Gathering Feedback

[Lhancelot]

Don't insert your bias into what I have said.

 

This sounded dirty. ^

[kodrac]

I didn't, I took a very literal reading of your words which was made clear by the rest of the post you ignored.

 

OK let's recap then. Musco made a second post. Yay for him. I even gave him a /thumbsup. But then after some time people started to get salty. Why were they getting salty? Because there was no further follow up, no further discussion. You've been defending them since and I've been trying to explain, in vain apparently, the reason for the salt. It's because they haven't acknowledged or followed up which is exactly what people have asked them to do. Ironic isn't it? We want some feedback, feedback is acknowledge us, explain things to us and follow up. OK thanks for the feedback, bye. That's it? That was essentially Musco's second post you point out, but the salt and defending started after that. Defend them all you want, interject your bias into my explanations if you want even, but I'm not buying it,

 

And I'm done. Obviously explaining things to someone hell bent on defending them is a waste effort. Getting into olag territory here.

[TrixxieTriss]

This sounded dirty. ^

 

I hope they use lube

[Karameck]

OK let's recap then. Musco made a second post. Yay for him. I even gave him a /thumbsup. But then after some time people started to get salty. Why were they getting salty? Because there was no further follow up, no further discussion.

He did follow up after that, with his third post.

 

You've been defending them since and I've been trying to explain, in vain apparently, the reason for the salt.

I love that you think I need you to explain it to me. Did I ever once say I don't understand why people are frustrated? You may want to go back and double check what I said, because that ain't it.

 

It's because they haven't acknowledged or followed up which is exactly what people have asked them to do. Ironic isn't it? We want some feedback, feedback is acknowledge us, explain things to us and follow up. OK thanks for the feedback, bye. That's it? That was essentially Musco's second post you point out, but the salt and defending started after that. Defend them all you want, interject your bias into my explanations if you want even, but I'm not buying it,

No one asked you to buy it. Someone can assert their own opinion without trying to force you to agree.

 

I'm posting in a public forum to make my personal feelings known, not to deny you yours.

 

And again, he didn't stop at his second post here. He posted again, and across other threads.

 

And I'm done. Obviously explaining things to someone hell bent on defending them is a waste effort. Getting into olag territory here.

"Well if this person isn't just going to agree with me, there's no point talking to them."

[DarthSpuds]

Guys.

 

Why are we fighting among ourselves here?

 

That lets Bioware off the hook.

 

They can close the thread because it is getting antagonist, and then we can't hold them to task for lying to us about feedback... ...again.

 

Don't give them such an easy victory.

 

 

 

All The Best

[Foambreaker]

So many words.

 

 

Bottom line, your CUSTOMERS should be your influencers.

 

 

By making an elite class, you just made your CUSTOMERS second class.

 

 

Slick customer service move, real smooth!

[OlBuzzard]

Hmmm ... where to begin.

Let's start with why we left over a year ago ... maybe longer. Choices that are meaningful and show up later in the game... remember that discussion. YIKES ! Some of us understood what the dev team was doing ... and even though we might have dissagreed on a few fine points over all things were fine. But there were TONS of gripes and complaints. Many of them IMHO were un-warranted. Then came the decision that for the final battle with Vaylin that there was one person that you had to punish / imprison ... whatever or you were totally screwed at the end ! (Please don't ask about all the details ... ugh ... I still have my first toon that plays light side only on all major decisions) .. Yep ! I'm screwed on that one until I gather enough higher gear to take care of business.

That said I understand the decision .. I didn't leave out of anger. Simple frustration. Somone who plays to make decisions on the light side finds themself in a bad spot. Yeah it's just a game... but there are times when making a decision like that can just really be annoying !

 

From what I've seen over the years the art work, cinematic graphics, the 3-D structures ... all of it is good. Could it be better ? Mostly just the layouts of the buildings.. sometimes there seems to too many recognizable floor plans.

(BTW ... it should be noted that I do 3-D models for fun using Wings 3-D ... It's a blast !) So for your art work team they get high marks .. just try to keep it fresh and that's cool !

 

Story line. Honestly there will be folks that gripe regardless of what you do. For the most part I liked KotFE and KotET. The one common complaint that might have some merit is that too many of the story lines (regardless of alliance or charactor class) .. they all seem to blur togeather. A Jedi Knight will not have exactly the same story as a Smuggler or a trooper. Perhaps their paths will undoubtely cross from time to time .. but they will still be different.

 

I do love how you gave light side players a chance to see Theron redeem himself. I really thought for a second that we were right where we left off .. another BAD choice to make (only two choices to make and a lot of us wanted that 3rd option ) .. that said in the end things seemed to have worked out. Maybe not the way I would have done it .. but the story Jedi Under Siege so far is working.

