Update on Upcoming Releases

[casirabit]

Mr. Boyd:

 

(1) Thanks for the update and things happen especially right now.

(2) Everyone stay safe.

 

Now:

 

I have been a member of these forums since the beginning and I have been reading the forums lately and have noticed how certain people have no respect for others but it actually has helped me realize which people I am going take the time to read their posts. Some of the others, that have no respect for what is going on I am not wasting my time reading their posts. Just to clarify something, just because some of us are being careful of this virus has nothing to do with us being scared of the virus, it means we are being smart and we care about others, which is something I have noticed for a while that some just don't have the capacity for. Some just care about themselves.

 

There are some great people in the forums that I will respond to and most of you know who you are and everyone stay safe.

[Ylliarus]

I had a “discussion” with a guy who clearly was very young. He mocked me, taunted me, and tried to troll me by saying things like “don’t be so afraid panic is what’s causing all the problems not the virus.” On top of that, he made sure to brag in guild chat that he had “2000 rounds and was ready to unload them all.” What does rounds and bullets have to do with the pandemic? Lol. It took a lot of willpower for me to not go off on this ignorant child. He even had a guy in the guild as his back up peanut gallery informing me that I was not the “Arbiter of humor” when I said it was hardly a laughing matter what was happening to people across the world. I never heard such callous and misinformed chat on a game though, but that’s where we are as people, it seems.

 

Thing is he was attaching a narrative to me that didn’t even fit... firstly he kept saying I was afraid of getting it myself because I was old, which I had to correct him I am actually not in any of the at risk categories (I am fit, under 50, and I am practicing social distancing as well as not going out in public) and I am doing it for family members, not myself. That’s how narrow minded and dumb some of these guys are that are making light of the pandemic, I don’t know where these guys get their info from but it’s from a really uneducated and ignorant place that much is sure.

 

My point is I wish people had the empathy they had 20+ years ago, it really seems our society and members of it have forgotten to care bout their fellow man and instead are only worried about themselves and their own safety.

 

Anyway I didn’t want to talk about this, but I was really disappointed and still am that at this stage there are still people who make jokes about the pandemic. I don’t understand why people have to personally experience the loss of loved ones to recognize it’s a serious situation, though. And never in the history of man, have we ever found death a humorous topic in that when a sweeping plague, pandemic, etc. is running rampant across the globe!

 

I will never agree that all topics are subject to being considered humorous, this is simply wrong. There are social boundaries in all societies and one that is never humorous is the notion of loved ones dying. So yes, I may not be the arbiter of humor, however our past history of societies and present are, and never has this been an appropriate topic to make jest of.

 

I fully agree with you, it's why I am looking at meme culture with a lot of reservations. Sure, there are things you can make light of and joke about, but I absolutely agree that there are boundaries. There's humour and there's tasteless humour and sadly many people have come to rely on tasteless humour these days, especially when it comes to meme culture.

 

Empathy is something highly lacking these days and it makes me very sad. I may be only 24 years old, but I am deeply disappointed by the lack of empathy with people even younger than me. If they fail to empathize with others today, how will they ever be able to empathize with others in the future? And meme culture has defeaned many to empathy and being considerate, because everything has to be memeable, everything has to be turned into a joke even when it's absolutely inappropriate.

 

And the amount of misinformation on the internet and the ease with how people come to believe false information is even worse.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Ylliarus

[Dartharroth]

As pointed out, there were some KP patches that just upped some mob hp, or deleted a few mobs. Couldnt you just make a patch to give some random mob a few extra hp and flip the switch for double xp? The biggest reason why wow was doing double xp is cause everyone is locked inside. The reason we wanted double xp is that many of us are looking at being locked inside until the end of april. By waiting to the end of april, many of us may have to return to work and wont be able to really benefit from double xp cause play time will be cut back. And do none of your VAs have a home studio? I know thats becoming a much bigger thing for anime VAs.

[OlBuzzard]

Mr. Boyd:

 

(1) Thanks for the update and things happen especially right now.

(2) Everyone stay safe.

 

Now:

 

I have been a member of these forums since the beginning and I have been reading the forums lately and have noticed how certain people have no respect for others but it actually has helped me realize which people I am going take the time to read their posts. Some of the others, that have no respect for what is going on I am not wasting my time reading their posts. Just to clarify something, just because some of us are being careful of this virus has nothing to do with us being scared of the virus, it means we are being smart and we care about others, which is something I have noticed for a while that some just don't have the capacity for. Some just care about themselves.

