Why I think the monthly release structure is a bad idea.

[Vankris]

Accept the game is no longer a mMORPG. I mean sure its played on a server that does have other people on it, but the entire point of this expansion was to gut the standard MMO format the game had (which was already very solo friendly until end game) and to turn it into basically a fully single player experience.

 

it's kinda weak though as a single player RPG. Because the, you enter the realm of game like The Witcher 3, Dragon Age inquisition or Fallout 4. SWTOR cannot compete with those. That's why they definitely should emphasize more the MMO aspect, that is the strength of the game

[Rafaman]

Why the monthly release structure is a good idea:

 

I consider it free. The game's an MMORPG, and it should be played as a subscriber. This means that in-between story content that is up to date, you can go back over everything you may have missed out on, which has all been rescaled for the cap.

 

It's regular content. If it's too little for you, wait for it to build up, for it is not as if you would have gotten content each month anyway, right?

 

The chapters at launch were bountiful enough to do in one big sitting, but the right size if you just wanted to do one here and there. Which, in my opinion, is ideal.

 

It encourages subscription. I pay £9 for this game, and I don't feel I waste any money, whether content is new or old. At the end of the day, I'm primarily a roleplayer, and I know that if I fancy PvE, there is always something I've not done. Or, I can do heroics to get some credits to fund the lifestyle I deserve.

 

At the end of the day, the more people that subscribe, the higher Bioware's regular income for the game. That ultimately means more will be put back into the system.

 

But, the pros of the system outweigh the cons, truly. I'm not trying to be spiteful, but I play and pay for the game that I like. In my opinion, it's an ideal system. Not for everybody, but I'd rather monthly chapters than, for example, something like Ziost every few months.

 

Well said. And let's not forget, that this xpac is in response to a couple of overwhelming desires from this every community: More Story and More Content.

 

As for those that think this isn't an MMORPG anymore? That is laughable. Did Ops disappear? What about flashpoints are they gone? Oh, what about PvP and GSF?

 

The fact is, that this expansion has more people running Ops and Flashpoints then ever before. In our guild alone, we went from a schedule that ran Ops once a week, to a schedule that is running group content six times a week. Ops is a nightly group finder activity. And grouping for WBs and flashpoints is a common activity. If this isn't an MMORPG, then I'll take whatever this is.

 

There is much to do after chapter nine. If you don't want to do it, or think there should only be a story component, then this game isn't for you. Unsub and come back. And therein lies why episodic story content is brilliant and a great monthly release structure, because you will be coming back! You don't need to be here the whole time for BW to reap the rewards.

[annabethchase]

Well, I rather choose 2 chapters per year, if the chapters are good, that any rushed content. Don't forgett, BW is not good when they're fighting against schedule, and rushed content per se is bad, even in the better cases. So yeah, release chapter X in January, even in February or for March, but please, do it good. I can wait, I have patience and there're a lot of things I can do with my spare time. There's a lot of places I want to go, a lot of games I want to play, a lot of books I want to read, and a lot of movies I want to watch. I don't drop suscription, I haven't done since release, I'm not going to do ir now, specially when I love the game changes that have been made. So please, BW, do it right rather than quickly.

 

So please, don't begin with the pressure. Because pressure can make developers to break and the content to fall into the abyss of the plotholes.

 

You might "can wait" but others will not. If the content isn't coming, the subs will decline until it does. That is not good for anyone.

[Celise]

The monthly release structure is the best case scenario. The current content we have, and the content we're getting on a monthly basis is literally coming as quickly as Bioware can possibly time it.

 

I am not trying to be rude here, but people need to realize that the developers can't just snap their fingers and magically generate 100 hours of new content with full voice acting, storyline, and cinematics. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money. The developers are releasing content as quickly as they possibly can. The current expansion already features more content + game changes than either of the two previous expanions...and we've been promised monthly releases of new chapters. Why can't people be grateful for that?

 

Again not trying to be rude, but the whole "KOTFE doesn't have enough content" argument is getting really old. Bioware doesn't have a magic genie that will instantly produce content that will satisfy anyone and everyone that plays this game.

 

its likely they are either finished with it and its going through some internal testing or its about to finish for the holidays and then some testing afterwards. either way they got a month and a few weeks to pull something together. the chances are that if they have been working in advance, they will be finished in advance for their next project, whatever it maybe. its possible they could be half a year ahead of the playerbase getting this stuff, could even be 3/4 of a year...