 

Next is the ever on-going quest for the better companion. WOW ! Tons of stuff to cover here. The one thing I would keep in mind is the idea of options. Don't flush the new available group we picked up with KotFE away with a new story. And if a player decides NOT to bring back some of the old ones that should not result in penalties as well.

 

I rather suspect that you could interview 20 people and get 22 diffetent oppinions on favorites and how to "work them into the sotry". Yeah I know .. tough choices here. That also means more money spent in production... etc. By that same token less real interaction with said companions (not always centered around flirting ... etc ) the more it takes away from what a lot of players now want in a game. BTW... on a lighter side .. I enjoyed some of the cracks that HK55 made right after bringing him on several missions early on. He's a hoot (even if he's not a meat bag)

 

World bosses. Something I just ran into. If you can find an easier way to group up for WB's that would be super.

 

Player modes are good ! Don't mess with them. That works !

 

Strong holds: great idea keep them coming. Come to think of it .. why not a really cool spacestation out on the rim or something.

 

Listening. Yeah sometimes it would be nice if someone stopped by to say hello. It's tough for your team. There's a LOT of stuff that goes on behind the scenes before one simeple change makes it to the drawing board. So stuff that is happening now no doubt began a year ago.

 

BUGS ! Ugh ! every game has them. Squash those rascals as soon as you can identify them. If they go unchecked it leaves folks to believe noone cares enough to listen.

 

You and I both know that someone does. Otherwise we would not be having this conversation in the first place.

 

I'm not sure if this sort of response is what you were looking for ... but hopefully it helps a tad.

[KendraP]

Guys.

 

Why are we fighting among ourselves here?

 

That lets Bioware off the hook.

 

They can close the thread because it is getting antagonist, and then we can't hold them to task for lying to us about feedback... ...again.

 

Don't give them such an easy victory.

 

 

 

All The Best

 

This is how it always goes.

 

Musco: hey guys we think we need more feedback/to take feedback more seriously/etc what do you think?

 

Us: yeah we'd like that, here are some things we'd like feedback on

 

*proceeds to find other people to comment on the topics they're willing to discuss*

 

Hey its nice that everyone else is more active, but where's Musco?

 

*ignores the difficult issues they aren't willing to discuss*

 

Forumers start going after each other

 

*something about toxicity and not going to reply in toxic threads*

 

Eventually the theorizing gets stale and people leave

 

*crickets*

 

Musco: oh hey guys we thought we needed more feedback...

 

See a pattern?

[OlBuzzard]

Honestly the sometimes savere differing of opinions is exactly why "listening to the customers" can be a royal pain. It too often can be a lose / lose situation.

(Just one small sample)

Hard core agressive PvP vs PVE laid back and easy .. I'm not talking about average solid PvP vs PVE groups with good guilds ... At any rate: on just about any given subject there is such a HUGE gap in opinions it really is tough for the development team to keep everyone satisfied. Soooo going the other way and upsetting most everyone does not help.

 

Another sample. I personally like KotFE and KotET. That does not mean that i liked every single choice that was made.

Bluiring the story lines togeather as well as from time to time almost making good seem bad and visa versa ... that really did not help much.

 

Over all though I like it a lot better than some of the original story lines and some of the original companions we had. Why do you think Kira Carsen was so popular.

 

One objection that was made over and over again was to allow Lana Beniko to be customized (as well as a few others) ... but that never happened. The other option was to return her to the original outfit she was introduced with. That seems minor but if you are a player looking for " in game immersion" then the outfit Lana has had for the last few years was ummmm ..... wellllll ( looks a bit sheepish ) ... ummm less than complimentary to the rest of the work that has been done for the game.

 

These are just a few quick pointers that are "easy" to see why this topic can get wound up in a bad way really, really fast !

 

Perhaps if we were given some specfic QA guidelines that the team is looking for that could warrant better more productive material for them to look at could be in order???

[KendraP]

Honestly the sometimes savere differing of opinions is exactly why "listening to the customers" can be a royal pain. It too often can be a lose / lose situation.

 

and yet their reaction of no response simply generates bitterness. just ask yours truly. i spent years trying to give constructive feedback. this forum itself is proof.

 

(Just one small sample)

Hard core agressive PvP vs PVE laid back and easy .. I'm not talking about average solid PvP vs PVE groups with good guilds ... At any rate: on just about any given subject there is such a HUGE gap in opinions it really is tough for the development team to keep everyone satisfied. Soooo going the other way and upsetting most everyone does not help.

 

Another sample. I personally like KotFE and KotET. That does not mean that i liked every single choice that was made.

Bluiring the story lines togeather as well as from time to time almost making good seem bad and visa versa ... that really did not help much.

 

Over all though I like it a lot better than some of the original story lines and some of the original companions we had. Why do you think Kira Carsen was so popular.

