An apology to the KOTET writing team

[Transcendent]

Excellent job on cinematics, voice over, and story, thank you! If this be it, it was a great ending for a 4.5 year old character!

 

+1 to this.

 

Enjoyed the story, certainly more captivating than I though it would be. As the OP has said, I mirror that sentiment as well, it wasn't because of the story.

[Setta]

I've known Korean grinds with more mercy than this cxp system.

 

This actually made me lol.

 

I've been pretty negative here the past few days, so I want to jump in here and 100% agree with the OP while I have time left to post.

 

I loved the story and had fun playing through it on my main and I think the writers did an awesome job... some things I might want added or changed, but overall I am please with the new chapters.

 

The GC system is what is keeping me from staying, and nothing short of a rollback will change that.

 

Thank you writers!

 

Ya sub should be expiring any time now, and I agree. After looking at how poorly written KotFE was, KotET did a great job wrapping things up with the garbage baggage that it had to deal with. Still not as good as the HK 51 bonus chapter, but pretty damn close. Huge improvement in story telling over all. It's to bad that the loot boxes and by extension GC is going to be what ruins the game, with blame going towards everyone, rather where it deserves to go.

 

It was mediocre at best - ok that was a HUGE improvement on the final third of KotFE (which was frankly abysmal), but it certainly wasn't anything special.

 

For me it was because they had to deal with KofTE's baggage. Also choices finally mattered as much as they're ever going too in this game. Killing off and or saving / freeing people alters certain fights. While not a huge deal, as I found those fight trivial even with out the help that would otherwise be provided, at least it's a huge step in the right direction. It's what most of us have been asking for, since we realize we're not going to get a separate story line for making choice A instead of choice B, this is the next best thing.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Setta

[Vykter]

I am a PVPer and end game raider. I typically do not care about story. This was a great story that even had me interested. To bad it was all for not. Galactic Command is a cruel joke. I just came back to the game but may not be staying unless they make some serious changes. I have played some grindy games before but this is just garbage. Sad because everything else seems good, minus the lack of end game content.

[Leklor]

As many have said above. I'm not leaving because of the story. It was really good and I'll run it again while Preferred.

I only leave because of Galactic Command.

Also, on another subjects, Uprisings are a good start, more group content for those interested (I'm not really but whatever) is always good and it was a good first step. Please keep it up too.

[Hamilkar]

The story was brilliant and I enjoyed every minute of it.

 

Thank you. After this KOTFE makes sense as a one big prelude to all the main events.

[aethelthree]

I too would like to echo the OP's sentiment while I am still a subscriber to do it.

[Sorrai]

I appreciate the OP's intention of praising the writing team for KoTFE but I think the additional criticism and proclamation of unsubscribing in order to protest the RNG controversy diminishes the sentiment and borders on becoming a back-handed compliment.

 

I think it's short-sided for fans of this game to be unsubscribing so early into this release. It reminds me of what occurs whenever the stock market crashes. Some people really freak out. Some even get angry and upset to the point of becoming histrionic. There are plenty of things I enjoy about SWTOR and contending with RNG isn't going to break my gaming experience, let alone provoke me to make the 'ultimate sacrifice' by unsubscribing as a form of protest. This expansion is still in its trial phase and I'm certain the Dev team is in the process of evaluating all the criticism over the RNG controversy and will probably rollback that element and implement something better that satisfies the needs of its players.

 

The big question I still wonder about is why they even made this decision in the first place? There was already so much backlash on the forums over this RNG issue and I think a lot of players feel like the Dev team had fallen asleep at the wheel, which results in all the frustration. Complaining on the forums feels like shouting at a brick wall. One of my biggest criticisms about the game is the lack of strong, consistent community relations. The dev team has made numerous statements that they have people who read the forums, but I would love to know how they manage that since their presence in the forum community is largely absent. I wonder, do they have a legitimate full time staff--maybe half a dozen people? Or is it just one overworked and underpaid person who only checks the forums a few times a month?

