An Open Letter to BioWare: Improving the Overall State of SWTOR.

[Rafaman]

I have a feeling unless theres some kind of repurcussion from not answering they wont. They have no reason to answer. Player concerns havent been enough in the last unless they were cornered

 

Maybe they will answer, maybe they won't . But what you're missing here is that the ultimatum that you obviously still prize guaranteed a non-response. It guaranteed it. How do I know? Simple. Using your own logic, BW doesn't care about a small percentage of unsatisfied players, PvP competitive or otherwise. So, if that small percentage chooses to use an ultimatum as a strong arm tactic, what do you think will happen? Nothing, Nada, Zipo.

 

Now... if you broaden the concerns, to include those who would otherwise not participate because of the aforementioned ultimatum. If you show there is a wide consensus across a wide spectrum of players. If you use tact instead of threats encouraging BW to respond, you will have a much better chance of engagement and dialogue.

 

These very threats you speak of are NOT incentives for them to answer. They are the exact opposite. Damn... really I don't know how to explain it any better. And guess what? They still may not answer this petition, but then, you have a broad base of support to continue the effort. Not some disgruntled unsubs out there somewhere not visible to the broader community.

 

Listen dude. You signed it so you support it. If you think it is doomed, why did you sign? In fact... why are you still here? Hoping against hope? Forget it man and move on.

 

Last... and I really don't mean to be harsh, but your QQ about everything, your threads, your posts, your derision, are not the reason this thread and petition is moving forward. You my friend are part of the problem. Stop being a part of the problem.

[Roysten]

/signed

 

I don't play a warrior and the leap bug has saved me from a few smashes, doesn't make it acceptable for the bug to hang around. Things don't have to directly affect a player to impact on the game.

I feel strongly about some of the issues raised, they make me extremely cross. These issues might make someone else shrug their shoulders because it probably will never impact their game experience. It is worth taking a moment to consider such things though, any broken part impacts on the quality of the whole.

 

Just as an example, the feel of the game, the look of the game, is better with 8 a.c.s, it is more fun to see 3 types of tanks, 3 types of healer when you play. Let an issue of balance fester for too long and you might end up just seeing 1 type of healer, 1 type of mdps, 1 type of rdps, and 1 type of tank dominate. Might not affect you at all but the game feels less rich and less varied. This is just an example of something that could indirectly impact on a player, not an attempt to start a discussion on class balance. I just think people should take a moment to think of the whole game before discarding something because it does not impact their game directly.

[Rafaman]

This is a transparent attempt to bump the thread. Ok,,, done.

[-Silver-]

Guys... they still aren't even giving straight answers to the Speech Bubbles petition that's been ongoing since launch. They don't care. It's a very nice wall of text you've put together, but they aren't going to read it. They've long since abandoned all hope for their game, such as the 500 planets by 2025 goal

[Rafaman]

And now.. you are trolling mmjarec. Really pathetic, you signed this open letter but now you continue your shenanigans on the other thread instead of discussing it here. You shouldn't have signed here. You have no interest in this. You prefer to simply disrupt. Don't give me that crap about voicing your opinion. Your very actions show clearly this isn't about the game for you.

 

A a sad and pathetic display and sadly my last attempt to civilize. You are indeed a problem.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Rafaman

[Quraswren]

I have a feeling unless theres some kind of repurcussion from not answering they wont. They have no reason to answer. Player concerns havent been enough in the last unless they were cornered

 

Truth is, BW is highly unlikely to answer.

 

The other thread is still running so the "ultimatum" is still in your face cause they keep bumping it when it does fall off.

 

No matter how much you agree with this thread ( and I do ), until the other is killed off and focus moves to here. Nothing can change but I do give kudos for making adjustments.

 

If the other thread is not removed, OP deleted or whatever. The drama will stay there, attention will stay there and this thread will go relatively unnoticed.

 

It's a no win situation cause BW cannot answer the other thread and if it keeps getting bumped to promote this thread it will not fade off. Leaving BW no choice but to ignore the ultimatum, doesn't even matter if they were actually working on what was listed as good changes.

 

Guys... they still aren't even giving straight answers to the Speech Bubbles petition that's been ongoing since launch. They don't care. It's a very nice wall of text you've put together, but they aren't going to read it. They've long since abandoned all hope for their game, such as the 500 planets by 2025 goal

 

I'm not sure what answer you want. We were all told the engine just couldn't handle it and it caused a massive amount of undue lag for everyone. If there is nothing to update there is nothing to say. We are still running the same engine, stands to reason the same problem is still there.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Quraswren

[AlienEyeTX]

There are definitely some valid points brought up here. It's also nice that this was re-worked into a more cordial presentation. That is good.