 

Story is one of the most subjective subjects there is. I personally think KOTFE/ET was the dumbest thing they've ever done story wise, and is why I started doing ops/pvp to maintain an interest in the game. My character hasn't acted like himself story wise since 3.x.

 

One objection that was made over and over again was to allow Lana Beniko to be customized (as well as a few others) ... but that never happened. The other option was to return her to the original outfit she was introduced with. That seems minor but if you are a player looking for " in game immersion" then the outfit Lana has had for the last few years was ummmm ..... wellllll ( looks a bit sheepish ) ... ummm less than complimentary to the rest of the work that has been done for the game.

 

another highly subjective example. I couldn't give less of a crap about lana one way or another. she... exists.

 

These are just a few quick pointers that are "easy" to see why this topic can get wound up in a bad way really, really fast !

 

Perhaps if we were given some specfic QA guidelines that the team is looking for that could warrant better more productive material for them to look at could be in order???

and yet, if they quit ignoring it, it would get less wound in a bad way.

 

but because BW only cares to listen to positive feedback in the immediate moment and only deal with criticism over a period of months and years, it leads to festering bitterness.

 

on the QA guidelines sentence, what are you even getting at? i.e. give us examples of feedback they would actually listen to? if so, i agree completely.

[OlBuzzard]

and yet their reaction of no response simply generates bitterness. just ask yours truly. i spent years trying to give constructive feedback. this forum itself is proof.

 

 

 

Story is one of the most subjective subjects there is. I personally think KOTFE/ET was the dumbest thing they've ever done story wise, and is why I started doing ops/pvp to maintain an interest in the game. My character hasn't acted like himself story wise since 3.x.

 

 

 

another highly subjective example. I couldn't give less of a crap about lana one way or another. she... exists.

 

 

and yet, if they quit ignoring it, it would get less wound in a bad way.

 

but because BW only cares to listen to positive feedback in the immediate moment and only deal with criticism over a period of months and years, it leads to festering bitterness.

 

on the QA guidelines sentence, what are you even getting at? i.e. give us examples of feedback they would actually listen to? if so, i agree completely.

 

No disrespect intended... this is exactly my point. Trying to accomdate such a wide varriety of opinions in the decisions that have been made can often be subjective. The points I brought up were at some point in time highly contested (for whatever reason). BTW .. some of us REALLY were dissapointed with the original story lines of our assorted class charactors and even MORE so with the lack of depth of SOME of the companions that are available. I personally liked the KotFE and KotET and some of the new choices I had availalbe for new relationships. I do have at least TWO JK toons that are awaiting for the return of Kira. Please be careful to note that this is ONLY an opinion. It only one opinion and I'll be the first to be man enough to admit that is ALL that it is.

 

THEREFORE:

IMHO the single best way to avoid sifting through endless threads of information (some really good / some OK ... maybe ... some of it not so good to just incredibly bad ) would be to select specific subjects and ask questions that might help direct the conversations that follow to a more useful goal. That goal should be one that the development team would find constructive and useful with appropiate dialogue.

 

Something else to keep in mind. I'm not quite sure what percentage of the entire SWTOR community actually posts on the forums, but, I'd be willing to bet that it's a small percentage. So we must also keep that in mind as well.

 

It should also be noted that while I dissagree with some of what you said... I still respect your opinion.

[rangergoliath]

The following is my opinion and only mine, which I am entitled too and you've been warned, so if you don't want to hear an opinion don't read it, which is what I expect most of the people at bioware do anyways.

 

I don't post much on the forums anymore, I have been gaming a long time now and have played many games. I won't mention any here but I have tried a large assortment of games. The one thing I have found in common with many games is, 'give us feedback and we'll do something about it' and then get met with dead silence. Until some months later they suddenly come out with a brilliant idea on a post that was closed so they can say they never heard it mentioned and thought it up all on their own. No, not every game has done that but enough have. Others I have been banned on for mentioning a lousy bug, seriously messed up personnel there.

 

So you want advice, ok, then I'm going to take a moment to actually post something in the hopes that you will really listen to what's being said and not give the usual dead silence.

 

First, listen to us. Then respond. Simple, easy, not complicated. Even if it's only a 'we'll take it under advisement', or a 'sorry, no can do', at least we know we're being heard and not left to get bitter, angry, and frustrated at railing against a brick wall with no hopes of anything.

 

I don't care how you do it, just do it. Get a few people to roll thru the forums getting ideas and forwarding them to you so they can be answered. Or run thru them by yourself and make a long list of people then in one post answering each person. So and so, sorry can't do it. So and so #2, great idea, see what can be done, etc. At least then we know YOU BOTHERED to listen to us. Or again, get a few people to run thru it if you don't have the time, send a suggestion to you which you will send them back a reply and they can post to the person your answer. I know, forums are huge, probably good idea to get more people on it, I mean, after all it is the FORUMS and that's what it's here for, player input.. wait, forums are for player input... wow, what a novel idea! Sorry, seems you guys have forgotten that fact.

