'Heralds of Victory' Game Update!

[Lhancelot]

Ooh guild heraldry! Finally catching up to EQ2.

 

YES!!!! I want my guild cloak!

[JLazarillo]

I predict phalli.

Phalli everywhere.

[TrixxieTriss]

Please tell me that the guild emblems and preview window changes aren't the only things in this update.

 

I second this. While this looks interesting and I’m sure lots will love it. Shouldn’t other things be a priority over guild heralds. ie, playable content, story, gear changes, class balance and bug fixes.

[Ylliarus]

Hello everyone!

 

It is my pleasure to announce Game Update 5.10.2 ‘Heralds of Victory’. It will be on PTS later this month and it will go live in April. The main feature of this update is the addition of a a new guild system called Guild Heraldry, which will allow guilds to create their own personal emblems. Additionally, the Preview Window has gotten completely revamped. For more specifics, the announcement article can be found here: http://www.swtor.com/info/news/article/20190312

 

Next week, there will be an article going more in-depth about the changes to the Preview Window and another back-end update accompanying it.

 

Question! Will this new update also contain new appearance customisation options for the alien playable species? For example the yellow Sith eyes that were promised for the Twi'lek amongst others? if not in this update, can we get an updated ETA on when we might expect the addition of the customisation options or what is currently happening behind the scenes with it? Mr. Boyd provided us some updates a few times regarding the yellow Sith eyes for the Twi'lek, but that's been a while back already.

[Lunafox]

Question! Will this new update also contain new appearance customisation options for the alien playable species? For example the yellow Sith eyes that were promised for the Twi'lek amongst others? if not in this update, can we get an updated ETA on when we might expect the addition of the customisation options or what is currently happening behind the scenes with it? Mr. Boyd provided us some updates a few times regarding the yellow Sith eyes for the Twi'lek, but that's been a while back already.

 

I wouldn't expect anything anyone actually wants in the next update. It's like asking for a bike at Christmas and receiving a box of plastic dog poo...you can use it to troll your family, but who really asks for it?

[Hunterr]

Prob won't happen since it would mess with that cartel money, but would be nice if they also let that color wheel replace the dye system so we can choose our own colors for gear whenever we would like, and to whatever combo we pick.

[LordDarrack]

Is this some sort of joke?

 

More crap we don't need and game breaking stuff that needs sorting?

 

Words fail me

[Ld-Siris]

*cough* you guys realize this is game update 5.10.2 and not 5.11.0 right, right? (Or even 6.0.0 for that matter.)

 

And besides. I have heard people asking for this guild heraldry stuff for quite awhile since it was teased.

 

Quit being so negative all the time. One thing at a time. Sheesh.

Edited March 12, 2019 by Ld-Siris

[commanderwar]

This is great this feature been needed for years. Thanks for the update

[AscendingSky]

I admit, I'm disappointed in this announcement. Not that guild heraldry is a bad thing--it's a minor thing that definitely doesn't justify an 'update' all of its own, but it's a nice (if small) perk that doesn't hurt anything. And updating the preview window to function better is a good QoL fix. But calling this an official 'update' to the game feels a bit insulting. This is all extra stuff that should be bundled with actual content in a true update. This game desperately needs new content to be released on a more frequent and regular basis. Bells and whistles are nice and all, but they're nothing anyone's going to sink their teeth into or that will convince a player on the fence about continuing to subscribe to stay with the game. Not to mention with so many issues and bugs still outstanding (some of them outright game breaking), it seems frivolous to spend the limited resources EA has allotted to this game on mere frippery.

[limenutpen]

I am not into giuld nowadays but hey QoL content is good content.

 

Since it was mentioned in the article it would be good if the possibility of (PvP Group Challenge a very ignored feature so far) especially in 8 vs 8 mode gets the same status as Ranked.

I know there is a problem in this because guilds can que for example in 4 vs 4 with some alts they don't care about and farm mods and comms, but I think this still can be controlled in game,

[WYMAS]

Oh Great!... What Are They Gonna Break Now????

[JattaGin]

Thanks for the information, Daniel.