Edited December 5, 2016 by Sorrai

[Edyn]

Other than cosmetics, I really don't care about gear (stats) as I am a story and, specifically a character buff. For me, a good plot is nothing without well written characters, as that is what makes a story, or a game, or a movie, into an experience. That being said, I've cancelled my subscription, with only hours to go now until it is inactive.

 

I've been absolutely unhappy with the KOTFE/ET story since I realized halfway through KOTFE that they basically wrote a lot of characters out of the story that players have been attached to for years. NPCs who have complex motives, such as Darth Vowrawn and Darth Jadus, complex companions that players both love and love to hate, such as Malavai Quinn, and even more surprisingly, characters that have a relevant history with the Emperor, such as Kira and Scourge.

 

I hate that KOTFE/ET basically acts like everything pre-KOTFE isn't relevant and, to me, feels like the writers really want to pretend that vanilla story never actually happened. The break in plot continuity is maddening For example, why is my Warrior now being addressed as "Commander" instead of "Lord Wrath," or "My Lord?" ...sigh... I loved vanilla story so much that I bought the official canon SWTOR Encyclopedia (which is amazing, by the way) and it was awful to me to see that the vanilla story, lore, and characters that I loved, all the things that got me hooked onto the game in the first place, is being treated by the writers like they never happened to begin with. We had a great buildup in vanilla to a full on Empire vs. Republic war, that started to fizzle in ROTHC and SOR, and got totally dismissed and replaced by KOTFE/ET.

 

I don't like that my favorite characters were written out of the story in KOTFE/ET, with many of of them written out in a very illogical manner. One specific example are characters' love interets, and I'll use Quinn as my example: When my Wrath got out of carbonite, why didn't she reply to his letter saying she was okay? When she met Vette for the first time out of carbonite, why didn't she even ask if she knew where he was? Why didn't my Wrath ask Pierce on Dromund Kass if he had heard from Quinn? While on Dromund Kass, why didn't my Wrath check in with Sith and Imperial contacts to see if anyone knows where he is at? Why, when my Wrath was famous galaxy-wide as the Alliance Commander, did Quinn not come forward? SO many things that just don't plan make sense and for me, those types of loose ends, will wreck a story for people like me.

 

Not only did the characters I like get written out of the story, I don't like the new characters that were introduced in KOTFE/ET: Arcann, Senya, Koth, Vailyn, etc... never mind all of the 30 companions who have semi-unique appearances, but absolutely no personalities. I feel like they all lack depth and I resent them in being pseudo-replacements for the developed characters that were taken away, like Scourge, Quinn and Kira. On top of that, I hated not being able to bring the companion I wanted on these story assignments/chapters - basically Theron and Lana were forced down my throat for everything when my Wrath couldn't even call on Pierce for major assaults, if she wanted.

 

Finally, I played Chapters 1 - 9 of KOTET to make sure I wasn't missing anything I would enjoy: a story that lacked my favorite characters and resulted in a very predictable ending. Nine whole chapters and I couldn't even enjoy the ride, as unlike KOTFE, there was no light at the end of the tunnel in thinking that my favorite characters would be returning.

[Wayshuba]

I appreciate the OP's intention of praising the writing team for KoTFE but I think the additional criticism and proclamation of unsubscribing in order to protest the RNG controversy diminishes the sentiment and borders on becoming a back-handed compliment.

 

I think it's short-sided for fans of this game to be unsubscribing so early into this release. It reminds me of what occurs whenever the stock market crashes. Some people really freak out. Some even get angry and upset to the point of becoming histrionic. There are plenty of things I enjoy about SWTOR and contending with RNG isn't going to break my gaming experience, let alone provoke me to make the 'ultimate sacrifice' by unsubscribing as a form of protest. This expansion is still in its trial phase and I'm certain the Dev team is in the process of evaluating all the criticism over the RNG controversy and will probably rollback that element and implement something better that satisfies the needs of its players.