 

There are some great people in the forums that I will respond to and most of you know who you are and everyone stay safe.

 

Well said …

 

BTW... on a more personal note: you are pretty close to the top of that list you're talking about. I appreciate your posts.

[KendraP]

As pointed out, there were some KP patches that just upped some mob hp, or deleted a few mobs. Couldnt you just make a patch to give some random mob a few extra hp and flip the switch for double xp? The biggest reason why wow was doing double xp is cause everyone is locked inside. The reason we wanted double xp is that many of us are looking at being locked inside until the end of april. By waiting to the end of april, many of us may have to return to work and wont be able to really benefit from double xp cause play time will be cut back. And do none of your VAs have a home studio? I know thats becoming a much bigger thing for anime VAs.

 

 

He even said

some actors do have in-home recording capability, but unfortunately, many others understandably do not.

 

This is why I'm not complaining about stuff like story; I'd rather it be done right and wait, than be half voice acted and pushed now.

 

This is also why I requested they do some QOL changes, like described in my post on the first page.

 

I would also suggest maybe some cool CM goodies, like new companions or mounts. (My personal want is a Kell dragon mount/companion).

[Dartharroth]

He even said

 

 

This is why I'm not complaining about stuff like story; I'd rather it be done right and wait, than be half voice acted and pushed now.

 

This is also why I requested they do some QOL changes, like described in my post on the first page.

 

I would also suggest maybe some cool CM goodies, like new companions or mounts. (My personal want is a Kell dragon mount/companion).

 

Im not as worried about the story stuff being delayed... I do question why we have to wait so long for the double xp. Plus... this was supposed to release next week on the 14th. But they waited till now to tell us it wasnt going to happen due to VAs not being available? Were they going to get all the voices recorded today and tomorrow? It just feels like they knew about this for a few weeks, but just didnt want to talk about it till the last minute.

[DarthCasus]

Could we get an insight as to what QoL improvements are being planned? There are some things that I really would want to see added as QoL improvements so I am hoping they'll be added in

 

For example, I'd really love to see the class titles such as Darth, Master, Lord etc. to be earnable for toons that skipped story either through the ship terminal or CM token! Especially now that in Onslaught people can rejoin their old factions and be restored to their former positions, it would be a good moment to earn those titles if you have skipped story! Of course, under the condition that the player has completed the class stories at least once on different toons before.

 

All of this. Please, Charles and team. It's really stiffling me and my real life friends' will to play newer characters when we have to slog through the stories for the 8th time to enjoy newer things on new toons.

[KendraP]

Im not as worried about the story stuff being delayed... I do question why we have to wait so long for the double xp. Plus... this was supposed to release next week on the 14th. But they waited till now to tell us it wasnt going to happen due to VAs not being available? Were they going to get all the voices recorded today and tomorrow? It just feels like they knew about this for a few weeks, but just didnt want to talk about it till the last minute.

 

They already answered that too. They have to patch it in, assuming it didn't make it in the last kp nerfing patch.

Since there are some questions around how double XP works, I'll give a bit more detail: a patch is required to update the in-game event schedule that activates and deactivates double XP on specified dates. So if double XP isn't already scheduled, a patch is required to add it to the schedule, at which point it then activates on whatever date we specify - in this case, the same day the patch goes live, because we want it to kick on as soon as possible for y'all

Edited April 11, 2020 by KendraP

[Damask_Rose]

Im not as worried about the story stuff being delayed... I do question why we have to wait so long for the double xp. Plus... this was supposed to release next week on the 14th. But they waited till now to tell us it wasnt going to happen due to VAs not being available? Were they going to get all the voices recorded today and tomorrow? It just feels like they knew about this for a few weeks, but just didnt want to talk about it till the last minute.

 

Austin has a stricter shelter in place order going into effect on the 13. If Bioware hasn't fully set up work from home already, they are doing that now. It can take quite a bit of time to get that working smoothly. It makes perfect sense that they won't be able to launch a patch the day after bugging out of their offices.

 

The only thing in this patch that got delayed beyond one week is the NiM version of the raid, which they decided based on the test server isn't ready.

 

The voice acting has nothing to do with this patch being delayed, but for the next patch that had story content. This patch was never intended to have any story snippets.