 

I disagree with a few points. Subscriber benefits are fine as they are. PvE Ops and Bosses are fine as they are. Forum moderation is fine as it is.

 

The lag issue is irrelevant here because I'm sure they are always working on this. They don't want their game to be unplayable!

 

I do agree with the PvP stuff. I agree that the "Friends" program needs to be fixed (again, I'm sure they are working on it). PTS feedback should be taken more seriously.

 

***EDIT*** This is all, in my very own opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary.

 

I don't know how this will be received by BW. I doubt we'll ever find out for sure. Some of this will be done and some will not. I hope everyone is happy with the game at the end of the day, though.

Edited September 26, 2013 by AlienEyeTX

[The_Grand_Nagus]

I have a feeling unless theres some kind of repurcussion from not answering they wont. They have no reason to answer. Player concerns havent been enough in the last unless they were cornered

 

All the people who signed the original petition have already agreed to quit the game by 10/1 if Bioware doesnt respond, so they still have the threat of losing all of those subs if they do not respond in a few days.

Edited September 26, 2013 by The_Grand_Nagus

[shednik]

/sign

[Benfynyn]

/signed

 

 

I wasn't overly bothered by the initial thread but that you all took the feedback that was given and allowed your approach to evolve really impressed me. Let's see where this goes.

[ebado]

Eric, I think everybody in this thread and most players out of it would appreciate some sort of discussion about these issues. Perhaps some sort of live chat could be set up post 2.4 if that's easier, where community members can discuss these issues with the dev team.

[Dallayna]

"and you should not be able to complete Hard Mode until you are 80–90% in whatever tier gear that is dropped in Hard Mode."

 

Ok. Dumb question. If the only way to complete it is to already be in gear from completing it, how are you supposed to get the gear together to complete it that first time?

 

I mean, everyone has to start somewhere but if the only place that you can start is at the end, how are you supposed to get there? How are you supposed to handle that first run to get that gear?

 

Because frankly, I'm all for the system being tweaked a bit here and there but if that's the requirements for finishing anything, it sounds like it would lock everyone out who isn't down with some super-secret handshake that only the "cool kids" have and I'm not so certain that's very welcoming to new players.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Dallayna

[L-RANDLE]

/signed

 

But....... And a large but.....

 

While I commend the flexibility of the creators to try to garner more support, the broadening appeal is making look exactly like posts from myself and others over the last two years. We have tried to give BW he benefit of the doubt over, and over, and over, again. When is enough going to be enough?

 

To answer Grand Nagus specifically, yes, I do intend on honoring the previous petition and will cancel my sub on 10/1, and I hope others follow suit. Here is why.

 

As I stated in the other thread, I was a member of one of the top raid guilds on the Shadowlands, but due to some RL schedule issues I started PvPing more and really enjoyed it. When transfers become available I made a tough choice and left a guild I LOVED because they were not into PvP as much as I was.

 

I packed my bags and moved 4 toons to PoT5 to unite them with a stranded Fatman toon (yes, I rerolled on Fatman when the game almost died after 1.2). I paid to move because BW could not/would not do anything to help players stranded on servers. I didn't mind paying at the time because it was announced that a huge PvP patch was coming. I didnt expect huge changes, but when Arenas were announced, I new it was the end. Basically I said, lol so I guess I need to reroll a Mara now, because I new Arenas would pigeon-hole players I to using certain specs and certain AC. 2, out of my now 5 toons, would not be viable. Great, I thought, "I just moved 2 toons for nothing.. Thanks BW". But it didn't stop there. Then then announced no class balancing at all, which eliminated another toon, heal Sage, leaving me with two out of five. Tank Guardian, Carn Mara.

 

With the addtional announcement that WZ will be unlimited, and 3 toons being all but eliminated from the field of ccompetitive play, why would I carry a sub? In light of the fact that they pulled about as close to a bait and switch as humanly possible, the previous petition was for players like me. Those who were sooo jaded by these facts. If you didn't experience it, then its hard for you to fathom why the frustrations finally boiled over. Unfortunately this new petition doesn't capture that essence. This is what I was referring to when I said the petition didn't need to be "declawed" and "all-inclusive".

 

I love Star Wars, hell I made a video of my kid buying his first Lightsaber, and posted it on FB so my friends could watch. The BW has the golden goose IP, and its ashame that someone like myself is pulling the plug over something like this.

 

Sorry so long and inb4 "cool story bro"

 

L-Randle

 

TL; DR: I'm still unsubbing on 10/1 for reasons outlined in this and the previous petition.