 

2nd, get someone or multiple someone's on the bug department so instead of 500 people posting over and over again about the same annoying bug, no sooner is it posted and someone on your side can immediately post, 'acknowledged and being looked into'. Then you won't flood the bug department with the same post over and over, again and miss the other bug posts, but you get the idea. I won't tell you how many bugs are still in the game that have gone unanswered and undealt with since the beginning of the story lines. I also won't tell you how many games I've played in the past where the bugs were not dealt with and some games have gone like dust in the wind or have lost a huge amount of players. I've been on the other side... well, not important here, just say it didn't end well.

 

3rd, you all spend tons of time designing and implementing new stuff, great, even if you don't listen to us or whatever. Fine, new content is always good, if you go about it the right way, but... and I know this is a big stretch, old stuff should be upgraded too. You want people to run thru the beginning again, great, we'll do that but only so many times before we say, same ole same ole low grade junk and stop doing it.

 

You all expect us to keep paying to play your game, then how about giving us something in return for that money? Like updating or a grand overhaul of the beginning of the game, like newer non boring faces that really look better. Or better environments that we can really feel immersed into the game with. How about a major overhaul to the character creation system so I don't look like those 30 other guys that were duplicates of me on Tython or the other 70 guys on Taris that looked exactly like me that I forgot which one I was.

 

4th this is getting really long and I'm beginning to think pointless as some people are probably going to flame me while you totally ignore me... again. Reinvent the stories. This time though, give us more than 1 or 2 or 3 choices, with consequences either good or bad on those choices we make.

 

Just to test it and see, I went thru the game playing an evil jedi and basically got a slap on the wrist and sent on my way to do more horrible stuff. Then I tried the imp side and played a goody two shoes and everything I did pretty much got explained away for me and I went on. In one word... BORING. There should be consequences, good or bad for the choices we make, we should have more than 3 choices, so if I feel some yahoo in tights is telling me that I'm a snitcher I could have him served up on a platter to his boss or mouth oft too him because he deserves it when he's supposed to be doing his job, it's what he signed up for.

 

I want to LOOK and be UNIQUE from others which I could probably put a wager on that many others would agree with. Great, we have a bunch of outfits so we can look differently in get up, but we're still the same height, same weight and some old same old. I want more, if I want to run around like the hulk then I should have the options, or if I want to look like a tiny little stick man, again, I should have the options. I've seen many games that are way less than you guys in the content department give us character customization and not charged us a cent for it.

 

5th bad move limiting our companions to class specific in some cases, I WANT all companions available to me so I can just maybe have a little fun with them. Or maybe allow us to summon 3 companions cause I would really love to see Kira and Dark Jaesa go at it, probably be hilarious.

 

6th If we're a jedi and on the council... why is it that all the other council members get bigger ships and we're still stuck in a puny tiny can?

 

There was a 7th and 8th, but I don't even want to touch those so I'll just say it in simple words.

 

PLAYER MARKET. Every game overlooks it and it always bites them in the end.

 

PVP, don't even get me started on that one. You already know what's wrong with that one, including not all of us want to pvp that much, why can't you get that through your heads?

 

There are more, but I don't want to get into them. I've said enough, now you can cue the dead silence, or the flaming.

 

Before people decide to flame me though, this was my opinion and only my opinion as I stated at the beginning of the post. I have an opinion and I'm entitled too it. I'm not looking for a flaming or dead silence, I'm just stating my 2 cents worth which won't buy you anything anymore except bitter looks and angry stares. Enough said.

Edited March 18, 2019 by rangergoliath

[madarsrikards]

.

High end group content, now the combat engine isn't the greatest focusing so much on rotations, then there is ability bloat I can't think of many games with so many abilities to rotate through, but the engine aside, the big issue is most high end ops are about learning mechanics. There not often intuitive relying on either a guide or trial and error to get through.

I'd like to say I agree to this part of your post specifically and that the ability bloat affects not just ops and PvP, but even getting through regular story requires far more button mashing than I'm personally comfortable with.

I'm a total noob that just started playing but my first impresssion is, not every class should have a DoT, a CC, a CC break, 2-3 strong DCDs with short duration, 1-2 active buffs with short duration, 1-3 mobility actives (not counting rocket boots), at least 2 AoEs, and a full bar of single damage that also have proper order because some abilities passively boost others. As far as I'm concerned half or more of all of that noise could be pruned and the game would be better for it, classes could be more unique having things only they do instead of this template, and I could pay more attention what is happening on screen, instead of focusing on my piano performance on quickbars.

