Why did they only create legit companion quests for the first companions?

[GeneralGyro]

Only the first companions get any sort of quests that you went with them somewhere to do. Why were the companions afterward neglected? They went on their own missions in a fade to black style.

[Jdast]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

Edited August 18, 2020 by Jdast

[Taurax]

I think when they started Fallen Empire, they released so many companions..like almost 1 every two chapters, that the cost for voice acting, on top of creating new storylines/quests for them, was too much for the entire dev team (programmers,. world builders, art team) on top of trying to get the chapters done. Especially given the team has lost members/gottem smaller over time due to EA taking some off SWTOR towards other projects...such as Anthem. So

 

So, unless the companion was part of the story, they were just simply 'made'...Khrrol for example.

[GeneralGyro]

I think when they started Fallen Empire, they released so many companions..like almost 1 every two chapters, that the cost for voice acting, on top of creating new storylines/quests for them, was too much for the entire dev team (programmers,. world builders, art team) on top of trying to get the chapters done. Especially given the team has lost members/gottem smaller over time due to EA taking some off SWTOR towards other projects...such as Anthem. So

 

So, unless the companion was part of the story, they were just simply 'made'...Khrrol for example.

 

my question spans before any expansions, the vanilla companion crew. only the companions you got first on the starter planet had any sort of quest where you went with them.

 

200m i guess just wasnt enough

[turbomagnus]

My first thought was it being a matter of backstory, but that doesn't work considering that you could just as well go with Quinn hunting an SIS agent as go with Vette to help her old 'crew' pull one last heist.

 

So I'm going to dig down deep into rumors and unproduced content and guess that not all of the companions were necessarily meant to survive completely (yes, I'm talking about the idea that Quinn was intended to be executable for his betrayal in TOR Chapter 3 that was dropped because at the time companions had specific roles and it would leave the Warrior without a Healer), so only the 'starter' companions might have been intended to have full interactive quests because they would have been unkillable, while Quinn (Chapter Three), Kira (supposition, could have been killed when possessed by the Emperor at the end of Chapter One), etc. who would have been able to die wouldn't have needed such.

 

Just a wild guess, though...

[Rammboo]

Maybe the team changed, maybe money issues.

If the writing team Etc. changed / was downsized, less cash available,

then you have a different view on how things go.

The game after vanilla TOR is a very different beast.

You work with what you have I guess...

Just thought..in vanilla game, if I remember..

Each character had a comp who had a personal quest you could complete.

May be wrong..chances are high.

Edited August 19, 2020 by Rammboo

[MikeCobalt]

I remember years ago with SWTOR there was an interview and the guy in-charge was talking about how they thought they left the game with 6 months game time; that would've (as they thought) gave them enough time to create more (Of the same, It seemed) as SWTOR left off.

 

At the "6 month" comment, he makes a *Snarky remark about still not knowing how the members were tearing through all 8 characters in just a fraction of that time (They loved it that much). This was a discussion about SWTORs issues and about the same time (I believe) EA pulled the plug, Money. I do believe at first SWTOR planned to have the time and resources to fully flesh out is companions and extend the stories.

 

Forgive my bad memory this obviously was years ago but I do still remember that remark he made, and the interview.

[SteveTheCynic]

my question spans before any expansions, the vanilla companion crew. only the companions you got first on the starter planet had any sort of quest where you went with them.

Except on Knights, where the "go with companion" conversation missions are on the second companion, Kira, rather than the first, T7.

200m i guess just wasnt enough

Snark aside, no, it wasn't. The base game *wasn't* finished, especially not if you consider it to be an MMORPG, as it launched with almost no end-game activities.

[Ardrossan]

Yeah it's especially stupid when you consider that vanilla had VA flavor dialogue for every NPC questgiver that changed between accepting and completing the quest AND separate dialogue for [Refuse quest]. It kinda reminds me of Obsidian pissing away money on irrelevant details most players would never see in kotor2 and then, oops, they forgot to include an ending.

 

I think some of it might have been lack of imagination too. Rusk comes to mind - iirc he doesn't go anywhere by himself, he just sits around whining about space quakers. What they should have done was ensure quests for ALL first comps as well as for ALL romance options, even if you weren't romancing them. So, if you're a guy and you can't romance Doc, you can still do his comp quest. Most of the comps who aren't the first ones you get or romances are pretty terrible with a few exceptions like Scourge or Guss.

[Tsillah]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

 

Alternate answer: Not many people care about them or do them as a consequence.

[SteveTheCynic]

So, if you're a guy and you can't romance Doc, you can still do his comp quest.

Example: Male Troopers can still do Aric's field missions because they are nothing to do with the romance. I see no reason why the never-happened missions (like the hypothetical ones with Doc that you cited) would have been tied to the romance.

[RameiArashi]

On Jedi Knight its second companion. Droid discrimination!

[FlameYOL]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

 

Pretty much.

[Sarova]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

 

I feel this answer should become a meme and be used for almost all "why" questions about the game

[OlBuzzard]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

 

YUP!!! Pretty much.

 

There are, in fact, MANY aspects of this game that once thrived.... and now have been reduced to simple "tidbits" or "morsels" to satisfy the appetite that most of us have for the game. (***NOTE 1***)

 

One can only imagine the potential for success if a seriously focused effort (***NOTE 2***) were put into the game for the next 3 - 5 years. IMO what we have is not a reflection of lack of skill or effort but rather the same team with multiple tasks (games) to be done simultaneously.