[malathoos]

Bummer, I was really looking forward to the double exp in a few days. Hope everyone stays safe though. I am confused with the event scheduling though, wasn't this already planned? The news at the beginning of the month had an events schedule outline.

[TrixxieTriss]

Well said …

 

BTW... on a more personal note: you are pretty close to the top of that list you're talking about. I appreciate your posts.

 

Same

 

And of course yours too

[OlBuzzard]

Same

 

And of course yours too

 

There are several here who really do make an effort to contribute to a stronger and better community.

 

We don't always see eye to eye … nor do we have the exact same goals.

 

Some are more direct in their posts ( and yet do so without being disrespectful or vulgar ).

 

Some have a much better working knowledge of the game … and the genre / the history / and even technical support (computers etc) .

 

Ya know … It's kind of cool that we are so different. It would get to be pretty boring if we were all cut out the same.

 

At any rate … Casirabit is right .

 

And yes .. Trixx I read a pay close attention to your posts.

[Darittha]

Update 6.1.2 will introduce a unique new in-game event that will join the weekly rotating schedule alongside Dantooine, Gree, etc. The event will be themed around the ultimate Swoop biker rally spread across multiple planets in the SWTOR galaxy.

 

I know u said youll be sharing more details later but as someone who got into Star Wars games via Kotor and Kotor 2 i have to ask - do we get swoop bike racing thats similar to that?

[JattaGin]

Dear Charles,

 

thank you for the update. As usual, you phrased your text very well. Always a pleasure reading what you write, even if the actual message is not such a pleasure. Which brings me to an idea which I will state in a new topic. I will send you a link to it. Maybe it's something you could enjoy doing. Let's see.

 

I have a friend who is a voice actress, therefore I can understand the stated reason for the delay very well. It matches what I hear from her, and anyone doubting the reason: You can believe it. The voice acting scene seems to be heavily effected by the current situation.

 

To the forumers: I appreciate the overall new tone since the virus issue. I think this place has become much more chilled. That said, I saw some quotes from different people in here which I couldn't find as an original post. Did someone clean up this thread?

[omaan]

Hi folks!

 

I hope everyone is doing well, taking care of themselves, and keeping up the social distancing

 

As Keith alluded to a few weeks back, EA, Bioware, and the SWTOR team have shifted to working entirely from home to ensure the ongoing safety of our team members. Like us, the voiceover studios where we record dialogue around the world are also eager to ensure the health and safety of their staff and actors, and have postponed all in-studio recording activities. As y'all know, our cast is pretty huge; some actors do have in-home recording capability, but unfortunately, many others understandably do not.

 

In order to adapt to these unexpected changes and challenges, we've made some updates to our upcoming releases. I've put together a run-down of the changes as we see them currently below. Naturally, this is very much subject to change as circumstances unfold; we will keep you all updated in the coming weeks if any additional changes become necessary.

 

Update 6.1.1 is moving out one week to Tuesday, April 21:

• 6.1.1 will include a number of improvements to Conquests, adjustments to class balance and end-game items, and other quality-of-life improvements.
  
• We will also begin a Double XP event with this update, running from April 21st until May 19th.
  
• However, we have made the difficult decision to delay Master Mode of the Dxun operation out of this update. Based on our testing on PTS, we believe that holding this portion of the content back for further iteration and improvement will lead to a higher quality experience for all of you to enjoy a bit later, in update 6.1.2 (see below).

 

Update 6.2, currently targeting June, has become Update 6.1.2:

• Update 6.1.2 will introduce a unique new in-game event that will join the weekly rotating schedule alongside Dantooine, Gree, etc. The event will be themed around the ultimate Swoop biker rally spread across multiple planets in the SWTOR galaxy. We'll share more info about the insane obstacle courses these daredevil riders are setting up very soon
  
• As mentioned above, Master Mode of the Dxun operation will also be released with this update!
  
• In addition to more quality-of-life updates, we're also targeting some fun additions to Nar Shaddaa Night Life, which will return this summer!
  
• So why is this update changing numbers? Because it was originally intended to include the conclusion of the Kira/Scourge/Satele storyline introduced in Onslaught's finale. Unfortunately, the dialogue has not yet been recorded for that storyline, so we will have to wait to release it until recording operations are back in full swing. Rest assured, getting that story out is our top priority, so as soon as we can get it back on the schedule we will. Based on our current information, our (very) tentative release target for that is late summer/early fall - that patch will become the "new" 6.2.
   
