XEROKYOUNO Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Hello Developers, I have been trying to understand the logic behind some of the recent changes to the companions and I need to ask a few questions. Why were these changes necessary? I understand that changes need to be made to further along the game, but what input could you possible have received to think it was a good idea to make everyone's companions the same? I am trying to understand the thought process behind this. Lets walk through this a little: DEVS We have complaints that people think their companions are useless and do not want to have to focus their attention on gearing up their companion so that they can be a vital asset to their character so our response to this is making all the companions generic and taking all the work out of dealing with them. ME I understand some people don't want to take the time to do what's part of the game and I understand some companions are not really fun to play with. I agree with this as when I playing my Bounty Hunter and instead of being able to use Mako (Which I have spent numerous hours on gearing up) being forced to use a moron companion like Skadge who can't hold his own in a fight. Fighting with Skadge makes me incredibly angry, but it is part of the game. I understand people only want to deal with their own character - frankly the only companion in the game I even like is Mako, but the other companions are part of the game and that is something I must accept. How does catering to the masses of whiners who don't want to play the game as it was intended help the game out at all? DEVS Making everyone's companions the same and their armor based on level, you no longer have to worry about using a companion that's not geared up for a fight. We have tried to standardize everything for easier gameplay. ME Ok that's sounds nice. but what about the players that bought armor off the Cartel Market for their companion with real money and spent hours gearing them up to make them great. Personally I have spent over $80 on the Cartel Market to gear up my companions so that they would kick a**. I had Mako pushing out over 750 damage and she healed like a champ, now since the changes with her armor being purely aesthetic and based on level she now does 300 less damage and heals like a first year medical student. Are you really so naïve to screw over the players that put a lot of effort into their characters and companions? Did you even happen to think about the people you would be screwing over? That's a real **** you to players like me. I can only think of a couple responses for this questioning - DEVS (Multiple Responses) 1. Umm we don't care... 2. Were only making the changes to appeal the to masses to make more money. 3. We never happened to think of this issues and that is something we should revisit ME I really hope that your response would be #3. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Reinstate armoring for companions as an option not a forced change. Having dealt with code before you can keep the current coding setup and write a separate set of code with the armoring algorithms which have technically already have been written since that was the original setup. Then you would have an option on the companions that you may either choose to have Level based skills or Armor based skills. This way people's favorite companions can be decked out just like them and be more than the sum of there level based programming. Companions you hate dealing with would be set to Level Based Armoring. 2. Instead of basing the companions skills off of level they could be based off your own characters armoring. As your character gets stronger and better armor, so does your companion. This way all armor on your companions can remain aesthetic, and you do not have to worry about armoring companions you hate. I write this in hopes that you will understand that you have severely upset some players. I am a returning founder to the game, who may leave the game once more because the developers of the game were unwilling to listen minority hardcore players, and cater to the casual gamer. You don't have to cater to one side or another there are always options that can benefit both sides if your willing to take the time and listen. Maybe if you asked the players how certain changes would affect them before instituting changes you may receive some idea's even better than what you were going to institute. XEROK "One often meets there fate trying to avoid it" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karzboi Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Your complaining, Stop it should Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghouley Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 So much to argue...Changes are great in my books, nuff said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekimmak Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 As someone with way too many characters for sanity, I admit, the change around gearing companions was better for me, but I'm disappointed with how they've generalized the companions. Playing with each companion and figuring out how they integrate into my character's playstyle was a lot of fun. Now there's no point, and literally no need for more than one companion. It's just... disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xachiter Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 This game is going down the road of WoW in a different perspective, now most people are gonna automatically jump to a lvl 60 frustrating to those of us who spent hundreds of hours give or take depending on play style to get there. all the gear you spent the last several years perfecting= Garbage now!! equally so for the companions which each companion had a specific roll to play (not anymore), now they all play exactly the same so piss on all that work. This game is utterly pointless to play, no challenge anymore, i mean on my newly created lvl 22 i just went through a lvl 65 FP ***!!! on my lvl 55 it takes a min to kill a lvl 5 (another) ***!!! "Scaling" they say no this is ******** on everyone who enjoyed the game for what it was originally meant to be, this is the last time i play this game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappeldrache Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 (edited) It's very simple: We had 48 companions - that was to mutch "work" for SWToR. So they call it "Something new and great" and they have taken away ALL the 48 companions and they give us .... about 10. The same 10 companions for ALL. Be sure: The "Fan-Boys - and girls" will love it. I'm