Also seemingly complete lack of convenience features like autocasts that further aggravates the bloat for me.

[TrixxieTriss]

I'd like to say I agree to this part of your post specifically and that the ability bloat affects not just ops and PvP, but even getting through regular story requires far more button mashing than I'm personally comfortable with.

I'm a total noob that just started playing but my first impresssion is, not every class should have a DoT, a CC, a CC break, 2-3 strong DCDs with short duration, 1-2 active buffs with short duration, 1-3 mobility actives (not counting rocket boots), at least 2 AoEs, and a full bar of single damage that also have proper order because some abilities passively boost others. As far as I'm concerned half or more of all of that noise could be pruned and the game would be better for it, classes could be more unique having things only they do instead of this template, and I could pay more attention what is happening on screen, instead of focusing on my piano performance on quickbars.

Also seemingly complete lack of convenience features like autocasts that further aggravates the bloat for me.

 

I agree we’ve had ability bloat over the years and way too many classes have the same things and it diminishes their uniqueness. But every class needs the basics like, cc break and at least one stun.

 

They could certainly cut back on the amount of stuns, mez, speed/mobility abilities. There are other abilities that each class have that can be pretty useless and just take up room on your task bar. Unless they are part of the rotation or a real DCD that is used in both pvp and ops, then it should probably be culled from the class. I know my Merc has a few that aren’t used past lvl 40 and so does my sniper.

 

My class with the least amount of ability bloat is my Lightning Sorcs. Every other class has all the slots filled (in my custom task bar set up), but my Sorc still has 3-4 slots empty.

 

In the mean time, you can do it yourself by removing ones you know you never use or need. Just make sure you do your research before you go doing it so you don’t inadvertently get rid of something you don’t use, but should be using.

[Nemmar]

Hello!

 

So, i am a returning player. I played at launch till around makeb and later patches, then moved on and returned for The first eternal throne expansion and left again and returned now.

I play WoW as well and i have played many other mmo's, so i have some experience with them. Here are my impressions.

 

Coming back i took things at my pace, i did not rush end game.

 

I started by doing some of the on-rails ship shooting missions. I always liked them, even though there were some people that disliked them and pressured for starfighter. I still think they are an easy first step for returning players to regain their feet. They have a great "star wars" feel. I would love to see one or two new ones and some review to the progression to make it less grindy. I think they are very interesting on how they make you feel like you are in the middle of a galactic conflict. Liked them at launch, like them today. I think they would compliment the main storylines really well.

 

The SP story content was honestly awesome. I really thought the quality got bumped up in the second Eternal empire expansion. I noticed how choices had consequences, especially when it comes to companions.

 

Now, the main "course". I'm big about end-game systems design. These are the things that keep your players around or not.

I was excited when i found out the command crate system and the tier vendors in the fleet. Yes, the costs for unassembled parts felt excessive but i was impressed on how you managed to come up with a system where everything you do in the game feels rewarding and is a means of progressing you character. The player can play whatever they want and they feel rewarded. They can get gear at their pace. Honestly, it felt like the best designed end-game i ever played.

 

But, then i got to Ossus and the rules were re-written. I am not quite sure why. Was this to serve as a catch up mechanism? It felt like a new expansion where gear progression is reset. But by doing this, the previous system now lost much of it's appeal. Now it's not "do whatever content you like and be rewarded". It's do Ossus dailies and world bosses and be rewarded.

I can only assume it was intended, but it did left me less excited. Though it did make me realise why i felt so weak in pvp with just a 230 gear set.

Now the crates are not totally useless cause of the unassembled parts you can still get from them, but it really became a slog.

 

That is my main feedback. I think your class design is pretty good, i think the story content is great, but the end game systems go close to awesome and back. I wasn't here the whole time, so my opinion may vary from your veteran players. I like the command crates as a progression system. I read some concerns of RNG, but i regularly received pieces of gear from the assorted tier. A story mode operation rewards me with plenty of crates so RNG never felt like an issue to me. Just the unassembled part prices. They are still ridiculously high and are now really a trap for new players, wich can better trade them for crystals in Ossus.

 

Aside from that i think the game has come a long way (the darn failed GCD bug that made me quit before is finally gone! I do think this is related to new animations for some skills alongside other tech improvements) and it's quite fun to play. There are some performance issues on World bosses. I'm not sure the game was supposed to have that many players in combat at the same time. Oh the new guild systems are really nice features, as is the conquest system to give things for players to do that feel rewarding (augment materials/guild ship upgrade

parts).

It might've been a different story had it launched like this. I think it's a great game now with the command XP system and it sure deserves more publisher support than it gets (can you imagine having the resources to make a new OP every 6 months like WoW?). I think it is ready for a comeback. A port for console or something that can bring players back, or a SWTOR2 expansion. I think the game is now more capable of player retention than before.