 

The big question I still wonder about is why they even made this decision in the first place? There was already so much backlash on the forums over this RNG issue and I think a lot of players feel like the Dev team had fallen asleep at the wheel, which results in all the frustration. Complaining on the forums feels like shouting at a brick wall. One of my biggest criticisms about the game is the lack of strong, consistent community relations. The dev team has made numerous statements that they have people who read the forums, but I would love to know how they manage that since their presence in the forum community is largely absent. I wonder, do they have a legitimate full time staff--maybe half a dozen people? Or is it just one overworked and underpaid person who only checks the forums a few times a month?

 

Unfortunately, you can read this interview from after launch and get really depressed. They really are completely out of touch with their paying customer base.

 

http://massivelyop.com/2016/12/02/swtor-knights-of-the-eternal-throne-launches-today-we-chat-with-bioware/

[Ryenke]

I appreciate the OP's intention of praising the writing team for KoTFE but I think the additional criticism and proclamation of unsubscribing in order to protest the RNG controversy diminishes the sentiment and borders on becoming a back-handed compliment.

 

I think it's short-sided for fans of this game to be unsubscribing so early into this release. It reminds me of what occurs whenever the stock market crashes. Some people really freak out. Some even get angry and upset to the point of becoming histrionic. There are plenty of things I enjoy about SWTOR and contending with RNG isn't going to break my gaming experience, let alone provoke me to make the 'ultimate sacrifice' by unsubscribing as a form of protest. This expansion is still in its trial phase and I'm certain the Dev team is in the process of evaluating all the criticism over the RNG controversy and will probably rollback that element and implement something better that satisfies the needs of its players.

 

The big question I still wonder about is why they even made this decision in the first place? There was already so much backlash on the forums over this RNG issue and I think a lot of players feel like the Dev team had fallen asleep at the wheel, which results in all the frustration. Complaining on the forums feels like shouting at a brick wall. One of my biggest criticisms about the game is the lack of strong, consistent community relations. The dev team has made numerous statements that they have people who read the forums, but I would love to know how they manage that since their presence in the forum community is largely absent. I wonder, do they have a legitimate full time staff--maybe half a dozen people? Or is it just one overworked and underpaid person who only checks the forums a few times a month?

 

I thought the story was wonderful. Deserving of praise. I thought the rest of the 5.0 release was so bad that it deserved my unsubbing - I don't find it fun to play for a week and trash crate after crate after crate knowing there is no end or light at the end of the tunnel. My luck could remain this bad for months. I wanted to make a statement that I had heard from several people, it is a shame that the fantastic work the writers did is being overshadowed, and likely will be tainted by association.

 

As for this being a trial phase, I envy your optimism. I had a week of un fun play (except when doing story) and my experience with Bioware dealing with these things in SWTOR tells me that it might be changed slightly for the better, but it isn't ever going to be changed to be as fun as it was pre 5.0. I don't see any reason to pay BIOWARE for me NOT to have fun. I can not have fun doing dishes, vacuuming, doing my taxes, etc. And arguably, all those give me more than an unfun game would.

 

I too see lots of vitriol. I think it is a shame you blame me for vitriol in the post where I'm just trying to give some credit where credit is due, while acknowledging some big overarching problems.

[Allyann]

I'm adding my virtual pat on the back to those who worked hard to deliver an engrossing story. Hats off to all the employees who tried to do the best they could with the resources (and creative license) they were given.

 

Gamers tend to be a pretty unforgiving lot who will scream blue murder when something goes awry. And, more often than not, we forget or neglect to be as generous with our praise when we truly enjoy the content.

 

Thank you. And curse you for the choice you made me make.

 

I will not be renewing my sub, but that is not your fault.

[AnisaBadgett]

It really is a shame that the KotET story is overshadowed not only by the RNG mess, but now with the 1 CXP per gold mob nerf. Especially since SWTOR's main selling point was their story.

 

These forums should be flooded with threads about what happened in Chapter 8 alone, ESPECIALLY since the expansion was just released yesterday for everyone.

 

Instead there's this thread (in which the OP's talking about why they unsubscribed DESPITE the story being good) and that's about it.

 

Terrible. Such a terrible shame. Because the KotET story really does deserve praise

 

All this and the OP. I'm staying around, but it really is a kriffing shame.