sooooo pissed ....... :mad::mad::mad: THIS is really horrible ... with the other chances I could live. . Edited October 22, 2015 by Rappeldrache Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutinArbiter Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 (edited) This game is going down the road of WoW in a different perspective, now most people are gonna automatically jump to a lvl 60 frustrating to those of us who spent hundreds of hours give or take depending on play style to get there. all the gear you spent the last several years perfecting= Garbage now!! equally so for the companions which each companion had a specific roll to play (not anymore), now they all play exactly the same so piss on all that work. This game is utterly pointless to play, no challenge anymore, i mean on my newly created lvl 22 i just went through a lvl 65 FP ***!!! on my lvl 55 it takes a min to kill a lvl 5 (another) ***!!! "Scaling" they say no this is ******** on everyone who enjoyed the game for what it was originally meant to be, this is the last time i play this game! If you're skipping all the story content to jump to 60 in SWTOR, you're doing it wrong. So very wrong. Unless of course, you have already played the story content; then it doesn't matter anyways. P.S. If you are so obsessed with traditional MMO styles, might wanna leave now. We won't miss you, try Crowfall or one of the other old school MMOs. It's very simple: We had 48 companions - that was to mutch "work" for SWToR. So they call it "Something new and great" and they have taken away ALL the 48 companions and they give us .... about 10. The same 10 companions for ALL. Be sure: The "Fan-Boys - and girls" will love it. I'm sooooo pissed ....... :mad::mad::mad: THIS is really horrible ... with the other chances I could live. . If SWTOR had the financial success of WoW, we could talk about making custom storylines for each individual class with plenty of screen time for all your different companions. But we don't; not even close infact. The solution they have come up with in KotFE is the best they can do with limited resources. (Rather Impressive I must say) Only issue I see is the removal of some companion flavor abilities. Edited October 22, 2015 by ScoutinArbiter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluehufsa Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 being forced to use a moron companion like Skadge who can't hold his own in a fight. Fighting with Skadge makes me incredibly angry well in 4.0 you might have the option to re-recruit him or not. by the way, i hate Skadge too, the only bh companion i ever liked was Torian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XEROKYOUNO Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Your complaining, Stop it should This thread is a complaint, that's its purpose. While everyone else is out their complaining companions take to much of there time there are some people that actually give a damn about their companions. The purpose of this letter is to make them think about the minority when they make certain changes. I at least offered two very viable options that would benefit both parties. I didn't see the people complaining about companions before offering any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XEROKYOUNO Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 It's very simple: We had 48 companions - that was to mutch "work" for SWToR. So they call it "Something new and great" and they have taken away ALL the 48 companions and they give us .... about 10. The same 10 companions for ALL. Be sure: The "Fan-Boys - and girls" will love it. I'm sooooo pissed ....... :mad::mad::mad: THIS is really horrible ... with the other chances I could live. . I just don't understand the code for all the companions had already been written. As a programmer myself it is not that difficult to write a subroutine that can be called for any character. For instance the subroutine that calculated armoring and skills was likely just one set of code called on for each character. Maybe there is an issue with the compatibility with the old code and the new coding of the expansion. I doubt we will ever be told the real answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XEROKYOUNO Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 As someone with way too many characters for sanity, I admit, the change around gearing companions was better for me, but I'm disappointed with how they've generalized the companions. Playing with each companion and figuring out how they integrate into my character's playstyle was a lot of fun. Now there's no point, and literally no need for more than one companion. It's just... disappointing. That's a very good point, there really is no real reason anymore for more than one companion, except a small storyline and choice of aesthetics. I understand that if you have tons of characters, my god does it ever waste time to gear up companions and that's why I don't suggest we return to the old companion system but a hybrid version that allows the player not the game to make companion decisions. It just takes the fun of being able to customize things out of the game. Since companion armor is now pointless I have sold all my companions clothes now they just run around in their underwear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XEROKYOUNO Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 So much to argue...Changes are great in my books, nuff said. Glad they work for you, they don't for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghouley Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I just don't understand the code for all the companions had already been written. As a programmer myself it is not that difficult to write a subroutine that can be called for any character. For instance the subroutine that calculated armoring and skills was likely just one set of code called on for each character. Maybe there is an issue with the compatibility with the old code and the new coding of the expansion. I doubt we will ever be told the real answer. Its not just a matter of an option to say if yes, then use this etc. You are calling on a complete new set of rules for how the companion works in terms of their stats, gear, damage, abilities. I imagine using that sort of thing would cause a complete nightmare for the devs and the integral mechanics of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediJFR Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 That's a very good point, there really is no real reason anymore for more than one companion, except a small storyline and choice of aesthetics. I