xordevoreaux Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) Edit: .... for the people who are bothering now. Right now, the data shows dark side choices ahead by a couple percentage points. What if that spread grows to 10 percent? Will people look at those numbers on light side and think, "what could I possibly do to help turn this around?" and give up? If there is an overwhelming spread between the two numbers eventually -- and everyone has their own idea of "overwhelming" then do we spend the next two months with light-side folks giving up after getting their xp gear? I'll plug along making light side choices until I see how bad it gets. It's not like the playing population was ever split evenly 50/50 in terms of partiality toward light or dark to begin with, so I suspect it'll boil down very quickly next week if not the week after that as to how this will turn out -- months before the event's over. Edited July 9, 2016 by xordevoreaux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolodome Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I don't even buy that the current number up there is accurate in the first place. I mean, an exact 49/51 split? What a staggering happenstance. Seems more like they put the stock counter on the website and never updated it to the ongoing values. If they'd actually said "the counter is up and working" in a post, that'd be different. That said, I don't think most people are bothering right now. I think they're doing whatever gets them the rewards and if they're going for legendary, doing both light and dark. I can't see many people leveling extra toons just to try to push the bar. There will be those who do it for the 8 toon requirement, for sure, but beyond that... I doubt it. 'Course, maybe I'm just projecting my own preferences onto other people. Plus your post looked lonely. Had to give it some attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelballz Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I don't even buy that the current number up there is accurate in the first place. I mean, an exact 49/51 split? What a staggering happenstance. Seems more like they put the stock counter on the website and never updated it to the ongoing values. If they'd actually said "the counter is up and working" in a post, that'd be different. That said, I don't think most people are bothering right now. I think they're doing whatever gets them the rewards and if they're going for legendary, doing both light and dark. I can't see many people leveling extra toons just to try to push the bar. There will be those who do it for the 8 toon requirement, for sure, but beyond that... I doubt it. 'Course, maybe I'm just projecting my own preferences onto other people. Plus your post looked lonely. Had to give it some attention. I Agree with this there needs to be a counter that shows the total choices. Edited July 9, 2016 by squirrelballz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pietrastor Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I don't even think most do the event with the companion in mind, I suspect most realize whichever one wins it will be just like Nico, if even that much. Tiny recruitement quest, little dialogues etc. Reward boxes with rare/exensive armors, crystals etc are prob much bigger incentive, especially as they already get granted Edited July 9, 2016 by Pietrastor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erevan_Kindelar Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Probably people will pick a character to level to Light V, and one to Dark V, for the LvD achievement, and then let the rest follow their natural inclination. Which means that Dark should win out relatively easily, I expect. Although for the players who are predominantly light-sided, or who just find a Chiss more desireable (as a swtor companion, you perverted heathens) than a Zabrak and who are not put off by the fact that these two will almost certainly be voiceless cardboard cut-outs, Bioware will probably put Master Ranos on the Cartel Market shortly after the event finishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I don't even buy that the current number up there is accurate in the first place. I mean, an exact 49/51 split? What a staggering happenstance. Seems more like they put the stock counter on the website and never updated it to the ongoing values. Rounded to the nearest percentage point I imagine. With dark side leading slightly at the moment. And likely only updated once a week. They are not going to list absolute numbers for the same reason they generally don't give out specific metrics data on much of anything in the game. It is considered competitive information I'm sure... meaning they don't tip their metrics to competitors. What is so odd about this? Not that it matters much .. given we have months to go yet before they end the event. Edited July 9, 2016 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolodome Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Rounded to the nearest percentage point I imagine. With dark side leading slightly at the moment. And likely only updated once a week. They are not going to list absolute numbers for the same reason they generally don't give out specific metrics data on much of anything in the game. It is considered competitive information I'm sure... meaning they don't tip their metrics to competitors. What is so odd about this? Not that it matters much .. given we have months to go yet before they end the event. It's not odd to you that without any announcement about it being posted to confirm it's accurate, the first time we see the meter it's a percentage point away from an exact 50/50 split? I have no problems believing in odd things happening. But come on. Without