 

I am sure that many guild people are happy about this. I myself have no interest in this feature though.

 

Could you please elaborate on whether this will be the only thing added to the game in April? I ask, because my sub runs out soon and right now, there is nothing left to do for me (mainly solo player) and I have never been that bored in-game before.

 

I cannot repeat content that I have repeated for years anymore. I have no motivation to do the dailies on Ossus one more time. The world bosses and the new OP boss are of no interest to me. I mainly play in the mornings. There are no groups for such content. I recently started bringing some of my 3rd generation alts through Makeb. That's how bored I am right now!

 

If there is nothing new coming, even if it's just something very small and minor and/or you won't add any subscriber incentives (like the HK stuff 3 years ago), then I think it's time to finally go preferred.

Edited March 13, 2019 by JattaGin

[Darka]

Ooh guild heraldry! Finally catching up to EQ2.

 

Thats the big thing, this was talked about well before launch, they even had a guy in charge of guilds at one stage, its a feature that should have been there in 2011

[Predatism]

Add a flair option "Use guild emblem as flair" otherwise this addition is useless.

[xordevoreaux]

I'm looking forward to this, should be fun! We'll have rainbow and redlight and underworld banners festooned ALL OVER fleet. It'll be awesome.

[Sarova]

*cough* you guys realize this is game update 5.10.2 and not 5.11.0 right, right? (Or even 6.0.0 for that matter.)

 

And besides. I have heard people asking for this guild heraldry stuff for quite awhile since it was teased.

 

Quit being so negative all the time. One thing at a time. Sheesh.

It's the fact that they make a big announcement, give it a name and call it an "update" when it's far from that. As I said before, it's a patch fix at best, especially considering the preview window has been broken for several months and not fixed (here's hoping they've fixed the preview window and tested it before adding the "upgrade"). The so-called negativity you speak of is based on experience over the last couple of years - dozens of reasons given in here.

I wouldn't expect anything anyone actually wants in the next update. It's like asking for a bike at Christmas and receiving a box of plastic dog poo...you can use it to troll your family, but who really asks for it?

Sums it up, though real dog poo would probably be more accurate.

[Storm-Cutter]

I'll echo the others that this is too little to call it a Game Update. The Celebration cantina tour cannot come soon enough, but even then we'll have to wait another 3-4 months until 6.0 releases...

 

Personally, I don't care too much about guild heraldry. On the one hand, it can't be too prominent. If you force it onto players' armor set and mount, that would cause a whole lot of drama because everyone has a different favorite color. (I will never understand why some guilds enforce a certain armor/dye set for their members).

On the other hand, if it is relegated to the guild window, guild inspect and the conquest pop-up (which everyone complains about), it is a nice gimmick at most, and probably not even worth the RoI.

Some decorations or a flair with the guild banner like Adric_the_Red described would be a nice compromise. I'll make sure to check it out on PTS and give feedback.

 

I don't care even a little bit about a revamped preview window. That is worth a small note in the patch notes but should not be a major selling point of a Game Update. Please don't tell me we are in maintenance mode already.

 

I kinda agree. - Putting this in after several months of nothing since Ossus is kinda lame.....

 

- In answer to your question, some guilds have a dress code. It's part of the terms of being in the club - so if you're a Military guild or a Mandalorian guild or a Tattooine- based guild, or a female only guild you are supposed to comply.

 

Most guilds have something in common. For some it's a certain style. And now it can be a badge of some sort. - yay!

 

I remember vaguely one looty-shooty game where one could spray-paint one's own image onto walls in-game. Some are guild tags, or witty graffiti but most ended up being (very) NSFW images.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Storm-Cutter

[xordevoreaux]

I admit, I'm disappointed in this announcement. Not that guild heraldry is a bad thing--it's a minor thing that definitely doesn't justify an 'update' all of its own, but it's a nice (if small) perk that doesn't hurt anything. And updating the preview window to function better is a good QoL fix. But calling this an official 'update' to the game feels a bit insulting. This is all extra stuff that should be bundled with actual content in a true update. This game desperately needs new content to be released on a more frequent and regular basis. Bells and whistles are nice and all, but they're nothing anyone's going to sink their teeth into or that will convince a player on the fence about continuing to subscribe to stay with the game. Not to mention with so many issues and bugs still outstanding (some of them outright game breaking), it seems frivolous to spend the limited resources EA has allotted to this game on mere frippery.