understand that if you have tons of characters, my god does it ever waste time to gear up companions and that's why I don't suggest we return to the old companion system but a hybrid version that allows the player not the game to make companion decisions. It just takes the fun of being able to customize things out of the game. Since companion armor is now pointless I have sold all my companions clothes now they just run around in their underwear. This waste of time argument is a strawman argument, a red herring. Just check out how you have to re-influence or influence your new comps. It takes loads and loads of running the old content, the old bonus missions, not at your current level, but nerfed at whatever level that planet happens to be at. Talk about wasting time. Why would I go back and run a bunch of lower level missions just to re-influence my comps that had already been influenced? No, this is nothing but lip stick on a pig. Money talks and swtor ain't got any. And quite frankly they won't be getting much more of my money. I guess I have someone to thank, for breaking my addiction to this game and all the time I've spent on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonniec Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I agree with some of the others here... very disappointing companion changes.. I spent real life money buying CC coins to buy packs.. so that i could sell items and have the creds to outfit the companions the way I want them.. all of that money is now DOWN THE DRAIN. .. The gun i bought... HE CANT USE IT ANY MORE. .. the gear?.. GONE.. not in the mail.. not in the bag .. not in the bank. $100 american.. last month. sure its alot.. but lesson learned. never ever again will swtor get my money beyond the cost of the game monthly. THEN i discover the gun my character has used for the last 5 levels... is now 4 levels too high for her... ***!... again.. i spent money to get cc coins to buy that gun... more money down the drain. and you want me to be excited about kotfe why? .. for companions we can not outfit. companions we can not make individualized... thanks.. but no... i pass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonniec Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) I agree with some of the others here... very disappointing companion changes.. I spent real life money buying CC coins to buy packs.. so that i could sell items and have the creds to outfit the companions the way I want them.. all of that money is now DOWN THE DRAIN. .. The gun i bought... HE CANT USE IT ANY MORE. .. the gear?.. GONE.. not in the mail.. not in the bag .. not in the bank. $100 american.. last month. sure its alot.. but lesson learned. never ever again will swtor get my money beyond the cost of the game monthly. THEN i discover the gun my character has used for the last 5 levels... is now 4 levels too high for her... ***!... again.. i spent money to get cc coins to buy that gun... more money down the drain. and you want me to be excited about kotfe why? .. for companions we can not outfit. companions we can not make individualized.. and companions I spent time and money on....GONE... thanks.. but no... i pass Edited October 23, 2015 by Bonniec add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamikazeTMX Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I liked gearing up all my companions i have like 7 chars and like gearing them up, when they screwed crafting too because on every char i got a good crafting to lv up so i could gear my companions and alts and main ofcourse . but now that challenge is gone its no use at all to play this game.. its so simplyfied its KID MODE... me hate kid mode. and yes before this update it was a adult game. using more brains then brawl... so easy. im a 50/50 casual/hardcore player and i say they screwed so many things i did uninstall and well still got 1 month left of sub but when the updates was out i dindt had the need to play anymore even after the little fix patch it was a no go... it doesnt let my brains say i wanna play it because i must use int. to play it... ahja atleast i dindt spend over 1k euro's on it like i did in other mmo's before they got simplyfied and dug in a open grave.... this future gaming sucks big time.. im a very old gamer. damn so many **** games after 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PavSalco Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) I liked gearing up all my companions i have like 7 chars and like gearing them up, when they screwed crafting too because on every char i got a good crafting to lv up so i could gear my companions and alts and main ofcourse . but now that challenge is gone its no use at all to play this game.. its so simplyfied its KID MODE... me hate kid mode. and yes before this update it was a adult game. using more brains then brawl... so easy. im a 50/50 casual/hardcore player and i say they screwed so many things i did uninstall and well still got 1 month left of sub but when the updates was out i dindt had the need to play anymore even after the little fix patch it was a no go... it doesnt let my brains say i wanna play it because i must use int. to play it... ahja atleast i dindt spend over 1k euro's on it like i did in other mmo's before they got simplyfied and dug in a open grave.... this future gaming sucks big time.. im a very old gamer. damn so many **** games after 2006 Good luck in finding "challenging" solo content in MMOs. Good luck with that man. If you find any MMO in that type, it won't survive long People don't come after the work to sit on PC and grind, grind, grind. They want to have easy and fun experience in solo content. You want something challenging, then play solo RPGs on hard difficulty or play HM/NiM operations or pvp in MMOs. Don't expect solo content to be hard. This doesn't bring new players. Edited October 23, 2015 by PavSalco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XEROKYOUNO Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 Its not just a matter of an option to say if yes, then use this etc. You are calling on a complete new set of rules for how the companion works in terms of their stats, gear, damage, abilities. I imagine using that sort of thing would cause a complete nightmare for the devs and the integral mechanics of the game. Not really, the previous set of code before the patch could have easily been updated to accommodate option based changes. If they had left the previous set of code all they would have had to do is add a new subroutine. When the player wished to be able to customize their companion the code would call one subroutine and if