June Producer Livestream Wrap-up (6/30)

[VirtualMorrigan]

Hey folks,

 

[*]Companions - Without being spoilery, we have received feedback regarding the impact of Companions leaving via story and the time/money that has been put into them. We are looking at how to solve this issue in the future.

 

...you mean you never even saw that as a potential issue? Colour me speechless...

 

First you dump the companion affection grind on the players, then you take some of those companions away through story script, and THEN you give your best big-eyed Bambi impression because no one could have foreseen that people get upset if they lose something they put considerable time and effort into by circumstances outside their control?

 

Seriously? Is your collective understanding of the mentality of your customers that nonexistent?

[MTCason]

For me, the livestream was a picture perfect example of how communication -appears- to have broken down between the devs and the community. I say appears because that's simply my opinion and I, unlike some, will reasonably concede that I don't see the whole picture. None of us do, outside of you developers. But from my end, the stream was very light on information and very few of the salient questions in chat answered. First and foremost:

 

What feedback was listened to with the changes to the Cartel Market? I've never seen any thread on Bronze Items vs Chance Cubes, and never had my opinion solicited. If I had I would have screamed from the mountaintops that we are better off with more Chance Cubes and less Bronze Items. The former can contain goodies worth millions of credits. The latter are all but worthless on the GTN. The decision seems arbitrary without any clear sign of feedback on this, even though feedback was cited as the primary reason for the change.

 

Secondly, and I don't understand why this wasn't answered as it has always been included in your previous sneak-peaks of coming chapters:

 

What companion do we get back in the next chapter? So many people asked this and it wasn't even touched upon.

[IanArgent]

...you mean you never even saw that as a potential issue? Colour me speechless...

 

First you dump the companion affection grind on the players, then you take some of those companions away through story script, and THEN you give your best big-eyed Bambi impression because no one could have foreseen that people get upset if they lose something they put considerable time and effort into by circumstances outside their control?

 

Seriously? Is your collective understanding of the mentality of your customers that nonexistent?

 

Actually, I'm not surprised they didn't see it coming. They should have, but they're in the middle of transitioning paradigms, and they're falling back on "the old ways" a little more than I'd like to see.

[Exly]

Can't you guys simply make it to where we just can't summon those companions into KotFE chapters?

 

I went into KotFE fully understanding that our Choices Matter™, but this companion removal was not one of them. My choices had no impact on this companion leaving, yet I'm still suffering the same consequence. It infuriates me because I've influenced said character to 50 on several different characters, and now I have lost that character due to a choice that was not mine. I've been given several months of gameplay with this character, and then (arguably) out of the blue, I lose them.

 

But you chose to play the game, and you chose to do the chapter, so any negative side effects are obviously a result of your actions.

 

/sacrasm

[PlagaNerezza]

Good Communication. Thank you.

 

You can counter the credit issue by reducing the reward for treasure boxes and slicing nodes. That should dramatically impact the credit inflation because this is how botters and credit sellers make a living in this game.

[TW-Cool]

Any chance of giving any free server character slots? I have used all of mine creating the 16 unique toons over the past 3-4 years. With this event we need to create more toons... effectively giving us (long time "Legendary" players) 24 total toons at a minimum. Surprisingly, a few people that I know might be trying to go for the 1st tier LvD rewards, so I might want to as well....

 

Basically we are being punished for playing this game for as long as we have. "Sorry, you created too many toons. Delete them and start again or buy new slots." While a newer player who only created 8 toons or less, could easily create 8 new toons and do the event for free.

 

Our subscriber rewards give us 500 CC per month, but character slots are "on sale" for 450 CC. I assume this event ends after the Gree event in October? That is not enough time for our CC rewards to earn us enough to buy all of the slots. So, we still cant do the event for "free".

 

I'd vote for two free slots at least and/or a deeper discount on a Character Slot.

 

Thanks for reading.

[AlCorazon]

Really? Entire stream people ask, and you just ignore? How the hell can you just bluntly ignore your players when they ask a question. I did not pick up any useful info pvp wise on that stream, a complete waste of time.

[DarthScruffy]

I assume the cryptic answer is stuff coming with the next expansion. I can see that Oct. 27 or later is a little long to confirm.

[Aulus_Claudius]

Ignore the event. There you go, it's cancelled for you. Meanwhile those of us who are enjoying the event can continue doing so. Cancelling the event would provide nothing to you that you don't get from simply ignoring it, so why such a selfish demand?

 

That's just the thing, that doesn't cancel it for me. I spent real money on their Cartel Market for items that they are now making available to solo questers and F2Pers. The event itself isn't my problem - it's the rewards flying in the face of paying customers. New, exclusive event rewards are what were necessary, but they were apparently too lazy and took the immoral route of screwing their loyal customers. And we noticed.

 

It's ok. People have been saying it's a rubbish event and there is no way they will be repeating everything, so they will continue to be rare, right?