confirmation, common sense says that's not the real percentage spread. It would mean people just happened to split almost exactly evenly on LS/DS choices. Those are some crazy odds. Again, if they confirm it, that's one thing. But we're talking about, without confirmation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pietrastor Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Not sure what's so odd about 50/50 split, TOR has always been more even than say Mass Effect series (Paragon dominated in released stats) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelballz Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) They are not going to list absolute numbers for the same reason they generally don't give out specific metrics data on much of anything in the game. It is considered competitive information I'm sure... meaning they don't tip their metrics to competitors. What is so odd about this? I'm just here scratching my head and wondering who is their competitor? Does anyone else own the Star Wars IP? What would other MMO's even do with the data from the grind vs repeat event? Or is the competition their player base? Edited July 9, 2016 by squirrelballz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolodome Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I'm just here scratching my head and wondering who is their competitor? Does anyone else own the Star Wars IP. What would other MMO's even do with the data from the grind vs repeat event? Or is the competition their player base? Kinda wondering that myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I'm just here scratching my head and wondering who is their competitor? Does anyone else own the Star Wars IP? What would other MMO's even do with the data from the grind vs repeat event? Or is the competition their player base? Every other MMO on the market. Why? Because every company wants to know how their competition is doing, particularly on specific types of things.. such as special events. Is it necessary to be so secretive in the face of competitors? Maybe, maybe not. But it is what companies do.... keep specific hard data secret.. so as to not give any other company direct insight into how they are doing. It's not limited to MMO companies either... it's common across corporate culture. And in this particular case... giving out actual numbers for light and dark would reveal active population numbers to some degree... something they simply do not do..... most MMO companies simply do not do this anymore. Please note: I am not justifying the practice, much less defending the studio.. I am simply providing context as to why stuff like this happens. Edited July 9, 2016 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) It's not odd to you that without any announcement about it being posted to confirm it's accurate, the first time we see the meter it's a percentage point away from an exact 50/50 split? Not odd at all in my view. If it remained locked at 50/50 for weeks... then I would find that odd. To see it ticking around 50 +/- a few points for either choice... sounds about right to me. Week one is over.. we see a 2 point spread, favoring Dark.. sounds pretty realistic to me for the total player base. Different servers tend to be more or less influenced to play Dark/Light... but this is not server specific tracking... so I fully expect to see the rollups remain fairly close over time. I do not think we will see a wide point spread over time... but time will tell. Why do I not think that? Because I bet players are pretty evenly divided over what companion they "prefer" and hence will play for. Not that every player cares... I personally do not.. but I understand that people who are into the idea of more force sensitive companions would very much have a personal opinion and chase the LS/DS accordingly. This is probably the first time in 5 year where I have seen any specific motivation (beyond simple player preference) to chase Light or Dark choices in this game. Now.. anyone want to make a bet which one wins in the end? I bet it will be Dark by 3-5 points margin. Edited July 9, 2016 by Andryah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelballz Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) Please note: I am not justifying the practice, much less defending the studio.. I am simply providing context as to why stuff like this happens. Fair enough and I actually agree with your post I was teasing mostly. Though I'm still wondering what on earth would any company benefit from having numbers on who picked more DS/LS choices? I really don't think any info from the event would be valuable other then the main thing being population resurgence which is a nice thing imo. EDIT: The DS of the force is where I'd place my bet on after all peace is a lie. Edited July 9, 2016 by squirrelballz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCT Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 A bit of a side point, but I expected it to be about 50/50 the first few weeks while everyone goes for the Light V and Dark V achievements. After that's out their systems, we'll start to see a clearer picture of what people want (or what Bioware will tell us that we want #TinFoilHat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greezt Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I'd like to share my plan, and maybe other people do the same - I started out my first toon as a dark side toon, purely to get to dark 5. My 7 other toons will all be light side toons... I assume many people are doing the same on their toons as well, purely out of convenience. Some will be doing the exact opposite, of course. Meaning (in short) that the metrics for this are really pointless at the moment, even if they were accurate (and they don't seem to be so). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pietrastor Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) Another fact to consider - TOR doesn't really punish players much for picking Dark choices. Few killed companions while there are literally dozens of them is not much of a loss. Hence people don't try to game the system by picking mostly Light options to avoid losing out on content Edited July 9, 2016 by Pietrastor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakerNoir Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) Probably. I'm just making the choices that I want to make but I can see people throwing in the towel if their side is too far in the losing side. That said the forums are only a small sample size so I could be, and mostly likely am, totally off. Edited July 9, 2016 by DrakerNoir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCT Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I'm hoping most people go Light Side - the Chiss looks like she could go well with either side, the Zabrak wouldn't look good with my Light Sided Guardian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casirabit Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) I would prefer the Chiss but figuring on the dark side will wind up ahead so at the moment not really caring anymore since it seems to be based on everyone's choices. I would have prefer the companion be based on mine but it's not so I gave up caring anymore so if it is the Zab it will be a companion I never used on either side. Edited July 9, 2016 by casirabit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakerNoir Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I would prefer the Chiss but figuring on the dark side will wind up ahead so at the moment not really caring anymore since it seems to be based on everyone's choices. I would have prefer the companion be based on mine but it's not so I gave up caring anymore. I'm doing everything I can to get us that LS comp but I can't do it alone! I need you for this. The Chiss need you for this. Get off the fence and help us help you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyraineAlei Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 A bit of a side point, but I expected it to be about 50/50 the first few weeks while everyone goes for the Light V and Dark V achievements. After that's out their systems, we'll start to see a clearer picture of what people want (or what Bioware will tell us that we want #TinFoilHat) I suspect this is the main case. I have a Mara I rolled to be for the most part Always Chaotic Stupid just for the DV thing and just to see what would happen in an Always Chaotic Stupid Warrior Storyline (Then gain, I'm convinced my LS Jugg who can't qualify for the event is more a chessmaster Sith than BS-crazy like her mentor seems to be for the first two acts of the story. She's LS, but her LS choices are "covered up" in her motivations, like sparing the son of a Republic official just because no one Pub Side would truly trust him after and always wonder if he helped her somehow, like a manipulative ... woman who is extremely mean) I plan on doing what I can to help the LS side get the Chiss, but I'm not really invested in either because neither have a backstory I can look at and go "oooh, I want -her-" And the bar is only updated once a week so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyaniteD Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 (edited) I have to say the companions are very low on my list of motivations. Right now it looks like they're just another in a loooong list of characters I neither know no care about. I'm more motivated by the whole state-of-the-galaxy thing. That seems interesting, and although I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment, I'm curious to see what it is. I prefer the balance be tipped toward the light side and I will do my part for it, but neither will I go out of my way to try to change anything, nor will I give up before the last choice is counted. In other words, I will just do my thing, no matter what the "meter" says. (It is nice from an RP pov, though, to know how things are going.) Edited July 10, 2016 by KyaniteD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveColoSp Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 That counter is just there as an illusion to which side is winning, My bet is that the outcome has already been predetermined by Bioware before the event even started. Next week the Light Side will be winning, Then the week after that back to Dark Side and so on until the "event" is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xordevoreaux Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 That counter is just there as an illusion to which side is winning, My bet is that the outcome has already been predetermined by Bioware before the event even started. Next week the Light Side will be winning, Then the week after that back to Dark Side and so on until the "event" is over. We'll know after Tuesday's update. If it is the case that the percentage rolls between light and dark by just a few points each week, we'll know for sure that we're being played for the sake of the event and that the numbers don't really reflect what we're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soul_of_Flames Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 It pains me to see the dark side winning. That Zabraak comp is ugly and we don't need another double-bladed saber female companion. The Chiss actually looks cool and she duel wields. The only other comp to do that is Ahsara... but she's whiny. Go light side, dammit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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