Oh on that note, Operations are not too overly long, wich is a problem i believe WoW raids have. 4-5 bosses. Something that can be beat in less than 2 hours is really the nice spot where you want to be. Well done.

 

Another side note to that fact that you kill off your story characters far too easily. It's good to have big iconic characters to drive the story forward and "Shepard" the players. As you probably know, raiding a Jedi temple with Malgus, or raiding it with the Nth member of the dark council that drops like flies is a big difference. I didn't like to see such an iconic character like the end-boss of that temple just show up and get killed just like that (i know we can choose not to kill him, but for story purposes he is mostly dead). Such a waste. In this regard i hope you look at WoW and see the pace at wich they kill off their iconic characters. It's way less dramatic and it has more impact when it happens. It's important to have iconic lore characters to relate to. It excites players. When you constantly have the option to kill everyone you see, it loses it's impact when it happens.

 

Thanks for continuing to work on this game and not giving up on it. I always saw the potential on it, and now it's more realized than ever before. I do wish we could see it soar, or at least the IP.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Nemmar

[Batwer]

Almost a month ....and the yellow ones be silent. Everywhere they comment, only not here.

[KendraP]

Almost a month ....and the yellow ones be silent. Everywhere they comment, only not here.

 

Again, who's surprised?

[EricMusco]

Hey all,

 

I can see there is a bubbling concern about our lack of continued response in this thread so I wanted to make sure I pop back in. We have absolutely continued to read this thread. Some of the conversation has gotten a little off topic, but we are still taking in your feedback about feedback in general.

 

Almost a month ....and the yellow ones be silent. Everywhere they comment, only not here.

 

I wanted to highlight this as although I totally get the frustration if there is a feeling we have fallen silent in this thread... we have become much more active in gathering feedback around the forums on a variety of topics. That was ultimately the goal of this thread was to work with you on better ways to gather feedback (which I hope that you feel we are already doing).

 

Keep any feedback related feedback coming as we will continue to keep our eyes on this thread.

 

-eric

[Karameck]

Thank you Eric!

 

I know this community is very hostile at times, but I like to believe it’s just because people are passionate and really feel invested in Star Wars and The Old Republic.

 

I have noticed, and appreciate, the increased communication lately, especially with the introduction of Mr.Steed.

[supertimtaf]

I wanted to highlight this as although I totally get the frustration if there is a feeling we have fallen silent in this thread... we have become much more active in gathering feedback around the forums on a variety of topics. That was ultimately the goal of this thread was to work with you on better ways to gather feedback (which I hope that you feel we are already doing).

 

Keep any feedback related feedback coming as we will continue to keep our eyes on this thread.

 

-eric

 

One thing that lacks in the feedback department and could be improved is... having detailed response from the devs as to "why we do this" and "why we do not want that".

 

I've seen some topics in the pvp forum with some love and precise explanation from the devs which is great, but tbh it is lacking elsewhere on the forum. As an example, the class forums have a lot of really interesting and constructive feedback regarding different class and balance patchs (such as holotraverse/stride changes, tank damage changes, to only quote the recent ones)... and we've yet to see an answer or an acknowledgement from any dev regarding these.

Even a slight "sorry we can't do that because it would mess up this..." could make the difference. The same could be potentially done with GSF or even some topics in the General Discussion section.

 

Gathering feedback is nice, but making sure that players know that feedback is indeed gathered (as well as why some things cannot be done) is better... and could remove a lot of frustration regarding some long-unanswered topic.

 

It might be hard to do, but working towards this could improve the way players give feedback too. As an example, if we know that you cannot tweak the damage dealt by some Raid Boss (and why you think it would imbalance the fight), then we could give some better ideas elsewhere instead of spamming the same message over and over "just to be sure that the devs have seen it".

Edited March 19, 2019 by supertimtaf

[Lhancelot]

 

I wanted to highlight this as although I totally get the frustration if there is a feeling we have fallen silent in this thread... we have become much more active in gathering feedback around the forums on a variety of topics. That was ultimately the goal of this thread was to work with you on better ways to gather feedback (which I hope that you feel we are already doing).

 

Keep any feedback related feedback coming as we will continue to keep our eyes on this thread.

 

-eric

 

Thanks Eric, I want to say I too appreciate the concerted effort you and your team have made to interact more with the forums. I think Mike is great, he has been helpful and responsive to those in the PVP section which for years has been left in the dark.

 

The only thing I can think of to ask is can you guys provide us with how matchmaking works, for regs too not just ranked?

 

Many people still remember when you mentioned possibly using a hidden stat for matchmaking that you guys have access to, and this has lead to a lot of speculation regarding the impact it has made on the matches.