 

im not unmindful of what you are writing, its just that ive hung around enough mmos now of various companies and people to know that the development cycle is usually half a year in advance and all it requires are the timetable days to tick to release the stuff.

[Pagy]

By the dictionary definition it is content, but many MMO forum goers like to make up their own definitions for words because they think it proves they are right, but really it just proves they are stupid.

a rep grind using old content is a parlor trick.

 

its not "content" at all but kudos to bw for convincing people they need to grind rep to get back something they had before.

[Maraxuss]

The monthly release structure is the best case scenario. The current content we have, and the content we're getting on a monthly basis is literally coming as quickly as Bioware can possibly time it.

 

I am not trying to be rude here, but people need to realize that the developers can't just snap their fingers and magically generate 100 hours of new content with full voice acting, storyline, and cinematics. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money. The developers are releasing content as quickly as they possibly can. The current expansion already features more content + game changes than either of the two previous expanions...and we've been promised monthly releases of new chapters. Why can't people be grateful for that?

 

Again not trying to be rude, but the whole "KOTFE doesn't have enough content" argument is getting really old. Bioware doesn't have a magic genie that will instantly produce content that will satisfy anyone and everyone that plays this game.

 

The Difference is this game is 15.00, other games that have monthly episodic content such as TSW is 5.00 last time I checked. So unless Swtor wants to either pony up on ALOT more subscriber perks (which is basically none, if you have bought all your unlocks off the gtn already), or go the standard of other episodic games of 5 bucks. Its can't be both ways, if the game wants to survive.

[Eillack]

It's set up that way so BW gets more cash than a simple DLC.

[otterscrubber]

The monthly release structure is the best case scenario. The current content we have, and the content we're getting on a monthly basis is literally coming as quickly as Bioware can possibly time it.

 

I am not trying to be rude here, but people need to realize that the developers can't just snap their fingers and magically generate 100 hours of new content with full voice acting, storyline, and cinematics. It takes a lot of time, effort, and money. The developers are releasing content as quickly as they possibly can. The current expansion already features more content + game changes than either of the two previous expanions...and we've been promised monthly releases of new chapters. Why can't people be grateful for that?

 

Again not trying to be rude, but the whole "KOTFE doesn't have enough content" argument is getting really old. Bioware doesn't have a magic genie that will instantly produce content that will satisfy anyone and everyone that plays this game.

 

Well said, people whine a lot. It doesn't matter how much content they made, folks would burn through it and complain the devs didn't do enough. It's much easier to play content than it is to make it........

 

To the OP, you seem concerned about "wasting" $15/month. Umm....I bet if you look at other things you spend $15 on you don't get nearly the fun you can out of a month of SWTOR. Movie - 2 hours, G&T made with good Gin, about the same......if $15/month is really that much of a burden perhaps playing video games really shouldn't be a priority. There's more to the game than PVE storyline as well I might point out. Anyhoo........

[Pagy]

I'm already excited for the rage threads in 4 weeks when all the people that misunderstood and expect new chapters starting in November.

[Eillack]

I'm already excited for the rage threads in 4 weeks when all the people that misunderstood and expect new chapters starting in November.

 

Well truth be told, we were told a handful of times that we would not be getting anything until January.

[Pagy]

Well truth be told, we were told a handful of times that we would not be getting anything until January.

I know but maybe it's just me, it seems a lot of people in game and guild thought content would come monthly right away. their misunderstanding of course but I'm still expecting a lot of angst here next month.

[XiamaraSimi]

Well truth be told, we were told a handful of times that we would not be getting anything until January.

 

Now now, all the "WHERES MY NICO!?!?!?!1111111!!!" Threads over the past 4 months should show you how little SWTOR players actually read/comprehend things like that

 

They could make it a flashing neon picture on the launcher thats accompanied by the Submarine dive claxon, and a pop up window for every character login and derps would still start clammoring in November...

Edited November 1, 2015 by XiamaraSimi

[Maraxuss]

Well said, people whine a lot. It doesn't matter how much content they made, folks would burn through it and complain the devs didn't do enough. It's much easier to play content than it is to make it........

