the same thing as a lie.

Edited August 25, 2013 by chuixupu

[ArenCordial]

no they are not. one thing bioware has been very consisted when they announce makeb, is they AREN'T DOING class stories anymore. the planetary arcs or "avenger like stories " is how they are going to do every new story from here and out. they said that lvl 1-50 is your personal story and 50+ is you being in greater schemes of things.

 

 

face it, class stories are dead in the water.you know with this definitely being said and pvp will be unlimited in 2.4 for f2p, i seriously wondering why am i keeping my sub.

 

Which is very disappointing. The class stories is what made this mmo unique. I'd easily throw down another $50 for a good sized act with class stories. Makeb though was meh. It was fun the first time through but its gotten to the point I can't do it anymore with the rest of my alts.

[CosmicKat]

Why not? There's proof that it's at least being planned, with quest names, npcs, etc already created.

 

You should be able to find it on the swtor reddit somewhere, along with information about the SSSP.

 

Hehe.

 

This is like pointing to a wiki about Bigfoot as proof that Nessie exists.

[Heal-To-Full]

"and I disagree with their statement. It is essentially x times LESS content, where x is the number of different character classes I have.

It's simple.

 

Would you rather have:

A) Class story Chapter IV with 5 quests, or

B) Planet story Chapter IV with 20 quests?

Quest quality will be the same, it won't be "5 awesome quests".

 

Seeing how the staff to make 8 class stories with 40 quests each isn't there anymore.

[RaiderMid]

Hopefully they will rethink this and go with both class and planetary story arcs in the future. Makeb was great but if felt really, really short in my opinion at least on the Republic side. I can't say with the Imperials. I would be willing to throw 50-60 bucks into it.

 

I'm not holding my breath.

[JacenHallis]

I don't really buy the whole "it's better for grouping" reasoning. No one groups on Makeb, except for the heroic mission you get early on. Or for the Heroic missions in the weekly, but once you get the achievements, there's no reason to do them again.

 

So, unless they're planning on making a lot more heroic missions, the grouping experience reason is pretty weak. Not to mention that if they actually did that, the playerbase would raise holy hell because they couldn't solo the content.

 

I figured they'd cut down on class content, though. Think of TOR as a bigger, Star Wars-themed Dragon Age: Origins. The class story is your origin. Ilum is where your new recruit meets up with the others and undergoes his test to become a Grey Warden.

 

CLASS SPOILERS AHEAD

 

I'd like to see more class content, but, really, where can they go? The Consular is a Master, and has defeated the Emperor's First Son. The Jedi Knight defeated the Emperor. The Trooper's a pretty high-ranking officer that probably shouldn't be commanding such a small squad. The Smuggler's got a fairly regular gig with the Republic and outed an Imperial Intelligence asset highly placed in the underworld. The Inquisitor is a member of the Dark Council. The Warrior is the Emperor's personal hitman and enforcer. The Bounty Hunter is the most widely recognized hunter in the galaxy, responsible for taking down the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and possibly killing a high-ranking Darth. And Imperial Intelligence has been disbanded, so the Agent is a freelancer whose loyalties could be anywhere.

 

CLASS SPOILERS END

 

Where else can we go individually, really?

[Heal-To-Full]

I'd like to see more class content, but, really, where can they go?

There's A LOT for them to go to.

Three of them even make for excellent premises for a new game.

 

Let me quote selectively ...

 

Jedi Master x2

high-ranking officer

got a fairly regular gig with the Republic

member of the Dark Council.

Emperor's personal hitman and enforcer.

most widely recognized bounty hunter in the galaxy

freelancer Agent whose loyalties could be anywhere

 

Do you mean to say a freelancer Agent whose loyalties could be anywhere doesn't sound like a great game character?

(spoiler: if you make different choices, the new leader of Sith Intelligence)

Emperor's personal enforcer?

Dark Council member?

Edited August 25, 2013 by B-Dick

[joshohelp]

The thing about Star Wars is that anything could happen to these characters...

 

the next chapters could be full of revelations and backstabbing, who knows.

 

Also from a chronological standpoint all the stories happened all in the same time frame at the same time. So, like maybe a few minutes apart. Meaning each class finished chapter 1 around the same time as the others and each class stories ending happened like a few minutes/ hours before the other.

 

also, really these class stories really only spanned about 2 1/2 - 3 years in game time. Also when the class story starts each character was possibly in their early- mid twenties. So, they have life ahead of them truly.

[CelCawdro]

Just FYI... the the WarCraft universe's Emerald Dream was datamined in 2003. Still hasn't materialized.

[CelCawdro]

Where else can we go individually, really?

 

Where can the Enterprise-D head after its mission at Farpoint? Where can Walter White go after cooking his first batch of meth? Where can Spider-Man go after Uncle Ben dies?

 

We have our origins. That's it. Potential is limitless.

[kirorx]

I loved the class stories, BUT.....

