knightblaster Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 I really like the game, but this is an absolutely *terrible* decision by BioWare. To expect server communities to form their own servers when people have no real way to even advertise the existence of these servers in a way that has any chance of being seen by players is really just a very silly idea. I can understand the desire to have moderated forums, but the downside to not having server forums in terms of community formation on specific servers is quite substantial. This strikes me as an amateurish decision by a company not familiar with running MMOs, to be honest. Love the game, BioWare, but this decision is very boneheaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinical Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 This is another of those 'necessary' things that Bioware is avoiding that will cost them subscribers after the 'newness' of the game wears off. I swear Bioware is really bad about this, some features from other MMO's simply should be implemented, and this isn't even a game mechanic itself. Especially with Bioware not adding things like a LFD / LFR tool. They want server communication yet no server forums, somethings wrong with that picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldPush Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 They just want to save money and manhours moderating a bunch of serverforums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlaak Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) If it was for the QQ, they should take the General Discussion forum first, which has ten times more crying and trolling than a server forum would ever have. It won't cost them suscribers, but it's still a lousy decision after all the "We want to create a community" speech they always tell. Edited December 26, 2011 by Morlaak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightrode Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 If it was for the QQ, they should take the General Discussion forum first, which has ten times more crying and trolling than a server forum would ever have. Thanks for saving a dying thread... ....crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justbigchillin Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Seriously? People are going to cancel subs over no server forums? The percentage of players who actually visit the forums at all is crazy low compared to actual players, reason states that some of those wouldn't bother with server forums. Bioware made their decision and while I am disappointed by it, they make a completely valid point. Stop pretending the sky is falling and go troll for more ERP. If I'm level 50, and I can't find a guild at level 50 without having to spam in /1, I may stop playing. Server forums are the best way to know what's going on in your server's community including guild progression. This is a REALLY stupid decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMarisa Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I get the point they're making but they could always promote from within the community too. Many sites, game sites included, do that. You have a mod etc keep an eye on posters and forums and see what their content level is like. You open up applications and then have the senior mods or devs or whomever approve community moderators. It's strictly voluntary and you don't even have to pay them. There are enough mature fans to handle mod duties. It's not a game breaker for me, I won't cancel. I too am VERY disappointed to see this though. Even with the moderation TOR has currently, you still see a plethora of redundant and/or trolling threads. I doubt I'd be put off my low moderated server forums. The problem with leaving it strictly to your community is you will never have one official server forum and you'll still have exactly the same problems they fear we'd face here. Do you really think by having the community create and maintain sites you won't have elitism or poorly moderated content? Anyone that doesn't like how one site is being run will make their own server site and the community will be just as fractured as it is now. I too hope they eventually change their minds on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martskre Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 That's one more arrow in the knee (sorry) for RP servers. Seriously though, this really sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlathe Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Wow. Really, just wow. So, how am I going to find those crafters that may have the only rare schematic on my server? How am I going to know what top guilds are going to be sponsoring alt/GDKP raids? How am I going to connect with an already hurting server community? Yeah, being 1 of only 40-60 people on Alderaan sure is fun. On Tatooine I think we had a whopping 97 the other night. How will we now what guilds are top on our server? PvP groups? Yeah, the more Bioware announces things like this, and the other thread SR replied in, the more I'm sure that this really is a single player game that they've tacked on a co-op option... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodylittle Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 bad decision for sure. this worries me for the long haul of this game. I really feel that they aren't in touch with the player base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassp Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 i'd rather an unmoderated forum then no forum at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkPony Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Biggest disappointment yet this. I really love the game but not having realm forums is beyond me ... it's the PRIME means to foster great communities and of far greater importance to that end, than having cross-server flashpoint finders or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsIRE Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 ...this is an awful decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chomag Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 EA has been known for following the path to the cheap side. Server forums are just additional costs that don't impact severely on the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonco Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 HAHAHAHAHHA... sorry... but... HAHAHHAHAHA Fail harder flopoware.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakoba Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Have been asking about these forums for a while now, very bad idea not having them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai-Huluud Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I can't think of any game where server forums didn't quickly degenerate into bullying zones. very little good community stuff ever came from them imho. It will happen on any forums but will be sinificantly less pronounced if there are no server forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senden Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I can't think of any game where server forums didn't quickly degenerate into bullying zones. very little good community stuff ever came from them imho. It will happen on any forums but will be sinificantly less pronounced if there are no server forums. SWG forums used to be great when I was used to play pre cu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebarian Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) Using the argument presented by BioWare they may as well get rid of the General Discussion forum, too. This is extremely disappointing news and will prove to be a major hurdle in developing strong and vibrant server communities. Forums, especially server forums, are an element of the total game "package" that players pay for with a subscription and have come to expect. In fact, AB stated the company's position is that the players, using their own resources and time, create server forums elsewhere. It's concerning that BioWare has decided to not deliver on this commonly provided service to its subscribers, expecting instead that the players take on the burden. Edited December 26, 2011 by Trebarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai-Huluud Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 SWG forums used to be great when I was used to play pre cu. Well I can only really speak for the SWG Bria forums which were frankly, shocking. I wouldn't let my kid near em. In terms of other games where I've stumbled to the forums for a quick look it would be pretty rought pretty quickly. It's the nature of the internet, its like people driving cars feel tougher because they have armour on and cannot be touched. people behind a computer screen feel all tough and speak in a way they simply woudln't dare to in a face-to-face confrontation. On server forums people are more likely to "bump into each other" and are therefore closer, equally, insults hit harder and seem more personal. I think the obvious solution to this is settle for being social with your guild mates, make new firends and invite them to your guild and then set up your own guild forums. I predict significantly more civility this way:) all the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMarisa Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I can't think of any game where server forums didn't quickly degenerate into bullying zones. very little good community stuff ever came from them imho. It will happen on any forums but will be sinificantly less pronounced if there are no server forums. In LotRO, most of the server forums are just fine. Granted, they have moderation but the only thing close to bullying I see there are the PvMP threads. Even those for the most part (I don't read every server's forum) are not so much bullying as your typical QQing and some elitism and bragging. It's really easy to ignore those threads. A F2P MMO I haven't played in a very long time, Bloodymare: Requiem, even when I did play their server forums weren't bad either. I'm not saying server forums are the best thing ever and this game will die without them but it's my strong opinion that they help the community more than any hurt they may indirectly cause. If they won't ever reconsider their position on this, I hope they allows us to overrun the community forum with server event threads and let us /bump. Not the best solution I can think of right now but my guild has traditionally done community events and without server forums, it;ll be very difficult to draw people in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black_Rabbit Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) Although I will miss them, I can live without the annoyance of being insulted/made fun of, constantly for asking the most simple of questions or proposing the most innocent of ideas, every time I make a post. This is partially the reason why I have never visited WoW forums, and eventually left, because I could not make any community connections of any kind before being shot down. Edited December 26, 2011 by Black_Rabbit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnarchoSaint Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Wow... Bioware is really doing everything they possibly can to not have active communities on the servers. Why is the question? I don't get it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lethal_ghost Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) they just dont want it to feel like a mmo at all, please players dont interact with each other or bump into each other in the game we will just shard it. What are they playing at the game feels lifeless and server forums would give it a breath of fresh air. Who made the decision and why ? do they not want us to figure out the pop cap on servers is no where near enough or what ? Edited December 26, 2011 by lethal_ghost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkeus Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 In the couple of MMO games I have played, the server forums have been pretty much dead anyway. I didn't care whether they had them or not.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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