 

Don't worry they are not being handed out for nothing - they are only available as event rewards.

 

Not necessarily - enough people are making the effort to at least get the lv25 reward that it will make an impact on the number of people who have these rarest of items. Time will tell whether this event is a 'success' by EA's metric, but for the first couple of days the starting planets seem pretty full.

 

They are very much being handed out for nothing, considering they were cash shop exclusives before - solo questing is not the same thing as investing into the game. Had there been two methods from the start to acquire these items, fine, but they were sold to us as cash shop exclusives and now EA is making a 180 on that policy retroactively. This game is not pay-to-win by any metric, nor would I play if it were, yet some of us have invested easily 10x more than the average subscriber. I can't believe how entitled some people are to suggest that we should have nothing for that additional investment, especially when it's just cosmetic stuff, and that non-paying (or merely subbing) questers should have the same access to those perks as a serious investor. Sure, they can buy the stuff from one of said investors, but selling it was the decision of someone who paid for it, not who got it for free in some quest-reward pack.

 

Fact is, if they take the once-exclusive special perks given to investors in their game and allow everyone to acquire them, people will quit investing. It just makes no financial sense. For now, I am unsubbed. If I experience serious SWTOR withdrawal and come back - which with the coming of Legion I deem highly unlikely - I will still never again invest into the CM, because they have shown that they think nothing of the people who do.

[Clone_Enforcer]

These new companions from the Dark vs. Light event, will they have a recruitment mission or will we just get them via a token unlock, like Treek or Nico? Do they have companion conversations, or are they even romanceable? Will their presence be in any way acknowledged in KOTFE later on?

 

I think that's a good idea. They should do it the way HK-51 and Treek can be bought.

[Char_Ell]

Some small part of me had held out hope that this joke of an 'event' would be cancelled, even though I knew EAWare would never listen to their player base.

 

It was a mistake to continue subscribing to this game after EA took it over, and that's a mistake I'm correcting now.

 

LOL. EA took over this game and BioWare before SWTOR launched. You've been subscribing with EA-owned BioWare the whole time. SMH.

[AussieAlan]

That's just the thing, that doesn't cancel it for me. I spent real money on their Cartel Market for items that they are now making available to solo questers and F2Pers. The event itself isn't my problem - it's the rewards flying in the face of paying customers. New, exclusive event rewards are what were necessary, but they were apparently too lazy and took the immoral route of screwing their loyal customers. And we noticed.

.

 

You see how stupid this is right, I play solo, and I am a sub, and have been for 3 and a half years.

F2p can only get 15 boxes, if they are lucky they might get a weapon, a dye or colour crystal, that is it, they won't get armour, its only part boxes ie upper body, odds of anyone getting a full set free is worse than doing black widow and padma at the same time.

 

I hope pref an f2p get lots of expensive cartel stuff, just to make you elitest subs mad.

[Aulus_Claudius]

I hope pref an f2p get lots of expensive cartel stuff, just to make you elitest subs mad.

 

If you consider expecting value for our money to be elitist, you're clueless. Further, if paying customers are mad because non-paying ones got all the expensive stuff for free, said customers leave and this game dies. Hope you know what you're asking for.

[Aulus_Claudius]

LOL. EA took over this game and BioWare before SWTOR launched. You've been subscribing with EA-owned BioWare the whole time. SMH.

 

You're right, I stand corrected. Somehow I had it in my head that EA took over later. That changes the factoid, but not the sentiment behind it - I loved the old BioWare (Dragon Age, ME1), and was apparently a fool to keep supporting their products after EA bought them out.

[casirabit]

Thanks for a good stream. Can't wait to see the new content.

 

To the rest of you complainers: shame on you!! You all sound like a bunch of ungrateful spoiled brats. Grow up!

 

And let me ask you something, if there was something someone didn't like they are according to you supposed to ignore it just because you consider them a spoiled brat. No, when there is something you don't like you bring it to the attention of the company and you list what you don't like. That doesn't make you a spoiled brat, that makes you a reasonable adult discussing something you don't like.

 

The company will never know if they do something we dont' like, i.e. just like nerfing the heroics payouts without letting us know about it and if it wasn't for some of the people bringing it to the attention then it would have just sat there. That is not a spoiled brat but a reasonable discussion.

[IanArgent]

And let me ask you something, if there was something someone didn't like they are according to you supposed to ignore it just because you consider them a spoiled brat. No, when there is something you don't like you bring it to the attention of the company and you list what you don't like. That doesn't make you a spoiled brat, that makes you a reasonable adult discussing something you don't like.

 

The company will never know if they do something we dont' like, i.e. just like nerfing the heroics payouts without letting us know about it and if it wasn't for some of the people bringing it to the attention then it would have just sat there. That is not a spoiled brat but a reasonable discussion.