 

To the OP, you seem concerned about "wasting" $15/month. Umm....I bet if you look at other things you spend $15 on you don't get nearly the fun you can out of a month of SWTOR. Movie - 2 hours, G&T made with good Gin, about the same......if $15/month is really that much of a burden perhaps playing video games really shouldn't be a priority. There's more to the game than PVE storyline as well I might point out. Anyhoo........

o

 

I think money these days mean a little more than you give it credit for or your out of touch with things, one of the two. No body...and I mean nobody that I know, whether they be working adults, college kids, friends, family...no one, spends 15.00 to go to a movie anymore and get an 8.00 popcorn, 4.00 coke. They get a 99 cent 2 liter, a bag of microwave popcorn, and hit up the red box. Even the Really good jobs here...the ones that people want and hope to get, are the 15.00/hour jobs. Are you really going to work 1.5-2 hours after taxes to get that one over priced G&T?

On the other hand you might say, 15.00 for a whole months worth of entertainment is great, and it probably is if your a true NOOB that has never ever set foot in the game world before, but this game is going on 4 years old...just like WoW, the people that are going to play it probably already have, and even the ones that haven't will eventually get to the point where the only thing they have not done is the single hour of new episodic content they can look forward to each month, BW is taking a terribly awful risk that people are going to continue ponying up 15.00 for that hour each and every month.

[Maraxuss]

Now now, all the "WHERES MY NICO!?!?!?!1111111!!!" Threads over the past 4 months should show you how little SWTOR players actually read/comprehend things like that

 

They could make it a flashing neon picture on the launcher thats accompanied by the Submarine dive claxon, and a pop up window for every character login and derps would still start clammoring in November...

 

Truth...pages upon pages of the Nico Stuff, and that info was actually posted everywhere. When no new chapters come in Nov. I'm taking bets that there will still be at least 1 huge thread on the main general page come Christmas day. Ready the popcorn folks.

[Jumajin]

Why would we bother to grind influence with companions. There is limited content in which to use them and not everyone crafts. Thankfully, I play a lot of other games and this is the only one I pay for. Plus, Fallout 4 is being released next month.

 

This ^^^^^^

 

I do not craft in SWTOR. Never cared much for the crafting system, so I don't do it. My companions and I can already faceroll the content we are doing, except for Heroic Star Fortress, but I just take another player and hammer them out fairly quickly anyway.

 

There is absolutely no way I'm worried about grinding out 250k Influence across companions when there's absolutely no mechanical reason, except crafting, to do so since they definitely don't need more power for anything I'm using them on. I got Lana to rank 21, and see no need to go higher. Theron is only rank 5, and he doesn't even come close to dying in Heroic quests or any Solo flashpoint.

 

 

o

 

I think money these days mean a little more than you give it credit for or your out of touch with things, one of the two. No body...and I mean nobody that I know, whether they be working adults, college kids, friends, family...no one, spends 15.00 to go to a movie anymore and get an 8.00 popcorn, 4.00 coke. They get a 99 cent 2 liter, a bag of microwave popcorn, and hit up the red box. Even the Really good jobs here...the ones that people want and hope to get, are the 15.00/hour jobs. Are you really going to work 1.5-2 hours after taxes to get that one over priced G&T?

On the other hand you might say, 15.00 for a whole months worth of entertainment is great, and it probably is if your a true NOOB that has never ever set foot in the game world before, but this game is going on 4 years old...just like WoW, the people that are going to play it probably already have, and even the ones that haven't will eventually get to the point where the only thing they have not done is the single hour of new episodic content they can look forward to each month, BW is taking a terribly awful risk that people are going to continue ponying up 15.00 for that hour each and every month.

 

And also this^^^^. The wife and I make six-figures annually, and even we rarely go to the movie theater anymore. It isn't that we can't afford it, it's what we see as value for the money. We'll spend that money to sit in a theater with a ton of other people laughing, or commenting, or crying kids . . . and for what? So when I also need to pee in the middle of it, I also get to miss scenes?

 

Nah. We have a large screen at home, peace and quiet to enjoy the film, comfortable furniture, and a pause button when we need it. Much more value just to see it on blu-ray.