 

[One of my guildies, a long-time raider from even before SWTOR, got to Level 36 over the weekend, and only then did he get a piece of usable gear. ONE PIECE. I'm lucky, I got an earpiece and I'm only L7. But you have a lot of experienced raiders who persevered through a two-year drought getting very nervous. And this is a big raiding/conquest guild.]

[Benets]

DEV team have problems, they cannot think that what they're doing is good.

 

It's a cosmetic patch, uprising is a fancy name to flashpoint.

Story, Veteran is a fancy name to tactical and story modes.

 

No new operation? In what? 2 years? This is crazy, this is stupid, this so called expansion will backfire.

 

DEVs instead work in the previous intersting system, they make a new one all the time and forget about the old systems.

 

Like: They create legacy, this was nice, but stop there, where it had so much room to improve.

They create: strongholds, and then stop, is the same thing over and over, when they could make it better and create stronghold missions to invade another players stronghold or defend yours or friends. To take ou pests in the stronghold, water the plants, fix eletronics.

 

The old pve ship system. They could make a FP and operation using it at the start to break a planet blocked. A operation with guildships where tanks should pilot and copilot the ship avoind damage and put shields on sections of the ship. Dps man the turrets and cannons, and healers fixing system, putting out fire on the rooms end etc, but they abandon pve ship battles.

 

Conquest, you "conquer a world" and what? Could have a FP and operation on the planet you conquer, your guild could get creds from taxes and so on.

 

the list goes on, over and over.

 

I hope disney make another star wars mmo

[Artowa]

Thanks

 

I fully support this. Was nice to complete the story.

 

Massiv grind with only one caracter to open 1 to 3 RNG boxes a day ...NO thx. All who like it.... enjoy and have fun.

 

Good bye

Edited December 7, 2016 by Artowa

[ZETA_SCORPII]

Drew Karpyshyn and crew did an outstanding job on the story! Sure hope BioWare didn't pay them with a RNG based paycheck .

[AllisonLightning]

Writing team, you were great and I'm actually running through with my Dark Side Warrior now and can't wait to get to KOTET with my Knight and Inquisitor. You guys did a great job and deserve so much better than to think you didn't do well, because you made a massive improvement on KOTFE.

 

[RagnarAugustus]

I have to apologize to the writing team, because I suspect that the people who interpret the metrics Bioware gathers are going to blame my unsub on the KOTET release (and other unsubs I am hearing about).

 

And that could not be farther from the truth. I think y'all did an outstanding job. Tying up things I thought seemed scattered all over the place in KOTFE, making me care about some of the new KOTFE folk I didn't honestly give a rats %*& about until now, making me feel like I mattered and that I shaped my fight against tyranny, yet putting out a coherent story that had me at time sitting on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed every second of the ride, and am glad I have enough time left on my sub to run it one or maybe even two more times before I go.

 

But timing is all, and I unsubbed right as KOTET came out. As I said on the form when I unsubbed I did so because of the RNGgoRound primarily, and the ridiculous grind to even get a RNG chance secondarily. No need to go into that, it is all over the forums and I explained my reasons elsewhere.

 

What I want to say, is that I've talked to and read posts by a lot of folks like me. Who thought KOTET was very good, or even plain fantastic. They also say they have or will be unsubbing. But make no mistake, KOTET wasn't the problem. It was the other stuff 5.0 brought, the "mmo bits" I guess, made the game no fun for us anymore, not worth the time to log in.

 

If the numbers I'm hearing/seeing talk about unsub are as large as I expect, it may look like KOTET failed. So to you writers, I want to apologize for my timing, and congratulate you on a job very well done. Bravo. I hope to see your work in games I might venture into in the future, and I'm definitely planning to finally pick up a couple of books I've been hearing about...

 

I don't suppose anyone at Bioware will ever see this, but if you do, pass it along to DK & other writers, will ya?

 

Great post OP, it's nice to see someone accurately describe that the community's problems isn't with the story\writing but the actual 5.0 mechanics\game play portion. I couldn't agree more.