 

People are blaming lopsided matches and poorly matched up WZ teams for this supposed hidden stat that is now being used. Can you either confirm that this is part of how matchmaking works, or put it to rest that no secret hidden PVP stat is being used for matchmaking?

 

People really want to know and understand better the algorithm you guys use for matchmaking. Can you please give us some ideas on how it actually is working now?

Edited March 19, 2019 by Lhancelot

[OlBuzzard]

Eric

We do appreciate your stopping by to drop a line or two. Informed people are undeniably happier people. My input is usually not as well vocalized as I would like for it to be.. soooo please for give the somewhat random scattergun approach.

BTW ... is there a spell check feature on this forum . I know I need to make good use of it if there is ! And for some reason mos of the time I try to make use of options such as "wrap in itallics" or smiles ... they don't work.

 

Ummm yes I did check the additional options below and everything should work.

 

Back to the topic at hand, more feed back.

Stuff we like as it is:

1. Cinamatic story lines: great stuff. You do a great job of using our currently quiped toons to engage the way we are dressed. That takes a lot of extra work and coding ... Thank You !! It does add to the emersion of the game contient.

2. Strong holds. They are great. Sometimes I like to just build stuff. In RL I'm a retired purchasing director and for hobbies I love to fish and work with my hands. I just finished nice rod rack to store all of my fishing poles on in the garage. I also just picked up 3 new work benches for my work shop in the basement. So for me this is a good way to channel some personal touch to the game.

 

I'd love to see a cool space station for another stronghold ... (see suggestion post later this AM).

 

2. Companions: Some of them are good .. some not so good. Many of the originals for light side players **UGH** .. I wont go there. I'd prefer to try to stay positive. Let's just say I really appreciate how in the last few expansions we haev such a wide varriety of companions to choose from. I think that is great. I also appreciate how that some that might have been "darkside" or "light side" fit into whatever role the individual player is in light or dark. PLEASE do not take away so many great options. My main toon a gun slinger might appreciate Lana B. or another alt might work better with HK-55.. sooo many different options for so many different players. PLEASE allow them to be customized.

 

One thing that does need a bit of work though. Lana and a few of the main "companions" cannot change their armor. At the very least her origianl get up would be better. Remember her face issue ? When I came back from over a years absence this was one of the first things I did was to see if I could changer Lanna's outfit. I know that this creats additional coding for the programmers ... but for those who really appreciate immersion in the game it would definately be helpful. It should be noted that in the past this was not a problem.

 

Also: something else that would be helpful ... addtional interaction with said companions, even in game. Brief quips, interactive interjections can often add to the contient.

 

4. Take 5: just what it implicates. Why not be able to take 5 from all of the killing that's going on. Everyone needs a little R&R from time to time. Open a suggstion box JUST for a little R&R where players can interact with each other and or their companions. Not just a cantina. Lakeside camping, fishing, amusement parks, etc.

 

5. Current story line. I like where you're going. It's a good way to gradually break away from KofFE and KotET.

6. Solo player options. Being able to run an op single player mode helps some of us a lot. I personally do not belong to a guild and (repsectfully) hope that I don't ever again. Key word "again" . I've been guilded before. More than once. It has always, always, ALWAYS ended in disaster. I've ben burned by some of the best. No need to go into details. I've just ahd to learn the hard way that with my crazy schedule and everything else that I've been through that if I want to play light side, enjoy a game with choices that I'd prefer... just stick to my own path. It should be noted that I freequently help players out who are in trouble and as often as possible back away from loot for others to have first choice. It's just more fun for me that way.

I personally believe that there are a lot of good folks out there, but there are many that ... well .. no need to go there.

 

Stuff that needs changing or work:

1. Bugs. Noone likes them really. Squash those rascals! Ummm for example did they ever get the problem fixed with Dromund Kass chapter 2 ? I have several alts that I need to run through there yet. ( remember I quit for a while). Seems like there was some sort of issue where you almost had to be level 68 with high end gear or play in "story mode" to get through it. Otherwise you died in a matter of seconds !! YIKES !!

 

The longer bugs stay alive the more damage these little buggers do .... to everything else ! This topic alone is no doubt a very sensitive one. I'm not a progremmer but I do know enough about the subject to know that some times it's a real bit in the butt to fix. Soooo don't chew out the folks doing the work, but PLEASE be more vigilant in this area.

2. Fixed contumes for certain companions. They become little more than run of the mill standard NPC's (ducks behind brick wall for incoming) !

 

3. Some of the sounds that our weapons make (for the smuggler at least) ... UGH ! I've heard more agressive sounds off of one of my old mechanical typwritters !! (UGH .. no joke ... really ) Just a thought. It might be cool to "test" the sounds before buying. I know that there is a cool blaster on sale right now... but no need to get the thing since it might be as bad or worse than the ones I have now ! Yeah .. I know it's an emmersion thing again!