 

I like the story BioWare has done, but to be honest I see little reason to keep grinding out Alliance at this point. I see little value for my money in therefore paying $15/mo for each future 1-2 hour chapter as it comes out. What I'm likely to do is go play something else, or maybe even nothing else and worry about my non video game hobbies, and wait until all seven (7) future chapters are released, then subscribe for a month, and play them all at once.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Jumajin

[XiamaraSimi]

o

 

I think money these days mean a little more than you give it credit for or your out of touch with things, one of the two. No body...and I mean nobody that I know, whether they be working adults, college kids, friends, family...no one, spends 15.00 to go to a movie anymore and get an 8.00 popcorn, 4.00 coke. They get a 99 cent 2 liter, a bag of microwave popcorn, and hit up the red box. Even the Really good jobs here...the ones that people want and hope to get, are the 15.00/hour jobs. Are you really going to work 1.5-2 hours after taxes to get that one over priced G&T?

On the other hand you might say, 15.00 for a whole months worth of entertainment is great, and it probably is if your a true NOOB that has never ever set foot in the game world before, but this game is going on 4 years old...just like WoW, the people that are going to play it probably already have, and even the ones that haven't will eventually get to the point where the only thing they have not done is the single hour of new episodic content they can look forward to each month, BW is taking a terribly awful risk that people are going to continue ponying up 15.00 for that hour each and every month.

 

Sure some people might not go to the theater to see a movie, but people plunk down $6 for a cup of starbucks, $10 for a pack of cigarettes, $6-10 for one meal at mcdonalds, and those are consumed on use...

 

$0.50 a day is nothing to me for swtor. Even if i only played for an hour or two in the entire month, its paid for itself to me.

 

And ive been playing MMOs since EverQuest, so not an mmo "Noob" either good lord people, these are -games- not second jobs...

Edited November 1, 2015 by XiamaraSimi

[Qui_Jon]

it's kinda weak though as a single player RPG. Because the, you enter the realm of game like The Witcher 3, Dragon Age inquisition or Fallout 4. SWTOR cannot compete with those. That's why they definitely should emphasize more the MMO aspect, that is the strength of the game

 

But they are not emphasizing the MMO aspect of the game. If anything bioware is trying to hide that aspect now. They are not developing real MMO content they are developing stand alone content, they have streamlined experience to the point you no longer EARN levels you just simply achieve them for getting to a certain point in the story. I didn't earn levels 60-65 I basically was just given the levels for completing these 9 chapters. There was no way I would not have been ready to move on to chapter 8 when I finished chapter 7. And the changes they made to levels 1-50 are basically doing the same thing to the early game.

 

And honestly if you think of the game as a whole. Levels 1-50 can definitely be held up as a stand alone RPG with each individual story line being unique. The 51-60 game is probably what I consider the most MMO styled content of the entire game. Now this new chunk is totally just single player on the rail game experience. But seriously if you think about it, with a bit of reworking to some operation content and perhaps finding ways to earn or craft the cartel items, this entire game could be one single player RPG and would require no inter-player interactions what so ever. The only reason why it can be considered an MMORPG is because its hosted on a multiplayer server with a monetized store and a subscription model. The game play itself is not an MMO.

[Uruare]

Well said. And let's not forget, that this xpac is in response to a couple of overwhelming desires from this every community: More Story and More Content.

 

As for those that think this isn't an MMORPG anymore? That is laughable. Did Ops disappear? What about flashpoints are they gone? Oh, what about PvP and GSF?

 

The fact is, that this expansion has more people running Ops and Flashpoints then ever before. In our guild alone, we went from a schedule that ran Ops once a week, to a schedule that is running group content six times a week. Ops is a nightly group finder activity. And grouping for WBs and flashpoints is a common activity. If this isn't an MMORPG, then I'll take whatever this is.

 

There is much to do after chapter nine. If you don't want to do it, or think there should only be a story component, then this game isn't for you. Unsub and come back. And therein lies why episodic story content is brilliant and a great monthly release structure, because you will be coming back! You don't need to be here the whole time for BW to reap the rewards.

 

I hear you on all of this. Two of the guilds I'm in are doing HM's and GF ops every night nowadays, and we're doing a whole lot of smashing heroics and Star Fortresses between them.

 

I'm baffled by anyone saying there's no group current anymore. I'm drowning in it.

 

I'm on a weeks vacation for Halloween and can play all day every day and there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all the group stuff that is here for be to do in just two modestly active guilds.

[obbigttam]

Oops sorry. I thought from the title this was a feminist post about the unfair biological condition that afflicts the female of the species and was jumping in to voice my support for the removal of GST on sanitary items.