the player did not wish to mess with the companion mechanics they would select the second option which would call a different subroutine to pull stats from an array/ database of sorts. Using your level as the variable the subroutine would then select the appropriate set of stats and skills. From my perspective the coding would be easy but yes you may be right it might interfere or complicate other aspects of the game. Maybe they did try a solution like this and the game went haywire, who knows. Sometimes even the simplest coding can cause the weirdest of changes in the game. I will say i do like the implement of roles for each companion, but I don't think each companion should be able to perform all three roles. Can you imagine Mako from the BH storyline a tank, common really? I do appreciate input from other players such as yourself it make the discussion that more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CprlKlinger Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I spent money on equipping my companions on several of my characters, too. I have to admit, however, this is better. Now, because I prefer running with a healer companion, I can use the companion I prefer as a healer. Sure, not being able to personally equip them to any effect other than visual kinda sucks, but it's a fair trade for being able to use whichever companion I want as a healer companion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Idoya Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) The way I see it, a Role Playing Game (RPG) is meant to allow one to experience a role in an emulated fabrication of reality. In this case, SWTOR is an emulation of Star Wars reality. That is, it's an environment in which we can play our own part in the Star Wars universe. To segway into my first main point, I remember something that Bungie said in their developer commentaries when making Halo 3. Sometimes, they'd put you in a big wide open space, and the only weapons and ammo you might have around you would be shotguns. Not all the time, but sometimes, the purpose being to emulate the very real possibility of sometimes not having the tools for the job at hand, and having to make the best of a sticky situation. Which brings me to my point, and OP touched on it briefly - sometimes, you won't have what your companions are capable of available to make use of. Now, no matter who we take, or whoever we're stuck with, we always have a healer, always have a dps, and always have a tank. Sure, you can't switch in mid fight, but it won't take long for us to get to know all the new fights and many of us already know the rest, we know what we need for any given situation, so why use anything else? You might argue that I just made the case against myself, that now, if we really want one, we can CHOOSE a challenge. I've got two answers to that. The first is, I DID choose a challenge, albeit not a great one, when I started playing this game, but the challenge of being stuck with a companion that might not be the best choice still existed in this game. Now, there's no challenge at all. It's a mobile game for PC, pandering to the masses who aren't interested in a challenge. And two, I'd rather BE challenged, so I can rise to it. There are cognitive limitations to one's ability to challenge themselves, and that very rarely results in one actually substantially being challenged at all. I remember when I was a kid, we lived on a big hill, and I got my first skateboard for Christmas. I wanted to challenge myself, so I started at the top of the hill, but noticed how big it really was. So I moved a bit further down the hill, still too big. A bit further yet, and kept doing that until I was virtually at the bottom, with only a little bit of a slope into the cul-de-sac at the end. I got a little thrill from the roll, sitting on my skateboard, but I never did start from the top, and I've always wondered what THAT thrill might have been like. My main point is, though, that I subbed to a game with a specific set of features that made its overall experience enjoyable enough to stay subbed. Now, with thirty days remaining, I'm trying to find it in me to accept the new features, and the removal of the ones I subbed for, but it still feels like more has been lost in the this 'expansion' than has been added. If that feeling changes before that thirty days is up, I'll stick around. If not.... well, EVE Online still presents a challenge, for now at least. Edited October 24, 2015 by Idoya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raemann Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 It's very simple: We had 48 companions - that was to mutch "work" for SWToR. So they call it "Something new and great" and they have taken away ALL the 48 companions and they give us .... about 10. The same 10 companions for ALL. Be sure: The "Fan-Boys - and girls" will love it. I'm sooooo pissed ....... :mad::mad::mad: THIS is really horrible ... with the other chances I could live. . Yep - and in 3 weeks the Sub on my three accounts runs out. I will vote with the wallet and take me another 18 month break. The wallet seems to be the only constituent which has a voice. Plying one's suggestions or reasons for enjoying the game or disliking a feature to the people in charge is like going to city hall. You cannot fight them with your voice. I must say that I and the family really enjoyed the Revan expansion and the things we did in that over the past 6 weeks. Sadly that is all going away along with not only the uniqueness of the comps, but the ability to go into a lvl 35 zone and not have it adjust to 65 on you. I am sure that many will continue unimpeded, but I want it my way and the reality is there are so many online game options it is unnecessary to simply go along paying for something that you don't care for. So... I say - not to be mean, rather to be forthright - If you don't really care for it do what I and my family are doing and cancel your sub and play / do something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolvinKut Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I like the changes to companions because I hated gearing them, now I only have to give them a weapon, and I could still gear them for appearance except for a few of them. Good job Bioware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gakowashere Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I like that i don't have to gear them. I don't like that Treek and HK-51 are the only ones that have different animations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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