 

Does it really, truly, in the end, matter? Get 10 people in the room and you'll get ten answers as to what takes "priority" for the right-this-second gotta have it gotta have it gotta have it NOW people.

 

Where's my PVP update?

Forget the PVP update, I want new skill trees!

Screw that, where's my new stronghold?

Forget strongholds, we need wrinkles and more skin colors for twi'leks and better eyes!

Forget eyes! We need new mounts!

No, we need new pets!

No, we need all these graphic bugs fixed first!

No, we need new conquest objectives!

No, we need....

 

You see? Argue till you're blue in the face for what you think should come next. There's a line forming behind you of people willing to disagree.

 

Just let EA roll out whatever they're gonna roll out and go with the flow, because at this point, hyperventilating about what's bundled with what when just means you're popping an artery over something that at the end of the day really affects a far smaller subset of players than what anyone else cares to scream about.

 

No one will ever agree as to what is priority.

 

Just let EA put out the content, update, however you want to characterize or twist what they're doing to fit your narrative on the state of the game, and don't worry about it.

 

Chill.

Everybody.

Edited March 13, 2019 by xordevoreaux

[CaptRogue]

Does it really, truly, in the end, matter? Get 10 people in the room and you'll get ten answers as to what takes "priority" for the right-this-second gotta have it gotta have it gotta have it NOW people.

 

Where's my PVP update?

Forget the PVP update, I want new skill trees!

Screw that, where's my new stronghold?

Forget strongholds, we need wrinkles and more skin colors for twi'leks and better eyes!

Forget eyes! We need new mounts!

No, we need new pets!

No, we need all these graphic bugs fixed first!

No, we need new conquest objectives!

No, we need....

 

You see? Argue till you're blue in the face for what you think should come next. There's a line forming behind you of people willing to disagree.

 

Just let EA roll out whatever they're gonna roll out and go with the flow, because at this point, hyperventilating about what's bundled with what when just means you're popping an artery over something that at the end of the day really affects a far smaller subset of players than what anyone else cares to scream about.

 

No one will ever agree as to what is priority.

 

Just let EA put out the content, update, however you want to characterize or twist what they're doing to fit your narrative on the state of the game, and don't worry about it.

 

Chill.

Everybody.

 

^Exactly! Haven't always agreed w you in the past but this is spot on!!

 

I for one am happy about this. It's not a huge update. Just one of their minor QoL improvements.

[casirabit]

The problem most are having is they are calling this an update and for most that would include a bit more than what they are saying it will be and then furthermore they are asking for people to go test it on the test center in the next few weeks. Test what? There really isn't much for someone to test and I normally go and test things but I do not see the reason why I should go through all the trouble to download the test center all over again (and that can take quite a bit since you have to download the whole thing once again) just to test a couple of items.

 

"This new feature is called Guild Heraldry and it will be another tool for guilds to rally behind! Each guild can create their own emblem to represent them throughout the game. Between the combination of icons, background details, and variety of colors, guilds will be able to create something truly unique. A guild’s emblem will be displayed in the general guild window, on the conquest planetary leaderboards, and many other places!

 

On top of that, there will also be a general quality of life improvement as the Preview Window been dramatically improved!

 

Characters are now displayed on mounts instead of to the side.

New animation button!

Unlocks like emotes, moods, and rest-and-recharge abilities are now able to be previewed.

Visual effects are better displayed.

The window now will have a panel showing what combination of gear is currently being shown.

Leading up to the release of ‘Heralds of Victory’, there will be additional articles that will go more in-depth about these changes that you can expect to see in the future. Join your most trusted allies and make your mark on the galaxy with ‘Heralds of Victory’ coming in April 2019!"