 

While I'm here though I'll voice my support for the new story structure as it gives me something to look forward to more often. I understand it's not to everyone's taste and that's ok too, you'll never please everybody in a game.

[ImmortalLowlife]

o

 

I think money these days mean a little more than you give it credit for or your out of touch with things, one of the two. No body...and I mean nobody that I know, whether they be working adults, college kids, friends, family...no one, spends 15.00 to go to a movie anymore and get an 8.00 popcorn, 4.00 coke. They get a 99 cent 2 liter, a bag of microwave popcorn, and hit up the red box. Even the Really good jobs here...the ones that people want and hope to get, are the 15.00/hour jobs. Are you really going to work 1.5-2 hours after taxes to get that one over priced G&T?

On the other hand you might say, 15.00 for a whole months worth of entertainment is great, and it probably is if your a true NOOB that has never ever set foot in the game world before, but this game is going on 4 years old...just like WoW, the people that are going to play it probably already have, and even the ones that haven't will eventually get to the point where the only thing they have not done is the single hour of new episodic content they can look forward to each month, BW is taking a terribly awful risk that people are going to continue ponying up 15.00 for that hour each and every month.

 

That's the magic sentence in bold. No one YOU know... I take my family of 6 to the movies at least 5-6 times a year. We generally avoid the concession stand, but some movies are best seen in theaters. And most of MY friends are the same way.

 

That said... $15 a month ain't **** when compared to mortgage, insurance, car note, motorcycle note, etc. Hell factor in Netflix, cable, internet, 6 cell phones, PS+, & Xbox live and you can see why IDGAF about $15 for a SW game I've enjoyed since launch. I don't play any other mmo and have no desire to. But I did build a beast of a PC just to play swtor.

 

 

I think the monthly release is fine. Because I do more than play games for entertainment. I've only finished KotFE with 2 characters so far, but I've got 6 that are going thru the content. I've also got 4 brand new characters who are starting at lvl 1. There are FP's I've NEVER seen that I can do now that they have solo modes. I got plenty to do in game, so it's definitely worth the $15 a month I spend.

[Daezihang]

Disclaimer: Haven't quite finished the new story yet.

 

The new story is pretty damn short, and if the monthly chapters are as short as these chapters I think I'll probably just finish up the 9 base chapters and then wait until next year (groan) to play through this full expansion. That way I'm not wasting 15 dollars every month on a couple hours worth of content. It's a bit disappointing to run out of content like this, especially when there won't be more until JANUARY.

 

It seems ridiculous. I like the idea of episodic content, but this execution just leaves more to be desired. I will be back when the story is completed, but it's probably not worth my money and time to stick around in the meantime when I can just resubscribe at any point and get the full package. I still got enough out of the story for this month though, I don't mean to be a downer.

 

"Disclaimer: Haven't quite finished the new story yet."

 

Before commenting you really should finish it first, THEN make an opinion.

[WorldSmasher]

Why I think the monthly release structure is a bad idea.

 

Because you can't wait that long?

[Alphasgimaone]

I know but maybe it's just me, it seems a lot of people in game and guild thought content would come monthly right away. their misunderstanding of course but I'm still expecting a lot of angst here next month.

They must've missed the Musco "There's a movie coming out..." meme.

[Heromofo]

Well i do hope the chapters and mini dlc thst come with it are great and add alot.

I am glad they waited till Jan i reckon most will be playing fallout 4 and battlefront like me.

Also much to be done Eight classes to run through kotfe (done five), Get them all to rank 20 alliance (highest one is 16).

As well as updating all gear on them all to 224 and finishing off my crew skills.

Also on top of that heaps of new decos and titles i want and got over 50 million influence to get.

 

 

 

Man the list goes on if you're just talking about the main story then you should know the insane amount of work it takes to do one chapter worth.

 

Ps also star wars 7 about to come out alot is going on atm glad its Jan

Edited November 2, 2015 by Heromofo

[VanorDM]

Honestly more content faster isn't going to happen.

 

So would people really rather have 15 hours of content, at 2 hours a month. Or have a single release of all 15 hours but wait 8 months to see it? Because that's really the option.

 

They can produce X amount of content a month... Myself I'd rather see new content every month then wait. For me this system will keep me subscribed for sometime, because I know that i'll have a reason to break out my Jedi every month, rather than once a year or so.

Edited November 2, 2015 by VanorDM