Edited September 26, 2013 by L-RANDLE

[Andryah]

I think if either of these threads don't get at the VERY LEAST a response, Bioware presents themselves in poor image. Not replying will just add to the frustrations of every disgruntled person and possibly lead to negative results, which can't be good for business. With numbers dwindling, one would think that the last thing the devs would want is a poor image. Sure, there may be only a minority who will see their apathy towards the matter if they don't respond, but bored people talk to each other and there are a lot of bored people around the game lately. Responding will at the very least show that they have taken the time to read it and take away from those negative results.

 

I don't pretend to know about business. That isn't my area of expertise, however this is how I see things based upon a basic knowledge of it.

 

This thread deserves meaningful gold responses (plural responses IMO, because it's got a lot of content to address).

 

The previous thread was a non-starter for response, simply because companies cannot submit to consumer extortions.

 

Eric & Devs: I know it's a handful to digest with all that it presents... but IMO you need to at least give a timely acknowledgment that you have read it AND will provide further discussions with the forum members in more detail. This is not the prototypical drive-by threat and assault thread. It's a well thought out, well presented list of concerns and desires that fairly represent a notable cross-section of the active player base.

 

Personally, I think this open letter deserves it's own sub-forum for break out discussion of the points presented, even if only temporary.. to give focus to two way discussion beyond the usual half-life of a thread in general forum.

[Andryah]

I encourage everyone to not just bump and comment.. but take time to /rate the thread too. It deserves the stars far more then any prior thread IMO.

[mmjarec]

Look up the word extortion before you throw it around wrong.

 

I see his words causig no pain or suffering nor is he trying to obtain something that wAsnt promised to him. If it were extortion bioware could take legal action which they cant because its not extortion. Throwing around big words make u sound smart till you use them completely in the wrong way

[Covaltage]

/signed

 

I don't quite agree with the difficulty adjustment on operations (Hardmodes are pretty simple once your team has tried them a few times), but in general this is a really good post outlining problems with the game I would really like to see resolved.

 

[Andryah]

Look up the word extortion before you throw it around wrong.

 

I see his words causig no pain or suffering nor is he trying to obtain something that wAsnt promised to him. If it were extortion bioware could take legal action which they cant because its not extortion. Throwing around big words make u sound smart till you use them completely in the wrong way

 

The original thread tried to extort Bioware by demanding X before Ydate OR XYZquit. That's attempted "consumer" extortion of the company. Learn terms before you try to rebut them. It's not criminal, because it's a joke to even try.

 

And stop hijacking this thread with your hereditary skepticism. It's not helping. This thread is meant to achieve progress between players and devs. So just stop. Go back and poop in the other thread IMO.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Andryah

[shednik]

I'm hopeful things will finally turn around but I'm not as optimistic as I used to be, my sub runs out in early November. I would hope that BW would have things planned out/tentative timeline presented or else I can't see myself renewing my subscription.

 

Jurgens - Good job on the re-write I didn't have time to comment much on the original work while it was built in the facebook group but I think this will be received better. I know many of us will be leaving if this doesn't pan out regardless of the presence of an ultimatum. I've supported this game for nearly 2 years and had a lot of fun during that time but I don't think the game is worth the subscription any longer in its current state.

[Arkerus]

All the people who signed the original petition have already agreed to quit the game by 10/1 if Bioware doesnt respond, so they still have the threat of losing all of those subs if they do not respond in a few days.

 

Oh no!

[Benfynyn]

This thread deserves meaningful gold responses (plural responses IMO, because it's got a lot of content to address).

 

The previous thread was a non-starter for response, simply because companies cannot submit to consumer extortions.

 

Eric & Devs: I know it's a handful to digest with all that it presents... but IMO you need to at least give a timely acknowledgment that you have read it AND will provide further discussions with the forum members in more detail. This is not the prototypical drive-by threat and assault thread. It's a well thought out, well presented list of concerns and desires that fairly represent a notable cross-section of the active player base.

 

Personally, I think this open letter deserves it's own sub-forum for break out discussion of the points presented, even if only temporary.. to give focus to two way discussion beyond the usual half-life of a thread in general forum.

 

QFT Well said.

[Arkerus]

There are some things I can get behind and some I can't.

I'm not signing something with a blanket response.

The idea of forum petitions isn't really a great way to collect data IMO.

 

As for the topics in hand, the PvP balance and bugs are important to me as well as ability delay issues.

The rest, I don't really see as a problem.

 

Quite honestly, I'm excited for the space project and don't have a lot of beef with the current game.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Arkerus

[Alithia]

They shouldn't promise stuff like the new pack and then don't release it!

[Arkerus]

They shouldn't promise stuff like the new pack and then don't release it!

 

You need to see a doctor.

[psybernetic]

/signed

 

BioWare, your pve is boring. Worth a run to see what's new, but useless after that.