 

I want more MMO-RPG in the MMO, and mostly I WANT MORE FREEDOM and MORE OPEN PLANETS

 

Once at max level I dont really care anymore to be lead on the leash through a bunch of content.

 

If we lose more class story in favor of more end game MMO elements, I am fine with that

 

Though a continuation of companion stoylines is a must, there are some strings that I want addressed in my Sith Assassins relationships with some of his ship mates.

[Excise]

I might be in the minority but I actually liked Makeb's story quite a bit. I felt it was the first non-starter planetary arc to:

 

a) actually have a cohesive story that runs through the whole thing

b) give you a good idea of what's going on in the galaxy

 

But I agree it was sad it didn't feel as personal as the others.

 

The old class missions were great for their personal arc but weren't good for explaining the galactic arc.

 

Class missions + Makeb-esque planetary arcs would be superb.

[Soul_of_Flames]

What they gotta do is, instead of making 9 different stories for a planet, they make one general story with each classes own objectives in it. Now before you get ahead of me, no I'm not talking about a single story per faction like Makeb.

 

What I mean is a class story that is completely unique to each class but, unlike on previous planets, also relates to the planet's quest line.

 

One thing I didn't like when questing when I first started the game was the disconnect between planet quest lines and your class quest line. I'd always lose focus between what was what and forget what I was doing and where.

 

While still a challenge to write, I think it be easier than 9 completely unique story lines clashing in one area. Instead they'd have one general story concept for the area and 8 different unique threads revolving around that general story.

[Prototypemind]

What they gotta do is, instead of making 9 different stories for a planet, they make one general story with each classes own objectives in it. Now before you get ahead of me, no I'm not talking about a single story per faction like Makeb.

 

What I mean is a class story that is completely unique to each class but, unlike on previous planets, also relates to the planet's quest line.

 

One thing I didn't like when questing when I first started the game was the disconnect between planet quest lines and your class quest line. I'd always lose focus between what was what and forget what I was doing and where.

 

While still a challenge to write, I think it be easier than 9 completely unique story lines clashing in one area. Instead they'd have one general story concept for the area and 8 different unique threads revolving around that general story.

I think the Thana Vesh arc and the Voss side-missions both blend well with the Imp story. Actually Alderaan wasn't too bad either.

[demotivator]

I don't really buy the whole "it's better for grouping" reasoning. No one groups on Makeb, except for the heroic mission you get early on. Or for the Heroic missions in the weekly, but once you get the achievements, there's no reason to do them again.

 

So, unless they're planning on making a lot more heroic missions, the grouping experience reason is pretty weak.

 

They are not talking about grouping for dailies *sigh* but grouping for the story arc which indead makes the experience interesting as I explained a couple of pages earlier (once again run the content with a friend instead of strangers *sigh* bis)

 

If you like running every quest as a lone wolf good for you, I for one enjoy sharing this experience with someone else and I can get their point, class quests don't really work as a group: if you are playing the same class you will need to play the same instance twice, if you are playing a different class you are only a spectator. Planet story arcs are the only ones that can achieve that expected level of satisfaction of playing in a group.

Edited August 26, 2013 by demotivator

[ikinai]

Hehe.

 

This is like pointing to a wiki about Bigfoot as proof that Nessie exists.

 

I happen to have it on very good authority, The Abominable Snowman, that Nessi does indeed exist. He denies Bigfoot though. I think he's just mad that his cousin gets in the news more.

 

As to class stories? They'll come when they come when they wanna, get up get get the get down, more class stories wears the later crown.

 

I think we'll see something at some point, perhaps not as big as we'd like, but they'd be foolish not to do something to continue our heroic adventures.

[JimG]

Anything said before the game went F2P is out of the window. Their entire cost/benefit structure changed with F2P. And they said back when ROTHC came out 4 months ago that they would be focusing on faction-specific stories instead of class-specific stories with future content. The Q&A answer linked by the OP is information they were saying in Q&A's 4 months ago....that's not new information....just repeating what they have already said before.

[GreggorZane]

Perhaps BW could do the planetry quest the are differnet for each class or have a percentage of different quests for each of the classes.

 

Or they could make the quest different if you go lightside or darkside.

[johnxtreeme]

How hard is it to understand?

 

There is NO MONEY FOR CLASS STORY. For every hour of class story, they could make FOUR hours of planetary story. Class story is not feasible as long as the game has less than a million subs, and I doubt it'll have more than that anytime soon.

[JacenHallis]

Three of them even make for excellent premises for a new game.

I agree. They make excellent premises for new games. They'd make outstanding single-player games.

 

I'd love to see more class stuff. But we're already at the apex of our respective professions. We're at the ceiling of personal achievement for our respective classes. Sure, the Warrior could go out and kill off a few Darths (Marr comes to mind as a particularly mouthy non-believer), but I've a feeling that the next time we see the Emperor, he'll be the bad guy both sides team up (or, at the very least, stay out of each other's ways) to kill, including his Wrath.

 

Like I said, I'd love to see more. But I don't think it's in the cards.