  

 

We really appreciate everyone's patience as we work through these challenging times, and look forward to sharing more concrete details as we get them.

 

Stay safe out there!

 

Return mats to ranked and team ranked rewards please. It is horrific to see team ranked DEAD and terribly booring to fight same players in solo ranked every day. Thanks

[DarkTergon]

Dear Charles,

 

 

To the forumers: I appreciate the overall new tone since the virus issue. I think this place has become much more chilled. That said, I saw some quotes from different people in here which I couldn't find as an original post. Did someone clean up this thread?

 

I think some people have been banned, as there was a lot of misinformation, and trolling going on, or maybe the moderators just removed them. Either way, the place is better of without them

[FlameYOL]

Thanks for the update, Charles. Glad to see you're all taking precautions against this virus, hope you all stay safe during this pandemic and looking forward to learning more about this new event. It looks quite interesting.

[gchan]

Forum moderators, this troll comment is worthy of a ban. If you don't like how the game is going, unsub/uninstal/delete your account, naff of from the forums and go do/play something else. The devs are trying their best and lockdowns for everyone's safety are making creating entertainment very difficult (if not impossible) for everyone right now.

 

I appreciate that due to the staff efforts the game is still running and it's good to see lots of players everywhere (and so many new players). Non guild groups for world boss weekly? Who heard of such a thing before lockdown

 

P.S. I also appreciate the update, thanks /thumbs up

 

Ease up there comrade. There are many people that still play the game that are beyond frustrated with Bioware, EA and Disney. Comments could be better but how about some advice back your way -- you do you. The company has grown ups that are capable of handling themselves without your wisdom on when they need to ban someone.

 

Again, his comments were not constructive but goodness your line for wanting to silence that person seems painfully low.

[Sandrosw]

Thanks for the update and stay safe!

 

Would it be possible to put a current build (or even the final one if it is finalized) on the PTS in case there are some changes that were not on PTS yet? The update might be postponed, but we can try out the class changes there, do the parses and so on... also we will see a new conquest week there

[Ylliarus]

All of this. Please, Charles and team. It's really stiffling me and my real life friends' will to play newer characters when we have to slog through the stories for the 8th time to enjoy newer things on new toons.

 

I understand of course the argument that the class story titles should be earned and it is a sentiment I agree with. However, if you have played through the class stories at least once already, earned the class stories once already, I don't see why there couldn't be a legacy system in the works that allows you to claim the class titles on toons that skipped the story through either the token or the ship terminal.

 

It wouldn't strike me as too much to ask, especially if the class stories have been played once before already. Having the title doesn't give anyone an edge over another player, it doesn't create imbalance in any way, shape or form. It simply allows a player who has played the class stories before already, to have those titles also on other toons who skipped the story.

 

On top of that, if another player sees a nameplate such as "Master X", "Lord Y" or "Darth Z" how can they know whether it was earned or gotten through a Legacy unlock. They can't, so it doesn't create any imbalance in perception either. It would simply be a small QoL improvement for players who have gone through the class stories time and again.

[Sarova]

Ease up there comrade. There are many people that still play the game that are beyond frustrated with Bioware, EA and Disney. Comments could be better but how about some advice back your way -- you do you. The company has grown ups that are capable of handling themselves without your wisdom on when they need to ban someone.

 

Again, his comments were not constructive but goodness your line for wanting to silence that person seems painfully low.

Seems the moderators agreed with me. And I'm not your comrade.

[JarenWelen]

The event will be themed around the ultimate Swoop biker rally spread across multiple planets in the SWTOR galaxy. We'll share more info about the insane obstacle courses these daredevil riders are setting up very soon

 

Sounds interesting, but please keep whoever designed Amplifiers away from it. I can already foresee the popup dialogue: "You are racing! Pay 50,000 to increase your speed! This cost goes up as your speed increases!"

[Mirli]

In addition to more quality-of-life updates, we're also targeting some fun additions to Nar Shaddaa Night Life, which will return this summer!

 

Care to elaborate on some of that QoL?

[Ylliarus]

Care to elaborate on some of that QoL?

 

Indeed! I'd love to know more what kind of QoL improvements we can expect as well

[KendraP]

Indeed! I'd love to know more what kind of QoL improvements we can expect as well

 

they probably will... a week from today when they put out patch notes for tuesday's patch