 

Which is why I broke down and posted my about-face on the concept behind DvL, and why it's in my .sig - locking out existing characters was a Bad Idea. I cut BW a lot of slack, but I'll call them out where I think it's necessary, useful, and prudent. Courteously.

[bohleyc]

I was told that the armor and Compan are rewarded account wide yet I did not receive the xp gear on my other characters. Eric can you please clear this up. Edited July 1, 2016 by bohleyc

[Sorwen]

I'm less surprised by EAware messing veteran players over than the number of people surprised it is happening. How many times have they ignored all feedback and pushed forward telling us this is what we wanted?

[DarthDymond]

I was told that the armor and Compan are rewarded account wide yet I did not receive the xp gear on my other characters. Eric can you please clear this up.

 

Some rewards (like Companion) go to your whole account at the end of the "event", others (like the XP armor) go to the specific character that finished the last requirement for its tier:

Good question! The rewards are delivered in three different methods, depending on the reward:

• Titles - These are tied to the Achievement and therefore are unlocked for each character in the Legacy.
  
• Dark vs. Light Packs and Pioneer Armor Set - These will be delivered via in-game mail to the character who completes the final objective in that event level.
  
• End of event Cosmetic Rewards - Things like the Companion and the vehicles will come at the end of the event and will be delivered to every character on the account, similar to the monthly sub rewards.
  

-eric

[Costello]

I really hope that none of the Bioware Team are married.

 

I'd hate to see what their 5 year wedding anniversary would be like. Darling we have had 5 years together you have stuck with me loyally, so to reward you I thought I'd try and court something a little newer.

 

Now in the mind of bioware this will be some amazing 22 year old heiress who loves to spend lots of money.

 

However their plan to court something newer is to offer the same thing as 5 years ago only now dated and some shinnies, which means the only thing that will be interested is an aged blotted whore, who the moment the shinnies are gone will move onto the next shinnies.

 

It honestly seems that 5 year anniversary and rather than reward loyal customers they want to drive them away, for this mythical new players who honestly don't exist no matter how much they wish they did. That or they want to kill the game so want to drive off their long term customers knowing full well there wont be new customers to replace them killing the game off.

[Shwarzchild]

I still find it disconcerting that in the streams very very little is given regarding where we are going. It's always mostly about what has already been released. I feel like the stream is backwards. We're entering the end of a content cycle and we have absolutely no clue what's coming. That's a very big issue for me.

[EarlWhiteHaven]

You've read the classics AND are a Honor Harrington fan? I like you already (It's a short story by O Henry called Gift of the Magi)

 

The game desperately needs credit sinks right now, this is one of them. I question them putting them in at the same time as massively crushing the primary income source, though.

 

Thanks for the title I been trying to remember it all night. It always great to find someone who gets my character names. (New Harrington book in Nov!!!!).

 

Thing is that the perk itself will encourage credit sinking(If that is a word). After maxing out one toon for my main I really don't have the patience to do it again and so I end up using just one comp per character like before when we had to gear them up. So I was excited about this perk when I heard it was coming and if it was more reasonable to get for multiple toons I would probably send lots of money on gifts to bring up the affection levels for several comps on multiple toons which would have the same effect Bioware is trying to achieve in a manner that is more profitable for everyone.

 

(Am I the only one who thinks it is odd that this forums spelling auto-correct doesn't recognize the word Bioware?)

[ZambedosNB]

Dark Vs Light Event

• Dark Vs Light Pack bind rules - The reason we chose to go with BoP over BoL for these items is Collections. Currently, BoL items do not work towards a Collection unlock. If we had the items be BoL then you could not have combined the event packs with any other items to complete a Collection set. We agree this is not optimal and we are working on ways to solve this moving forward.
  

-eric

 

My Idea for this would be to make the big packs BOL (The ones you can see in your achievement screen) but then all the loot/little packs BOP. I suppose the little packs could also be BOL, whatever's easier. While this wouldn't solve every possible scenario it would be a lot better. For example if you are hoping to land a particular piece of gear for a non DVL toon.

[Aries]

Dark Vs Light Event

 

Event Goals/Rewards - As we are heading into our 5-year anniversary we really wanted to celebrate and offer new rewards to players for simply creating a new character and playing through the game. That is the overall focus of this event. We have no plans at this time to make rewards retroactive.

-eric

 

My overall focus was to level 16 toons all 8 advanced classes on both the republic and empire over the past 5 years. This event continues to be a slap in the face to all beta / launch veteran players regardless of your character slot increase. 16 toons is enough. As a result of your decision I have no plans to re-subscribe.

Edited July 2, 2016 by Aries

[Jerba]

I'm less surprised by EAware messing veteran players over than the number of people surprised it is happening. How many times have they ignored all feedback and pushed forward telling us this is what we wanted?

We certainly have seen much worse than the DvL event. Issues like how they handled the nightmare loot I consider much more egregious than this event, but I guess it only affected a minority of the population. The DvL event affects every long-term player, which is why we see more complaints.