 

What we now have left (and it's not much) ... is at best a pale, dim, holoprojection of what our companions SHOULD be.

 

(***NOTE 1 ***) ... Tidbits and morsels by definition are never MEANT to be filling ... only a tantalizing taste.

(***NOTE 2 ***) ... A "serious effort" ... this is not meant to be an indictment against those who are actually doing the work. We have seen numerous reflections of areas where the actual work done can be VERY good. Yet there is also a nagging shadow of doubt and disbelief that has insidiously eroded away the overall level of confidence in what CAN and (without question) SHOULD be available in this game.

 

Personal reflection: Overall I still believe that with the right directive ... this game currently has the potential of being the sort of game that WITHOUT question can be the BEST MMO available.

Edited August 19, 2020 by OlBuzzard

[JediQuaker]

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

I would modify that slightly and less cynically. 🙂

 

Short answer: $

Medium answer: They have to choose where to put their resources.

Long answer: Like any company serving the public, they have to decide what their customers want the most and where to put the main emphasis to encourage customer engagement. In this case they may have decided (rightly or wrongly) that companion quests weren't that important.

[SteveTheCynic]

I would modify that slightly and less cynically. 🙂

You're no fun.

[Laudriann]

I am not completely sure but I assume it's how popular the companion were. Of course they wouldn't voice every returning companion on top of the ones you get in the Eternal Empire/Onslaught storylines, so basically they chose the ones that people preferred, added them as part of the main storyline and the rest became like secondary characters such as Husk, Bowdaar and so on.

[SteveTheCynic]

I am not completely sure but I assume it's how popular the companion were. Of course they wouldn't voice every returning companion on top of the ones you get in the Eternal Empire/Onslaught storylines, so basically they chose the ones that people preferred, added them as part of the main storyline and the rest became like secondary characters such as Husk, Bowdaar and so on.

Not really. The KotFE/ET etc. stories that we see are a cut-down version of the original plans, which called for three sixteen-chapter expansions.

[turbomagnus]

Not really. The KotFE/ET etc. stories that we see are a cut-down version of the original plans, which called for three sixteen-chapter expansions.

 

Problem was, players who came for the Republic/Jedi versus Empire/Sith dynamic weren't exactly fond of the whole Eternal Empire coming out of nowhere and conquering everyone so they're suddenly working together in a rebellion concept. It's why War On Iokath pulled the two sides back to conflict with each other so quickly, leaving the whole 'Order of Zildrog' mess that was meant to be the third expansion as just a bunch of flashpoints while the rest of the galaxy decided to forget about Zakuul and move on to building up their forces and paving the way for Jedi Under Seige and Onslaught...

 

 

(Seriously, Order of Zildrog? Bunch of spoiled brats pitching temper tantrums because things haven't gone their way since the core game, in my opinion... Oh, boo-hoo, Trooper sided with the Empire to fight Vaylin when the Republic wasn't doing it; Bounty Hunter killed the Darth blackmailing him before their Apprentice could; Outlander beat Vaylin and suddenly her Horizon Guard weren't protecting the 'Empress of The Galaxy', they were just a bunch of guys in fancy armor... some of the reasons the Order members are just.... almost childish.)

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by turbomagnus

[JattaGin]

I remember years ago with SWTOR there was an interview and the guy in-charge was talking about how they thought they left the game with 6 months game time; that would've (as they thought) gave them enough time to create more (Of the same, It seemed) as SWTOR left off.

 

At the "6 month" comment, he makes a *Snarky remark about still not knowing how the members were tearing through all 8 characters in just a fraction of that time (They loved it that much). This was a discussion about SWTORs issues and about the same time (I believe) EA pulled the plug, Money. I do believe at first SWTOR planned to have the time and resources to fully flesh out is companions and extend the stories.

 

Forgive my bad memory this obviously was years ago but I do still remember that remark he made, and the interview.

 

While your memory is quite right, this is a different issue. They were indeed shocked and unprepared that many players just ran from 1 to 50 in a few days. I personally needed from December to March to finally ding my first level 50, but that's just an anecdote. The issue mentioned in this interview was the lack of end-game content. For that they thought they would have more time. And since they didn't have enough end-game content, many players left, because they rushed through the content instead of enjoying it and taking their time (as BW thought they would). This eventually led to the game going quite quickly to F2P and the Cartel Market invention.

 

Short Answer: $

 

Medium-length Answer: Money

 

Longest Answer: Financial Resources

 

Dasty

 

This is also not fully correct (albeit it was of course part of the problem).

 

The main reason was: lack of time.

 

The game got rushed to release. They weren't fully ready, but at some point were told to go online before christmas 2011. So they had to cut content. Quite some even. Basically, every fade-to-black companion conversation scene was originally meant to be an actual mission to play, but the missions were lower priority, that's why they weren't done when they got the new deadline and then they were some of the first things they scrapped. (I assume some missions were already coded, but for consistency, they left them all out.)

 

Do I have proof for my claim? I don't recall any particular interview or info about it, but I'm fairly sure it was mentioned by some dev back in the days. In addition to that I can only offer my personal experience as a beta tester and what I remember from back then. I think I'm here since 2009? Long time...