 

4. Bluring the lines between classes. I think I've already mentioned this. I can definately see where the paths of each charactor would cross from time to time. But it is highly unlikely that a JK would do things exactly the same way as a trooper. I'm not bitter over this .. but there really does need to be some clear varriation in this area. Also: PLEASE do not let the "pendilum" of development in this area swing from one extreme to the other. Meaning that there will be changes ... but you probably wont like it. Just show a little kindness here. It's amazing how far that will go!

5. Gear drops that have little or no relavence. Gear drops need to be more relavant to the charactor and class we are playing... not just purchased with the latest token from group grinding mobs. At one time there was a pretty good system in place for updating gear. But for some reason that has fallen by the wayside.

 

I'll think of more later on (both positive and stuff that needs fixed or worked on)...

 

Thanks !

Edited March 19, 2019 by OlBuzzard

[KendraP]

The only thing I can think of to ask is can you guys provide us with how matchmaking works, for regs too not just ranked?

 

Many people still remember when you mentioned possibly using a hidden stat for matchmaking that you guys have access to, and this has lead to a lot of speculation regarding the impact it has made on the matches.

 

People are blaming lopsided matches and poorly matched up WZ teams for this supposed hidden stat that is now being used. Can you either confirm that this is part of how matchmaking works, or put it to rest that no secret hidden PVP stat is being used for matchmaking?

"Supposed hidden stat"

Actually, since SWTOR launched players have always had a "rating" behind the scenes. I am hesitant to say rating since this isn't the same thing as your Ranked score, but it's the easiest way to explain it. This is more of a way that we approximate player skill solely for the purposes of matchmaking. This is also the reason we don't expose this information, since it is not really a rating (like Elo, etc).

people really want to know and understand better the algorithm you guys use for matchmaking. Can you please give us some ideas on how it actually is working now?

 

Matchmaking will more strongly take player skill into account when making teams

 

So did Musco say all this just to create a giant conspiracy? Or should i say, supposed conspiracy?

 

Obviously there is some kind of skill stat going on, otherwise why'd Musco have said there was?

Edited March 19, 2019 by KendraP

[Batwer]

Hey all,

 

I can see there is a bubbling concern about our lack of continued response in this thread so I wanted to make sure I pop back in. We have absolutely continued to read this thread. Some of the conversation has gotten a little off topic, but we are still taking in your feedback about feedback in general.

 

I wanted to highlight this as although I totally get the frustration if there is a feeling we have fallen silent in this thread... we have become much more active in gathering feedback around the forums on a variety of topics. That was ultimately the goal of this thread was to work with you on better ways to gather feedback (which I hope that you feel we are already doing).

 

Keep any feedback related feedback coming as we will continue to keep our eyes on this thread.

 

-eric

 

Huh? It´s alive. Now you really scared me.

[Jdast]

 

 

I wanted to highlight this as although I totally get the frustration if there is a feeling we have fallen silent in this thread... we have become much more active in gathering feedback around the forums on a variety of topics. That was ultimately the goal of this thread was to work with you on better ways to gather feedback (which I hope that you feel we are already doing).

 

Keep any feedback related feedback coming as we will continue to keep our eyes on this thread.

 

-eric

 

The problem Eric is that I think your hands are tied. There has been awesome and tremendous feedback on very specific, dare I say, micro-related issues. Exhibit A, your reply to Ulvarii about perk changes. Exhibit B: Mike's responses to win-trading. Exhibit C: Daniel's response o the Lana face issue.

 

Those are not unappreciated, but understand that for some of us, there are some huge macro-related issues.

 

Is Galactic Command even relevant any more? You asked us for comments specifically related to UCs. About a year ago Keith (is he still the lead producer?) said that legacy currency is here to stay. Fine, but there has been a ton of feedback about how you gutted 5.6 (which got me called a White Knight because I supported it so much).

 

Having a universal, legacy-wide currency does us NO GOOD if it is funneled through a soda straw on one daily planet -- namely -- Ossus because you tied gearing to a new currency, namely Masterwork Shards / Crystals. You are shooting yourselves in the foot because the whole point of GC 5.6 was to do what you want / where you want. A wise decision because you can't create new content fast enough (no one can, not even Blizzard / WoW).

 

I understand the desire to help people leapfrog and not go through GC. But you took it too far. You have now thrown the baby out with the bath water. The game is now boring.

 

I think it's great that you are responding to the micro-questions. But....

 

Well, that sentence finishes itself.

 

TL-DR: I genuinely (not your fault) believe you can't comment on what I care about. I still love you (not in that creepy way).

 

Dasty

Edited March 19, 2019 by Jdast