 

 

It is one thing to say something like this is coming to the game but to make a big deal about this small thing and then to say it will be on the test center like it was sets a bad example for some. This is not going to encourage my guild to log in more than we do now. There is nothing in this update that screams come back and play to us. Just more stuff that continues to tell us to continue playing elsewhere.

Edited March 13, 2019 by casirabit

[xordevoreaux]

The problem most are having is they are calling this an update and for most that would include a bit more than what they are saying it will be and then furthermore they are asking for people to go test it on the test center in the next few weeks. Test what? There really isn't much for someone to test and I normally go and test things but I do not see the reason why I should go through all the trouble to download the test center all over again (and that can take quite a bit since you have to download the whole thing once again) just to test a couple of items.

 

So you're saying it's a question of semantics. EA is not allowed to use the word "update" for minor content updates.

Please let Eric Musco know what the precise term should be for each degree of content update so no one gets all upset that the wrong term is being thrown around for whatever amount of content is being released at that time.

Edited March 13, 2019 by xordevoreaux

[Karameck]

^Exactly! Haven't always agreed w you in the past but this is spot on!!

 

I for one am happy about this. It's not a huge update. Just one of their minor QoL improvements.

I also agree with xordevoreaux. Complaining about a positive addition to the game because it’s not the improvement you personally want to see comes across as entitled and counter productive.

 

I am excited about this improvement, it’s kinda frustrating to have people repratedly state that it’s not worth the update or effort to implement it, when it certainly is from my view point. My problem is not divergent opinions, but rather the way people choose to communicate them.

 

We’re in what should be a positive thread, BW employers are communicating (already a small victory) a feature that will have a positive impact on some portion of the player base, and absolutely no negative impact on anybody else. Yet instead of being happy about the update, or offering targeted criticism/suggestions that actually center on the features being implemented people want to play armchair developer and pretend they know that this upgrade must have come at the sacrifice of their pet project or some other imagined update they wanted.

 

It’s not always an either or situation, and it’s not productive to pretend you know what resources BW has specifically, or how they are allocated. This easily could be a side project worked on during downtime and not something worked on in lieu of a larger update. In the absence of evidence people really love to make up their own stories.

[Jdast]

So you're saying it's a question of semantics. EA is not allowed to use the word "update" for minor content updates.

Please let Eric Musco know what the precise term should be for each degree of content update so no one gets all upset that the wrong term is being thrown around for whatever amount of content is being released at that time.

 

I'm with Casirabit on this one. It's a question of prioritization and presentation. You can say we are engaging in tribalism and promoting our personal preferences for what content is being provided. So be it.

 

But I frame the issue differently by asking the following inter-related questions:

 

Will focusing development resources on this QoL improvement attract or maintain players? Versus...Will things like the failure to devote development resources to fix the Ranged AI / LoS (even for melee) companion bug steer me to other games? I have several characters sitting parked right now that are unplayable for the content I want to play.

 

Overall, I thought the community was pretty sympathetic to the PvP update last summer, less so with the subsequent emphasis on Operations to be sure. But, while I like Ossus, and you can call it semantics, some of us call...

 

Complete Tone Deafness.

 

And, for better or worse, perception is reality when viewed through the lens of individual players because, frankly, that is all that matters ultimately. Call it selfish, but the lack of communication and apparent prioritization of issues has me looking at other games and concerned about Bioware.

 

TL-DR: Obviously, I'm going to use my posting privileges to advance the areas of the game I want to see emphasized. That's only natural. And, one Flashpoint and one Daily Area in a 12 month period doesn't cut it, particularly when combined with the gutting of Galactic Command. Ergo, I think they have skewed development priorities. At a minimum, I'm greatly confused.

 

Dasty

Edited March 13, 2019 by Jdast

[ceryxp]

So you're saying it's a question of semantics. EA is not allowed to use the word "update" for minor content updates.

Please let Eric Musco know what the precise term should be for each degree of content update so no one gets all upset that the wrong term is being thrown around for whatever amount of content is being released at that time.

 

I have to agree with xordevoreaux. They are adding new content and changing existing systems thus it's an update. They are not fixing something, which would be a patch. It really wouldn't matter what term they used because someone would still find reason to get their hackles up.